

FIRST VOYAGE 41 



and this party recovered the men without any 

 opposition. 



At the time the chiefs were set on shore from the ship, 

 those at the fort were also released, and after remaining with 

 Mr. Banks about an hour and a half, they all returned to 

 their respective places of residence. When the deserters 

 were examined it was discovered that the account which 

 the Indians had given was no way false ; they had become 

 attached to women, and it was their design to keep them- 

 selves concealed till the ship had set sail, and to continue 

 upon the island. 



Tupia, who had been prime minister of Oberea, when she 

 was at the pinnacle of her authority, and was also thqr 

 principal priest of the island, and, therefore, intimately 

 acquainted with the religion of the country, having often 

 testified a desire to go with them, on Wednesday the 12th, 

 in the morning, came on board, with a boy about twelve 

 years of age, his servant, named Taiyota, and requested 

 permission to sail with them. This was unanimously 

 agreed to. Tupia then went on shore, for the last time to 

 see his friends, and took with him several baubles, to give 

 as parting tokens of remembrance. 



Thursday the 13th of July, the ship was visited by a 

 multitude of friends, and surrounded by numberless canoes, 

 which contained the inferior natives. They weighed anchor 

 about twelve, and the Indians took leave of the crew, 

 weeping in a friendly and affecting manner. Tupia sup- 

 ported himself in this scene with a becoming fortitude ; 

 tears flowed from his eyes, it is true, but the effort that he 

 made to conceal them did him additional honour. He went 

 with Mr. Banks to the mast head, where he continued 

 waving his hand to the canoes, as long as they remained 

 visible. 



According to Tupia's account, the island could furnish 

 above six thousand fighting men, whereby a computation 

 of the number of inhabitants may easily be made. 



They have no European fruits, garden stuff, or pulse, 

 nor grain of any species, but many valuable vegetable pro- 

 ductions of their own. Their tame animals are hogs, dogs, 

 and poultry ; there is not a wild animal in the island, 

 except ducks, pigeons, parroquets, and a few other birds 

 rats being the only quadruped ; and there are no serpents. 

 The sea, however, supplies them with a variety of excellent 

 fish. 



With regard to the people, they are in general rather of 

 a larger make than Europeans. The males are tall, robust, 

 and finely shaped. The females, of the superior class, are 

 likewise generally above our common size ; but those of 



