It is not always in the power of the chiefs to prevent robberies; they
are frequently robbed themselves, and complain of it as a great evil.
Otoo left the most valuable things he had from me in my possession,
till the day before we sailed; and the reason he gave for it was, that
they were no where so safe. Since the bringing in of new riches, the
inducements to pilfering must have increased. The chiefs, sensible of
this, are now extremely desirous of chests. They seemed to set much
value upon a few that the Spaniards had left amongst them; and they
were continually asking us for some. I had one made for Otoo, the
dimensions of which, according to his own directions, were eight feet
in length, five in breadth, and about three in depth. Locks and bolts
were not a sufficient security; but it must be large enough for two
people to sleep upon, by way of guarding it in the night.

It will appear a little extraordinary that we, who had a smattering of
their language, and Omai, besides, for an interpreter, could never
get any clear account of the time when the Spaniards arrived, how long
they stayed, and when they departed. The more we enquired into this
matter, the more we were convinced of the inability of most of these
people to remember, or note the time, when past events happened;
especially if it exceeded ten or twenty months. It however appeared,
by the date of the inscription upon the cross, and by the information
we received from the most intelligent of the natives, that two ships
arrived at Oheitepeha in 1774, soon after I left Matavai, which was
in May, the same year. They brought with them the house and live-stock
before mentioned. Some said that, after landing these things, and some
men, they sailed in quest of me, and returned in about ten days. But
I have some doubt of the truth of this, as they were never seen either
at Huaheine, or at Ulietea. The live-stock they left here consisted