Chapter 3

CAPTAIN KING'S JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS ON RETURNING TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.[1]

SECTION I.

_Description of Karakakooa Bay.--Vast Concourse of the Natives.--Power of the Chiefs over the inferior People.--Visit from Koah, a Priest and Warrior.--The Morai at Kakooa described.--Ceremonies at the Landing of Captain Cook.--Observatories erected.--Powerful Operation of the Taboo.--Method of Salting Pork in Tropical Climates.--Society of Priests discovered.--Their Hospitality and Munificence.--Reception of Captain Cook.--Artifice of Koah.--Arrival of Terreoboo, King of the Island.--Returned by Captain Cook._

[Footnote 1: The reader is informed once for all, that the notes to the remainder of this voyage, to which no signature is attached, are to be considered as forming a part of Captain King's own publication.--E.]

Karakakooa Bay is situated on the west side of the island of Owhyhee, in a district called Akona. It is about a mile in depth, and bounded by two low points of land, at the distance of half a league, and bearing S.S.E. and N.N.W. from each other. On the north point, which is flat and barren, stands the village of Kowrowa; and in the bottom of the bay, near a grove of tall cocoa-nut trees, there is another village of a more considerable size, called Kakooa; between them runs a high rocky cliff, inaccessible from the sea shore. On the south side, the coast, for about a mile inland, has a rugged appearance; beyond which the country rises with a gradual ascent, and is overspread with cultivated enclosures and groves of cocoa-nut trees, where the habitations of the natives are scattered in great numbers. The shore, all round the bay, is covered with a black coral rock, which makes the landing very dangerous in rough weather, except at the village of Kakooa, where there is a fine sandy beach, with a _morai_, or burying-place, at one extremity, and a small well of fresh water at the other. This bay appearing to Captain Cook a proper place to refit the ships, and lay in an additional supply of water and provisions, we moored on the north side, about a quarter of a mile from the shore, Kowrowa bearing W.N.W.

As soon as the inhabitants perceived our intention of anchoring in the bay, they came off from the shore in astonishing numbers, and expressed their joy by singing and shouting, and exhibiting a variety of wild and extravagant gestures. The sides, the decks, and rigging of both ships were soon completely covered with them, and a multitude of women and boys, who had not been able to get canoes, came swimming round us in shoals, many of whom not finding room on board, remained the whole day playing in the water.

Among the chiefs who came on board the Resolution, was a young man, called Pareea, whom we soon perceived to be a person of great authority. On presenting himself to Captain Cook, he told him, that he was _Jakanee_[2] to the king of the island, who was at that time engaged on a military expedition at Mowee, and was expected to return within three or four days. A few presents from Captain Cook attached him entirely to our interests, and he became exceedingly useful to us in the management of his countrymen, as we had soon occasion to experience. For we had not been long at anchor, when it was observed that the Discovery had such a number of people hanging on one side, as occasioned her to heel considerably; and that the men were unable to keep off the crowds which continued pressing into her. Captain Cook, being apprehensive that she might suffer some injury, pointed out the danger to Pareea, who immediately went to their assistance, cleared the ship of its encumbrances, and drove away the canoes that surrounded her.

[Footnote 2: We afterward met with several others of the same denomination; but whether it be an office, or some degree of affinity, we could never learn with certainty.]

The authority of the chiefs over the inferior people appeared from this incident to be of the most despotic kind. A similar instance of it happened the same day on board the Resolution, where the crowd being so great, as to impede the necessary business of the ship, we were obliged to have recourse to the assistance of Kaneena, another of their chiefs, who had likewise attached himself to Captain Cook. The inconvenience we laboured under being made known, he immediately ordered his countrymen to quit the vessel; and we were not a little surprised to see them jump overboard, without a moment's hesitation, all except one man, who, loitering behind, and shewing some unwillingness to obey, Kaneena took him up in his arms, and threw him into the sea.

Both these chiefs were men of strong and well-proportioned bodies, and of countenances remarkably pleasing; Kaneena especially, whose portrait Mr Webber has drawn, was one of the finest men I ever saw. He was about six feet high, had regular and expressive features, with lively, dark eyes; his carriage was easy, firm, and graceful.

It has been already mentioned, that, during our long cruise off this island, the inhabitants had always behaved with great fairness and honesty in their dealings, and had not shewn the slightest propensity to theft, which appeared to us the more extraordinary, because those with whom we had hitherto held any intercourse, were of the lowest rank, either servants or fishermen. We now found the case exceedingly altered. The immense crowd of islanders, which blocked up every part of the ships, not only afforded frequent opportunity of pilfering without risk of discovery, but our inferiority in number held forth a prospect of escaping with impunity in case of detection. Another circumstance, to which we attributed this alteration in their behaviour, was the presence and encouragement of their chiefs; for, generally tracing the booty into the possession of some men of consequence, we had the strongest reason to suspect that these depredations were committed at their instigation.

Soon after the Resolution had got into her station, our two friends, Pareea and Kaneena, brought on board a third chief, named Koah, who, we were told, was a priest, and had been in his youth a distinguished warrior. He was a little old man, of an emaciated figure, his eyes exceedingly sore and red, and his body covered with a white leprous scurf, the effects of an immoderate use of the _ava_. Being led into the cabin, he approached Captain Cook with great veneration, and threw over his shoulders a piece of red cloth, which he had brought along with him. Then stepping a few paces back, he made an offering of a small pig which he held in his hand, whilst he pronounced a discourse that lasted for a considerable time. This ceremony was frequently repeated during our stay at Owhyhee, and appeared to us, from many circumstances, to be a sort of religious adoration. Their idols we found always arrayed with red cloth, in the same manner as was done to Captain Cook, and a small pig was their usual offering to the _Eatooas_. Their speeches, or prayers, were uttered too with a readiness and volubility that indicated them to be according to some formulary.

When this ceremony was over, Koah dined with Captain Cook, eating plentifully of what was set before him, but, like the rest of the inhabitants of the islands in these seas, could scarcely be prevailed on to taste a second time our wine or spirits. In the evening, Captain Cook, attended by Mr Bayly and myself, accompanied him on ashore. We landed at the beach, and were received by four men, who carried wands tipt with dog's hair, and marched before us, pronouncing with a loud voice a short sentence, in which we could only distinguish the word _Orono_.[3] The crowd, which had been collected on the shore, retired at our approach; and not a person was to be seen, except a few lying prostrate on the ground, near the huts of the adjoining village.

[Footnote 3: Captain Cook generally went by this name amongst the natives of Owhyhee, but we could never learn its precise meaning. Sometimes they applied it to an invisible being, who, they said, lived in the heavens. We also found that it was a title belonging to a personage of great rank and power in the island, who resembles pretty much the Delai Lama of the Tartars, and the ecclesiastical emperor of Japan.]

Before I proceed to relate the adoration that was paid to Captain Cook, and the peculiar ceremonies with which he was received on this fatal island, it will be necessary to describe the _morai_, situated, as I have already mentioned, at the south side of the beach at _Kakooa_. It was a square solid pile of stones, about forty yards long, twenty broad, and fourteen in height. The top was flat, and well paved, and surrounded by a wooden rail, on which were fixed the sculls of the captives, sacrificed on the death of their chiefs. In the centre of the area, stood a ruinous old building of wood, connected with a rail, on each side, by a stone wall, which divided the whole space into two parts. On the side next the country were five poles, upward of twenty feet high, supporting an irregular kind of scaffold; on the opposite side, toward the sea, stood two small houses, with a covered communication.

We were conducted by Koah to the top of this pile by an easy ascent, leading from the beach to the N.W. corner of the area. At the entrance, we saw two large wooden images, with features violently distorted, and a long piece of carved wood, of a conical form inverted, rising from the top of their heads, the rest was without form, and wrapped round with red cloth. We were here met by a tall young man, with a long beard, who presented Captain Cook to the images, and after chanting a kind of hymn, in which he was joined by Koah, they led us to that end of the _morai_ where the five poles were fixed. At the foot of them were twelve images ranged in a semicircular form, and before the middle figure stood a high stand or table, exactly resembling the _whatta_[4] of Otaheite, on which lay a putrid hog, and under it pieces of sugar-cane, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, plantains, and sweet potatoes. Koah having placed the captain under this stand, took down the hog, and held it toward him; and after having a second time addressed him in a long speech, pronounced with much vehemence and rapidity, he let it fall on the ground, and led him to the scaffolding, which they began to climb together, not without great risk of falling. At this time we saw, coming in solemn procession, at the entrance of the top of the _morai_, ten men carrying a live hog, and a large piece of red cloth. Being advanced a few paces, they stopped, and prostrated themselves; and Kaireekeea, the young man above-mentioned, went to them and received the cloth, carried it to Koah, who wrapped it round the captain, and afterward offered him the hog, which was brought by Kaireekeea with the same ceremony.

[Footnote 4: See Captain Cook's former voyage.]

Whilst Captain Cook was aloft in this awkward situation, swathed round with red cloth, and with difficulty keeping his hold amongst the pieces of rotten scaffolding, Kaireekeea and Koah began their office, chanting sometimes in concert, and sometimes alternately. This lasted a considerable time; at length Koah let the hog drop, when he and the captain descended together. He then led him to the images before mentioned, and having said something to each in a sneering tone, snapping his fingers at them as he passed, he brought him to that in the centre, which, from its being covered with red cloth, appeared to be in greater estimation than the rest. Before this figure he prostrated himself, and kissed it, desiring Captain Cook to do the same, who suffered himself to be directed by Koah throughout the whole of this ceremony.

We were now led back into the other division of the _morai_, where there was a space, ten or twelve feet square, sunk about three feet below the level of the area. Into this we descended, and Captain Cook was seated between two wooden idols, Koah supporting one of his arms, whilst I was desired to support the other. At this time arrived a second procession of natives, carrying a baked hog and a pudding, some bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and other vegetables. When they approached us, Kaireekeea put himself at their head, and presenting the pig to Captain Cook in the usual manner, began the same kind of chant as before, his companions making regular responses. We observed, that, after every response, their parts became gradually shorter, till, toward the close, Kaireekeea's consisted of only two or three words, which the rest answered by the word _orono_.

When this offering was concluded, which lasted a quarter of an hour, the natives sat down fronting us, and began to cut up the baked hog, to peel the vegetables, and break the cocoa-nuts, whilst others employed themselves in brewing the _ava_, which is done by chewing it, in the same manner as at the Friendly Islands. Kaireekeea then took part of the kernel of a cocoa-nut, which he chewed, and wrapping it in a piece of cloth, rubbed with it the captain's face, head, hands, arms, and shoulders. The _ava_ was then handed round, and after we had tasted it, Koah and Pareea began to pull the flesh of the hog in pieces, and to put it into our mouths. I had no great objection to being fed by Pareea, who was very cleanly in his person, but Captain Cook, who was served by Koah, recollecting the putrid hog, could not swallow a morsel; and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished, when the old man, according to his own mode of civility, had chewed it for him.

When this last ceremony was finished, which Captain Cook put an end to as soon as he decently could, we quitted the _morai_, after distributing amongst the people some pieces of iron and other trifles, with which they seemed highly gratified. The men with wands conducted us to the boats, repeating the same words as before. The people again retired, and the few that remained, prostrated themselves as we passed along the shore. We immediately went on board, our minds full of what we had seen, and extremely well satisfied with the good disposition of our new friends. The meaning of the various ceremonies with which we had been received, and which, on account of their novelty and singularity, have been related at length, can only be the subject of conjectures, and those uncertain and partial; they were, however, without doubt, expressive of high respect on the part of the natives; and, as far as related to the person of Captain Cook, they seemed approaching to adoration.

The next morning, I went on shore with a guard of eight marines, including the corporal and lieutenant, having orders to erect the observatory in such a situation as might best enable me to superintend and protect the waterers, and the other working parties that were to be on shore. As we were viewing a spot conveniently situated for this purpose, in the middle of the village, Pareea, who was always ready to shew both his power and his good-will, offered to pull down some houses that would have obstructed our observations. However, we thought it proper to decline this offer, and fixed on a field of sweet potatoes adjoining to the _morai_, which was readily granted us; and the priests, to prevent the intrusion of the natives, immediately consecrated the place, by fixing their wands round the wall by which it was enclosed.

This sort of religious interdiction they call _taboo_, a word we heard often repeated, during our stay amongst these islanders, and found to be of very powerful and extensive operation. A more particular explanation of it will be given in the general account of these islands, under the article of religion; at present it is only necessary to observe, that it procured us even more privacy than we desired. No canoes ever presumed to land near us; the natives sat on the wall, but none offered to come within the _tabooed_ space, till he had obtained our permission. But though the men, at our request, would come across the field with provisions, yet not all our endeavours could prevail on the women to approach us. Presents were tried, but without effect; Pareea and Koah were tempted to bring them, but in vain; we were invariably answered, that the _Eatooa_ and _Terreeoboo_ (which was the name of their king) would kill them. This circumstance afforded no small matter of amusement to our friends on board, where the crowds of people, and particularly of women, that continued to flock thither, obliged them almost every hour to clear the vessel, in order to have room to do the necessary duties of the ship. On these occasions, two or three hundred women were frequently made to jump into the water at once, where they continued swimming and playing about, till they could again procure admittance.

From the 19th to the 24th, when Pareea and Koah left us to attend Terreeoboo, who had landed on some other part of the island, nothing very material happened on board. The caulkers were set to work on the sides of the ships, and the rigging was carefully overhauled and repaired. The salting of hogs for sea-store was also a constant, and one of the principal objects of Captain Cook's attention. As the success we met with in this experiment, during our present voyage, was much more complete than it had been in any former attempt of the same kind, it may not be improper to give an account of the detail of the operation.

It has generally been thought impracticable to cure the flesh of animals by salting in tropical climates, the progress of putrefaction being so rapid, as not to allow time for the salt to take (as they express it) before the meat gets a taint, which prevents the effect of the pickle. We do not find that experiments, relative to this subject, have been made by the navigators of any nation before Captain Cook. In his first trials, which were made in 1774, during his second voyage to the Pacific Ocean, the success he met with, though very imperfect, was yet sufficient to convince him of the error of the received opinion. As the voyage, in which he was now engaged, was likely to be protracted a year beyond the time for which the ships had been victualled, he was under the necessity of providing, by some such means, for the subsistence of the crews, or of relinquishing the further prosecution of his discoveries. He therefore lost no opportunity of renewing his attempts, and the event answered his most sanguine expectations.

The hogs which we made use of for this purpose, were of various sizes, weighing from four to twelve stone.[5] The time of slaughtering was always in the afternoon; and as soon as the hair was scalded off, and the entrails removed, the hog was divided into pieces of four or eight pounds each, and the bones of the legs and chine taken out, and, in the larger sort, the ribs also. Every piece then being carefully wiped and examined, and the veins cleared of the coagulated blood, they were handed to the salters, whilst the flesh remained still warm. After they had been well rubbed with salt, they were placed in a heap on a stage raised in the open air, covered with planks, and pressed with the heaviest weights we could lay on them. In this situation they remained till the next evening, when they were again well wiped and examined, and the suspicious parts taken away. They were then put into a tub of strong pickle, where they were always looked over once or twice a day, and if any piece had not taken the salt, which was readily discovered by the smell of the pickle, they were immediately taken out, re-examined, and the sound pieces put to fresh pickle. This, however, after the precautions before used, seldom happened. After six days, they were taken out, examined for the last time, and being again slightly pressed, they were packed in barrels, with a thin layer of salt between them. I brought home with me some barrels of this pork, which was pickled at Owhyhee in January, 1779, and was tasted by several persons in England about Christmas, 1780, and found perfectly sound and wholesome.[6]

[Footnote 5: 14 lb.]

[Footnote 6: Since these papers were prepared for the press, I have been informed by Mr Vancouver, who was one of my midshipmen in the Discovery, and was afterward appointed lieutenant of the Martin sloop of war, that he tried the method here recommended, both with English and Spanish pork, during a cruize on the Spanish Main, in the year 1782, and succeeded to the utmost of his expectations. He also made the experiment at Jamaica with the beef served by the victualling-office to the ships, but not with the same success, which he attributes to the want of the necessary precautions in killing and handling the beasts; to their being hung up and opened before they had sufficient time to bleed, by which means the blood-vessels were exposed to the air, and the blood condensed before it had time to empty itself, and to their being hard driven and bruised. He adds, that having himself attended to the killing of an ox, which was carefully taken on board the Martin, he salted a part of it, which, at the end of the week, was found to have taken the salt completely, and he has no doubt would have kept for any length of time; but the experiment was not tried.]

I shall now return to our transactions on shore at the observatory, where we had not been long settled before we discovered, in our neighbourhood, the habitation of a society of priests, whose regular attendance at the _morai_ had excited our curiosity. Their huts stood round a pond of water, and were surrounded by a grove of cocoa-nut trees, which separated them from the beach and the rest of the village, and gave the place an air of religious retirement. On my acquainting Captain Cook with these circumstances, he resolved to pay them a visit; and, as he expected to be received in the same manner as before, he brought Mr Webber with him to make a drawing of the ceremony.

On his arrival at the beach, he was conducted to a sacred building called _Harre-no-Orono_, or the house of _Orono_, and seated before the entrance, at the foot of a wooden idol, of the same kind with those on the _morai_. I was here again made to support one of his arms; and, after wrapping him in red cloth, Kaireekeea, accompanied by twelve priests, made an offering of a pig with the usual solemnities. The pig was then strangled, and a fire being kindled, it was thrown into the embers, and after the hair was singed off, it was again presented, with a repetition of the chanting in the manner described. The dead pig was then held for a short time under the captain's nose, after which it was laid, with a cocoa-nut, at his feet, and the performers sat down. The _ava_ was then brewed, and handed round; a fat hog, ready dressed, was brought in, and we were fed as before.

During the rest of the time we remained in the bay, whenever Captain Cook came on shore, he was attended by one of these priests, who went before him, giving notice that the _Orono_ had landed, and ordering the people to prostrate themselves. The same person, also, constantly accompanied him on the water, standing in the bow of the boat, with a wand in his hand, and giving notice of his approach to the natives who were in canoes, on which they immediately left off paddling, and lay down on their faces till he had passed. Whenever he stopped at the observatory, Kaireekeea and his brethren immediately made their appearance with hogs, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, &c. and presented them with the usual solemnities. It was on these occasions that some of the inferior chiefs frequently requested to be permitted to make an offering to the _Orono_. When this was granted, they presented the hog themselves, generally with evident marks of fear in their countenances, whilst Kaireekeea and the priests chanted their accustomed hymns.

The civilities of this society were not, however, confined to mere ceremony and parade. Our party on shore received from them, every day, a constant supply of hogs and vegetables, more than sufficient for our subsistence; and several canoes, loaded with provisions, were sent to the ships with the same punctuality. No return was ever demanded, or even hinted at in the most distant manner. Their presents were made with a regularity, more like the discharge of a religious duty, than the effect of mere liberality; and when we enquired at whose charge all this munificence was displayed, we were told, it was at the expence of a great man called Kaoo, the chief of the priests, and grandfather to Kaireekeea, who was at that time absent attending the king of the island.

As every thing relating to the character and behaviour of this people must be interesting to the reader, on account of the tragedy that was afterwards acted here, it will be proper to acquaint him, that we had not always so much reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the warrior chiefs, or _Earees_, as with that of the priests. In all our dealings with the former, we found them sufficiently attentive to their own interests; and besides their habit of stealing, which may admit of some excuse, from the universality of the practice amongst the islanders of these seas, they made use of other artifices equally dishonourable. I shall only mention one instance, in which we discovered, with regret, our friend Koah to be a party principally concerned. As the chiefs, who brought us presents of hogs, were always sent back handsomely rewarded, we had generally a greater supply than we could make use of. On these occasions, Koah, who never failed in his attendance on us, used to beg such as we did not want, and they were always given to him. It one day happened, that a pig was presented us by a man whom Koah himself introduced as a chief, who was desirous of paying his respects, and we recollected the pig to be the same that had been given to Koah just before. This leading us to suspect some trick, we found, on further enquiry, the pretended chief to be an ordinary person; and on connecting this with other circumstances, we had reason to suspect, that it was not the first time we had been the dupes of the like imposition.

