forced their weapons out of their hands, and declared, that they would detain them till their chief should be set at liberty.  He said, however, that the Indians were not unanimous in this measure; that some were for setting them at liberty, and others for detaining them:  That an eager dispute ensued, and that from words they came to blows, but that the party for detaining them at length prevailed:  That soon after Webb and Gibson were brought in by a party of the natives, as prisoners, that they also might be secured as hostages for the chief; but that it was after some debate resolved to send Webb to inform me of their resolution, to assure me that his companions were safe, and direct me where I might send my answer.  Thus it appears that whatever were the disadvantages of seizing the chiefs, I should never have recovered my men by any other method.  When the chiefs were set on shore from the ship, those at the fort were also set at liberty, and, after staying with Mr Banks about an hour, they all went away.  Upon this occasion, as they had done upon another of the same kind, they expressed their joy by an undeserved liberality, strongly urging us to accept of four hogs.  These we absolutely refused as a present, and they as absolutely refusing to be paid for them, the hogs did not change masters.  Upon examining the deserters, we found that the account which the Indians had given of them was true:  They had strongly attached themselves to two girls, and it was their intention to conceal themselves till the ship had sailed, and take up their residence upon the island.  This night every thing was got off from the shore, and every body slept on board.

Among the natives who were almost constantly with us, was Tupia, whose name has been often mentioned in this narrative.  He had been, as I have before observed, the first minister of Oberea, when she was in the height of her power:  He was also the chief tahowa or priest of the island, consequently well acquainted with the religion of the country, as well with respect to its ceremonies as principles.  He had also great experience and knowledge in navigation, and was particularly acquainted with the number and situation of the neighbouring islands.  This man had often expressed a desire to go with us, and on the 12th in the morning, having with the other natives left us the day before, he came on board with a boy about thirteen years of age, his servant, and urged us to let him proceed with us on our voyage.  To have such a person on board, was certainly desirable for many reasons; by learning his language, and teaching him ours, we should be able to acquire a much better knowledge of the customs, policy, and religion of the people, than our short stay among them could give us, I therefore gladly agreed to receive them on board.  As we were prevented from sailing to-day, by having found it necessary to make new stocks to our small and best bower anchors, the old ones having been totally destroyed by the worms, Tupia said, he would go once more on shore, and make a signal for the boat to fetch him off in the evening.  He went accordingly, and took with him a miniature picture of Mr Banks’s, to shew his friends, and several little things to give them as parting presents.