About noon, a Chief, who had dined with me a few days
before, accompanied by Lome of his women, came on board
alone: I had obferved that he was fed by his women, but I
made no doub’t, that upon occafion he would condefcend to
feed himfelf: in this, however, I found myfelf miftaken.
When my noble gueft was feated, and the dinner upon the
table, I helped him to fome victuals: as I obferved that he
did not immediately begin his meal, I preffed him to eat:
but he Hill continued to lit motionlefs like a ftatue, without
attempting to put a lingle morfel into his mouth, and would
certainly have gone without his dinner, if one of the fervants
had not fed him.
C H A P .
CHA P . XI.
The Obfervatory fe t up ; the Quadrant Jlolen-, an d Confe-
quences o f the T h e ft: A V ifit to Tootahah : Defcription
o f a W reflling-m atch: European Seeds fotson: Names
given to our People by the Indians.
T N the afternoon, of Monday the ill of May, we fet up the 1769.
A obfervatory, and took the aftronomical quadrant, with . May'
fome other inftruments, on fhore, for the firft time. Monday >.
The next morning, about nine o’clock, I went on fhore Tuefday 2.
with Mr. Green to fix the quadrant in a fituation for ufe,
when to our, inexpreffible furprize and concern it was not to
be found. It had been depofited in the tent which was re-
feryed for my ufe, where, as I palled the night on board,
nobody flept: it had never been taken out of the packing-
caff, which was eighteen inches fquare, and the whole, was
of confiderable weight; a fentinel had been polled the
whole night within five yards of the tent door, and none of
the other inftruments were milling. We at firft fufpeufted
that it might have been ftolen by fome of our own people,
who feeing a deal box, and not knowing the contents, might
think it contained nails, or fome other fubjects of traffic
with the natives. A large reward was therefore offered to
any one who could find it, as, without this, we could not
perform the fervice for which our voyage was principally,
undertaken.. Our fearch in the mean time was not confined
to the fort and the places adjacent, but as the cafe might
poffibly have been carried back to the, ffiip, if any of our
own