A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
At two o'clock in the afternoon, about ten of the natives came out of
the wood with green boughs in their hands, which they stuck up near the
water side, and retired. After a short time, they appeared again, and
brought with them several hogs, with their legs tied, which they placed
near the green boughs, and retired a second time. After this they
brought down several more hogs, and some dogs, with their fore-legs tied
over their heads, and going again into the woods, brought back several
bundles of the cloth which they use for apparel, and which has some
resemblance to Indian paper. These they placed upon the beach, and
called to us on board to fetch them away. As we were at the distance of
about three cables' length, we could not then perfectly discover of what
this peace-offering consisted: we guessed at the hogs and the cloth, but
seeing the dogs, with their fore-legs appearing over the hinder part of
the neck, rise up several times, and run a little way in an erect
posture, we took them for some strange unknown animal, and were very
impatient to have a nearer view of them. The boat was therefore sent on
shore with all expedition, and our wonder was soon at an end. Our people
found nine good hogs, besides the dogs and the cloth: the hogs were
brought off, but the dogs were turned loose, and with the cloth left
behind. In return for the hogs, our people left upon the shore some
hatchets, nails, and other things, making signs to some of the Indians
who were in sight, to take them away with their cloth. Soon after the
boat had come on board, the Indians brought down two more hogs, and
called to us to fetch them; the boat therefore returned, and fetched off
the two hogs, but still left the cloth, though the Indians made signs
that we should take it. Our people reported, that they had not touched
any of the things which they had left upon the beach for them, and
somebody suggesting that they would not take our offering because we had
not accepted their cloth, I gave orders that it should be fetched away.
The event proved that the conjecture was true, for the moment the boat
had taken the cloth on board, the Indians came down, and, with every
possible demonstration of joy, carried away all I had sent them into the
wood. Our boats then went to the watering-place, and filled and brought
off all the casks, to the amount of about six tons. We found that they
had suffered no injury while they had been in the possession of the
Indians, but some leathern buckets and funnels, which had been taken
away with the casks, were not returned.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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