i777- fifty years old. He is bald-headed; w hich is rather an
Oitober. 1 1
\ . uncommon appearance in thefe iflands, at that age. He
wore a kind o f turban, and feemed aihamed to fliew his
head. But, whether they themfelves confidered this deficiency
o f hair as a mark o f difgrace, or whether they entertained
a notion o f our confidering it as fuch, I cannot fay.
We judg ed that the latter fuppofition was the truth, from
this circumftance, that they had feen us fhave the head o f
one o f their people, whom w e had caught ftealing. T h e y,
therefore, concluded, that this was the puniflrment ufu a lly
inflicted by us upon all th ie ve s ; and one or two o f our
gentlemen, whofe heads were not over-burthened with
hair, we could obferve, la y under violent fufpicions o f
b eing tetos.
In the evening, Omai and I mounted on horfeback, and
took a ride along the fhore to the Eaftward. Our train was
not ve ry numerous, as Omai had forbid the natives to follow
us ; and many com p lied ; the fea r o f g iv in g offence,
g e ttin g the better o f their curiofity. T owh a had ftationed
his fleet in this h a rb o u r ; and though the war lafted but a
few days, the marks o f its devaluation were every where
to be feen. The trees were ftripped o f their f r u i t ; and all
the houfes in the neighbourhood, had been pulled down or
burnt.
Having employed two or three days in ge tting up all our
fpirit calks, to tar their heads, which we found neceffary, to
fave them from the efforts o f a fmall infedt to deftroy them,
Monday 6. w e hauled the fhip o ff into the ftream, on the 6th in the
morning, intending to put to fea the next d a y ; but an accident
happened that prevented it, and gave me a good deal
o f trouble. We had fent our goats aihorey in the day time,
to graze , w ith two men to look after th em ; notwithftanding
w h ich
which precaution, the natives had contrived to fteal one o f 1777.
them this evening. T h e lofs o f this goat would have been
o f little confequence, i f it had not interfered with m y
views o f flo ck in g other iflands w ith thefe anima ls; but
this being the cafe, it became rtecefiary to recover it, i f pof-
fible. T he next morning, we got intelligence, that it had Tuefdayy.
been carried to Maheine, the Chief, who was, at this time,
at Parowroah harbour. Two old men offered to conduit
any o f m y people, whom I m igh t think proper to fend to
him, to bring back the goat. Accordingly, I difpatched
them in a boat, charged w ith a threatening meffage to
Maheine, i f the goat was not immediately giv en up to me,
and alfo the thief.
It was only the day before, that this C h ie f bad requefted
me to give him two goats. But, as I could not fpare them,
unlefs at the expence o f other iflands, that m igh t never
have another opportunity to g e t any,' and had, befides,
heard that there were already two upon this rfland, I did
not gratify him. However, to iliew m y inclination to aflift
his views in this refpedt, I defired Tidooa, an Otaheite C h ie f
who was prefent, to beg Otoo, in m y name, to fend two o f
thefe animals to M ahein e ; and, b y w a y o f infu ring a compliance
with this requeft, I fent to Otoo, b y this C h ie f/ a
large piece o f red feathers, equal to the value o f the two
goats that I required. I expedted that this arrangement
would have been fatisfadfory to Maheine, and all the other
Chiefs o f the iflan d ; but the event ihewed that I was
mriia'ken.
Not thinking, that any one would dare to fteal a fecond, at
the very time I was tak in g meafures to recover the firft,
the goats were put afhore again this m o rn in g ; and in the
^ a evening