108 OTAHITE CHAP, V 
had taken perfectly well. The seeds that Captain Cook 
sowed have proved so bad that not one has come up, 
except the mustard; even the cucumbers and melons have 
failed, owing probably to their having been packed in small 
bottles sealed down with rosin. 
7th. The carpenters were this morning employed in 
taking down the gates and palisades of our little forti- 
fication to make us firewood for the ship, when one of the 
Indians made shift to steal the staple and hook of the great 
gate. We were immediately apprised of the theft, to the 
great affright of our visitors, of whom the bell-tent was full; 
their fears were, however, presently quieted, and I (as usual) 
set out on my ordinary occupation of thief-catching. The 
Indians most readily joined me, and away we set full ery, 
much like a pack of fox-hounds; we ran and walked, and 
walked and ran, for, I believe, six miles with as little delay 
as possible, when we learnt that we had very early in the 
chase passed our game, who was washing in a brook when 
he saw us coming, and hid himself in the rushes. We 
returned to the place, and by some intelligence which some 
of our people got, found a scraper which had been stolen 
from the ship and was hid in those very rushes; with this 
we returned, and Tubourai soon after brought the staple. 
12th. This morning Tupia came on board; he had ex- 
pressed his intention of going with us to England, a cir- 
cumstance which gives me much satisfaction; he is certainly 
a most proper man, well born, chief Tahowa or priest of this 
island, consequently skilled in the mysteries of their religion ; 
but what makes him more than anything desirable is his 
experience in the navigation of these people and knowledge 
of the islands in these seas. He has told us the names of 
above seventy, at most of which he has himself been. The 
captain refuses to take him on his own account; in my 
opinion sensibly enough, as the Government will never in 
all human probability take any notice of him. I therefore 
have resolved to take him; thank Heaven, I have a suffi- 
ciency, and I do not know why I may not keep him as a 
curiosity as well as my neighbours do lions and tigers at a 
