66 cook's voyage to feb. 



to revenge the death of their countrymen : and, par- 

 ticularly, cautioned us against trusting Koah, who 

 they said was our mortal and implacable enemy ; 

 and desired nothing more ardently, than an oppor- 

 tunity of fighting us ; to which the blowing of the 

 conchs we had heard in the morning was meant as 

 a challenge. 



We learned from these men, that seventeen of 

 their countrymen were killed in the first action at 

 Kowrowa, of whom five were chiefs ; and that Ka- 

 neena and his brother, our very particular friends, 

 were unfortunately of that number. Eight, they 

 said, were killed at the observatory ; three of whom 

 were also of the first rank. 



About eleven o'clock, our two friends left us, and 

 took the precaution to desire that our guard-boat 

 might attend them, till they had passed the Disco- 

 very, lest they should again be fired upon, which 

 might alarm their countrymen on shore, and expose 

 them to the danger of being discovered. This re- 

 quest was complied with ; and we had the satisfac- 

 tion to find, that they got safe and undiscovered to 

 land. 



During the remainder of this night, we heard the 

 same loud howling and lamentations, as in the pre- 

 ceding one. Early in the morning, we received 

 another visit from Koah. I must confess, I was a 

 little piqued to find, that, notwithstanding the most 

 evident marks of treachery in his conduct, and the 

 positive testimony of our friends the priests, he should 

 still be permitted to carry on the same farce, and to 

 make us at least appear to be the dupes of his hypo- 

 crisy. Indeed our situation was become extremely 

 awkward and unpromising ; none of the purposes for 

 which this pacific course of proceeding had been 

 adopted, having hitherto been in the least forwarded 

 by it. No satisfactory answer whatever had been 

 given to our demands ; we did not seem to be at all 

 advanced toward a reconciliation with the islanders ; 

 15 