Things continued in this state till the 24th, when we were a good deal surprised to find that no canoes were suffered to put off from the shore, and that the natives kept close to their houses. After several hours suspense, we learned that the bay was _tabooed_, and all intercourse with us interdicted, on account of the arrival of Terreeoboo. As we had not foreseen an accident of this sort, the crews of both ships were obliged to pass the day without their usual supply of vegetables. The next morning, therefore, they endeavoured, both by threats and promises, to induce the natives to come along-side; and as some of them were at last venturing to put off, a chief was observed attempting to drive them away. A musket was immediately fired over his head, to make him desist, which had the desired effect, and refreshments were soon after purchased, as usual. In the afternoon, Terreeoboo arrived, and visited the ships in a private manner, attended only by one canoe, in which were his wife and children. He staid on board till near ten o'clock, when he returned to the village of Kowrowa.

The next day, about noon, the king, in a large canoe, attended by two others, set out from the village, and paddled toward the ships in great state. Their appearance was grand and magnificent. In the first canoe was Terreeoboo and his chiefs, dressed in their rich feathered cloaks and helmets, and armed with long spears and daggers; in the second, came the venerable Kaoo, the chief of the priests, and his brethren, with their idols displayed on red cloth. These idols were busts of a gigantic size, made of wicker-work, and curiously covered with small feathers of various colours, wrought in the same manner with their cloaks. Their eyes were made of large pearl oysters, with a black nut fixed in the centre; their mouths were set with a double row of the fangs of dogs, and, together with the rest of their features, were strangely distorted. The third canoe was filled with hogs and various sorts of vegetables. As they went along, the priests in the centre-canoe sung their hymns with great solemnity; and, after paddling round the ships, instead of going on board, as was expected, they made toward the shore at the beach where we were stationed.[7]

[Footnote 7: The presents were made to Captain Cook after he went on shore.]

As soon as I saw them approaching, I ordered out our little guard to receive the king; and Captain Cook, perceiving that he was going on shore, followed him, and arrived nearly at the same time. We conducted them into the tent, where they had scarcely been seated, when the king rose up, and in a very graceful manner threw over the captain's shoulders the cloak he himself wore, put a feathered helmet upon his head, and a curious fan into his hand. He also spread at his feet five or six other cloaks, all exceedingly beautiful, and of the greatest value. His attendants then brought four very large hogs, with sugar-canes, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit; and this part of the ceremony was concluded by the king's exchanging names with Captain Cook, which, amongst all the islanders of the Pacific Ocean, is esteemed the strongest pledge of friendship. A procession of priests, with a venerable old personage at their head, now appeared, followed by a long train, of men leading large hogs, and others carrying plantains, sweet potatoes, &c. By the looks and gestures of Kaireekeea, I immediately knew the old man to be the chief of the priests before mentioned, on whose bounty we had so long subsisted. He had a piece of red cloth in his hands, which he wrapped round Captain Cook's shoulders, and afterwards presented him with a small pig in the usual form. A seat was then made for him, next to the king, after which, Kaireekeea and his followers began their ceremonies, Kaoo and the chiefs joining in the responses.

I was surprised to see, in the person of this king, the same infirm and emaciated old man, that came on board the Resolution when we were off the north-east side of the island of Mowee; and we soon discovered amongst his attendants, most of the persons who at that time had remained with us all night. Of this number were the two younger sons of the king, the eldest of whom was sixteen years of age, and his nephew Maiha-Maiha, whom at first we had some difficulty in recollecting, his hair being plastered over with a dirty brown paste and powder, which was no mean heightening to the most savage face I ever beheld.

As soon as the formalities of the meeting were over. Captain Cook carried Terreeoboo, and as many chiefs as the pinnace could hold, on board the Resolution. They were received with every mark of respect that could be shewn them; and Captain Cook, in return for the feathered cloak, put a linen shirt on the king, and girt his own hanger round him. The ancient Kaoo, and about half a dozen old chiefs, remained on shore, and took up their abode at the priests' houses. During all this time, not a canoe was seen in the bay, and the natives either kept within their huts, or lay prostrate on the ground. Before the king left the Resolution, Captain Cook obtained leave for the natives to come and trade with the ships as usual; but the women, for what reason we could not learn, still continued under the effects of the _taboo_; that is, were forbidden to stir from home, or to have any communication with us.

SECTION II.

_Farther Account of Transactions with the Natives.--Their Hospitality.--Propensity to Theft.--Description of a Boxing Match.--Death of one of our Seamen.--Behaviour of the Priests at his funeral.--The Wood Work and Images on the Morai purchased.--The Natives inquisitive about our Departure.--Their Opinion about the Design of our Voyage.--Magnificent Presents of Terreeoboo to Captain Cook.--The Ships leave the Island.--The Resolution damaged in a Gale, and obliged to return._

The quiet and inoffensive behaviour of the natives having taken away every apprehension of danger, we did not hesitate to trust ourselves amongst them at all times, and in all situations. The officers of both ships went daily up the country, in small parties, or even singly, and frequently remained out the whole night. It would be endless to recount all the instances of kindness and civility which we received upon those occasions. Wherever we went, the people flocked about us, eager to offer every assistance in their power, and highly gratified, if their services were accepted. Various little arts were practised to attract our notice, or to delay our departure. The boys and girls ran before, as we walked through their villages, and stopped us at every opening, where there was room to form a group for dancing. At one time, we were invited to accept a draught of cocoa-nut milk, or some other refreshment, under the shade of their huts; at another, we were seated within a circle of young women, who exerted all their skill and agility to amuse us with songs and dances.

The satisfaction we derived from their gentleness and hospitality was, however, frequently interrupted by the propensity to stealing, which they have in common with all the other islanders of these seas. This circumstance was the more distressing, as it sometimes obliged us to have recourse to acts of severity, which we should willingly have avoided, if the necessity of the case had not absolutely called for them. Some of their most expert swimmers were one day discovered under the ships, drawing out the filling nails of the sheathing, which they performed very dexterously by means of a short stick, with a flint-stone fixed in the end of it. To put a stop to this practice, which endangered the very existence of the vessels, we at first fired small shot at the offenders; but they easily got out of our reach by diving under the ship's bottom. It was therefore found necessary to make an example, by flogging one of them on board the Discovery.

About this time, a large party of gentlemen, from both ships, set out on an excursion into the interior parts of the country, with a view of examining its natural productions. An account of this journey will be given in a subsequent part of our narrative. It is, therefore, only necessary at present to observe, that it afforded Kaoo a fresh opportunity of shewing his attention and generosity. For as soon as he was informed of their departure, he sent a large supply of provisions after them, together with orders, that the inhabitants of the country through which they were to pass, should give them every assistance in their power. And, to complete the delicacy and disinterestedness of his conduct, even the people he employed could not be prevailed on to accept the smallest present. After remaining out six days, our officers returned, without having been able to penetrate above twenty miles into the island, partly from want of proper guides, and partly from the impracticability of the country.

The head of the Resolution's rudder being found exceedingly shaken, and most of the pintles either loose or broken, it was unhung, and sent on shore on the 27th in the morning, to undergo a thorough repair. At the same time the carpenters were sent into the country, under conduct of some of Kaoo's people, to cut planks for the head rail-work, which was also entirely decayed and rotten.

On the 28th, Captain Clerke, whose ill health confined him, for the most part, on board, paid Terreeoboo, his first visit, at his hut on shore. He was received with the same formalities as were observed with Captain Cook; and, on his coming away, though the visit was quite unexpected, he received a present of thirty large hogs, and as much fruit and roots as his crew could consume in a week.

As we had not yet seen any thing of their sports or athletic exercises, the natives, at the request of some of our officers, entertained us this evening with a boxing-match. Though these games were much inferior, as well in point of solemnity and magnificence, as in the skill and powers of the combatants, to what we had seen exhibited at the Friendly Islands; yet, as they differed in some particulars, it may not be improper to give a short account of them. We found a vast concourse of people assembled on a level spot of ground, at a little distance from our tents. A long space was left vacant in the midst of them, at the upper end of which sat the judges, under three standards, from which hung slips of cloth of various colours, the skins of two wild geese, a few small birds, and bunches of feathers. When the sports were ready to begin, the signal was given by the judges, and immediately two combatants appeared. They came forward slowly, lifting up their feet very high behind, and drawing their hands along the soles. As they approached, they frequently eyed each other from head to foot, in a contemptuous manner, casting several arch looks at the spectators, straining their muscles, and using a variety of affected gestures. Being advanced within reach of each other, they stood with both arms held out straight before their faces, at which part all their blows were aimed. They struck, in what appeared to our eyes an awkward manner, with a full swing of the arm; made no attempt to parry, but eluded their adversary's attack by an inclination of the body, or by retreating. The battle was quickly decided; for if either of them was knocked down, or even fell by accident, he was considered as vanquished, and the victor expressed his triumph by a variety of gestures, which usually excited, as was intended, a loud laugh among the spectators. He then waited for a second antagonist, and, if again victorious, for a third, till he was at last, in his turn, defeated. A singular rule observed in these combats is, that whilst any two are preparing to fight, a third person may step in, and choose either of them for his antagonist, when the other is obliged to withdraw. Sometimes three or four followed each other in this manner, before the match was settled. When the combat proved longer than usual, or appeared too unequal, one of the chiefs generally stepped in, and ended it by putting a stick between the combatants. The same good humour was preserved throughout, which we before so much admired in the Friendly Islanders. As these games were given at our desire, we found it universally expected that we should have borne our part in them; but our people, though much pressed by the natives, turned a deaf ear to their challenge, remembering full well the blows they got at the Friendly Islands.

This day died William Watman, a seaman of the gunner's crew; an event which I mention the more particularly, as death had hitherto been very rare amongst us. He was an old man, and much respected on account of his attachment to Captain Cook. He had formerly served as a marine twenty-one years; after which, he entered as a seaman on board the Resolution in 1772, and served with. Captain Cook in his voyage toward the South Pole. At their return, he was admitted into Greenwich hospital, through the captain's interest, at the same time with himself; and being resolved to follow throughout the fortunes of his benefactor, he also quitted it along with him, on his being appointed to the command of the present expedition. During the voyage, he had been frequently subject to slight fevers, and was a convalescent when we came into the bay, where, being sent on shore for a few days, he conceived himself perfectly recovered, and, at his own desire, returned on board; but the day following, he had a paralytic stroke, which in two days more carried him off.

At the request of the king of the island, he was buried on the _morai_, and the ceremony was performed with as much solemnity as our situation permitted. Old Kaoo and his brethren were spectators, and preserved the most profound silence and attention, whilst the service was reading. When we began to fill up the grave, they approached it with great reverence, threw in a dead pig, some cocoa-nuts, and plantains; and, for three nights afterward, they surrounded it, sacrificing hogs, and performing their usual ceremonies of hymns and prayers, which continued till day-break.

At the head of the grave we erected a post, and nailed upon it a square piece of board, on which was inscribed the name of the deceased, his age, and the day of his death. This they promised not to remove; and we have no doubt but that it will be suffered to remain as long as the frail materials of which it is made will permit.

The ships being in great want of fuel, the captain desired me, on the 2d of February, to treat with the priests, for the purchase of the rail that surrounded the top of the _morai_. I must confess, I had, at first, some doubt about the decency of this proposal, and was apprehensive, that even the bare mention of it might be considered, by them, as a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however, I found myself mistaken. Not the smallest surprise was expressed at the application, and the wood was readily given, even without stipulating for any thing in return. Whilst the sailors were taking it away, I observed one of them carrying off a carved image; and, on farther enquiry, I found that they had conveyed to the boats the whole semicircle.[1] Though this was done in the presence of the natives, who had not shewn any mark of resentment at it, but had even assisted them in the removal. I thought it proper to speak to Kaoo on the subject, who appeared very indifferent about the matter, and only desired, that we would restore the centre image I have mentioned before, which he carried into one of the priests houses.

[Footnote 1: See description of the _morai_ in the preceding Section.]

Terreeoboo and his chiefs had for some days past been very inquisitive about the time of our departure. This circumstance had excited in me a great curiosity to know what opinion this people had formed of us, and what were their ideas respecting the cause and objects of our voyage. I took some pains to satisfy myself on these points; but could never learn any thing farther, than that they imagined we came from some country where provisions had failed; and that our visit to them was merely for the purpose of filling our bellies. Indeed, the meagre appearance of some of our crew, the hearty appetites with which we sat down to their fresh provisions, and our great anxiety to purchase, and carry off, as much as we were able, led them, naturally enough, to such a conclusion. To these may be added, a circumstance which puzzled them exceedingly, our having no women with us; together with our quiet conduct and unwarlike appearance. It was ridiculous enough to see them stroking the sides, and patting the bellies of the sailors, (who were certainly much improved in the sleekness of their looks during our short stay in the island), and telling them, partly by signs, and partly by words, that it was time for them to go; but if they would come again the next bread-fruit season, they should be better able to supply their wants.[2] We had now been sixteen days in the bay; and if our enormous consumption of hogs and vegetables be considered, it need not be wondered that they should wish to see us take our leave. It is very probable, however, that Terreeoboo had no other view in his enquiries at present, than a desire of making sufficient preparation for dismissing us with presents suitable to the respect and kindness with which he had received us. For, on our telling him we should leave the island on the next day but one, we observed, that a sort of proclamation was immediately made, through the villages, to require the people to bring in their hogs and vegetables, for the king to present to the _Orono_, on his departure.

[Footnote 2: Let the reader keep this intimation in mind, when he comes to judge of the melancholy transactions which issued in the death of Cook. It is most clear, that these people were disposed to be on good terms with their visitors; but that they were equally sensible, on the other hand, of the burden which so many half-starved guests had imposed on their hospitality. Even this, however, it would seem, they were willing to bear, provided only they had had time to make arrangements to do so, in a manner consistent with their own notions of good cheer. It is perfectly easy then to understand, that when, instead of the necessary absence of the strangers till the next season of plenty, there elapsed a few days only, as we shall find, it was impossible for them to form any other conception of the nature or object of the visit, than what served to give a very different direction to their feelings. And yet perhaps we shall be induced to believe, that all their surprise and uneasiness would have quietly subsided, if an unfortunate, and, in fact, merely partial altercation had not excited it beyond its original intensity, and produced a momentary determination to get rid by any means of such troublesome encroachers.--E.]

We were this day much diverted, at the beach, by the buffooneries of one of the natives. He held in his hand an instrument, of the sort described in the last volume; some bits of sea-weed were tied round his neck, and round each leg a piece of strong netting, about nine inches deep, on which a great number of dogs' teeth were loosely fastened in rows. His style of dancing was entirely burlesque, and accompanied with strange grimaces, and pantomimical distortions of the face, which, though at times inexpressibly ridiculous, yet, on the whole, was without much meaning or expression. Mr Webber thought it worth his while to make a drawing of this person, as exhibiting a tolerable specimen of the natives; the manner in which the _maro_ is tied; the figure of the instrument before mentioned, and of the ornaments round the legs, which, at other times, we also saw used by their dancers.

In the evening, we were again entertained with wrestling and boxing-matches; and we displayed, in return, the few fireworks we had left. Nothing could be better calculated to excite the admiration of these islanders, and to impress them with an idea of our great superiority, than an exhibition of this kind. Captain Cook has already described the extraordinary effects of that which was made at Hapaee; and though the present was, in every respect, infinitely inferior, yet the astonishment of the natives was not less.

I have before mentioned, that the carpenters, from both ships, had been sent up the country, to cut planks, for the head rail-work of the Resolution. This was the third day since their departure; and having received no intelligence from them, we began to be very anxious for their safety. We were communicating our apprehensions to old Kaoo, who appeared as much concerned as ourselves, and were concerting measures with him, for sending after them, when they arrived all safe. They had been obliged to go farther into the country than was expected, before they met with trees fit for their purpose; and it was this circumstance, together with the badness of the roads, and the difficulty of bringing back the timber, which had detained them so long. They spoke in high terms of their guides, who both supplied them with provisions, and guarded their tools with the utmost fidelity.

The next day being fixed for our departure, Terreeoboo invited Captain Cook and myself to attend him on the 3d, to the place where Kaoo resided. On our arrival, we found the ground covered with parcels of cloth; a vast quantity of red and yellow feathers, tied to the fibres of cocoa-nut husks; and a great number of hatchets, and other pieces of iron-ware, that had been got in barter from us. At a little distance from these lay an immense quantity of vegetables, of every kind, and near them was a large herd of hogs. At first, we imagined the whole to be intended as a present for us, till Kaireekeea informed me, that it was a gift, or tribute, from the people of that district to the king; and, accordingly, as soon as we were seated, they brought all the bundles, and laid them severally at Terreeoboo's feet; spreading out the cloth, and displaying the feathers, and iron-ware, before him. The king seemed much pleased with this mark of their duty; and having selected about a third part of the iron-ware, the same proportion of feathers, and a few pieces of cloth, these were set aside, by themselves; and the remainder of the cloth, together with all the hogs and vegetables, were afterward presented to Captain Cook and myself. We were astonished at the value and magnitude of this present, which far exceeded every thing of the kind we had seen, either at the Friendly or Society Islands. Boats were immediately sent to carry them on board; the large hogs were picked out, to be salted for sea-store; and upward of thirty smaller pigs, and the vegetables, were divided between the two crews.

The same day, we quitted the _morai_, and got the tents and astronomical instruments on board. The charm of the _taboo_ was now removed; and we had no sooner left the place, than the natives rushed in, and searched eagerly about, in expectation of finding something of value, that we might have left behind. As I happened to remain the last on shore, and waited for the return of the boat, several came crowding about me, and having made me sit down by them, began to lament our separation. It was, indeed, not without difficulty I was able to quit them. And here, I hope I may be permitted to relate a trifling occurrence, in which I was principally concerned. Having had the command of the party on shore, during the whole time w were in the bay, I had an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with the natives, and of being better known to them, than those whose duty required them to be generally on board. As I had every reason to be satisfied with their kindness, in general, so I cannot too often, nor too particularly, mention the unbounded and constant friendship of their priests.

On my part, I spared no endeavours to conciliate their affections, and gain their esteem; and I had the good fortune to succeed so far, that, when the time of our departure was made known, I was strongly solicited to remain behind, not without offers of the most flattering kind. When I excused myself, by saying, that Captain Cook would not give his consent, they proposed, that I should retire into the mountains, where, they said, they would conceal me, till after the departure of the ships; and on my farther assuring them, that the captain would not leave the bay without me, Terreeoboo and Kaoo waited upon Captain Cook, whose son they supposed I was, with a formal request, that I might be left behind. The captain, to avoid giving a positive refusal, to an offer so kindly intended, told them, that he could not part with me at that time, but that he should return to the island next year, and would then endeavour to settle the matter to their satisfaction.

Early in the morning of the 4th, we unmoored, and sailed out of the bay, with the Discovery in company, and were followed by a great number of canoes. Captain Cook's design was to finish the survey of Owhyhee, before he visited the other islands, in hopes of meeting with a road better sheltered than the bay we had just left; and in case of not succeeding here, he purposed to take a view of the south-east part of Mowee, where the natives informed us we should find an excellent harbour.

