240 CAPTAIN COOK'S VOYAGES 



that we offered in exchange. To gratify these people, 

 Omai parted with a favourite dog he had brought from 

 England ; and with this acquisition they departed highly 

 satisfied. 



" I despatched Lieutenant Gore with three boats, two 

 from the Resolution, and one from the Discovery. Two 

 of the natives, who had been on board, accompanied 

 him, and Omai went with him in his boat as an interpreter. 

 The ships being a full league from the island when the 

 boats put off, it was noon before we could work up to 

 it. We then observed a prodigious number of the natives 

 abreast of the boats. In order to observe their motions, 

 and to be ready to give such assistance as our people 

 might want, I kept as near the shore as was prudent. 

 Some of the islanders now and then came off to the ships 

 in their canoes, with a few cocoa-nuts, which they ex- 

 changed for whatever was offered to them. 



" These occasional visits served to lessen my solicitude 

 about the people who had landed. Though we could get 

 no information from our visitors, yet their venturing on 

 board seemed to imply, at least, that their countrymen 

 on shore had not made an improper use of the confidence 

 put in them. At length, a little before sunset, we had 

 the satisfaction of seeing the boats put off. When they 

 got on board, I found that Mr. Gore himself, Omai, 

 Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Burney, were the only persons 

 who had landed. The transactions of the day were now 

 fully reported to me by Mr. Anderson ; I shall give them 

 nearly in his words : 



" ' We rowed towards a small sandy beach, upon which 

 a great number of the natives had assembled. Several 

 of the natives swam off, bringing cocoa-nuts ; and Omai, 

 with their countrymen whom we had with us in the boats 

 made them sensible of our wish to land. 



" * Mr. Burney, the first lieutenant of the Discovery, 

 and I, went in one canoe, a little time before the other ; 

 and our conductors, watching attentively the motions 

 of the surf, landed us safely upon the reef. An islander 

 took hold of each of us, obviously with an intention to 

 support us in walking over the rugged rocks to the beach, 

 where several of the others met us, holding the green 

 boughs of a species of mimosa in their hands, and saluted 

 us by applying their noses to ours. 



" ' We were conducted from the beach amidst a crowd 

 of people, who flocked with very eager curiosity to look 

 at us. We were then led up an avenue of cocoa-palms ; 

 and soon came to a number of men, arranged in two 

 rows, armed with clubs. After walking a little way 



