The moment this catastrophe was known,
eveiy European hastened to the spot, and,
with feelings of horror, perceived but too
plainly, from the appearance of the wreck
and the boat, and by finding also the clothes
of the crew, that they had reached the shore
in safety, and had afterwards all been murdered
; but how, or by whom, it was impossible
to discover. The most probable conclusion
was, that the tribes situated around
the European dock-yard at E O Ke Angha,
having meditated for some time past a great
warlike expedition, waited the return of this
schooner from Sydney to possess themselves
of an additional supply of arms and ammuni-
nition, which might enable them to take the
field with a certainty of conquest. They had
regularly purchased the cargo of this vessel
by their labour and their merchandise, and
the schooner was merely employed to convey
it thither from Sydney, for the use of the
natives: unhappily for the poor creatures on
board, in running for the mouth of the river,
she fell to leeward, and got stranded on the
beach, in the very territory of that tribe
against whom these preparations were made—
the tribe intended to be invaded. Though no
formal declaration of war had taken place, the
tribes well knew the preparations that were
making against them, and the nature of the
cai’go contained in “ The Enterprise : | falling
into the hands of such fierce and vindictive
savages, the fate of the crew may be imagined,
— all our poor fellows were sacrificed to gratify
their feelings of revenge.
Mooetara (the friendly chief at E O Ke
Angha) no sooner heard of the fate of the
vessel and her crew, than he hastened with his
party to the spot : it was owing to the investigation
which then took place, that the conclusion
was arrived at that all had been murdered.
What remained for Mooetara to do
(according to their savage notion of what was
right) was, to take ample revenge on all the
hostile tribes that might fall in his way, whether
our poor countrymen met their deaths
through accident or treachery. Mooetara
instantly commenced the work of destruction ;
and having made his vengeance complete, he
returned laden with spoil. The promptness