In the evening of the 19th, while the canoes were still detained, we received a visit from Oberea, which surprised us not a little, as she brought with her none of the things that had been stolen, and knew that she was suspected of having some of them in her custody.  She said indeed, that her favourite Obadee, whom she had beaten and dismissed, had taken them away; but she seemed conscious, that she had no right to be believed:  She discovered the strongest signs of fear, yet she surmounted it with astonishing resolution; and was very pressing to sleep with her attendants in Mr Banks’s tent.  In this, however, she was not gratified; the affair of the jacket was too recent, and the tent was besides filled with other people.  Nobody else seemed willing to entertain her, and she therefore, with great appearance of mortification and disappointment, spent the night in her canoe.

The next morning early, she returned to the fort, with her canoe and every thing that it contained, putting herself wholly into our power, with something like greatness of mind, which excited our wonder and admiration.  As the most effectual means to bring about a reconciliation, she presented us with a hog, and several other things, among which was a dog.  We had lately learnt, that these animals were esteemed by the Indians as more delicate food than their pork; and upon this occasion we determined to try the experiment:  The dog, which was very fat, we consigned over to Tupia, who undertook to perform the double office of butcher and cook.  He killed him by holding his hands close over his mouth and nose, an operation which continued above a quarter of an hour.  While this was doing, a hole was made in the ground about a foot deep, in which a fire was kindled, and some small stones placed in layers alternately with the wood to heat; the dog was then singed, by holding him over the tire, and, by scraping him with a shell, the hair taken off as clean as if he had been scalded in hot water:  He was then cut up with the same instrument, and his entrails being taken out, were sent to the sea, where being carefully washed, they were put into cocoa-nut shells, with what blood had come from the body:  When the hole was sufficiently heated, the fire was taken out, and some of the stones, which were not so hot as to discolour any thing that they touched, being placed at the bottom, were covered with green leaves:  The dog, with the entrails, was then placed upon the leaves, and other leaves being laid upon them, the whole was covered with the rest of the hot stones, and the mouth of the hole close stopped with mould:  In somewhat less than four hours it was again opened, and the dog taken out excellently baked, and we all agreed that he made a very good dish.  The dogs which are here bred to be eaten, taste no animal food, but are kept wholly upon bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, yams, and other vegetables of the like kind:  All the flesh and fish eaten by the inhabitants is dressed in the same way.