250 cook's voyage to apiul, 



which might be supposed to contain, at an average, 

 five persons each ; for few of them had less than three 

 on board ; great numbers had seven, eight, or nine ; 

 and one was manned with no less than seventeen. 

 Amongst these visitors, many now favoured us with 

 their company for the first time, which we could guess 

 from their approaching the ships with their orations 

 and other ceremonies. If they had any distrust or 

 fear of us at first, they now appeared to have laid it 

 aside ; for they came on board the ships, and mixed 

 with our people with the greatest freedom. We soon 

 discovered, by this nearer intercourse, that they were 

 as light-fingered as any of our friends in the islands 

 we had visited in the course of the voyage. And 

 they were far more dangerous thieves; for, possessing 

 sharp iron instruments, they could cut a hook from a 

 tackle, or any other piece of iron from a rope, the 

 instant that our backs were turned. A large hook, 

 weighing between twenty and thirty pounds, several 

 smaller ones, and other articles of iron, were 

 lost in this manner. And, as to our boats, they 

 stripped them of every bit of iron that was worth 

 carrying away, though we had always men left in 

 them as a guard. They were dexterous enough in 

 effecting their purposes; for one fellow would con- 

 trive to amuse the boat-keeper, at one end of a boat, 

 while another was pulling out the iron work at the 

 other. If we missed a thing immediately after it had 

 been stolen, we found little difficulty in detecting the 

 thief, as they were ready enough to impeach one 

 another. But the guilty person generally relinquished 

 his prize with reluctance ; and sometimes we found 

 it necessary to have recourse to force. 



The ships being securely moored, we began our 

 other necessary business the next day. The observ- 

 atories were carried ashore, and placed upon an ele- 

 vated rock on one side of the cove, close to the 

 Resolution. A party of men, with an officer, was 



