378 cook's voyage to june, 



was some excellent water on Onevy, a little island 

 which lies about a league off the mouth of the inlet, 

 and on the north side of the eastern channel, we 

 landed there in order to taste it. But I found it to 

 be as brackish as most that we had met with. This 

 island is quite in a natural state, being only frequented 

 as a fishing place, and has nearly the same produc- 

 tions as Palmerston's Island, with some etoa trees. 

 After leaving Onevy, where we dined, in our 

 way to the ship, we took a view of a curious coral 

 rock, which seems to have been thrown upon the 

 reef where it stands. It is elevated about ten or 

 twelve feet above the surface of the sea that sur- 

 rounds it. The base it rests upon is not above one- 

 third of the circumference of its projecting summit, 

 which I judged to be about one hundred feet, and is 

 covered with etoa and pandanus trees. 



When we got on board the ship, I found that every 

 thing had been quiet during my absence, not a theft 

 having been committed; of which Feenou and Fut- 

 tafaihe, the king's brother, who had undertaken the 

 management of his countrymen, boasted not a little. 

 This shows what power the chiefs have when they 

 have the will to execute it, which we were seldom to 

 expect, since whatever was stolen from us, generally, 

 if not always, was conveyed to them. 



The good conduct of the natives was of short du- 

 ration ; for the next day six or eight of them assaulted 

 some of our people who were sawing planks. They 

 were fired upon by the sentry ; and one was supposed 

 to be wounded, and three others taken. These I 

 kept confined till night, and did not dismiss them 

 without punishment. After this they behaved with 

 a little more circumspection, and gave us much less 

 trouble. This change of behaviour was certainly 

 occasioned by the man being wounded; for, before 

 they had only been told of the effect of fire-arms, 

 but now they had felt it. The repeated insolence of 

 the natives had induced me to order the muskets of 



