CHAPTER V
OTAHITE
April 13—July 12, 1769
Reception by natives—Peace offerings and ceremonies—Thieving—Natives fired upon—Death of Mr. Buchan, the artist—Lycurgus and Hercules—Tents erected—An honest native—Flies—Music—A foreign axe found—Thefts—Names of the natives—The Dolphin's queen—Quadrant stolen—Dootahah made prisoner—Visit to Dootahah—Wrestling—Tubourai offended—Natives at divine service—Cask stolen—Natives swimming in surf—Imao—Transit of Venus—Nails stolen by sailors—Mourning—Previous visit of foreign ships—Banks takes part in a native funeral ceremony—Travelling musicians—Canoes seized for thefts—Dogs as food—Circumnavigation of the island—Image of man made of basket-work—Gigantic buildings (marai)—Battlefield—Return to station—Breadfruit—Excursion inland—Volcanic nature of the island—Seeds planted—Dismantling the fort—Banks engages a native to go to England.
13th. This morning early we came to an anchor in Port-royal by King George-the-Third's Island. Before the anchor was down we were surrounded by a large number of canoes, the people trading very quietly and civilly, chiefly for beads, in exchange for which they gave cocoanuts, breadfruit both roasted and raw, some small fish and apples. They had one pig with them which they refused to sell for nails upon any account, but repeatedly offered it for a hatchet; of these we had very few on board, so thought it better to let the pig go than to give one of them in exchange, knowing, on the authority of those who had been here before, that if we did so they would never lower their price.
As soon as the anchors were well down the boats were hoisted out, and we all went ashore, where we were met by some hundreds of the inhabitants, whose faces at least gave
