262 cook's voyage to april, 



it himself, and made us think it might be intended 

 for our repast. The chief also promised to send 

 some people to procure food for the cattle, but it 

 was not till pretty late in the afternoon, that we saw 

 them return with a few plantain-trees, which they 

 carried to our boats. 



" In the mean time Mr. Burney and 1 attempted 

 again to go to the beach, but when we arrived, 

 found ourselves watched by people, who, to appear- 

 ance, had been placed there for this purpose. For 

 when I tried to wade in upon the reef, one of them 

 took hold of my clothes and dragged me back. I 

 picked up some small pieces of coral, which they 

 required me throw down again ; and on my refusal, 

 they made no scruple to take them forcibly from me. 

 I had gathered some small plants, but these also I 

 could not be permitted to retain ; and they took a 

 fan from Mr. Burney, which he had received as a 

 present on coming ashore. Omai said we had done 

 wrong in taking up any thing, for it was not the 

 custom here to permit freedoms of that kind to 

 strangers, till they had in some measure naturalized 

 them to the country, by entertaining them with 

 festivity for two or three days. 



" Finding that the only method of procuring better 

 treatment was to yield implicit obedience to their 

 will, we went up again to the place we had left, and 

 they now promised, that we should have a canoe to 

 carry us off to our boats, after we had eaten of a 

 repast which had been prepared for us. 



" Accordingly the second chief, to whom we had 

 been introduced in the morning, having seated 

 himself upon a low broad stool of blackish hard 

 wood, tolerably polished, and directing the multitude 

 to make a pretty large ring, made us sit down by 

 him. A considerable number of cocoa-nuts were 

 now brought ; and shortly after, a long green basket 

 with a sufficient quantity of baked plantains to have 

 served a dozen persons. A piece of the young hog 



