o or three young men who were away turtle-catching, they
were now all present. After we had finished eating, Kusis repeated the
King's message to me, and wanted to know what I intended to do--to live
at Leasse, or "go and look at the other places along the coast, and see
if there was a better place than Leasse?"

Leasse, I said, should be my home. I knew him and some others besides in
Leasse, and liked the place and the people, etcetera. They appeared
very pleased at this, and Eusis at once desired me to point out the spot
whereon my house was to be built--meanwhile I was to live with him till
it was completed. I chose a site about thirty yards away from where we
stood; and then, to show that no time would be lost, Eusis at once sent
five or six men into the bush to cut posts, and ordered all the women
and girls to begin making the thatch for the roof and cutting cane for
the walls and floor.

I must ask my readers to bear in mind that the friendship of these
people for an almost unknown white man was inspired by no unworthy
motive. Kusis and his people, as well as the King and Queen, knew that
when the brig was lost I had saved nothing whatever from the wreck.
Such little clothing as I had with me had been given to me by the young
American trader before mentioned, and old Harry Terry had given me half
a small tierce of tobacco and the Winchester rifle and cartridges. And
shortly after the wreck of the brig it had been my fortunate lot to
prevent a number of Strong's Islanders from serious ill-treatment
by some of my white companions, and for this their gratitude knew no
bounds. I found that the old King, as soon as he heard that young Harry
and myself had separated from the other white men, had sent messengers
to every place on the island telling them to treat us well. He was,
however, terribly afraid of Harry's Pleasant Island natives, and anxious
that he should keep them under control and disarm them. I told Kusis
that the King had no reason to fear any harm coming to his people from
Harry's followers, who would be kept well in hand by their master,
furthermore that I had heard Harry threaten to shoot dead the first man
that either robbed or offered violence to any Strong's Islander. They
seemed much pleased at this, and told me that in the old days they were
afraid of no one, and were a great fighting people, but since their
conversion to Christianity all the fight had gone out of them; and,
indeed, I found them, a