us over and over again; leaping and skipping about like madmen, but I observed that they would not suffer some women, whom we saw at a distance, to come near us.  After we had made them presents of hatchets, knives, and what else we had with us, they gave us in return a large quantity of fish, which they had just caught.  There were only a few amongst them whose faces we could recognise, and on our asking why they were afraid of us, and enquiring for some of our old acquaintances by name, they talked much about killing, which was so variously understood by us, that we could gather nothing from it, so that, after a short stay, we took leave, and went on board.

Next morning early, our friends, according to a promise they had made us the preceding evening, paying us a visit, brought with them a quantity of fine fish, which they exchanged for Otaheitean cloth, etc. and then returned to their habitations.

On the 26th, we got into the after-hold four boat-load of shingle ballast, and struck down six guns, keeping only six on deck.  Our good friends the natives, having brought us a plentiful supply of fish, afterwards went on shore to the tents, and informed our people there, that a ship like ours had been lately lost in the strait; that some of the people got on shore; and that the natives stole their clothes, etc. for which several were shot; and afterwards, when they could fire no longer, the natives having got the better, killed them with their patapatoos, and eat them, but that they themselves had no hand in the affair, which, they said, happened at Vanna Aroa, near Terrawhitte, on the other side of the strait.  One man said it was two moons ago:  But another contradicted him, and counted on his fingers about twenty or thirty days.  They described by actions how the ship was beat to pieces by going up and down against the rocks, till at last it was all scattered abroad.

The next day some others told the same story, or nearly to the same purport, and pointed over the east bay, which is on the east side of the sound, as to the place where it happened.  These stories making me very uneasy about the Adventure, I desired Mr Wales, and those on shore, to let me know if any of the natives should mention it again, or to send them to me; for I had not heard any thing from them myself.  When Mr Wales came on board to dinner he found the very people who had told him the story on shore, and pointed them out to me.  I enquired about the affair, and endeavoured to come at the truth by every method I could think of.  All I could get from them was, “Caurey,” (no); and they not only denied every syllable of what they had said on shore, but seemed wholly ignorant of the matter; so that I began to think our people had misunderstood them, and that the story referred to some of their own people and boats.