WBÊÊÊÊÊ
V74- to fpeak with Otoo. But when I landed I was told that he
had not been there, nor knew they any thing of him. On
“nda?8‘ my looking behind me, I faw all the canoes making off in
the greateft hafte; even the one I had left along-fide the Ihip
had evaded going on board, and was making her efcape.
Vexed at being thus outwitted, I refolved to purfue them ;
and, as I paffed the Ihip, gave orders to fend another boat
for the fame purpofe. Five out of fix we took, and brought
along-fide; but the firft, which adted the fineffe fo well, got
clear off. When we got on board with our prizes, I learnt
that the people who had deceived me, ufed no endeavours
to lay hold of the Ihip on the fide they were upon, but let
their canoe drop pall as if they meant to come under the
flern, or on the other fide; and that the moment they were
pall, they paddled off with all fpeed. Thus the canoe, in
which were only a few women, was to have amufed us with
falfe flories, as they actually did, while the others, in which
were moll of the effects, got off.
In one of the canoes we had taken, was a chief, a friend
of Mr. Forfter’s, who had hitherto called himfelf an Earee,
and would have been much offended if any one had called
his title in queltion ; alfo three women, his wife and dauglv
ter, and the mother of the late Toutaha. Thefe, together
with the canoes, I refolved to detain, and to fend the chief
to Otoo, thinking he would have weight enough with him
to obtain the return of the mufquet, as his own property was
at flake. He was, however, very unwilling to go on this
embafly, and made various excufes, one of which was his
being of too low a rank for this honourable employment;
faying he was no Earee, but a Manahouna, and therefore was
not a fit perfon to be fent; that an Earee ought to be fent to
fpeak
AND ROUND THE WORLD.
fpeak to an Earee; and, as there were no Earees but Otoo and 1 7 7 4 ,
myfelf, it would be much more proper for me to go. All
his arguments would have availed him little, if Tee and Sond"y 8‘
Oedidee had not, at this time, come on board and given a
new turn to the affair, by declaring that the man who Hole
the mufquet was from Tiarabou, and had gone with it to
that kingdom, fo that it was not in the power of Otoo to recover
it. I very much doubted their veracity, till they
alked me to fend a boat to Waheatoua the king of Tiarabou,
and offered to go themfelves in her, and get it. I alked why
this could not be done without my fending a boat? They
faid it would nototherwife be given to them-
This ftory of theirs, although it did not quite fatisfy me,,
neverthelefs carried with it the probability of truth; for
which reafon I thought it better to drop the affair altogether»,
rather than to punifh a nation for a crime I was not fure any
of its members had committed. I therefore fuffered my new
ambaffador to depart with his two canoes without executing
his commiffion. The other three canoes belonged to,
Maritata a Tiarabou chief, • who had been fome days about
the tents; and there was good reafon to believe it was one
of his people that carried off the mufquet. I intended to-
have detained them; but as Tee and Oedidee both affured
me that Maritata and his people were quite innocent, I fuffered
them to 'be taken away alfo, and defired Tee to tell
Otoo, that I fhould give myfelf no farther concern about the
mufquet, fince I was fatisfied none of his people had ftolen,
it.. Indeed, I thought it was irrecoverably loft; bur, in the-
dufk of the evening, it was brought to the tents, together
with fome, other things we had loft, which we knew nothing
of, by three men who had purfued the thief and taken them
from;