Mark's Pages

"In the futile belief that force would achieve his objective, Cook led thirty-five armed men on foot across the island and directed Williamson to take another group to meet them by boat. When Cook and his party reached the place where the goat was reportedly kept, the people living there denied any knowledge of its whereabouts. One Englishman thought the Mooreans were only pretending ignorance; they made fun of Cook, which so enraged the captain that he threatened to burn their houses and boats if they did not hand over the animal. The threats brought forth more denials, at which Cook ordered his men to set fire to a half-dozen houses and two or three large canoes. Then he led his group back to the beach, burning six more canoes along the way."

— Lynn Withey, Voyages of Discovery: Captain Cook and the Exploration of the Pacific