Page:Narrativeavoyag01wilsgoog.djvu/108

80 native received him kindly, neither appearing to remember, nor exhibiting any wish to resent, the punishment he had received;—being conscious, no doubt, that he had deserved it.

He did not see any of their women, who seem, even here, to have a will of their own; for although Wellington used his endeavours to introduce them, they would not listen to him, but kept constantly out of sight. In the evening, the Captain retired to rest, as the natives did, on the sand. Next day, he returned to the settlement in safety, to the great joy of all our people, who, thenceforth, began to consider the natives in a more favourable light than they had hitherto done.

Captain Barker informed me he had lent Wellington a canoe for a fortnight, and that no person in the settlement believed it would ever be returned. Dr. Davis, who still viewed the natives (and particularly Wellington), with a prejudiced eye, was quite confident that he would never again visit the settlement; or if he did so, that he would make some excuse for not returning the canoe.

I learned also, that a considerable number of Malay proas, chiefly from Macassar, had visited the settlement last season, and that while they remained, their crews had conducted themselves with much propriety. They were highly gratified by their reception, and much pleased with the prospect of being able to carry on their operations without fear of molestation from the natives, with whom they are always at variance, and