As the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who
only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. I
never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had.
It immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness: it will
be found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin,
where two men are pushing Robert into the burning iron furnace. It
is the man who has his arm on Robert's breast. Physiognomy here
spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was
an arrant coward to boot. At the point where the boat landed, Mr.
Bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: I could not
help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we
left lying in the boat, when he shouted to Mr. Bushby, "Do not you
stay long, I shall be tired of waiting here."
We now commenced our walk. The road lay along a well-beaten path,
bordered on each side by the tall fern which covers the whole
country. After travelling some miles we came to a little country
village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some
patches of ground cultivated with potatoes. The introduction of the
potato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now
much more used than any native vegetable.
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