We had calm weather all this and the following day, which made our progress to the northward very slow. We were accompanied by a great number of the natives in their canoes; and Terreeoboo gave a fresh proof of his friendship to Captain Cook, by a large present of hogs and vegetables, that was sent after him.

In the night of the 5th, having a light breeze off the land, we made some way to the northward; and in the morning of the 6th, having passed the westernmost point of the island, we found ourselves abreast of a deep bay, called by the natives Toe-yah-yah. We had great hopes that this bay would furnish us with a safe and commodious harbour, as we saw, to the north-east, several fine streams of water, and the whole had the appearance of being well sheltered. These observations agreeing with the accounts given us by Koah, who accompanied Captain Cook, and had changed his name, out of compliment to us, into Britannee, the pinnace was hoisted out, and the master, with Britannee for his guide, was sent to examine the bay, whilst the ships worked up after them.

In the afternoon, the weather became gloomy, and the gusts of wind, that blew off the land, were so violent, as to make it necessary to take in all the sails, and bring-to, under the mizen stay-sail. All the canoes left us, at the beginning of the gale; and Mr Bligh, on his return, had the satisfaction of saving an old woman, and two men, whose canoe had been overset by the violence of the wind, as they were endeavouring to gain the shore. Besides these distressed people, we had a great many women on board, whom the natives had left behind, in their hurry to shift for themselves.

The master reported to Captain Cook, that he had landed at the only village he saw, on the north side of the bay, where he was directed to some wells of water; but found they would by no means answer our purpose; that he afterward proceeded farther into the bay, which runs inland to a great depth, and stretches toward the foot of a very conspicuous high mountain, situated on the north-west end of the island; but that, instead of meeting with safe anchorage, as Britannee had taught him to expect, he found the shores low and rocky, and a flat bed of coral rocks running along the coast, and extending upward of a mile from the land; on the outside of which the depth of water was twenty fathoms, over a sandy bottom; and that, in the mean time, Britannee had contrived to slip away, being afraid of returning, as we imagined, because his information had not proved true and successful.

In the evening, the weather being more moderate, we again made sail; but, about midnight, it blew so violently, as to split both the fore and main topsails. On the morning of the 7th, we bent fresh sails, and had fair weather, and a light breeze. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 20° 1' N., the W. point of the island bearing S., 7° E., and the N.W. point N., 38° E. As we were, at this time, four or five leagues from the shore, and the weather very unsettled, none of the canoes would venture out, so that our guests were obliged to remain with us, much, indeed, to their dissatisfaction; for they were all sea-sick, and many of them had left young children behind them.

In the afternoon, though the weather was still squally, we stood in for the land, and being about three leagues from it, we saw a canoe, with two men paddling towards us, which we immediately conjectured had been driven off the shore by the late boisterous weather; and therefore stopped the ship's way, in order to take them in. These poor wretches were so entirely exhausted with fatigue, that had not one of the natives on board, observing their weakness, jumped into the canoe to their assistance, they would scarcely have been able to fasten it to the rope we had thrown out for that purpose. It was with difficulty we got them up the ship's side, together with a child, about four years old, which they had lashed under the thwarts of the canoe, where it had lain with only its head above water. They told us, they had left the shore the morning before, and had been from that time without food or water. The usual precautions were taken in giving them victuals; and the child being committed to the care of one of the women, we found them all next morning perfectly recovered.

At midnight, a gale of wind came on, which obliged us to double reef the topsails, and get down the top-gallant yards. On the 8th, at day-break, we found that the foremast had again given way, the fishes, which were put on the head, in King George's, or Nootka Sound, on the coast of America, being sprung, and the parts so very defective, as to make it absolutely necessary to replace them, and, of course, to unstep the mast. In this difficulty, Captain Cook was for some time in doubt, whether he should run the chance of meeting with a harbour in the islands to leeward, or return to Karakakooa. That bay was not so remarkably commodious, in any respect, but that a better might probably be expected, both for the purpose of repairing the masts, and for procuring refreshments, of which, it was imagined, that the neighbourhood of Karakakooa had been already pretty well drained. On the other hand, it was considered as too great a risk to leave a place that was tolerably sheltered, and which, once left, could not be regained, for the mere hopes of meeting with a better; the failure of which might, perhaps, have left us without resource.

We, therefore, continued standing on toward the land, in order to give the natives an opportunity of releasing their friends on board from their confinement; and at noon, being within a mile of the shore, a few canoes came off to us, but so crowded with people, that there was not room in them for any of our guests; we therefore hoisted out the pinnace to carry them on shore; and the master, who went with them, had directions to examine the south coasts of the bay for water; but returned, without finding any.

The winds being variable, and a current setting strong to the northward, we made but little progress in our return; and at eight o'clock in the evening of the 9th, it began to blow very hard from the south-east, which obliged us to close reef the topsails; and at two in the morning of the 10th, in a heavy squall, we found ourselves close in with the breakers, that lie to the northward of the west point of Owhyhee. We had just room to haul off, and avoid them, and fired several guns to apprise the Discovery of the danger.

In the forenoon the weather was more moderate, and a few canoes came off to us; from which we learnt that the late storms had done much mischief, and that several large canoes had been lost. During the remainder of the day we kept beating to windward; and, before night, we were within a mile of the bay; but, not choosing to run on while it was dark, we stood off and on till day-light next morning, when we dropt anchor nearly in the same place as before.

SECTION III.

_Suspicious Behaviour of the Natives, on our Return to Karakakooa Bay.--Theft on Board the Discovery and its Consequences.--The Pinnace attacked, and the Crew obliged to quit her.--Captain Cook's Observations on the Occasion.--Attempt at the Observatory.--The Cutter of the Discovery stolen.--Measures taken by Captain Cook for its Recovery.--Goes on Shore to invite the King on Board--The King being stopped by his Wife and the Chiefs, a Contest arises.--News arrives of one of the Chiefs being killed by one of our People.--Ferment on this Occasion.--One of the Chiefs threatens Captain Cook, and is shot by him.--General Attack by the Natives.--Death of Captain Cook. Account of the Captain's Services, and a Sketch of his Character._[1]

[Footnote 1: Every reader must feel so deeply interested in the subject of this section, that he will naturally desire to possess every information as to all the facts and circumstances in which it was involved. Captain King's narrative, it may be conceived, is likely to have every claim to implicit confidence, and to require no additional statement in order to the most satisfactory conviction of every mind. Such an opinion is only partially correct; and it is evident, that the latter assertion is not a necessary inference from the former. The narrative may be imperfect, though quite consistent with truth, so far as it goes; and perhaps it cannot be carefully read, without producing an impression somewhat unfavourable to the notion of its completeness. This might be pointed out, as we proceeded, in the usual manner of notes. But a moment's reflection will suggest, that such interference in a case of the kind would prove destructive of the general and proper effect of the relation, and at the same time appear unjust towards the describer. A much better method, and one more likely to obtain attention, presents itself. That is, to insert the circumstantial narrative of the whole transaction, which was drawn up by Mr Samwell, surgeon of the Discovery, and communicated, with the highest approbation and credit, in the Biographia Britannica, after having been separately published, by the advice of the editor of that work, for two years, without experiencing any objection or a single impeachment. This, therefore, will be given at the end of the section; and will be found so extremely interesting, as to justify its reception in an entire form. Its length, however, and minuteness, in addition to reasons already mentioned, will preclude both room and occasion for any other notice of the subject.--E.]

We were employed the whole of the 11th, and part of the 12th, in getting out the foremast, and sending it with the carpenters, on shore. Besides the damage which the head of the mast had sustained, we found the heel exceedingly rotten, having a large hole up the middle of it, capable of holding four or five cocoa nuts. It was not, however, thought necessary to shorten it; and, fortunately, the logs of red toa-wood, which had been cut at Eimeo for anchor-stocks, were found fit to replace the sprung part of the fishes. As these repairs were likely to take up several days, Mr Bayly and myself got the astronomical apparatus on shore, and pitched our tents on the _morai_; having with us a guard of a corporal and six marines. We renewed our friendly correspondence with the priests, who, for the greater security of the workmen and their tools, _tabooed_ the place where the mast lay, sticking their wands round it, as before. The sail-makers were also sent on shore, to repair the damages which had taken place in their department during the late gales. They were lodged in a house adjoining to the _morai_ that was lent us by the priests. Such were our arrangements on shore. I shall now proceed to the account of those other transactions with the natives, which led, by degrees, to the fatal catastrophe of the 14th.

Upon coming to anchor, we were surprised to find our reception very different from what it had been on our first arrival; no shouts, no bustle, no confusion; but a solitary bay, with only here and there a canoe, stealing close along the shore. The impulse of curiosity, which had before operated to so great a degree, might now indeed be supposed to have ceased; but the hospitable treatment we had invariably met with, and the friendly footing on which we parted, gave us some reason to expect, that they would again have flocked about us with great joy on our return.

We were forming various conjectures upon the occasion of this extraordinary appearance, when our anxiety was at length relieved by the return of a boat, which had been sent on shore, and brought us word, that Terreeoboo was absent, and had left the bay under the _taboo_. Though this account appeared very satisfactory to most of us, yet others were of opinion, or rather, perhaps, have been led, by subsequent events, to imagine, that there was something, at this time, very suspicious in the behaviour of the natives; and that the interdiction of all intercourse with us, on pretence of the king's absence, was only to give him time to consult with his chiefs in what manner it might be proper to treat us. Whether these suspicions were well founded, or the account given by the natives was the truth, we were never able to ascertain. For, though it is not improbable that our sudden return, for which they could see no apparent cause, and the necessity of which we afterward found it very difficult to make them comprehend, might occasion some alarm; yet the unsuspicious conduct of Terreeoboo, who, on his supposed arrival, the next morning, came immediately to visit Captain Cook, and the consequent return of the natives to their former friendly intercourse with us, are strong proofs, that they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct.

In support of this opinion, I may add the account of another accident, precisely of the same kind which happened to us on our first visit, the day before the arrival of the king. A native had sold a hog on board the Resolution, and taken the price agreed on, when Pareea, passing by advised the man not to part with the hog, without an advanced price. For this he was sharply spoken to, and pushed away; and the _taboo_ being soon after laid on the bay, we had at first no doubt but that it was in consequence of the offence given to the chief. Both these accidents serve to shew, how very difficult it is to draw any certain conclusion from the actions of people, with whose customs, as well as language, we are so imperfectly acquainted; at the same time, some idea may be formed from them, of the difficulties, at the first view, perhaps, not very apparent, which those have to encounter, who, in all their transactions with these strangers, have to steer their course amidst so much uncertainty, where a trifling error may be attended with even the most fatal consequences. However true or false our conjectures may be, things went on in their usual quiet course till the afternoon of the 13th.

Toward the evening of that day, the officer, who commanded the watering-party of the Discovery, came to inform me, that several chiefs had assembled at the well near the beach, driving away the natives, whom he had hired to assist the sailors in rolling down the casks to the shore. He told me, at the same time, that he thought their behaviour extremely suspicious, and that they meant to give him some farther disturbance. At his request, therefore, I sent a marine along with him, but suffered him to take only his side-arms. In a short time the officer returned, and, on his acquainting me, that the islanders had armed themselves with stones, and were grown very tumultuous I went myself to the spot, attended by a marine, with his musket. Seeing us approach, they threw away their stones; and, on my speaking to some of the chiefs, the mob were driven away, and those who chose it were suffered to assist in filling the casks. Having left things quiet here, I went to meet Captain Cook, whom I saw coming on shore in the pinnace. I related to him what had just passed; and he ordered me, in case of their beginning to throw stones, or behave insolently, immediately to fire a ball at the offenders. I accordingly gave orders to the corporal, to have the pieces of the sentinels loaded with ball, instead of small shot.

Soon after our return to the tents, we were alarmed by a continued fire of muskets from the Discovery, which we observed to be directed at a canoe that we saw paddling toward the shore in great haste, pursued by one of our small boats. We immediately concluded that the firing was in consequence of some theft, and Captain Cook ordered me to follow him with a marine armed, and to endeavour to seize the people as they came on shore. Accordingly, we ran toward the place where we supposed the canoe would land, but were too late; the people having quitted it, and made their escape into the country before our arrival.

We were at this time ignorant that the goods had been already restored; and as we thought it probable, from the circumstances we had at first observed, that they might be of importance, were unwilling to relinquish our hopes of recovering them. Having, therefore, enquired of the natives, which way the people had fled, we followed them till it was near dark, when, judging ourselves to be about three miles from the tents, and suspecting that the natives, who frequently encouraged us in the pursuit, were amusing us with false information, we thought it in vain to continue our search any longer, and returned to the beach.

During our absence, a difference of a more serious and unpleasant nature had happened. The officer, who had been sent in the small boat, and was returning on board, with the goods which had been restored, observing Captain Cook and me engaged in the pursuit of the offenders, thought it his duty to seize the canoe, which was left drawn up on the shore. Unfortunately, this canoe belonged to Pareea, who, arriving at the same moment from on board the Discovery, claimed his property, with many protestations of his innocence. The officer refusing to give it up, and being joined by the crew of the pinnace, which was waiting for Captain Cook, a scuffle ensued, in which Pareea was knocked down, by a violent blow on the head, with an oar. The natives, who were collected about the spot, and had hitherto been peaceable spectators, immediately attacked our people with such a shower of stones, as forced them to retreat, with great precipitation, and swim off to a rock, at some distance from the shore. The pinnace was immediately ransacked by the islanders; and, but for the timely interposition of Pareea, who seemed to have recovered from the blow, and forgot it at the same instant, would soon have been entirely demolished. Having driven away the crowd, he made signs to our people, that they might come and take possession of the pinnace, and that he would endeavour to get back the things which had been, taken out of it. After their departure, he followed them in his canoe, with a midshipman's cap, and some other trifling articles of the plunder, and, with much apparent concern at what had happened, asked, if the Orono would kill him, and whether he would permit him to come on board the next day? On being assured that he would be well received, he joined noses (as their custom is) with the officers, in token of friendship, and paddled over to the village of Kowrowa.

When Captain Cook was informed of what had passed, he expressed much uneasiness at it; and, as we were returning on board, "I am afraid," said he, "that these people will oblige me to use some violent measures; for," he added, "they must not be left to imagine that they have gained an advantage over us." However, as it was too late to take any steps this evening, he contented himself with giving orders, that every man and woman on board should be immediately turned out of the ship. As soon us this order was executed, I returned on shore; and our former confidence in the natives being now much abated, by the events of the day, I posted a double guard on the _morai_, with orders to call me, if they saw any men lurking about the beach. At about eleven o'clock, five islanders were observed creeping round the bottom of the _morai_; they seemed very cautious in approaching us; and at last, finding themselves discovered, retired out of sight. About midnight, one of them venturing up close to the observatory, the sentinel fired over him; on which the men, fled, and we passed the remainder of the night without farther disturbance.

Next morning, at day-light, I went on board the Resolution for the time-keeper; and, in my way, was hailed by the Discovery, and informed, that their cutter had been stolen, during the night, from the buoy where it was moored.

When I arrived on board, I found the marines arming, and Captain Cook loading his double-barrelled gun. Whilst I was relating to him what had happened to us in the night, he interrupted me, with some eagerness, and acquainted me with the loss of the Discovery's cutter, and with the preparations he was making for its recovery. It had been his usual practice, whenever any thing of consequence was lost at any of the islands in this ocean, to get the king, or some of the principal _Erees_, on board, and to keep them as hostages, till it was restored. This method, which had been always attended with success, he meant to pursue on the present occasion; and, at the same time, had given orders to stop all the canoes that should attempt to leave the bay, with an intention of seizing and destroying them, if he could not recover the cutter by peaceable means. Accordingly, the boats of both ships, well manned and armed, were stationed across the bay; and, before I left the ship, some great guns had been fired at two large canoes that were attempting to make their escape.

It was between seven and eight o'clock when we quitted the ship together; Captain Cook in the pinnace, having Mr Phillips and nine marines with him; and myself in the small boat. The last orders I received from him, were, to quiet the minds of the natives on our side of the bay, by assuring them they should not be hurt; to keep my people together, and to be on my guard. We then parted; the captain went toward Kowrowa, where the king resided; and I proceeded to the beach. My first care, on going ashore, was to give strict orders to the marines to remain within the tent; to load their pieces with ball, and not to quit their arms. Afterward I took a walk to the huts of old Kaoo and the priests, and explained to them, as well as I could, the object of the hostile preparations, which had exceedingly alarmed them. I found that they had already heard of the cutter's being stolen; and I assured them, that though Captain Cook was resolved to recover it, and to punish the authors of the theft, yet that they, and the people of the village on our side, need not be under the smallest apprehension of suffering any evil from us. I desired the priests to explain this to the people, and to tell them not to be alarmed, but to continue peaceable and quiet. Kaoo asked me, with great earnestness, if Terreeoboo was to be hurt; I assured him he was not; and both, he and the rest of his brethren seemed much satisfied with this assurance.

In the mean time, Captain Cook having called off the launch, which was stationed at the north point of the bay, and taken it along with him, proceeded to Kowrowa, and landed with the lieutenant and nine marines. He immediately marched into the village, where he was received with the usual marks of respect; the people prostrating themselves before him, and bringing their accustomed offerings of small hogs. Finding that there was no suspicion of his design, his next step was to enquire for Terreeoboo, and the two boys, his sons, who had been his constant guests on board the Resolution. In a short time, the boys returned, along with the natives, who had been sent in search of them, and immediately led Captain Cook to the house where the king had slept. They found the old man just awoke from sleep; and, after a short conversation about the loss of the cutter, from which Captain Cook was convinced that he was in no wise privy to it, he invited him to return in the boat, and spend the day on board the Resolution. To this proposal the king readily consented, and immediately got up to accompany him.

Things were in this prosperous train, the two boys being already in the pinnace, and the rest of the party having advanced near the water-side, when an elderly woman, called Kanee-kabareea, the mother of the boys, and one of the king's favourite wives, came after him, and, with many tears and entreaties, besought him not to go on board. At the same time, two chiefs, who came along with her, laid hold of him, and, insisting that he should go no farther, forced him to sit down. The natives, who were collecting in prodigious numbers along the shore, and had probably been alarmed by the firing of the great guns, and the appearances of hostility in the bay, began to throng round Captain Cook and their king. In this situation, the lieutenant of marines, observing that his men were huddled close together in the crowd, and thus incapable of using their arms, if any occasion should require it, proposed to the captain to draw them up along the rocks, close to the waters edge; and the crowd readily making way for them to pass they were drawn up in a line, at the distance of about thirty yards from the place where the king was sitting.

All this time, the old king remained on the ground, with the strongest marks of terror and dejection in his countenance; Captain Cook, not willing to abandon the object for which he had come on shore, continuing to urge him, in the most pressing manner, to proceed; whilst, on the other hand, whenever the king appeared inclined to follow him, the chiefs, who stood round him, interposed, at first with prayers and entreaties, but afterward had recourse to force and violence, and insisted on his staying where he was. Captain Cook, therefore, finding that the alarm had spread too generally, and that it was in vain to think any longer of getting him off without bloodshed, at last gave up the point; observing to Mr Phillips, that it would be impossible to compel him to go on board, without the risk of killing a great number of the inhabitants.

