Barne. 
 
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To-/nur&, JCuuf of Tahiti/. Eima>, Sec. 
 
 
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 H.Fisher, Son& C° louden, 1829 
 

 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 *¥-R^RS / ^ ^ ^ 
 
 /$ 6<9 . 
 
 
 A RESIDENCE OF NEARLY SIX 1 
 
 SOUTH SEA islands; 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY AND SCENERY OF THE 
 ISLANDS-WITH REMARKS ON THE HISTORY, MYTHOLOGY, 
 TRADITIONS, GOVERNMENT, ARTS, MANNERS, 
 
 AND CUSTOMS OF THE 
 INHABITANTS. 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM ELLIS, 
 
 MISSIONARY TO THE SOCIETY AND SANDWICH ISLANDS, AND AUTHOR 
 OF THE “ TOUR OF HAWAII.” 
 
 “ In so vast a field, there will be room to acquire fresh knowledge for centuries to 
 come, coasts to survey, countries to explore, inhabitants to describe, and perhaps to render 
 more happy.” COOKE. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 FISHER, SON, & JACKSON, NEWGATE STREET, 
 
 M,DCCC,XXIX. 
 
\ 
 
 t 
 
 "W 
 
 r 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TO 
 
 The Directors anb Supporters 
 
 OF 
 
 THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY; 
 
 THESE VOLUMES, 
 
 DESCRIBING THE SCENES OF THEIR EARLIEST EXERTIONS, 
 
 AND THE IMPORTANT RESULTS 
 
 OF THEIR OPERATIONS, 
 
 AMONG THOSE WHO WERE THE FIRST OBJECTS 
 
 OF THEIR BENEVOLENT SOLICITUDE, 
 
 ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 BY THEIR OBLIGED, 
 
 AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR, 
 
*. - ‘ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Accurate information respecting the different parts of 
 the world* is probably possessed in a greater degree, and 
 diffused to a wider extent, at the present day, than 
 it has been at any former period. The mariner has 
 encountered the dangers of untraversed and hitherto 
 impenetrable seas ; and the traveller has explored remote 
 and inhospitable countries, in order to increase general 
 knowledge, and add new facilities to the prosecution of 
 enlightened philosophical research. 
 
 Without depreciating the pursuits of science, or the 
 advantages of a more enlarged acquaintance with the 
 natural history of our globe, the Christian philanthropist 
 directs his attention to objects still more important, 
 and is led to contemplate, with growing intensity 
 of interest, the moral and spiritual condition of mankind. 
 The dominion and extent of delusive and sanguinary 
 idolatries, with their moral debasement and attendant 
 misery, have excited his liveliest concern; and to the 
 melioration of human wretchedness thus induced, and 
 the extension of true religion, as the only solid basis of 
 virtue and happiness, his energies are directed, and 
 his resources consecrated.—Animated by the predictions 
 of inspiration which refer to the moral renovation of 
 the world, and cheered by “ the signs of the times,” his 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 anticipations of ultimate success are strengthened by the 
 effects that already reward his exertions. 
 
 The results of efforts combined for the accomplish¬ 
 ment of these objects, though various, have been such 
 as materially to affect some of the most interesting 
 portions of the human race. Their influence is at the 
 present moment felt among the aborigines of Africa, the 
 victims of colonial slavery, the millions of civilized China 
 and India, the population of the inhospitable regions of 
 Siberia and Greenland, and the inhabitants of the distant 
 islands of the South Sea. 
 
 In this latter part of the world the author has spent a 
 number of years, endeavouring to promote the knowledge 
 of Christianity among the natives; and while engaged 
 in this pursuit, he regarded it as perfectly consistent with 
 his office, and compatible with its duties, to collect, as 
 opportunity offered, information on various subjects 
 relative to the country and its inhabitants. 
 
 Although circumscribed in geographical extent, and 
 comparatively insignificant in amount of population, the 
 South Sea Islands have been regarded with unusual 
 interest ever since their discovery; and the descriptions 
 already given to the public, of the loveliness of their 
 general appearance, and the peculiar character and en¬ 
 gaging manners of their Inhabitants, have excited a 
 strong desire to obtain additional information relative to 
 the varied natural phenomena of the Islands themselves; 
 the early history; the moral, intellectual, and physical 
 character of the people, and the nature of their ancient 
 institutions. 
 
 All their usages of antiquity having been so entirely 
 superseded by the new order of things that has followed 
 the subversion of their former system, the knowledge 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 VI! 
 
 of but few of them is retained by the majority of the 
 inhabitants, while the rising generation is growing up in 
 total ignorance of all that distinguished their ancestors 
 from themselves. The present, therefore, seems to be 
 the only time in which a variety of facts, connected 
 with the former state of the Inhabitants, can be secured; 
 and to furnish, as* far as possible, an authentic record of 
 these, and thus preserve them from oblivion, is one 
 design of the following Work. 
 
 To those whose attention has been directed to the 
 systems of polytheism that have at different times pre¬ 
 vailed among mankind, the account of the ancient religion 
 of the Islanders will not be uninteresting. Although 
 established among a people scarcely above the rudest 
 barbarism, destitute of letters, hieroglyphics, and symbols, 
 and by their isolated situation deprived of all intercourse 
 with the rest of the world ; it is, as a system, singularly 
 complete. 
 
 The invention displayed in the fabrication and adjust¬ 
 ment of its several parts, the varied and imposing 
 imagery under which it was exhibited, and the mysterious 
 and complicated machinery which sustained its opera¬ 
 tions, were truly remarkable; and, in the standard of 
 virtue which it fixed, in the future destinies it unfolded, 
 and in its adaptation to the untutored but ardent mind, 
 the Polynesian system will not suffer by comparison 
 with any systems which have prevailed among the most 
 polished and celebrated nations of ancient or modern 
 times. 
 
 The following work will exhibit numerous facts, which 
 may justly be regarded as illustrating the essential charac¬ 
 teristics of idolatry, and its influence on a people, the 
 simplicity of whose institutions affords facilities for 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 observing its nature and tendencies, which could not be 
 obtained in a more advanced state of society. 
 
 In some respects, the mythology of Tahiti presents 
 features peculiarly its own: in others it exhibits a strik¬ 
 ing analogy to that of the nations of antiquity. In each, 
 the light of truth occasionally gleams through a mass of 
 darkness and error. The conviction that man is the 
 subject of supernatural dominion, is recognized in all, 
 and the multiplied objects of divine homage, which dis¬ 
 tinguished the polytheism of the ancients, marked also 
 that of the rude islanders. Nor was the fabulous religion 
 of the latter deficient in the mummeries of sorcery and 
 witchcraft, the delusion of oracles, and the influence of 
 other varieties of juggling, and oppressive spiritual 
 domination. 
 
 The South Sea Islanders appear under circumstances 
 peculiarly favourable to happiness, but their idolatry 
 exhibits them as removed to the farthest extreme from 
 such a state. The baneful effects of their delusion was 
 increased by the vast preponderance of malignant deities, 
 frequently the personifications of cruelty and vice. They 
 had changed the glory of God into the image of cor¬ 
 ruptible things, and instead of exercising those affections 
 of gratitude, complacency, and love, in the objects of 
 their worship, which the living God supremely requires, 
 they regarded their deities with horrific dread, and wor¬ 
 shipped only with enslaving fear. 
 
 While the false system of Tahiti shews the distance 
 to which those under its influence departed from the 
 knowledge and service of the true God 5 it also furnishes 
 additional confirmation of the fact, that polytheism, 
 whether exhibited in the fascinating numbers of classic 
 poetry, the splendid imagery of eastern fable, or the rude 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 traditions of unlettered barbarians* is equally opposed 
 to all just views of the being and perfections of the only 
 proper object of religious homage and obedience; and 
 that* whether invested with the gorgeous trappings of a 
 cumbrous and imposing superstition* or appearing in the 
 naked and repulsive deformity of rude idolatry* it is alike 
 unfriendly to intellectual improvement* moral purity* 
 individual happiness* social order* and national pros¬ 
 perity. 
 
 These volumes also contain a brief* but it is hoped 
 satisfactory history of the origin* progress, and results of 
 the Missionary enterprise* which* during the last thirty 
 years* has* under the Divine blessing* transformed the 
 barbarous* cruel* indolent* and idolatrous inhabitants of 
 Tahiti* and the neighbouring Islands* into a compara¬ 
 tively civilized* humane* industrious* and Christian 
 people. They also comprise a record of the measures 
 pursued by the native governments* in changing the 
 social economy of the people* and regulating their com¬ 
 mercial intercourse with foreigners* in the promulgation 
 of a new civil code* (a translation of which is given*) the 
 establishment of courts of justice* and the introduction 
 of trial by jury. 
 
 Besides information on these points* the present work 
 furnishes an account of the intellectual culture* Christian 
 experience* and general conduct* of the converts; the 
 proceedings of the Missionaries in the several depart¬ 
 ments of their duty; the administration of the ordi¬ 
 nances of Christianity; the establishment of the first 
 churches* with their order and discipline; the ad¬ 
 vancement of education; the introduction of arts; 
 the improvement in morals; and the progress of civili¬ 
 zation. 
 
 b 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Daring an absence of ten years from England* the author 
 made copious notes of much that came under his notice* 
 and, while residing in the South Seas* kept a daily journal. 
 From these papers* from the printed and manuscript 
 documents in the possession of the London Missionary 
 Society* (to which the most ready access has been afforded*) 
 from the very ample communications by the Missionaries 
 in the islands* especially his respected colleagues Messrs. 
 Barff and Williams* and from information derived by daily 
 intercourse for several years with many of the natives* 
 who have been identified with the most important events 
 of the last thirty years in Tahiti* the present volumes 
 have been written. He has studiously and constantly 
 endeavoured to render the accounts accurate* and trusts 
 they will prove not only interesting* but useful. 
 
 For the defects that may appear in the execution of 
 the work* he feels it necessary to apologize. It has been 
 ‘prepared amidst incessant public engagements* and some 
 parts have passed through the press during his absence on 
 a distant journey in behalf of the Missionary Society. 
 
 To the Rev. Joseph Fletcher* A. M. of London* who 
 amidst his numerous and important engagements* has 
 kindly inspected most of the sheets* and to Captain 
 R. Elliot* R. N. who has favoured the author with the 
 use of his drawings for the embellishment of the Work* 
 he takes this opportunity of tendering his sincere and 
 grateful acknowledgments. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Historical notice of the discovery of the Pacific—Voyage of Magellan_ 
 
 Discoveries of Cook—Impressions produced by his voyages—Missionary 
 
 appointment to the South Sea Islands—Embarkation at Portsmouth_ 
 
 Last view of England. Reflections on leaving our native country_ 
 
 View of Madeira—Arrival at Rio de Janeiro—Appearance of the 
 
 harbour—Slave ship—Incidents on shore—Voyage to New Holland_ 
 
 Tempest off the coast—Residence in New South Wales—Observations 
 on the aborigines.Page 1 to 22. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Voyage to New Zealand—Intercourse with the inhabitants—Sabbath on 
 shore—Visit to Waikadie — Instance of parental tenderness — Forest 
 scenery—Sham-fight and war-dances—Character of the New Zealanders 
 —Prospects of the Mission—Arrival at the island of Rapa—Singularity 
 of its structure—Appearance of the natives—Violent proceedings on 
 board—Remarkable interposition of Providence—Visit of the natives to 
 Tahiti—Introduction of Christianity to Rapa—Increased geographical 
 acquaintance with the Pacific.Page 23 to 50 
 
 CHAP. HI. 
 
 Voyage to Tubuai—-Notice of the mutineers of the Bounty—Origin of the 
 inhabitants of Tubuai—Visit of Mr. Nott—Prevention of war—Settle¬ 
 ment of native Missionaries—Arrival off Tahiti—Beauty of its natural 
 scenery—Anchoring in Matavai Bay—Appearance of the district—His¬ 
 torical notice of its discovery—Of the arrival of the ship Duff—Settle¬ 
 ment of the first Mission—Cession of Matavai—Departure of the Duff 
 —Influence of the mechanic arts on the minds of the people—Compa¬ 
 rative estimate of iron and gold—Difficulties attending the acquisition of 
 an unwritten language—Methods adopted by the Missionaries—Pro¬ 
 pensity to theft among the natives.Page 51 to 78 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Character and death of Haamanemane—Efforts to prevent human sacrifices 
 and infant murder—Resolution of the Missionaries, relative to the use of 
 fire-arms—-Arrival of the first ship after the Duff's departure—Assault 
 upon the Missionaries—Its disastrous Consequences—Pomare’s revenge 
 —Death of Oripaia—Invasion of Matavai—Murder of Mr. Lewis— 
 Pomare’s offering for the Mission Chapel—Arrival of a king's ship— 
 Friendly communications from the governor of New South Wales— 
 Government orders—Act of parliament for the protection of the South 
 Sea Islanders—Arrival of the Royal Admiral — Landing of the 
 Missionaries—Departure of Mr. Broomhall—Notice of his subsequent 
 history . . .Page 79 to 106 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 First preaching in the native language—National council in Atehuru—Sei¬ 
 zure of the idol Oro—Rebellion of the Oropa—Introduction of useful 
 foreign fruits and vegetables—Providential arrival of two vessels—Battle 
 of Pare—King’s camp attacked, Oro retaken—Mission-house garrisoned 
 with seamen, &c.—Desolation of the war—Death of the king’s brother— 
 Ravages of foreign diseases—Death of Pomare—Sketch of his character 
 —Otu assumes the name of his late father—Origin of the regal name— 
 Efforts to instruct the children—Death of the queen—Compilation of the 
 first spelling-book—First school for teaching reading and writing—Arri¬ 
 val of the Ilawkesbury—Death of Mr. Jefferson—Mr. Nott’s visit to the 
 Leeward Islands—Rebellion in Matavai—Defeat of the king—Depar¬ 
 ture of the majority of the Missionaries—Abandonment of the*. Mis¬ 
 sion .Page 106 to 143. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Anchorage in Matavai—Visit from Pomare—Landing his horse—Inter¬ 
 view with the queen and princess—Astonishment of the natives on view¬ 
 ing the horse and his rider—Description of Eimeo—Opunohu, or Taloo 
 harbour—Landing at Eimeo—Welcome from the' natives—First night 
 on shore—Present from the chiefs—Visit to the schools—-First Sabbath 
 in the islands—Appearance and behaviour of native congregations—Voy¬ 
 age to Afareaitu—Native meal—Description of Afareaitu—Removal 
 thither — Means of conveyance—Description of the various kinds of 
 canoes used in the Society Islands—Origin of the name—Account of 
 Tetuaroa, the watering-place of Tahiti—Methods of navigating their 
 canoes—Danger from sharks—Affecting wreck—Accident in a single 
 canoe—Length of the voyages occasionally made . Page 144 to 182 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Account of the remarkable change in the South Sea Islands—Discouraging 
 impressions under which the Missionaries abandoned the islands—Invita¬ 
 tion from Pomare to return—State of the king’s mind during his exile in 
 Eimeo—His reception of the Missionaries—Death of three of their num¬ 
 ber—Influence of domestic bereavement on the Missionary life—Po- 
 mare’s profession of Christianity—Application for baptism—Demonstra¬ 
 tion of the impotency of their idols—Proposal to erect a place of wor¬ 
 ship—Extracts from his correspondence—Influence of his steady adhe¬ 
 rence to Christianity—Ridicule and persecution to which he was exposed 
 —Visit of Missionaries to Tahiti—Oitu and Tuahine—Description of 
 the scenery of the valleys in Tahiti—Explanations of the plate of Ma¬ 
 tavai .. Page 183 to 204. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 First record of the names of the professors of Christianity—Taaroarii’s 
 rejection of idolatrous ceremonies—Determination of Patii, the priest of 
 Papetoai—Idols publicly burnt at Uaeva, in Eimeo—Increase of the 
 scholars—Contempt and persecution on account of the profession of 
 Christianity—Baneful influence of idolatry on social intercourse—Humi¬ 
 liating circumstances to which its institutes reduced the female sex— 
 Happy change in domestic society, attending the introduction of Chris¬ 
 tianity—Persecution of the Christians—Worshippers of the true God 
 sought as victims for sacrifice to the pagan idols—Notice of Abrahama 
 Martyrdom in Tahiti.Page 205 to 228 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Distillation of ardent spirits—Description of a native still—Materials em¬ 
 ployed in distillation—Murderous effects of intoxication—Seizure of the 
 Queen Charlotte—Murder of the officers—Escape of Mr. Shelly—Sei¬ 
 zure of the Daphne—Massacre of the captain and part of the crew—Upa- 
 paru’s removal to Eimeo—First Christians denominated Bure Atua — 
 Public triumph over idolatry in Eimeo—Visit of the Queen and her sister 
 to Tahiti—Emblems of the gods committed to the flames—Account of 
 Farefare—Projected assassination of the Bure Atua—Manner of their 
 escape—War in Tahiti—Pomare’s tour of Eimeo . Page 229 to 244. 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 The refugees in Eimeo invited to return to Tahiti—Voyage of the king and 
 his adherents—Opposition to their landing—Public worship on the Sab¬ 
 bath disturbed by the idolatrous army—Courage of the king—Circum¬ 
 stances of the battle of Bunaauia—Death of the idolatrous chieftain— 
 Victory of the Christians—Clemency of the king and chiefs—Destruction 
 of the image temple and altars of Oro—Total subversion of paganism 
 —General reception of Christianity—Consequent alteration in the cir¬ 
 cumstances of the people—Pomare’s prayer—Tidings of the victory 
 conveyed to Eimeo—Its influence in the adjacent islands—Remarks 
 on the time, circumstances, means, and agents, connected with the 
 
 change.Page 245 to 280. 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Account of the music and amusements of the islanders—Description of the 
 sacred drum—Heiva drum, &c. Occasions of their use—The Bu or trumpet 
 —Ihara—The vivo, or flute—General character of their songs—Ballads, 
 a kind of classical authority—Entertainments and amusements—Taupiti, 
 or festival—Wrestling and boxing—Effects of victory and defeat—Foot¬ 
 races—Martial games—Sham fights—Naval reviews—Apai, bandy or 
 cricket—Tuiraa, or foot-ball—The haruraa puu, a female game—Native 
 dances—Heiva, &c.—The te-a, or archery—Bows and arrows—Reli¬ 
 gious ceremonies connected with the game—Cock-fighting—Aquatic 
 sports—Swimming on the surf—Danger from sharks—Juvenile amuse¬ 
 ments .. . Page 281 to 310. 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 An account of the Areois, the institution peculiar to the inhabitants of the 
 Pacific—Antiquity of the Areoi society—Tradition of its origin—Account 
 of its founders—Infanticide enjoined with its establishment—General 
 character of the Areois—Their voyages—Public dances—Buildings for 
 their accommodation—Marine exhibitions—Oppression and injury occa¬ 
 sioned by their visits—Distinction of rank among them—Estimation in 
 which they are held—Mode of admission—Ceremonies attending ad¬ 
 vancement to the higher orders—Demoralizing nature of their usages— 
 Singular rites at their death and interment—Description of Rohutunaunoa 
 the Areois heaven—Reflections on the baneful tendency of the Areois 
 society—Its dissolution—Conversion of some of the principal Areois— 
 Character and death of Manu—Infanticide connected with the Areoi 
 society—Numbers destroyed—Universality of the crime—Mode of its 
 perpetration—Reasons assigned by the people for its continuance—Dis¬ 
 proportion it occasioned between the sexes—Its abolition on the recep¬ 
 tion of Christianity—Influence of Christian principles—Maternal tender¬ 
 ness—Former treatment of children.Page 311 to 344. 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Voyage to A-fa-re-ai-tu—Means of subsistence among the islands—Pigs— 
 Dogs—Fowls—Different varieties of fish eaten by the people—Methods 
 of drying animal food—Edible vegetables and fruits—Description of the 
 bread-fruit tree and fruit—Various methods of preparing it—Aruma or 
 Ta-ro—U-hi, or yam—U-ma-ra, or sweet potato—Culture, preparation, 
 and method of dressing arrow-root—Growth, appearance, and value of 
 the cocoa-nut tree—Several stages of growth in which the fruit is used 
 by the people—Process of manufacturing cocoa-nut oil—Varieties of 
 plantain, or banana—Vi, or Brazilian plum—A-hia, or jambo—Ino- 
 carpus, or native chestnut—Varieties of Dracanae — Combinations of 
 native fruits, &c.—Foreign fruits and vegetables that flourish in the 
 islands ..Page 345 to 379. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Times of taking food among the islands—Tradition of the origin of the 
 bread-fruit tree—Tahitian architecture—Materials employed in the erec¬ 
 tion of native houses—Description of their various kinds of buildings— 
 Usual enclosures—Increased demand for books—Establishment of the 
 printing press—Eager anticipations of the people—First printing in the 
 island done by the king—Printing the Gospel of St. Luke—Liberal aid 
 from the British and Foreign Bible Society—Influence of the process of 
 printing, &c. on the minds of the people—Visit of a party of natives 
 from the eastern archipelago—Desire of the inhabitants for the scrip¬ 
 tures—Applicants from different islands—Estimation in which the scrip¬ 
 tures are held—Influence of the press in the nation—Number of works 
 printed. .Page 380 to 408. 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Arrival of Missionaries from England—Retrospect of labour at Afareaitu— 
 Honesty of the people—Departure from Eimeo—Voyage to the Society 
 Islands — Appearance of Huahine — Fa-re harbour and surrounding 
 country—Accommodations on shore — Building and launching of the 
 Haweis—Re-occupation of Matavai—New stations in Tahiti—Journeys 
 across the interior of Eimeo—Village of Tamai—State of the inhabitants 
 of Huahine—Commencement of Missionary labours—Influence of pre¬ 
 sents to the people., Page 409 to 431. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Arrivals in Huahine—Support of the Mission—Formation of the Tahitian 
 Missionary Society—Place of meeting—Speech of the king—Formation 
 of a Society in Huahine—Establishment of the Mission in Raiatea—De¬ 
 scription of the district of Fare—Erection of dwellings—Preaching in the 
 native language—Indolence of the South Sea Islanders—Means adopted 
 for the encouragement of industry—Cotton plantation—Disappointment 
 in returns—Arrival of Mr. Gyles—Introduction of the art of making 
 sugar, &c.—Visit to Tahiti—Sugar plantations and mills in the Leeward 
 Islands—Introduction of coffee from Norfolk Island—Culture and pre¬ 
 paration of tobacco for exportation.Page 432 to 405. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Renewed endeavours to promote industry among the people—Arrival of 
 Messrs. Blossom and Armitage—Establishment of the cotton factory— 
 First cloth made in Eimeo—Prospects of success—Death of Mrs. Ors- 
 mond—Voyage to Raiatea—Sudden approach of a storm—Conduct of 
 the natives—Violence of the tempest—Appearance of the waterspouts— 
 Emotions awakened by the surrounding phenomena — Influence of 
 waterspouts on the minds of the natives—Conduct of a party overtaken 
 by one at sea—Deliverance during a voyage from the Sandwich Islands 
 —Abatement of the storm—Appearance of the evening—Arrival at 
 Raiatea — Kindness of the inhabitants—District of Opoa—Visit to 
 the settlement—Importance of education—Methods of instruction—Sab¬ 
 bath schools—Annual examination of the scholars—Public procession 
 —Contrast between the present and former circumstances of the chil¬ 
 dren .• . . ' . . . . Page 466 to 502. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 Account of Taaroarii—Encouraging circumstances connected with his early 
 life—His marriage—Profligate associates—Fatal effects of bad example 
 —Disorderly conduct—His illness—Attention of the chiefs and people— 
 Visits to his encampment—Last interview—Death of Taaroarii—Funeral 
 procession—Impressive and affecting circumstances connected with his 
 decease and interment—His monument and epitaph—Notice of his father 
 —His widow and daughter—General ideas of the people relative to 
 death and a future state—Death the consequence of Divine displeasure 
 —State of spirits—Mira, or heaven—Religious ceremonies for ascertain¬ 
 ing the causes of death—Embalming—The burying of the sins of the 
 departed—Singular religious ceremony—Offerings to the dead—Occu¬ 
 pation of the spirits of the deceased—Superstitions of the people—Oto- 
 haa, or lamentation—Wailing—Outrages committed under the paroxysms 
 of grief—Use of sharks 7 teeth—Elegiac ballads singularly beautiful—The 
 heva—Absurdity and barbarism of the practice—Institution of Christian 
 burial—Dying expressions of native converts . . Page 503 to 536. 
 
XVI 
 
 PLATES IN VOL. I. 
 
 Head of Pomare ...to face the Title 
 
 Maps:—Polynesia—and Georgian and Society Islands.page 1 
 
 Cession of Matavai to Captain Wilson, for the Missionaries. 64 
 
 Interior of the District of Matavai, in Tahiti . 5 204 
 
 North-east View of the District of Fa-re in Huahine.. 414 
 
 WOOD ENGRAVINGS 
 
 Head of TIonghi...in page 30 
 
 Skreened Canoe . 165 
 
 War Canoe. 168 
 
 Single or Island Canoe. 172 
 
 Tahitian Idols. 211 
 
 Tahitian Still .230 
 
 Tahitian Drum. 282 
 
 Trumpet Shell. 284 
 
 Tahitian Swing . 309 
 
0 * 
 

 P. Jades oh.t.8 29 
 
X ozLZLorL; Jhibiislied ly H. Xislia: S on & P. Jackson 1889 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Historical notice of the discovery of the Pacific—Voyage of Magellan— 
 Discoveries of Cook—Impressions produced by his voyages—Missionary 
 appointment to the South Sea Islands—Embarkation at Portsmouth— 
 Last view of England. Reflections on leaving our native country— 
 View of Madeira—Arrival at Rio de Janeiro—Appearance of the 
 harbour—Slave ship—Incidents on shore—Voyage to New Holland— 
 Tempest off the coast—Residence in New South Wales—Observations 
 on the aborigines. 
 
 The Pacific, the largest ocean in the world, extending 
 over more than one third of the surface of our globe, was 
 discovered in the year 1513, by Vasco Nugnez de Balboa, 
 a courageous and enterprising Spaniard, governor of the 
 Spanish colony of Santa Maria, in the isthmus of Darien. 
 
 The desire of finding a more direct communication 
 with the East Indies had prompted Columbus to the 
 daring voyage which resulted in the discovery of the new 
 world. In that immense and unexplored region, his 
 followers pursued their career of enterprise, until Balboa, 
 by discovering the great South Sea, accomplished what 
 Columbus, notwithstanding his most splendid achieve¬ 
 ments, had in vain attempted. In his march across the 
 isthmus which separates the Atlantic from the Pacific, 
 an enterprise designated by Robertson as the boldest on 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 which the Spaniards had hitherto ventured in the New 
 World, Balboa, having been informed by his Indian 
 guides, that he might view the sea from the next moun¬ 
 tain, advanced alone to its summit; and beholding the 
 vast ocean spread out before him in all its majesty, 
 fell on his knees, and rendered thanks to God for 
 having conducted him to so important a discovery. 
 He hastened towards the object he had so laboriously 
 sought, and, on reaching its margin, plunged up to his 
 middle in its waves, with his sword and buckler, and 
 took possession of it in the name of his sovereign, Fer¬ 
 dinand of Spain. 
 
 Seven years after this important event, Magellan, a 
 Portuguese, despatched by the court of Spain to ascertain 
 the exact situation of the Molucca Islands, sailed along 
 the eastern coast of South America, discovered the straits 
 that hear his name; and, passing through them, first 
 launched the ships of Europe in the Southern Sea. It is, 
 however, probable, that neither Balboa, while he gazed 
 with transport on its mighty waters, nor Magellan, when 
 he first whitened with his canvass the waves of that 
 ocean whose smooth surface induced him to call it the 
 Pacific, had any idea either of its vast extent, of the 
 numerous islands that studded its bosom, the diver¬ 
 sified and beautiful structure of those foundations, 
 which myriads of tiny architects had reared from the 
 depths of the ocean to the level of its highest wave, or of 
 the varied tribes of man by whom they were inhabited. 
 Boldly pursuing his way across the untraversed surface of 
 this immense ocean, Magellan discovered the Ladrone, 
 and subsequently the Philippine islands. The object of 
 the voyage was ultimately accomplished; the Victory, 
 the vessel in which Magellan sailed, having performed 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 3 
 
 the first voyage ever made round the worlds returned to 
 Europe: but the intrepid commander of the expedition 
 terminated his life without reaching his original destina¬ 
 tion, having been killed in a quarrel with the natives 
 of one of the Philippine Islands. 
 
 Several distinguished Spanish, Dutch, and British 
 navigators followed the adventurous course of Magellan 
 across the waters of the Pacific, and were rewarded 
 by the discoveries they made in that part of the worlds 
 which, under the appellation of Polynesia, from a 
 Greek term signifying many islands , geographers have 
 since denominated the sixth division of the globe.* 
 
 But, although many single islands, and extensive groups 
 of diversified forms and structure, some inhabited by iso¬ 
 lated families of men, others peopled only by pelicans or 
 aquatic birds, have been visited and explored, fresh dis¬ 
 coveries continue to be made by almost every voyager; 
 and it is by no means improbable, that there are still 
 many islands, and even groups of islands, which remain 
 unknown to the inhabitants of the other parts of the 
 globe. 
 
 Most of the early voyages of discovery in this ocean 
 attracted unusual attention; but none appear to have 
 excited a livelier interest, or produced a deeper impres¬ 
 sion, than those performed by Captain Cook, in the latter 
 part of the eighteenth century. These were instrumental, 
 in a great degree, in diverting public attention from the 
 
 * According to Pinkerton, Malte Brun, and others, Polynesia includes 
 the various islands found in the Pacific, from the Ladrones to Easter 
 Island. The principal groups are, the Ladrone Islands—the Carolinas— 
 the Pelew Islands—the Sandwich Islands—the Friendly Islands—the 
 Navigators’ Islands—the Harvey Islands—the Society Islands—the 
 Georgian Islands, and the Marquesas. 
 
4 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 splendid and stupendous discoveries in the New World, 
 and directing it to the clustering islands spread over the 
 Pacific; exhibiting them in all the loveliness of their 
 natural scenery, the interesting simplicity, and novel 
 manners, of their inhabitants. The influence of Cook’s 
 discoveries appears to have been felt by voyagers and 
 travellers of other countries, as well as by those of his 
 own. Humboldt, speaking of his laborious researches 
 in South America, remarks, that, “the savages of 
 America inspire less interest, since the celebrated 
 navigators have made known to us the inhabitants of 
 the South Sea, in whose character we find such a 
 mixture of perversity and meekness: the state of half¬ 
 civilization in which these islanders are found, gives a 
 peculiar charm to the description of their manners. 
 Here, a king, followed by a numerous suite, comes and 
 presents the fruits of his orchard; there, the funeral 
 festival embrowns the shade of the lofty forest. Such 
 pictures, no doubt, have more attraction than those 
 which portray the solemn gravity of the inhabitants of 
 the Missouri or the Mar anon.” 
 
 Since the death of Captain Cook, several intelligent 
 and scientific men from England, France, and Russia, 
 have undertaken voyages of discovery in the South Seas, 
 and have favoured the world with the result of their 
 enterprises. Their accounts are read with interest 
 by the philosopher, who seeks to study human na¬ 
 ture under all its diversified forms; and by the natu¬ 
 ralist, who investigates the phenomena of our globe, and 
 the varied productions of its surface. Voyages of dis¬ 
 covery are also favourite volumes with the juvenile reader. 
 They impart to the youthful mind many delightful and 
 glowing impressions relative to the strange and interest- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 5 
 
 ing scenes they exhibit, which in after life are seldom 
 obliterated.—There are few who do not retain the 
 vivid recollections of their first perusal of Prince Leeboo, 
 or Captain Cook’s Voyages. Often, when a school-boy, 
 I have found the most gratifying recreation, for a winter’s 
 evening, in reading the account of the wreck of the 
 Antelope, the discovery of Tahiti, and other narratives of 
 a similar kind. Little, however, did I suppose, when in 
 imagination I have followed the discoverer from island 
 to island in the Pacific, and have gazed in fancy on 
 the romantic hills and valleys, together with their 
 strange but interesting inhabitants, that I should ever 
 visit any of these scenes, the description of which 
 afforded me so much satisfaction. Yet this, in the 
 providence of God, has since taken place; and I have 
 been led, not indeed on a voyage of discovery, commer¬ 
 cial adventure, or naval enterprise, but, as a Christian 
 Missionary, on an errand of instruction ; not only to 
 visit, but to reside a number of years among the inte¬ 
 resting natives of those isolated regions. 
 
