"He had adopted Captain Cook's views: he thought fresh water preferable to all other things which he had on board; and as some of his crew showed signs of scurvy, he was right in thinking that every help should be given them." La Perouse from the first had a presentiment against consenting. But he yielded when M. de Langle persisted that a captain is responsible for the health of his crew, that the spot which he named was perfectly safe, that he himself would command the expedition, and that three hours would suffice for the work. "M. de Langle," says the narrative, "was a man of so much judgment, that his representation influenced my decision more than anything else. "Next day two boats, under command of M. Boutin and M. Mouton, conveying all the sufferers from scurvy, under charge of six armed soldiers and a captain, in all twenty-eight men, left the _Astrolabe_, to be under M. de Langle's orders. M. de Langle was accompanied in his boat by M. de Lauranon and M. Collinet, who were invalids, and M. de Varignas, who was convalescent. M. de Gobien commanded the sloop, M. de la Martiniere, M. Lavant, and the elder Receveur, were amongst the thirty-three persons sent by the _Boussole_. The entire force amounted to sixty-one, and those the picked men of the expedition. "M. de Langle ordered every one to be armed with guns, and six swivel-guns were placed in the sloop. M. de Langle and all his companions were greatly surprised when, instead of a large and commodious bay, they found a creek filled with coral, which it was only possible to reach through a tortuous channel, where the surf broke violently. M. de Langle had only seen this bay at high tide, and as soon as this new sight met his view his first idea was to regain the former watering-place. "But the friendly appearance of the natives, the number of women and children he observed among them, the quantities of pigs and fruit they offered for sale, put his prudent resolutions to flight. "The water-casks of the four boats were landed quietly, the soldiers keeping order upon the shore, and forming a barrier which left a free space for the workers. But this peaceful condition of affairs did not last long. Many of the pirogues, having disposed of their wares to our vessels, returned to the shore, and, landing in the bay of our watering-place, it was soon entirely filled by them. In place of the two hundred natives, counting women and children, whom De Langle had found an hour and a half previously, there were now, at the end of three hours, a thousand or twelve hundred.