152 cook's first voyage junk 



nocent, without answering any good purpose to our- 

 selves : as a temporary expedient, I permitted them 

 to take the fish ; but still detained the canoes. This 

 very licence, however, was productive of new con- 

 fusion and injury ; for, it not being easy at once to 

 distinguish to what particular persons the several lots 

 offish belonged, the canoes were plundered, under 

 favour of this circumstance, by those who had no 

 right to any part of their cargo. Most pressing 

 instances were still made that the canoes might be 

 restored ; and I having now the greatest reason to 

 believe, either that the things for which I detained 

 them were not in the island, or that those who suf- 

 fered by their detention had not sufficient influence 

 over the thieves to prevail upon them to relinquish 

 their booty, determined at length to give them up, 

 not a little mortified at the bad success of my pro- 

 ject. 



Another accident also about this time was, not- 

 withstanding all our caution, very near embroiling 

 us with the Indians^. I sent the boat on shore with 

 an officer to get ballast for the ship, and not imme- 

 diately finding stones convenient for the purpose, he 

 began to pull down some part of an enclosure where 

 they deposited the bones of their dead. This the In- 

 dians violently opposed, and a messenger came down 

 to the tents to acquaint the officers that they would 

 not suffer it. Mr. Banks immediately repaired to 

 the place, and an amicable end was soon put to the 

 dispute by sending the boat's crew to the river, 

 where stones enough were to be gathered without a 

 possibility of giving offence. It is very remarkable, 

 that these Indians appeared to be much more jealous 

 of what was done to the dead than the living. This 

 was the only measure in which they ventured to op- 

 pose us, and the only insult that was offered to any 

 individual among us was upon a similar occasion. 

 Mr. Monkhouse, happening one day to pull a flower 

 from u tree which grew in one of their sepulchral 



