On this day ...
14 - 15 June 1769
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James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia
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Joseph Banks's Journal
Sydney Parkinson's Journal
Ceremonies of a Funeral and General Observations on that Subject
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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 these people committed against us, were, in them, crimes worthy of death: that thieves are hanged in England, I thought no reason why they should be shot in Otaheite; because, with respect to the natives, it would have been an execution by a law ex post facto: they had no such law among themselves, and it did not appear to me that we had any right to make such a law for them. That they should abstain from theft, or be punished with death, was not one of the conditions under which they claimed the advantages of civil society, as it is among us; and as I was not willing to expose them to fire-arms, loaded with shot, neither could I perfectly approve of firing only with powder: at first, indeed, the noise and the smoke would alarm them, but when they found that no mischief followed, they would be led to despise the weapons themselves, and proceed to insults, which would make it necessary to put them to the test, and from which they would be deterred by the very sight of a gun, if it was never used but with effect. At this time, an accident furnished me with what I thought a happy expedient. It happened that above twenty of their sailing canoes were just come in with a supply of fish: upon these I immediately seized, and bringing them into the river behind the fort, gave publick notice, that except the rake, and all the rest of the things which from time to time had been stolen, were returned, the canoes should be burnt. This menace I ventured to publish, though I had no design to put it into execution, making no doubt but that it was well known in whose possession the stolen goods were, and that as restitution was thus made a common cause, they would all of them in a short time be brought back. A list of the things was made out, consisting principally of the rake, the musquet which had been taken from the marine when the Indian was shot; the pistols which Mr. Banks lost with his clothes at Atahourou; a sword belonging to one of the petty officers, and the water cask. About noon, the rake was restored, and great solicitation was made for the release of the canoes; but I still insisted upon my original condition. The next day came, and nothing farther was restored, at which I was much surprised, for the people were in the utmost distress for the fish, which in a short time would be spoilt; I was, therefore, reduced to a disagreeable situation, either of releasing the canoes, contrary to what I had solemnly and publickly declared, or to detain them, to the great injury of those who were innocent, without answering any good purpose to ourselves: as a temporary expedient, I permitted them to take the fish; but still detained the canoes. This very licence, however, was productive of new confusion and injury; for, it not being easy at once to distinguish to what particular persons the several lots of fish belonged, the canoes were plundered, under favour of this circumstance, by those who had no right to any part of their cargo. Most pressing instances were still made that the canoes might be restored, and I having now the greatest reason to believe, either that the things for which I detained them were not in the island, or that those who suffered by their detention had not sufficient influence over the thieves to prevail upon them to relinquish their booty, determined at length to give them up, not a little mortified at the bad success of my project.
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© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 148 - 150, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/148.html