1777- fcope belonging to the Board o f Longitude November. x ' ' ° ; Mr. King, with
'---- «-----' the reflector belonging alfo to the Board ; and I made u fe ,o f
m y own rcfleftor, o f eighteen inches. There was alfo an
immerfion o f r Capricòrni behind the moon’s dark limb,
fome time before ; but it was o b fe r v e d b y Mr. Bayly alone.
I attempted to trace it, with a fmall achromatic ; but found
its m a gn ify in g power, not fufficient.
Nothing worthy o f note happened, till the night between-
Wednef. 12. the 12th and 13th, when John Harrifon, a marine,’ who was
Thnrfday 13 j-enq nej at obfervatory, deferted ; carrying with him his
mufquet and accoutrements. Having in the morning got
intelligence which way he had moved ofF, a party was fent
after him ; but they returned in the evening, after an inef-
> rid ay 14.. fectual enquiry and fearch. T h e next day, I applied to the
C h ie f to intereft h im fe lf in this matter. He promifed to
fend a party o f his men after him, and gav^ me hopes that
he ihould be brought back the fame day. But this did not
happen ; and I had reafon to fufpeff, that no Heps had been
taken by him. We had, at this time, a great number o f the
natives about the ihips, and fome thefts were committed ;
the confequence o f which being dreaded by them, very few
Saturday 15. vifiters came near us the next morning. T h e C h ie f h im fe lf
joined in the alarm, and he and his whole family fled. Ì
thought this a good opportunity to oblige them to deliver
up the deferter ; and having got intelligence that he was a t
a place called Hamoa, on the other fide o f the ifland, I w en t
thither with two armed boats, accompanied by one o f the.
natives; and, in our way, we found the Chief, who alfo.
embarked with me. I landed about a mile and a h a lf from,
the place, with a few people, and marched brifkly uprto it,
left the fight o f the boats ihould give the alarm, and allow
the man time to efcape to the mountains. But this precaution
tion was un n ece ffa ry; fo r the natives there had got in- .777:
formation o f m y coming, and were prepared to deliver ,No,°mbe_rhim
up.
I found Harrifon,' with the mufquet ly in g before him,
fitting between two women, who, the moment that I entered
the hotife, rofe up to plead in his behalf. As it was '
h ig h ly proper to difcourage fuch' proceedings, I frowned
upon them, and bid them begone. Upon this they burff
into tears, and walked off. Paha, the Chief o f the diftrift,
n ow came with a plantain tree, and a fu ck in g pig, which
he would have prefented to me, as a peace-offering. I re-
fedled it, -and ordered him out o f m y f i g h t a n d ha vin g embarked,
with the deferter, on board the firit boat that arrived,
returned to the ihips. A fte r this, harmony was
again reftored. T h e fe llow had nothing to fay in his defence,
but that the natives had enticed him aw a y ; and this
migh t m parr be true, as it was certain, that Paha, and alfo
th e two women above-mentioned, had been at the fliip the
day before he deferted. As it appeared, that he had remained
upon his poll, till within a few minutes o f the time
w hen he was to have been relieved, the punifhment that I
ln uifled upon him was not very fevere. •
T h o u gh we had feparated from Omai, we were Hill near
enough to have intelligence o f his proceedings; an dT h ad
defired to hear from him. Accordingly, about a fortnight -
a fter our arrival at Ulietea, he fent two o f his people in a
c an o e ; who brought me the iatisfaftory-intelligence; that
he remained undifturbed by the-people o f the ifland, and
t at e v e iy thing went w e ll with him, except that his goat
a died in kidding. He accompanied this intelligence
y i t h a requelt, that I would fend him another goat, and
Q -2 two