1777' THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 247 



great was the curiosity of several of them, that they 

 took to the water, and swimming off to the boats, 

 <;ame on board them without reserve. Nay, we 

 found it difficult to keep them out; and still more 

 difficult to prevent their carrying off every thing 

 they could lay their hands upon. At length, when 

 they perceived that we were returning to the ships, 

 they all left us, except our original visitor Mourooa. 

 He, though not without evident signs of fear, kept 

 his place in my boat, and accompanied me on board 

 the ship. 



The cattle and other new objects that presented 

 themselves to him there, did not strike him with so 

 much surprise as one might have expected. Perhaps 

 his mind was too much taken up about his own safety 

 to allow him to attend to other things. It is certain 

 that he seemed very uneasy ; and the ship, on our 

 getting on board, happening to be standing off shore, 

 this circumstance made him the more so. I could 

 get but little new information from him ; and, there- 

 fore, after he had made a short stay, I ordered a boat 

 to carry him in toward the land. As soon as he got 

 out of the cabin, he happened to stumble over one of 

 the goats : his curiosity now overcoming his fear, he 

 stopped, looked at it, and asked Omai what bird this 

 was ? and not receiving an immediate answer from 

 him, he repeated the question to some of the people 

 upon deck. The boat having conveyed him pretty 

 near to the surf, he leaped into the sea and swam 

 ashore. He had no sooner landed, than the multi- 

 tude of his countrymen gathered round him, as if 

 with an eager curiosity to learn from him what he 

 had seen ; and in this situation they remained when 

 we lost sight of them. As soon as the boat returned, 

 we hoisted her in, and made sail from the land to 

 the northward. 



Thus were we obliged to leave unvisited, this fine 

 island, which seemed capable of supplying all our 

 wants. It lies in the latitude of 21 57' S. and in 



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