ge was obtained, and they were
visited by some of the natives, from whom breadfruit and fish were
purchased. The next day further trading was done, nails being the chief
medium of exchange, but the natives were inclined to be smart in their
dealings, and on several occasions obtained payment without delivery.
Cook here suffered from a relapse, but was able to get about, and after
warning the officer on watch to keep a smart look-out, or something of
importance would be stolen, took his seat in a boat to go in search of a
better anchorage. He was then informed that a stanchion had been stolen
from the gangway, and the thief had got away to his canoe on the other
side of the ship. He ordered a shot to be fired over the canoes, but no
one was to be hurt, and he would pull round and secure the thief. The
order was apparently misunderstood, for the thief was killed, and the
rest of the natives hurried ashore. Soon after trading recommenced, and
the lesson appeared forgotten, for an attempt was made to steal the kedge
anchor by which the ship was being warped nearer the shore. Cook landed,
and the trading went on as if nothing out of the common had occurred, and
some pigs (so small that it required forty or fifty to provide one meal
for the crew!) and fruit were purchased; but in the afternoon, when the
boats went in for water, all the natives had disappeared. This Cook
attributed to his not being with them, for the next morning, when he
landed, trading was resumed. A short trip was made in the boats along the
coast, and when they returned it was found the market was closed. It
seems one of the young gentlemen had given a small handful of red
feathers he had obtained at Tonga for a small pig, and now nothing else
would be accepted, so they sailed for Otaheite on the 11th. Cook was very
much annoyed at the ill success in obtaining fresh provisions, for though
none of the crew were ill, he thought they stood in need of a change of
food. He describes the inhabitants as the finest race he had seen in the
South Seas, almost as fair as Europeans, and their language very similar
to that of Otaheite. Their arms consisted of clubs, spears, and slings,
the two former very neatly made, and with the latter they threw stones a
considerable distance but without accuracy. Mr. Forster managed to secure
a quantity of small birds with very beautiful plumage.

On the 17th April they sighted the George Islands, discovered by Byron
(native name, T