Canoes by the hundred took to the water
upon sighting the two French ships, L'Astrolabe and La
Boussole under the command of Jean Francois La Perouse
as they sought safe anchorage along Maui's southern coast.
These were the first western ships to navigate this stretch
of ocean since Captain Cook and the Hawaiians were eager
to trade for nails and other iron implements.
The crew threw lines and pulled the
canoes along side, but the choppy waves and the wake of
the ships swamped and capsized over fifty of the native
boats. Despite the adverse conditions, the Hawaiians managed
to conduct sufficient trade to transfer 15 pigs and a
stock of fruit aboard the French vessels. Commodore La
Perouse compared the remarkable swimming ability of the
Hawaiians to that of a seal or a sea lion.
In all, the expedition spent just 48
hours in the Hawaiian Islands as La Perouse followed the
rigid orders his mission dictated.
