Late in the evening the boat returned, and the officers informed me, that after proceeding as far in the boat as rocks and shoals would permit, Mr. Shuttleworth with two marines and one of the guides landed and travelled to Watea, to the house of Hamoa, where the people of the place amused them for some time, by telling them that the goat would soon be brought, and pretended they had sent for it. It, however, never came, and the approach of night obliged Mr. Shuttleworth to return to the boat without it.
I was now very sorry that I had proceeded so far, as I could not retreat with any tolerable credit, and without giving encouragement to the people of the other islands we had yet to visit, to rob us with impunity. I asked Omai and the two old men what methods I should next take; and they, without hesitation, advised me to go with a party of men into the country, and shoot every soul I should meet with. This bloody counsel I could not follow; but I resolved to march a party of men cross the island; and at day-break the next morning, set out with thirty-five of my people, accompanied by one of the old men, by Omai, and three or four of his attendants. At the same time, I ordered Lieutenant Williamson with three armed boats round the western part of the island to meet us.
I had no sooner landed with my party, than the few natives who still remained in the neighbourhood fled before us. The first man that we met with upon our march, ran some risk of his life; for Omai, the moment he saw him, asked me if he should shoot him; so fully was he persuaded that I was going to carry his advice into execution. I immediately ordered both him and our guide to make it known, that I did not intend to hurt, much less to kill, a single native. These glad tidings flew before us like lightning, and stopped the flight of the inhabitants; so that no one quitted his house or employment afterward.
As we began to ascend the ridge of hills over which lay our road, we got intelligence that the goat had been carried that way before us; and, as we understood, could not as yet have passed the hills; so that we marched up in great silence, in hopes of surprizing the party who were bearing off the prize. But when we had got to the uppermost plantation on side of the ridge, the people there told us, that what we were in search of had, indeed, been kept there the first night, but had been carried the next morning to Watea by Hamoa. We then crossed the ridge without making any further enquiry, till we came within sight of Watea, where some people showed us Hamoa’s house, and told us that the goat was there, so that I made no doubt of getting it immediately upon my arrival. But when I reached the house, to my very great surprize, the few people we met with denied that they had ever seen it, or knew any thing about it; even Hamoa himself came and made the same declaration.