1769.

July.

hands, and declared, that they would detain them till their Chief should be fet at liberty. He faid, however, that the Indians were not unanimous in this measure; that some were for setting them at liberty, and others for detaining them: that an eager difpute enfued, and that from words they came to blows, but that the party for detaining them at length prevailed: that foon after, Webb and Gibson were brought in by a party of the natives, as prifoners, that they alfo might be fecured as hoftages for the Chief; but that it was after fome debate refolved to fend Webb to inform me of their resolution, to affure me that his companions were safe, and direct me where I might fend my answer. Thus it appears that whatever were the difadvantages of feizing the Chiefs, I fhould never have recovered my men by any other method. When the Chiefs were fet on fhore from the ship, those at the fort were also fet at liberty, and, after staying with Mr. Banks about an hour, they all went away. Upon this occafion, as they had done upon another of the fame kind, they expreffed their joy by an undeferved liberality, ftrongly urging us to accept of four hogs. These we abfolutely refused as a prefent, and they as abfolutely refufing to be paid for them, the hogs did not change masters. Upon examining the deferters, we found that the account which the Indians had given of them was true: they had strongly attached themselves to two girls, and it was their intention to conceal themselves till the ship had failed, and take up their refidence upon the island. This night every thing was got off from the fhore, and every body flept on board.

Among the natives who were most constantly with us, was Tupia, whose name has been often mentioned in this narrative. He had been, as I have before obferved, the first minister of Oberea, when he was in the height of her power: he was alfo the chief Tahowa or Priest of the island, confequently well acquainted with the religion of the country, as well with refpect to its ceremonies as principles. He had also great experience and knowledge in navigation, and was particularly acquainted with the number and fituation of the neighbouring islands. This man had often exWed. 12. preffed a defire to go with us, and on the 12th in the morning,

morning, having with the other natives left us the day before, he came on board, with a boy about thirteen years of age, his fervant, and urged us to let him proceed with us on our voyage. To have fuch a perfon on board, was certainly defirable for many reasons; by learning his language, and teaching him ours, we should be able to acquire a much better knowledge of the cuftoms, policy, and religion of the people, than our short tay among them could give us; I therefore gladly agreed to receive them on board. As we were prevented from failing to-day, by having found it neceffary to make new stocks to our fmall and best bower anchors, the old ones having been totally destroyed by the worms, Tupia faid, he would go once more on fhore, and make a fignal for the boat to fetch him off in the evening. He went accordingly, and took with him a miniature picture of Mr. Banks's, to fhew his friends, and several little things to give them as parting prefents.

After dinner, Mr. Banks being defirous to procure a drawing of the Morai belonging to Tootahah at Eparré, I attended him thither, accompanied by Dr. Solander, in the pinnace. As foon as we landed, many of our friends came to meet us, though fome ab. fented themselves in refentment of what had happened the day before. We immediately proceeded to Tootahah's house, where we were joined by Oberea, with feveral others who had not come out to meet us, and a perfect reconciliation was foon brought about; in confequence of which they promised to visit us early the next day, to take a last farewell of us, as we told them we should certainly fet fail in the afternoon. At this place also we found Tupia, who returned with us, and flept this night on board the ship for the first time.

1769.

July.

On the next morning, Thursday the 13th of July, Thurf. 13. the fhip was very early crowded with our friends, and furrounded by a multitude of canoes, which were filled with the natives of an inferior class. Between eleven and twelve we weighed anchor, and as foon as the ship was under fail, the Indians on board took their leave, and wept, with a decent and filent forrow, in which there was fomething very ftriking and tender: the people in the canoes, on the contrary, feemed to vie VOL. II. with

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1769. July.

with each other in the boldness of their lamentations, which we confidered rather as affectation than grief. Tupia fuftained himself in this fcene with a firmness and refolution truly admirable: he wept indeed, but the effort that he made to conceal his tears concurred, with them, to do him honour. He fent his laft present, a fhirt, by Otheothea, to Potomai, Tootahah's favourite mistress, and then went with Mr. Banks to the masthead, waving to the canoes as long as they continued in fight.