 Letters written in 1812 by my esteemed pastor, the 
 Rev. J. Campbell, during a journey in South Africa, 
 undertaken at the request of the London Missionary 
 Society, first directed my attention to Missionary en¬ 
 gagements. Subsequent events led me to devote my 
 life to these pursuits, and, under the patronage of the 
 above Society, I w r as, in the year 1815, appointed a 
 Missionary to the South Seas. 
 
 In the month of January, 1816, in company with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Threlkeld, Mrs. Ellis and myself sailed from 
 Portsmouth for the Georgian and Society Islands. It 
 was the morning of the Sabbath when we embarked. 
 Our friends in Gosport were preparing to attend public 
 
6 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 worship, when we heard the report of a signal-gnn. The 
 sound excited a train of feelings, which can be under¬ 
 stood only by those who have been placed in similar 
 circumstances. It was a report announcing the arrival 
 of that moment which was to separate, perhaps 
 for ever, from home and all its endearments, and rend 
 asunder every band which friendship and affection had 
 entwined around the heart. The report we had heard 
 might have proceeded from some other vessel ; we 
 hastened, therefore, to the windows, which commanded 
 an extensive view of the sea, and, looking towards 
 the anchorage, saw the small cloud of smoke rising 
 up among the rigging, and the signal for sailing flying 
 from the mast of our vessel. Instead of proceeding 
 to the place of worship, we directed our steps towards 
 the sea shore; but, before we left our dwelling, we united 
 in prayer with our friends, and were by them affec¬ 
 tionately committed to the guardian care of Him, in 
 obedience to whose sacred injunction, u Go, teach all 
 nations,” we were about to embark; and on whose 
 protection and blessing we alone depended for safety 
 and success. A number of kind friends attended us 
 to the beach, where, after waiting a few moments, we 
 bade them farewell, and then raised the last foot 
 from that earth which was our native soil, over which 
 we had often trod under all the varied emotions of our 
 earliest and maturer years, but which we never expected 
 to tread again. 
 
 Among those who had walked with us to the shore, 
 several dear brethren, students in the Missionary semi¬ 
 nary at Gosport, anxious to defer, as long as possible, 
 the final parting, took their seats beside us in the 
 boat, and accompanied us to the ship. The wind was 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 7 
 
 high; the sea rough, and the snow fell thickly around 
 us. The inclemency of the weather favoured the silence 
 we felt disposed to indulge j and although these were 
 the last moments we were to spend with those whom 
 kindness had prompted to attend us to the ship, the 
 length and nature of the voyage before us, the thoughts 
 that lingered with those, to whom, as we supposed, 
 we had bidden adieu for ever, and the conviction that 
 we must soon part with those who still sat beside us, 
 to meet no more on earth, gave a melancholy solem¬ 
 nity to our thoughts, and predisposed us to silence 
 and reflection, rather than to conversation. When we 
 reached the vessel, a scene was presented very incon- 
 genial with the frame of our minds, and unlike the still¬ 
 ness of the Sabbath. All was bustle and confusion. The 
 decks were crowded with live stock, vegetables, &c. the 
 cabins filled with packages and trunks, and the sailors 
 all engaged in the various labours incident to getting 
 ready for sea. The moment had now arrived when we 
 were to separate from our last friends—we took an 
 affectionate, though rather hurried leave of them, and 
 committing each other to the benediction of Heaven, 
 exchanged the parting hand at the vessel’s side. As 
 their boat pushed off from the ship, they again bade us 
 farewell by a signal, which we involuntarily returned, 
 while we continued with indescribable emotion to watch 
 their progress, until the intervention of some vessel, or the 
 swelling of the waves, hid them entirely from our view.* 
 
 * They shortly afterwards embarked, and commenced their labours in 
 the East nearly as soon as we reached the distant islands in the South: 
 two of them, however, I believe, only remain; the others have died in the 
 Missionary field, and, after a short and laborious course, under a most 
 inhospitable clime, have ended their toil, and entered into rest. 
 
8 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Although we had embarked in the forenoon, the bustle 
 and activity of every one on board, the adjusting and 
 securing different articles in the cabin, brought on the 
 close of the day, before we felt in any degree settled. 
 Towards evening, however, I left the cabin for the deck, 
 and enjoyed an hour of solemn, and, I trust, profitable 
 meditation. Our ship was now under way, and pro¬ 
 ceeding steadily, though not rapidly, through the 
 water. Every headland we passed on the Isle of Wight, 
 and every point of land on the Hampshire coast, as it 
 receded from my view, awakened the impression that 
 I should never behold it again. I lingered with intensity 
 of feeling on each passing scene, until the shadows of 
 night gathered thickly around, and the only objects 
 visible from the ship were a few distant lights, glim¬ 
 mering amidst the darkness in which every thing besides 
 was concealed. After gazing on these lights until a late 
 hour, I directed, as I supposed, a last glance towards 
 them, and the coasts they illuminated, and retired to rest. 
 
 The next morning I hastened on deck, and looking 
 abroad upon the expanse of waters, distinguished with 
 delight a point of land. It was England; my eye 
 rested on it with strong and painful interest; the mighty 
 vraters, like those of the deluge, appeared to rise higher 
 and higher; until, at last, the waves of the distant and 
 naked horizon appeared to have rolled over it; and 
 our vessel, like the ark, seemed all that remained to us 
 of the terrestrial world. In every direction there w T as 
 nothing now to be seen, but one wide waste of w T ater 
 below, and the outstretched heavens above. England, 
 with all its associations and its enjoyments, its tenderest 
 earthly ties, and its distinguished religious privileges, 
 had vanished. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 9 
 
 My feelings, though strong, were not discouraging, 
 nor did my choice awaken one emotion of regret ; my 
 desire to engage in the work, was as ardent as when my 
 services were first tendered. From many sources of hap¬ 
 piness, and sacred Christian privileges long enjoyed, I 
 felt myself, indeed, about to be removed; while dangers 
 and trials, hitherto unknown, could not but be antici¬ 
 pated. The Divine promise, however, “ Lo, I am with 
 you always, even unto the end of the world,” was my 
 support, and under its cheering influence I could appro¬ 
 priate the language of the poet, and exclaim— 
 
 O thou great Arbiter of life and death ! 
 
 Nature's immortal, immaterial sun ! 
 
 Whose all-prolific beam late called me forth 
 From darkness, teeming darkness, where I lay 
 The worm's inferior—and, in rank, beneath 
 The dust I tread on—high to bear my brow, 
 
 To drink the spirit of the golden day, 
 
 And triumph in existence ; and couldst know 
 No motive but my bliss; and hast ordained 
 A rise in blessing! with the Patriarch's joy 
 Thy call I follow to the land unknown: 
 
 I trust in thee, and know in whom I trust: 
 
 Or life or death is equal; neither weighs; 
 
 411 weighs in this—O let me live to Thee l” 
 
 The parting scenes, the embarkation, the last view 
 taken of his native land, when leaving it for a distant 
 clime, in which he expects to end his days, awaken 
 indescribable emotions, and render it a season to which 
 a Missionary is accustomed to look back, during subse¬ 
 quent periods of his life, with no ordinary interest. 
 I have witnessed these emotions in others, as well as 
 experienced them myself, and shall not soon forget 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the evident feeling with which Mr. Nott, who, after 
 an absence of thirty years, visited England in the 
 summer of 1826, exclaimed, as he a second time left 
 the British shore, to return to the South Sea Islands, not, 
 in the language of the poet, (Camoens,) “ Ungrateful 
 country, thou shalt not possess my bones,” but, “Io nei 
 oe e tau fenua ! eita vau e tahi faahou adu ia oe Fare¬ 
 well, my native land, I shall never step on you again. 
 
 Out of sight of land, and proceeding every day farther 
 from it, the feelings in immediate connexion therewith 
 gradually began to subside, our thoughts were in¬ 
 creasingly occupied with the novel scenes by which we 
 were surrounded; and our attention was engaged by the 
 pursuits which, at sea, we were able to follow. About 
 three weeks after leaving Portsmouth, we touched at 
 Madeira, and, proceeding on our voyage to Rio Janeiro, 
 cast anchor at the mouth of its beautiful harbour in 
 the evening of the 20th of March, 1816. 
 
 The light of the next morning presented before us one 
 of the most magnificent and extensive landscapes I ever 
 beheld. The mass of granite rock, surmounted by the 
 fort of Santa Cruz on our right, the towering Sugar- 
 loaf mountain on our left, the picturesque island at the 
 mouth of the harbour, the distant town of St. Sebastian, 
 the turrets of the castle, the convent of St. Antonio, the 
 lofty range of mountains in the interior, whose receding 
 summits were almost lost in aerial perspective, where 
 
 “Distance lends enchantment to the view,” 
 
 all successively met the eye, together with the widely 
 expanded and beautiful bay, one of the finest in the world, 
 studded with verdant islands, rendered more picturesque 
 by the white cottages with which they were adorned# 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 II 
 
 The whole scene was enlivened by the numerous boats, 
 with their white and singularly shaped sails, incessantly 
 gliding to and fro on the smooth surface of the water, and 
 the shipping of different nations riding at anchor in the 
 bay, or moored to the shore. Among the vessels, which 
 exhibited almost every variety of size and form, those by 
 no means least interesting to us, were two British frigates; 
 one of which was the Alceste, on her way to China, to 
 join Lord Amherst’s embassy. These objects excited in 
 our minds a variety of pleasing sensations, heightened by 
 the circumstance of the country before us being almost 
 the first land we had seen since leaving England. 
 
 There is something very exhilarating in approaching 
 land, or entering a friendly port, after a long voyage ; and 
 the pleasure we felt on this occasion was so much in¬ 
 creased by the novel and delightful landscapes inces¬ 
 santly opening to our view, as we sailed along the bay, 
 that we were unwilling for a moment to leave the deck. 
 Our enjoyment was, however, interrupted by a spectacle 
 adapted to awaken sensations very different indeed from 
 those inspired by the loveliness and peace of the scenery 
 around us. 
 
 We had proceeded about half way to the anchorage, 
 when we approached a brig sailing also into the harbour, 
 which, as we came alongside of her, appeared to be a 
 slave ship returning from the coast of Africa. The 
 morning was fine and the air refreshing, and this had 
 probably induced the cruel keepers to bring their wretched 
 captives up from the dungeons of pestilence and death 
 in which they had been confined. The central part of 
 the deck was crowded with almost naked Africans, con¬ 
 stituting part of the cargo of the gloomy looking 
 vessel. 
 
12 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Though their ages appeared various, the majority 
 seemed to have just arrived at that period of human life, 
 when the prospects of man are brightest, and the hopes 
 of future happiness more distinct and glowing, than during 
 any other portion of his existence; they were most of them, 
 so far as we could judge, from fourteen to eighteen or 
 twenty years of age; some were younger. We regarded 
 them with a degree of melancholy interest, which for a 
 time rendered us insensible to the beauties of nature 
 every where spread before our eyes. Our passing, how¬ 
 ever, appeared to affect them but little. The greater 
 part of these unhappy beings stood nearly motionless, 
 though we did not perceive that they were chained : some 
 directed towards us a look of seeming indifference; others, 
 with their arms folded, appeared pensive in sadness; while 
 several, leaning on the ship’s side, were gazing on the 
 green islands of the bay, the rocky mountains, and all the 
 wild luxuriance of the smiling landscape; which probably 
 awakened in their bosoms thoughts of “home and all its 
 pleasures,” from which they had so recently been torn; 
 and, judging of the future by the past short period of 
 their wretched bondage, their minds were perhaps dis¬ 
 tressed with painful anticipations of the toils and suffer¬ 
 ings that would await them on the foreign shore they 
 were approaching! 
 
 Circumstances detained us at Rio Janeiro above six 
 weeks, and although on our arrival we were perfect 
 strangers, we experienced the greatest hospitality and 
 kindness from the English merchants and other residents 
 there. During the whole of our stay, two of these gentle¬ 
 men accommodated us at their country houses, a few 
 miles distant from the city, where all that friendship 
 could devise for our enjoyment was generously furnished, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 13 
 
 and every thing provided, when we left, that could make 
 the remaining part of our voyage comfortable. 
 
 The heat of the climate was rather oppressive, but 
 the mornings and evenings were pleasant, and, during 
 the forenoon, the sea breezes in general refreshing. The 
 habits of the people, the singularity of the buildings, 
 the narrow streets, projecting balconies, and trellis- 
 work doors and windows, the varied productions of the 
 country, with the sublime grandeur and romantic beauty 
 of the scenery, were all adapted to arrest the attention of 
 those who now, for the first time, found themselves in a 
 foreign land. 
 
 To us, the moral and religious state of the people was 
 the subject of greatest interest; and, every observation 
 we made, was adapted to awaken the liveliest gratitude to 
 Him who had cast our lot in a happier land. Ignorance, 
 and disregard of all religious principle, or the substitu¬ 
 tion of ceremony in its place, appeared every where 
 prevalent. To the freedom of the press, and liberty 
 of conscience, the inhabitants were perfect strangers. 
 No book, we were informed, was allowed to be printed 
 or imported for circulation, without the inspection of 
 individuals appointed for this duty, whose censorship, 
 it appeared, was such as to extinguish every source 
 of light, and perpetuate the darkness of the people. 
 Popery is the religion of the country; and we had an 
 opportunity of beholding it in its own element. The 
 demise of the queen-dowager of Portugal took place 
 about the time of our arrival; and I had an opportunity 
 of witnessing the funeral, which took place by torch-light. 
 Numbers of ecclesiastics, in the habits of their respec¬ 
 tive orders, appeared in the procession, mounted on mules, 
 which were led by persons bearing large burning tapers 
 
14 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 or torches; and on the occasion of a ceremony, connected, 
 as we were informed, with the passage of her soul from 
 purgatory to the regions of glory, the royal chapel was 
 most splendidly illuminated. Desiring to see, for myself, 
 their kind of worship, and the appearance of the wor¬ 
 shippers, I frequently went to the royal chapel, on our 
 first arrival. The rich gilding and numerous paintings, 
 the images, massy silver candlesticks, and other costly 
 ornaments of the building; the novel habits and sonor¬ 
 ous voices of the priests; and, above all, the music 
 mixed with many of their rites, were certainly adapted 
 to produce a powerful impression upon the feelings of 
 the majority of those who resorted thither; the greater 
 part of whom had perhaps never seen a Bible ! But 
 notwithstanding there was so much that was imposing 
 in its accompaniments, their worship often appeared a 
 mere heartless attendance on customary ceremonies. 
 Images of the Virgin Mary appeared at the corners of 
 some of the principal streets, in little glass-cases, and 
 in the evening a small lamp was placed before them. 
 In front of these, the poor ignorant Catholic, kneel¬ 
 ing in the streets, and offering his prayers to the 
 image, together with other ceremonies performed at 
 this season of the year, presented a most lamentable 
 spectacle. Scenes, the most ludicrous imaginable, some¬ 
 times occurred. I was surprised one morning, about 
 the time of Good Friday, to behold what I thought was 
 a man suspended from a tree, on the opposite side of 
 the road: observing my attention attracted, the family 
 informed me that it was the day on which the Catho¬ 
 lics were accustomed to hang Judas. I was surprised 
 to see this representation of the traitor, exhibited in 
 a fashionable coat, waistcoat, and pantaloons, with a 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 15 
 
 pair of Hessian boots, and a cocked hat! The figure 
 hung there till about noon, when it was taken down, 
 and fastened upon the back of a young ox: one end of 
 a rope was tied to each of the animal 9 s horns, and the 
 other end held at a distance of six or eight yards by 
 two young men; who, keeping opposite sides of the 
 road, ran backwards and forwards with the animal, till it 
 became quite furious, and at last, dislodging the image 
 of Judas from its back, the ox tore it to pieces with its 
 horns and its feet. The spectators appeared to derive 
 no small gratification from the exhibition; but such a 
 scene, partaking, according to their opinion, in some 
 degree, of a religious observance, could not be witnessed 
 by a Christian without emotions of pain. 
 
 I draw T no invidious comparisons between Roman 
 Catholics and Protestants; I desire to cultivate towards 
 the former, as individuals, every feeling of Christian kind¬ 
 ness and charity; but I could contemplate Popery with 
 no satisfaction, not because its extension circumscribes 
 the influence of Protestantism, but because it has always 
 appeared to me one of the most absurd and fatal delu¬ 
 sions which the powers of darkness ever invented for the 
 destruction of mankind. 
 
 Here, for the first time, we came into actual contact 
 with slavery. There are, perhaps, few places where the 
 slaves meet with milder treatment; but it was most 
 distressing, on passing the slave market, to observe the 
 wretched captives there bought and sold like cattle; or 
 to see two or three interesting looking youths, wear¬ 
 ing a thin dress, and having a new red cotton hand¬ 
 kerchief round their heads, led through the streets by 
 a slave-dealer, who, entering the different houses or 
 workshops as he passed along, offered the young 
 
16 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 negroes for sale; yet scarcely a day passed while we 
 were in the town, during which we did not meet these 
 heartless traffickers in human beings thus employed. In 
 the English or Portuguese families w T ith which we had 
 any opportunities of becoming acquainted, although the 
 domestic slaves did not appear to be treated with that 
 unkindness which the slaves in the field often experience, 
 yet, even here, the whip was frequently employed in a 
 manner, and under circumstances, revolting to every 
 feeling of humanity. 
 
 While we continued in Rio, I had several oppor¬ 
 tunities of preaching on the Sabbath in the dwelling 
 houses of two of the merchants whom we were visit¬ 
 ing. This was shortly after the treaty of peace with 
 Great Britain, which secured to British subjects resid¬ 
 ing in Brazil, the right of public Protestant worship, 
 but not of proselyting the inhabitants. Several of the 
 English families attended; by whom proposals were 
 made, requesting me to remain as a minister of religion 
 among them. There were at that time fifty-seven British 
 mercantile houses—two hundred and fifty English; and 
 dependent upon them, six hundred servants, including 
 blacks. Having, however, devoted my life to the service 
 of the heathen, I felt it my duty to decline their invita¬ 
 tion, and to proceed to my original destination. During 
 the first week of May, we took leave of our friends, 
 thankful for the attentions and kindness we had ex¬ 
 perienced. Severe domestic affliction detained my col¬ 
 league, the Rev. L. E. Threlkeld, at Rio, and we were 
 under the necessity of proceeding alone on the remainder 
 of our voyage. 
 
 Sailing from Rio, we directed our course across the 
 Atlantic, doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and, travers- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 17 
 
 ing the Indian ocean, proceeded towards New South 
 Wales. Our passage was pleasant, and eleven weeks 
 after leaving Brazil, we made the western coast of 
 Van Diemen's Land. We passed through Bass's Straits 
 on the same day, and sailed along the eastern shore of 
 New Holland towards Port Jackson. Soon after day¬ 
 light the next morning, we perceived a sail some miles 
 before us, which we found on nearer approach to be a 
 small schooner. Our captain on visiting her found only 
 three men on board, who were in the greatest distress. 
 They had been at Kangaroo Island procuring seal-skins, 
 with a quantity of which they were now bound to Syd¬ 
 ney. They had remained on the island, catching seals, 
 till their provisions were nearly expended; and during 
 their voyage, they had encountered much heavy weather, 
 had been nearly lost, and were so exhausted by fatigue, 
 want of food, and constant exposure, that they could not 
 even alter the sails, when a change in the wind rendered 
 it necessary. They had been for some time living on 
 seal-skins; pieces of which were found in a saucepan 
 over the fire, when the boat's crew boarded them. The 
 men from our ship trimmed their sails, and our captain 
 offered to take them in tow; but as they were so near 
 their port, which they hoped to reach the next day, they 
 declined accepting his proposal. When he returned to the 
 ship, he sent them some bread and beef, a bottle of wine, and 
 some water; which the poor starving men received with an 
 indescribable degree of eagerness and joy. The seamen 
 who conveyed these supplies returned to the ship, and we 
 kept on our way. We did not, however, hear of their 
 arrival, and as we remained nearly six months in Sydney 
 after this time, and received no tidings of them, it is 
 probable their crazy bark was wrecked, or foundered 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 during a heavy storm that came on in the course of the 
 following clay. 
 
 The wind from the south continued fresh and favour¬ 
 able, and in the forenoon of the next day we sailed towards 
 the shore^ under the influence of exhilarated spirits, and 
 the confident expectation of landing in Port Jackson 
 before sunset. About noon we found ourselves near 
 enough the coast to distinguish different objects along 
 the shore, and soon discovered the flagstaff erected on 
 one of the heads leading to Sydney, our port of destina¬ 
 tion, about four miles distant from us, but rather to 
 windward. The captain and officers being strangers to 
 the port, some little time was spent in scanning the 
 coast, in the hope of finding an opening still farther 
 northward; but at twelve o’clock our apprehensions 
 of having missed our port were confirmed, as the latitude 
 was then found, by an observation of the sun, to be four 
 miles to the northward of Sydney heads. We had, in 
 fact, sailed with a strong but favourable wind, four miles 
 past the harbour which we ought to have entered. Hope, 
 which had beamed in every eye, and lighted up every 
 countenance with anticipated pleasure, when we first 
 neared the land, had alternated with fear, or given way 
 to most intense anxiety, when we witnessed the uncer¬ 
 tainty that prevailed among our companions, as to our 
 actual situation; but disappointment the most distress¬ 
 ing, was now strongly marked in every countenance. 
 “ About ship,” exclaimed the captain; immediately the 
 ship’s head was turned from the land, and, steering as 
 near the wind as possible, we proceeded towards the 
 open sea. After sailing in this direction for some 
 time, the ship was again turned towards the shore; but 
 the wind, which during the forenoon had been so favour- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 19 
 
 able, was now against us, and as soon as we could dis¬ 
 tinguish the flagstaff on the coast, we found ourselves far¬ 
 ther from it than before. The wind increased ; and as the 
 evening advanced, a heavy storm came on, which raged 
 with fearful violence. The night was unusually dark ; 
 the long and heavy waves of the Pacific rolled in foam 
 around our vessel ; the stormy wind howled through 
 the rigging ; all hands were on deck, and twice or thrice, 
 while in the act of turning the ship from the land, the 
 sails were rent by the tempest; while the hoarse and 
 hollow roaring of the breakers, and the occasional glim¬ 
 mering of lights on the coast, combined to convince us 
 of our situation, and the proximity of our danger. The 
 depression of spirits, resulting from the disappointment, 
 which had been more or less felt by all on board, the 
 noise of the tempest, the vociferations and frequent im¬ 
 precations of the officers, the hurried steps and almost 
 incessant labours of the seamen on deck, and the heavy 
 and violent motion of the vessel, which detached from 
 their fastenings, and dashed with violence from one side 
 of the ship to the other, chests of drawers, trunks, and 
 barrels, that had remained secure and stationary dur¬ 
 ing the voyage, produced a state of mind peculiarly dis¬ 
 tressing. The general disorder that prevailed, with the 
 constant apprehension of striking on some fatal rock, 
 that might lie unseen near the craggy and iron-bound 
 shore, and being either ingulfed in the mighty deep, 
 or wrecked on the inhospitable coast, rendered the night 
 altogether one of the most alarming and anxious that we 
 had passed since our departure from England. Amidst 
 the confusion by which we were surrounded, we expe¬ 
 rienced comparative composure of mind, resting on our 
 God: 
 
20 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 “ When o'er the fearful depth we hung, 
 
 High on the broken wave, 
 
 We knew He was not slow to hear, 
 
 Nor impotent to save.” 
 
 In such a season, confidence in Him who holdeth the 
 wind in his fists, and the waters in the hollow of his hand, 
 can alone impart serenity and support. 
 
 As the morning advanced, the storm abated; and at 
 sunrise we found ourselves at a considerable distance 
 from the shore. Contrary winds kept us out at sea for 
 nearly a fortnight, which was by far the most irksome 
 part of our voyage. At length we again approached the 
 coast, and were delighted, as we sailed along it on the 
 morning of the eleventh day, to behold a pilot-boat steer¬ 
 ing towards us. Our vessel had been several times seen 
 from the shore, since the day of our first disappointment; 
 and as soon as we had appeared in sight this morning, 
 the governor of New South Wales, then residing at Syd¬ 
 ney, had despatched the pilot, with orders to go out even 
 sixty miles, rather than return without bringing the 
 vessel in. He boarded us about twenty miles from Port 
 Jackson, and conducted us safely within the heads, in the 
 evening of the same day. Early the next morning, we 
 proceeded to Sydney Cove, where we cast anchor on the 
 22d of July, after a passage, including our stay in Rio 
 Janeiro, of only a few days more than six months. 
 
 Five months elapsed before we could meet with a con¬ 
 veyance to the Society Islands. This detention, how¬ 
 ever, favoured me with an opportunity of visiting the 
 chief settlements of New South Wales, and beholding 
 several of the rare and interesting animals and vege¬ 
 table productions of that important colony. I was 
 happy also to become acquainted with Mr. Leigh, the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 21 
 
 Wesleyan minister, and to experience, during this period, 
 the friendship and kind attentions of the Rev. S. Mars- 
 den, senior chaplain of the colony, the steady and inde¬ 
 fatigable friend of Missions and Missionaries in the 
 South Seas. He resided at Paramatta, where we passed 
 the greater part of our stay in New South Wales very 
 pleasantly, in the family of the late Mr. Hassel, formerly 
 a Missionary in Tahiti. Mr. and Mrs. Hassel landed at 
 Matavai from the ship Duff, in 1797* but had retired to 
 Port Jackson, in consequence of an attack made by the 
 natives on the Missionaries. 
 
 In company with Mr. S. O. Hassel, I made several ex¬ 
 cursions into the interior of the country, where we fre¬ 
 quently saw the inhabitants more completely in a state of 
 nature, than those we met with in the vicinity of the 
 principal towns. The aborigines are but thinly spread 
 over that part of New Holland bordering on the colony; 
 and though the population has been estimated at three 
 millions, I am disposed to think, that, notwithstanding 
 the geographical extent of the country, it does not con¬ 
 tain so many inhabitants. Their appearance is gene¬ 
 rally repulsive, their faces looking more deformed from 
 their wearing a skewer through the cartilage of the 
 nose. Their colour is dark olive, or black, and their 
 hair rather crisped than woolly. In proportion to 
 the body, their limbs are small and weak, while their 
 gait is exceedingly awkward. Excepting in the neigh¬ 
 bourhood of the chief towns, they were usually destitute 
 of clothing, though armed with a spear or lance, with 
 which at a great distance they are fatal marksmen. 
 They are represented as indolent, treacherous, and cruel. 
 Agriculture is unknown among them, although the 
 indigenous productions of the country yield them 
 
22 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 little if any subsistence. Their food is frequently 
 scanty, precarious, and loathsome, sometimes consisting 
 of grubs and reptiles taken in the hollow or decayed 
 trees of the forest. Occasionally, however, they procure 
 excellent fish from the sea, or the lakes, rivers. &c. 
 Their dwellings are low huts of bark, and afford but a 
 mere temporary shelter from the weather. 
 
 They are a distinct people from the inhabitants of New 
 Zealand, or the South Sea Islands ; altogether inferior to 
 them, and apparently the lowest grade of human kind. 
 Their habits are fugitive and migratory, and this has per¬ 
 haps greatly contributed to the failure of the benevolent at¬ 
 tempts that have been made by the government and others 
 to meliorate their condition, and elevate their character. 
 The school for aboriginal children, under the patronage 
 of the government, was a most interesting institution : I 
 frequently visited it, and was surprised to learn that, 
 though treated with every kindness, the young scholars, 
 when an opportunity occurred, frequently left the 
 school, and fled to their native woods, where every 
 effort to discover the retreat, or to reclaim them, proved 
 ineffectual. Notwithstanding their present abject con¬ 
 dition, and all the existing barriers to their improve¬ 
 ment, it is most ardently to be hoped, and most con¬ 
 fidently to be anticipated, that the period will arrive, 
 when this degraded and wretched people will be raised 
 to the enjoyment of all the blessings of intelligence, 
 civilization, and Christianity. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 23 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Voyage to New Zealand—Intercourse with the inhabitants—Sabbath 
 on shore—Visit to Waikadie—Instance of parental tenderness—Forest 
 scenery—Sham fight and war-dances—Character of the New Zealanders 
 —Prospects of the Mission—Arrival at the Island of Rapa—Singularity 
 of its structure—Appearance of the natives—Violent proceedings on 
 board—Remarkable interposition of Providence—Visit of the natives 
 to Tahiti—Introduction of Christianity to Rapa—Increased geographical 
 acquaintance with the Pacific. 
 
 On the tenth of December, 1816, we sailed from Sydney in 
 the Queen Charlotte, a brig belonging to J. Birnie, Esq., 
 bound for the Society and Marquesan Islands. On the 
 21st of the same months we reached New Zealand; and 
 here for the first time saw the rude, untutored inha¬ 
 bitants of the South Sea Islands, in their native state. 
 At daylight, on the morning after our arrival on the 
 coasts we found ourselves off Wangaroa bay, where, six 
 years before, the murderous quarrel took place, in which 
 the crew of the Boyd were cut off by the natives, and 
 near which, subsequently, the Methodist Missionary sta¬ 
 tion at Wesleydale, established in 1823, has been, 
 through the alarming and violent conduct of the inha¬ 
 bitants, abandoned by the Missionaries, and utterly 
 destroyed by the natives. Several canoes, with three 
 or four men in each, approached our vessel at a very 
 early hour, with fish, fishing-lines, hooks, and a few 
 curiosities for sale. Their canoes were all single, ge¬ 
 nerally between twenty and thirty feet long, formed 
 
24 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 out of one tree; and nearly destitute of every kind of 
 ornament. 
 
 The men; almost naked; were rather above the middle 
 stature; of a dark copper colour; their features frequently 
 well formed^ their hair black and bushy; and their faces 
 much tataued; and ornamented; or rather disfigured; by 
 the unsparing application of a kind of white clay and red 
 ochre mixed with oil. Their appearance and conduct; 
 during our first interview; was by no means adapted to 
 inspire us with prepossessions in their favour. Our cap¬ 
 tain refused to admit them into the ship; and after bar¬ 
 tering with them for some of their fish; we proceeded on 
 our voyage. 
 
 On reaching the Bay of Islands we were cordially wel¬ 
 comed by our Christian brethren; the Missionaries of the 
 Church Missionary Society; who had been about two years 
 engaged in promoting instruction and civilization among 
 the New Zealanders. They were the first Missionaries 
 we had seen on heathen ground; and it afforded us plea¬ 
 sure to become acquainted with those who were in some 
 respects to be our future fellow-labourers. Having been 
 kindly invited to spend on shore the next day; which was 
 the Sabbath; we left the ship soon after breakfast; on the 
 morning of the 22nd. When we reached the landing 
 place; crowds of natives thronged around US; with an idle 
 but by no means ceremonious curiosity; and some time 
 elapsed before we could proceed from the beach to the 
 houses of our friends. 
 
