Ju|?' On the 7th, the carpenters were employed in taking down
tl>e SMes--Wd pallifadoes of our little fortification, for fire-
wpod on board the Ihip; : and ope of the Indians had dexte-
i icy enough to Heal.the;ftaple and hook-upon which the gate
turned: he was immediately purfued, and after a cliace of
fix .miles, he appeared to have been palled, having concealed,
himlclf among fome ruflies in the brook ; the ruflies were
fcarched, and though, the thief had efcaped, a feraper was
found which had been-fiolen from the ihip fpmetime before ;
and foop after our old friend Tubourai Tamaide brought us
the,ftaple,,
sulday'g8' | ° n tIle 8th and 9th> we continued to difmamle our fort,
and ourfriènds fiill flocked about usfome; I believe, forty
at the approach of our departure, and others defirous to
make as much as they could o f us while we ftaid.
Wé weie in hopes that we fliould now leave thë'iflarid,
withoui giving or receiving any other offence ; but it un-
foitunately happéhed ótherwifev Two foreign fearnen hav-
ingbeen out with my pertniflion, One of them Was robbed
of his knife, and endeavotiring to recover it, probably with
cifcumftances o f gteat provocation, the Indians attacked him
and dangeroufly wounded him with a ftonè; they wounded
his companion alfo flightly in the head; and tlieri fled into
the mountains. ‘As I fliöuïd have been forty to take any farther
not'ice of the aflair, I was not difpleafed that the oflen-
der,s ,h;^a efcaped ; but I was immediately involved in a quar-
rel which I very much regretted, and'which yet it was not
poflible to avoid.
In the middle of the.night between the 8th and 9th, Clement
Webb .and Samuel.pibfon, two of the marines, both,
young men, went privateiy from the fort, and in the morning
were not to be found. As publiek notice had been given,
that
that all hands were to go od board on the next day, and that 1769-
the Ihip would fail on the motrow o f that day or the day fol- 1_
lowing, I began to fear that thé abfentees intended to flay s“nda? s"
behind. I knew that I could take no effeftual fteps to recover
them, without endangering thé harmony and goodwill
which at prefent fubfifted among US; and, therefore,,
determined to wait a day for the chance of their return.
On Monday morning the toth, the marines, to my great Monday 1«.
concern, not being returned, an enquiry was made after
them of the Indians,1 who frankly told us', that they did not
intend to return, and had taken refuge in the mountains,
where it was impoflible for our people to find them. They
were then requefted to aflift in the fearch, and after fome deliberation,
two of them undertook to conduct fuch perlbns
as I fliould think proper to fend after them to the place of
their retreat. , As they were known to be without arms, I
thought two would be fufficient, and accordingly difpatehed
a petty officer, and the corporal of the marines, with' the Indian,
guides, to fetch them back. As'the recovery of thefe
men was a matter of great importance, as I had no time to
lofe, and as the Indians fpöke doubtfully of their return,
telling us, that they had each of them taken a wife, and
were become inhabitants of the country, it was intimated to
feveral of the Chiefs who were in the fort with their women;
among whom were Tubourai Tamaide, Tomio, and Oberea,
that they would not he permitted to leave it till our defences
were brought back. This precaution I thought the more
neceflary, as, by concealing them a few days, théy might
compel me to go without them; arid I had the pleafure to,
obferve, that they received the intimation with very little
figns either o f fear or difeontent; alluring me that m y people1
fliould be fecur.ed and fent back as foon. as poflible. While
this was doing, at the fort, 1 fent Mr. Hicks in the pinnace to
fetch