TAHITI AND THE SOCIETY ISLANDS 121 



of the district, offered the Englishmen a fair 

 number of pigs. He welcomed the newcomers 

 warmly, and told them that several months pre- 

 viously a strange vessel had anchored in the 

 neighbourhood, and the captain, having landed, 

 had hanged four sailors. A fifth, who was to 

 suffer the same fate, had made his escape and 

 was still on the island, but Cook, in spite of all 

 his efforts, could never find him. He learnt 

 later that the vessel of which the king spoke was 

 a Spanish ship from Callao, in Peru. 



Weheatoua did not lack intelligence. Deeply 

 admiring the captain's watch, and listening with 

 astonishment to its ticking, he asked what it was 

 for. It was explained to him that it measured 

 the day, and was thus like the sun, the height of 

 which served him and his companions as a means 

 of ascertaining the divisions of time. He 

 thought for a long time, then, to show that he 

 had understood, he said, pointing to the watch, 

 "Little sun." 



The Tahitians in this part of the island 

 showed themselves smiling and amiable, and 

 nearly always accorded Cook and his friends the 

 most perfect hospitality. Barter, however, was 

 accompanied by the inevitable cheating which 

 seemed inherent in the commercial ideas of the 

 Tahitians. One of them, who called himself a 

 chief, went to see Cook in the morning, and 



