246 cook's voyage to march, 



lower part of the canoe was of white wood, but the 

 upper was black, and their paddles, made of wood 

 of the same colour, not above three feet long, broad 

 at one end, and blunted. They paddled either end 

 of the canoe forward indifferently ; and only turned 

 about their faces to paddle the contrary way. 



We now stood off and on ; and as soon as the 

 ships were in a proper station, about ten o'clock I 

 ordered two boats, one of them from the Discovery, 

 to sound the coast, and to endeavour to find a 

 landing-place. With this view, T went in one of 

 them myself, taking w T ith me such articles to give 

 the natives, as I thought might serve to gain their 

 good-will. I had no sooner put off from the ship, 

 than the canoe Avith the two men, which had left 

 us not long before, paddled towards my boat ; and, 

 having come alongside, Mourooa stept into her with- 

 out being asked, and without a moment's hesitation. 



Omai, who was with me, was ordered to inquire 

 of him, where we could land; and he directed us 

 to two different places. But I saw, with regret, 

 that the attempt could not be made at either place, 

 unless at the risk of having our boats filled with 

 water, or even staved to pieces. Nor were we 

 more fortunate in our search for anchorage ; for 

 we could find no bottom, till within a cable's length 

 of the breakers. There we met with from forty to 

 twenty fathoms depth, over sharp coral rocks ; so 

 that anchoring would have been attended with 

 much more danger than landing. 



While we were thus employed in reconnoitring 

 the shore, great numbers of the natives thronged 

 down upon the reef, all armed as above mentioned. 

 Mourooa, who was now in my boat, probably think- 

 ing that this warlike appearance hindered us from 

 landing, ordered them to retire back. As many 

 of them complied, I judged he must be a person of 

 some consequence among them. Indeed if we un- 

 derstood him right, he was the king's brother. So 



