During all this time the natives were sanguine in the belief that they should succeed, and repeatedly assured us that they could accomplish the work. Their sorrow and mortification, on being obliged to give it up, were great; for they seemed to realize, that now they must have fallen in our estimation, and thought that we should be anxious to avail ourselves of the assistance of their enemies, who, as they well knew, were extremely anxious to get us into their hands. The captain did not attempt to conceal his wish to go to the other part of the island. This greatly increased their dissatisfaction; and their murmurs became frequent and loud. After considerable expostulation, they proposed to make a _canoe_ sufficiently large to convey us away; and, having some confidence in the practicability of the plan, we consented to wait and assist them in their endeavors to supply us with this substitute for the more respectable craft we had contemplated building. After duly consulting the old prophetess, the principal chiefs were assembled, and having agreed to take for the purpose the largest bread-fruit tree on the island, the people were called upon to meet at the spot where it stood, and assist in cutting it down. Matters of so great importance required deliberation in the operation of planning out the work,--but the accomplishment of an undertaking like that of felling so large a tree, with tools even less adapted to the business than the teeth of a beaver, was one that took several days. At length the herculean task was performed, and the tree fell! But judge of our feelings on finding that the trunk, which we had hoped to render so useful in conveying us to some place from which we could obtain a passage to our native land, had, in falling, become so split as to be good for nothing! It seemed to us that a cruel fate had ordained, that no labor of our hands should prosper. Another tree was selected, and with that we were more successful. We then commenced digging it out, and bringing it to a proper shape. The old chisels were now put in requisition; and, in twenty-eight days from the time we began, we had succeeded in bringing that part of our labor to a close. Of the other tree we made two wide planks, which we fastened to the upper edges of the canoe, thereby adding very considerably to its capacity. Two months more were consumed in fitting up our canoe with sails, and getting it ready for sea. Having proceeded thus far, it was deemed proper by the natives to have another festival; and, as our labors, in this instance, had been attended with better success, extraordinary preparations were made for a feast that should do honor to the occasion. An immense quantity of fish had been obtained; the females brought large quantities of bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and yams; and the toil of months was forgotten in the universal joy which then prevailed. CHAPTER V.