In the morning the wind increasing and, there being no possibility of putting to sea, we struck yards and topmasts and trusted to our anchors. The river swelled so much with the rain that the point of land on which the tents stood became an island; and to preserve the breadfruit plants from being endangered the people were obliged to cut a passage for the river through a part of the beach at a distance from the tents. The sea broke very high on the beach; nevertheless a canoe put off and to my surprise Tinah, his wife, and Moannah made their way good through the surf and came on board to see me. There was no other person in the canoe for the weather did not admit of useless passengers: each of them had a paddle which they managed with great activity and skill. These kind people embraced me with many tears and expressed their apprehensions for the safety of the ship. Towards noon however the sea abated considerably, but the wind continued to blow strong from the north-west. At sunset Iddeah went on shore but Tinah would remain with me the whole night. Sunday 7. The wind continued between the north and north-west but had so much moderated that I no longer considered our situation to be alarming. At noon Iddeah returned to the ship with a large hog and a supply of breadfruit and coconuts; and soon after she and Tinah left the ship, having exacted a promise from me that if the weather was moderate I would go on shore in the morning and visit their parents and sister who, they told me, had been much alarmed on our account. I received a visit likewise from Poeeno and his wife. This woman had always shown great regard for us; and now, on our meeting, before I could be aware of it, she began beating her head violently with a shark's tooth so that her face was covered with blood in an instant. I put a stop to this as soon as I could, and with the drying up of the blood her agitation subsided. This ceremony is frequently performed upon occasions either of joy or grief. Her husband said that if any accident happened to the ship I should live with him and that they would cut down trees and build me another ship. From this sample of the weather and the information of the natives I was convinced it would not be safe to continue in Matavai Bay much longer; and I determined to get everything ready for sailing as speedily as I could. Monday 8. The night proved moderate and in the morning I went on shore where I was received by Oberreeroah, and several other friends with great affection. The plants received no injury from the bad weather having been carefully covered from the spray of the sea: some were in a dormant state and others were striking out young shoots. Nelson thought that it was better to refrain a few days from taking them on board; I therefore consented to defer it. He was of opinion that the plants could be propagated from the roots only, and I directed some boxes to be filled as we could stow them where no others could be placed.