THROUGH THE SOUTH SEAS 141 



Captain Furneaux had landed; she was in good 

 condition and quite tame. The natives assured 

 him that the boar and the other sow had gone off 

 into the woods, and had not been killed. The 

 two goats released at the foot of the bay had been 

 slaughtered. 



Cook did not allow himself to be discouraged 

 by this vandalism, and he gave those who lived 

 near the harbour in which he had anchored a 

 boar, a young sow, two cocks and two hens, 

 which came from the Friendly Islands. On the 

 west side of the bay he released, unknown to the 

 Indians, three sows and a boar, two hens and two 

 cocks. They were carried into the woods some 

 distance from the shore, and enough food was 

 left them for about ten days, in order to prevent 

 their returning to the shore and being seen by 

 the natives. Cook was also anxious to replace 

 the two goats which had been killed, and re- 

 leased on the shore the only two which remained 

 to him. Shortly afterwards the he-goat died, 

 probably poisoned by some herb or pricked by 

 a poisonous thorn. 



The European seeds which Cook had planted 

 in May caused him more satisfaction than his 

 attempt at acclimatising goats. He found his 

 gardens flourishing, and, thanks to the vegetables 

 which he was able to gather there, and to the 

 celery which the soil of the island produced, the 



