There
can be little doubt that he mistrusted our intentions, and feared we
might attempt to kidnap him and his crew; for the whites have, in too
many cases, behaved in a most villanous manner to the inhabitants of
these islands, who are, as a rule--to which there are of course
exceptions--a kind and gentle people. I think if the many instances of
the murder of ships' and boats' crews could be thoroughly sifted to
the bottom, it would be found that most of them were acts of reprisal
and revenge for brutal atrocities committed on the defenceless
natives, who have been kidnapped, plundered, and murdered by
unscrupulous traders and adventurers. Unfortunately, the good suffer
for the bad, and such lives as those of Captain Goodenough and Bishop
Patteson are sacrificed through the unpardonable misconduct of
others--perhaps their own countrymen. It is still quite a chance how
you may be received in some of the islands; for if the visit of the
last ship was the occasion of the murder, plunder, and ill-treatment
of the inhabitants, it is not to be wondered at that the next comers
should be received with distrust, if not with treachery and violence.
We reached the yacht at four o'clock, rather exhausted by so many
hours' exposure to the broiling sun, having had nothing to eat since
breakfast, at 7 a.
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