1777* ’Soon after, we weighed, and with a light breeze at South
^ J“: - , Taft, flood out to fea; and then Taoofa, and a few other
.natives, that were in the ihip, left us. On heaving up the
anchor, we found, that the cable had fuffered confiderably
by the rocks ; fo that the bottom, in this road, is not to be
depended upon. Befides this, we experienced, that a prodigious
fweil rolls in there from the South Weft.
We had not been long under fail, before we obferved a failing
canoe coming from Tongataboo, and entering the creek
■before which we had anchored. Some hours after, a fmall
•canoe, conduiled by four men, came off to us. For, as we
had but little wind, we were, ftill, at no great diftance from
■the land. Thefe men told us, that the failing canoe, which
we had feen arrive from Tongataboo, had brought orders
to the people of Eooa, to furniih us with a certain number
•of hogs; and that, in two days, the king, and other Chiefs,
would be with us. They, therefore, defired we would return
to our former ftation. There was no reafon to doubt
•the truth of what thefe men told us. Two of them had
actually come from Tongataboo, in the failing canoe ; and
they had no view in coming off to us, but to give this intelligence.
However, as we were now clear of the land, it
was not a fufficient inducement to bring me back; efpe-
cially as we had, already, on board, a ftock of freih provi-
fions, fufficient, in all probability, to laft during our paf-
fage to Otaheite. Befides Taoofa’s prefent, we had got a
good quantity of yams at Eooa, in exchange chiefly for
fmall nails. Our fupply of hogs was alfo confiderably in-
creafed there; though, doubtlefs, we fhoiild have got many
more, if the Chiefs of Tongataboo had been with us, whole
property they moftly were. At the approach of night, thefe
men,
men, finding that we would not return, left u s ; as alfo yjj?*
fome others, who had come off in two canoes, with a few i—
cocoa-nuts, and ihaddocks, to exchange them for what
they could g e t; the eagernefs of thefe people to get into
their poffelfion more of our commodities, inducing them to
follow the ihips out to fea, and to continue their intercourfe:
with us to the laft moment.
3 A i C 'H A. H