venty-four yards,
which is something more than a seventh, and something less than a sixth
part of a mile. Their manner of shooting is somewhat singular; they
kneel down, and the moment the arrow is discharged, drop the bow.

Mr Banks, in his morning walk this day, met a number of the natives,
whom, upon enquiry, he found to be travelling musicians; and having
learnt where they were to be at night, we all repaired to the place. The
band consisted of two flutes and three drums, and we found a great
number of people assembled upon the occasion; The drummers accompanied
the music with their voices, and, to our great surprise, we discovered
that we were generally the subject of the song. We did not expect to
have found among the uncivilized inhabitants of this sequestered spot, a
character, which has been the subject of such praise and veneration
where genius and knowledge have been most conspicuous; yet these were
the bards or minstrels of Otaheite. Their song was unpremeditated, and
accompanied with music; they were continually going about from place to
place, and they were rewarded by the master of the house, and the
audience, with such things as one wanted and the other could spare.

On the 14th, we were brought into new difficulties and inconvenience by
another robbery at the fort. In the middle of the night, one of the
natives contrived to steal an iron coal-rake, that was made use of for
the oven. It happened to be set up against the inside of the wall, so
that the top of the handle was visible from without; and we were
informed that the thief, who had been seen lurking there in the evening,
came secretly about three o'clock in the morning, and, watching his
opportunity when the centinel's back was turned, very dexterously laid
hold of it with a long crooked stick, and drew it over the wall. I
thought it of some consequence, if possible, to put an end to these
practices at once, by doing something that should make it the common
interest of the natives themselves to prevent them. I had given strict
orders that they should not be fired upon, even when detected in these
attempts, for which, I had many reasons: The common centinels were by no
means fit to be entrusted with a power of life and death, to be exerted
whenever they should think fit, and I had already experienced that they
were ready to take away the lives that were in their power, upon the
slightest occasion; neither indeed did I think that the thefts which
t