1777- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 417 



four men, came off to us ; for, as we had but little 

 wind, we were still at no great distance from the 

 land. These men told us that the sailing canoe, 

 which we had seen arrive from Tongataboo, had 

 brought orders to the people of Eooa, to furnish us 

 with a certain number of hogs ; and that in two 

 days, the king and other chiefs would be with us. 

 They, therefore, desired we would return to our 

 former station. There was no reason to doubt the 

 truth of what these men told us. Two of them had 

 actually come from Tongataboo in the sailing 

 canoe ; and they had no view in coming off to us, 

 but to give this intelligence. However, as we were 

 now clear of the land, it was not a sufficient in- 

 ducement to bring me back ; especially as we had 

 already on board a stock of fresh provisions, sufficient, 

 in all probability, to last during our passage to Ota- 

 heite. Besides Taoofa's present, we had got a good 

 quantity of yams at Eooa, in exchange chiefly for 

 small nails. Our supply of hogs was also consider- 

 ably increased there ; though doubtless, we should 

 have got many more if the chiefs of Tongataboo 

 had been with us, whose property they mostly were. 

 At the approach of night, these men finding that 

 we would not return, left us ; as also some others, 

 who had come off in two canoes, with a few cocoa- 

 nuts and . shaddocks, to exchange them for what 

 they could get ; the eagerness of these people to get 

 into their possession more of our commodities, in- 

 ducing them to follow the ships out to sea, and 

 to continue their intercourse with us to the last 

 moment. 



vol. v. e E 



