Captain Furneaux reported that while his ship was refitting in Queen Charlotte Sound the astronomer's tent was robbed by a party of natives. One who was seen escaping was fired upon and wounded, when he and his confederates made for the woods, leaving their canoe with most of the stolen goods on the shore. "This petty larceny," Captain Furneaux remarks, "probably laid the foundation of that dreadful catastrophe which soon after happened," and which he thus describes: "On Friday, the 17th, we sent out our large cutter, manned with seven seamen, under the command of Mr. John Rowe, the first mate, accompanied by Mr. Woodhouse, midshipman, and James Tobias Swilley, the carpenter's servant. They were to proceed up the Sound to Grass Cove to gather greens and celery for the ship's company, with orders to return that evening; for the tents had been struck at two in the afternoon, and the ship made ready for sailing the next day. Night coming on, and no cutter appearing, the captain and others began to express great uneasiness. They sat up all night in expectation of their arrival, but to no purpose. At daybreak, therefore, the captain ordered the launch to be hoisted out. She was double manned, and under the command of our second lieutenant, Mr. Burney, accompanied by Mr. Freeman, master, the corporal of marines, with five private men, all well armed, and having plenty of ammunition and three days' provision. They were ordered first to look into East Bay, then to proceed to Grass Cove, and if nothing was to be seen or heard of the cutter there, they were to go farther up the cove, and return by the west shore. Mr. Rowe having left the ship an hour before the time proposed for his departure, we thought his curiosity might have carried him into East Bay, none of our people having ever been there, or that some accident might have happened to the boat, for not the least suspicion was entertained of the natives. Mr. Burney returned about eleven o'clock the same night, and gave us a pointed description of a most horrible scene, described in the following relation:-- "'On Saturday, the 18th, we left the ship about nine o'clock in the morning. We soon got round Long Island and Long Point. We continued sailing and rowing for East Bay, keeping close in shore, and examining with our glasses every cove on the larboard side, till near two o'clock in the afternoon, at which time we stopped at a beach on our left going up East Bay, to dress our dinner.