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fufpicions of mischief intended by the natives as groundlefs. We had however another fource of fecurity; our little fortification was now complete. The north and fouth fides confifted of a bank of earth four feet and a half high on the infide, and a ditch without ten feet broad and fix deep; on the weft fide, facing the bay, there was a bank of earth four feet high, and pallifadoes upon that, but no ditch, the works here being at highwater mark; on the east fide, upon the bank of the river, was placed a double row of water cafks, filled with water; and as this was the weakeft fide, the two four pounders were planted there, and fix fwivel guns were mounted so as to command the only two avenues from the woods. Our garrifon confifted of about five and forty men with fmall arms, including the officers, and the gentlemen who refided on fhore; and our centinels were as well relieved as in the best regulated frontier in Europe.

We continued our vigilance the next day, though we had no particular reason to think it neceffary; but about ten o'clock in the morning, Tomio came running to the tents, with a mixture of grief and fear in her countenance, and taking Mr. Banks, to whom they applied in every emergency and diftrefs, by the arm, intimated that Tubourai Tamaide was dying, in confequence of fomething which our people had given him to eat, and that he must instantly go with her to his house. Mr. Banks fet out without delay, and found his Indian friend leaning his head against a post, in an attitude of the utmost languor and defpondency; the people about him intimated that he had been vomiting, and brought a leaf folded up with great care, which they faid contained fome of the poifon, by the deleterious effects of which he was now dying. Mr. Banks haftily opened the leaf, and upon examining its contents found them to be no other than a chew of tobacco, which the chief had begged from fome of our people, and which they had indifcreetly given him: he had observed that they kept it long in the mouth, and being defirous of doing the fame, he had chewed it to powder, and fwallowed the spittle. During the examination of the leaf and its contents, he looked up at Mr. Banks with the most piteous aspect, and intimated that he had

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1769.

April.

1769. April.

but a very short time to live. Mr. Banks, however, being now mafter of his disease, directed him to drink plentifully of cocoa-nut milk, which in a fhort time put an end to his ficknefs and apprehenfions, and he spent the day at the fort with that uncommon flow of cheerfulnefs and good-humour, which is always produced by á fudden and unexpected relief from pain either of body or mind.

Captain Wallis having brought home one of the adzes which thefe people, having no metal of any kind, make of ftone, Mr. Stevens, the Secretary to the Admiralty, procured one to be made of iron in imitation of it, which I brought out with me, to fhew how much we excelled in making tools after their own fashion: this I had not yet produced, as it never happened to come into my mind. But on the first of May, Tootahah coming on board about ten o'clock in the forenoon, expreffed a great curiofity to fee the contents of every cheft and drawer that was in my cabbin; as I always made à point of gratifying him, I opened them immediately, and having taken a fancy to many things that he faw, and collected them together, he at last happened to caft his eyes upon this adze; he instantly fnatched it up with the greatest eagerness, and putting away every thing which he had before felected, he afked me whether I would let him have that: I readily confented; and, as if he was afraid I fhould repent, he carried it off immediately in a transport of joy, without making any other request, which, whatever had. been our liberality, was feldom the cafe.

About noon a Chief, who had dined with me a few days before, accompanied by fome of his women, came on board alone: I had observed that he was fed by his. women, but I made no doubt, that upon occafion he would condefcend to feed himself in this, however, I found myself mistaken. When my noble guest was feated, and the dinner upon the table, I helped him to fome victuals: as I obferved that he did not immediately begin his meal, I preffed him to eat but he ftill continued to fit motionless like a ftatue, without attempting to put a fingle morfel into his mouth, and would certainly have gone without his dinner, if one of the fervants had not fed him.

CHAP.

CHA P. XI.

The Obfervatory fet up; the Quadrant ftolen, and Confequences of the Theft : A vifit to Tootabah: Defcription of a Wrestling-match: European Seeds fawn: Names given to our People by the Indians.

N the afternoon of Monday the 1ft of May, we set up the obfervatory, and took the aftronomical quadrant, with fome other inftruments on fhore, for the first time.

