We went again a-shore on the 18th, and would have taken the advantage of Tupia’s company, in our perambulation; but he was too much engaged with his friends: we took, however, his boy, whose name was TAYETO, and Mr. Banks went to take a farther view of what had much engaged his attention before; it was a kind of chest or ark, the lid of which was nicely sewed on, and thatched very neatly with palm-nut leaves: it was fixed upon two poles, and supported on little arches of wood, very neatly carved; the use of the poles seemed to be to remove it from place to place, in the manner of our sedan chairs: in one end of it was a square hole, in the middle of which was a ring touching the sides, and leaving the angles open, so as to form a round hole within a square one. The first time Mr. Banks saw this coffer, the aperture at the end was stopped with a piece of cloth, which, lest he should give offence, he left untouched; probably there was then something within, but now the cloth was taken away, and, upon looking into it, it was found empty. The general resemblance between this repository and the Ark of the Lord among the Jews is remarkable; but it is still more remarkable, that upon inquiring of the boy what it was called, he said, _Ewharre no Eatua_, the _house of the God_: he could however give no account of its signification or use. We had commenced a kind of trade with the natives, but it went on slowly; for when any thing was offered, not one of them would take it upon his own judgment, but collected the opinions of twenty or thirty people, which could not be done without great loss of time. We got, however, eleven pigs, and determined to try for more the next day. The next day, therefore, we brought out some hatchets, for which we hoped we should have had no occasion, upon an island which no European had ever visited before. These procured us three very large hogs; and as we proposed to sail in the afternoon, King Oree and several others came on board to take their leave. To the king I gave a small plate of pewter, on which was stamped this inscription, “His Britannic-Majesty’s ship, Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook, Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine.” I gave him also some medals or counters, resembling the coin of England, struck in the year 1761, with some other presents; and he promised that with none of these, particularly the plate, he would ever part. I thought it as lasting a testimony of our having first discovered this island, as any we could leave behind; and having dismissed our visitors well satisfied, and in great good-humour, we set sail, about half an hour after two in the afternoon.