At his calling loudly, on his landing, for the Englishman, who spoke to him, I came forward to them; he could hardly believe me to be one, for the scanty allowance of clothes with which I left the wreck, had long before fallen off, leaving me entirely naked, and exposed to the sun's scorching rays; besides, my long beard, and uncombed hair, rendered me in appearance scarce less than a savage. At the many inquiries he made respecting our situation, the natives standing by would say, yahah, or, what does he say? As this was done at every inquiry, I had to use much deception, telling them he wanted hogs, fruit, and water, and for him to solicit the natives to assist in procuring them. Having acquainted him respecting the war, I proposed to buy a gun and ammunition, if he had one to spare; he brought forward one, and I think the only one he had on board, and very poor at that, which he offered to sell me for hogs. I left him to consult the king, who stoutly refused to buy it; I labored much with him, telling him how many of the Cohaphas I could kill, and at a great distance too, which I measured off to him; at this he was greatly astonished, and immediately[132] consented to have me purchase it. He sent men off to procure the hogs and fruit, which were taken to the beach the next morning; the captain was again brought on shore; I offered him three hogs for the gun itself, and four for a quantity of ammunition. This he readily accepted. Taking the gun we thought ourselves well equipped for action. During the time the ship remained in the harbor, we were catching hogs, and gathering fruit which we bartered away with the ship's company for such articles as we might desire. At the expiration of ten days, the captain signified to me his intention to leave the harbor, expressing a strong desire to assist us in getting away; this was altogether impossible, for we were most strictly watched. When the hour of their departure came, we with heart ready for bursting, bade them a cheerful farewell; apparently well pleased with the idea of remaining behind; this tended much towards insuring the confidence of the natives, which was now our principal object, so that at the arrival of the next ship, less vigilance would be observed, and we at length would be enabled to effect our escape. To this end we now used our whole endeavors, and strove as far as possible, to adopt their customs and notions as our own, and set about building huts for ourselves; in this we were assisted very much by the natives, who joyously received the idea of our building them, considering the act an indication of contentedness.