with the aid of robert f. stockton, a u.s. naval officer, ayers sought out land to establish a new colony. stockton led negotiations with leaders of the dei and bassa peoples who lived in the area of cape mesurado. at first, the local ruler, zolu duma (king peter), was reluctant to surrender their peoples' land to the strangers, but was forcefully persuaded—some accounts claim at gun-point—to part with a "36 mile long and 3 mile wide" strip of coastal land for trade goods, supplies, weapons, and rum worth approximately $300.