A piece of bone was
securely fastened to it by means of some pig's hair, but there was no
bait, and it seems that the glitter of the mother-of-pearl alone
serves as a sufficient allurement to the fish.
In nearly all accounts of voyages in the South Seas much space is
devoted to the description of the purchase, or rather barter, of
hogs. We thought we could not do better than follow as far as possible
the example of our predecessors, and accordingly bought two little
pigs for two shillings each. They were evidently quite pets, lying on
the mats outside the huts, and coming when called, just like dogs. The
one I first bought appeared to be quite happy and content to be
carried under my arm. The natives seemed quite to understand the value
of money, and did not hesitate to ask for it in return for the
cocoa-nuts full of shells which they brought us. I fancy some of the
Tahiti schooners trade here for pearl, shells, and beche-de-mer.
The cocoa-nuts, fowls, fish, coral, &c., having been put into our
boat, we shook hands with the friendly islanders and embarked, and
having rounded the point we soon found ourselves again in the broken
water outside the lagoon, where the race of the tide and the overfall
were now much more violent than they had been when we landed.
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