A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
As soon as the ships were under sail, at the request of Otoo, and to
gratify the curiosity of his people, I fired seven guns, loaded with
shot; after which, all our friends, except him, and two or three more,
left us with such marks of affection and grief, as sufficiently shewed
how much they regretted our departure. Otoo being desirous of seeing
the ship sail, I made a stretch out to sea, and then in again; when be
also bid us farewell, and went ashore in his canoe.
The frequent visits we had lately paid to this island, seem to
have created a full persuasion, that the intercourse will not be
discontinued. It was strictly enjoined to me by Otoo, to request, in
his name, the _Earee rahie no Pretane_ to send him, by the next ships,
red feathers, and the birds that produce them; axes; half a dozen
muskets, with powder and shot; and by no means to forget horses.
I have occasionally mentioned my receiving considerable presents from
Otoo, and the rest of the family, without specifying what returns I
made. It is customary for these people, when they make a present, to
let us know what they expect in return; and we find it necessary to
gratify them; so that, what we get by way of present, comes dearer
than what we get by barter. But, as we were sometimes pressed by
occasional scarcity, we could have recourse to our friends for a
present, or supply, when we could not get our wants relieved by any
other method; and, therefore, upon the whole, this way of traffic was
full as advantageous to us as to the natives. For the most part,
I paid for each separate article as I received it, except in my
intercourse with Otoo. His presents generally came so fast upon me,
that no account was kept between us. Whatever he asked for, that I
could spare, he had whenever he asked for it; and I always found him
moderate in his demands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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