1769. body were in a fmall degree lefs white April. ' 0 thanf■ others : his hair’,
<-— 9*— ' eye-brows, and beard, were as white as his fkin ; his eyes
Monday 24. J
appeared as if they were blooduiot, and he feemed to be very
Ihort-fighted.
At their return they were met by Tubourai Tamaide, and
his women, who, at feeing them, felt a joy which not being
able to exprefs, they burft into tears,, and wept fome time
before their paffion could be reftrained.
This evening Dr. Solander lent his knife to one of thefe
Toefday 25. women, who neglected to return it, and the next morning
Mr. Banks’s alfo was miffing; upon this occafion I mud bear
my teftimony, that the people of this country, of all ranks,
men and women, are the erratiteft thieves upon the ftice of
the earth: the very day after we arrived here, When they
came on board us, the Chiefs were employed in dealing
what they could in the cabbin, and: their dependants- Were
no lefs induftrious in other parts of the fhip ; they (hatched
ttp every thing that it was poffible for- them to feerete till
they got on fhore, even to the glafs ports, two o f which
they carried off undetected. Tubourai Tama-ide was die only
one except Tootahah who had not been found guihy,'afhd
the prefumption, arifing from this eircumftance,r that he
was exempt from a vice, of which the whole nation be-
fides were guilty, cannot be fuppofed to outweigh fh-crng appearances
to the contrary, Mr, Banks therefore1,■ though not
without fome reluctance, accufed him of having ftolen his
knife: he folemnly and fteadily denied that he knew ahy
thing of i t ; upon which Mr. Banks made him underftand,
that Whoever had taken it; he was determined' to have it returned
: upon this refolute declaration, one of the natives
who was prefent produced a rag in which three knives were
very carefully tied up. One was that which Dr. Solander
had
had lent to the woman, another was a table knife belonging H6?-
to me, and the owner of the third was not known. With <---- ;---->
thefe the chief immediately fet out, in order to make refti- Tuctdly
tution of them to their owners at the tents. Mr. Banks remained
with the women, who exprefled great apprehenfions
that fome mifehief was defigncd againff their lord. When
he came to the tents he reftored one of the knives to Dr. So-
lander and another to me, the third not being owned, and
then began to fearch for Mr. Banks’s in all the places where
he had ever feen it. After fome time, one of Mr. Banks’ s
fervants, underflanding what he was about, immediately
fetched his matter's knife, which it feems he had laid by the
day before, and till now knew nothing of its having been
miffed. Tubourai Tamaide, upon this demonftration of his
innocence, exprefled the ftrbngeft emotions of mind, both
in his looks and geftures M the tears ftarted from his eyes,
and he made figns, with the knife, that, if he was ever
guilty of fuch an action as had been imputed to him, he would
üibmit to have his throat cut. He then rufhed out of the
lines, and returned' haftily to Mr. Banks, with a countenance
that feverely reproached him with his fufpicions. Mr. Banks
foon underftood that the knife had been received from his
fervant, and was fcarcely lefs affected at what had happened
than the Chief; he felt himfelf to be the guilty perfon, and
was very defirous to atone for his fault. The poor Indian,
however violent his paffions, was a ftranger to füllen refent-
ment; and upon Mr. Banks’s fpending a little time familiarly
with him, and making him a few trifling prefents,
he forgot the wrong that had been done him, and was perfectly
reconciled.
Upon this, occafion k-maybe obferved, that thefe people
have a knowlege of right and wrong from the mere dictates
of natural confcience; and involuntarily condemn them-
O 2 felves