THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
27 
teema was in one of the fhips; and that they were to come 1777. 
down to Matavai in a day or two. Some other circum- ,^ Au g lift t 
fiances which he mentioned, with the foregoing ones, gave 
the llory fo much the air of truth, that I difpatched Lieu¬ 
tenant Williamfon in a boat, to look into Oheitepeha hay; 
and, in the mean time, I put the fhips into a proper polture 
of defence. For, though England and Spain were in peace 
when I left Europe, for aught I knew, a different fcene 
might, by this time, have opened. However, on farther in¬ 
quiry, we had reafon to think that the fellow, who brought 
the intelligence, had impofed upon us; and this was put 
beyond all doubt, when Mr. Williamfon returned next day; Thurfdayzs. 
who made his report to me, that he had been at Oheitepeha, 
and found that no fhips were there now, and that none had 
been there fince we left it. The people of this part of the 
iiland, where we now were, indeed, told us, from the be¬ 
ginning, that it was a fiction invented by thofe of Tiaraboo. 
But what view they could have, we were at a lofs to con¬ 
ceive, unlefs they fuppofed, that the report would have 
fome effect in making us quit the iiland, and, by that means, 
deprive the people of Otaheite-nooe of the advantages they 
might reap from our fhips continuing there; the inhabi¬ 
tants of the two parts of the iiland being inveterate enemies 
to each other. 
From the time of our arrival at Matavai, the weather had Friday 29, 
been very unfettled, with more or lefs rain every day, till 
the 29th ; before which we were not able to get equal alti¬ 
tudes of the fun for afcertaining the going of the time¬ 
keeper. The fame caufe alio retarded the caulking, and 
other necelfary repairs of the fhips. 
In the evening of this day, the natives made a precipitate 
retreat, both from on board the Ihips, and from our ftation 
E 2 on 