Though the enterprise, which had carried Captain Cook on shore, had now failed, and was abandoned, yet his person did not appear to have been in the least danger, till an accident happened which gave a fatal turn to the affair. The boats, which had been stationed across the bay, having fired at some canoes that were attempting to get out, unfortunately had killed a chief of the first rank. The news of his death arrived at the village where Captain Cook was, just as he had left the king, and was walking slowly toward the shore. The ferment it occasioned was very conspicuous; the women and children were immediately sent off; and the men put on their war-mats, and armed themselves with spears and stones. One of the natives, having in his hands a stone, and a long iron pike, (which they call a _pahooa_,) came up to the captain, flourishing his weapon, by way of defiance, and threatening to throw the stone. The captain desired him to desist; but the man persisting in his insolence, he was at length provoked to fire a load of small shot. The man having his mat on, which the shot were not able to penetrate, this had no other effect than to irritate and encourage them. Several stones were thrown at the marines; and one of the _Erees_ attempted to stab Mr Phillips with his _pahooa_, but failed in the attempt, and received from him a blow with the butt end of his musket. Captain Cook now fired his second barrel, loaded with ball, and killed one of the foremost of the natives. A general attack with stones immediately followed, which was answered by a discharge of musketry from the marines, and the people in the boats. The islanders, contrary to the expectations of every one, stood the fire with great firmness; and, before the marines had time to reload, they broke in upon them with dreadful shouts and yells. What followed was a scene of the utmost horror and confusion.

Four of the marines were cut off among the rocks in their retreat, and fell a sacrifice to the fury of the enemy; three more were dangerously wounded; and the lieutenant, who had received a stab between the shoulders with a _pahooa_, having fortunately reserved his fire, shot the man who had wounded him, just as he was going to repeat his blow. Our unfortunate commander, the last time he was seen distinctly, was standing at the water's edge, and calling out to the boats to cease firing, and to pull in. If it be true, as some of those who were present have imagined, that the marines and boatmen had fired without his orders, and that he was desirous of preventing any further bloodshed, it is not improbable, that his humanity, on this occasion, proved fatal to him: For it was remarked, that whilst he faced the natives, none of them had offered him any violence, but that having turned about to give his orders to the boats, he was stabbed in the back, and fell with his face into the water. On seeing him fall, the islanders set up a great shout, and his body was immediately dragged on shore, and surrounded, by the enemy, who, snatching the dagger out of each other's hands, shewed a savage eagerness to have a share in his destruction.

Thus fell our great and excellent commander. After a life of so much distinguished and successful enterprise, his death, as far as regards himself, cannot be reckoned premature, since he lived to finish the great work for which he seems to have been designed, and was rather removed from the enjoyment, than cut off from the acquisition of glory. How sincerely his loss was felt and lamented by those who had so long found their general security in his skill and conduct, and every consolation, under their hardships, in his tenderness and humanity, it is neither necessary nor possible for me to describe; much less shall I attempt to paint the horror with which we were struck, and the universal dejection and dismay which followed so dreadful and unexpected a calamity. The reader will not be displeased to turn from so sad a scene, to the contemplation of his character and virtues, whilst I am paying my last tribute to the memory of a dear and honoured friend, in a short history of his life and public services.

Captain James Cook was born near Whitby, in Yorkshire, on the 27th of October, 1728; and, at an early age, was put apprentice to a shopkeeper in a neighbouring village. His natural inclination not having been consulted on this occasion, he soon quitted the counter from disgust, and bound himself, for nine years, to the master of a vessel in the coal trade. At the breaking out of the war, in 1755, he entered into the king's service, on board the Eagle, at that time commanded by Captain Hamer, and afterward by Sir Hugh Palliser, who soon discovered his merit, and introduced him on the quarter-deck.

In the year 1758, we find him master of the Northumberland, the flag-ship of Lord Colville, who had then the command of the squadron stationed on the coast of America. It was here, as I have often heard him say, that, during a hard winter, he first read Euclid, and applied himself to the study of mathematics and astronomy, without any other assistance than what a few books, and his own industry, afforded him. At the same time that he thus found means to cultivate and improve his mind, and to supply the deficiencies of an early education, he was engaged in most of the busy and active scenes of the war in America. At the siege of Quebec, Sir Charles Saunders committed to his charge the execution of services of the first importance in the naval department. He piloted the boats to the attack of Montmorency; conducted the embarkation to the Heights of Abraham; examined the passage, and laid buoys for the security of the large ships in proceeding up the river. The courage and address with which he acquitted himself in these services, gained him the warm friendship of Sir Charles Saunders and Lord Colville, who continued to patronize him during the rest of their lives, with the greatest zeal and affection. At the conclusion of the war, he was appointed, through the recommendation of Lord Colville and Sir Hugh Palliser, to survey the Gulf of St Laurence and the coasts of Newfoundland. In this employment he continued till the year 1767, when he was fixed on by Sir Edward Hawke to command an expedition to the South Seas, for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus, and prosecuting discoveries in that part of the globe. From this period, as his services are too well known to require a recital here, so his reputation has proportionably advanced to a height too great to be affected by my panegyrick. Indeed, he appears to have been most eminently and peculiarly qualified for this species of enterprise. The earliest habits of his life, the course of his services, and the constant application of his mind, all conspired to fit him for it, and gave him a degree of professional knowledge, which can fall to the lot of very few.

The constitution of his body was robust, inured to labour, and capable of undergoing the severest hardships. His stomach bore, without difficulty, the coarsest and most ungrateful food. Indeed, temperance in him was scarcely a virtue; so great was the indifference with which be submitted to every kind of self-denial. The qualities of his mind were of the same hardy, vigorous kind with those of his body. His understanding was strong and perspicuous. His judgment, in whatever related to the services he was engaged in, quick and sure. His designs were bold and manly; and both in the conception, and in the mode of execution, bore evident marks of a great original genius. His courage was cool and determined, and accompanied with an admirable presence of mind in the moment of danger. His manners were plain and unaffected. His temper might, perhaps, have been justly blamed, as subject to hastiness and passion, had not these been disarmed by a disposition the most benevolent and humane.

Such were the outlines of Captain Cook's character; but its most distinguishing feature was, that unremitting perseverance in the pursuit of his object, which was not only superior to the opposition of dangers, and the pressure of hardships, but even exempt from the want of ordinary relaxation. During the long and tedious voyages in which he was engaged, his eagerness and activity were never in the least abated. No incidental temptation could detain him for a moment; even those intervals of recreation, which sometimes unavoidably occurred, and were looked for by us with a longing, that persons, who have experienced the fatigues of service, will readily excuse, were submitted to by him with a certain impatience, whenever they could not be employed in making further provision for the more effectual prosecution of his designs.

It is not necessary here to enumerate the instances in which these qualities were displayed, during the great and important enterprises in which he was engaged. I shall content myself with stating the result of those services, under the two principal heads to which they maybe referred, those of geography and navigation, placing each in a separate and distinct point of view.

Perhaps no science ever received greater additions from the labours of a single man, than geography has done from those of Captain Cook. In his first voyage to the South Seas, he discovered the Society Islands; determined the insularity of New Zealand; discovered the straits which separate the two islands, and are called after his name; and made a complete survey of both. He afterward explored the eastern coast of New Holland, hitherto unknown; an extent of twenty seven degrees of latitude, or upward of two thousand miles.

In his second expedition, he resolved the great problem of a southern continent, having traversed that hemisphere, between the latitudes of 40° and 70°, in such a manner as not to leave a possibility of its existence, unless near the Pole, and out of the reach of navigation. During this voyage be discovered New Caledonia, the largest island in the Southern Pacific, except New Zealand; the island of Georgia; and an unknown coast, which he named Sandwich Land, the _Thule_ of the southern hemisphere; and having twice visited the tropical seas, he settled the situations of the old, and made several new discoveries.

But the voyage we are now relating is distinguished, above all the rest, by the extent and importance of its discoveries. Besides several smaller islands in the Southern Pacific, he discovered, to the north of the equinoctial line, the group called the Sandwich Islands; which, from their situation and productions, bid fairer for becoming an object of consequence, in the system of European navigation, than any other discovery in the South Sea. He afterward explored what had hitherto remained unknown of the western coast of America; from the latitude of 43° to 70° N., containing an extent of three thousand five hundred miles; ascertained the proximity of the two great continents of Asia and America; passed the straits between them, and surveyed the coast, on each side, to such a height of northern latitude, as to demonstrate the impracticability of a passage in that hemisphere, from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, either by an eastern or a western course. In short, if we except the sea of Amur, and the Japanese Archipelago, which still remain imperfectly known to Europeans, he has completed the hydrography of the habitable globe.

As a navigator, his services were not, perhaps, less splendid; certainly not less important and meritorious. The method which he discovered, and so successfully pursued, of preserving the health of seamen, forms a new æra in navigation; and will transmit his name to future ages amongst the friends and benefactors of mankind.

Those who are conversant in naval history need not be told, at how dear a rate the advantages which have been sought through the medium of long voyages at sea, have always been purchased. That dreadful disorder, which is peculiar to this service, and whose ravages have marked the tracks of discoverers with circumstances almost too shocking to relate, must, without exercising an unwarrantable tyranny over the lives of our seamen, have proved an insuperable obstacle to the prosecution of such enterprises. It was reserved for Captain Cook to shew the world, by repeated trials, that voyages might be protracted to the unusual length of three, or even four years, in unknown regions, and under every change and rigour of climate, not only without affecting the health, but even without diminishing the probability of life in the smallest degree. The method he pursued has been fully explained by himself in a paper which was read before the Royal Society in the year 1776;[2] and whatever improvements the experience of the present age has suggested, are mentioned in their proper places.

[Footnote 2: Sir Godfrey Copley's gold medal was adjudged to him on this occasion.]

With respect to his professional abilities, I shall leave them to the judgment of those who are best acquainted with the nature of the services in which he was engaged. They will readily acknowledge, that, to have conducted three expeditions of so much danger and difficulty, of so unusual a length, and in such a variety of situation, with uniform and invariable success, must have required not only a thorough and accurate knowledge of his business, but a powerful and comprehensive genius, fruitful in resources, and equally ready in the application of whatever the higher and inferior calls of the service required.

Having given the most faithful account I have been able to collect, both from my own observation and the relations of others, of the death of my ever-honoured friend, and also of his character and services, I shall now leave his memory to the gratitude and admiration of posterity; accepting with, a melancholy satisfaction, the honour which the loss of him hath procured me, of seeing my name joined with his; and of testifying that affection and respect for his memory, which, whilst he lived, it was no less my inclination, than my constant study, to shew him.[3]

[Footnote 3: We shall not easily find a more excellent specimen of biographical eulogium than what Captain King has now given us. It does justice to his subject--and this, be it remembered, is a merit of the highest kind; and it does justice to himself, to his own sense of propriety and principle, which, in the warmth of their friendship, professed admirers are too apt to sacrifice at the shrine of departed worth. The style is suitable to the sentiments, possessing a dignified simplicity, and an apparent rectitude of aim, which it is impossible not to consider, as, in a great degree, resulting from intimacy with the truly great character whom it so forcibly recommends to our esteem, and which, therefore, may be held as no mean illustration of the efficacy of those virtues which so eminently adorned him. In this respect, then, Cook was peculiarly fortunate, were there no other record to which posterity might appeal--more fortunate, by much, indeed, than many, whose lives have been blazoned by vain-glorious historians. We appeal, therefore, to the feelings of every reader, whether this very circumstance, so providentially directed towards the perpetuity of his fame, does not indicate the real superiority of such a man as Cook over the mass of vulgar conquerors, whom, unfortunately for the world, it has been so much and so long the fashion to admire? Shall we ever witness the time, when the wanton destroyers of our species, under whatever name or trappings they vaunt themselves, shall inherit the abhorrence and the curses of humanity; and when the only claim to applause that shall be sanctioned, must be founded, like that of our navigator, on the ability and the disposition to confer benefits on society? It has often been regretted, as is said in the Biographia Britannica, that a monument has not yet been erected to the memory of Captain Cook in Westminster Abbey. The uneasiness is not superfluous, in so far as the honour of our country is concerned, to which, perhaps, his exertions have really contributed as much as those of almost any individual whose greatness is there embalmed; but to the reputation of Cook, a monument in Westminster Abbey, we agree with the work alluded to, would be of little or no consequence. "His fame stands upon a wider base, and will survive the comparatively perishing materials of brass, or stone, or marble. The name of Cook will be held in honour, and recited with applause, so long as the records of human events shall continue in the earth."--E.

The following particulars, respecting the death of Captain Cook, are taken from Mr Samwell's Narrative, as given in the Biographia Britannica; to which, also, we are indebted for the most minute and satisfactory account of this illustrious man ever yet published, and to which, therefore, we refer the more inquisitive reader.

"On the 6th of February, we were overtaken by a gale of wind; and the next night, the Resolution had the misfortune of springing the head of her foremast, in such a dangerous manner, that Captain Cook was obliged to return to Keragegooah,[1] in order to have it repaired; for we could find no other convenient harbour on the island. The same gale had occasioned much distress among some canoes that had paid us a visit from the shore. One of them, with two men and a child on board, was picked up by the Resolution, and rescued from destruction; the men, having toiled hard all night in attempting to reach the land, were so much exhausted that they could hardly mount the ship's side. When they got upon the quarter-deck, they burst into tears, and seemed much affected with the dangerous situation from which they had escaped; but the little child appeared lively and cheerful. One of the Resolution's boats was also so fortunate as to save a man and two women, whose canoe had been upset by the violence of the waves. They were brought on board, and, with the others, partook of the kindness and humanity of Captain Cook.

"On the morning of Wednesday, the 10th, we were within a few miles of the harbour; and were soon joined by several canoes, in which appeared many of our old acquaintance, who seemed to have come to welcome us back. Among them was Coo,aha, a priest; he had brought a small pig and some cocoa nuts in his hand, which, after having chaunted a few sentences, he presented to Captain Clerke. He then left us, and hastened on board the Resolution, to perform the same friendly ceremony before Captain Cook. Having but light winds all that day, we could not gain the harbour. In the afternoon, a chief of the first rank, and nearly related to Kariopoo, paid us a visit on board the Discovery. His name was Ka,mea,mea: He was dressed in a very rich feathered cloak, which he seemed to have brought for sale, but would part with it for nothing except iron daggers. These the chiefs, some time before our departure, had preferred to every other article; for, having received a plentiful supply of hatchets and other tools, they began to collect a store of warlike instruments. Kameamea procured nine daggers for his cloak; and, being pleased with his reception, he and his attendants slept on board that night.

"In the morning of the 11th of February, the ships anchored again in Keragegooah bay, and preparation was immediately made for landing the Resolution's foremast. We were visited but by few of the Indians, because there were but few in the bay. On our departure, those belonging to other parts had repaired to their several habitations, and were again to collect from various quarters before we could expect to be surrounded by such multitudes as we had once seen in that harbour. In the afternoon, I walked about a mile into the country to visit an Indian friend, who had, a few days before, come near twenty miles, in a small canoe, to see me, while the ship lay becalmed. As the canoe had not left us long before a gale of wind came on, I was alarmed for the consequence; however, I had the pleasure to find that my friend had escaped unhurt, though not without some difficulties. I take notice of this short excursion, merely because it afforded me an opportunity of observing that there appeared no change in the disposition or behaviour of the inhabitants. I saw nothing that could induce me to think that they were displeased with our return, or jealous of the intention of our second visit. On the contrary, that abundant good-nature, which had always characterised them, seemed still to glow in every bosom, and to animate every countenance.[2] The next day, February the 12th, the ships were put under a taboo by the chiefs; a solemnity, it seems, that was requisite to be observed, before Kariopoo, the king, paid his first visit to Captain Cook, after his return. He waited upon him the same day, on board the Resolution, attended by a large train, some of which bore the presents designed for Captain Cook; who received him in his usual friendly manner, and gave him several articles in return. This amicable ceremony being settled, the taboo was dissolved; matters went on in the usual train; and the next day, February the 13th, we were visited by the natives in great numbers. The Resolution's mast was landed, and the astronomical observatories erected on their former situation. I landed, with another gentleman, at the town of Kavaroah, where we found a great number of canoes, just arrived from different parts of the island, and the Indians busy in erecting temporary huts on the beach for their residence during the stay of the ships. On our return on board the Discovery, we learned, that an Indian had been detected in stealing the armourer's tongs from the forge; for which he received a pretty severe flogging, and was sent out from the ship. Notwithstanding the example made of this man, in the afternoon another had the audacity to snatch the tongs and a chisel from the same place, with which he jumped overboard, and swam for the shore. The master and a midshipman were instantly dispatched after him in the small cutter. The Indian, seeing himself pursued, made for a canoe; his countrymen took him on board, and paddled as swift as they could towards the shore; we fired several muskets at them, but to no effect, for they soon got out of the reach of our shot. Pareah, one of the chiefs, who was at that time on board the Discovery, understanding what had happened, immediately went ashore, promising to bring back the stolen goods. Our boat was so far distanced, in chacing the canoe which had taken the thief on board, that he had time to make his escape into the country. Captain Cook, who was then ashore, endeavoured to intercept his landing; but it seems that he was led out of the way by some of the natives, who had officiously intruded themselves as guides. As the master was approaching near the landing-place, he was met by some of the Indians in a canoe. They had brought back the tongs and chisel, together with another article that we had not missed, which happened to be the lid of the water-cask. Having recovered these things, he was returning on board, when he was met by the Resolution's pinnace, with five men in her, who, without any orders, had come from the observatories to his assistance. Being thus unexpectedly reinforced, he thought himself strong enough to insist upon having the thief, or the canoe which took him in, delivered up as reprisals. With that view he turned back; and having found the canoe on the beach, he was preparing to launch it into the water, when Pareah made his appearance, and insisted upon his not taking it away, as it was his property. The officer not regarding him, the chief seized upon him, pinioned his arms behind, and held him by the hair of his head; on which one of the sailors struck him with an oar. Pareah instantly quitted the officer, snatched the oar out of the man's hand, and snapped it in two across his knee. At length the multitude began to attack our people with stones. They made some resistance, but were soon overpowered, and obliged to swim for safety to the small cutter, which lay farther out than the pinnace. The officers, not being expert swimmers, retreated to a small rock in the water, where they were closely pursued by the Indians. One man darted a broken oar at the master, but his foot slipping at the time, he missed him, which fortunately saved that officer's life. At last, Pareah interfered, and put an end to their violence. The gentlemen, knowing that his presence was their only defence against the fury of the natives, entreated him to stay with them till they could get off in the boats; but that he refused, and left them. The master went to seek assistance from the party at the observatories; but the midshipman chose to remain in the pinnace. He was very rudely treated by the mob, who plundered the boat of every thing that was loose on board, and then began to knock her to pieces for the sake of the iron work; but Pareah fortunately returned in time to prevent her destruction. He had met the other gentleman on his way to the observatories, and, suspecting his errand, had forced him to return. He dispersed the crowd again, and desired the gentlemen to return on board. They represented that all their oars had been taken out of the boat; on which he brought some of them back, and the gentlemen were glad to get off, without farther molestation. They had not proceeded far, before they were overtaken by Pareah, in a canoe. He delivered the midshipman's cap, which had been taken from him in the scuffle, joined noses with them, in token of reconciliation, and was anxious to know if Captain Cook would kill him for what had happened. They assured him of the contrary, and made signs of friendship to him in return. He then left them, and paddled over to the town of Kavaroah, and that was the last time we ever saw him. Captain Cook returned on board soon after, much displeased with the whole of this disagreeable business; and the same night sent a lieutenant on board the Discovery to learn the particulars of it, as it had originated in that ship. It was remarkable, that in the midst of the hurry and confusion attending this affair, Kanynah (a chief who had always been on terms particularly friendly with us) came from the spot where it happened, with a hog to sell on board the Discovery; it was of an extraordinary large size, and he demanded for it a pahowa, or dagger, of an unusual length. He pointed to us, that it must be as long as his arm. Captain Clerke not having one of that length, told him, he would get one made for him by the morning; with which being satisfied, he left the hog, and went ashore without making any stay with us. It will not be altogether foreign to the subject, to mention a circumstance that happened to-day on board the Resolution. An Indian chief asked Captain Cook at his table if he was a _Tata Toa_, which mean's a fighting man, or a soldier. Being answered in the affirmative, he desired to see his wounds; Captain Cook held out his right-hand, which had a scar upon it, dividing the thumb from the finger the whole length of the metacarpal bones. The Indian being thus convinced of his being a Toa, put the same question to another gentleman present, but he happened to have none of those distinguishing marks; the chief then said, that he himself was a Toa, and shewed the scars of some wounds he had received in battle. Those who were on duty at the observatories were disturbed, during the night, with shrill and melancholy sounds, issuing from the adjacent villages, which they took to be the lamentations of the women. Perhaps the quarrel between us might have filled their minds with apprehensions for the safety of their husbands; but, be that as it may, their mournful cries struck the sentinels with unusual awe and terror.