 The Missionaries had on the preceding day invited me 
 to officiate for them; and I was happy to have an op¬ 
 portunity of preaching the gospel on the shores of New 
 Zealand. Several of the natives appeared in our little 
 congregation; influenced probably by curiosity; as the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 25 
 
 service was held in a language unintelligible to them. I 
 could not, however, but indulge the hope that the time 
 was not distant^ when, through the influence of the schools 
 already established; and the general instructions given by 
 the Missionaries ; my brethren would have the pleasure 
 of preaching; on every returning Sabbath; the unsearch¬ 
 able riches of Christ; to numerous assemblies of attentive 
 Christian hearers. The circumstance of its being exactly 
 two years; this Sabbath day; since Mr. Marsden; who 
 visited New Zealand in 1814—1815; for the purpose of 
 establishing a Christian Mission among the people; 
 preached; not far from this spot; the first sermon that 
 was ever delivered in New Zealand; added to the feelings 
 of interest connected with the engagements of the day. 
 
 Circumstances detaining us about a week in the Bay of 
 Islands; afforded me the means of becoming more fully 
 acquainted with the Missionaries; making excursions to 
 different parts of the adjacent country, and witnessing 
 many of the singular manners and customs of the people. 
 I visited, in company with the captain of our ship, and 
 Mr. Hall, one or two of the forests which produce the 
 New Zealand pine, recently discovered to be so valuable 
 as spars for vessels. 
 
 In one of these excursions, shortly after leaving the 
 Bay of Islands, we reached Kowakowa, where Mr. Hall 
 proposed to land. As we approached the shore, no trace 
 of inhabitants appeared, but we had scarcely landed when 
 we were somewhat surprised by the appearance of Tetoro 
 and a number of his people. The chief ran to meet us, 
 greeting us in English, with “How do you do?” He per¬ 
 ceived I was a stranger, and, on hearing my errand 
 and destination, he offered me his hand, and saluted me, 
 according to the custom of his country, by touching my 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 nose with his. He was a tall, fine-looking man, about 
 six feet high, and proportionably stout, his limbs firm 
 and muscular, and when dressed in his war-cloak, with all 
 his implements of death appended to his person, he must 
 have appeared formidable to his enemies. When ac¬ 
 quainted with our business, he prepared to accompany 
 us; but before we set out, an incident occurred that greatly 
 raised my estimation of his character. In front of the 
 hut sat his wife, and around her played two or three little 
 children. In passing from the hut to the boat, Tetoro 
 struck one of the little ones with his foot; the child 
 cried, and though the chief had his mat on, and his gun 
 in his hand, and was in the act of stepping into the boat 
 where we were waiting for him, he no sooner heard its 
 cries, than he turned back, took the child up in his arms, 
 stroked its little head, dried its tears, and giving it to the 
 mother hastened to join us. His conversation in the boat, 
 during the remainder of the voyage, indicated no infe¬ 
 riority of intellect nor deficiency of information, as far as 
 he had possessed the means of obtaining it. On reaching 
 Waikadie, about twenty miles from our ship, we were 
 met by Waivea, Tetoro’s brother; but his relationship 
 appeared to be almost all that he possessed in common 
 with him, as he was both in appearance and in conduct 
 entirely a savage. 
 
 We accompanied them to the adjacent forests. The 
 earth was completely covered with thick-spreading and 
 forked roots, brambles, and creeping plants, overgrown 
 with moss, and interwoven sc as to form a kind of 
 uneven matting, which rendered travelling exceedingly 
 difficult. The underwood was in many parts thick, and 
 the trunks of the lofty trees rose like clusters of pillars 
 supporting the canopy of interwoven boughs and verdant 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 2 7 
 
 foliage, through which the sun’s rays seldom penetrated. 
 There were no trodden paths, and the wild and dreary 
 solitude of the place was only broken by the voice of 
 some lonely bird, which chirped among the branches of 
 the bushes, or, startled by our intrusion on its retire¬ 
 ment, darted across our path. A sensation of solemnity 
 and awe involuntarily arose in the mind, while con¬ 
 templating a scene of such peculiar character, so unlike 
 the ordinary haunts of man, and so adapted, from the 
 silent grandeur of his works, to elevate the soul with 
 the sublimest conceptions of the Almighty. I was 
 remarkably struck with the gigantic size of many of the 
 trees, some of which appeared to rise nearly one hundred 
 feet, without a branch, while two men with extended 
 arms could not clasp their trunks. About three in 
 the afternoon we left Waikadie, but the darkness of 
 night veiled every object from our view, long before we 
 reached our vessel. 
 
 Near the settlement at Rangehoo, a small field had 
 been tilled by the Missionaries, in the European manner. 
 I visited it in company with Mr. King, and was pleased to 
 see one of the first crops of wheat that had ever grown, 
 under European culture, in New Zealand, looking green 
 and flourishing. Two years before this, Duatere and 
 ’Honglii had received wheat from Mr. Marsden, which they 
 had carefully sown, and which had arrived at perfection. 
 The introduction of the European methods of culture, 
 and subsequent processes of converting it into bread, may 
 naturally be expected to encourage the natives to facili¬ 
 tate its more extensive growth. In several parts of the 
 low-lands the native flax-plant ,phormium tenax, was grow¬ 
 ing remarkably strong. It is by no means like the flax 
 or hemp plants of England, but resembles, in its appear- 
 
28 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ance and manner of growth, the flag or iris; the long 
 broad sword-shaped leaves furnish the fibre so useful in 
 making dresses for the natives, fishing lines, twine, and 
 strong cordage employed as running rigging in most of 
 the vessels that trade with the islanders. It is a most 
 valuable plant, and will probably furnish an important 
 article of commerce with New South Wales, or England. 
 
 An unusual noise from the land aroused us early on 
 the morning of the 25th, and, on reaching the deck, a 
 number of war-canoes were seen lying along the shore, 
 while crowds of natives on the beach were engaged in 
 war dances, shouting, and firing their muskets at frequent 
 intervals. On inquiry, we found that on the day we had 
 visited Waikadie, a chief of Rangehoo had committed 
 suicide, by throwing himself from a high rock into 
 the sea. This event had brought the chiefs and war¬ 
 riors of the adjacent country, to investigate the cause of 
 his death; armed and prepared for revenge, in the event 
 of his having been murdered. A council was held for 
 some hours on the beach, when the strangers, being satis 
 fied as to the cause and manner of the chief’s death, pre¬ 
 parations for war were discontinued, the people of Ran¬ 
 gehoo repaired to their fields, to procure potatoes for 
 their entertainment. It was Christmas-day, and about 
 twelve o’clock we went on shore to dine with one of 
 the Mission families. In the afternoon, I walked 
 through the encampment of the strangers, which was 
 spread along the sea-shore. Their long, stately, and in 
 many instances beautifully carved canoes, were drawn up 
 on the pebbly beach, and the chiefs and warriors were 
 sitting in circles, at a small distance from them. Each 
 party occupied the beach opposite their canoes, while 
 the slaves or domestics at some distance further from 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 29 
 
 the shore, were busied round their respective fires, 
 preparing their masters’ food. Near his side, each war¬ 
 rior’s spear was fixed in the ground, while his patupatu , 
 a stone weapon, the tomakawk of the New Zealander, 
 was hanging on his arm. Several chiefs had a large iron 
 hatchet or bill-hook, much resembling those used by 
 woodmen or others, in mending hedges in England. 
 These, which in their hands were rather terrifying wea¬ 
 pons, appeared to be highly prized; they were kept 
 clean and polished, and generally fastened round the 
 wrist by a braided cord of native flax. The patupatu 
 was sometimes placed in the girdle, in the same manner 
 as a Malay would wear his knife or dagger, or a Turk 
 his pistol. They were generally tall and well-formed 
 men, altogether such as it might be expected the warriors 
 of a savage nation w r ould be. Several of these fighting- 
 men were not less than six feet high; their limbs were 
 muscular and firm, and their bodies stout, but not cor¬ 
 pulent. The dress of the chiefs and warriors consisted, 
 in general, of a girdle round the loins, and a short cloak 
 or mantle, worn over the shoulders, and tied with cords 
 of braided flax in front. The rank of the chief appeared 
 to be sometimes indicated by the number of his cloaks 
 fastened one upon the other; that which was smallest, 
 but generally most valuable, being worn on the outside: 
 the whole resembled in this respect the capes of a 
 travelling-coat. 
 
 Their physiognomy, indicating any thing but weak¬ 
 ness or cowardice, often exhibited great determination. 
 They wore no helmet, or other covering for the head. 
 Their black and shining hair sometimes hung in ring¬ 
 lets on their shoulders, but was frequently tied up on the 
 crown of their heads, and usually ornamented by a tuft 
 
30 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of waving feathers. Their dark eyes, though not large, 
 were often fierce and penetrating; their prominent fea¬ 
 tures in general well formed; but their whole countenance 
 was much disfigured by the practice of tatauing. Each 
 chief had thus imprinted on his face, the marks and invo¬ 
 lutions peculiar to his family or tribe; while the figures 
 tataued on the faces of his dependants or retainers, 
 though fewer in number, were the same in form as those 
 by which the chief was distinguished. The accompanying 
 representation of the head and face of 'Honghi, * the cele¬ 
 
 brated New Zealand warrior, who was among the party that 
 arrived this morning at the settlements, will convey no 
 inaccurate idea of the effect of this singular practice. The 
 tatauing of the face of a New Zealander, answering the 
 
 * The bust, from which, by the kindness of the Secretary of the Church 
 Missionary Society, the drawing of the above is taken, was executed with 
 great fidelity by ’Honghi during a visit to Port Jackson. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 31 
 
 purpose of the particular stripe or colour of the High¬ 
 lander’s plaid, marks the clan or tribe to which he 
 belongs. It is considered highly ornamental, and, in 
 addition to the distinguishing lines or curves, the intri¬ 
 cacy and variety of the pattern, thus permanently fixed on 
 the face, constitutes one principal distinction between 
 the chiefs and common people, and may be regarded as 
 the crest, or coat of arms, of the New Zealand aristocracy. 
 Tatauing is said to be also employed as a means of 
 enabling them to distinguish their enemies in battle. 
 In the present instance, its effect on the countenance, 
 where its marks are more thickly implanted than in 
 any other part of the body, was greatly augmented by 
 a preparation of red ochre and oil, which had been 
 liberally applied to the cheeks and the forehead. Quan¬ 
 tities of oil and ochre adhered to my clothes, from 
 close contact with the natives, which I found it impossi¬ 
 ble to prevent; but this was the only inconvenience I 
 experienced from my visit. 
 
 The warriors of New Zealand delight in swaggering 
 and bravado, and while my companion was talking with 
 some of Korokoro’s party, one of them came up to me, 
 and several times brandished his patupatu over my head, 
 as if intending to strike, accompanying the action with the 
 fiercest expressions of countenance, and the utterance of 
 words exceedingly harsh, though to me unintelligible. 
 After a few minutes he desisted, but when we walked 
 away, he ran after us, and, assuming the same attitude and 
 gestures, accompanied us till we reached another circle, 
 where he continued for a short time these exhibitions of 
 his skill in terrifying, &c. When he ceased, he inquired, 
 rather significantly, if I was not afraid. I told him 
 I was unconscious of having offended him, and that. 
 
32 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 notwithstanding his actions, I did not think he intended 
 to injure me. The New Zealanders are fond of endea¬ 
 vouring to alarm strangers, and appear to derive much 
 satisfaction in witnessing the indications of fear they 
 are able to excite. 
 
 A number of tribes from different parts of the Bay 
 being now at Rangehoo, the evening was devoted to pub¬ 
 lic sports on the sea beach, which most of the strangers 
 attended. Several of their public dances seemed immoral 
 in their tendency, but in general they were distinguished 
 by the violent gestures and deafening vociferations of the 
 performers. No part of the sports, however, appeared so 
 interesting to the natives, as a sham fight, in which the 
 warriors wore their full dresses, bore their usual weapons, 
 and went through the different movements of actual 
 engagement. 
 
 Shungee, or, according to the modern orthography of the 
 Missionaries, ’Honghi, with his numerous dependants and 
 allies, formed one party, and were ranged on the western 
 side of the beach, below the Missionaries’ dwelling. The 
 chief wore several mats or short cloaks, of various sizes 
 and texture, exquisitely manufactured with the native 
 flax, one of them ornamented with small shreds of dog’s 
 skin, with the hair adhering to it ; these were fastened 
 round his neck, while in his girdle he wore a patupatu, 
 and carried a musket in his hand. His party were gene¬ 
 rally armed with clubs, and spears nine or ten feet long. 
 Their antagonists were ranged at the opposite side of the 
 beach. At a signal given, they ran violently towards each 
 other, halted, and then amidst shouts and clamour, rushed 
 into each others ranks, some brandishing their clubs, 
 others thrusting their spears, which were either parried 
 or carefully avoided by the opposite party. Several were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 33 
 
 at length thrown down, some prisoners taken, and ulti¬ 
 mately both parties retreated to a distance, whence they 
 renewed the combat. As the day closed, these sports were 
 discontinued, and the combatants and spectators retired to 
 their respective encampments. 
 
 Having filled our water casks, increased our supply 
 of provender for the cattle and sheep I had on board, 
 procured a number of logs of timber towards the erection 
 of our future dwelling; and having spent a week very 
 pleasantly with our Missionary brethren; we took leave 
 of them, grateful for the assistance of their influence with 
 the natives, and the kindness and hospitality we had ex¬ 
 perienced at their hands. 
 
 New Zealand comprises two large and several smaller 
 islands, extending from 34 degrees to 47 degrees south 
 latitude, and from 166 to about 180 degrees east long. 
 It was discovered by Tasman, a Dutch navigator, in 1642. 
 He sailed from the north point along the eastern shore, 
 which was afterwards called Cook’s Straits, where he 
 anchored in a bay, to which, in consequence of an attack 
 from the natives, he gave the name of Murderers’ Bay, 
 and finally left the coast without landing. In 1770* 
 New Zealand was visited and explored by Captain Cook, 
 who discovered the straits that are called by his name. 
 The settlement at Rangehoo, and one formed subsequently 
 by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in Wangaroa, and 
 the Church Missionary station at Kerekere, are all on 
 the large northern island. The climate is salubrious, 
 the thermometer ranging between 40 and 80 degrees, 
 avoiding the heat of the tropical climates, yet warmer 
 than most of the temperate latitudes, generally equable, 
 and seldom experiencing those sudden vicissitudes so 
 frequent in the variable climate of England. The soil is 
 
 F 
 
34 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 in many parts fertile; and though few articles of food are 
 indigenous, or when introduced grow spontaneously, yet 
 it is capable of a high state of cultivation, and would 
 probably favour not only the growth of wheat and other 
 grain, but also of many of the fruits and valuable produc¬ 
 tions of the temperate and tropical climates. The moun¬ 
 tains do not appear so lofty and broken as those of the 
 Society Islands, and consequently the soil may be culti¬ 
 vated with greater facility. In addition to the growth 
 of corn introduced by Mr. Marsden, and the assist¬ 
 ants of the Missions at the several stations, the natives 
 have long cultivated the Irish potato with facility and 
 advantage. It is not indigenous, but was left by some of 
 the ships touching here, and not only furnishes a valuable 
 addition to the means of subsistence for the natives, but 
 a very acceptable article of provision for the crews of 
 the vessels by whom they are visited. Other European 
 roots and vegetables have been introduced, but with less 
 success. The kumara, or sweet potato, has been long 
 cultivated, although the fern root furnishes a principal 
 part of the food for the common people at some seasons 
 of the year. The climate is favourable for rearing cattle 
 and sheep, as well as the different kinds of poultry. The 
 pine timber produced in the forests is valuable, not only 
 to the inhabitants, but as an article of export both to 
 New South Wales and to Great Britain. The river 
 Thames to the south-east is a fine and capacious 
 harbour. The coasts are well stocked with fish, 
 which, with potatoes and fern root, constitute the food 
 of the inhabitants. These advantages, together with its 
 local situation in regard to New Holland, render it of 
 importance to that growing colony. 
 
 The population of New Zealand has been estimated at 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 35 
 
 half a million; it may exceed this number. The inha¬ 
 bitants are certainly far more numerous than those of 
 the Society Islands, and appear exempt from many of 
 the diseases which afflict their northern neighbours. 
 They are a hardy industrious race, generally strong 
 and active, not only capable of great physical exer¬ 
 tion^ but of high moral culture, and are by no means 
 deficient in intellect. Their tatauing and carving fre¬ 
 quently display great taste; and when we consider the 
 tools with which the latter is performed, it increases our 
 admiration of their skill and perseverance. They are, 
 nevertheless, addicted to the greatest vices that stain the 
 human character, treachery, cannibalism, infanticide, and 
 murder. Less superstitious than many of the natives of 
 the Pacific, but perhaps as much addicted to war as any 
 of them, if not more so ; war appears to be their delight, 
 and the events of their lives are little else than a series of 
 acts of oppression, robbery, and bloodshed. A conquer¬ 
 ing army, returning from an expedition of murder and 
 devastation, bring home the men, women, and children 
 of the vanquished, as trophies of their victory. These 
 unhappy beings are reduced to perpetual slavery, or 
 sacrificed to satiate the vengeance of their enemies. On 
 these occasions, little children, whose feeble hands could 
 scarcely hold the knife or dagger, have been initiated in 
 the dreadful work of death, and have seemed to feel de¬ 
 light in stabbing captive children, thus imbruing their 
 infant hands in the blood of those who, under other cir¬ 
 cumstances, they would have hailed as playmates, and 
 have joined in innocent and mirthful pastimes. Their wars 
 are not only sanguinary, but horribly demoralizing and 
 brutal, from the circumstance of the captives, or the 
 slain, furnishing the victors with their triumphal banquet. 
 
36 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The cannibalism of the inhabitants of New Zealand, and 
 other islands of the Pacific, has been doubted by some, 
 and denied by others, and every mind influenced by the 
 common feelings, or exercising the common sympathies of 
 humanity, must naturally resist the conviction of his species 
 ever sinking to a degradation so abject, and a barbarity so 
 horrible, until it be substantiated by the clearest evidence of 
 indisputable facts. But how r ever ardently we may have hoped 
 that the accounts of their anthropophagism were only the 
 result of inferences drawn from their familiarity with 
 and apparent satisfaction in deeds of savage murder ; the 
 accounts of the Missionaries who have resided amongst 
 them, no longer admit any doubt to be entertained of 
 the revolting and humiliating fact. The intercourse they 
 have had with the greater part of the foreign shipping 
 visiting their shores, has not been such as to soften the 
 natural ferocity of their character, improve their morals, 
 inspire them with confidence, advance their civilization, 
 or promote peace and harmony among themselves; fre¬ 
 quently it has been the reverse, as the affair of the Boyd, 
 and the desolation of the island of Tipahee, affectingly 
 demonstrate. 
 
 To the eye of a Missionary, New Zealand is an inte¬ 
 resting country, inhabited by a people of no ordinary 
 powers, could they but be brought under the influence 
 of right principles. By the Christian philanthropists of 
 Britain, who are desirous not only to spread the light of 
 revelation and Christian instruction among the ignorant 
 at home, but are also making noble efforts to send its bless¬ 
 ings to the remotest nations of the earth, it has not been 
 overlooked. 
 
 In 1814, the Church Missionary Society sent their Mis¬ 
 sionaries to New Zealand; and> under the direction and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 37 
 
 guardianship of the Rev. S. Marsden, the steady patron of 
 the New Zealand Mission, established their first settle¬ 
 ment at Rangehoo in the Bay of Islands. Considerable 
 reinforcements have been sent, and three other stations 
 formed. Since that period, the Wesleyan Missionaries 
 commenced their labours near Wangaroa. The Mission¬ 
 aries and their assistants, who have laboured at these sta¬ 
 tions ever since their commencement, have not only 
 steadily and diligently applied to the study of the lan¬ 
 guage, which is a dialect of that spoken in all the eastern 
 portion of the Pacific, established schools for the instruc¬ 
 tion of the natives, and endeavoured to unfold to them 
 the great truths of revelation, but have from the begin¬ 
 ning, by the establishment of forges for working iron, saw- 
 pits, carpenters’ shops, &c. laboured to introduce among 
 the natives, habits of industry, a taste for the mechanic 
 arts, and a desire to follow the peaceful occupations of 
 husbandry; thereby aiming to promote their advance¬ 
 ment in civilization, and improve their present condi¬ 
 tion, while they were pursuing the more important 
 objects of their mission. 
 
 Success indeed has not been according to their de¬ 
 sires, but it has not been altogether withheld; the gene¬ 
 ral character of the people, in the neighbourhood of the 
 settlements, is improved, and several pleasing instances 
 of piety among the natives have been afforded. Diffi¬ 
 culties attending the introduction of Christianity were 
 from the first, and are still to be expected. The gross 
 ignorance, prejudices, and superstition of the natives, 
 the unbridled influence of their passions, the effects of 
 their intercourse with foreigners inimical to the moral 
 influence of the gospel, combine to resist its establish¬ 
 ment. To these may also be added, their habitual 
 
38 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 treachery and crime, and, above all, their love of 
 war, and their wretched system of government, which 
 is probably one of the greatest barriers to their general 
 reception of Christianity. 
 
 It was a favourable circumstance attending the change 
 that has taken place both in the Society and Sandwich 
 Islands, that each island had its chief; and that in some 
 instances several adjacent islands were under the govern¬ 
 ment of a principal chief or king, whose authority was 
 supreme, and whose influence, in uniting the people 
 under one head, predisposed them, as a nation, to receive 
 the instructions imparted by individuals countenanced 
 and protected by their chief or king. Persons of the 
 highest authority not only patronized the Missionaries, 
 but frequently added to their instructions, their com¬ 
 mendation, and the influence of their own example in 
 having already received them. 
 
 In New Zealand there is no king over the whole, or 
 even over one of the larger islands. The people are gene¬ 
 rally governed by a number of chieftains, each indeed a 
 king over his narrow territory, supreme among his own 
 tribe or clan, and independent of every other. The same 
 system prevails in the Marquesas, and the Friendly and 
 Figi islands, where no law of right is acknowledged, but 
 that of dominion. A desire to enlarge their territory, 
 increase their power, or satisfy revenge, leads to fre¬ 
 quent and destructive war, strengthens jealousy, and 
 cherishes treachery, keeps them without any common 
 bond of union, and prevents any deep or extensive 
 impression being made upon them as a people. This 
 necessarily circumscribes the influence of the Mission¬ 
 aries, and is, in a great degree, the cause which led 
 the Wesleyan Missionaries for a time to suspend alto- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 39 
 
 gether their efforts, and has recently so painfully dis¬ 
 turbed those of their brethren in connexion with the 
 Church Missionary Society. 
 
 The labours of the mechanic and the artisan are 
 valuable accompaniments to those of the Missionary ; 
 but Christianity must precede civilization. Little hope 
 is to be entertained of their following to any extent the 
 useful arts, cultivating habits of industry, or realiz¬ 
 ing the enjoyments of social and domestic life, until 
 they are brought under the influence of those principles 
 inculcated in the word of God. And notwithstanding 
 the discouragements to be encountered, this happy 
 result should be steadily and confidently anticipated by 
 those engaged on the spot, as well as by their friends 
 at home. Their prospect of success is daily becoming 
 more encouraging. They have not yet laboured in hope, 
 so long as their predecessors did in the South Sea Islands ; 
 where nearly fifteen years elapsed before they knew of one 
 true convert. The recollection of this circumstance is 
 adapted to inspire those employed in New Zealand with 
 courage, and stimulate to perseverance, as there is every 
 reason to conclude, that when the New Zealanders shall 
 by the blessing of God become a Christian people, they 
 will assume and maintain no secondary rank among the 
 nations of the Pacific. 
 
 On the twenty-eighth of December, 1816, we sailed from 
 the Bay of Islands, and proceeded in an easterly direc¬ 
 tion, with favourable winds, until the 26th of January, 
 when, at daybreak, we discovered an island which we 
 afterwards found to be Rapa, though usually designated 
 Oparo. The first account of this island is given by 
 Vancouver, who discovered it in his passage from 
 New Zealand to Tahiti, on the 22d of December, 
 
40 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 1791.* According to the observation made at the time, it 
 was found to be situated in lat. 27. 36. S. and long. 144. 
 11. W. The mountains are lofty and picturesque, and 
 the summits of those forming the high land in the centre, 
 singularly broken, so as to resemble, in no small degree, a 
 range of irregularly inclined cones, or cylindrical columns, 
 which their discoverer supposed to be towers, or fortifi¬ 
 cations, manned with natives. 
 
 The higher parts of the mountains seemed barren, 
 but the lower hills, with many of the valleys, and the 
 shores, were covered with verdure, and enriched with 
 trees and bushes. The island did not appear to be 
 surrounded by a reef, and, consequently, but little low 
 land was seen. The waves of the ocean dashed against 
 the base of those mountains, which, extending to the sea, 
 divided the valleys that opened upon the eastern shore. 
 As we were not far from the island when the sun with¬ 
 drew his light, we lay off and on through the night, and, 
 at daybreak, the next morning, found ourselves at some 
 distance from the shore. We sailed towards the island 
 till about 10 a. m. ; when, being within two miles of the 
 
 * The mingled emotions of astonishment and fear, with which the 
 natives regarded every thing on board Vancouver’s ship, prevented their 
 replying very distinctly to the queries he proposed; and he observes, 
 “ Their answers to almost every question were in the affirmative, and our 
 inquiries as to the name of their island, &c. were continually interrupted 
 by incessant invitations to go on shore. At length, I had reason to believe 
 the name of the island was Oparo, and that of their chief Korie. Although 
 I could not positively state that their names were correctly ascertained, 
 yet, as there was a probability of their being so, I distinguished the island 
 by the name of Oparo, until it might be found more properly entitled to 
 another.” The explicit declarations of the natives, made under more 
 favourable circumstances, have now determined Rapa to be the proper 
 name of this island. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 41 
 
 beach; the prow of our vessel was turned to the northward, 
 and we moved slowly along in a direction nearly parallel 
 with the coast. After advancing in this manner for 
 some time, we saw several canoes put off from the land, 
 and not less than thirty were afterwards seen paddling 
 round our vessel. There were neither females nor chil¬ 
 dren in any of the canoes. The men were not tataued, 
 and wore only a girdle of yellow ti leaves round their 
 waists. Their bodies, neither spare nor corpulent, were 
 finely shaped; their complexion a dark copper colour; 
 their features regularly formed; and their countenances, 
 often handsome, were shaded by long black straight or 
 curling hair. Notwithstanding all our endeavours to 
 induce them to approach the ship, they continued for a 
 long time at some distance, viewing us with apparent 
 surprise and suspicion. At length, one of the canoes, 
 containing two men and a boy, ventured alongside. Per¬ 
 ceiving a lobster lying among a number of spears at the 
 bottom of the canoe, I intimated, by signs, my wish to 
 have it, and the chief readily handed it up. I gave him, 
 in return, two or three middle-sized fish-hooks; which, 
 after examining rather curiously, he gave to the boy, 
 who, being destitute of any pocket, or even article of 
 dress on which he could fasten them, instantly deposited 
 them in his mouth, and continued to hold with both 
 hands the rope hanging from our ship. The principal 
 person in the canoe appearing willing to come on board, 
 I pointed to the rope he was grasping, and put out my 
 hand to assist him up the ship’s side. He involuntarily 
 laid hold of it, but could scarcely have felt my hand 
 grasping his, when he instantly drew it back, and, raising 
 it to his nostrils, smelt at it most significantly, as if to 
 ascertain with what kind of a being he had come in con- 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 tact. After a few moments’ pause, he climbed over the 
 ship’s side, and as soon as he had reached the deck, our 
 captain led him to a chair on the quarter-deck, and, 
 pointing to the seat, signified his wish that he should be 
 seated. The chief, however, having viewed it for some 
 time, pushed it aside, and sat down on the deck. Our 
 captain had been desirous to have the chief on board, 
 that he might ascertain from him whether the island 
 produced sandal-wood, as he was bound to the Marquesas 
 in search of this article. A piece was therefore procured 
 and shewn to him, with the qualities of which he appear¬ 
 ed familiar ; foi, after smelling it, he called it by some 
 name, and pointed to the shore. While we had been 
 thus engaged, many of the canoes had approached the 
 ship ; and when we turned round, a number of the natives 
 appeared on deck, and others were climbing up over the 
 bulwarks. They were certainly the most savage-looking 
 natives I had ever seen, and their behaviour was as un¬ 
 ceremonious as their appearance was uninviting. Van¬ 
 couver found them unusually shy at first, but afterwards 
 remarkably bold, and exceedingly anxious to possess 
 every article of iron they saw: although his ship was sur¬ 
 rounded by not fewer than three hundred natives, there 
 were neither young children, women, nor aged persons, 
 in any of their canoes. 
 
 A gigantic, fierce-looking fellow, seized a youth as he 
 was standing by the gangway, and endeavoured to lift 
 him from the deck; but the lad, struggling, escaped 
 from his grasp. He then seized our cabin-boy, but the 
 sailors coming to his assistance, and the native finding 
 he could not disengage him from their hold, pulled his 
 woollen shirt over his head, and was preparing to leap 
 out of the ship, when he was arrested by the sailors. We 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 43 
 
 liad a large ship-dog chained to his kennel on the deck, 
 and, although this animal was not only fearless 
 but savage, yet the appearance of the natives seemed 
 to terrify him. One of them caught the dog in his arms, 
 and was proceeding over the ship’s side with him, but 
 perceiving him fastened to the kennel by his chain, he 
 was obliged to relinquish his prize, evidently disappoint¬ 
 ed. He then seized the kennel, with the dog in it; when, 
 finding it nailed to the deck, he ceased his attempts to 
 remove it, and gazed round the ship, in search of some 
 object which he could secure. We had brought from 
 Port Jackson two young kittens \ one of these now came 
 up from the cabin, but she no sooner made her appear- 
 arce on the deck, than a native, springing like a tiger 
 upon its prey, caught up the unconscious animal, and 
 instantly leaped over the ship’s side into the sea. Has¬ 
 tening to the side of the deck, I looked over the bulwarks, 
 and beheld him swimming rapidly towards a canoe lying 
 about fifty yards from the ship. As soon as he had 
 reached this canoe, holding the cat with both hands, and 
 elevating these above his head, he exhibited her to his com¬ 
 panions with evident exultation ; while, in every direction, 
 the natives were seen paddling their canoes towards him, 
 to gaze upon the strange creature he had brought from 
 the vessel. When our captain beheld the thief thus 
 exhibiting his prize, he seized his musket, and was in the 
 act of levelling it at the offender, when I arrested his arm, 
 and assured him I had no doubt the little animal would 
 be preserved and well treated. Orders were now given 
 to clear the ship. A general scuffle ensued between the 
 islanders and the seamen, in which many of the former 
 were driven headlong into the sea, where they seemed as 
 much at home as on solid ground, while others clambered 
 
44 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES 
 
 over the vessel’s side into their canoes. In the midst of 
 the confusion, and the retreat of the natives, the dog, which 
 had hitherto slunk into his kennel, recovered his usual 
 boldness, and not only increased the consternation by his 
 barking, but severely tore the leg of one of the fugitives 
 who was hastening out of the ship, near the spot to which 
 he was chained. The decks were now cleared, but as 
 many of the people still hung upon the shrouds and 
 about the chains; the sailors drew the long knives with 
 which, when among the islands, they were furnished, 
 and by menacing gestures, without wounding any, 
 succeeded in detaching them altogether from the ship. 
 Some of them seemed quite unconscious of the keenness 
 of the knife, and, I believe, had their hands deeply cut by 
 snatching or grasping at the blade. A proposal was now 
 made to entice or admit some on board, and take two of 
 them to Tahiti, that the Missionaries there might become 
 acquainted with their language, gain a knowledge of the 
 productions of their island, impart unto them Christian 
 instruction, and thus prepare the way for the introduction 
 of Christianity among their countrymen, as well as open 
 a channel for commercial intercourse. Our captain offer¬ 
 ed to bring them to their native island again, on his 
 return from the Marquesas ; and, could their consent have 
 been by any means obtained, I should, without hesitation, 
 have acceded to the plan; but, as we had no means of 
 effecting this object, I did not conceive it right to take 
 them by force from their native island. 
 
