Day-light no sooner broke upon us on the 21st, than we saw upwards of sixty canoes under sail going out of the harbour, and steering over for Ulietea. On our inquiring the reason, we were told that the people in them were _Eareeoies_, and were going to visit their brethren in the neighbouring isles. One may almost compare these men to freemasons; they tell us they assist each other when need requires; they seem to have customs among them which they either will not, or cannot explain. Oedidee told us he was one; Tupia was one; and yet I have not been able to get any tolerable idea of this set of men, from either of them. Oedidee denies that the children they have by their mistresses are put to death, as we understood from Tupia and others. I have had some conversation with Omai on this subject, and find that he confirms every thing that is said upon it in the narrative of my former voyage. Oedidee, who generally slept on shore, came off with a message from Oree, desiring I would land with twenty-two men, to go with him, to chastise the robbers. The messenger brought with him by way of assisting his memory, twenty-two pieces of leaves, a method customary amongst them. On my receiving this extraordinary message, I went to the chief for better information; and all I could learn of him was, that these fellows were a sort of banditti, who had formed themselves into a body with a resolution of seizing and robbing our people wherever they found them, and were now armed for that purpose: for which reason he wanted me to go along with him to chastise them. I told him, if I went, they would fly to the mountains; but he said they were resolved to fight us, and therefore desired I would destroy both them and their house; but begged I would spare those in the neighbourhood, as also the canoes and the _Whenooa_. By way of securing these, he presented me with a pig as a peace-offering for the _Whenooa_. It was too small to be meant for any thing but a ceremony of this kind. This sensible old chief could see (what, perhaps, none of the others ever thought of) that every thing in the neighbourhood was at our mercy, and therefore took care to secure them by this method, which I suppose to be of weight with them. When I returned on board, I considered of the chief’s request, which, upon the whole, appeared an extraordinary one. I, however, resolved to go, lest these fellows should be (by our refusal) encouraged to commit greater acts of violence; and, as their proceeding would soon reach Ulietea, where I intended to go next, the people there might be induced to treat us in the same manner, or worse, they being more numerous. Accordingly, I landed with forty-eight men, including officers, Mr. Forster, and some others of the gentlemen. The chief joined us with a few people, and we began to march, in search of the banditti, in good order. As we proceeded, the chief’s party increased like a snow-ball. Oedidee, who