Thus we took leave of Otaheite, and its inhabitants, after a stay of just three months; for much the greater part of the time we lived together in the most cordial friendship, and a perpetual reciprocation of good offices. The accidental differences which now and then happened, could not be more fincerely regretted on their part than they were on ours: the principal caufes were fuch as neceffarily refulted from our fituation and circumstances, in conjunction with the infirmities of human nature, from our not being able perfectly to understand each other, and from the difpofition of the inhabitants to theft, which we could not at all times bear with or prevent. They had not however, except in one inftance, been attended with any fatal confequence; and to that accident were owing the measures that I took to prevent others of the fame kind. I hoped, indeed, to have availed myfelf of the impreffion which had been made upon them by the lives that had been facrificed in their conteft with the Dolphin, fo as that the intercourse between us should have been carried on wholly without bloodshed; and by this hope all my measures were directed during the whole of my continuance at the ifland, and I fincerely wish, that whoever shall next vifit it, may be ftill more fortunate. Our traffic here was carried on with as much order as in the best regulated market in Europe. It was managed principally by Mr. Banks, who was indefatigable in procuring provifion and refreshments while they were to be had; but during the latter part of our time they became fcarce, partly by the increased confumption at the fort and ship, and partly by the coming on of the feafon in which cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit fail. All kind of fruit we pur

chafed

chafed for beads and nails, but no nails lefs than forty- 1769. penny were current: after a very short time we could, July. never get a pig of more than ten or twelve pounds, for less than a hatchet; because, tho' these people fet a high value upon spike-nails, yet thefe being an article with which many people in the ship were provided, the women found a much more eafy way of procuring them than by bringing down provifions.

The beft articles for traffic here are axes, hatchets, fpikes, large nails, looking-glaffes, knives, and beads, for some of which every thing that the natives have may be procured. They are indeed fond of fine linen-cloth, both white and printed; but an axe worth half a crown will fetch more than a piece of cloth worth twenty fhillings.

CHA P. IV.

A particular Defcription of the Island; its Produce and Inhabitants; their Drefs, Habitations, Food, domeftic Life and Amusements.

WE

E found the longitude of Port-Royal Bay, in this ifland, as fettled by Captain Wallis, who difcovered it on the 9th of June 1767, to be within half a degree of the truth. We found Point Venus, the northern extremity of the island, and the eastern point of the bay, to lie in the longitude of 149° 30', this being the mean refult of a great number of obfervations made upon the spot. The ifland is furrounded by a reef of coral rock, which forms feveral excellent bays and harbours, tome of which have been particularly defcribed, where there is room and depth of water for any number of the largest ships. Port-Royal Bay, called by the natives Matavi, which is not inferior to any in Otaheite, may easily be known by a very high mountain in the middle of the island, which bears due fouth from Point Venus. To fail into it, either keep the west point of the reef that lies before Point Venus, close on board, or give it a birth of near half a mile, in order to avoid a small shoal of coral rocks, on which there is but two fathom and a half of water. The best anchoring is on the eaftern

D 2

1769.

July.

eaftern fide of the bay, where there is fixteen and fourteen fathom upon an oozy bottom. The fhore of the bay is a fine fandy beach, behind which runs a river of fresh water, fo that any number of fhips may water here without incommoding each other; but the only wood for firing, upon the whole ifland, is that of fruit trees, which must be purchafed of the natives, or all hope of living upon good terms with them given up. There are fome harbours to the westward of this bay, which have not been mentioned, but, as they are con tiguous to it, a defcription of them is unneceffary.

The face of the country, except that part of it which borders upon the fea, is very uneven; it rifes in ridges that run up into the middle of the ifland, and there form mountains, which may be feen at the distance of fixty miles between the foot of these ridges and the fea is a border of low land, furrounding the whole ifland, except in a few places where the ridges rife directly from the fea; the border of low land is in different parts of different breadths, but no where more than a mile and a half. The foil, except upon the very tops of the ridges, is extremely rich and fertile, watered by a great number of rivulets of excellent. water, and covered with fruit-trees of various kinds, fome of which are of a ftately growth and thick foliage, fo as to form one continued wood; and even the tops of the ridges, though in general they are bare, and burned up by the fun, are, in fome parts, not without their produce.

The low land that lies between the foot of the ridges and the fea, and fome of the vallies, are the only parts of the island that are inhabited, and here it is populous: the houfes do not form villages or towns, but are ranged along the whole border at the distance of about fifty yards from each other, with little plantations of plantains, the tree which furnishes them with cloth. The whole ifland, according to Tupia's account, who certainly knew, could furnifh fix thousand feven hundred and eighty fighting men, from which the number of inhabitants may easily be computed.

The produce of this ifland is bread-fruit, cocoanuts, bananas, of thirteen forts, the best we had ever

eaten;