* 774' I refufed, telling him, that fince I punilhed my people, when
«__they committed the leaft offence againft his, it was but juft
:iy zg‘ this man fhould be punifhed alfo ; and, as I knew he would
not do it, I was refolved to do it myfelf. Accordingly, I
ordered the man to be carried on fhore to the tents, and
having followed myfelf, with Otoo, Towha, and others, I
ordered the guard our, under arms, and the man to be tied
up to a poft. Otoo, his filler, and fome others begged hard
for him; Towha faid not one word, but was very attentive
to every thing going forward. I expoftulated with Otoo on
the conduct of this man, and of his people in general; telling
him, that neither I, nor any of my people; took any thing
from them, without firft paying for i t ; enumerating the articles
we gave in exchange for fuch and fuch things, and
urging that it was wrong in them to fteal from us who were
their friends. I, moreover, told him, that the punifhing this
man would be the means of faving the lives of others of his
people, by deterring them from committing crimes of this
nature, in which fome would certainly be fhot dead, one
time or another: with thefe and other arguments, which I
believe he pretty well underftood, he feemed fatisfied, and
only defired the man might not be Matteerou (or killed). I
then ordered the crowd, which was very great, to be kept
at a proper diftance, and, in the prefence of them all, ordered
the fellow two dozen of lafhes with a cat-of-nine-tails,
which he bore with great firmnefs, and was then fet at
liberty. After this the natives were going ' away; but
Towha- ftepped forth, called them back, and harangued
them for near half an hour. His fpeech confifted of fhort
fentences, very little of which I underftood ; but, from what
we could gather, he recapitulated part of what I had faid to
Otoo; named feveral advantages they had received from us ;
condenined
AN D ROU N D THE WORLD; 327
condemned their prefent conduit, and recommended a dif- ^774-
fere nt one for the future. The _gracefulnefs of his adtion, c.—v— t
• t Friday 29» and the attention with which he was heard, befpoke him a
great orator.
Otoo faid not one word. As foon as Towha had ended his
fpeech', I ordered the marines to go through their exercife,
and to load and fire in vollies with ball ; and as they were
very quick in their manoeuvres, it is eafier to conceive than
to defcribe the amazement the natives were under, the whole
time, efpecially thofe who had not feen any thing of the
kind before.
This being over, the chiefs took leave and retired with all
their attendants, fcarcely more pleafed than frightened at
what they had feen. In the evening Mr. Forfter and his
party returned from the mountains, where he had fpent the
night ; having found fome new plants, and fome others
which grew in New Zealand. He faw Huaheine, which lies
forty leagues to the weftward ; by which a judgment may
be formed of the height of the mountains in Otaheite.
Next morning I had an opportunity to fee the people of Saturday 3»
ten war canoes go through part of their paddling exercife.
They had put off from the fhore before I was apprifed of it
fo that I was only prefent at their landing. They were properly
equipped for watv the warriors with their arms, and
dreffed in their war habits, &c. In landing I obferved that
the moment the canoe touched the ground, all the rowers
leaped out, and, with the affiftance of à few people on the
fhore, dragged the canoe on dry land to her proper place
which being done, every one walked off with his paddle, &c;
All this was executed with fuch expedition, that, in five*
minutes time after putting afhore, you could not tell that
any