 On a former voyage, about two years before this period, 
 Captain Powel had been becalmed near the shores of 
 this island. Many of the natives came off in their canoes, 
 but did not venture on board; perceiving, however, a 
 hawser hanging out of the stern of the ship, about fifty of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 45 
 
 them leaped into the sea, and grasping the rope with 
 one hand; began swimming with the other, labouring and 
 shouting with all their mighty as they supposed they were 
 drawing the vessel towards the shore. Their clamour 
 attracted the attention of the seamen, and it was found 
 no easy matter, even when all hands were employed, to 
 draw in the rope. While the greater part of the crew 
 were thus engaged, a seaman leaning over the stern with 
 a cutlass in his hand, so terrified the natives, that as they 
 w r ere drawn near the vessel they quitted their hold, and 
 by this means the hawser was secured. A breeze shortly 
 after springing up, they steered away, happy to escape 
 from the savages by whom they had been surrounded. 
 
 On the present occasion we experienced a signal deli¬ 
 verance, which, though it did not at the time appear so 
 remarkable, afterwards powerfully affected our minds. 
 As soon as the ship was cleared of the natives, and the 
 wind was wafting us from their shores, I went down 
 to the cabin, where Mrs. Ellis and the nurse had been sit¬ 
 ting ever since their first approach to the ship; and when 
 I saw our little daughter, only four months old, sleep¬ 
 ing securely in her birth, I was deeply impressed with 
 the merciful providence of God, in the preservation of 
 the child. During the forenoon, the infant had been 
 playing unconsciously in her nurse’s lap upon the quar¬ 
 ter-deck, under the awning, which was usually spread in 
 fine weather, and she had but recently taken her 
 to the cabin, when the natives came on board. Had 
 the child been on deck, and had my attention been for a 
 moment diverted, even though I had been standing by 
 the side of the nurse, there is every reason to believe that 
 the motives which induced them to seize the boys 
 on the deck, and even the dog in his kennel, would 
 
46 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 have prompted them to have grasped the child in her 
 nurse’s lap or arms* and to have leaped with her into 
 the sea before we could have been aware of their design. 
 Had this been the case, it is impossible to say what 
 the result would have been; bloodshed might have 
 followed, and we might have been obliged to depart from 
 the island, leaving our child in their hands. From the 
 crude food with which they would have fed her, it is pro¬ 
 bable she would have died; but, from my subsequent 
 acquaintance with the natives of the South Sea Islands, I 
 do not think that during her infancy they would have 
 treated her unkindly. As it was, we felt grateful for the 
 kind Providence which had secured us from all the dis¬ 
 tressing circumstances which must necessarily have at¬ 
 tended such an event. 
 
 These brief facts will be sufficient to shew somewhat 
 of the character of the natives of Rapa, in 1791 and 1817- 
 They continued in this state until within the last two or 
 three years, during which a considerable change has taken 
 place. 
 
 Towards the close of the summer of 1825, a cutter 
 belonging to Tati, a chief in Tahiti, when on a voyage 
 to the Paumotus, or pearl islands, visited Rapa, and 
 brought two of its inhabitants to Tahiti. On their first 
 arrival they were under evident feelings of apprehension; 
 but the kindness of Mr. Davies the Missionary, and the 
 natives of Papara, removed their suspicions, and inspired 
 them with confidence. They were both delighted and 
 astonished in viewing the strange objects presented to 
 their notice. The European families, the houses, the gar¬ 
 dens, the cattle, and other animals, which they saw at 
 Tahiti, filled them with wonder. They also attended the 
 schools and places of public worship, and learned the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 47 
 
 alphabet. Soon after their arrival, the cutter sailed again 
 for their island, and the two natives of Rapa returned 
 to their countrymen loaded with presents from their 
 new friends, and accompanied by two pious Tahitians, 
 who were sent to gain more accurate information rela¬ 
 tive to their country, and the disposition of its in¬ 
 habitants. When the vessel approached their island, 
 and the people saw their countrymen, they appeared 
 highly delighted ; and towards the evening, when, accom¬ 
 panied by the two Tahitians, they drew near the beach 
 in the ship’s boat, they came out into the sea to 
 meet them, and carried the men and the boat alto¬ 
 gether to the shore. This to the strangers was rather 
 an unexpected reception ; but, though singular, it was 
 not unfriendly, for they were treated with great kindness. 
 The accounts the natives gave their countrymen, of what 
 they had seen in Tahiti, were marvellous to them: the 
 captain of the cutter procured some tons of sandal-wood, 
 and when he left, the Tahitians returned, having received 
 an invitation from the chiefs and people to revisit their 
 island, and reside permanently among them ; a request 
 so congenial to their own feelings, that they at once pro¬ 
 mised to comply. 
 
 In the month of January, 1826, the two Tahitian 
 teachers and their wives, accompanied by two others, one 
 a schoolmaster and the other a mechanic, sailed from 
 Tahiti for Rapa. They carried with them not only spelling 
 books, and copies of the Tahitian translations of the 
 Scriptures, but also a variety of useful tools, implements of 
 husbandry, valuable seeds and plants, together with 
 timber for a chapel, and doors, &c. for the teachers’ houses. 
 They were conducted to their new station by Mr. Davies, 
 one of the senior Missionaries at Tahiti, who was pleased 
 
48 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 with his visit, and, upon the whole, with the disposition 
 of the people, although some appeared remarkably super¬ 
 stitious, and, as might be expected, unwilling at once to 
 embrace Christianity. This arose from an apprehension 
 of the anger of their gods, induced by the effects of a 
 most destructive disease, with which they had been 
 recently visited. The gods, they imagined, had thus 
 punished them for their attention to the accounts from 
 Tahiti. The teachers however landed their goods, and the 
 frame-work of the chapel. The chiefs received them with 
 every mark of respect and hospitality, pointed out an 
 eligible spot for their residence, gave them some adja¬ 
 cent plantations of taro, and promised them protection 
 and aid. 
 
 The sabbath which Mr. Davies spent there was pro¬ 
 bably the first ever religiously observed on the shores of 
 Rapa. Several of the natives attended public worship, 
 and appeared impressed with the services. These being 
 performed in the Tahitian language, were not unintel¬ 
 ligible to them. The native teachers were members of 
 the church at Papara, although they were but few in 
 number, and were surrounded by a heathen population in 
 a remote and solitary island, and as it was then expected 
 the vessel would sail on that or the following day, they 
 joined with Mr. Davies their pastor in commemorating the 
 death of Christ, under the impression that it was the 
 last time they should ever unite in this hallowed 
 ordinance. 
 
 The island of Rapa is about twenty miles in circum¬ 
 ference, it is tolerably well wooded and watered, espe¬ 
 cially on the eastern side, where Aurai, a remarkably 
 fine harbour, extending several miles inland, is situated. 
 The entrance is intricate, but the interior capacious, the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 49 
 
 beach good, and fresh water convenient. Situated some 
 degrees from the southern tropic, the climate is brac¬ 
 ing and salubrious, the soil is fertile, and while it nou¬ 
 rishes many of the valuable roots and fruits of the inter- 
 tropical regions, is probably not less adapted to the 
 more useful productions of temperate climes. Mr. 
 Davies estimates the population at about two thousand. 
 Vancouver supposed that Rapa contained not less than 
 fifteen hundred, merely from those he saw around his ship. 
 In their language, complexion, general character, super¬ 
 stitions, and employments, they resemble the inhabitants 
 of the other islands of the Pacific, though less civilized 
 in their manners, more rude in their arts, and possessed 
 of fewer comforts, than most of their northern neigh¬ 
 bours were, when first discovered. Their intercourse 
 with Tahiti will not only increase their knowledge, and 
 their sources of temporal enjoyment, but it is to be hoped 
 will be the means of introducing Christianity among 
 them, and raising them to the participation of its 
 “ spiritual blessings.” 
 
 A fresh avenue is opened for European commerce, and 
 valuable information is likely to result from the visit of 
 the teachers to this solitary abode. The English Mis¬ 
 sionary from Tahiti was the first foreigner that ever 
 landed on their coasts; but many years before his arrival, 
 an inhabitant of some other island, the only survivor of the 
 party with whom he sailed from his native shores, had been 
 by tempestuous weather drifted to the island, and was found 
 there by the native teachers, who first went from Tahiti. 
 His name was Mapuagua, and that of his country Manga- 
 neva, which he stated was much larger than Rapa, and 
 situated in a south-easterly direction. The people he 
 described as numerous, and much tataued ; the 
 
 H 
 
50 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 name of one of their gods the same as that of one for¬ 
 merly worshipped by the Tahitians. An old man, who 
 resided at the same place with the stranger, gave Mr. 
 Davies the name of eleven places, either districts of Manga- 
 neva or adjacent islands, which are unknown to the 
 Tahitians. The information thus obtained will be valu¬ 
 able in the search for those islands which has already 
 been commenced j and if no sources of wealth be found, 
 nor important channels of commerce opened, their dis¬ 
 covery will increase our geographical knowledge, and 
 extend the range of benevolent operation. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 51 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Voyage to Tubuai—Notice of the mutineers of the Bounty—Origin 
 of the inhabitants of Tubuai—Visit of Mr. Nott—Prevention of war— 
 Settlement of native Missionaries—Arrival off Tahiti—Beauty of its 
 natural scenery—Anchoring in Matavia Bay—Appearance of the dis¬ 
 trict—Historical notice of its discovery—Of the arrival of the ship Duff 
 —Settlement of the first Mission—Cession of Matavai.—Departure of 
 the Duff—Influence of the mechanic arts on the minds of the people— 
 Comparative estimate of iron and gold—Difficulties attending the acqui¬ 
 sition of an unwritten language—Methods adopted by the Missionaries 
 —Propensity to theft among the natives. 
 
 On leaving Rapa, we sailed in a northerly direction 
 till the third of February, when we reached the island 
 of Tubuai, situated in lat. 23 degrees 25 minutes S., and 
 long. 149 degrees 23 minutes W. At a distance it ap¬ 
 pears like two islands, but, on a nearer approach, the high 
 land is found to he united. 
 
 Tubuai was discovered by Cook in 1777; an d after the 
 mutineers in the Bounty had taken possession of the 
 vessel, and committed to the mercy of the waves. Captain 
 Bligh with eighteen of his officers and men, this was the 
 first island they visited. Hence they sailed to Tahiti, 
 brought away the most serviceable of the live-stock left 
 there by former navigators, and in 1789 attempted a set¬ 
 tlement here. Misunderstandings between the mutineers 
 and the natives, and the unbridled passions of the former, 
 led to acts of violence, which the latter resented. A mur- 
 
52 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 derous battle ensued, in which nothing but superior skill 
 and fire-arms, together with the advantages of a rising 
 ground, saved the mutineers from destruction. Two were 
 wounded, and numbers of the natives slain. This led 
 them to abandon the island; and after revisiting Tahiti, 
 and leaving a part of their number there, they made their 
 final settlement in Pitcairn’s island. Their attempt to 
 settle in this island is celebrated in a poem by the late 
 Lord Byron called, “The Island, or Christian and his 
 Companions,” in which are recorded some affecting 
 circumstances connected with the subsequent lives and 
 ultimate apprehension of many of these unhappy men, 
 and several interesting facts relative to the Society and 
 Friendly Islands. 
 
 Tubuai was also the first of the South Sea Islands that 
 gladdened the sight of the Missionaries who sailed in the 
 Duff. They saw the land on the morning of the 22d of 
 February, 1797, near thirty miles distant; and as the 
 wind was unfavourable, the darkness of night hid the 
 island from their view before they were near enough 
 distinctly to behold its scenery, or the people by whom 
 it was inhabited. I can enter in some degree into 
 their emotions on this unusually interesting day. All 
 that hope had anticipated in its brightest moments, 
 was no longer to be matter of uncertainty, but was 
 to be realized or rejected. Such feelings I have experi¬ 
 enced, and can readily believe theirs were of the same 
 order as those of which I was conscious, when gazing on 
 the first of the isles of the Pacific that we approached. 
 Theirs were probably more intense than mine, as a de¬ 
 gree of adventurous enterprise was then thrown around 
 Missionary efforts, which has vanished with their novelty. 
 Our information, also, is now much more circumstantial 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 53 
 
 and explicit than theirs could possibly have been. Tubuai 
 is stated, in the Introduction to the Voyage of the Duff, 
 to have been at that time but recently peopled by some 
 natives of an island to the westward, probably Rimatara, 
 who > when sailing to a spot they were accustomed to 
 visit, were driven by strong and unfavourable winds on 
 Tubuai. A few years after this, a canoe sailing from 
 Raiatea to Tahiti, conveying a chief who was ancestor to 
 Idia, Pomare's mother, was also drifted upon this island, 
 and the chief admitted to the supreme authority ; a third 
 canoe was afterwards wafted upon the shores of Tubuai, 
 containing only a human skeleton, which a native of 
 Tahiti, who accompanied the mutineers, supposed be¬ 
 longed to a man he had killed in a battle at sea. The 
 scantiness of the population favoured the opinion that 
 the present race had but recently become inhabitants of 
 this abode; and the subsequent visits of Missionaries 
 from Tahiti, with the residence of native teachers among 
 the people, have furnished additional evidence that the 
 present Tubuaian population is but of modern origin, 
 compared with that inhabiting the island of Raivavai on 
 the east, or Rurutu and Rimatara on the west. 
 
 Tubuai is compact, hilly, and verdant; many of the 
 hills appeared brown and sunburnt, while others were 
 partially wooded. It is less picturesque than Rapa, but 
 is surrounded by a reef of coral, which protects the low¬ 
 land from the violence of the sea. As we approached 
 this natural safeguard to the level shore, a number of 
 natives came out to meet us. Their canoes, resembling 
 those of Rapa, were generally sixteen or twenty feet long; 
 the lower part being hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, and 
 the sides, stem, and stern formed by pieces of thin plank 
 sewn together with cinet made of the fibrous husk of the 
 
54 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 cocoa nut. The stem projected nearly horizontally, but 
 the stern being considerably elevated, extended obliquely 
 from the seat occupied by the steersman. The sterns 
 were ornamented with rude carving, and, together with 
 the sides, painted with a kind of red ochre, while the 
 seams were covered with the feathers of aquatic birds. A 
 tabu had been recently laid on the island by the priests, 
 which they had supposed w r ould prevent the arrival of 
 any vessel, and they were consequently rather discon¬ 
 certed by our approach. Among the natives who came 
 on board, was a remarkably fine, tall, well-made man, 
 who appeared, from the respect paid him by the others, 
 to be a chief. His body was but partially tataued, his 
 only dress was a girdle or broad bandage round his loins, 
 and his glossy black and curling hair was tied in a bunch 
 on the crown of his head, wdiile its extremities hung in 
 ringlets on his shoulders. His disposition appeared 
 mild and friendly. His endeavours to induce us to land 
 were unremitted, until it was nearly sunset; when, find¬ 
 ing them unavailing, and receiving from the captain an 
 assurance that he would keep near the island till the 
 morrow, he remained on board, although considerably 
 affected by the motion of the vessel. 
 
 The next morning we stood in close to the reefs, and a 
 party from the ship accompanied the chief to the shore; the 
 population appeared but small, the people were friendly, 
 and readily bartered fowls, taro, and mountain plantains 
 for articles of cutlery and fish-hooks* Their gardens were 
 unfenced, and the few pigs they had, were kept in holes 
 or wide pits four or five feet deep, and fed with bread¬ 
 fruit and other vegetables. Only one was brought on 
 board, and very readily purchased. Many of the natives, 
 in addition to the common bandage encircling their bodies, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 55 
 
 and a light cloth oyer their shoulders, wore large folds of 
 white or yellow cloth bound round their heads, in some 
 degree resembling a turban, which gave them a remark¬ 
 ably Asiatic appearance. They also wore necklaces of 
 the nuts of the pandanus ; the scent of which, though 
 strong, is grateful to most of the islanders of the Pacific. 
 A few weeks before our arrival, a canoe from Tahiti, 
 bound to the Paumotu or pearl islands, had been drifted 
 on Tubuai; and the people on board, although peace¬ 
 able in their conduct, had incurred the displeasure of the 
 inhabitants by endeavouring to persuade them to renounce 
 idolatry and embrace Christianity. The strangers, though 
 plundered and otherwise ill-treated, forbore to retaliate^ 
 from the influence of Christian principles which they 
 had imbibed at Tahiti. 
 
 Subsequently, the Tubuaians heard more ample details 
 of the change that had taken place in the adjacent island 
 of Rurutu, as well as in the Society Islands—that the 
 inhabitants had renounced their idolatry, and erected 
 places for the worship of the true God—and determined 
 to follow their example. In the month of March, 1822, 
 they sent a deputation to Tahiti, requesting teachers and 
 books. The messengers from Tubuai were kindly wel¬ 
 comed, and not only hospitably entertained by the Tahi¬ 
 tian Christians, but led to their schools and their places 
 of public worship. Two native teachers were selected 
 by the church in Matavai, and publicly designated by the 
 Missionaries to instruct the natives of Tubuai. The 
 churches in Tahiti, so far as their means admitted, 
 furnished them with a supply of articles most likely 
 to be useful in their missionary station ; and the 13th 
 of June, 1822, they embarked for the island of Tubuai. 
 Mr. Nott the senior Missionary in Tahiti, embarked in 
 
56 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the same vessel, for the purpose of preaching to the peo¬ 
 ple, and affording the native Missionaries every assist¬ 
 ance in the commencement of their undertaking. 
 
 Finding, on their arrival, the whole of the small 
 population of the island engaged in war, and on the 
 eve of a battle, Mr. Nott and his companions repaired 
 to the encampment of Tamatoa, who was, by hereditary 
 right, the king of the island ; acquainted him with the 
 design of their visit, and recommended him to return to 
 his ordinary place of abode. The king expressed his 
 willingness to accede to the proposal, provided his rival, 
 who was encamped but a short distance from him, and 
 whom he expected on the morrow to engage, would also 
 suspend hostilities. Paofai, a chief who accompanied 
 Mr. Nott, went to Tahuhuatama, the chief of the oppo¬ 
 site party, with a message to this effect. He was kindly 
 received, his proposal agreed to, and a time appointed 
 for the chiefs to meet midway between the hostile par¬ 
 ties, and arrange the conditions of peace. 
 
 On the same evening, or early the next morning, the 
 chieftains with their adherents, probably not exceeding 
 one hundred on either side, quitted their encampments, 
 which were about a mile and a half or two miles apart, and 
 proceeded to the appointed place of rendezvous. When 
 they came within fifty yards of each other, they halted. 
 The chiefs then left their respective bands, and met mid¬ 
 way between them; they were attended by the Mission¬ 
 aries, and after several propositions had been made by 
 one party, and acceded to by the other, peace was con¬ 
 cluded. The chiefs then embraced each other; and the 
 warriors in each little army, wherein the nearest relations 
 were probably arranged against each other, perceiving 
 the reconciliation of their chiefs, dropped their imple- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 57 
 
 ments of war, and, rushing into each other’s arms, pre¬ 
 sented a scene of gratulation and joy very different from 
 the murderous conflict in which they expected to have 
 been engaged. They repaired in company to the resi¬ 
 dence of the principal chief, where an entertainment was 
 provided. Here the Missionaries had a second interview 
 with the chiefs, who welcomed them to the island, and 
 expressed their desires to be instructed concerning the 
 true God, and the new religion, as they usually denomi¬ 
 nated Christianity. 
 
 On the following morning, the inhabitants of Tubuai 
 were invited to attend public worship, when Mr. Nott 
 delivered, in a new building erected for the purpose, the 
 first Christian discourse to which they had ever listened. 
 It was truly gratifying to behold those, who had only the 
 day before expected to have been engaged in shedding 
 each other’s blood, now mingled in one quiet and atten¬ 
 tive assembly, where the warriors of rival chieftains 
 might be seen sitting side by side, and listening to the 
 gospel of peace. 
 
 Mr. Nott was unexpectedly detained several weeks at 
 Tubuai; during this time he made the tour of the island, 
 conversed with the people, and preached on every favour¬ 
 able occasion that occurred. The Queen Charlotte at 
 length arrived; when, having introduced the native teachers 
 to the chiefs and people, and recommended them to their 
 protection, he bade them farewell, and prosecuted his 
 voyage to High Island. The chiefs had desired that 
 one teacher might be left with each; and, in order to 
 meet their wishes, two, Hapunia and Samuela, from the 
 church at Papeete, were stationed by Mr. Nott in this 
 island, one with each of the chiefs. The native Mission¬ 
 aries found the productions of Tubuai less various and 
 
 i 
 
58 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 abundant than those of Tahiti, and the adjacent islands. 
 The habits of the natives were remarkably indolent, 
 and inimical to healthy especially the practice of dress¬ 
 ing their bread-fruit, &c. only once in five days. Against 
 this the teachers invariably remonstrated, and presented 
 to them^ also, a better example, by cooking for themselves 
 fresh food every day. Since that time, a distressing epi¬ 
 demic has, in common with most of the islands, prevailed 
 in Tubuai, and has swept off many of the people. Never¬ 
 theless, the native teachers continue their labours, and 
 the condition of the people is improved. In February, 
 1826, when Mr. Davies visited them, the profession of 
 Christianity was general; 38 adults and four children 
 were baptized. The chiefs and people were assisting 
 the teachers in building comfortable dwellings, and 
 erecting a neat and substantial house for public wor¬ 
 ship. 
 
 In the afternoon of the 4th of February we sailed 
 from Tubuai; but, in consequence of unfavourable winds, 
 did not reach Tahiti till the loth. As we approached 
 its southern shore, a canoe came off with some natives, 
 who brought a pig and vegetables for sale; but the 
 wind blowing fresh, we soon passed by, and had little 
 more than a glance at the people. About sunset we found 
 ourselves a short distance to the northward of Point Venus, 
 having sailed along the east and northern shores of Tahiti, 
 charmed with the rich and varied scenery of the island, 
 justly denominated the queen of the Pacific, whose 
 landscapes, though circumscribed in extent, are 
 
 “ So lovely, so adorned 
 
 With hill, and dale, and lawn, and winding- vale, 
 
 Woodland, and stream, and lake, and rolling seas,” 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 59 
 
 that they are seldom surpassed, even in the fairest por¬ 
 tions of the world. 
 
 On the morning of the 16th of February, 1817* as the 
 light of the day broke upon us, we discovered that 
 during the preceding night we had drifted to a con¬ 
 siderable distance from the island; the canoes of the 
 natives, however, soon surrounded our vessel; numbers 
 of the people were admitted on board, and we had the 
 long desired satisfaction of intercourse with them, 
 through the medium of an interpreter. They were not 
 altogether so prepossessing in person as, from the dif¬ 
 ferent accounts I had read, I had been led to anticipate. 
 The impression produced by our first interview was, 
 notwithstanding, far from being unfavourable; we were 
 at once gratified with their vivacity, and soon after 
 with the simple indications of the piety which several 
 exhibited. A good-looking native, about forty years of 
 age, who said his name was Maine, and who came on 
 board as a pilot, was invited to our breakfast. We 
 had nearly finished when he took his seat at the table; 
 yet, before tasting his food, he modestly bent his head, 
 and, shading his brow with his hand, implored the 
 Divine blessing on the provision before him. Several 
 of the officers were much affected at his seriousness; 
 and though one attempted to raise a smile at his ex¬ 
 pense, it only elicited from him an expression of com¬ 
 passion. To me it was the most pleasing sight I had 
 yet beheld, and imparted a higher zest to the enjoy¬ 
 ment I experienced in gazing on the island, as we 
 sailed along its shores. 
 
 There is no reason to suppose that Tahiti, or any other 
 island of the group, is altogether volcanic in its origin, as 
 Hawaii and the whole of the Sandwich Islands decidedly 
 
60 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 are. The entire mass of matter composing the latter, 
 has evidently been in a state of fusion, and in that state 
 has been ejected from the focus of an immense volcano, 
 or volcanoes, originating, probably, at the bottom of the 
 sea, and forming, by their action through successive 
 ages, the whole group of islands ; in which, nothing like 
 primitive or secondary rock has yet been found. In 
 Tahiti, and other islands of the southern cluster, there 
 are basalts, whinstone dykes, and homogeneous earthy lava, 
 retaining all the convolutions which cooling lava is known 
 to assume; there are also kinds of hornstone, limestone, 
 silex, breccia, and other substances, which have never, 
 under the action of fire, altered their original form. 
 Some are found in detached fragments, others in large 
 masses. The wild and broken manner, however, in 
 which the rocks now appear, warrants the inference, that 
 since their formation, which was probably of equal 
 antiquity with the bed of the ocean, they have been 
 thrown up by some volcanic explosion, the disruptions 
 of an earthquake, or other violent convulsions of the 
 earth; and have, from this circumstance, assumed their 
 bold, irregular, and romantic forms. 
 
 Midday was past before we entered Matavai bay. 
 As we sailed into the harbour, we passed near the coral 
 reef, on which Captain Wallis struck on the 19th of 
 June, 1767> when he first entered the bay. His ship 
 remained stationary nearly an hour; and, in consequence 
 of this circumstance, the reef has received the name 
 of the Dolphin rock. As we passed by it, we felt grate¬ 
 ful that the winds were fair and the weather calm, and 
 that we had reached our anchorage in safety. Ma-ta-vai, 
 or Port Royal, as it was called by Captain Wallis, is 
 situated in latitude 17°. 36'. S. and longitude 149°. 35'. W. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 61 
 
 It is rather an open bay, and although screened from 
 the prevailing trade winds, is exposed to the southern 
 and westerly gales, and also to a considerable swell 
 from the sea. The long flat neck of land which forms 
 its northern boundary, was the spot on which Captain 
 Cook erected his tents, and fixed his instruments for 
 observing the transit of Venus ; on which account, it has 
 ever since been called Point Venus. ' Excepting those 
 parts enclosed as gardens, or plantations, the land near 
 the shore is covered with long grass, or a species of con¬ 
 volvulus, called by the natives pohue ; numerous clumps 
 of trees, and waving cocoa-nuts, add much to the beauty 
 of its appearance. A fine stream, rising in the interior 
 mountains, winds through the sinuosities of the head of the 
 valley, and, fertilizing the district of Matavai, flows through 
 the centre of this long neck of land, into the sea. 
 
 Such, without much alteration, in all probability, was 
 the appearance of this beautiful bay, when discovered 
 by Captain Wallis, in 1767 ; and two years after, when 
 first visited by Captain 'Cook; or when Captain Bligh, 
 in the Bounty, spent six months at anchor here in 
 1788 and 1789; when Captain Vancouver arrived in 1792; 
 Captain New, of the Daedalus, in 1793; and Captain 
 Wilson, in the Duff, who anchored in the same bay on 
 the 6th of March, 1797* 
 
 It was on the northern shores of this bay, that eighteen 
 of the Missionaries, who left England in the Duff, first 
 landed, upwards of thirty years ago. They were 
 
 “--the messengers 
 
 Of peace, and light and life, whose eye unsealed 
 Saw up the path of immortality, 
 
 Far into bliss. Saw men, immortal men, 
 
 Wide wandering from the way, eclipsed in night, 
 
62 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Dark, moonless, moral nights, living like beasts. 
 
 Like beasts descending to the grave, untaught 
 Of life to come, unsanctified, unsaved.” 
 
 To reclaim the inhabitants from error and superstition, 
 to impart to them the truths of revelation, to improve 
 their present condition, and direct them to future 
 blessedness, were the ends at which they aimed; and 
 here tley commenced those labours which some of them 
 have continued unto the present time; and which, 
 under the blessing of God, have been productive of the 
 moral change that has since taken place among the 
 inhabitants of this and the adjacent islands. Decisive 
 and extensive as that change has since become, it was 
 long before any salutary effects appeared as the result 
 of their endeavours. And, although the scene before me 
 was now one of loveliness and quietude, cheerful, yet 
 placid as the smooth waters of the bay, that scarcely 
 rippled by the vessel’s side, it has often worn a very 
 different aspect. Here the first Missionaries frequently 
 heard the song accompanying the licentious areois 
 dance, the deafening noise of idol worship, and saw the 
 human victim carried by for sacrifice: here, too, they 
 often heard the startling cry of war, and saw their 
 frighted neighbours fly before the murderous spear 
 and plundering hand of lawless power. The invaders’ 
 torch reduced the native hut to ashes, while the lurid 
 flame seared the green foliage of the trees, and clouds 
 of smoke, rising up among their groves, darkened for a 
 time surrounding objects. On such occasions, and they 
 were not infrequent, the contrast between the country, 
 and the inhabitants, must have been most affecting, 
 appearing as if the demons of darkness had lighted 
 up infernal fires, even in the bowers of paradise. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 63 
 
 Within sight of the spot where our vessel lay, four of 
 the Missionaries were stripped and maltreated by the 
 natives, two of them nearly assassinated, from the anger 
 of the king, and one of them was murdered. Here the first 
 Missionary dwelling was erected, the first temple for 
 the worship of Jehovah reared, and the first Missionary 
 grave opened; and here, after having been obliged to 
 convert their house into a garrison, and watch night and 
 day in constant expectation of attack, the Missionaries 
 were obliged, almost in hopeless despair, to abandon a 
 field, on which they had bestowed the toil and culture of 
 twelve anxious and eventful years. 
 
 On the 7th of March, 1797* the first Missionaries went 
 on shore, and were met on the beach by the late Pomare 
 and his queen, then called Otoo and Tetua; by them 
 they were kindly welcomed, as well as by Paitia, an 
 aged chief of the district. They were conducted to a 
 large, oval-shaped native house, which had been but 
 recently finished for Captain Bligh, whom they expected 
 to return. Their dwelling was pleasantly situated on 
 the western side of the river, near the extremity of Point 
 Venus. The natives were delighted to behold foreigners 
 coming to take up their permanent residence among 
 them; as those they had heretofore seen, with the excep¬ 
 tion of a Spaniard, had been transient visitors. The Spa¬ 
 niard had saved his life by escaping from Langara’s ship, 
 while it was lying at anchor in Tairabu, in March 1773* 
 at which time three of his shipmates were executed. The 
 benefit the natives had derived from this individual, and 
 the mutineers of the Bounty, prior to their appre¬ 
 hension by the people of the Pandora, and the residence 
 of several of the crew of the Matilda, which had been 
 wrecked on a reef not far distant, led them to desire the 
 
64 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 residence of foreigners. The inhabitants of Tahiti had 
 never seen any European females or children, and were 
 consequently filled with amazement and delight, when 
 the wives and children of the Missionaries landed. 
 Several times during the first days of their residence on 
 shore, large parties arrived from different places in front 
 of the house, requesting that the white women and chil¬ 
 dren, would come to the door and shew themselves. 
 The chiefs and people were not satisfied with giving 
 them the large and commodious Fare Beritani (British 
 House,) as they called the one they had built for Bligh, 
 but readily and cheerfully ceded to Captain Wilson and 
 the Missionaries, in an official and formal manner, the 
 whole district of Matavai, in which their habitation was 
 situated. The late Pomare and his queen, with Otoo his 
 father, and Idia his mother, and the most influential per¬ 
 sons in the nation, were present, and Haamanemane, an 
 aged chief of Raiatea, and chief priest of Tahiti, was the 
 principal agent for the natives on the occasion. The ac¬ 
 companying plate, representing this singular transaction, 
 is taken from an original painting in the possession of 
 Mrs. Wilson, relict of the late Captain Wilson. It 
 exhibits, not only the rich luxuriance of the scenery, 
 but the complexion, expression, dress, and tatauing 
 of the natives, with remarkable fidelity and spirit. 
 The two figures on men’s shoulders are the late king 
 and queen. Near the queen on the right stands Peter 
 the Swede, their interpreter, and behind him stands 
 Idia, the mother of the king. The person seated on the 
 right hand is Paitia, the chief of the district; behind him 
 stand Mr. and Mrs. Henry, Mr. Jefferson, and others. The 
 principal person on this side is Captain Wilson; between 
 him and his nephew Captain W. Wilson, stands a child 
 

s* 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 65 
 
 of Mr. Hassel; Mrs. Hassel with an infant is before 
 them. On the left, next to the king, stands his father 
 Pomare, the upper part of his body uncovered in homage 
 to his son, and behind him is Hapai, the king’s grand¬ 
 father. Haamanemane, the high-priest, appears in a 
 crouching position, addressing Captain Wilson, and sur ^ 
 rendering the district.—Haamanemane was also the taw , 
 or friend, of Captain Wilson; and rendered him con¬ 
 siderable service, in procuring supplies, facilitating the 
 settlement of the Mission, and accomplishing other ob¬ 
 jects of his visit. 
 
