65I
rnyfelf, taking with me. fuch articles to give the natives as I thought might ferve togain their good-will. I had no fooner put off from the fhip, than the canoe with thetwo men, which had not left us long before, paddled towards my boat; and having comealongfide, Mourooa ftept into her, without being afked, and without a moment’shefitation.
Omai, who was with me, was ordered to inquire of him where we could land; andhe directed us to two different places. But I faw, with regret, that the attempt couldnot be made at either place, unlefs at the rilk of having our boats filled with water,or even ftaved to pieces. Nor were we more fortunate in our fearch for anchorage;for we could find no bottom till within a cable’s length of the breakers. There wemet with from forty to twenty fathoms depth, over fharp coral rocks; fo that anchor-ing would have been attended with much more danger than landing.
While we were thus employed in reconnoitring the Ihore, great numbers of thenatives thronged down upon the reef, all armed as above mentioned. Mourooa, whowas now in my boat, probably thinking that this warlike appearance hindered us fromlanding, ordered them to retire back. As many of them complied, I judged he muffbe a perfon of fome confequence among them. Indeed, if we underftood him right,he was the King’s brother. So great was the curiofity of feveral of them, that theytook to the water, and fwimming off to the boats, came on board them without referve.Nay, we found it difficult to keep them but; and ftill more difficult to prevent themcarrying off every thing they could lay their hands upon. At length, when theyperceived that we were returning to the fhips, they all left us, except our originalvifitor Mourooa. He, though not without evident figns of fear, kept his place in myboat, and accompanied me on board the ffiip.
The cattle, and other new objects, that prefented themfelves to him there, did notftrike him with fo much furprife as one might have expected. Perhaps his mind wastoo much taken up about his own fafety, to allow him to attend to other things. It iscertain, that he feemed very uneafy ; and the ffiip, on our getting on board, happeningto be Handing off ffiore, this circumftance made him the more fo. I could get but littlenew information from him ; and therefore, after he had made a ffiort ftay, I ordereda boat to carry him in toward the land. As foon as he got out of the cabin, he hap-pened to ftumble over one of the goats. His curiofity now overcoming his fear, heflopped, looked at it, and afked Omai, what bird this was ? and not receiving animmediate anfwer from him, he repeated the queftion to fome of the people upondeck. The boat having conveyed him pretty near to the furf, he leaped into the fea,and fwam affiore. He had no fooner landed, than the multitude of his countrymengathered round him, as if with an eager curiofity to learn from him what he hadfeen; and in this fituation they remained, when we loft fight of them. As foon asthe boat returned, we hoifted her in, and made fail from the land to the north-ward.
Thus were we obliged to leave, unvifited, this fine ifland, which feemed capableof fupplying all our wants.
As the inhabitants feemed to be both numerous and well fed, fuch articles of pro-vifion as the ifland produces muff be in great plenty. It might, however, be a matterof curiofity to know, particularly, their method of fubfiftence; for our friend Mourooatold us, that they had no animals, as hogs and dogs, both which, however, they hadheard of ; but acknowledged they had plantains, bread-fruit, and taro. The only birdsWe faw, were fome white egg-birds, terns, and noddies; and one white heron, onthe ffiore.
402
After