The songs were
impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival: one little girl
sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty
chorus. The whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were
seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed South Sea.
NOVEMBER 17, 1835.
This day is reckoned in the log-book as Tuesday the 17th, instead
of Monday the 16th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the
sun. Before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of
canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, I
suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. It was the
opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have
picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have
given so little trouble. Everybody brought something for sale:
shells were the main article of trade. The Tahitians now fully
understand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or
other articles. The various coins, however, of English and Spanish
denomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small
silver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of the chiefs
have accumulated considerable sums of money.
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