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The next morning, about nine o'clock, I went on Tuesday 2. fhore with Mr. Green to fix the quadrant in a fituation for use, when to our inexpreffible furprize and concern, it was not to be found. It had been depofited in the tent which was reserved for my use, where, as I paffed the night on board, nobody flept: it had never been taken out of the packing-cafe, which was eighteen inches fquare, and the whole was of confiderable weight; a fentinel had been pofted the whole night within five yards of the tent door, and none of the other inftruments were miffing. We at first fufpected that it might have been stolen by fome of our own people, whe feeing a deal box, and not knowing the contents, might think it contained nails, or fome other fubjects of traffic with the natives. A large reward was therefore offered to any one who could find it, as, without this, we could not perform the fervice for which our voyage was principally undertaken. Our fearch in the mean time was not confined to the fort and the places adjacent, but as the cafe might poffibly have been carried back to the ship, if any of our people had been the thieves, the moft diligent fearch was made for it on board; all the parties however returned without any news of the quadrant. Mr. Banks, therefore, who upon fuch occafions declined neither labour nor risk, and who had more influence over the Indians than any of us, determined to go in search of it into the woods; he hoped that if it had been stolen by the natives, he fhould find it wherever they opened the box, as they would immediately difcover that to them it would be wholly ufelefs: or, if in this cafe he fhould be difappointed, that he might recover it by the afcendency he

had

1769. had acquired over the Chiefs. He fet out, accompaniMay. ed by a midshipman and Mr. Green, and as he was croffing the river he was met by Tubourai Tamaide, who immediately made the figure of a triangle with three bits of straw upon his hand. By this Mr. Banks knew that the Indians were the thieves; and that although they had opened the cafe, they were not difpofed to part with the contents. No time was therefore to be loft, and Mr. Banks made Tubourai Tamaide understand that he muft inftantly go with him to the place whither the quadrant had been carried; he confented, and they fet out together to the eaftward, the Chief inquiring at every house which they passed after the thief by name : the people readily told him which way he was gone, and how long it was fince he had been there the hope which this gave them that they should overtake him, fupported them under their fatigue, and they preffed forward, fometimes walking, fometimes running, though the weather was intolerably hot; when they had climbed a hill at the distance of about four miles, their conductor fhewed them a point full three miles farther, and gave them to understand that they were not to expect the inftrument till they had got thither. Here they paufed; they had no arms, except a pair of pistols, which Mr. Banks always carried in his pocket; they were going to a place that was at least seven miles diftant from the fort, where the Indians might be lefs fubmiffive than at home, and take from them what they had ventured their lives to get, and what, notwithstanding our conjectures, they appeared desirous to keep: these were discouraging circumstances, and their fituation would become more critical at every step. They determined, however, not to relinquish their enterprize, nor to purfue it without taking the best meafures for their fecurity that were in their power. It was therefore determined, that Mr. Banks and Mr. Green should go on, and that the Midshipman should return to me, and defire that I would fend a party of men after them, acquainting me at the fame time, that it was impoffible they fhould return till it was dark. Upon receiving this meffage I set out with fuch a party as [ thought fufficient for the occafion; leaving, orders, both at the hip and at the fort, that no canoe should

be

be fuffered to go out of the bay, but that none of the natives fhould be feized or detained.

In the mean time, Mr. Banks and Mr. Green purfued their journey, under the aufpices of Tubourai Tamaide, and in the very fpot which he had specified, they met one of his own people, with part of the quadrant in his hand. At this most welcome fight they ftopped; and a great number of Indians immediately came up, fome of whom preffing rather rudely upon them, Mr. Banks thought it neceflary to fhew one of his piftols, the fight of which reduced them inftantly to order: as the crowd that gathered round them was every moment encreasing, he marked out a circle in the grafs, and they ranged themselves on the outfide of it, to the number of feveral hundreds, with great quietness and decorum. Into the middle of this circle the box, which was now arrived, was ordered to be brought, with feveral reading glaffes, and other fmall matters, which in their hurry they had put into a piftol-cafe, that Mr. Banks knew to be his property, it having been some time before stolen from the tents, with a horfe pistol in it, which he immediately demanded, and which was also restored.

Mr. Green was impatient to see whether all that had been taken away was returned, and upon examining the box found the stand, and a few small things of lefs confequence, wanting; feveral perfons went in fearch of thefe, and most of the small things were returned: but it was fignified that the thief had not brought the stand fo far, and that it would be delivered to our friends as they went back; this being confirmed by Tubourai Tamaide, they prepared to return, as nothing would then be wanting but what might eafily be fupplied; and after they had advanced about two miles, I met them with our party, to our mutual fatisfaction, congratulating each other upon the recovery of the quadrant with a pleasure proportioned to the importance of the event.

About eight o'clock, Mr. Banks with Tubourai Tamaide got back to the fort; when, to his great furprize, he found Tootahah in cuftody, and many of the natives in the utmost terror and distress, crowding about the gate. He went haftily in, fome of the Indians

1769.

May.

were

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