Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/180

148 mation was the more important to us, because we had supposed, that we must get out of the road through the narrow channel by which we had entered; and in which we should probably have had to work out, against the prevailing winds, which would be extremely favourable to our passing out through the new channel. Tonga offered to show it us, and would sleep on board that night, to conduct to it Citizen Beaupré, our engineer-geographer, who would ascertain its position.

On an excursion we made into the country nearest the anchoring place, we found among a group of the natives a young person, who had all the characteristics of an albino, and who was in other respects of a very sickly complexion, as is commonly the case, for this deviation from nature is owing to a state of disease.

3d. In the morning of the third, having surprised some of the natives, who were making off to the coast of Tongataboo with some articles, which they had just stolen from our ship, the commanding officer sent some of our people in pursuit of them; when one of the party, who had caused himself to be announced as a chief, said, that he would punish them himself, and would bring us the next day the things that had been stolen. But it appeared, that he was con-