 Presentations of this kind were not uncommon among 
 the islanders, as a compliment, or matter of courtesy, 
 to a visitor ; and were regulated by the rank and means 
 of the donors, or the dignity of the guests. Houses, 
 plantations, districts, and even whole islands, were 
 sometimes presented; still, those who thus received 
 them, never thought of appropriating them to their own 
 use, and excluding their original proprietors, any more 
 than a visitor in England, who should be told by his 
 host to make himself perfectly at home, and to do as 
 he would if he were in his own house, would, from this 
 declaration, think of altering the apartments of the 
 house, or removing from it any part of the furniture. 
 It is, however, probable, that such was their estimate of 
 the advantages that would result from the residence of 
 the Mission families among them, that, in order to afford 
 every facility for the accomplishment of an object so 
 desirable, and hold out every inducement to confidence 
 for the Missionaries, as to their future support, they were 
 sincere in thus ceding the district. They might wish 
 them to reside in it, exercise the office of chiefs over 
 the whole, cultivate as much of it as they desired, and 
 
66 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 receive tribute from those who might occupy the 
 remaining parts; but by no means, perpetually to 
 alienate it from the king, or chief, to whom it originally 
 belonged. This they knew could not be done without 
 their permission, and that permission they could at any 
 time withhold. In 1801, when the Royal Admiral arrived, 
 Pomare was asked, when the Missionaries were intro¬ 
 duced to him, if they were still to consider the district 
 theirs; and though he replied in the affirmative, and 
 even asked if they wished the inhabitants to remove, it 
 afterwards appeared that the natives considered them 
 only as tenants at will. All they desired was, the per¬ 
 manent occupation of the ground on which their dwell¬ 
 ings and gardens were situated; yet, in writing to the 
 Society, in 1804, they remark, in reference to the 
 district, a The inhabitants do not consider the district, 
 nor any part of it, as belonging to us, except the 
 small sandy spot we occupy with our dwellings and 
 gardens ; and even as to that, there are persons who 
 claim the ground as theirs/* Whatever advantages the 
 kings or chiefs might expect to derive from this settle¬ 
 ment on the island, it must not be supposed that it was 
 from any desire to receive general or religious instruc¬ 
 tions. This was evident, from a speech once made by 
 Haamanemane, who said that they gave the people 
 plenty of the parau (word) talk and prayer, but very few 
 knives, axes, scissors, or cloth. These, however, were 
 soon afterwards amply supplied. A desire to possess 
 such property, and to receive the assistance of the 
 Europeans in the exercise of the mechanic arts, or in 
 their wars, was probably the motive by which the 
 natives were most strongly influenced. 
 
 Captain Wilson was, however, happy to find the king, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 67 
 
 chiefs, and people so willing to receive the Missionaries, 
 and so friendly towards them; and the latter being now 
 settled comfortably in their new sphere of labour, the 
 Duff sailed for the Friendly Islands on the 26th of March. 
 
 Having landed ten Missionaries at Tongatabu, in the 
 Friendly Islands, Captain Wilson visited and surveyed 
 several of the Marquesan Islands, and left Mr. Crook a 
 Missionary there; he then returned to Tahiti, and on the 
 6th of July, the Duff again anchored in Matavai Bay. The 
 health of the Missionaries had not been affected by the 
 climate. The conduct of the natives had been friendly 
 and respectful; and supplies in abundance had been fur¬ 
 nished during his absence. While the ship remained at 
 Tahiti, Mr. W. Wilson made the tour of the island; the 
 iron, tools, and other supplies for the Mission, were 
 landed: the Missionaries, and their friends on board, hav¬ 
 ing spent a month in agreeable intercourse, now affection¬ 
 ately bade each other farewell. Dr. Gilham having inti¬ 
 mated to Captain W. his wish to return to England, was 
 taken on board, and the Duff finally sailed from Matavai 
 on the 4th of August, 1797- The Missionaries return¬ 
 ing from the ship, as well as those on shore, watched her 
 course as she slowly receded from their view, under no 
 ordinary sensations. They now felt that they were cut 
 off from all but Divine guidance, protection, and support, 
 and had parted with those by whose counsels and pre¬ 
 sence they had been assisted in entering upon their 
 labours, but whom on earth they did not expect to 
 meet again. Captain Wilson coasted along the south 
 and western shores of Huahine, and then sailed to 
 Tongatabu; where, after spending twenty days with the 
 Missionaries, who appeared comfortably settled, he 
 sailed for Canton, where he received a cargo, with 
 
68 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 which he returned to England, and arrived safely 
 in the Thames; having completed his perilous 
 voyage, under circumstances adapted to afford the high¬ 
 est satisfaction, and to excite the sincerest gratitude 
 from all who were interested in the success of the 
 important enterprise. 
 
 The departure of the Duff did not occasion any diminu¬ 
 tion in the attention of the natives to the Missionaries in 
 Tahiti. Pomare, Otu, Haamanemane, Paitia, and other 
 chiefs, continued to manifest the truest friendship, and 
 liberally supplied them with such articles as the island 
 afforded. The Missionaries, as soon as they had made the 
 habitation furnished by the people for their accommoda¬ 
 tion in any degree comfortable, commenced with energy 
 their important work. 
 
 Their acquaintance with the most useful of the me¬ 
 chanic arts, not only delighted the natives, but raised the 
 Missionaries in their estimation, and led them to desire 
 their friendship. This was strikingly evinced on several 
 occasions, when they beheld them use their carpenters' 
 tools ; cut with a saw a number of boards out of a tree, 
 which they had never thought it possible to split into 
 more than two, and make with these, chests, and arti¬ 
 cles of furniture. When they beheld a boat, built up¬ 
 wards of twenty feet long, and six tons burden, they 
 were pleased and surprised; but when the blacksmith's shop 
 was erected, and the forge and anvil were first employed 
 on their shores, they were filled with astonishment. 
 They had long been acquainted with the properties and 
 uses of iron, having procured some from the natives of 
 a neighbouring island, where a Dutch ship, belonging 
 to Roggew^ein's squadron, had been wrecked many 
 years before they were visited by Captain Wallis. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 69 
 
 When the heated iron was hammered on the anvil, and 
 the sparks flew among them, they fancied it was spitting 
 at them, and were frightened, as they also were with the 
 hissing occasioned by immersing it in water; yet they 
 were delighted to see the facility with which a bar of 
 iron was thus converted into hatchets, adzes, fish-spears, 
 and fish-hooks, &c. Pomare, entering one day when the 
 blacksmith was employed, after gazing a few minutes at 
 the work, was so transported at what he saw, that he 
 caught up the smith in his arms, and, unmindful of 
 the dirt and perspiration inseparable from his occupa¬ 
 tion, most cordially embraced him, and saluted him, 
 according to the custom of his country, by touching 
 noses. Iron tools they considered the most valuable 
 articles they could possess; and a circumstance that 
 occurred during the second visit of the Duff, will shew 
 most strikingly the comparative value they placed upon 
 gold and iron. The ship's cook had lost his axe, and 
 Captain Wilson gave him ten guineas to try to pur¬ 
 chase one with, supposing that the intercourse the 
 natives had already had with Europeans, would enable 
 them to form some estimate of the value of a guinea, 
 and the number of articles they could procure with 
 it, from any other ship that might visit the island; 
 but, although the cook kept the guineas more than a 
 week, he could meet with no individual among the 
 natives who would part with an axe, or even a hatchet, 
 in exchange for them. 
 
 While some of the Missionaries were employed in the 
 exercise of those arts which were adapted to make the 
 most powerful impression upon the minds of the natives, 
 others were equally diligent in exploring the adjacent 
 country, planting the seeds they had brought with them 
 
70 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 from Europe and Brazil, and studiously endeavouring to 
 gain an acquaintance with the native language, which they 
 justly considered essential to the accomplishment of 
 their objects. 
 
 This was a most laborious and tedious undertaking. 
 The language was altogether oral; consequently, neither 
 alphabet, spelling-book, grammar, nor dictionary existed. 
 On their arrival, they found two Swedes, Peter Hager- 
 steine, and Andrew Cornelius Lind; the former had 
 been wrecked in the Matilda, and the latter had been left 
 by Captain New of the Daedalus, only a few years before 
 the Missionaries arrived. Peter had a slight knowledge of 
 the colloquial language of the natives; and in all their 
 early communications with the chiefs and people, the 
 Missionaries were glad to avail themselves of his aid 
 as interpreter. He was a man of low education and 
 bad principles; and if he did not intentionally misre¬ 
 present the communications of the Missionaries, his 
 statements must often have conveyed to the natives’ 
 minds very erroneous impressions of their sentiments and 
 wishes. From him, as an instructor, they could derive no 
 advantage; as he seldom came near them excepting when 
 he bore some message from the king, or the chief with 
 whom he resided. The remarks of former voyagers, and 
 the specimens of the language they had given, were of 
 little service, as they could only be the names of the 
 principal persons and things that had come under the 
 notice of such individuals, and even in the representation 
 of these, the orthography was as various as the writers 
 had been numerous. In reference to their attempts to 
 acquire the knowledge of Tahitian, they remarked, that 
 they found all Europeans, who had visited Tahiti, had 
 mistaken the language as to spelling, pronunciation, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 71 
 
 and ease of acquisition. In addition to the printed 
 specimens; they had a small vocabulary; compiled by one 
 of the officers of the mutineers in the Bounty; who had 
 resided some months in Tahiti; prior to the arrival of the 
 Pandora; when he was arrested; and brought a prisoner 
 to England^ where he was executed at Portsmouth. 
 This vocabulary he left with the worthy clergyman who 
 attended him in his confinement; and by him it was 
 kindly given to the Missionaries ; who found it more 
 useful than every aid besides. On their voyage; 
 they had carefully studied it; but though they were thus 
 put in possession of a number of words; in their proper 
 collocation they discovered they had every thing to 
 learn. They had arranged a number of words in sen- 
 tences according to the English idiom; which they sup¬ 
 posed would be serviceable on landing; but the use of 
 which they soon found it necessary to discontinue. One 
 of these sentences; Mity po tuaana , often afterwards 
 amused the king; when he came to know what they 
 intended by it. Maitai is good; po is night; and tuaana 
 brother. Good-night; brother; was the sentiment in¬ 
 tended ; but if the natives understood the English word 
 mighty , it would mean; Mighty night; brother; or, if 
 they understood mity as their word maitai , the phrase 
 would be an assertion to this effect; Good (is the) night, 
 brother. This circumstance shews the difficulties they 
 had to contend with; even when they had acquired the 
 meaning of many of the substantives and adjectives in 
 the language. 
 
 In these embarrassments they had no elementary books 
 to consult; no preceptors to whom they could apply; but 
 were obliged; partly by gestures and signs; to endeavour 
 to obtain the desired information from the natives; who 
 
72 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 often misunderstood the purport of their questions, 
 and whose answers must, as often, have been quite 
 unintelligible to the Missionaries. A knowledge of the 
 language was, however, indispensable; and many of the 
 Missionaries employed much of their time among the 
 natives, making excursions through the neighbouring 
 districts, spending several days together with the chiefs 
 at their own habitations, for the purpose of observing 
 their customs, and obtaining an acquaintance with the 
 words which they employed in social intercourse among 
 themselves. This was the more necessary, as the natives 
 who reside in those parts visited by shipping, soon pick 
 up a few of the most common English phrases, which 
 they apply almost indiscriminately, supposing they are 
 thereby better understood, than they would be if they 
 used only native words ; yet these words are so changed 
 in a native’s mouth, who cannot sound any sibilant, or 
 many of our consonants, and who must also introduce a 
 vowel between every double consonant, that no English¬ 
 man would recognize them as his own, but would write 
 them down as native words. Pickaninny is a specimen 
 of this kind. 
 
 It was not in words only, but also in their application, 
 that the most ludicrous mistakes were made by the peo¬ 
 ple. “Oli mani,” a corruption of the English words 
 u old man,” is the common term for any thing old; 
 hence, a blunt, broken knife, and a threadbare or ragged 
 dress, is called “oli mani.” A captain of a ship, at 
 anchor in one of the harbours, was once inquiring of 
 a native something about his wife, who was sitting by. 
 The man readily answered his question, and concluded 
 by saying, u Oli mani hoi,” she is cc also an old man.” 
 
 Part of each day was by several devoted to the study 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 73 
 
 of the language, while once a week, the whole met toge¬ 
 ther for conversation and mutual aid in its acquisi¬ 
 tion. The only means they had of obtaining it, was 
 by observing carefully the native sounds of words, 
 and writing down the characters by which they were 
 expressed. In this they found great difficulty, from 
 what generally proves a source of perplexity to a learner 
 in his first attempt at understanding a foreign tongue, 
 viz. the rapidity with which the natives appeared to 
 speak, and the want of divisions between the distinct 
 words. The singular fact of most of their syllables con¬ 
 sisting of a consonant and a vowel, and a vowel always 
 terminating both their syllables and their words, in¬ 
 creased their embarrassment in this respect. 
 
 It was a circumstance highly advantageous to the Mis¬ 
 sionaries, that the Tahitians were remarkably loquacious, 
 often spending hours in conversation, however trivial its 
 topics might be, patiently listening to inquiries, and 
 anxious to make themselves intelligible. Although 
 among themselves accustomed to hear critically, and 
 to ridicule with great effect, any of their own country¬ 
 men who should use a wrong word, mispronounce or 
 place the accent erroneously on the one they used, yet 
 they seldom laughed at the mistakes of the newly arrived 
 residents. They endeavoured to correct them in the 
 most friendly manner, and were evidently desirous that 
 the foreigners should be able to understand their lan¬ 
 guage, and convey their own ideas to them with dis¬ 
 tinctness and perspicuity. 
 
 When the Missionaries heard the natives maxe use of 
 a word or sentence with which they were not already 
 acquainted, they wrote it down, and repeated distinctly 
 several times what they had written. If the natives 
 
 L 
 
74 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 affirmed that the word or sentence was correctly pro¬ 
 nounced by the Missionary, it was left for more careful 
 and deliberate investigation. Sometimes they endea¬ 
 voured to find out words, by presenting to the natives 
 different combinations of the letters of their alphabet: 
 thus they would pronounce the letters a a, and say, 
 “what is that?” The natives would answer by pointing 
 to the fibrous roots of a tree, or the matted fibres 
 round the cocoa-nut stalk, which are called aa. They 
 would then pronounce others, as a i, and ask what it 
 meant; the natives, putting their hand to the back of the 
 neck, and repeating ai , told them that that part of the body 
 was thus called. By this means they sometimes discovered 
 the meaning of a variety of words, which they did not 
 before know were even parts of the language. In speak¬ 
 ing of their progress, shortly after they had commenced 
 this department of labour, they observe, “We have already 
 joined some thousands of words together, and believe 
 some thousands yet remain.” Still their progress was 
 but slow, and one of them, who has perhaps made himself 
 most familiar with the native tongue, has frequently 
 assured me, he was ten years on the island, before he 
 knew the meaning of the word ahiri , corresponding to 
 the English word if\ used only in connexion with the 
 past tense of the verb to have , as “ If I had seen,” &c. 
 
 While the Missionaries were thus employed, the chiefs 
 continued friendly and attentive; the people, however, 
 began to manifest that propensity to theft, which they 
 evinced even on the first visits they received. This 
 obliged them to watch very narrowly their property. 
 Clothing and iron tools appeared to be most earnestly 
 sought; and, notwithstanding the measures of security 
 which they adopted, their blacksmith’s shop was robbed by 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 75 
 
 a native, who dug two or three feet into the ground on 
 the outside, and, burrowing his way under the wall or 
 side of the house, came up through the earthen floor 
 within, and stole several valuable articles. 
 
 Their increased acquaintance with the people had 
 awakened their deepest commiseration, when they be¬ 
 held them, not only wholly given to idolatry, and mad after 
 their idols, but sunk to the lowest state of moral degra¬ 
 dation and consequent wretchedness. This furnished 
 a powerful incentive to energetic perseverance in the 
 acquisition of the language, that they might speedily 
 instruct them in the principles of Christianity, and 
 thereby elevate their moral character, diminish their 
 actual suffering, and improve their present condi¬ 
 tion. 
 
 The Tahitian was the first Polynesian language re¬ 
 duced to writing. In acquiring a knowledge of its 
 character and peculiarities, and reducing it to a regular 
 system, the Missionaries had to proceed alone. In 
 adapting letters to its sounds, forming its orthography, 
 and exhibiting the vernacular tongue in writing to the 
 people, presenting to the eye that which had before 
 been applied only to the ear, and thus furnishing a 
 vehicle by which light and knowledge might be conveyed 
 through a new avenue to the mind, they were unaided by 
 the labours of any who had preceded them, and were 
 therefore the pioneers of those who might follow. That 
 their difficulties were great, must be already obvious. 
 They advanced with deliberation and care, and though 
 the Tahitian dialect as written by them is doubt¬ 
 less imperfect, and susceptible of great improve¬ 
 ment, the circumstance of its having formed the basis 
 of those subsequently written, the ease with which it 
 
76 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 is acquired^ and the facility with which it is used by the 
 natives themselves, are evidences of its accuracy and its 
 utility. 
 
 The Missionaries have been charged with affectation 
 in their orthography, &c. but so far from this, they have 
 studied nothing with more attention than simplicity and 
 perspicuity. The declaration and the pronunciation of 
 the natives formed their only rule in fixing the spelling of 
 proper names, as well as other parts of the language. 
 They aimed at precision, and having adopted the English 
 character, affixed to each letter a distinct and invariable 
 sound. The letters of each word constitute the word, 
 so that a person pronouncing the letters used in spelling 
 a word, would, in fact, pronounce the word itself. Pur¬ 
 suing this plan, they were under the necessity of pre¬ 
 senting to the natives a mode of spelling different 
 from that which had been given to Europeans in the 
 narratives of early voyagers. They did this reluc¬ 
 tantly. Their early associations and strongest predi¬ 
 lections were all in favour of Otaheite, Ulitea, Otahaa, 
 &c., and it was only from the firm conviction that such 
 were not the native designations of these islands, that 
 they adopted others. 
 
 As the native names of persons and places will un¬ 
 avoidably occur in the succeeding pages, a brief notice of 
 the sounds of the letters, and the division of some of the 
 principal words, will probably familiarise them to the 
 eye of the reader, and facilitate their pronunciation. 
 
 The different Polynesian dialects abound in vowel 
 sounds perhaps above any other language; they have 
 also another striking peculiarity, that of rejecting all 
 double consonants, possessing invariably vowel termina¬ 
 tions, both of their syllables and words. Every final 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 77 
 
 vowel is therefore distinctly sounded. Several con¬ 
 sonants used in the English language; do not exist in 
 those of the Georgian and Society Islands. There is no 
 sibilant, or hissing sound: s and c, and the correspond¬ 
 ing letters^ are therefore unnecessary. The consonants 
 that are used retain the sound usually attached to them 
 in English. 
 
 The natives sound the vowels with great distinctness; 
 a has the sound of a in father; e the sound of a in fate; 
 i that of i in marine or e in me; o that of o in no; and u 
 that of oo in root. The diphthong ai is sounded as i in 
 wine. The following are some of the names most fre¬ 
 quently used in the present work. 
 
 The first column presents them in the proper syllabic 
 divisions observed by the people. In the second column 
 I have endeavoured to exhibit the native orthoepy; by 
 employing those letters which; according to their general 
 use in the English language; would secure; as nearly as 
 possible; the accurate pronunciation of the native words. 
 The h is placed after the a only to secure to that vowel 
 the uniform sound of a in father; or a in the interjection 
 ah y or aha . Y is also placed after a, to secure for the 
 Tahitian vowel e, invariably the sound of a in hay or day , 
 
 NAMES OF PLACES. 
 
 Ta-hi-ti • •. • • .pronounced as ..... .Tah-he-te 
 
 Ma-ta-vai...Mah-tah-vye 
 
 Pa-re ....Pah-ray 
 
 Pa-pe-e-te...Pah-pay-ay-tay 
 
 A-te-hu-ru...Ah-tay-hoo-roo 
 
 Tai-a-ra-bu...Tye-ah-rah-boo 
 
 Ei-me-o ...Eye-may-o 
 
 Mo-o-re-a...Mo-o-ray-ah 
 
 A-fa-re-ai-tu .Ah-fah-ray-eye-too 
 
78 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES 
 
 O-pu-no-hu 
 Hu-a-hi-ne . 
 
 Fa-re. 
 
 Rai-a-te-a ., 
 
 O-po-a. 
 
 U-tu-mao-ro. 
 Ta-ha-a ...., 
 Bo-ra-bo-ra , 
 Mau-ru-a . •, 
 
 Ra-pa.. 
 
 Ai-tu-ta-ke . 
 Mi-ti-a-ro .., 
 
 Ma-u-te. 
 
 A-tu-i. 
 
 Ra-ro-to-gna 
 
 or 
 
 Ra ro-ton-ga 
 
 Tu-bu-ai_ 
 
 Rai-va-vai ., 
 Ri-ma-ta-ra « 
 
 .O-poo-no-hoo 
 ,Hoo-ah-h6-nay 
 .F&h-ray 
 .Rye-ah-tay-ah 
 ►O-po-ah 
 ,Oo-too-mao-ro 
 ,Tah-ha-ah 
 ,Bo-rah-bo-rah 
 ,Mou-roo-ah 
 ,Rah pah 
 . Eye-too-tah-kay 
 ,Me-te-ah-ro 
 Mah-oo-tay 
 ,Ah-too-e 
 , Rah-ro-to-na 
 or 
 
 ,Rah-ro-ton-ga 
 ,Too-boo-eye 
 Ry-vah-vye 
 , Re-mah-tali-rah 
 
 NAMES OF PERSONS. 
 
 Po-ma-re . 
 
 I-di-a. 
 
 Ai-ma-ta. 
 
 Te-ri-ta-ri-a. 
 
 Ta-ro-a-ri-i.. 
 
 
 Ma-hi-ne... 
 
 Te-rai-ma-no.. 
 
 Tau-a .... 
 
 Ta-ma-to-a. 
 
 Fe-nu-a-pe-ho. 
 
 Mai .. 
 
 Au-na... 
 
 .Tah-mah-to-ah 
 
 A-tu-a.(God).Ah-too-ah 
 
 Va-ru-a.(Spirit) .Vah-roo-ah 
 
 Ta-a-ta.(Man).Ta-ah-tah 
 
 A-ri-i.(King).Ah-re-e 
 
 Ra-a-ti-ra.(Chief)...Ra-ah-t^-rah. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 79 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Character and death of Haamanemane—Efforts to prevent human sacri¬ 
 fices and infant murder—Resolution of the Missionaries, relative to 
 the use of fire-arms—-Arrival of the first ship after the Duff's depar¬ 
 ture—Assault upon the Missionaries—Its disastrous Consequences— 
 Pomare’s revenge—Death of Oripaia—Invasion of Matavai—Murder 
 of Mr. Lewis—Pomare's offering for the Mission Chapel—Arrival of a 
 king's ship—Friendly communications from the governor of New South 
 Wales—Government orders—Act of parliament for the protection of 
 the South Sea Islanders—Arrival of the Royal Admiral—Landing of 
 the Missionaries—Departure of Mr. Broomhall—Notice of his subse¬ 
 quent history. 
 
 Haamanemane, the old priest, who had been Captain 
 Wilson’s taio , or friend, was frequently with the Mis¬ 
 sionaries, and uniformly kind to them. He was evidently 
 a shrewd and enterprising man; yet I should think some¬ 
 times rather eccentric. When arrayed in a favourite dress, 
 which was a glazed hat, and a black coat fringed round 
 the edges with red feathers, his appearance must have 
 been somewhat ludicrous, although this was probably his 
 sacerdotal habit, as red feathers were always considered 
 emblematical of their deities. He had formerly been a 
 principal chief in Raiatea, and still possessed great in¬ 
 fluence over the natives, especially in the adjacent 
 island of Eimeo, where, with a little assistance from the 
 European workmen, he had built a schooner, in which he 
 
80 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 came over to see his friend Captain Wilson, during the 
 second visit of the Duff to Tahiti. This vessel, consi¬ 
 dering it as their first effort at ship-building, was an 
 astonishing performance. To him, the Missionaries had 
 frequent opportunities of speaking, though apparently 
 with but little good effect, against many of the sanguin¬ 
 ary features of their idolatry, especially the offering of 
 human sacrifices, in which they knew he had been more 
 than once engaged since their arrival. Sometimes, how¬ 
 ever, lie spoke as if he officiated, in these horrid rites, 
 more from necessity than choice. 
 
 He was remarkably active and vigorous, and, though 
 far advanced in years and nearly blind, indulged, without 
 restraint, in all the degrading vices of his country. 
 Moral character, and virtuous conduct, were never con-, 
 sidered requisite, even in those whose office was most 
 sacred. As a priest, he practised every species of extor¬ 
 tion and cruelty; neither was he less familiar with in¬ 
 trigue, nor free from ambition, as a politician. His sup¬ 
 posed influence with the gods, his deep skill in the 
 mysteries of their worship, and the constant dread of 
 his displeasure, which would probably have doomed the 
 individual, by whom it was incurred, to immolation on 
 the altar of his idol, favoured, in no small degree, his 
 assumption and exercise of civil power, both in Eimeo 
 and Tahiti. A jealousy appeared to exist between him 
 and Pomare, the father of Otu, who was king of the 
 island; and during the absence of the former, on a visit 
 to a neighbouring island, he formed a league with Otu, 
 to deprive Pomare of all authority in Tahiti. Hav¬ 
 ing offered a human victim to his idol, he invaded the 
 district of the absent chieftain, and brought war to the 
 very doors of the Mission-house, in less than seven- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 81 
 
 teen months after the departure of the Duff. The attack 
 was made at daybreak, in the western border of Ma- 
 tavai: four individuals were killed, and afterwards 
 offered by the priest to his deity. The inhabitants, 
 unable to withstand the young king and his ally, aban¬ 
 doned their plantations and their dwellings, and fled for 
 their lives. The invaders divided the district, and the 
 priest, taking possession of the eastern side, revelled in 
 all the profligacy and insolence of plunder and destruc¬ 
 tion. His triumph, however, was but short. Pomare 
 sent privately to Idia directions for his assassination. 
 After two or three solicitations from his mother, Otu, 
 though in closest alliance with him, consented to his 
 death, and he was murdered by one of Idia’s men, at the 
 foot of One-tree Hill, as he was on his way to Pare, on the 
 3d of December 1798* ten days after the invasion of 
 Matavai. 
 
 The Missionaries sought an early opportunity to un¬ 
 fold to the rulers of the nation the objects of their Mis¬ 
 sion, and, after several disappointments, held a public 
 interview with Pomare, Otu, and other principal chiefs, 
 in which they stated, as distinctly as possible, through 
 the medium of Peter Hagerstien, as interpreter, their 
 design in coming to reside amongst them; viz. to 
 instruct them in useful arts, teach them reading and 
 writing, and make known to them the only true God, 
 and the way to happiness in a future state; urging 
 the discontinuance of human sacrifices, and the aboli¬ 
 tion of infanticide. As an inducement to compliance 
 with this last request, they offered to build a house for the 
 accommodation of the children that might be spared, 
 whom they promised to nurse with attention equal to 
 that which they paid to their own. The chiefs and peo- 
 
 M 
 
82 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 pie listened attentively to the proposition, appeared 
 pleased, and said that no more children should be mur¬ 
 dered. It was, however, only a promise. 
 
 The distressing circumstances under which this un¬ 
 natural and revolting crime was practised, and the awful 
 extent to which it prevailed, was one of the first of the 
 many horrid cruelties filling these “dark places” of pagan¬ 
 ism, that deeply affected them. More than once having 
 received intimation of the murderous purpose of the 
 parents, they had, when the period of childbirth drew 
 nigh, used all their influence to dissuade them from its 
 execution, offering as a reward for this act of common 
 humanity, articles highly valued by them. When these 
 had failed to move the parents’ hearts, and they could 
 obtain no promise from either the father or mother, 
 that they would spare the child, the wives of the Mis¬ 
 sionaries have, as a last resort, begged that the infant, 
 instead of being destroyed, might be committed to 
 their care. But the people were so much under the 
 slavish influence of cruel custom, that, with one or 
 two exceptions, their efforts were unavailing, and the 
 guilty murderers have in a few days presented them¬ 
 selves at the Missionary dwellings, not only with most 
 affecting insensibility, but apparently with all the impu¬ 
 dence of guilty exultation. 
 
 The persons and the habitations of the Missionaries 
 had hitherto been secure, excepting from petty thefts ; 
 they were, however, occasionally alarmed by rumours of 
 war. Haamanemane had formerly requested their aid 
 in a descent he intended to make upon Raiatea for the 
 recovery of his authority there; but this they had firmly 
 declined. The pilfering habits of the people rendered 
 it necessary for them to watch their property during the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 83 
 
 night; and the unsettled state of political affairs in the 
 island indicating their exposure to the consequences 
 of actual war* led them to consider the line of conduct 
 it would be their duty under such circumstances to pur¬ 
 sue. They were in the possession of fire-arms, which 
 they had brought on shore solely with a view to in¬ 
 timidate the natives, and deter any, who, unrestrained 
 by the influence of those chiefs who had guaranteed 
 their protection, might be disposed to attack them. The 
 propriety of their using fire-arms was* however, questioned 
 by some* and discussed by the whole body ; who publicly 
 agreed that it was not their duty even to inflict punish¬ 
 ment upon those that might be detected in stealing their 
 property, but to complain to their chiefs ; that they could 
 take no part even with their friends in any of their wars. 
 They resolved that their arms should be used for de¬ 
 fence, only in the event of an attack being made upon 
 their habitations ; and not even then, until every means 
 of avoiding it had been employed. Some of the Mis¬ 
 sionaries carried their principles of forbearance so far, 
 as to declare that, but for the exposure of the females, 
 even then it would not be right to have recourse to 
 arms. Such were the views of the Missionaries, and 
 the circumstances of the people, when an event trans¬ 
 pired which altogether altered the aspect of affairs in 
 reference to the Mission. 
 
 On the 6th of March 1798, exactly twelve months from 
 the day on which the Duff first anchored in Matavai bay, 
 a vessel arrived at Tahiti; which, being the first they had 
 seen since the departure of Captain Wilson, awakened 
 considerable interest. She was boarded by three of the 
 Missionaries at the mouth of the harbour, and found to 
 be the Nautilus of Macao, commanded by Captain 
 
84 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Bishop, and originally bound to the north-west coast of 
 America for furs. Being driven by a heavy gale to Kamts- 
 chatka, and, unable to pursue her intended voyage, she had 
 altered her course for Massuefero, near the South American 
 coast, but had been compelled by stress of weather to 
 steer for Tahiti. The ship was in great distress, the 
 crew in want of most of the necessaries of life, and the 
 captain had nothing to barter with the natives for sup¬ 
 plies, but muskets and powder. These indeed were for¬ 
 merly the only articles of trade, with the exception of 
 ardent spirits, that many adventurers ever thought of 
 giving to uncivilized nations, in exchange for the pro¬ 
 duce of their countries! The natives crowded the ship; 
 and Pomare, who was on board, beheld with expres¬ 
 sions of contempt the poverty of the vessel, and the 
 distress of her crew. In the minds of the Missionaries 
 their circumstances awakened compassion, and they 
 readily offered to furnish the captain with such supplies 
 as the island afforded, and to assist him in procuring 
 water. 
 
