Capt. Riddell started first in hopes to get firearms, but found the natives had secured them, and had loaded their canoes with whatever suited their fancy. They brought their plunder on shore and buried it. Our boats, which did not return till late in the afternoon, brought some clothes, bread, salt provisions and liquor, but found only one chest on board. What the natives did with the others we never knew. They continued their visits to the ship every day, taking out whatever suited their fancy. They could get off with canoes when it was not prudent to go with our boats. Some of us would frequently accompany them and pick up whatever we thought might be useful to us. On the 15th, it being moderate, we went off and secured the spare boat, which was still uninjured. By this time we had nearly all out of the ship which would be of use to us, and seldom visited her. She had turned completely round, and begun to break up. The natives were friendly and endeavored, by every kindness in their power, to make our situation as pleasant and comfortable as possible, furnishing us of their provisions in abundance, with which, and our ship provisions, we lived well. The natives generally spent their evenings with us and seemed to enjoy our company very much. Thus ten or eleven days passed without anything occurring to affect our pleasant relations with them. Capt. Riddell thought that after the full of the moon we should have moderate winds, and then we calculated to start for the Friendly Islands in our boats, which we intended to put an extra streak on, to better fit them for a sea voyage. But the morning we had intended to commence operations, we were much alarmed by seeing a fleet of about twenty canoes approaching the island, with warlike demonstrations. Capt. Riddell went down to the beach and met the party, who were a frightful looking set, being hideously painted with red and black, and all armed with spears and clubs. The chief and Capt. Riddell walked up ahead, the rest of the party, numbering about eighty, following in single file. They were all large sized men, many of them fully six feet tall. They wandered about the town a while, getting a good meal which the islanders had cooked for them. One of the party, apparently a young chief, sat down beside me and began talking, but finding none of us could understand him, he left us, seemingly much disappointed. The visitors showed no signs of hostility nor disposition to meddle with anything, but contented themselves with looking at us, and finally retired to their canoes for the night.