"To widen the breach between us, some of the Indians, in the night, took away the Discovery's large cutter, which lay swamped at the buoy of one of her anchors; they had carried her off so quietly, that we did not miss her till the morning, Sunday, February the 14th. Captain Clerke lost no time in waiting upon Captain Cook, to acquaint him with the accident; he returned on board, with orders for the launch and small cutter to go, under the command of the second lieutenant, and lie off the east point of the bay, in order to intercept all canoes that might attempt to get out, and, if he found it necessary, to fire upon them. At the same time, the third lieutenant of the Resolution, with the launch and small cutter, was sent on the same service, to the opposite point of the bay; and the master was dispatched in the large cutter in pursuit of a double canoe, already under sail, making the best of her way out of the harbour. He soon came up with her, and by firing a few muskets, drove her on shore, and the Indians left her; this happened to be the canoe of Omea, a man who bore the title of Orono. He was on board himself, and it would have been fortunate if our people had secured him, for his person was held as sacred as that of the king. During this time, Captain Cook was preparing to go ashore himself, at the town of Kavaroah, in order to secure the person of Kariopoo, before he should have time to withdraw himself to another part of the island, out of our reach. This appeared the most effectual step that could be taken on the present occasion for the recovery of the boat. It was the measure he had invariably pursued, in similar cases, at other islands in these seas, and it had always been attended with the desired success; in fact, it would be difficult to point out any other mode of proceeding on these emergencies, likely to attain the object in view.[3] We had reason to suppose, that the king and his attendants had fled when the alarm was first given; in that case, it was Captain Cook's intention to secure the large canoes which were hauled up on the beach. He left the ship about seven o'clock, attended by the lieutenant of marines, a serjeant, corporal, and seven private men; the pinnace's crew were also armed, and under the command of Mr Roberts. As they rowed towards the shore, Captain Cook ordered the launch to leave her station at the west point of the bay, in order to assist his own boat. This is a circumstance worthy of notice; for it clearly shews, that he was not unapprehensive of meeting with resistance from the natives, or unmindful of the necessary preparation for the safety of himself and his people. I will venture to say, that from the appearance of things just at that time, there was not one, beside himself, who judged that such precaution was absolutely requisite; so little did his conduct on the occasion bear the marks of rashness, or a precipitate self-confidence! He landed with the marines at the upper end of the town of Kavaroah; the Indians immediately flocked round as usual, and shewed him the customary marks of respect, by prostrating themselves before him. There were no signs of hostilities, or much alarm among them. Captain Cook, however, did not seem willing to trust to appearances, but was particularly attentive to the disposition of the marines, and to have them kept clear of the crowd. He first enquired for the king's sons, two youths who were much attached to him, and generally his companions on board. Messengers being sent for them, they soon came to him, and informing him that their father was asleep at a house not far from them, he accompanied them thither, and took the marines along with them. As he passed along, the natives every where prostrated themselves before him, and seemed to have lost no part of that respect they had always shewn to his person. He was joined by several chiefs, among whom was Kanynah, and his brother Koohowrooah. They kept the crowd in order, according to their usual custom; and, being ignorant of his intention in coming on shore, frequently asked him, if he wanted any hogs or other provisions; he told them that he did not, and that his business was to see the king. When he arrived at the house, he ordered some of the Indians to go in and inform Kariopoo, that he waited without to speak with him. They came out two or three times, and instead of returning any answer from the king, presented some pieces of red cloth to him, which made Captain Cook suspect that he was not in the house; he therefore desired the lieutenant of marines to go in. The lieutenant found the old man just awaked from sleep, and seemingly alarmed at the message; but he came out without hesitation. Captain Cook took him by the hand, and in a friendly manner asked him to go on board, to which he very readily consented. Thus far matters appeared in a favourable train, and the natives did not seem much alarmed or apprehensive of hostility on our side, at which Captain Cook expressed himself a little surprised, saying, that as the inhabitants of that town appeared innocent of stealing the cutter, he should not molest them, but that he must get the king on board. Kariopoo sat down before his door, and was surrounded by a great crowd; Kanynah and his brother were both very active in keeping order among them. In a little time, however, the Indians were observed arming themselves with long spears, clubs, and daggers, and putting on thick mats, which they use as armour. This hostile appearance increased, and became more alarming, on the arrival of two men in a canoe from the opposite side of the bay, with the news of a chief, called Kareemoo, having been killed by one of the Discovery's boats. In their passage across, they had also delivered this account to each of the ships. Upon that information, the women who were sitting upon the beach at their breakfasts, and conversing familiarly with our people in the boats, retired, and a confused murmur spread through the crowd. An old priest came to Captain Cook, with a cocoa-nut in his hand, which he held out to him as a present, at the same time singing very loud. He was often desired to be silent, but in vain; he continued importunate and troublesome, and there was no such thing as getting rid of him or his noise; it seemed as if he meant to divert their attention from his countrymen, who were growing more tumultuous, and arming themselves in every quarter. Captain Cook being at the same time surrounded by a great crowd, thought his situation rather hazardous; he therefore ordered the lieutenant of marines to march his small party to the water-side, where the boats lay within a few yards of the shore; the Indians readily made a lane for them to pass, and did not offer to interrupt them. The distance they had to go might be about fifty or sixty yards; Captain Cook followed, having hold of Kariopoo's hand, who accompanied him very willingly; he was attended by his wife, two sons, and several chiefs. The troublesome old priest followed, making the same savage noise. Keowa, the younger son, went directly into the pinnace, expecting his father to follow, but just as he arrived at the water-side, his wife threw her arms about his neck, and, with the assistance of two chiefs, forced him to sit down by the side of a double canoe. Captain Cook expostulated with them, but to no purpose; they would not suffer the king to proceed, telling him, that he would be put to death if he went on board the ship. Kariopoo, whose conduct seemed entirely resigned to the will of others, hung down his head, and appeared much distressed.

"While the king was in this situation, a chief, well known to us, of the name of Coho, was observed lurking near, with an iron dagger, partly concealed under his cloak, seemingly, with the intention of stabbing Captain Cook, or the lieutenant of marines. The latter proposed to fire at him, but Captain Cook would not permit it. Coho closing upon them, obliged the officer to strike him with his piece, which made him retire. Another Indian laid hold of the serjeant's musquet, and endeavoured to wrench it from him, but was prevented by the lieutenant's making a blow at him. Captain Cook, seeing the tumult increase, and the Indians growing more daring and resolute, observed, that if he were to take the king off by force, he could not do it without sacrificing the lives of many of his people. He then paused a little, and was on the point of giving his orders to reimbark, when a man threw a stone at him, which he returned with a discharge of small shot (with which one barrel of his double piece was loaded.) The man having a thick mat before him, received little or no hurt; he brandished his spear, and threatened to dart it at Captain Cook, who being still unwilling to take away his life, instead of firing with ball, knocked him down with his musket. He expostulated strongly with the most forward of the crowd, upon their turbulent behaviour. He had given up all thoughts of getting the king on board, as it appeared impracticable; and his care was then only to act on the defensive, and to secure a safe embarkation for his small party, which was closely pressed by a body of several thousand people. Keowa, the king's son, who was in the pinnace, being alarmed on hearing the first fire, was, at his own entreaty, put on shore again; for even at that time, Mr Roberts, who commanded her, did not apprehend that Captain Cook's person was in any danger; otherwise he would have detained the prince, which, no doubt, would have been a great check on the Indians. One man was observed, behind a double canoe, in the action of darting his spear at Captain Cook, who was forced to fire at him in his own defence, but happened to kill another close to him, equally forward in the tumult; the serjeant observing that he had missed the man he aimed at, received orders to fire at him, which he did, and killed him. By this time, the impetuosity of the Indians was somewhat repressed; they fell back in a body, and seemed staggered; but being pushed on by those behind, they returned to the charge, and poured a volley of stones among the marines, who, without waiting for orders, returned it with a general discharge of musquetry, which was instantly followed by a fire from the boats. At this Captain Cook was heard to express his astonishment; he waved his hand to the boats, called to them to cease firing, and to come nearer in to receive the marines. Mr Roberts immediately brought the pinnace as close to the shore as he could, without grounding, notwithstanding the showers of stones that fell among the people; but ----, the lieutenant, who commanded in the launch, instead of pulling in to the assistance of Captain Cook, withdrew his boat farther off, at the moment that every thing seems to have depended upon the timely exertions of those in the boats. By his own account, he mistook the signal; but be that as it may, this circumstance appears to me to have decided the fatal turn of the affair, and to have removed every chance which remained with Captain Cook, of escaping with his life. The business of saving the marines out of the water, in consequence of that, fell altogether upon the pinnace; which thereby became so much crowded, that the crew were, in a great measure, prevented from using their fire-arms, or giving what assistance they otherwise might have done, to Captain Cook; so that he seems, at the most critical point of time, to have wanted the assistance of both boats, owing to the removal of the launch. For, notwithstanding that they kept up a fire on the crowd, from the situation to which they removed in that boat, the fatal confusion which ensued on her being withdrawn, to say the least of it, must have prevented the full effect, that the prompt co-operation of the two boats, according to Captain Cook's orders, must have had, towards the preservation of himself and his people.[4] At that time, it was to the boats alone, that Captain Cook had to look for his safety; for, when the marines had fired, the Indians rushed among them, and forced them into the water, where four of them were killed; their lieutenant was wounded, but fortunately escaped, and was taken up by the pinnace. Captain Cook was then the only one remaining on the rock; he was observed making for the pinnace, holding his left hand against the back of his head, to guard it from the stones, and carrying his musquet under the other arm. An Indian was seen following him, but with caution and timidity; for he stopped once or twice, as if undetermined to proceed. At last he advanced upon him unawares, and with a large club,[5] or common stake, gave him a blow on the back of the head, and then precipitately retreated. The stroke seemed to have stunned Captain Cook; he staggered a few paces, then fell on his hand and one knee, and dropped his musquet. As he was rising, and before he could recover his feet, another Indian stabbed him in the back of the neck with an iron dagger. He then fell into a bite of water about knee deep, where others crowded upon him, and endeavoured to keep him under: but struggling very strongly with them, he got his head up, and casting his look towards the pinnace, seemed to solicit assistance. Though the boat was not above five or six yards distant from him, yet from the crowded and confused state of the crew, it seems, it was not in their power to save him. The Indians got him under again, but in deeper water; he was, however, able to get his head up once more, and being almost spent in the struggle, he naturally turned to the rock, and was endeavouring to support himself by it, when a savage gave him a blow with a club, and he was seen alive no more. They hauled him up lifeless on the rocks, where they seemed to take a savage pleasure in using every barbarity to his dead body, snatching the daggers out of each other's hands, to have the horrid satisfaction of piercing the fallen victim of their barbarous rage.

"I need make no reflection on the great loss we suffered on this occasion, or attempt to describe what we felt. It is enough to say, that no man was ever more beloved or admired; and it is truly painful to reflect, that he seems to have fallen a sacrifice merely for want of being properly supported; a fate, singularly to be lamented, as having fallen to his lot, who had ever been conspicuous for his care of those under his command, and who seemed, to the last, to pay as much attention to their preservation, as to that of his own life. If any thing could have added to the shame and indignation universally felt on this occasion, it was to find, that his remains had been deserted, and left exposed on the beach, although they might have been brought off. It appears, from the information of four or five midshipmen, who arrived on the spot at the conclusion of the fatal business, that the beach was then almost entirely deserted by the Indians, who at length had given way to the fire of the boats, and dispersed through the town; so that there seemed no great obstacle to prevent the recovery of Captain Cook's body; but the lieutenant returned on board without making the attempt. It is unnecessary to dwell longer on this painful subject, and to relate the complaints and censures that fell on the conduct of the lieutenant. It will be sufficient to observe, that they were so loud as to oblige Captain Clerke publicly to notice them, and to take the depositions of his accusers down in writing. The captain's bad state of health and approaching dissolution, it is supposed, induced him to destroy these papers a short time before his death. It is a painful task, to be obliged to notice circumstances, which seem to reflect upon the character of any man. A strict regard to truth, however, compelled me to the insertion of these facts, which I have offered merely as facts, without presuming to connect with them any comment of my own; esteeming it the part of a faithful historian, 'to extenuate nothing, nor set down aught in malice.' The fatal accident happened at eight o'clock in the morning, about an hour after Captain Cook landed. It did not seem, that the king, or his sons, were witnesses to it; but it is supposed that they withdrew in the midst of the tumult. The principal actors were the other chiefs, many of them the king's relations and attendants; the man who stabbed him with the dagger was called Nooah. I happened to be the only one who recollected his person from having on a former occasion mentioned his name in the journal I kept. I was induced to take particular notice of him, more from his personal appearance than any other consideration, though he was of high rank, and a near relation of the king; he was stout and tall, with a fierce look and demeanour, and one who united in his figure the two qualities of strength and agility, in a greater degree, than ever I remembered to have seen before in any other man. His age might be about thirty, and by the white scurf on his skin, and his sore eyes, he appeared to be a hard drinker of kava. He was a constant companion of the king, with whom I first saw him, when he paid a visit to Captain Clerke. The chief who first struck Captain Cook with the club, was called Karimano, craha, but I did not know him by his name. These circumstances I learnt of honest Kaireekea, the priest, who added, that they were both held in great esteem on account of that action; neither of them came near us afterwards. When the boats left the shore, the Indians carried away the dead body of Captain Cook and those of the marines, to the rising ground, at the back of the town, where we could plainly see them with our glasses from the ships. This most melancholy accident appears to have been altogether unexpected and unforeseen, as well on the part of the natives as ourselves. I never saw sufficient reason to induce me to believe, that there was any thing of design, or a pre-concerted plan, on their side, or that they purposely sought to quarrel with us; thieving, which gave rise to the whole, they were equally guilty of, in our first and second visits. It was the cause of every misunderstanding that happened between us; their petty thefts were generally overlooked, but sometimes slightly punished; the boat, which they at last ventured to take away, was an object of no small magnitude to people in our situation, who could not possibly replace her, and therefore not slightly to be given up. We had no other chance of recovering her, but by getting the person of the king into our possession; on our attempting to do that, the natives became alarmed for his safety, and naturally opposed those whom they deemed his enemies. In the sudden conflict that ensued, we had the unspeakable misfortune of losing our excellent commander, in the manner already related. It is in this light the affair has always appeared to me, as entirely accidental, and not in the least owing to any previous offence received, or jealousy of our second visit entertained by the natives. Pareah seems to have been the principal instrument in bringing about this fatal disaster. We learnt afterwards, that it was he who had employed some people to steal the boat; the king did not seem to be privy to it, or even apprized of what had happened, till Captain Cook landed. It was generally remarked, that, at first, the Indians shewed great resolution in facing our fire-arms; but it was entirely owing to ignorance of their effect. They thought that their thick mats would defend them from a ball, as well as from a stone; but being soon convinced of their error, yet still at a loss to account how such execution was done among them, they had recourse to a stratagem, which, though it answered no other purpose, served to shew their ingenuity and quickness of invention. Observing the flashes of the musquets, they naturally concluded, that water would counteract their effect, and therefore, very sagaciously, dipped their mats, or armour, in the sea, just as they came on to face our people; but finding this last resource to fail them, they soon dispersed, and left the beach entirely clear. It was an object they never neglected, even at the greatest hazard, to carry off their slain; a custom, probably owing to the barbarity with which they treat the dead body of an enemy, and the trophies they make of his bones."[6]]

[Footnote 1: It is proper to take notice, that Mr Samwell spells the names of several persons and places differently from what is done in the history of the voyage. For instance, Karakakooa, he calls Ke,rag,e,goo,ah; Terreeoboo, Kariopoo; Kowrowa, Kavaroah; Kaneecabareea, Kaneekapo berei; Mahai mahai, Ka,mea,mea.]

[Footnote 2: Mr King relates, that our voyagers, upon coming to anchor, were surprised to find their reception very different from what it had been on their first arrival. He acknowledges, however, that the unsuspicious conduct of Terreeoboo, who, the next morning, came immediately to visit Captain Cook, and the consequent return of the natives to their former friendly intercourse with the English, are strong proofs, that they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct. "Things," says Mr King, "went on in their usual quiet course till the afternoon of the 13th."]

[Footnote 3: Mr King acknowledges, that he was always fearful, that the degree of confidence which Captain Cook had acquired from his long and uninterrupted course of success, in his transactions with the natives of these seas, might, at some unlucky moment, put him too much off his guard.]

[Footnote 4: I have been informed, on the best authority, that, in the opinion of Captain Philips, who commanded the marines, and whose judgment must be of the greatest weight, it is extremely doubtful whether any thing could successfully have been done to preserve the life of Captain Cook, even if no mistake had been committed on the part of the launch.]

[Footnote 5: I have heard one of the gentlemen who were present say, that the first injury he received was from a dagger, as it is represented in the voyage; but, from the account of many others, who were also eye-witnesses, I am confident, in saying, that he was first struck with a club. I was afterwards confirmed in this, by Kaireekea, the priest, who particularly mentioned the name of the man who gave him the blow, as well as that of the chief, who afterwards struck him with the dagger. This is a point not worth disputing about; I mention it, as being solicitous to be accurate in this account, even in circumstances, of themselves, not very material.]

[Footnote 6: Samwell's Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook, p. 2-20.]

SECTION IV.

_Transactions at Owhyhee subsequent to the Death of Captain Cook.--Gallant Behaviour of the Lieutenant of Marines.--Dangerous Situation of the Party at the Morai.--Bravery of one of the Natives.--Consultation respecting future Measures.--Demand of the Body of Captain Cook.--Evasive and insidious Conduct of Koah and the Chiefs.--Insolent Behaviour of the Natives.--Promotion of Officers.--Arrival of two Priests with Part of the Body.--Extraordinary Behaviour of two Boys.--Burning of the Village of Kakooa.--Unfortunate Destruction of the Dwellings of the Priests.--Recovery of the Bones of Captain Cook.--Departure from Karakakooa Bay._

It has been already stated, that four of the marines, who attended Captain Cook, were killed by the islanders on the spot. The rest, with Mr Phillips, their lieutenant, threw themselves into the water, and escaped, under cover of a smart fire from the boats. On this occasion, a remarkable instance of gallant behaviour, and of affection for his men, was shewn by that officer; for he had scarcely got into the boat, when, seeing one of the marines, who was a bad swimmer, struggling in the water, and in danger of being taken by the enemy, he immediately jumped into the sea to his assistance, though much wounded himself; and, after receiving a blow on the head from a stone, which had nearly sent him to the bottom, be caught the man by the hair, and brought him safe off.

Our people continued for some time to keep up a constant fire from the boats (which, during the whole transaction, were not more than twenty yards from the land,) in order to afford their unfortunate companions, if any of them should still remain alive, an opportunity of escaping. These efforts, seconded by a few guns that were fired at the same time from the Resolution, having forced the natives at last to retire, a small boat, manned by five of our young midshipmen, pulled toward the shore, where they saw the bodies, without any signs of life, lying on the ground; but judging it dangerous to attempt to bring them off, with so small a force, and their ammunition being nearly expended, they returned to the ships, leaving them in possession of the islanders, together with ten stands of arms.