 The Nautilus had touched at the Sandwich Islands, 
 and had brought away some of the natives: while the 
 vessel remained, five of these absconded; one was 
 brought back, but escaped again. The vessel remained 
 five days at Tahiti, procured such supplies as the crew 
 were most in need of, and ultimately sailed, leaving the 
 five Sandwich Islanders on shore. 
 
 Exactly a fortnight after her departure, this vessel 
 again entered Matavai Bay, much to the surprise of the 
 Missionaries, who were informed by the captain and 
 supercargo, that, in consequence of a severe gale off 
 Huahine, she was unfitted for her voyage to Massuefero, 
 and that they intended to proceed to Port Jackson, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 85 
 
 when they had increased their supplies. In the course 
 of the night, two seamen absconded with the ship’s 
 boat 3 and the next morning the captain and supercargo 
 addressed a letter to the Missionaries, acquainting them 
 with the desertion of the men 3 and their determination, 
 in consequence of their deficiency of hands, to recover 
 them, cost what it would 3 soliciting, at the same time, 
 aid in effecting their apprehension. The Mission¬ 
 aries recovered the boat, on the following day 3 and, 
 anxious to afford the captain and supercargo of the 
 Nautilus every assistance in their power, agreed to use 
 their influence with the king, and two of the principal 
 chiefs, to induce them to send the seamen on board. 
 Four of the Missionaries went on this errand to the 
 district of Pare, where the king and chiefs were residing. 
 After walking between two and three hours, they reached 
 the residence of Otu, the young king. The Sandwich 
 Islanders were among his attendants, and they had 
 reason to suspect that he had favoured the concealment 
 of the seamen. 
 
 Desirous of disclosing their business to the chiefs 
 when together, they remained some time, expecting the 
 arrival of Pomare, for whom they had sent. The king 
 was sullen and taciturn 3 and, after waiting nearly half 
 an hour for Pomare, the Missionaries departed, to wait 
 on him personally, at his own dwelling. 
 
 As they passed along, the natives tendered their 
 usual salutations, and about thirty accompanied them. 
 They had, however, scarcely proceeded a mile on their 
 way, when, on approaching the margin of a river, they 
 were each suddenly seized by a number of natives, who 
 stripped them, dragged two of them through the 
 river, attempted to drown them, and, after other 
 
86 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ill-treatment, threatened them with murder. Some of 
 the natives gave the Missionaries a few strips of 
 cloth; and, at their request, conducted them to Pomare 
 and Idia, whose tent was at some distance. These 
 individuals beheld them with great concern; and, 
 expressing no ordinary sympathy in their distress, im¬ 
 mediately furnished them with native apparel and re¬ 
 freshment ; and, when they had rested about an hour, 
 accompanied them on their return to Matavai.—When 
 they reached Otu’s dwelling, Pomare called the king, 
 his son, into the outer court, and questioned him as to 
 the treatment the Missionaries had received. He said but 
 little; yet there was reason to suppose, that if the assault 
 had not been made by his direction, he was privy to it. 
 Bent on the conquest of the whole island, and desirous, 
 in conjunction with those attached to his interests, of 
 depriving his father and younger brother of all authority 
 in Tahiti, muskets and powder were articles in greatest de¬ 
 mand, and the aid of Europeans was most earnestly desired. 
 The Missionaries, by furnishing supplies to the vessel, 
 had prevented his obtaining the former; and in order 
 to be revenged on them for this act of friendship to 
 those on board, he had allowed some of his men to 
 follow and to plunder them. Their having applied for 
 the return of the Sandwich Islanders, who had before 
 absconded from the vessel, led him to suspect their busi¬ 
 ness on the present occasion. The seamen, who had 
 deserted from the Nautilus, were under the protection 
 of the king, and appeared among his attendants. The 
 Missionaries did not disclose the object of their visit; 
 but Pomare insisted on the deserters being delivered up, 
 assuring them they should be carried on board the next 
 day. The seamen expressed their determination to 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 87 
 
 remain; and one of them said, “If they take me on 
 board again, they shall take me on board dead.” The 
 conduct of Pomare, the king’s father, with that of his 
 queen, Idia, was highly commendable : several of the 
 articles of dress, which had been taken from the 
 Missionaries, were restored, and the people in general 
 appeared to compassionate them; though two of them 
 heard the natives, who were stripping them, remark that, 
 as they had four of them in their possession, they would 
 go and take the fourteen remaining at Matavai. In the 
 evening the Missionaries arrived at their dwelling, having 
 been furnished by Pomare with a double canoe, for their 
 conveyance home. 
 
 The impression this unpleasant occurrence produced 
 upon the society at Matavai, was such, that eleven 
 Missionaries, including four who were married, judged 
 a removal from the island to be necessary; and as the 
 captain and supercargo of the Nautilus offered a passage 
 to any who were desirous of returning to Port Jackson, 
 they prepared for their departure. Two days after the 
 plunder of the Missionaries, Pomare sent the chief- 
 priest of the island with a fowl as an atonement, and a 
 young plantain as a peace-offering, and on the follow¬ 
 ing day hastened to their dwelling. 
 
 The report of the departure of the Missionaries soon 
 spread through the island, and appeared to be regretted 
 by many of the people. Pomare, who had ever been 
 most friendly, manifested unusual sorrow, and used 
 extraordinary efforts to persuade them to stay. He 
 went through every room in their house, and every birth 
 on board, and addressed each individual by name, with 
 earnest entreaties to remain, and assurances of protec¬ 
 tion. Noti 9 eiaha e haere , Mr. Nott, don’t go, was his 
 
88 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 language to that individual, and such was also used to 
 others. His evident satisfaction was proportionate, 
 when he perceived that Mr. and Mrs. Eyre, and five of 
 the single Missionaries, resolved to continue in Tahiti. 
 
 On the 29th of March, those Missionaries who 
 intended to leave, bade their companions farewell; and, 
 during the night of the 30th, sailed from Matavai, and 
 proceeded to New South Wales. It is worthy of remark, 
 that this event, so destructive to the strength of the 
 Mission, crippling the efforts of its members, and 
 spreading a cloud over their future prospects, resulted 
 not from opposition to the efforts of the Missionaries, 
 nor from any dispute between them and the priests 
 or people, on subjects connected with the idolatry of 
 the latter, but from their benevolent endeavours to 
 serve those, whom purposes of commerce had brought 
 to their shores, and whom adverse weather had reduced 
 to circumstances of distress—a class of individuals 
 whom the Missionaries, in those seas, have ever been 
 ready to succour, but who, with some gratifying excep¬ 
 tions, have not always honourably requited that kind¬ 
 ness to which, in some instances, they have owed their 
 own preservation. 
 
 The decision of those who left Tahiti, may, to some, 
 perhaps, appear premature, but it is not easy to form a 
 correct estimate of the dangers to which they were 
 exposed. They were well aware of many; but there 
 were others, actually existing, of which they were then 
 unconscious. Otu, called Pomare since his father’s 
 death, has often, during the latter years of his life, told 
 Mr. Nott, that after the departure of the Duff, frequently, 
 when he has been carried on men’s shoulders round 
 the residence of the Missionaries, Peter the Swede, who 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 89 
 
 has been with him, has said, when the Missionaries 
 were kneeling down in prayer, at their morning or 
 evening family worship, “See, they are all down on 
 their knees, quite defenceless; how easily your people 
 might rush upon them, and kill them all, and then their 
 property would be yours." And it is a melancholy 
 fact, that the influence of unprincipled and profligate 
 foreigners, has been more fatal to the Missionaries, 
 more demoralizing to the natives, more inimical to the 
 introduction of Christianity, and more opposed to its 
 establishment, than all the prejudices of the people in 
 favour of idolatry, and all the attachment of the priests 
 to the interests of their gods. 
 
 However much those who remained might have been 
 affected by the departure of so many of their com¬ 
 panions, they felt no disposition to abandon the field, 
 or relax their endeavours for the benefit of the people. 
 Pomare had not only sent an atonement and a peace¬ 
 offering, but, even before the Missionaries sailed, had 
 made war upon the district, and had killed two of the 
 men who had been engaged in assaulting them. This 
 was, indeed, a matter of regret to the Missionaries; but 
 it was also an evidence of his displeasure at the treatment 
 they had received. On his assurances of protection, 
 those who remained reposed the most entire confidence ; 
 which, during his subsequent life, his conduct .uniformly 
 warranted. Committing their persons to the merciful 
 and watchful providence of God, and, under him, to the 
 friendly chiefs who had manifested so much concern for 
 their safety; they had sent all the fire-arms, ammunition, 
 and other weapons, possessed by the Society, on board 
 the Nautilus, excepting two muskets, which they pre¬ 
 sented to Pomare and Idia. To the former they gave 
 
90 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 up their public stores, and all the property they 
 possessed, together with the smith’s shop, and the 
 tools. They also offered Pomare their private property, 
 but he refused to take it ; informing them, that so 
 long as they remained, every thing in the store-room 
 should be at their command; but that, in the event of 
 their leaving the island, he should consider whatever 
 remained as his own. On a subsequent occasion, when 
 he feared, that on account of a destructive war then 
 prevailing, they might leave, he directed them to take 
 their property with them ; hereby evincing the most 
 disinterested friendship, and a desire to alleviate, rather 
 than profit by, their distresses. Their situation was cri¬ 
 tical, but in a letter which they forwarded on this occasion 
 to the Society, they express firm confidence in God, 
 unabated attachment to their work, and contentment with 
 such means of support as the country afforded. 
 
 Not long after the departure of the Nautilus, it was 
 reported, that in order to avenge the death of the two 
 men he had killed, the people of Pare had declared war 
 against Pomare. He applied to the Missionaries for 
 assistance, and, entering the room in which they were 
 assembled, inquired how many of them knew how to 
 make war. Mr. Nott replied “ We know nothing of war.” 
 Pomare withdrew, and they afterwards agreed not to 
 resort to the use of arms, either for offence or defence. 
 Their determination was made known to their friends; 
 and, as no dissatisfaction appeared, they were led to hope 
 that they should be permitted peaceably to prosecute their 
 labours, without any further solicitation on the subject. 
 A native who had assisted in the smith’s shop was 
 enabled, after the departure of the Missionaries, who had 
 used the forge, to make fish-hooks, adzes, and a number 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 91 
 
 of useful iron articles; but the skill he had acquired, 
 instead of being employed to promote the industry, 
 civilization, and comfort of his countrymen, was soon 
 applied to purposes of barbarity and murder; and the 
 Missionaries beheld with regret that he was often em¬ 
 ployed in manufacturing not only useful tools, but 
 weapons for battle. 
 
 Pomare subsequently made war upon the inhabitants 
 of Pare, where the Europeans had been plundered : the 
 people were defeated, fourteen of them killed, and forty 
 or fifty of their houses burnt. 
 
 Five months after the departure of the Missionaries in 
 the Nautilus, two large vessels were seen standing towards 
 Matavai bay. As soon as they hoisted English colours, 
 the natives were thrown into the greatest consternation, 
 and, packing up whatever they could carry away, aban¬ 
 doned their houses, and were seen in every direction fly¬ 
 ing towards the mountains. Being asked their reasons 
 for such a proceeding, they answered, that seeing two 
 large English ships, they apprehended they were come 
 to revenge the assault upon the Missionaries. After many 
 assurances to the contrary, their fears seemed to be 
 removed. When the Captains came on shore in the 
 evening, they were welcomed by the Missionaries, and 
 introduced to the chiefs, whose familiarity and cheer¬ 
 fulness soon evinced that every feeling of suspicion had 
 subsided. These vessels were the Cornwall and the Sally 
 of London, South Sea whalers. As the ships were 
 in repair, and the crews in health, they remained only 
 three days in the harbour, and sailed from the island on 
 the 27th of August; having made a number of presents 
 to the chiefs, they did not leave any of their crews 011 
 shore, which was a matter of great satisfaction to the Mis- 
 
92 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sionaries, who had beheld with regret the baneful in¬ 
 fluence of unprincipled seamen, on the minds and habits 
 of the people. 
 
 From one of these ships, Oripaia, a chief of Papara, and 
 rival of Pomare, had received a large quantity of gun¬ 
 powder as a present. The powder being coarser in the 
 grain than what the natives had been accustomed to 
 receive, they imagined either that it was not powder, or 
 that it was a very inferior kind. In order to satisfy 
 themselves, Oripaia proposed to one of his attendants to 
 try it. A pistol was loaded, and fired over the whole 
 heap of powder they had received, and around which the 
 chief and his attendants were sitting. A spark fell from 
 the pistol, and the whole of the powder instantly ex¬ 
 ploded. As soon as the natives had recovered from the 
 shock, perceiving the powder adhering to their limbs, 
 they attempted to rub it off, but found the skin peel off 
 w r ith it ; they then plunged into an adjacent river. Six 
 of the natives were severely injured, and Oripaia wdth 
 one of his attendants died. As soon as Pomare was 
 acquainted with the accident, he begged Mr. Broomhall 
 to visit the house in which the accident had occurred, 
 and endeavour to relieve the sufferers. The chief appeared 
 in a most affecting state, dreadfully scorched with the 
 powder; Mr. Broomhall employed such applications 
 as he supposed likely to alleviate his sufferings; 
 these, however, increased, and both the chief and his 
 wife attributed his pains, not to the effects of the explo¬ 
 sion, but to the remedies applied, or rather to the poison 
 imagined to be infused into the application by the god 
 of the foreigners. This not only aroused the jealousy of 
 the chief, and the rage of Otu, but had nearly cost Mr. 
 Broomhall and his companions their lives, and made 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 93 
 
 the Missionaries extremely cautious in administering 
 medicine to any of the chiefs. Native remedies were 
 now applied, to relieve the sufferings of Oripaia, but they 
 were unavailing, and, after languishing for some time in 
 the greatest agony, he expired. The body of the deceased 
 chief was embalmed by a process peculiar to the inhabit¬ 
 ants of the South Sea Islands. It was placed on a kind of 
 platform ; and a number of superstitious ceremonies were 
 observed. During the performance of these rites, 
 Pomare’s orator, and some of the inhabitants of Matavai, 
 used insulting expressions in reference to the corpse 5 
 which so incensed Otu, that, aided by the chief priest, 
 he immediately made war upon the district of Matavai, 
 Late in the evening, the Missionaries and people had 
 some intimation of his intention : before daylight the next 
 morning, the attack was commenced at one end of the 
 district ; the inhabitants fled before the assailants ; and by 
 sunrise, the warriors of Otu had scoured the district from 
 one end to the other, driving before them every inha¬ 
 bitant, excepting a few* in the immediate vicinity of the 
 Missionary dwellings. Several warriors, with clubs and 
 spears, surrounded the Missionary house, but its inmates 
 remained unmolested; and in the course of the day, 
 Haamanemane arrived, and assured the Mission family 
 no evil was designed against them. In the evening 
 they were also visited in an amicable manner by Otu 
 and his queen. 
 
 In connexion with this attack upon the district of 
 Matavai, which belonged to Pomare, Otu and Haamane¬ 
 mane declared that Pomare was deprived of all authority 
 in the larger peninsula. The districts on the west and 
 south side declared for Otu, and those on the western 
 were threatened with invasion in the event of refusal. 
 
94 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 In the division of the territory thus seized, the chief 
 priest received the eastern part of Matavai ; but he did 
 not long enjoy it, he was murdered, as already stated, very 
 shortly afterwards. This event gave a new aspect to poli¬ 
 tical affairs in the island, and appeared to unite in one 
 interest Otu and Pomare his father. The inhabitants of 
 Matavai left their places of retreat, and, having presented 
 their peace-offering, re-occupied their lands. The Mis¬ 
 sionaries resumed their attempts to instruct the natives, 
 but found the acquisition of the language so difficult, 
 and the insensibility of the people so great, that they 
 were exceedingly discouraged. Some of the natives, 
 however, were led to inquire how it was that Cook, 
 Vancouver, Bligh, and other early visitors, had never told 
 them any of those things which they heard from the 
 teachers now residing with them. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1799, the Missionaries 
 were called to the melancholy duty of conveying to the 
 silent grave, under very distressing circumstances, Mr. 
 Lewis, one of their number, and the first Missionary who 
 had terminated his life on the shores of Tahiti. He 
 landed from the ship Duff in 1797* continued to labour 
 with his companions, respected and useful, until about 
 three months after the departure of the Nautilus with 
 the families to Port Jackson, when he left the Mis¬ 
 sion house, and took up his residence with a taio, or 
 friend, in the eastern part of the district. Three weeks 
 afterwards, he intimated to his companions his inten¬ 
 tion of uniting in marriage with a native of the island, 
 solemnlypurposing toabide faithful towards her until death. 
 Considering her an idolatress, the Missionaries deemed 
 this an inconsistent and unlawful act, but Mr. Lewis, per¬ 
 severing in his determination, they dissolved the con- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 95 
 
 nexion that had subsisted between him and themselves* 
 as members of the church of Christ* and discontinued 
 all Christian and social intercourse with him. He 
 was still constant in attendance on public worship* 
 industrious in the culture of his garden* and in working 
 for the king and principal chiefs* who were evidently 
 much attached to him. On the 23d of November* the 
 Missionaries heard he had died on the preceding evening. 
 They hastened to his house* and found the corpse lying 
 on a bed; the forehead and face considerably disfigured 
 with wounds* apparently inflicted with a stone and a 
 sharp instrument. The female with whom he had lived 
 as his wife* informed them that he went out of the 
 house on the preceding evening* and that hearing a 
 noise shortly afterwards* she hastened to the spot 
 whence it proceeded* and saw him on the pavement in 
 front of the house* beating his head against the stones. 
 On looking at that part of the pavement where he had 
 fallen* one or two of the stones were stained with 
 blood. Some of the natives said that he had acted as 
 if insane* others that the evil spirit had entered into 
 him ; but* from several expressions that were used* there 
 was reason to apprehend he had been murdered. 
 
 Assisted by two or three natives* Mr. Bicknell and 
 Mr. Nott dug his grave in a spot near their dwelling on 
 the north side of Matavai bay* which had been selected 
 as a place of interment. On the evening of the 
 29th of November* 1799* Mr. Nott* Mr. Jefferson* Mr. 
 Eyre* and Mr. Bicknell* bore his remains to the grave* 
 where Mr. Harris read the xcth Psalm* and offered up an 
 appropriate prayer to Almighty God. The circumstances 
 of his death were truly affecting* and the feelings of the 
 Missionaries such as it would be in vain to attempt to 
 
96 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 describe. They have since learned that he was murdered, 
 and some of them have also regretted that after his sepa¬ 
 ration, that kindness and friendly intercourse were not 
 continued, which might perhaps, without compromise of 
 character, have been consistently maintained. Pomare, 
 considering himself the protector of the Missionaries, 
 though he did not appear to think he had been murdered, 
 yet proposed, if it appeared to the survivors that such 
 had been the fact, to destroy the inhabitants of the 
 district ; and so much did many of the latter fear 
 such an event, that several fled to the mountains. The 
 Missionaries, considering that in such retaliation the 
 innocent would suffer with the guilty, interposed, and 
 prevailed upon the king to spare the district, but to 
 punish the guilty whenever they might be discovered. 
 
 Scarcely were the remains of Mr. Lewis consigned to 
 the silent grave, when an event occurred, which again 
 reduced the number of this already weakened band. 
 The Betsy of London, a letter of marque, arrived with 
 a Spanish brig her prize, with which she was proceed¬ 
 ing from South America to Port Jackson. The com¬ 
 mander of the Betsy having intimated his intention of 
 returning in five or six months, Mr. Harris proposed 
 to his companions to visit New South Wales; and 
 on the 1st of January 1800, he sailed from Matavai bay, 
 intending to return when the ship should revisit the 
 islands. By this conveyance, the remaining Missionaries 
 wrote an account of their circumstances and their pros¬ 
 pects to the directors in London, stating, that although 
 they had not acquired a sufficient knowledge of the 
 language to enable them publicly to preach the gospel, 
 they had observed, whenever they had conversed with the 
 natives, that though they could perceive the difference 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 97 
 
 between Christianity and paganism, their attachment 
 to the abominations of the latter was too strong to 
 be removed by any other influence than that of the Spirit 
 of God. 
 
 Anxious to avoid unnecessary expenditure, they had on 
 a former occasion written, to prevent the Society’s incur¬ 
 ring any further expense on their account, as their re¬ 
 maining on the island was uncertain; but now, as 
 there was a prospect of peaceable continuance, and the 
 liberal supply they had taken out in the Duff, being, by 
 plunder, presents, &c. nearly expended, they found it 
 necessary to apply for a few articles for their own use, 
 and others for presents to the chiefs, whom they de¬ 
 scribed as daily visiting their dwellings, and treating 
 them with kindness. 
 
 Five days after the departure of the Betsy, the Mis¬ 
 sionaries had the satisfaction to welcome again to their 
 Society, Mr. and Mrs. Henry; who returned from Port 
 Jackson in the Eliza, a South Sea whaler. Mr. Henry 
 was the only one of the number who had left, that 
 resumed his labours in Tahiti. By his arrival, the Mis¬ 
 sionaries received the pleasing intelligence of the Duff’s 
 second destination to Tahiti, and were led to expect with 
 her arrival a reinforcement of labourers, and the various 
 supplies of which they stood so much in need. Having 
 repaired the vessel and recruited his stores, the captain 
 sailed from Tahiti on the 14th of January, leaving on 
 the island three of his seamen, whose influence among 
 the inhabitants in general was soon found to be most 
 unfavourable. 
 
 Hitherto, the public worship of God had been per¬ 
 formed in one of the apartments of the Mission-house, 
 but as it appeared expedient to erect a place for this 
 
 o 
 
98 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 specific object* to which also the natives might have 
 access for the purpose of religious instruction; a spot 
 was selected near the grave of Mr. Lewis; and on the 
 5th of March 1797* with the assistance of a number of 
 Pomare’s men; they commenced the erection of their 
 chapel. The chiefs procured most of the materials; and 
 when it was nearly finished; Pomare sent a fish as an 
 offering to Jesus Christ; requesting that it might be hung 
 up in their new chapel. This was the first building ever 
 erected on the South Sea Islands; for the worship of the 
 living God; and although the Missionaries were cheered 
 with the hope of often beholding it filled with attentive 
 hearers or Christian worshippers; they were obliged to 
 pull it down early in the year 1802; to prevent its afford¬ 
 ing shelter to their enemies; or being set on fire by the 
 rebels; by which their own dwelling might have been 
 destroyed. 
 
 The pleasing anticipations which the Missionaries had 
 been led to indulge in connexion with the second visit 
 of the Duff; were destroyed by the arrival of the 
 Albion; in Matavai bay on the 27tli of December in the 
 same year. Her commander; Captain Bunker; brought 
 them no letters from England; but conveyed the melan¬ 
 choly tidings of the capture of the Duff by a French 
 privateer. He also delivered from Mr. Harris, who was 
 settled in Norfolk Island, a letter acquainting them with 
 the murder of three of the Missionaries in the Friendly 
 Islands, the departure of one, the flight of the rest to 
 Port Jackson, and the total destruction of the Tonga 
 Mission. Their own circumstances were by no means 
 prosperous; they had heard but once from England; 
 they were expecting every day the arrival of the Duff with 
 cheering tidings and additional aid; but the intelligence 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 99 
 
 now received, not only disappointed their hopes, but de¬ 
 pressed their spirits, and darkened their prospects. In the 
 letter sent at this time to the directors, they express their 
 anxiety to hear from England, their conviction of the 
 facilities that would be afforded towards the establishing the 
 gospel in Tahiti and the neighbouring islands, if they were 
 joined by a body of Missionaries and an experienced 
 director, and recommended that a surgeon and several 
 mechanics should be included in the number of those 
 who might be sent. 
 
 The Albion had scarcely sailed, when large fleets of 
 canoes, filled with fighting men, arrived, and the island 
 was agitated with the apprehension of hostilities between 
 the king and chiefs. The removal of Oro, the national 
 idol, from Pare to Atehuru, was the cause of the 
 threatened conflict: ammunition was prepared 3 a large 
 assembly of chiefs and warriors met at Pare 3 and it was 
 daily expected that the long concealed elements of war 
 would there explode, and plunge the nation in anarchy 
 and bloodshed. At this critical period, his majesty’s 
 ship. Porpoise, arrived in Matavai bay. The letter and 
 presents Pomare received by this conveyance from the 
 governor of New South Wales, and the attentions paid 
 to him by the commander of the vessel, tended, in no 
 small degree, to confirm Otu in his government, and to 
 intimidate his enemies. 
 
 The governors of the colony of New South Wales 
 have uniformly manifested the most friendly concern 
 for the safety of the Missionaries, and the success of 
 the several Missions in the South Seas. On the present 
 occasion. Governor King, in a letter to Pomare, re¬ 
 marked, that he could “ not too strongly recommend to 
 his kind protection, the society of Missionaries whom 
 
100 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 he had taken under his careand that, “ such protec¬ 
 tion could not fail to excite the gratitude of the 
 Missionaries* and the friendship of King George/' 
 Governor Macquarie* his successor* manifested the 
 same kindness towards the Missionaries* and an 
 equal regard for the welfare and security of the natives. 
 In order to protect the inhabitants of New Zealand and 
 the South Sea Islands from the oppression* violence* 
 and murder* of unprincipled and lawless Europeans* 
 he issued* in December* 1813* an order* alike creditable 
 to the enlightened policy of his administration* and the 
 benevolence of his heart. A copy was brought to the 
 Society Islands* and is here inserted. 
 
 Government and General Orders * dated Dec . 1 * 1813 . 
 
 “No ship or vessel shall clear out from any of the ports within this 
 territory, (New South Wales,) for New Zealand, or any other island in 
 the South Pacific, unless the Master, if of British or Indian, or the 
 Master and Owners, if of Plantation Registry, shall enter into bonds 
 with the Naval Officer, under £1000 penalty, that themselves and crew 
 shall properly demean themselves towards the natives; and not commit 
 acts of trespass on their gardens, lands, habitations, burial grounds, 
 tombs, or properties, and not make war, or at all interfere in their 
 quarrels, or excite any animosities among them, but leave them to the 
 free enjoyment of their rites and ceremonies; and not take from the 
 islands any male native, without his own and his chief’s and parents’ 
 consent; and shall not take from thence any female native, without the 
 like consent—or, in case of shipping any male natives, as mariners, 
 divers, &c. then, at their own request at any time, to discharge them, first 
 paying them all wages, &c. And, the natives of all the said islands 
 being under His Majesty’s protection, all acts of rapine, plunder, piracy, 
 murders, or other outrages against their persons or property, will, upon 
 conviction, be severely punished.” 
 
 Iii reference to another Order resembling this, and 
 issued Nov. 19* 1814* it is declared* that— 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 101 
 
 “Any neglect or disobedience of these Orders, will subject the 
 offenders to be proceeded against with the utmost rigour of the law, on 
 their return thither, (viz. New South Wales;) and, those who shall return 
 to England, without first resorting to this place, will be reported to His 
 Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies, and such documents trans¬ 
 mitted, as will warrant their being equally proceeded against and 
 punished.” 
 
 Although the justice and humanity of the governor of 
 New South Wales were so distinctly manifested in the 
 foregoing Orders* these regulations were found in¬ 
 sufficient to prevent outrage upon the natives* from the 
 masters and crews of vessels visiting the islands: an 
 act was therefore passed in the British parliament* in the 
 month of June* 1817* entitled* “An Act of the 57 th of the 
 King* for the more effectual punishment of Murders and 
 Manslaughters committed in places not within His 
 Majesty’s dominions.” As it is a document important to 
 the peace and security of the inhabitants of Polynesia* I 
 deem no apology necessary* for inserting it nearly entire. 
 In the preamble of the bill* it is stated* 
 
 “That grievous murders and manslaughters had been committed in 
 the South Pacific Ocean, as well on the high seas, as on land, in the 
 islands of New Zealand and Otaheite, and in other islands, countries, and 
 places, not within His Majesty’s dominions, by the masters and crews of 
 British ships, and other persons, who have, for the most part, deserted 
 from, or left their ships, and have continued to live and reside amongst 
 the inhabitants of these islands; whereby great violence has been done, 
 and a general scandal and prejudice raised against the name and character 
 of British and other European traders: And, whereas, such crimes and 
 offences do escape unpunished, by reason of the difficulty of bringing to 
 trial the persons guilty thereof: For remedy whereof, be it enacted by 
 the King’s most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of 
 the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this present 
 parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that from and 
 
102 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 after the passing of this Act, all murders and manslaughters committed, 01 
 that shall be committed, in the said islands of New Zealand and Otaheite, or 
 within any other islands, countries, or places, not within His Majesty's 
 dominions, nor subject to any European state or power, nor within the 
 territory of the United States of America, by the master or crew of any 
 British ship, or vessel, or any of them, or by any person sailing in, or 
 belonging thereto; or that shall have sailed in, or belonged to, and have 
 quitted any British ship, or vessel, to live in any of the said islands, 
 countries, or places, or either of them, or that shall be there living, shall 
 and maybe tried, and adjudged, and punished, in any of His Majesty’s 
 islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories, under or by 
 virtue of the King’s commission, or commissions, which shall have been, 
 or may hereafter be issued, under and by virtue, and in pursuance, of an 
 Act passed in the forty-sixth year of His present Majesty, entitled, an Act 
 for the more speedy trial of offences committed in distant countries, or 
 upon the sea.” 
 
 By the Porpoise, they also received the agreeable 
 intelligence that a ship, with a reinforcement of Mission¬ 
 aries, and necessary supplies from England, was on her 
 way to the islands. In the afternoon of the 10th of 
 July, 1801, the Royal Admiral, commanded by Captain 
 W. Wilson, anchored in the bay, having a number of 
 Missionaries on board, together with supplies and letters 
 from their friends and the directors, from whom they 
 had heard only once, during the four years they had 
 dwelt on the island. Mr. Shelly, one of the Missionaries 
 who had been stationed in the Friendly Islands, but had 
 escaped to New South Wales, returned to Tahiti in this 
 ship, and was cordially welcomed by the Missionaries, 
 along with those who had arrived from England. 
 
 On the 13th of July, 1801, Captain Wilson, and the 
 eight Missionaries from England, landed near Point 
 Venus, and were introduced to Otu, Pomare, and other 
 principal chiefs, by whom they were welcomed to Tahiti. 
 Pomare said he was pleased with their arrival, and ex- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 103 
 
 pressed his willingness that others should join them. 
 The gratification he expressed on their landing, however, 
 did not arise from any desire after religious instruction, 
 for in this interview he spoke of their engaging in war 
 with him, and probably rejoiced in their arrival only as a 
 means of increasing the strength of his influence, and 
 the stability of his government. After remaining about 
 three weeks at Tahiti, and assisting the society in their 
 regulations by his counsel, and in the preparation of 
 their houses by the carpenters of the ship. Captain 
 Wilson sailed from Matavai on the 31st of July. With 
 him, Mr. Broomhall left Tahiti for China or India. He 
 had been above five years on the island, having arrived 
 in the Duff, in 1797. He was an intelligent, active 
 young man, 24 years of age, had been highly serviceable 
 to the Mission, and was respected by the natives until 
 about twelve months prior to the arrival of the Royal 
 Admiral, when he intimated his doubts as to the reality 
 of Divine influence on the mind, and the immortality of 
 the soul. His companions endeavoured to remove his 
 scepticism; but failing in their efforts, he was separated 
 from their communion, having on several occasions 
 publicly declared his sentiments to be deistical. He 
 then lived some time with a native female, as his wife, 
 but was soon left by her ; and, on the arrival of Captain 
 Wilson, requested permission to leave the island in his 
 ship. His departure from the island, under such cir¬ 
 cumstances, although desirable on account of the in¬ 
 fluence of his principles and conduct on the minds of 
 the inhabitants, could not but be peculiarly distressing 
 to those he left behind. They followed him with their 
 compassionate regard and their prayers, and, after a num¬ 
 ber of years, learned that he had been engaged in a vessel 
 
104 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 trading in the Indian seas; that he had at length made 
 himself known to the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore, 
 from whom they heard that he had renounced his 
 erroneous sentiments, and professed his belief in the 
 truth of the Christian revelation. 
 
