We asked, and obtained leave from our masters, to bury the bodies which lay scattered about. We dug some graves in the sand, and after finishing this melancholy duty, were directed to launch the canoes, preparatory to our departure, (for we had come in canoes) when we begged permission, which was readily granted, to take some flour, bread and pork, and our respective masters assisted us in getting a small quantity of these articles into the largest canoe. We also took a blanket each, some shoes, a number of books, including a bible, and soon arrived at the landing place near the village. As the natives seemed desirous of keeping us apart, we dare not make any inquiries for each other, but at my request, having boiled some pork in a large shell, Hussey was sent for, and we had a meal together; during which time, the natives assembled in great numbers, all anxious to get a sight, not only of our novel mode of cutting the meat and eating it, but of the manner in which we prepared it. One of them brought us some water in a tin cup, as they had seen us drink frequently when eating.
The natives now began to arrive from distant parts of the islands, many of whom had not yet heard of us, and we were continually subjected to the examination of men, women and children. The singular colour of our skin, was the greatest source of their admiration, and we were frequently importuned to adopt their dress.
On the 28th Feb. early in the morning the whole village appeared to be in motion. All the adults commenced ornamenting themselves, which to me appeared to render them hideous. After greasing themselves with cocoanut oil, and hanging about them numerous strings of beads, they set off, taking us with them, to a flat piece of ground, about half a mile distant, where we found collected a great number, and all ornamented in the same fantastic manner.—Knowing that many of the natives inhabiting Islands in the Pacific Ocean, are cannibals, we were not without our fears that we had been preserved to grace a feast! Our apprehensions, however, were dissipated, when we saw them commence a dance, of which we will endeavour to give the reader some idea. The only musical instrument we saw, was a rude kind of drum; and the choristers were all females, say twenty or thirty, each having one of these drums. The music commenced with the women, who began upon a very low key, gradually raising the notes, while the natives accompanied them with the most uncouth gesticulations and grimaces. The precision with which about three hundred of these people, all dancing at a time, regulated their movements, was truly astonishing; while the yelling of the whole body, each trying to exceed the other, rendered the scene to us, not only novel, but terrifick.
The dance ended near night, and those natives who lived in a distant part of the Island, after gratifying their curiosity by gazing upon us, and even feeling of our skins, took their departure.
After our return to the village, we cooked some meat upon the coals, and with some bread, made a hearty meal. One source of regret to us, was, that the natives began to like our bread, which heretofore they had scarcely dared to taste; and particularly the woman whom I called mistress, ate, to use a sea phrase, her full allowance.
The natives expressed great dislike at our conversing together, and prohibited our reading, as much as possible. We never could make them comprehend that the book conveyed ideas to us, expressed in our own language.
Whether from a fear that we might concert some plan of escape, or that we might be the means of doing them some injury while together, we know not;—but about the first of April, we discovered that we were about to be separated! The reader may form some idea of our feelings when we were informed that Hussey was to be taken by his master and family, to a distant part of the Island! Not having as yet become sufficiently acquainted with their language, we were unable to comprehend the distance from our present location.
It now becomes expedient to present the reader with our separate accounts, in which we hope to be able to convey an idea of the manners and customs of these people. We had experienced in a very short time so many vicissitudes, and passed through so many scenes of distress, that no opportunity was afforded to keep a journal, and notwithstanding we had even lost the day of the week and month, yet with such force, were the principal incidents which occurred during our exile, impressed upon our minds, that we can with confidence proceed with our narrative, and will commence the next chapter with an account of the adventures of William Lay.