As soon as the general consternation, which the news of this calamity occasioned throughout both crews, had a little subsided, their attention was called to our party at the _morai_, where the mast and sails were on shore, with a guard of only six marines. It is impossible for me to describe the emotions of my own mind, during the time these transactions had been carrying on at the other side of the bay. Being at the distance of only a short mile from the village of Kowrowa, we could see distinctly an immense crowd collected on the spot where Captain Cook had just before landed. We heard the firing of the musketry, and could perceive some extraordinary bustle and agitation in the multitude. We afterwards saw the natives flying, the boats retire from the shore, and passing and repassing, in great stillness, between the ships. I must confess, that my heart soon misgave me. Where a life so dear and valuable was concerned, it was impossible not to be alarmed, by appearances both new and threatening. But, besides this, I knew that a long and uninterrupted course of success, in his transactions with the natives of these seas, had given the captain a degree of confidence, that I was always fearful might, at some unlucky moment, put him too much off his guard; and I now saw all the dangers to which that confidence might lead, without receiving much consolation from considering the experience that had given rise to it.[1]

[Footnote 1: This is a very happy reflection, and implies a discriminating power and good sense, of which, it is justice to his talents to say, Captain King has exhibited no few or inconsiderable examples.--E.]

My first care, on hearing the muskets fired, was, to assure the people, who had assembled in considerable numbers round the wall of our consecrated field, and seemed equally at a loss with ourselves how to account for what they had seen and heard, that they should not be molested; and that, at all events, I was desirous of continuing on peaceable terms with them. We remained in this posture till the boats had returned on board, when Captain Clerke, observing through his telescope, that we were surrounded by the natives, and apprehending they meant to attack us, ordered two four-pounders to be fired at them. Fortunately, these guns, though well aimed, did no mischief, and yet gave the natives a convincing proof of their power. One of the balls broke a cocoa-nut tree in the middle, under which a party of them were sitting; and the other shivered a rock that stood in an exact line with them. As I had just before given them the strongest assurances of their safety, I was exceedingly mortified at this act of hostility; and, to prevent a repetition of it, immediately dispatched a boat to acquaint Captain Clerke, that, at present, I was on the most friendly terms with the natives; and that, if occasion should hereafter arise for altering my conduct toward them, I would hoist a jack, as a signal for him to afford us all the assistance in his power.

We expected the return of the boat with the utmost impatience; and, after remaining a quarter of an hour under the most torturing anxiety and suspense, our fears were at length confirmed by the arrival of Mr Bligh, with orders to strike the tents as quickly as possible, and to send the sails that were repairing on board. Just at the same moment, our friend Kaireekeea, having also received intelligence of the death of Captain Cook, from a native who had arrived from the other side of the bay, came to me, with great sorrow and dejection in his countenance, to enquire if it was true.

Our situation was, at this time, extremely critical and important; not only our own lives, but the event of the expedition, and the return of at least one of the ships, being involved in the same common danger. We had the mast of the Resolution, and the greatest part of our sails, on shore, under the protection of only six marines: Their loss would have been irreparable; and though the natives had not as yet shewn the smallest disposition to molest us, yet it was impossible to answer for the alteration which the news of the transaction at Kowrowa might produce. I therefore thought it prudent to dissemble my belief of the death of Captain Cook, and to desire Kaireekeea to discourage the report; lest either the fear of our resentment, or the successful example of their countrymen, might lead them to seize the favourable opportunity, which at this time offered itself, of giving us a second blow. At the same time I advised him to bring old Kaoo and the rest of the priests, into a large house that was close to the _morai_; partly out of regard to their safety, in case it should have been found necessary to proceed to extremities; and, partly, to have him near us, in order to make use of his authority with the people, if it could be instrumental in preserving peace.

Having placed the marines on the top of the _morai_, which formed a strong and advantageous post, and left the command with Mr Bligh, giving him the most positive directions to act entirely on the defensive, I went on board the Discovery, in order to represent to Captain Clerke the dangerous situation of our affairs. As soon as I quitted the spot, the natives began to annoy our people with stones; and I had scarcely reached the ship, before I heard the firing of the marines. I therefore returned instantly on shore, where I found things growing every moment more alarming. The natives were arming, and putting on their mats; and their numbers increased very fast. I could also perceive several large bodies marching toward us, along the cliff which separates the village of Kakooa from the north side of the bay, where the village of Kowrowa is situated.

They began at first to attack us with stones, from behind the walls of their enclosures; and finding no resistance on our part, they soon grew more daring. A few resolute fellows, having crept along the beach, under cover of the rocks, suddenly made their appearance at the foot of the _morai_, with a design, as it seemed, of storming it on the side next the sea, which was its only accessible part; and were not dislodged, till after they had stood a considerable number of shot, and seen one of their party fall.

The bravery of one of these assailants well deserves to be particularly mentioned; for, having returned to carry off his companion, amidst the fire of our whole party, a wound which he received made him quit the body and retire; but, in a few minutes, he again appeared, and being again wounded, he was obliged a second time to retreat. At this moment I arrived at the _morai_, and saw him return the third time, bleeding and faint; and being informed of what had happened, I forbade the soldiers to fire, and he was suffered to carry off his friend; which he was just able to perform, and then fell down himself, and expired.

About this time a strong reinforcement from both ships having landed, the natives retreated behind their walls; which, giving me access to our friendly priests, I sent one of them to endeavour to bring their countrymen to some terms, and to propose to them, that if they would desist from throwing stones, I would not permit our men to fire. This truce was agreed to; and we were suffered to launch the mast, and carry off the sails, and our astronomical apparatus, unmolested. As soon as we had quitted the _morai_, they took possession of it, and some of them threw a few stones, but without doing us any mischief.

It was half an hour past eleven o'clock when I got on board the Discovery, where I found no decisive plan had been adopted for our future proceedings. The restitution of the boat, and the recovery of the body of Captain Cook, were the objects which, on all hands, we agreed to insist on; and it was my opinion that some vigorous steps should be taken, in case the demand of them was not immediately complied with.

Though my feelings, on the death of a beloved and honoured friend, may be suspected to have had some share in this opinion, yet there were certainly other reasons, and those of the most serious kind, that had considerable weight with me. The confidence which their success in killing our chief, and forcing us to quit the shore, must naturally have inspired; and the advantage, however trifling, which they had obtained over us the preceding day, would, I had no doubt, encourage them to make some further dangerous attempts; and the more especially, as they had little reason, from what they had hitherto seen, to dread the effects of our fire-arms. Indeed, contrary to the expectations of every one, this sort of weapon had produced no signs of terror in them. On our side, such was the condition of the ships, and the state of discipline amongst us, that had a vigorous attack been made on us in the night, it would have been impossible to answer for the consequences.

In these apprehensions, I was supported by the opinion of most of the officers on board; and nothing seemed to me so likely to encourage the natives to make the attempt, as the appearance of our being inclined to an accommodation, which they could only attribute to weakness or fear.

In favour of more conciliatory measures, it was justly urged, that the mischief was done, and irreparable; that the natives had a strong claim to our regard, on account of their former friendship and kindness; and the more especially, as the late melancholy accident did not appear to have arisen from any premeditated design; that, on the part of Terreeoboo, his ignorance of the theft, his readiness to accompany Captain Cook on board, and his having actually sent his two sons into the boat, must free him from the smallest degree of suspicion; that the conduct of his women and the _Erees_ might easily be accounted for, from the apprehensions occasioned by the armed force with which Captain Cook came on shore, and the hostile preparations in the bay; appearances so different from the terms of friendship and confidence, in which both parties had hitherto lived, that the arming of the natives was evidently with a design to resist the attempt, which they had some reason to imagine would be made, to carry off their king by force, and was naturally to be expected from a people full of affection and attachment to their chiefs.

To these motives of humanity, others of a prudential nature were added; that we were in want of water and other refreshments; that our foremast would require six or eight days work before it could be stepped; that the spring was advancing apace; and that the speedy prosecution of our next northern expedition ought now to be our sole object; that, therefore, to engage in a vindictive contest with the inhabitants, might not only lay us under the imputation of unnecessary cruelty, but would occasion an unavoidable delay in the equipment of the ships.

In this latter opinion Captain Clerke concurred; and though I was convinced, that an early display of vigorous resentment would more effectually have answered every object both of prudence and humanity, I was not sorry that the measures I had recommended were rejected. For, though the contemptuous behaviour of the natives, and their subsequent opposition to our necessary operations on shore, arising, I have no doubt, from a misconstruction of our lenity, compelled us at last to have recourse to violence in our own defence; yet I am not so sure that the circumstances of the case would, in the opinion of the world, have justified the use of force on our part in the first instance. Cautionary rigour is at all times invidious; and has this additional objection to it, that the severity of a preventive course, when it best succeeds, leaves its expediency the least apparent.

During the time we were thus engaged, in concerting some plan for our future conduct, a prodigious concourse of natives still kept possession of the shore; and some of them came off in canoes, and had the boldness to approach, within pistol-shot of the ships, and to insult us by various marks of contempt and defiance. It was with great difficulty we could restrain the sailors from the use of their arms on these occasions; but as pacific measures had been, resolved on, the canoes were suffered to return unmolested. In pursuance of this plan, it was determined, that I should proceed toward the shore, with the boats of both ships, well manned and armed; with a view to bring the natives to a parley, and, if possible, to obtain a conference with some of the chiefs.

If this attempt succeeded, I was to demand the dead bodies, and particularly that of Captain Cook; to threaten them with our vengeance in case of a refusal; but by no means to fire, unless attacked; and not to land on any account whatever. These orders were delivered to me before the whole party, and in the most positive manner.

I left the ships about four o'clock in the afternoon; and, as we approached the shore, I perceived every indication of a hostile reception. The whole crowd of natives was in motion; the women and children retiring; the men putting on their war-mats, and arming themselves with long spears and daggers. We also observed, that since the morning they had thrown up stone breast-works along the beach where Captain Cook had landed, probably in expectation of an attack at that place; and as soon as we were within reach, they began to throw stones at us with slings, but without doing any mischief. Concluding, therefore, that all attempts to bring them to a parley would be in vain, unless I first gave them some ground for mutual confidence, I ordered the armed boats to stop, and went on in the small boat alone, with a white flag in my hand, which, by a general cry of joy from the natives, I had the satisfaction to find was instantly understood. The women immediately returned from the side of the hill, whither they had retired; the men threw off their mats, and all sat down together by the water-side, extending their arms, and inviting me to come on shore.

Though this behaviour was very expressive of a friendly disposition, yet I could not help entertaining some suspicions of its sincerity. But when I saw Koah, with a boldness and assurance altogether unaccountable, swimming off toward the boat, with a white flag in his hand, I thought it necessary to return this mark of confidence, and therefore received him into the boat, though armed; a circumstance which did not tend to lessen my suspicions. I must confess I had long harboured an unfavourable opinion of this man. The priests had always told us that he was of a malicious disposition, and no friend of ours; and the repeated detections of his fraud and treachery had convinced us of the truth of their representations. Add to all this, the shocking transaction of the morning, in which he was seen acting a principal part, made me feel the utmost horror at finding myself so near him; and as he came up to me, with feigned tears, and embraced me, I was so distrustful of his intentions, that I could not help taking hold of the point of the _pahooah_, which he held in his hand, and turning it from me. I told him, that I had come to demand the body of Captain Cook; and to declare war against them, unless it was instantly restored. He assured me this should be done as soon as possible; and that he would go himself for that purpose; and, after begging of me a piece of iron, with as much assurance as if nothing extraordinary had happened, he leaped into the sea, and swam ashore, calling out to his countrymen that we were all friends again.

We waited near an hour, with great anxiety, for his return; during which time the rest of the boats had approached so near the shore as to enter into conversation with a party of the natives, at some distance from us; by whom they were plainly given to understand, that the body had been cut to pieces, and carried up the country; but of this circumstance I was not informed till our return to the ships.

I began now to express some impatience at Koah's delay; upon which the chiefs pressed me to come on shore; assuring me, that if I would go myself to Terreeoboo, the body would certainly be restored to me. When they found they could not prevail on me to land, they attempted, under a pretence of wishing to converse with more ease, to decoy our boat among some rocks, where they would have had it in their power to cut us off from the rest. It was no difficult matter to see through these artifices; and I was, therefore, strongly inclined to break off all further communication with them, when a chief came to us, who was the particular friend of Captain Clerke, and of the officers of the Discovery, on board which ship he had sailed when we last left the bay, intending to take his passage to _Mowee_. He told us, that he came from Terreeoboo, to acquaint us, that the body was carried up the country; but that it should be brought to us the next morning. There appeared a great deal of sincerity in his manner; and being asked if he told a falsehood, he hooked his two fore-fingers together, which is understood amongst these islanders as the sign of truth; in the use of which they are very scrupulous.

As I was now at a loss in what manner to proceed, I sent Mr Vancouver to acquaint Captain Clerke with all that had passed; that my opinion was they meant not to keep their word with us; and were so far from being sorry at what had happened, that, on the contrary, they were full of spirits and confidence on account of their late success, and sought only to gain time, till they could contrive some scheme for getting us into their power. Mr Vancouver came back with orders for me to return on board; having given the natives to understand, that, if the body was not brought the next morning, the town should be destroyed.

When they saw that we were going off, they endeavoured to provoke us by the most insulting and contemptuous gestures. Some of our people said they could distinguish several of the natives parading about in the clothes of our unfortunate comrades; and among them a chief, brandishing Captain Cook's hanger, and a woman holding the scabbard. Indeed, there can be no doubt but that our behaviour had given them a mean opinion of our courage, for they could have but little notion of the motives of humanity that directed it.

In consequence of the report I made to Captain Clerke, of what I conceived to be the present temper and disposition of the islanders, the most effectual measures were taken to guard against any attack they might make in the night. The boats were moored with top-chains; additional sentinels were posted on both ships; and guard-boats were stationed to row round them, in order to prevent the natives from cutting the cables. During the night we observed a prodigious number of lights on the hills, which made some of us imagine they were removing their effects back into the country, in consequence of our threats. But I rather believe them to have been sacrifices that were performing on account of the war in which they imagined themselves about to be engaged; and, most probably, the bodies of our slain countrymen were at that time burning. We afterwards saw fires of the same kind, as we passed the island of Morotoi; and which, we were told by some natives then on board, were made on account of the war they had declared against a neighbouring island. And this agrees with what we learned amongst the Friendly and Society Isles, that, previous to any expedition against an enemy, the chiefs always endeavoured to animate and inflame the courage of the people by feasts and rejoicings in the night.

We remained the whole night undisturbed, except by the howlings and lamentations which were heard on shore; and early the next morning Koah came alongside the Resolution, with a present of cloth and a small pig, which he desired leave to present to me. I have mentioned before, that I was supposed, by the natives, to be the son of Captain Cook; and as he, in his lifetime, had always suffered them to believe it, I was probably considered as the chief after his death. As soon as I came on deck, I questioned, him about the body; and on his returning me nothing but evasive answers, I refused to accept his presents; and was going to dismiss him, with some expressions of anger and resentment, had not Captain Clerke, judging it best, at all events, to keep up the appearance of friendship, thought it more proper that he should be treated with the usual respect.

This treacherous fellow came frequently to us, during the course of the forenoon, with some trifling present or other; and, as I always observed him eyeing every part of the ship with great attention, I look care he should see we were well prepared for our defence.

He was exceedingly urgent, both with Captain Clerke and myself, to go on shore, laying all the blame of the detention of the bodies on the other chiefs; and assuring us that every thing might be settled to our satisfaction by a personal interview with Terreeoboo. However, his conduct was too suspicious to make it prudent to comply with this request; and indeed a fact came afterward to our knowledge, which proved the entire falsehood of his pretences: For we were told, that, immediately after the action, in which Captain Cook was killed, the old king had retired to a cave in the steep part of the mountain that hangs over the bay, which was accessible only by the help of ropes, and where he remained for many days, having his victuals let down to him by cords.

When Koah returned from the ships, we could perceive that his countrymen, who had been collected, by break of day, in vast crowds on the shore, thronged about him with great eagerness; as if to learn the intelligence he had acquired, and what was to be done in consequence of it. It is very probable, that they expected we should attempt to put our threats in execution; and they seemed fully resolved to stand their ground. During the whole morning we heard conchs blowing in different parts of the coast; large parties were seen marching over the hills; and, in short, appearances were so alarming, that we carried out a stream-anchor, to enable us to haul the ship abreast of the town, in case of an attack; and stationed boats off the north point of the bay, to prevent a surprise from that quarter.

The breach of their engagement to restore the bodies of the slain, and the warlike posture in which they at this time appeared, occasioned fresh debates amongst us concerning the measures next to be pursued. It was at last determined, that nothing should be suffered to interfere with the repair of the mast, and the preparations for our departure; but that we should, nevertheless, continue our negotiations for the recovery of the bodies.

The greatest part of the day was taken up in getting the fore-mast into a proper situation on deck, for the carpenters to work upon it; and in making the necessary alterations in the commissions of the officers. The command of the expedition having devolved on Captain Clerke, he removed on board the Resolution, appointed Lieutenant Gore to be captain of the Discovery, and promoted Mr Harvey, a midshipman, who had been with Captain Cook in his two last voyages, to the vacant lieutenancy. During the whole day we met with no interruption from the natives; and at night the launch was again moored with a top-chain; and guard-boats stationed round both ships as before.

About eight o'clock, it being very dark, a canoe was heard paddling toward the ship; and as soon as it was seen both the sentinels on deck fired into it. There were two persons in the canoe, and they immediately roared out "_Tinnee!_" which was the way in which they pronounced my name, and said they were friends, and had something for me belonging to Captain Cook. When they came on board, they threw themselves at our feet, and appeared exceedingly frightened. Luckily, neither of them was hurt, notwithstanding the balls of both pieces had gone through the canoe. One of them was the person, whom I have before mentioned under the name of the _Taboo man_, who constantly attended Captain Cook with the circumstances of ceremony I have already described; and who, though a man of rank in the island, could scarcely be hindered from performing for him the lowest offices of a menial servant. After lamenting, with abundance of tears, the loss of the _Orono_, he told us, that he had brought us a part of his body. He then presented to us a small bundle, wrapped up in cloth, which he brought under his arm; and it is impossible to describe the horror which seized us, on finding in it a piece of human flesh, about nine or ten pounds weight. This, he said, was all that remained of the body; that the rest was cut to pieces, and burnt; but that the head and all the bones, except what belonged to the trunk, were in the possession of Terreeoboo and the other _Erees_; that what we saw had been allotted to Kaoo, the chief of the priests, to be made use of in some religious ceremony; and that he had sent it as a proof of his innocence and attachment to us.

This afforded an opportunity of informing ourselves whether they were cannibals; and we did not neglect it. We first tried, by many indirect questions, put to each of them apart, to learn in what manner the rest of the bodies had been disposed of; and finding them very constant in one story, that, after the flesh had been cut off, it was all burnt, we at last put the direct question, whether they had not eat some of it? They immediately shewed as much horror at the idea as any European would have done; and asked, very naturally, if that was the custom amongst us? They afterward asked us, with great earnestness and apparent apprehension, "When the _Orono_ would come again; and what he would do to them on his return?" The same enquiry was frequently made afterward by others; and this idea agrees with the general tenor of their conduct toward him, which shewed that they considered him as a being of a superior nature.