 The circumstances which follow, relative to the 
 penitence of this unhappy man, are taken from the 
 “ Circular Letters’" published by the Baptist Missionary 
 Society. In one of these, dated Calcutta, May, 8, 1809, 
 the writer says. 
 
 “We have lately seen the gracious hand of God stretched out in a most 
 remarkable manner, in the recovery of a backsliding Missionary after 
 nine years of wandering from God. This person had been chosen with 
 others for an arduous undertaking; had been set apart to the great work, 
 and had engaged in it to a considerable extent; having acquired a tolerable 
 knowledge of the language in which he was to preach to the heathen. 
 At this period, he fell into open iniquity; and embraced a gloomy state of 
 infidelity, the frequent consequence of backsliding from God." 
 
 Having left the Mission and gone to sea, several 
 alarming incidents, particularly the breaking of his 
 thigh at Madras, and a severe illness in Calcutta, tended 
 to awaken him to a sense of his danger. But, although 
 he held a correspondence with several serious persons, 
 he studiously concealed his previous character and his 
 name. At length, after writing a long letter, in which 
 he describes the anguish of his mind with dreadful 
 minuteness, he obtained a private interview with Dr. 
 Marshman and Mr. Ward, of which the following is the 
 result. 
 
 “ At the time appointed, he called on brother Marshman, at brother 
 Carey’s rooms, and, after a little conversation on the state of his soul, 
 he added, You now behold an apostate Missionary. I am-, who 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 105 
 
 left his brethren nine years ago. Is it possible you can behold me 
 without despising me ?—The effect which this discovery of Divine mercy 
 displayed to a backslider, had on brother Marshman’s mind, can better 
 be conceived than described. It for the moment took away the anguish 
 occasioned by a note that instant received from Serampore, saying that 
 brother Carey was at the point of death! Brother Marshman entreated 
 this returning prodigal to be assured of the utmost love on our part; 
 encouraged him in his determination to return to his Missionary 
 brethren, and promised to intercede on his behalf, both with his 
 brethren, and those who sent him out.” 
 
 Soon after the above interview, Mr. Broomhall em¬ 
 barked on another voyage to some port in India, purposing, 
 on his return, to dispose of his vessel, and devote the 
 remainder of his days to the advancement of that cause 
 which he had abandoned; but from that voyage he 
 never returned: neither Mr. Broomhall nor his vessel 
 was ever afterwards heard of,—it being supposed the 
 vessel foundered, and all on board perished. 
 
 p 
 
100 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 First preaching in the native language—National council in Atehuru—. 
 Seizure of the idol Oro—Rebellion of the Oropa—Introduction of use¬ 
 ful foreign fruits and vegetables—Providential arrival of two vessels— 
 Battle of Pare—King's camp attacked, Oro retaken—Mission-house 
 garrisoned with seamen, &c.—Desolation of the war—Death of the 
 king's brother—Ravages of foreign diseases—Death of Pomare— 
 Sketch of his character—Otu assumes the name of his late father— 
 Origin of the regal name—Efforts to instruct the children—Death of 
 the queen—Compilation of the first spelling-book—First school for 
 teaching reading and writing—Arrival of the Hawkesbury—Death 
 of Mr. Jefferson—Mr. Nott’s visit to the Leeward Islands—Rebellion 
 in Matavai—Defeat of the king—Departure of the majority of the Mis¬ 
 sionaries—Abandonment of the Mission. 
 
 Anxious to increase the resources of the islands* 
 those who had arrived in the Royal Admiral had brought 
 with them a variety of useful seeds* with plants of the 
 vine* the fig* and the peach-tree* from Port Jackson* 
 which were planted in the Mission garden. Many of 
 the seeds grew* and the vegetables produced added a 
 pleasing variety to the indigenous productions of the 
 country. The vine* the peach* and the fig* appeared to 
 thrive very well; but in the war which broke out shortly 
 after* the fences were broken down* the plants torn up* 
 or trodden under foot* and the garden entirely destroyed. 
 Pineapples and water melons* of which the natives 
 seemed remarkably fond* were preserved amidst the 
 general devastation. The pineapple grew luxuriantly 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 107 
 
 in several parts of Tahiti; and though the natives were 
 told it was palatable food, they were so mistaken in 
 the nature of the fruit, that they baked numbers of 
 them, in their native ovens, before they attempted to 
 eat any undressed. 
 
 The Missionaries who had arrived in the Duff, had now 
 acquired so much of the language as to be able to preach 
 to the natives in their own tongue, and to engage in the 
 catechetical instruction of the children. In these exercises 
 they did not confine themselves to the inhabitants of their 
 own vicinity, but visited the adjacent districts; and, in 
 the month of March, 1802, Mr. Nott, accompanied by 
 Mr. Elder, made the first Missionary tour of Tahiti, for 
 the purpose of preaching to the inhabitants. They were, 
 in general, hospitably entertained, and had many op¬ 
 portunities of speaking to the people, who frequently 
 listened with attention, and often made inquiries, either 
 while the preacher was speaking, or after the service 
 had ended. They seemed interested in the account of 
 the creation, and deeply affected with the exhibition of 
 Jesus Christ, as the true atonement for sin; instead of 
 pearls, or pigs, or other offerings, which they had been 
 accustomed to consider as the best means of propitiating 
 their deities. Some said they desired to pray to the true 
 God, but were afraid the gods of Tahiti would destroy 
 them if they did: others remarked, that the Duff came 
 last among the ships, and that, if the gospel had been 
 conveyed by the first ship, the gods of feathers, as they 
 denominated their idols, would long ago have been 
 destroyed: and one of the principal chiefs, at whose 
 residence they spent the night, observed to the natives 
 around, that he believed they had the true foundation, 
 or source of knowledge. 
 
108 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 On their return home, they passed through the district 
 of Atehuru, and found the king, Pomare, and all the 
 chiefs and warriors of the land, assembled at the great 
 Marae, where a number of ceremonies were performing 
 in honour of Oro, the great national idol. As they 
 passed the Marae, they saw a number of hogs on the 
 altar, and several human sacrifices placed in the trees 
 around; and when they reached the spot where the chiefs 
 were assembled, they found Pomare offering five or six 
 large pigs to Oro, on board a sacred canoe, in which the 
 ark, or residence of the idol, was placed. Notwithstand¬ 
 ing his being thus engaged, they told him Jehovah alone 
 was God, that pigs were not acceptable to him as offer¬ 
 ings, that Jesus Christ was the true atonement for sin, 
 and that God was offended with them for killing men. 
 The chief at first seemed unwilling, but at last said he 
 would attend to their religion. 
 
 On the following day, when the king, chiefs, and 
 people, were assembled within the temple, Otu and his 
 father, pretending to have received intimation that Oro 
 wished to be conveyed to Tautira, in Taiarabu, Pomare 
 addressed the chiefs of Atehuru, requesting them to 
 give him up; but the orators of the Atehuruan chiefs 
 resisted. Otu then demanded him, but the chiefs 
 still refused compliance. Pomare then recommended 
 liis son, the king, to allow the Atehuruan chiefs 
 to retain the idol until a certain ceremony had been 
 performed. This the king declined, and again insisted 
 that Oro should be given up. This was still refused; 
 and, having asked for some time without effect, he rose 
 up in anger, and ordered his party to withdraw. A 
 number of his attendants rushed upon the canoes, others 
 seized the god by force, tore him away from the people 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 109 
 
 of Atehuru* and bore him towards the sea. This was 
 not only the signal for war* but the commencement of 
 hostilities. The Atehuruans fled to the valley* and the 
 king and Pomare set sail with their fleet to the place of 
 rendezvous; and* lest Oro should feel indignant at the 
 treatment he had received* a human sacrifice was 
 ordered ; and* as no captive was at hand* one of Pomare’s 
 own servants was murdered* and offered* as soon as the 
 fleet reached the shore. The next morning* the fleet 
 sailed with the idol for Tautira* and the Missionaries 
 returned to their companions* with the tidings of these 
 threatening events. When the fleet reached Papara* 
 Pomare sent them word that it was probable the 
 Atehuruans would attack them* and advised them to be 
 upon their guard. Ten days after* they heard that the 
 inhabitants of Atehuru had invaded the district of Faa* 
 murdered those who had not escaped by flight* burnt 
 down the houses* and continued their murderous and 
 desolating course into the district of Pare* which joins 
 Matavai on the south. Here they drove out the inhabi¬ 
 tants* burned their habitations* and then returned to 
 their own territory; not* however* without threatening 
 to enter the district of Matavai* assault the Missionaries* 
 and plunder their property. 
 
 This rebellion* called in the annals of Tahiti* Te tamai 
 fu Rua * The war of Rua* (Rua being the name of the 
 principal leader of the rebellion*) was the most powerful 
 and alarming that had yet taken place; and the circum¬ 
 stances by which God providentially preserved the 
 Missionaries from its rage* and from inevitable ruin* 
 were remarkable. About six weeks before Mr. Nott 
 commenced his tour of Tahiti* the Norfolk* an armed 
 brig from Port Jackson* arrived at Matavai* and brought 
 
110 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shelly to join the Mission. About a week 
 after the arrival of the Norfolk, the Venus, another 
 colonial vessel, came into the bay, and left on shore 
 Captain Bishop and six seamen, to purchase pigs and salt 
 pork for Port Jackson, while Captain Bass pursued his 
 voyage to the Sandwich Islands, on the same errand. 
 About the 30th of March the Norfolk was wrecked in 
 Matavai bay, having been driven on shore by a heavy 
 gale of wind. The hull was destroyed, but all the stores 
 were preserved. Seventeen Englishmen were thus cast 
 ashore, and added to the number of those already 
 residing there. These, together with Captain Bishop 
 and his men, exposed to one common enemy, united 
 with the Missionaries for mutual defence; and to them, 
 under God, the Missionaries owed their preserva¬ 
 tion. Tw t o or three hundred warriors came from Eimeo 
 to Pomare’s aid. They encamped in the northern part 
 of Pare, where they were joined by a number of the 
 inhabitants of those districts, favourable to his cause; 
 but they were attacked and driven in confusion before 
 the rebels towards Matavai, which had now become the 
 frontier district. 
 
 On the day of the engagement, Captain Bishop, with a 
 strong party, occupied the pass on the top of One-tree 
 Hill, arrested the progress of the victors, and favoured 
 the retreat of the vanquished, whose courage appeared to 
 have forsaken them, under the conviction that the god Oro 
 had fought with their enemies, andrendered them invincible. 
 The rebels did not attempt to enter the district, but sent 
 a messenger with proposals of alliance, offering the 
 English the government of Matavai, and the two districts 
 to the southward, which they had already ravaged. If 
 this was not agreed to, they demanded permission to 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 march through the district to attack their enemies 
 beyond Matavai, and, in the event of refusal, declared 
 their intention of forcing a passage with the club and 
 the spear. The refugees from the conquered districts 
 had already sheltered themselves under the protection of 
 the Missionaries and their companions, and they would 
 have fallen a sacrifice to the cruelty of their enemies, 
 had they been allowed to pass through the district. 
 The English, therefore, acceded to the first proposition. 
 The Atehuruans ratified the treaty, returned to their own 
 land, and thus afforded the foreigners at Matavai, and 
 those under their protection, a short respite from the 
 dread of immediate attack. Had the Missionaries been 
 the only Englishmen residing on the island at the time, 
 it is most probable the victors would not have been 
 checked by them in their career of conquest. They 
 would have prosecuted their march of destruction; and, 
 as the Missionaries remark, they must have retreated, or 
 fallen a sacrifice to their fury. 
 
 Flushed with success, and animated with the belief 
 that the god fought with them, the rebels, having 
 offered in sacrifice the bodies of the slain, and united in 
 their confederacy the districts of Papara, and the whole 
 of the south-west side of the larger peninsula, cross¬ 
 ed the isthmus, marched at once to Tautira, and 
 attacked the king and Pomare; who, ever since their 
 arrival with the idol they had seized in Atehuru, had 
 been engaged in offering human sacrifices, and, by other 
 acts of worship, propitiating the favour of Oro. The 
 rebels conducted their expedition with so much secrecy 
 and despatch, that the king was taken by surprise. 
 Notwithstanding this, the assailants were, in their first 
 onset, repulsed; but, renewing their attack in the night, 
 
112 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 although Pomare’s party had forty muskets, and those 
 in the hands of the rebels were not more than fourteen, 
 they threw the king’s forces into confusion, killed a 
 chief of influence, a near relative of Pomare’s, and, driving 
 his warriors to their canoes, retook the object of their 
 murderous contention, the image of Oro, and remained 
 masters of the whole of Tairabu, as well as of the 
 south and western side of the large peninsula. 
 
 Pomare, with his vanquished forces, pursued their 
 voyage to Matavai, where he and his son were received 
 with respect by Captain Bishop and his companions. 
 His affairs appeared desperate, and he entertained no 
 thoughts of security, but by flight to Eimeo. When, 
 however, he beheld the manner in which the English 
 had prepared to defend themselves, if attacked; and was 
 assured by Captain Bishop, and his companions, that if 
 he was conquered, they were not; and that they would 
 support him in the present critical state of the nation, 
 and assist in the restoration of his government, his 
 prospects appeared to brighten, and he again indulged 
 the hope that his affairs might be retrieved. 
 
 The rebels were now masters of the greater part of the 
 island; and, as the Missionaries had every reason to believe 
 they would attempt the conquest of the remainder, and 
 knew that their establishment was the only point where they 
 were likely to meet with the slightest resistance, they 
 neglected no means of defence. The Mission-house was 
 converted into a garrison. The enclosures of the garden 
 were destroyed, the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees cut 
 down, to prevent their affording shelter to the enemy* 
 and the means of annoyance from their muskets or their 
 slings. Their chapel was also pulled down, lest the 
 enemy should occupy it or burn it, and from it set fire 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 113 
 
 to their own dwelling. A strong paling, or stockade, 
 was planted round the house \ boards, covered with nails* 
 were sunk in the paths leading to it; and thither the 
 Missionaries, Captain Bishop, Captain House, commander 
 of the vessel that had been wrecked, and the seamen 
 under their orders, now retired, as they daily received 
 the most alarming accounts of the intention of the rebels 
 to make their next attack upon them. The veranda in 
 front of their dwelling was protected by chests, bedding, 
 and other articles, so as to afford a secure defence from 
 musket-balls; and the sides of the house, which were 
 only boarded, were fortified with similar materials. 
 Four brass cannon, which had been saved from the wreck 
 of the Norfolk, were fixed in two of the upper rooms, 
 and the inmates of the dwelling were placed under arms, 
 as far as the number of muskets would admit. The 
 Missionaries, as well as the seamen, stood sentinels 
 in turn, night and day, in order to prevent surprise. 
 Their situation at this time must have been most dis¬ 
 tressing. Independently of the desolation that surrounded 
 them, and the confusion and disquietude that must 
 necessarily have attended their being all confined in one 
 house, together with the two captains and their seamen, 
 they were daily expecting an attack. Sometimes they 
 heard that the rebels were entering Matavai from the 
 east, at other times from the west, and sometimes they 
 received intelligence that they had divided their forces, 
 and intended to commence the attack from two opposite 
 points at the same time. 
 
 Pomare erected some works on One-tree Hill, to 
 arrest their progress, should they attempt the district in 
 that direction ; and, hearing they were still ravaging the 
 peninsula of Tairabu, sent a strong party to tabu-te oliua, 
 
 Q 
 
114 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 strike their encampment at home. His party reached 
 Atehuru, without molestation, late at night $ and, after a 
 short concealment^ falling upon the unconscious and 
 defenceless victims; under the cover of the darkness of 
 midnight; in two hours destroyed nearly two hundred 
 men; women; and children. The men who remained at 
 home; in times of war; were generally either aged or 
 sick; and incapable of bearing arms. This unprovoked 
 act of cruelty; on the part of Pomare; heightened to such 
 a degree the rage of the rebels, that they vowed the entire 
 destruction of the reigning family. 
 
 While the affairs of the island remained in this un¬ 
 settled state, the Nautilus arrived, and Pomare prevailing 
 on the captain to furnish him with a boat manned by 
 British seamen armed, went to Atehuru to present some 
 costly offering to Oro, whose favour he still considered 
 to be the only means of restoring his authority. 
 Although that idol was now in the hands of his enemies, 
 yet, as his errand was of a sacred character, the Atehu- 
 ruans, notwithstanding they would not admit him to the 
 temple, allowed him to present his offerings, which he 
 deposited on a part of the beach near the temple, and 
 peaceably retired. 
 
 When Pomare returned, he solicited from the captains, 
 men and arms to go against the insurgents ; and on the 
 3d of July, Captain Bishop and the mate of the Nautilus, 
 with twenty-three Europeans, well supplied with ammu¬ 
 nition, arms, and a four-pound cannon, accompanied 
 Pomare’s forces to the attack. All the Missionaries re¬ 
 mained at Matavai, excepting one, who accompanied 
 Captain Bishop as surgeon. On reaching Atehuru, they 
 found the rebels had taken refuge in their Pare or 
 natural fortress, about four miles and a half from the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 115 
 
 beach. This retreat was rendered by nature almost 
 impregnable to the native warriors, and the only avenues 
 leading to it being defended by the barriers its occupants 
 had thrown up, it appeared difficult, if not impossible, to 
 take it by storm, even with the foreign aid by which the 
 king was supported. After spending the day in almost 
 harmless firing at the enemy, the English and the natives 
 were on the point of embarking to return, when the 
 rebels having been decoyed from their encampment by 
 the daring and challenges of an active and courageous 
 young man, who had assumed the name of To-morrow 
 morning , chased him and his companions down to 
 the sea-side. Here they were checked by Pomare’s 
 musketeers, and retreated a few moments, when they 
 halted, and faced their pursuers ; but on the arrival of the 
 English, they were seized with a panic, and fled. Seven¬ 
 teen of the rebel warriors, including Rua, one of their 
 leaders, were taken, and killed on the spot by Pomare ; 
 whose followers, according to their savage rules of war, 
 treated their bodies with the most wanton brutality. 
 
 Pomare and his English allies marched the next morn¬ 
 ing to the strong-hold of the natives, and were much 
 disappointed at finding it filled with men determined 
 to defend it to the last. A female was sent, as a herald, 
 with a flag of truce to the warriors in the fortress, in¬ 
 forming them of the number slain, and proposing to 
 them the king’s terms of peace. Taatahee, the remaining 
 chief of the rebels, who was related to Pomare, directed her 
 to tell him that when they had done to him, as they had 
 done to Rua the slain chief, then, and not till then, there 
 would be peace. As it appeared improbable that the 
 place could be attacked with advantage to the assailants, 
 and equally improbable that its occupants would accept any 
 
116 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 terms of capitulation that the king would offer, Captain 
 Bishop returned to Matavai, and on the day following 
 Pomare sailed about twelve miles towards Pare. Here 
 he fixed his encampment; and, although peace was not 
 concluded, hostilities appear to have been for some time 
 suspended. 
 
 Soon after the return of Captain Bishop, the Nautilus 
 sailed; and the Venus having returned to Tahiti, on the 
 19th of the following month. Captain Bishop with his 
 men left the island. 
 
 Dreadful and alarming as these superstitious and 
 bloody contests had been, and though still exposed to 
 the horrors of savage war, the Missionaries, protected 
 in their work by the care of God, felt that they were 
 
 “---devote to God and truth, 
 
 And sworn to man's eternal weal, beyond 
 Repentance sworn, or thought of turning back. 
 
 and determined, in dependence on Divine protection and 
 support, to maintain their station; diligently to labour 
 and patiently to wait for the reward of their toil. They 
 beheld, with deepest distress, their gardens destroyed, 
 their trees cut down, the fences they had reared with so 
 much care demolished, the country around a desolate 
 wilderness, and the inhabitants reduced to a state of 
 destitution and wretchedness; yet they could not con¬ 
 template the remarkable interposition of Providence, in 
 affording them the means of perfect security amidst 
 the surrounding destruction, without unmingled emotions 
 of admiration and gratitude. 
 
 The cessation of hostilities afforded the Missionaries a 
 respite from anxious watching, and allowed them to pur- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 117 
 
 sue their former avocations. Their gardens were again 
 enclosed, and such seeds as they had preserved were 
 committed to the ground. The study of the language, 
 which, under the guidance and assistance of Mr. Nott, 
 had been regularly pursued one or two evenings every 
 week, was resumed. In the instruction of the children, 
 the greatest difficulties had been experienced from the 
 restless unrestrained dispositions and habits of the 
 scholars, who, unaccustomed to any steady application or 
 to the least control, seldom attended to their lessons long 
 enough to derive any advantage from the efforts of their 
 teachers. As opportunity offered, the Missionaries also 
 preached to the people, and catechized the children. 
 The natives, however, continued their depredations on 
 the little remaining property of the Mission; and, in 
 order to deter others, one of them, who had been detected, 
 was publicly flogged by the king’s order. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1802, Mr. Jefferson 
 and Mr. Scott made the tour of Tahiti, for the pur¬ 
 pose of preaching to the people. In most of the places 
 they were hospitably entertained, though, on one occa¬ 
 sion, the chief refused them lodging, because a former 
 Missionary had not rewarded him for his attentions. 
 In some instances, the natives appeared to listen with 
 attention and interest to their message, but they fre¬ 
 quently found great difficulty in inducing them to attend 
 and often observed with pain that their instructions 
 were received with indifference or with ridicule. At 
 one place, though the people on their first arrival weir 
 corned them cordially, yet when they understood the 
 object of their visit, a very marked, and by no means 
 pleasing change, appeared in their behaviour. 
 
 For many years, the first Missionaries were annoyed 
 
118 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 in almost all their attempts to preach to the people. 
 Sometimes, when they had gone to every house in a vil¬ 
 lage, and the people promising to attend had left their 
 houses, they often found, on reaching the appointed place, 
 that only two or three had arrived there; at other times they 
 either talked all the while about their dress, complexion, 
 or features, and endeavoured to irritate them by false 
 insinuations as to the objects of their visit; or to excite 
 the mirth of their companions by ludicrous gestures, or 
 low witticisms on the statements that were made. 
 Brainard remarks, that while he was preaching, the 
 Indians sometimes played with his dog: but the Mis¬ 
 sionaries in Tahiti were often disturbed by a number of 
 natives bringing their dogs, and setting them to fight on 
 the outside of the circle they were addressing; or they 
 would bring their fighting cocks, and set them at each 
 other, so as completely to divert the audience, who would 
 at once turn with avidity from the Missionary, to the 
 birds or the dogs. On some occasions, while they have 
 been preaching, a number of Areois , or strolling players, 
 passing by, have commenced their pantomime or their 
 dance, and drawn away every one of the hearers. At 
 such times, those who had stood round the Missionary 
 only to insult him by their insinuations, ridicule him by 
 their vulgar wit, or afflict his mind by their death like 
 apathy and indifference to the important truths he had 
 declared, have instantly formed a ring around the areois, 
 and have gazed on their exhibitions of folly and of vice 
 with interest and pleasure. 
 
 In addition to these sources of disturbance, they were 
 sometimes charged with being the authors of all the 
 disasters and suffering of the people, in consequence of 
 praying to their God, whom the natives called a bad God 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 119 
 
 when compared with Oro. Under these circumstances* 
 it required no small degree of forbearance and self- 
 possession* as well as patient toil* to persevere in 
 preaching the gospel among a people whose spirit and 
 conduct afforded so little encouragement to hope it 
 would ever be by them received. 
 
 Hitherto their labours had been confined to Tahiti; 
 but in December 1802* Mr. Bicknell* accompanied by 
 Mr. Wilson* made a voyage to Eimeo* and* travelling 
 round it* preached “ the unsearchable riches of Christ” 
 to its inhabitants* many of whom appeared to listen with 
 earnestness* and desired to be more fully instructed. 
 
 The same year* in the month of November* Teu, an aged 
 and respected chief* the father of Pomare* and the grand¬ 
 father of the king* died at his habitation not far from 
 the Mission-house. He was remarkably venerable in 
 his appearance* being tall and well made* his coun¬ 
 tenance open and mild* his forehead high* his hair 
 blanched with age* and his beard* as white as silver* 
 hanging down upon his breast.* He had led a quiet 
 and peaceful life ever since the arrival of the Mission* 
 was probably the oldest man in the island* and* what is 
 rather unusual* died* apparently from the exhaustion 
 of nature* or old age. He was esteemed by the 
 natives* and supposed to be a favourite with the gods. 
 But whenever the Missionaries had endeavoured to 
 pour into his benighted mind the rays of divine light 
 and truth* revealed in the sacred volume* it was a cir¬ 
 cumstance deeply regretted by them* that he had gene¬ 
 rally manifested indifference or insensibility. 
 
 * In the plate of the Cession of Matavai, he appears standing on the 
 right hand of the king, and immediately behind Pomare. 
 
120 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The family at Matavai were exposed to trials not only 
 from the evils of war, the opposition of the heathen to their 
 instructions, but also from the false reports which were 
 circulated against them. An instance of this occurred 
 early in the following year, 1803, when the Unicorn, a 
 London ship, arrived on her return from the north-west 
 coast of America. Otu the king suddenly left Matavai, 
 and repaired to his dwelling in Pare, incensed against 
 some of the Missionaries, who, he had been informed, had 
 been endeavouring to excite prejudices in the mind of 
 the captain against him, that he might not receive any 
 presents, and had prevented him from giving the natives 
 the price they had asked for their pigs. This report was 
 most unfounded, and it was hoped the effects were soon 
 removed. 
 
 About this time the Margaret, in which Captain 
 Byers and Mr. Turnbull had visited the islands for pur¬ 
 poses of commerce, was wrecked on a reef about 200 miles 
 distant; Mr. Turnbull had remained in Tahiti; Captain 
 Byers, his officers, and crew, consisting of sixteen in¬ 
 dividuals, with the mate’s wife and child, safely reached 
 that island in a long kind of chest, or boat, which they 
 had built with the fragments of the wreck. 
 
 Towards the close of the last year, Otu’s brother 
 Teariinavahoroa, the young prince of Tairabu, removed 
 from the smaller peninsula in consequence of the increase 
 of his disorder, which appeared to be consumption. 
 Pomare, his mother, Idia, his brother and sister, and 
 the chiefs, paid him every attention; human sacrifices 
 were offered; and both Pomare and Otu frequently 
 invoked their gods in his favour, and presented the most 
 costly offerings. For a number of days no fires were 
 allowed to be lighted, in order that these might be 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 121 
 
 effectual: but all were unavailing; the young chief, who 
 had scarcely arrived at the age of manhood, died in the 
 district of Pare on the 19th of June 1803. The Mis¬ 
 sionaries frequently visited him after his arrival in Pare, 
 and, as far as their scanty means would allow, ad¬ 
 ministered cordials suited to his languid state. They 
 were, however, most anxious to direct his mind to the 
 great Physician of souls, and to lead him to apply for 
 those remedies that would heal his spiritual maladies, 
 and prepare him for his approaching dissolution. 
 On this subject, they noticed with distress not only the 
 unwillingness of his friends that any thing should be said, 
 but also the insensibility of the young chieftain himself. 
 It was supposed by the people, that his illness and death 
 were occasioned by the incantations of Metia, a priest of 
 Oro, a famous wrestler and sorcerer, whose influence, 
 ceremonies, and prayers, had induced the evil spirits to 
 enter into the young prince, and destroy him. Coun¬ 
 ter ceremonies were performed ; prayers, called faatere , 
 were offered, to drive the evil spirits from him, and 
 these, it was imagined, would all be unavailing, 
 should the Missionaries direct his mind to any other 
 source, or offer on his behalf prayers to any other 
 god, and hence in part may have proceeded the aver¬ 
 sion of his friends to the presence and efforts of the 
 Missionaries. 
 
 Another large meeting of chiefs, priests, and warriors, 
 was held during the summer of 1803 at Atehuru, and 
 rumours of war were again spread through the land. 
 Here Otu once more demanded the body or image of 
 the great god Oro, which the chiefs agreed ultimately to 
 give up to the custody of the king, but which they were 
 not so ready at once to surrender. 
 
 R 
 
122 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The state of the people was at this time most affecting. 
 Diseases, introduced by Europeans, were spreading, un¬ 
 mitigated, their destructive ravages, and some members of 
 almost every family were languishing under the influence 
 of foreign maladies, or dying in the midst of their days. 
 The survivors, jealous of the Missionaries, viewed them 
 as the murderers of their countrymen, under the supposi¬ 
 tion that these multiplied evils were brought upon them 
 by the influence of the Missionaries with their God. 
 They did not scruple to tell them that He was killing the 
 people; but that by and by, when Oro gained the ascen¬ 
 dency, they should feel the effects of his vengeance. In 
 addition to the diseases resulting from their immorality, 
 there were others of a contagious and often fatal 
 character, to which the natives were formerly strangers. 
 These had been conveyed to the islands either by the 
 visits of ships, or the desertion of seamen afflicted with 
 them; they produced the most distressing sickness and 
 mortality among the people; and, although nothing could 
 be more absurdly imagined, yet, according to their ideas 
 of the causes of disease and death, that they originated 
 in the displeasure of some offended deity, or were in¬ 
 flicted in answer to the prayers of some malignant 
 enemy, they were, from the representations of some, and 
 the conjectures of others, led to suppose that these dis¬ 
 eases w^ere sent by the God of the Missionaries, in 
 answer to their prayers, and because they would not 
 reject Oro, and join in their worship. 
 
 At this time an event transpired, which threatened at 
 first a revival of all the confusion and desolation of war. 
 This was the demise of Pomare, the father of Otu the 
 king. His death was sudden; he had taken his dinner, 
 and was proceeding with two of his attendants in a 
 
POLyNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 123 
 
 single canoe towards the Dart, a vessel on the point of 
 sailing from the bay. While advancing towards the ship, 
 he felt a pain in his back, which occasioned him involun¬ 
 tarily to start in his seat; and, placing his hand on the 
 part affected, he fell forward in the canoe, and instantly 
 expired. The suddenness and circumstances of his death, 
 taken in connexion with the troubles in which he had 
 recently been engaged with the greater part of the people 
 of the island, on account of his violent seizure of the idol 
 at Atehuru, strengthened in no small degree the idola¬ 
 trous veneration with which the natives regarded their 
 god 5 and the anger of Oro was by them supposed to be 
 the direct cause of Pomare’s death. 
 
 In person, Pomare, like most of the chiefs of the 
 South Sea Islands, was tall and stout \ in stature he was 
 six feet four inches high, his limbs active and well pro¬ 
 portioned, his whole form and gait imposing. He was often 
 seen by the Missionaries walking along with firm steady 
 steps, and using with ease as a walking-stick a club of 
 polished iron-wood, that would have been almost a bur¬ 
 den for an ordinary native to have carried. His coun¬ 
 tenance was open and prepossessing, his conversation 
 affable, though his manner was grave and dignified. lie 
 was originally only a chief of the district of Pare, but 
 his natural enterprise and ambition, together with the 
 attention shewn him by the commanders of British ves¬ 
 sels, their presents of fire-arms and ammunition, and the 
 aid of European seamen, especially the mutineers of the 
 Bounty, had enabled him to assume and maintain the 
 supreme authority in Tahiti. Though not possessed of 
 the greatest personal courage, he was a good politician, 
 and a man of unusual activity and perseverance. He 
 laboured diligently to multiply the resources of the island. 
 
