The babel all round us was
terrible. By-and-by a request was made to me to give the chief from the
other side a present, and get him away. I said, "No; had he come in
peace, and as a chief, I would have given him a present, but I will not
do so now." They retired to deliberate, and sent another request for a
present. "No; no presents to men in arms. If the chief returns
to-morrow unarmed, he will get a present." It seems they are vexed with
our living here instead of with them, because they find those here are
getting what they consider very rich by our living with them. When quiet
was restored, we returned to the carrying of our things. When we came to
the last few things, our chief objected to their removal until he got a
farewell present. He had been paid for the use of the house before any
of us entered it; but we gave him another present, and so finished the
business.
Our large cross-cut saw was stolen during the hubbub. It belonged to the
teachers of East Cape. It had only been lent to us, so we had to get it
back.
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