We pressed our two friendly visitors to remain on board till morning, but in vain. They told us, that if this transaction should come to the knowledge of the king, or chiefs, it might be attended with the most fatal consequences to their whole society; in order to prevent which they had been obliged to come off to us in the dark; and that the same precaution would be necessary in returning on shore. They informed us farther, that the chiefs were eager to revenge the death of their countrymen; and particularly cautioned us against trusting Koah, who, they said, was our mortal and implacable enemy; and desired nothing more ardently than an opportunity of fighting us; to which the blowing of the conchs, we heard in the morning, was meant as a challenge.

We learned from these men, that seventeen of their countrymen were killed in the first action at Kowrowa, of whom five were chiefs; and that Kaneena and his brother, our very particular friends, were unfortunately of that number. Eight, they said, were killed at the observatory, three of whom were also of the first rank.

About eleven o'clock our two friends left us, and took the precaution to desire, that our guard-boat might attend them, till they had passed the Discovery, lest they should again be fired upon, which might alarm their countrymen on shore, and expose them to the danger of being discovered. This request was complied with; and we had the satisfaction to find, that they got safe and undiscovered to land.

During the remainder of this night, we heard the same loud howling and lamentations, as in the preceding one. Early in the morning, we received another visit from Koah. I must confess, I was a little piqued to find, that notwithstanding the most evident marks of treachery in his conduct, and the positive testimony of our friends the priests, he should still be permitted to carry on the same farce, and to make us at least appear to be the dupes of his hypocrisy. Indeed our situation was become extremely awkward and unpromising; none of the purposes for which this pacific course of proceeding had been adopted, having hitherto been in the least forwarded by it. No satisfactory answer whatever had been given to our demands; we did not seem to be at all advanced toward a reconciliation with the islanders; they still kept in force on the shore, as if determined to resist any attempts we might make to land; and yet the attempt was become absolutely necessary, as the completing our supply of water would not admit of any longer delay.

However, it must be observed, in justice to the conduct of Captain Clerke, that it was very probable, from the great number of the natives, and from the resolution with which they seemed to expect us, an attack could not have been made without some danger; and that the loss of a very few men might have been severely felt by us, during the remaining course of our voyage. Whereas the delaying the execution of our threats, though on the one hand it lessened their opinion of our power, had the effect of causing them to disperse on the other. For this day, about noon, finding us persist in our inactivity, great bodies of them, after blowing their conchs, and using every mode of defiance, marched off over the hills, and never appeared afterward. Those, however, who remained, were not the less daring and insolent. One man had the audacity to come within musket-shot a-head of the ship; and, after slinging several stones at us, he waved Captain Cook's hat over his head, whilst his countrymen on shore were exulting and encouraging his boldness. Our people were all in a flame at this insult, and coming in a body on the quarter-deck, begged they might no longer be obliged to put up with these repeated provocations; and requested me to obtain permission for them from Captain Clerke, to avail themselves of the first fair occasion of revenging the death of their commander. On my acquainting him with what was passing, he gave orders for some great guns to be fired at the natives on shore; and promised the crew, that if they should meet with any molestation at the watering-place the next day, they should then be left at liberty to chastise them.

It is somewhat remarkable, that before we could bring our guns to bear, the islanders had suspected our intentions, from the stir they saw in the ship, and had retired behind their houses and walls. We were therefore obliged to fire, in some measure, at random; notwithstanding which, our shot produced all the effects that could have been desired; for, soon after, we saw Koah paddling toward us, with extreme haste, and on his arrival we learned, that some people had been killed, and amongst the rest, Maiha-maiha, a principal chief, and a near relation of the king.[2]

[Footnote 2: The word _matee_ is commonly used, in the language of these islands, to express either killing or wounding; and we were afterwards told, that this chief had only received a slight blow on the face from a stone, which had been struck by one of the balls.]

Soon after the arrival of Koah, two boys swam off from, the _morai_ toward the ships, having each a long spear in his hand; and after they had approached pretty near, they began to chant a song in a very solemn manner, the subject of which, from their often mentioning the word _Orono_, and pointing to the village where Captain Cook was killed, we concluded to be the late calamitous disaster. Having sung in a plaintive strain for about twelve or fifteen minutes, during the whole of which time they remained in the water, they went on board the Discovery and delivered their spears, and after making a short stay, returned on shore. Who sent them, or what was the object of this ceremony, we were never able to learn.

At night, the usual precautions were taken for the security of the ships; and as soon as it was dark, our two friends, who had visited us the night before, came off again. They assured us, that though the effects of our great guns, this afternoon, had terrified the chiefs exceedingly, they had by no means laid aside their hostile intentions, and advised us to be on our guard.

The next morning, the boats of both ships were sent ashore for water, and the Discovery was warped close to the beach, in order to cover that service. We soon found that the intelligence which the priests had sent us, was not without foundation; and that the natives were resolved to take every opportunity of annoying us, when, it could be done without much risk.

Throughout all this group of islands, the villages, for the most part, are situated near the sea; and the adjacent ground is enclosed with stone walls, about three feet high. These, we at first imagined, were intended for the division of property; but we now discovered, that they served, and probably were principally designed, for a defence against invasion. They consist of loose stones, and the inhabitants are very dexterous in shifting them with great quickness, to such situations, as the direction of the attack may require. In the sides of the mountain, which hangs over the bay, they have also little holes, or caves, of considerable depth, the entrance of which is secured by a fence of the same kind. From behind both these defences, the natives kept perpetually harassing our waterers with stones; nor could the small force we had on shore, with the advantage of muskets, compel them to retreat.

In this exposed situation, our people were so taken up in attending to their own safety, that they employed the whole forenoon in filling only one ton of water. As it was therefore impossible to perform this service, till their assailants were driven to a greater distance, the Discovery was ordered to dislodge them with her great guns, which being effected by a few discharges, the men landed without molestation. However, the natives soon after made their appearance again, in their usual mode of attack; and it was now found absolutely necessary to burn down some straggling houses near the well, behind which they had taken shelter. In executing these orders, I am sorry to add, that our people were hurried into acts of unnecessary cruelty and devastation. Something ought certainly to be allowed to their resentment of the repeated insults and contemptuous behaviour of the islanders, and to the natural desire of revenging the loss of their commander. But, at the same time, their conduct served strongly to convince me, that the utmost precaution is necessary in trusting, though but for a moment, the discretionary use of arms in the hands of private seamen or soldiers on such occasions. The rigour of discipline, and the habits of obedience, by which their force is kept directed to its proper objects, lead them naturally enough to conceive, that whatever they have the power; they have also the right to do. Actual disobedience being almost the only crime for which they are accustomed to expect punishment, they learn to consider it as the only measure of right and wrong; and hence are apt to conclude, that what they can do with impunity, they may do with justice and honour. So that the feelings of humanity, which are inseparable from us all, and that generosity toward an unresisting enemy, which at other times is the distinguishing mark of brave men, become but weak restraints to the exercise of violence, when opposed to the desire they naturally have of shewing their own independence and power.[3]

[Footnote 3: In the preceding remarks, we have another strong confirmation, if any additional one were wanting, of the opinions formerly given respecting the character and usual conduct of sailors. Nor are they less imperative, as to the expediency of modifying the education and treatment of that useful class of subjects, than what we ventured, on another occasion, to suggest. They have, however, the recommendation of experience, to which, in general, more regard is properly enough shewn, than can be expected towards arguments drawn from merely abstract opinions, too often so remote from the common track of life as to be quite inapplicable to the diversities and complicated relations of human societies.--E.]

I have already mentioned, that orders had been given to burn only a few straggling huts, which afforded shelter to the natives. We were therefore a good deal surprised to see the whole village on fire; and before a boat, that was sent to stop the progress of the mischief, could reach the shore, the houses of our old and constant friends, the priests, were all in flames. I cannot enough lament the illness that confined me on board this day. The priests had always been under my protection; and unluckily the officers who were then on duty, having been seldom ashore at the _morai_, were not much acquainted with the circumstances of the place. Had I been present myself, I might probably have been, the means of saving their little society from destruction.

Several of the natives were shot, in making their escape from the flames; and our people cut off the heads of two of them, and brought them on board. The fate of one poor islander was much lamented by us all. As he was coming to the well for water, he was shot at by one of the marines. The ball struck his calibash, which he immediately threw from him and fled. He was pursued into one of the caves I have before described, and no lion could have defended his den with greater courage and fierceness, till at last, after having kept two of our people at bay for a considerable time, he expired, covered with wounds. It was this accident that first brought us acquainted with the use of these caverns.

At this time, an elderly man was taken prisoner, bound, and sent on board in the same boat with the heads of his two countrymen. I never saw horror so strongly pictured, as in the face of this man, nor so violent a transition to extravagant joy, as when he was untied, and told he might go away in safety. He shewed us he did not want gratitude, as he frequently afterward returned with presents of provisions, and also did us other services.

Soon after the village was destroyed, we saw, coming down the hill, a man, attended by fifteen or twenty boys, holding pieces of white cloth, green boughs, and plantains, &c. in their hands. I know not how it happened, that this peaceful embassy, as soon as they were within reach, received the fire of a party of our men. This, however, did not stop them. They continued their procession, and the officer on duty came up in time to prevent a second discharge. As they approached nearer, it was found to be our much-esteemed friend Kairekeea, who had fled on our first setting fire to the village, and had now returned, and desired to be sent on board the Resolution.

When he arrived, we found him exceedingly grave and thoughtful. We endeavoured to make him understand the necessity we were under of setting fire to the village, by which his house, and those of his brethren, were unintentionally consumed. He expostulated a little with us on our want of friendship, and on our ingratitude. And, indeed, it was not till now, that we learnt the whole extent of the injury we had done them. He told us, that relying on the promises I had made them, and on the assurances they had afterward received from the men, who had brought us the remains of Captain Cook, they had not removed their effects back into the country with the rest of the inhabitants, but had put every thing that was valuable of their own, as well as what they had collected from us, into a house close to the _morai_, where they had the mortification to see it all set on fire by ourselves.[4]

[Footnote 4: How painful, on the other hand, must this occurrence have proved to a man of King's refined feelings and sentiments! But it ought not to be forgotten, that even such an event, though not at all intended, was almost a necessary consequence of the conduct, which, in a moment of irritation, not however totally disjoined from every plea of prudence, he himself had thought right to prescribe. So impolitic, and so blind in the distribution of mischief, is revenge, though apparently sanctioned by the hope and calculation of advantage.--E.]

On coming on board, he had seen the heads of his countrymen lying on the deck, at which he was exceedingly shocked, and desired, with great earnestness, that they might be thrown overboard. This request Captain Clerke instantly ordered to be complied with.

In the evening, the watering party returned on board, having met with no farther interruption. We passed a gloomy night; the cries and lamentations we heard on shore being far more deadful than ever. Our only consolation was, the hope that we should have no occasion, in future, for a repetition of such severities.

It is very extraordinary, that amidst all these disturbances, the women of the island who were on board, never offered to leave us, nor discovered the smallest apprehensions either for themselves or their friends ashore. So entirely unconcerned did they appear, that some of them, who were on deck when the town was in flames, seemed to admire the sight, and frequently cried out, that it was _maitai_, or very fine.

The next morning, Koah came off as usual to the ships. As there existed no longer any necessity for keeping terms with him, I was allowed to have my own way. When he approached toward the side of the ship, singing a song, and offering me a hog and some plantains, I ordered him to keep off, cautioning him never to appear again without Captain Cook's bones, lest his life should pay the forfeit of his frequent breach of promise. He did not appear much mortified with this reception, but went immediately on shore, and joined a party of his countrymen, who were pelting the waterers with stones. The body of the young man who had been killed the day before, was found this morning, lying at the entrance of the cave; and some of our people went and threw a mat over it; soon after which, they saw some men carrying him off on their shoulders, and could hear them singing, as they marched, a mournful song.

The natives, being at last convinced that it was not the want of ability to punish them, which had hitherto made us tolerate their provocations, desisted from giving us any farther molestation; and, in the evening, a chief called Eappo, who had seldom visited us, but whom we knew to be a man of the very first consequence, came with presents from Terreeoboo to sue for peace. These presents were received, and he was dismissed with the same answer which had before been given, that until the remains of Captain Cook should be restored, no peace would be granted. We learned from this person, that the flesh of all the bodies of our people, together with the bones of the trunks, had been burnt, that the limb bones of the marines had been divided amongst the inferior chiefs, and that those of Captain Cook had been disposed of in the following manner: The head to a great chief called Kahoo-opeon, the hair to Maiha-maiha, and the legs, thighs, and arms to Terreeoboo. After it was dark, many of the inhabitants came off with roots and other vegetables, and we also received two large presents of the same articles from Kaireekeea.

The 19th was chiefly taken up in sending and receiving the messages which passed between Captain Clerke and Terreeoboo. Eappo was very pressing that one of our officers should go on shore; and, in the mean time, offered to remain as a hostage on board. This request, however, it was not thought proper to comply with; and he left us with a promise of bringing the bones the next day. At the beach, the waterers did not meet with the least opposition from the natives; who, notwithstanding our cautious behaviour, came amongst us again, without the smallest appearance of diffidence or apprehension.

Early in the morning of the 20th, we had the satisfaction of getting the foremast stepped. It was an operation attended with great difficulty and some danger, our ropes being so exceedingly rotten, that the purchase gave way several times.

Between ten and eleven o'clock, we saw a great number of people descending the hill, which is over the beach, in a kind of procession, each man carrying a sugar-cane or two on his shoulders, and bread-fruit, _taro_, and plantains in his hand. They were preceded by two drummers; who, when they came to the water-side, sat down by a white flag, and began to beat their drums, while those who had followed them, advanced one by one, and having deposited the presents they had brought, retired in the same order. Soon after, Eappo came in sight, in his long feathered cloak, bearing something with great solemnity in his hands; and having placed himself on a rock, he made signs for a boat to be sent to him.

Captain Clerke, conjecturing that he had brought the bones of Captain Cook, which proved to be the fact, went himself in the pinnace to receive them, and ordered me to attend him in the cutter. When we arrived at the beach, Eappo came into the pinnace, and delivered to the captain the bones wrapped up in a large quantity of fine new cloth, and covered with a spotted cloak of black and white feathers. He afterward attended us to the Resolution, but could not be prevailed upon to go on board, probably not choosing, from a sense of decency, to be present at the opening of the bundle. We found in it both the hands of Captain Cook entire, which were well known from a remarkable scar on one of them, that divided the thumb from the fore-finger, the whole length of the metacarpal bone; the skull, but with the scalp separated from it, and the bones that form the face wanting; the scalp, with the hair upon it cut short, and the ears adhering to it; the bones of both arms, with the skin of the fore-arms hanging to them; the thigh and leg-bones joined together, but without the feet. The ligaments of the joints were entire, and the whole bore evident marks of having been in the fire, except the hands, which had the flesh left upon them, and were cut in several places, and crammed with salt, apparently with an intention of preserving them. The scalp had a cut in the back part of it, but the skull was free from any fracture. The lower jaw and feet, which were wanting, Eappo told us, had been seized by different chiefs, and that Terreeoboo was using every means to recover them.

The next morning, Eappo and the king's son came on board, and brought with them the remaining bones of Captain Cook, the barrels of his gun, his shoes, and some other trifles that belonged to him. Eappo took great pains to convince us that Terreeoboo, Maiha-maiha, and himself, were most heartily desirous of peace; that they had given us the most convincing proof of it in their power; and that they had been prevented from giving it sooner by the other chiefs, many of whom were still our enemies. He lamented, with the greatest sorrow, the death of six chiefs we had killed, some of whom, he said, were amongst our best friends. The cutter, he told us, was taken away by Pareea's people, very probably in revenge for the blow that had been given him, and that it had been broken up the next day. The arms of the marines which we had also demanded, he assured us had been carried off by the common people, and were irrecoverable; the bones of the chief alone having been preserved, as belonging to Terreeoboo and the Erees.

Nothing now remained but to perform the last offices to our great and unfortunate commander. Eappo was dismissed with orders to _taboo_ all the bay; and in the afternoon, the bones having been put into a coffin, and the service read over them, they were committed to the deep with the usual military honours. What our feelings were on this occasion I leave the world to conceive; those who were present know that it is not in my power to express them.

During the forenoon of the 22d, not a canoe was seen paddling in the bay; the _taboo_ which Eappo had laid on it the day before, at our request, not being yet taken off. At length Eappo came off to us. We assured him that we were now entirely satisfied; and that as the _Orono_ was buried, all remembrance of what had passed was buried with him. We afterward desired him to take off the _taboo_, and to make it known, that the people might bring their provisions as usual. The ships were soon surrounded with canoes, and many of the chiefs came on board, expressing great sorrow at what had happened, and their satisfaction at our reconciliation. Several of our friends, who did not visit us, sent presents of large hogs and other provisions. Amongst the rest came the old treacherous Koah, but was refused admittance.

As we had now every thing ready for sea, Captain Clerke imagining, that if the news of our proceedings should reach the islands to leeward before us, it might have a bad effect, gave orders, to unmoor. About eight in the evening we dismissed all the natives, and Eappo and the friendly Kaireekeea took an affectionate leave of us. We immediately weighed, and stood out of the bay. The natives were collected on the shore in great numbers; and, as we passed along, received our last farewells with every mark of affection and good-will.[5]

[Footnote 5: Would it not be generally advantageous for mankind to consider, when they are about to engage, or are engaged, in hostilities against each other, that it is highly probable, nay in most cases certain, that they shall one day come to a good understanding, and regret that their altercation had been so mutually destructive? Would not a notion of this kind, far enough indeed from being any effect or symptom of weakness, contribute essentially to what is surely always a good thing, the moderation of men's passions; and have, therefore, the beneficial tendency, at really the least expence and suffering, to accomplish the only legitimate and avowed end of war, a safe and honourable peace? But no termination of a struggle is entitled to be called either the one or the other, which, resulting merely from the experience of common exhaustion and mutual inability, leaves the parties to grumble over the relics of their animosity, and to brood on their misfortunes, till new means and spirits be produced to resume the conflict. There is much wisdom in the language which a deceased statesman used, when he spoke of "making peace in the spirit of peace," as the only remedy for the political disorders of the world. But this disposition, it seems morally certain, cannot exist, unless in union with the anticipation of the comforts and vastly superior benefits which such a consummation can afford,--E.]

SECTION V.

_Departure from Karakakooa in Search of a Harbour on the South-East Side of Mowee.--Driven to Leeward by the Easterly Winds and Current.--Pass the Island of Tahoorowha.--Description of the South-West Side of Mowee.--Run along the Coasts of Ranai and Morotoi to Woahoo.--Description of the North-East Coast of Woahoo.--Unsuccessful Attempt to Water.--Passage to Atooi.--Anchor in Wymoa Bay.--Dangerous Situation of the Watering Party on Shore.--Civil Dissensions in the Islands.--Visit from the contending Chiefs.--Anchor off Oneeheow.--Final Departure from the Sandwich Islands._

We got clear of the land about ten; and, hoisting in the boats, stood to the northward, with an intention of searching for a harbour on the S.E. side of Mowee, which we had heard frequently mentioned by the natives. The next morning we found ourselves driven to leeward by a heavy swell from the N.E., and a fresh gale springing up from the same quarter, carried us still farther to the westward. At midnight we tacked, and stood to the S. for four hours, in order to keep clear of the land; and at day-break, we found ourselves standing toward a small barren island, called Tahoorowa, which lies seven or eight miles to the S.W. of Mowee.

All prospect of examining more nearly the S.E. parts of Mowee being now destroyed, we bore away, and ran along the S.E. side of Tahoorowa. As we were steering close round its western extremity, with an intention of fetching the W. side of Mowee, we suddenly shoaled our water, and observed the sea breaking on some detached rocks almost right a-head. This obliged us to keep away a league and a half, when we again steered to the northward; and, after passing over a bank, with nineteen fathoms water, stood for a passage between Mowee and an island called Ranai. At noon the latitude was by observation, 20° 42' N., and the longitude 203° 22' E.; the southern extremity of Mowee bearing E.S.E. 1/4 E.; the southern extremity of Ranai W.N.W. 1/4 W.; Morotoi, N.W. and by N.; and the western extremity of Tahoorowa, S. by E., seven miles distant. Our longitude was accurately deduced from observations made by the time-keeper before and after noon, compared with the longitude found by a great many distances of the moon from the sun and stars, which were also observed the same day.

In the afternoon, the weather being calm, with light airs from the W., we stood on to the N.N.W.; but at sun-set, observing a shoal, which appeared to stretch to a considerable distance from the W. point of Mowee, toward the middle of the passage, and the weather being unsettled, we tacked, and stood toward the S.

The S.W. side of this island, which we now had passed without being able to get near the shore, forms the same distant view with the N.E., as seen on our return from the N., in November 1778; the mountainous parts, which are connected by a low flat isthmus, appearing at first like two separate islands. This deception continued on the S.W. side, till we approached within eight or ten leagues of the coast, which, bending inward to a great depth, formed a fine capacious bay. The westernmost point, off which the shoal we have just mentioned runs, is made remarkable by a small hillock, to the southward of which there is a fine sandy bay, with several huts on the shore, and a number of cocoa-nut trees growing about them.

During the course of the day, we were visited by several of the natives, who came off to sell provisions, and we soon found that they had heard of our late unfortunate transactions at Owhyhee. They were very curious to learn the particulars from a woman who had concealed herself on board the Resolution, in order to take her passage to Atooi; enquiring eagerly after Pareea and some other chiefs, and appearing much shocked at the death of Kaneena and his brother. We had, however, the satisfaction to find that, in whatever light the woman might have represented this business, it had no bad effect on their behaviour, which was remarkably civil and submissive.

The weather continued variable during the night; but in the morning of the 25th, having the wind at E., we ran along the S. side of Ranai, till near noon; after which, we had calms and baffling winds till evening, when we steered, with a light easterly breeze, for the W. part of Morotoi. In the course of the day, the current, which, from the time we left Karakakooa Bay, had set from the N.E., changed its direction to the S.E.

During the night, the wind was again variable; but early next morning it settled at E., and blew so fresh as to oblige us to double-reef the top-sails. At seven, in hauling round the W. point of Morotoi, we opened a small bay, at the distance of about two leagues, with a fine sandy beach; but seeing no appearance of fresh water, we stood on to the N., in order to get to the windward of Woahoo, an island which we had seen at our first visit in January 1778.

At two in the afternoon, we saw the land bearing W. by N., eight leagues distant; and having tacked as soon as it was dark, we again bore away at day-light on the 27th; and at half-past ten, were within a league of the shore, near the middle of the N.E. side of the island.

The coast to the northward is formed of detached hills, rising perpendicularly from the sea, with ragged and broken summits, the sides covered with wood, and the vallies between them of a fertile and well-cultivated appearance. To the southward we saw an extensive bay, bounded by a low point of land to the S.E., which was covered with cocoa-nut trees, and off it stood a high insulated rock, about a mile from the shore. The haziness of the weather prevented our seeing distinctly the land to the southward of the point, we could only perceive that it was high and broken.

As the wind continued to blow very fresh, we thought it dangerous to entangle ourselves with a lee-shore, and therefore did not attempt to examine the bay, but hauled up, and steered to the northward in the direction of the coast. At noon, we were abreast of the N. point of the island, about two leagues from the land, which is low and flat, and has a reef stretching off it to the distance of near a mile and a half. The latitude, by observation, 21° 50' N., longitude 202° 15' E., the extreme parts of the island in sight bearing S.S.E. 1/4 E., and S.W. by S. 3/4 W.

Between the N. point and a distant head-land which we saw to the S.W., the land bends inward considerably, and appeared likely to afford a good road. We therefore directed our course along the shore, at the distance of about a mile, carrying regular soundings from twenty to thirteen fathoms. At a quarter past two, the sight of a fine river, running through a deep valley, induced us to come to an anchor in thirteen fathoms water, with a sandy bottom; the extreme points of the bay bearing S.W. by W. 1/2 W., and N.E. by E. 3/4 E., and the mouth of the river S.E. 1/2 E., one mile distant. In the afternoon I attended the two captains on shore, where we found but few of the natives, and those mostly women; the men, they told us, were gone to Morotoi to fight Tahyterree, but that their chief, Perreeoranee, who had stayed behind, would certainly visit us as soon as he heard of our arrival.

We were much disappointed to find the water had a brackish taste for two hundred yards up the river, owing to the marshy ground through which it empties itself into the sea. Beyond this it was perfectly fresh, and formed a fine running stream, along the side of which I walked till I came to the conflux of two small rivulets, that branched off to the right and left of a remarkably steep and romantic mountain. The banks of this river, and indeed the whole we saw of the N.W. part of Woahoo, are well cultivated, and full of villages; and the face of the country is uncommonly beautiful and picturesque.

As the watering at this place would have been attended with great labour, I was sent to examine the coast to leeward; but not being able to land, on account of a reef of coral which stretched along the shore to the distance of half a mile, Captain Clerke determined, without farther loss of time, to proceed to Atooi. At eight in the morning we weighed, and stood to the northward till day-light on the 28th, when we bore away for that island, which we were in sight of by noon; and about sun-set, were off its eastern extremity, which shews itself in a fine green flat point.

It being too late to run for the road on the S.W. side of the island, where we had been the last year, we passed the night in plying on and off, and at nine the next morning, came to an anchor in twenty-five fathoms water, and moored with the best bower in thirty-eight fathoms, the bluff-head on the west side of the village, bearing N.E. by N. 3/4 E., two miles distant; the extremes of the island, N.W. by W. 3/4 W., and S.E. by E. 1/2 E.; the island Oneeheow W. by S. 1/2 W. In running down to the road, from the S.E. point of the island, we saw the appearance of shoal water in several places, at a considerable distance from the land; and when we were about two miles to the eastward of the anchoring-place, and two or three miles from the shore, we got into four and a half fathoms water, although our soundings had usually been seven and eight fathoms.

We had no sooner anchored in our old station, than several canoes came along-side of us; but we could observe that they did not welcome us with the same cordiality in their manner, and satisfaction in their countenances, as when we were here before. As soon as they got on board, one of the men began to tell us, that we had left a disorder amongst their women, of which several persons of both sexes had died. He was himself afflicted with the venereal disease, and gave a very full and minute account of the various symptoms with which it had been attended. As there was not the slightest appearance of that disorder amongst them on our first arrival, I am afraid it is not to be denied that we were the authors of this irreparable mischief.

Our principal object here was to water the ships with the utmost expedition; and I was sent on shore early in the afternoon, with the pinnace and launch laden with casks. The gunner of the Resolution accompanied me to trade for provisions, and we had a guard of five marines. We found a considerable number of people collected upon the beach, who received us at first with great kindness; but as soon as we got the casks on shore, began to be exceedingly troublesome. Former experience having taught me how difficult it was to repress this disposition, without having recourse to the authority of their chiefs, I was very sorry to find that they were all at another part of the island. Indeed we soon felt the want of their assistance; for it was with great difficulty I was able to form a circle, according to our usual practice, for the convenience and security of the trading party, and had no sooner done it, and posted guards to keep off the crowd, than I saw a man laying hold of the bayonet of one of the soldiers' muskets, and endeavouring, with all his force, to wrench it out of his hand. On my coming up to them, the native let go his hold and retired, but returned in a moment, with a spear in one hand and a dagger in the other; and his countrymen had much ado to restrain him from trying his prowess with the soldier. This fray was occasioned by the latter's having given the man a slight prick with his bayonet, in order to make him keep without the line.

I now perceived that our situation required great circumspection and management; and accordingly gave the strictest orders that no one should fire, nor have recourse to any other act of violence, without positive commands. As soon as I had given these directions, I was called to the assistance of the watering party, where I found the natives equally inclined to mischief. They had demanded from our people a large hatchet for every cask of water, and this not being complied with, they would not suffer the sailors to roll them down to the boats.

I had no sooner joined them than one of the natives advanced up to me, with great insolence, and made the same claim. I told him that, as a friend, I was very willing to present him with a hatchet, but that I should certainly carry off the water without paying any thing for it; and I immediately ordered the pinnace men to proceed in their business, and called three marines from the traders to protect them.

Though this shew of spirit succeeded so far as to make the natives desist from any open attempt to interrupt us, they still continued to behave in the most teazing and provoking manner. Whilst some of them, under pretence of assisting the men in rolling down the casks, turned them out of their course, and gave them a wrong direction; others were stealing the hats from off the sailors' heads, pulling them backward by their clothes, or tripping up their heels; the whole crowd, all this time, shouting and laughing, with a strange mixture of childishness and malice. They afterward found means to steal the cooper's bucket, and took away his bag by force; but the objects they were most eager to possess themselves of were the muskets of the marines, who were every instant complaining of their attempts to force them out of their hands. Though they continued, for the most part, to pay great deference and respect to me, yet they did not suffer me to escape without contributing my share to their stock of plunder. One of them came up to me with a familiar air, and with great management diverted my attention, whilst another, wrenching the hanger, which I held carelessly in my hand, from me, ran off with it like lightning.

It was in vain to think of repelling this insolence by force; guarding therefore against its effects, in the best manner we were able, we had nothing to do but to submit patiently to it. My apprehensions were, however, a little alarmed, by the information I soon after received from the serjeant of marines, who told me that, turning suddenly round, he saw a man behind me holding a dagger in the position of striking. In this he might possibly be mistaken; yet our situation was certainly alarming and critical, and the smallest error on our side might have been fatal to us. As our people were separated into three small parties, one at the lake filling casks; another rolling them down to the shore; and the third, at some distance, purchasing provisions; it had once occurred to me, that it might be proper to collect them altogether, and to execute and protect one duty at a time. But on second thoughts, I judged it more advisable to let them continue as they were. In case of a real attack, our whole force, however advantageously disposed, could have made but a poor resistance. On the other hand, I thought it of some consequence to shew the natives that we were under no fears; and, what was still more material, the crowd was by this means kept divided, and a considerable part of them fully employed in bartering provisions.

It is probable that their dread of the effects of our arms was the principal cause of their backwardness in attacking us; and, indeed, the confidence we appeared to place in this advantage, by opposing only five marines to their whole force, must have raised in them a very high idea of our superiority. It was our business to keep up this opinion as much as possible; and in justice to the whole party, I must observe, that no men could possibly behave better, for the purpose of strengthening these impressions. Whatever could be taken in jest, they bore with the utmost temper and patience; and whenever any serious attempt was made to interrupt them, they opposed it with bold looks and menaces. By this management we succeeded so far as to get all the casks down to the water side without any material accident.

While we were getting them into the launch, the natives, perceiving the opportunity of plundering would soon, be over, became every moment more daring and insolent. On this occasion I was indebted to the serjeant of marines, for suggesting to me the advantage that would arise from sending off his party first into the boats; by which means the muskets of the soldiers, which, as I have already mentioned, were the objects the islanders had principally in view, would be removed out of their reach; and in case of an attack, the marines themselves might be employed more effectually in our defence, than if they were on shore.

We had now got every thing into the boats, and only Mr Anderson the gunner, a seaman of the boat's crew, and myself, remained on shore. As the pinnace lay beyond the surf, through which we were obliged to swim, I told them to make the best of their way to it, and that I should follow them. With this order I was surprised to find them both refuse to comply; and the consequence was a contest among us who should be the last on shore. It seems that some hasty words I had just before used to the sailor, which he thought reflected on his courage, was the cause of this odd fancy in him; and the old gunner, finding a point of honour started, thought he could not well avoid taking a part in it. In this ridiculous situation we might have remained some time, had not our dispute been soon settled by the stones that began to fly about us, and by the cries of the people from the boats, to make haste, as the natives were following us into the water with clubs and spears. I reached the side of the pinnace first, and finding Mr Anderson was at some distance behind, and not yet entirely out of danger, I called out to the marines to fire one musket. In the hurry of executing my orders, they fired two; and when I had got into the boat I saw the natives running away, and one man, with a woman sitting by him, left behind on the beach. The man made several attempts to rise without being able; and it was with much regret, I perceived him to be wounded in the groin. The natives soon after returned, and surrounded the wounded man, brandishing their spears and daggers at us, with an air of threatening and defiance; but before we reached the ships, we saw some persons, whom we supposed to be the chiefs, now arrived, driving them away from the shore.

During our absence, Captain Clerke had been under the greatest anxiety for our safety. And these apprehensions were considerably increased, from his having entirely mistaken the drift of the conversation he had held with some natives who had been on board. The frequent mention of the name of Captain Cook, with other strong and circumstantial descriptions of death and destruction, made him conclude, that the knowledge of the unfortunate events at Owhyhee had reached them, and that these were what they alluded to; whereas all they had in view was, to make known to him the wars that had arisen, in consequence of the goats that Captain Cook had left at Oneeheow, and the slaughter of the poor goats themselves, during the struggle for the property of them. Captain Clerke, applying this earnestness of conversation, and these terrible representations, to our calamitous transactions at Owhyhee, and to an indication of revenge, kept his telescope fixed upon us, and the moment he saw the smoke of the muskets, ordered the boats to be manned and armed, and to put off to our assistance.

The next morning I was again ordered on shore, with the watering party. The risk we had run the preceding day, determined Captain Clerke to send a considerable force from both ships for our guard, amounting in all to forty men under arms. This precaution, however, was now unnecessary; for we found the beach left entirely to ourselves, and the ground between the landing-place and the lake _tabooed_ with small white flags. We concluded, from this appearance, that some of the chiefs had certainly visited this quarter; and that not being able to stay, they had kindly and considerately taken this step, for our greater security and convenience. We saw several men armed with long spears and daggers, on the other side of the river, on our right; but they did not offer to give us the least molestation. Their women came over, and sat down on the banks close by us, and at noon we prevailed on some of the men to bring hogs and roots for our people, and to dress them for us. As soon as we had left the beach, they came down to the sea-side, and one of them threw a stone at us; but his conduct seeming to be highly disapproved of by all the rest, we did not think it proper to shew any resentment.

The next day we completed our watering, without meeting with any material difficulty. On our return to the ships, we found that several chiefs had been on board, and had made excuses for the behaviour of their countrymen, attributing their riotous conduct to the quarrels which subsisted at that time amongst the principal people of the island, and which had occasioned a general want of order and subordination amongst them. The government of Atooi was in dispute between Toneoneo, who had the supreme power when we were here last year, and a boy named Teavee. They are both, by different fathers, the grandsons of Perreeorannee, king of Woahoo, who had given the government of Atooi to the former, and that of Oneeheow to the latter. The quarrel had arisen about the goats we had left at Oneeheow the last year; the right of property in which was claimed by Toneoneo, on the pretence of that island's being a dependency of his. The friends of Teavee insisting on the right of possession, both parties prepared to maintain their pretensions by force; and a few days before our arrival, a battle had been fought, in which Toneoneo had been worsted. The consequence of this victory was likely to affect Toneoneo in a much deeper manner than by the mere loss of the objects in dispute; for the mother of Teavee having married a second husband, who was a chief of Atooi, and at the head of a powerful faction there, he thought that the present opportunity was not to be neglected, of driving Toneoneo entirely out of the island, and of advancing his son-in-law to the government. I have already had occasion to mention, that the goats, which had increased to the number of six, and would probably in a few years have stocked all these islands, were destroyed in the contest.

On the 4th, the mother and sister of the young prince and his father-in-law, with many other chiefs of that party, came on board the Resolution, and made several curious and valuable presents to Captain Clerke. Amongst the former, were some fish-hooks, which they assured us were made of the bones of our old friend Terreeoboo's father, who had been killed in an unsuccessful descent upon the island of Woahoo; and a fly-flap, presented to him by the prince's sister, the handle of which was a human bone, that had been given her as a trophy by her father-in-law. Young Teavee was not of the company, being engaged, as we were told, in performing some religious ceremonies, in consequence of the victory he had obtained, which were to last twenty days.

This and the two following days were employed on shore, in completing the Discovery's water; and the carpenters were busy on board, in caulking the ships, and in making other preparations for our next cruise. The natives desisted from giving us any further disturbance, and we procured from them a plentiful supply of pork and vegetables.

At this time, an Indian brought a piece of iron on board the Discovery, to be fashioned into the shape of a _pahooah_. It was carefully examined both by the officers and men, and appeared to be the bolt of some large ship-timbers. They were not able to discover to what nation it belonged; but from the pale colour[1] of the iron, and its not corresponding in shape to our bolts, they concluded that it certainly was not English. This led them to make a strict enquiry of the native, when and where he got it; and, if they comprehended him right, it had been taken out of a piece of timber, larger than the cable-bit, to which he pointed. This piece of wood, they farther understood from, him, to have been driven upon their island, since we were here in January 1778.

[Footnote 1: It was evident, that the iron we found in possession of the natives at Nootka Sound, and which was mostly made into knives, was of a much paler sort than ours.]

On the 7th, we were surprised with a visit from Toneoneo. When he heard the dowager-princess was in the ship, it was with great difficulty we could prevail on him to come on board, not from any apprehension that he appeared to entertain of his safety, but from an unwillingness to see her. Their meeting was with sulky and lowering looks on both sides. He staid but a short time, and seemed much dejected; but we remarked, with some surprise, that the women, both at his coming and going way, prostrated themselves before him; and that he was treated by all the natives on board with the respect usually paid to those of his rank. Indeed, it must appear somewhat extraordinary, that a person who was at this time in a state of actual hostility with Teavee's party, and was even prepared for another battle, should trust himself almost alone within the power of his enemies. It is therefore to be observed, that the civil dissentions, which are very frequent throughout all the South-Sea Islands, seem to be carried on without much acrimony or bloodshed; and that the deposed governor still continues to enjoy the rank of an _Eree_, and is left to make use of such means as may arise for the regaining his lost consequence. But I shall have occasion to speak more particularly on this subject in the next section; in which the best account will be given, which we were able to collect, of the political state of those countries.

On the 8th, at nine in the morning, we weighed, and sailed toward Oneeheow; and at three in the afternoon anchored in twenty fathoms water, nearly on the same spot as in the year 1778. We moored with the other anchor in twenty-six fathoms water. The high bluff, on the south end of the island, bore E.S.E.; the north point of the road, N. 1/2 E; and a bluff head to the south of it, N.E. by N. During the night, we had a strong gale from the eastward; and, in the morning of the 9th, found the ship had driven a whole cable's length, and brought both anchors almost ahead. We shortened in the best bower-cable; but the wind blowing too fresh to unmoor, we were obliged to remain this and the two following days with the anchors still ahead.

On the 12th, the weather being moderate, the master was sent to the north-west side of the island, to look for a more convenient place for anchoring. He returned in the evening, having found, close round the west point of the road where we now lay, which is also the westernmost point of the island, a fine bay, with good anchorage, in eighteen fathoms water, a clear sandy bottom, not a mile from the beach, on which the surf beats, but not so as to hinder landing. The direction of the points of the bay were N. by E., and S. by W.; and, in that line, the soundings seven, eight, and nine fathoms. On the north side of the bay was a small village; and a quarter of a mile to the eastward were four small wells of good water; the road to them level, and fit for rolling casks. Mr Bligh went afterward so far to the north as to satisfy himself, that Oreehoua was a separate island from Oneeheow, and that there was a passage between them, which before we only conjectured to exist.

In the afternoon we hoisted in all the boats, and made ready for going to sea in the morning.

END OF VOLUME SIXTEENTH.