124 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and improve the condition of the people, and his adherents 
 were always well furnished with all that the island 
 afforded. The uncultivated sides of the mountains, and 
 the low flat sandy parts of the shore, seldom tilled 
 by the natives, were reclaimed by his industry; and 
 many extensive groves of cocoa-nut trees in Tahiti and 
 Eimeo, which the inhabitants say were planted by 
 Pomare, remain as monuments of his industry, and 
 yield no small emolument to their present proprietors. 
 In all these labours he endeavoured to infuse his 
 own spirit into the bosom of his followers, and to 
 animate them by his example, usually labouring with 
 his people, and planting with his own hands many of 
 the trees. 
 
 To the Mission families he was uniformly kind. 
 Shortly before his death, he recommended them to the 
 protection of his son; though the more he understood 
 the chief object of their Mission, the greater aversion he 
 seemed to manifest to it. To the favour of the gods he 
 considered himself indebted for all the aggrandisement 
 of his person and family; and if the Missionaries would 
 have allowed the claims of Oro or Tane to have received an 
 equal degree of attention to that which they required for 
 Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, Pomare would readily have 
 admitted them; but when required to renounce his 
 dependence upon the idols of his ancestors, and to 
 acknowledge Jehovah alone as the true God, he at once 
 rejected their message. He was justly considered as the 
 principal support of the idolatry of his country. In 
 patronizing the idols, and adhering to all the requirements 
 of the priests, &c. he appears to have been influenced by 
 the constant apprehension of the anger of his gods. 
 Teu, his father, was a Tahitian prince; his mother was a 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 125 
 
 native of Raiatea3 he was born in the district of Pare3 
 and at the time of his death, which took place on the 
 3 d of September, 1803 , was between fifty and sixty years 
 of age. 
 
 In the circumstances attending the formation of his 
 character, and in the commencement, progress, and result 
 of his public career, there was a striking resemblance 
 between Pomare, the first king of that name in Tahiti, 
 and his contemporary, Tamehameha, the first king of the 
 Sandwich Islands. Both rose from a comparatively 
 humble station in society, to the supreme authority $ 
 both owed their elevation principally to their own energies, 
 and the aid they derived from their intercourse with 
 foreigners3 both appeared the main pillars of the 
 idolatry of their respective countries3 and both left to 
 their heirs the undisputed government of the islands they 
 had conquered. Each appeared to have possessed natural 
 endowments of a high order, and both were probably 
 influenced by ambition. Pomare was distinguished by 
 laborious and patient perseverance 5 Tamehameha, by 
 bold and daring enterprise. The characters of their 
 immediate descendants were in some respects similar 
 to each other, though both were very different persons 
 from their respective predecessors. 
 
 Otu the king was at Atehuru at the time of his father’s 
 death. He sent several messengers to Pare, commanding 
 the body to be brought to him3 but to this the raatiras, 
 or resident chiefs, objected. When the Missionaries 
 paid a visit of condolence, Idia requested them to tell 
 her son it was her wish that the body should remain at 
 Pare3 and to this the king consented. 
 
 The death of Pomare did not alter the political state 
 of Tahiti 3 its only influence on the people was such as 
 
126 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 tended to confirm them in their superstition; for, on the 
 occasion of a religious ceremony, wherein his spirit was 
 invoked, and which took place shortly after his decease, 
 it was declared that he was seen by Idia, and one of the 
 priests. To the latter it was said he appeared, above 
 the waters of the sea, having the upper part of his person 
 bound with many folds of finely braided cinet. From this 
 circumstance his favourite wife assumed the name of Tane 
 rurua , from Tane, a husband, and rurua, bound round, 
 or bound repeatedly. 
 
 Towards the middle of the year 1804, the king went 
 over to Eimeo, taking with him the great idol Oro, to 
 propitiate whom, so many of the inhabitants had 
 been sacrificed. About the same time, Mr. Caw, a ship¬ 
 wright from England, joined the Mission. Otu now 
 assumed the name of Pomare, which has ever since been 
 the regal name in Tahiti. Its assumption by his father 
 was, as many names are among the Tahitians, perfectly 
 accidental. He was travelling, with a number of his 
 followers, in a mountainous part of Tahiti, where it was 
 necessary to spend the night in a temporary encamp¬ 
 ment. The chiefs' tent was pitched in an exposed 
 situation; a heavy dew fell among the mountains; he 
 took cold, and the next morning was affected with a 
 cough $ this led some of his companions to designate the 
 preceding night by the appellation of po-mare , night of 
 cough, from po , night, and mare , cough. The chief was 
 pleased with the sound of the words thus associated, 
 adopted them as his name, and was ever afterwards 
 called Po-ma-re. With the name he also associated the 
 title of majesty, styling himself, and receiving the 
 appellation of, u His Majesty Pomare." 
 
 Peace continued during the remainder of the year, and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 127 
 
 the Missionaries were enabled to persevere in their 
 labours* although they were cheerless* and apparently 
 useless. Great attention had* during the last year* been 
 paid to the instruction of the children in the short 
 catechism* in which the first principles of Christianity 
 were familiarly exhibited to the minds of the young 
 people. Mr. Davies* in particular* had devoted much of 
 his time to this work; and although it had hitherto been 
 found impracticable to teach the children letters* a 
 number had committed the catechism to memory. The 
 gospel was preached* not only in the immediate neigh¬ 
 bourhood of Matavai* but in every district in Tahiti 
 and Eimeo; but the people seemed more than ever 
 disposed to neglect or ridicule the message. Some¬ 
 times they said* We will hear our own gods; at other 
 times they scoffingly asked the Missionaries* if the 
 people of Matavai had attended to their word; if the 
 king* or any of his family* had cast away Oro; declaring* 
 that when the king and chiefs heard the word of Jehovah* 
 then they would also. 
 
 Early in January* 1805* the Missionaries prepared a 
 larger catechism; and* on the 6th of March* they adopted 
 their Tahitian alphabet. In forming this* the Roman 
 characters were preferred ; sounds in the Tahitian 
 language attached to them* and a native name affixed to 
 each* for the purpose of facilitating the introduction 
 of letters among the people. It was* however* a long 
 time before any* among the native inhabitants of Tahiti* 
 could be induced to learn the letters of the alphabet. 
 The Missionaries continued their labours in preaching 
 to the people* and teaching the catechism to the children. 
 One or two vessels arrived* but brought no letters or 
 supplies; and* towards the close of the year* they expe- 
 
128 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 rienced a heavy loss, in the destruction of a large and 
 flourishing plantation. 
 
 Three of the Missionaries had cleared, enclosed, 
 and cultivated it; and had rendered it, as far as the pro¬ 
 ductions of the island were available, subservient to their 
 interests. They had stocked it with cocoa-nuts, oranges, 
 limes, and citrons, of which, not fewer than six hundred 
 plants, with other productions, were growing remarkably 
 well. In one hour, however, the whole of the fence 
 was burnt to the ground, and the plantation destroyed, 
 or the few plants that remained were so much injured 
 as to be nearly useless. Great as was the loss ex¬ 
 perienced on this occasion, they had reason to fear it 
 was caused by some of their neighbours, who had 
 designedly set fire to the long dry grass immediately 
 to windward of the plantation. This was probably 
 done from motives of jealousy, lest, by cultivating 
 the land, and reaping the fruits of it, the Missionaries 
 should suppose it had become theirs, and the natives 
 cease to be its proprietors. On this acount, much as 
 they suffered by its destruction, they deemed it inex¬ 
 pedient to complain to the king. 
 
 In the month of January, 1806, Pomare returned from 
 Eimeo, bringing with him the idol Oro, which was kept 
 in his sacred canoe; while the human sacrifices, offered 
 on his arrival, were suspended on the trees around. The 
 Missionaries paid a visit to the king, soon after his 
 return; and, as he had become remarkably fond of using 
 his pen, he intimated his wish that they should build 
 him a small plastered house, near their own, in which 
 he could attend to his writing without the interruptions 
 he experienced in his own dwelling. 
 
 Early in the year 1806, the Mission was again 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 129 
 
 weakened by the departure of Mr. Shelly, with his 
 family. He relinquished Missionary pursuits, and sailed 
 for Port Jackson on the ninth of March. 
 
 In the month of July, following, the queen of Tahiti 
 died, in the district of Pare, after an illness of nearly 
 eight weeks. About the time her indisposition com¬ 
 menced, she had become the mother of a still-born 
 child; the sickness that followed, and the fatal termina¬ 
 tion to which it led, were supposed to be the results of 
 a cruel and unnatural practice, that cannot be described— 
 a species of infanticide often resorted to by females of 
 high rank in the island, although not unfrequently 
 issuing, as was imagined on the present occasion, in the 
 death of the perpetrator. Pomare had offered his prayers 
 to the gods of his family, and many ceremonies had 
 been performed, but to no purpose. The queen was in 
 person about the middle stature; mild and affable in her 
 behaviour; addicted to all the vices of her country; and 
 was cut off in the prime of life, being about twenty-four 
 years of age at the time of her death. The king and 
 his mother appeared affected with their loss; and the 
 grief of his relatives was severe, as the death of so many 
 members of Pomare’s family threatened, at no very 
 remote period, its total extinction. Pomare was left a 
 widower and childless, all the children of the late queen 
 having been destroyed. 
 
 Although reports of war were heard during the year, 
 there was no actual hostility; and, under discourage¬ 
 ments every day increasing, the Missionaries were 
 enabled to prosecute their labours. Having found it 
 difficult to engage the attention of the children, while 
 attempting to teach them in the presence of the adults, 
 who ridiculed the idea of their learning letters, they 
 
 s 
 
130 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 opened a school in a part of their own dwelling. In 
 October, Mr. Davies proposed to begin with the boys 
 attached to their own houses, and met them three nights 
 in the week for the purpose of instructing them in the 
 catechism, and teaching them to read those few 
 specimens of writing they had been able to prepare. 
 At the same time, Messrs. Nott and Davies were re¬ 
 quested to draw up a brief summary of the leading 
 events, and a short account of the principal persons 
 mentioned in the Old Testament, in the form of a 
 scripture history, for the use of these scholars. In the 
 course of the following year, a spelling book, which 
 Mr. Davies had composed and used, was sent to Eng¬ 
 land. Here it was printed, and afterwards transmitted 
 to the islands, for the use of the schools. 
 
 No long period had elapsed since the first establish¬ 
 ment of the Mission, without a vessel’s touching at 
 Tahiti. By many of these the Missionaries had been 
 able to write to the directors and their friends in Eng¬ 
 land, and from several they had secured a small supply 
 of such articles as they most needed. But since the 
 arrival of the Royal Admiral, in July, 1801, although the 
 directors had repeatedly sent out articles to Port Jack- 
 son for the Mission, the Missionaries had received neither 
 supplies nor letters from England. Many vessels had 
 sailed from Port Jackson, where the supplies were 
 lying, and had afterwards touched at the island; but the 
 captains, having no intention of doing so when they sailed, 
 had refused to take the goods on board. Tea and sugar, 
 and many other comforts, they had long been destitute of; 
 and their apparel was scarcely such as to enable them to 
 appear respectably in the company of any of their coun¬ 
 trymen who might visit the island. Several of them were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 131 
 
 some years with only one pair of shoes; and often, in 
 many of their journeys undertaken for the purpose of 
 preaching and instructing the natives, they had travelled 
 barefoot. In addition to these privations, the gloom and 
 discouragement that depressed their spirits, on account 
 of the total want of success attending their labours, must 
 have been increased, in no ordinary degree, by the un¬ 
 certainty and anxiety of remaining, at that remote 
 distance from home, five years without even once hearing 
 by letter from their native country, or their friends. 
 From this distressing state of feeling, they were in a 
 great measure relieved by the arrival of the Hawkesbury, 
 a colonial vessel, which anchored in Matavai bay on the 
 26th of November, 1806. 
 
 Since the year 1804, the Society in England had 
 authorized Mr. Marsden to expend annually, for the 
 support of the Missionaries, two hundred pounds, and 
 had also sent out supplies. Unable to meet, in Port 
 Jackson, with any vessel proceeding to Tahiti, Mr. 
 Marsden had at length engaged the Hawkesbury, a small 
 sloop of about twenty tons burden, to take out the letters 
 and articles that had been so long delayed. The com¬ 
 munications from England conveyed to the Missionaries 
 the welcome assurance that they were not forgotten by 
 their friends at home ; but most of the articles, especially 
 the clothing, from the length of time it had been lying 
 at Port Jackson, and the wretched state of the vessel in 
 which it was sent, were so injured as to be almost useless; 
 the packages were wet with the sea-water, and their 
 contents consequently spoiled. 
 
 The repeated trials with which the Missionaries were 
 exercised, the privations they endured, and the painful 
 and protracted discouragements by which, at this period, 
 
132 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 they were depressed, were of no ordinary character. 
 Few among modern Missionaries have been called to 
 endure such afflictions ; and it is matter of devout ac¬ 
 knowledgment, that, notwithstanding the darkness of 
 their prospects and the destitution of their circum¬ 
 stances, they were still enabled to persevere, and leave 
 the event with Him, at whose command they had entered 
 on their work. 
 
 Peace continuing in the island during the close of 
 1806, and the beginning of 1807* allowed the teach¬ 
 ers to pursue uninterruptedly their endeavours to plant 
 Christianity among the inhabitants, although at that 
 time with little prospect of success. 
 
 The ravages of diseases originating in licentiousness, 
 or nurtured by the vicious habits of the people, and 
 those first brought among them by European vessels, ap¬ 
 peared to be tending fast to the total desolation of Tahiti. 
 The survivors of such as were carried off by these means, 
 feeling the incipient effects of disease themselves, and 
 beholding their relatives languishing under maladies of 
 foreign origin, inflicted, as they supposed, by the God 
 of the foreigners, were led to view the Missionaries 
 as in some degree the cause of their suffering; and 
 frequently, not only rejected their message, but charged 
 them with being the authors of their misery, by praying 
 against them to their God. When the Missionaries 
 spoke to them on the subject of religion, the deformed 
 and diseased were sometimes brought out and ranged 
 before them, as evidences of the efficacy of their 
 prayers, and the destructive power of their God. The 
 feelings of the people on this subject, were frequently 
 so strong, and their language so violent, that the 
 Missionaries have been obliged to hasten from places 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 133 
 
 where they had intended to have addressed the people. 
 Instead of listening with attention, the natives seemed 
 only irritated by beings as they said, mocked with pro¬ 
 mises of advantage from a God by whom so much 
 suffering had been inflicted. Under these circumstances, 
 their distresses were somewhat relieved by the arrival 
 of Mr. Warner; who, after due preparation, had been 
 sent from England in the capacity of surgeon to the 
 Mission, which he joined on the 12th of May, 1807- 
 The strength, however, which his arrival added to their 
 establishment, was somewhat counterbalanced by the 
 removal of Mr. Youl, one of those who had arrived in 
 the Royal Admiral, and who departed in the vessel that 
 conveyed Mr. Warner to Tahiti. 
 
 In the month of June, the flame of war was rekindled 
 in Taiarabu, and the district of Atehuru, where the 
 king’s party suddenly attacked the inhabitants; and, 
 after killing upwards of one hundred, including their 
 principal chiefs, covered the country with all the 
 murder and desolation that usually attended the march 
 of the infuriated bands through the territories of those 
 who were too weak to oppose their progress. Having 
 driven to the mountains such as had escaped the 
 slaughter in the assault, plundered their houses, and 
 afterwards reduced them to ashes, the king took the 
 bodies of the slain on board his fleet; and, sailing to 
 Tautira, offered them in sacrifice to Oro. o 
 
 Towards the close of the year, the Mission sustained a 
 heavy loss in the death of Mr. Jefferson. He was one 
 of those Missionaries that arrived in the ship Duff; he 
 had borne “the heat and burden of the day,” and finished 
 his course on the 25th of Sept., 1807. He was a man of 
 intelligence and ability, possessing extraordinary de- 
 
134 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 votedness and patient zeal. He had laboured unre¬ 
 mittingly for ten anxious years; filling, with credit to 
 himself and advantage to the Mission, the most im¬ 
 portant station among his brethren, by whom he was 
 highly and justly respected. He maintained an arduous 
 post among the pioneers of the little army of Christian 
 Missionaries; who, "unarmed with bow and sword,” 
 had ventured to attack idolatry in its strongest holds 
 among these distant islands; and, 
 
 “ High on the pagan hills, where Satan sat 
 Encamped, and o’er the subject kingdoms threw 
 Perpetual night, to plant Immanuel’s cross, 
 
 The ensign of the gospel, blazing round 
 Immortal truth.” 
 
 And; though he fell upon the field before he heard 
 or uttered the shout of victory, his end was peaceful, 
 and his hopes were firm. On a visit to Matavai, 
 in J the early part of 1821, conducted by Mr. Nott, 
 I made a pilgrimage to his grave. I stood beside 
 the rustic hillock on which the tall grass waved in 
 the breeze, and gazed upon the plain stone that marks 
 the spot where his head reposes, with feelings of vene¬ 
 ration for his character. I felt, also, in connexion 
 with the change that has since taken place, that he had 
 indeed desired to see the things that I beheld, but he 
 had died without witnessing, on earth, tlie gladdening 
 sight; and that, in reference to his unremitted exertions, 
 
 I and my junior companions had entered into his labours, 
 and were reaping the harvest for which he had toiled. 
 
 Shortly after Mr. Jefferson’s death, Mr. Nott, accom¬ 
 panied by Mr. Hayward, visited the islands of Huahine, 
 Raiatea, and Boraboraj travelled round each, preach- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 135 
 
 ing and teaching the people; and thus, for the first 
 time* published among their inhabitants the great truths 
 of Christianity. Many of the natives listened with 
 attention and apparent interest. The illness of the king 
 terminated, for a time, the war which he had commenced 
 against the people of Atehuru, and allowed the Mission¬ 
 aries uninterruptedly to pursue their labours in Tahiti. 
 
 Early in 1808, Mr. Elder left this island for Port Jack- 
 son. Peace at that period every where prevailed, but it 
 was of short duration. The dissatisfaction of the farmers, 
 inferior chiefs, and lower orders of the people, with 
 Pomare’s conduct, was daily increasing, and his recent 
 massacre of the Atehuruans had greatly strengthened 
 their determination to destroy his authority, and revive 
 the ancient aristocratical form of government. In 
 the month of October, the Missionaries received a note 
 from the king, informing them of the probability of war, 
 recommending them to be upon their guard, and not to 
 be deceived or taken by surprise. In consequence of 
 this intimation, and the increasing signs of approaching 
 hostilities, they established a strict watch every night, 
 and seldom went far from their dwelling. The prepa¬ 
 rations for battle were continued on both sides; every 
 morning it was expected that hostilities would com¬ 
 mence before the close of the day, and every night it 
 was apprehended that an attack would be made before 
 morning. In this state of distressing anxiety, without 
 any means of flying from the gathering storm, all the 
 families continued till the 25th of October, when a 
 vessel from Port Jackson providentially anchored in the 
 bay, and, by ensuring a safe retreat in the event of sudden 
 assault, afforded no small alleviation to their minds. 
 
 On the Sabbath-day, the 6th of November, the district 
 
136 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of Matavai was thrown into great confusion, and num¬ 
 bers of men appeared in arms. The king, who was on 
 board the ship at the time, hastened on shore, and was only 
 restrained from commencing an immediate attack by the 
 counsel of his uncle, who urged the necessity of invoking 
 the favour of the gods before commencing hostilities. 
 This afforded the people of Matavai time to retire, and 
 encamp in the adjoining district with the people of 
 Apaiano. Proposals of peace were sent by the king, but 
 the rebels, being reinforced from the districts to the 
 eastward, refused to meet Pomare, or negociate with 
 him ; and war appeared inevitable. 
 
 The king, expecting that his camp, which was at 
 Matavai, would be immediately attacked, recommended 
 that the wives and children of the Missionaries should 
 take shelter in the vessel. They embarked on the 7th 
 amid much confusion, but with the sincerest gratitude to 
 God for the refuge so seasonably provided. The night 
 passed without any attack ; several leading chiefs, whom 
 the rebels expected, had not arrived, and the Europeans 
 were thus permitted to pack up a few articles for their 
 use on board. The next morning a letter was addressed 
 to the captain, requesting him to delay his departure 
 forty-eight hours, that they might deliberate on the 
 steps necessary to be taken. On the following day the 
 Missionaries Nott and Scott went alone to the rebel 
 camp at Apaiano, and invited the leaders to an interview 
 with Pomare. The chiefs treated them with every mark 
 of friendship, regretted that their establishment should 
 suffer from the quarrel between them and the king, and 
 requested them not to leave the island. The leaders of 
 the rebels refused, however, to meet Pomare except in 
 battle, and every hope of accommodation now vanished. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 137 
 
 This disastrous war is called, in the Tahitian tradi¬ 
 tions^ the Tamai rahi ia Aralmraia , The great war of 
 Arahuraia. It was headed by Taute, who had long been 
 the king’s prime-minister, and who was one of the most 
 powerful chiefs and successful warriors on the islands. 
 His name inspired terror through the ranks of his ene¬ 
 mies ; and; when the king heard that he had joined 
 the rebels, he was so affected, that he burst into tears. 
 Pomare advised the married Missionaries to leave 
 the island. They were unanimous in opinion, that 
 there was no prospect of safety or usefulness, even should 
 the rebel chiefs prove their friends \ and this, together 
 with the consideration of the little success that had at¬ 
 tended the labours of so many years, occasioned their 
 determination to remove. Four of the unmarried Mis¬ 
 sionaries offered to remain with the king, that they might 
 be upon the spot, should any favourable change take 
 place; the others, with most of the Europeans on the 
 island, sailed from Tahiti on the 10th of November, 1808, 
 and arrived the following day at the island of Huahine. 
 Here they were hospitably received by the chiefs and 
 people. 
 
 The affairs of Tahiti continued in the same state 
 until the 22d of December; when the king, influenced by 
 Metia the prophet of Oro, attacked the rebels; who 
 were not only superior in numbers, but favoured in the 
 conflict by the occupation of an advantageous position. 
 Notwithstanding the prophet’s prediction of victory, Po¬ 
 mare was defeated, and fled with precipitation to Pare; 
 leaving a number of muskets in the hands of his ene¬ 
 mies, and several principal warriors among the slain. 
 Convinced, that though the chiefs of the victorious army 
 might be friendly to them, yet that they could not re- 
 
 T 
 
138 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 strain their followers, who, in time of war, threw off all 
 subordination; and expecting that the victors, after 
 this success, would instantly attack their dwelling, and 
 that their lives were no longer secure, the Missionaries re¬ 
 maining at Tahiti fled to Eimeo, where they were shortly 
 after joined by the king. Some months afterwards, 
 three others were compelled to follow their companions to 
 Huahine. During their residence here, some among them 
 had made the tour of the island, and endeavoured, with 
 but little prospect of success, to instruct the inhabitants. 
 
 The melancholy prospect of affairs, their expulsion 
 from Tahiti, the total destruction of the settlement, and 
 the little probability of a restoration of peace, induced 
 them to determine on removing by the first opportunity 
 to Port Jackson. This occurred in the course of the 
 year ; and on the 26th of October 1809, they all sailed 
 from the islands, excepting Mr. Hayward, who remained 
 in Huahine, and Mr. Nott, who still resided in Eimeo 
 with the king. 
 
 After the victory of the 22d of December 1808, the 
 rebels plundered the district of Matavai and Pare, and, 
 devoting to destruction every house and plantation, re¬ 
 duced the whole country to a state of the wildest desola¬ 
 tion and ruin. The Mission houses were ransacked and 
 burnt, and whatever the insurgents were unable to carry 
 away was destroyed. Every implement of iron was con¬ 
 verted into a weapon of war. The most valuable books 
 were either committed to the flames, or distributed 
 among the warriors for the purpose of making cartridge 
 papers, and the printing types were melted into musket 
 balls. 
 
 During such seasons, it was not merely apprehension, 
 but actual danger, to which all the Europeans were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 139 
 
 exposed. On one occasion, Mr. Nott, returning from a 
 visit to the king, was resting in a native house, when a 
 party of the rebels approached the spot ; his native com¬ 
 panion, one of Pomare’s warriors, observing them, 
 touched him on the shoulder, and urged him to fly to the 
 canoe lying on the beach: he and his fellow-traveller had 
 scarcely pushed off from the shore, when the men came 
 up, and, finding they had escaped, invited them to land, 
 or requested the native to allow the foreigner to walk. 
 Mr. Nott’s companion assured him, however, that if he 
 landed, his life would certainly be taken, merely because 
 he was a friend to the king. The natives followed the 
 canoe for some miles, but Mr. Nott was mercifully pre¬ 
 served, and reached Matavai in safety, indebted, under 
 God, to the vigilance and promptitude of his Tahitian 
 friend for his life. Before this time, a musket ball (aimed 
 at a native who had taken shelter in his house) was 
 fired through the window of the room in which he was 
 sitting; and during another war, the spear of one of the 
 king’s enemies was already poised, and would in all 
 probability have inflicted a fatal wound in his body, 
 when the interference of one of Mr. Nott’s friends, at 
 the moment saved him from the deadly thrust. 
 
 It is not easy to form an accurate idea of the distress 
 of the last Missionaries who reluctantly left Tahiti, when 
 they beheld their gardens demolished, their houses plun¬ 
 dered and burnt, their pupils engaged in all the barbarity 
 of a savage war; and the people, among whom they had 
 hoped to introduce order, and peace, and happiness, 
 doomed to the complicated miseries attending anarchy, 
 idolatry, and all the varied horrors of cruelty and of vice. 
 The enterprise in which they had embarked, had at its 
 commencement united in bonds of disinterested philan- 
 
140 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 thropy, parties before but seldom associated; and had, 
 by a vigorous and combined movement, in force and 
 magnitude surpassing any thing that had been hitherto 
 attempted by British Christians, introduced a new era in 
 the Missionary efforts of modern times.—It had excited 
 among all classes the liveliest interest, called forth the 
 most splendid efforts of sacred eloquence, and the noblest 
 deeds of Christian benevolence; but, painful and deeply 
 humiliating as it was, it now appeared to those devoted 
 servants of God, who had, amidst protracted and 
 severe privations, maintained their ground till life was 
 no longer secure—after having engaged the prayers 
 of the people of God, and waited in vain for the 
 results of patient and self-denying toil, during twelve 
 eventful years, that the scene of their labour must be 
 abandoned. 
 
 Their enemies became bold in denouncing the enter¬ 
 prise as the wild project of extravagance and folly, 
 and stamping upon its projectors and conductors the 
 impress of the blindest fanatacism. Even those who, 
 though they had not condemned the scheme as Utopian 
 and visionary, had withheld their sanction and their 
 aid, now pointed to the deserted field as a demonstra¬ 
 tion of the soundness of their judgment, and an ex¬ 
 planation of their conduct. There were others also, who, 
 whatever might be their opinion of the measure itself, 
 and however they might approve or disapprove of the 
 choice of those with whom it originated, in the selection 
 of the most distant, isolated, and, as it regarded the moral 
 character of its inhabitants, the most unpromising parts 
 of the world, for the first field of their labours, con¬ 
 sidered its projectors as influenced in a great degree by 
 self-confidence, and a desire of aggrandisement or 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 141 
 
 applause. It has sometimes been unwarrantably insi¬ 
 nuated* that the founders of the Missionary Society 
 expected to convert the heathen to Christianity by 
 their own energy; and the allegation has been occa¬ 
 sionally repeated since those days*—perhaps in some 
 instances* to increase the impression produced by the 
 accounts of the recent changes which have taken place 
 in those islands* contrasting the former and latter results 
 of Missionary labours* and representing them as demon¬ 
 strations of the impotency of man* and the power of 
 the Most High. The lively feeling that attended the 
 establishment of the Missionary Society* the liberality 
 of the principles recognized as its basis* and the com¬ 
 bination of different parties in its support* were aft that 
 time adapted to excite in minds of a cautious and delibe¬ 
 rative habit* and fearful of innovation* the apprehension 
 that it had originated in a desire* on the part of its 
 projectors* to signalize themselves* and secure a name 
 and influence in the Christian world* to which they 
 were not otherwise entitled. Individuals* whose minds 
 were deeply imbued with the subject* who had iden¬ 
 tified themselves with its progress and its results* and 
 had embarked not only their influence* but much of their 
 property* in the undertaking* might* and probably did* 
 under the ardour of their feelings* indulge on some occa¬ 
 sions in a splendour of imagery* and a richness of de¬ 
 scription* that exceeded the sober realities of fact: but 
 they never imagined that they could subvert any system 
 of idolatry by their own agency; or* that their efforts 
 would be in any degree effectual for the conversion of 
 the people* but as they were attended by the influence of 
 the Holy Spirit. There might be* and perhaps was* a 
 more confident hope of the speedy accomplishment of the 
 
142 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 object than now prevails; but the appeals and addresses, 
 delivered at that period, manifest a deep conviction of 
 human insufficiency, and breathe a spirit of entire 
 dependence upon the blessing of God. 
 
 But although Tahiti was, by the departure of the 
 Missionaries, surrendered, for a season, as a prey to the 
 spoiler, and subjected to the rule of ignorance, barbarism, 
 and idolatry, it was not abandoned by Him, in obedience 
 to whose command to a go and teach all nations,” the 
 Mission had been undertaken. He had still “ thoughts 
 of mercy” towards its inhabitants, and was, by this dis¬ 
 tressing event, teaching those who had undertaken the 
 work—and instructing his church, in regard to all 
 their future efforts to extend his gospel—that singleness 
 of aim, purity of motive, and patient diligence in labour, 
 were of themselves insufficient for the work; that it was 
 by His Spirit that the heathen were to be converted; and 
 that without His blessing, Paul might plant, and Apollos 
 might water, in vain. 
 
 The rebels were no sooner masters of the island, than 
 they determined to murder the captain and officers, and 
 seize the first vessel that should arrive. The Mission¬ 
 aries, aware of this, wrote a letter, which they gave to a 
 native, to hand to the master of the first ship that might 
 touch there. The Venus schooner, however, arrived, 
 and was seized by the people, before the native could 
 deliver his letter: the master and seamen were not 
 murdered, but kept prisoners, to be offered in sacrifice to 
 Oro. The Hibernia, Captain Campbell, also arrived 
 shortly afterwards; but Captain Campbell, receiving the 
 letter, was warned of his danger, and not only secured 
 his own vessel, but succeeded in rescuing the schooner 
 and her crew. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 143 
 
 Although most of the Missionaries returned to the 
 1812, yet their efforts in Tahiti were not resumed till 
 the close of 1817* so that on my arrival I found no one 
 here. Hence, I have been induced to give the foregoing 
 brief historical sketch of the leading facts connected 
 with the establishment and termination of the first 
 Mission to Tahiti, in connexion with my first visit to 
 Matavai. 
 
144 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Anchorage in Matavai—Visit from Pomare—Landing his horse—Inter¬ 
 view with the queen and princess—Astonishment of the natives on 
 viewing the horse and his rider—Description of Eimeo—Opunohu, or 
 Taloo harbour—Landing at Eimeo—Welcome from the natives—First 
 night on shore—Present from the chiefs—Visit to the schools—First 
 Sabbath in the islands—Appearance and behaviour of native congre¬ 
 gations—Voyage to Afareaitu—Native meal—Description of Afareaitu 
 —Removal thither—Means of conveyance—Description of the various 
 kinds of canoes used in the Society Islands—Origin of the name— 
 Account of Tetuaroa, the watering-place of Tahiti—Methods of navi¬ 
 gating their canoes—Danger from sharks—Affecting wreck—Accident 
 in a single canoe—Length of the voyages occasionally made. 
 
 The sea had been calm; the morning fair; the sky without 
 a cloudy and the lightness of the breeze had afforded us 
 leisure for gazing upon the varied; picturesque; and 
 beautiful scenery of this most enchanting island. We 
 had beheld successively; as we had slowly sailed along 
 its shore, all the diversity of hill and valley; broken 
 or stupendous mountains; and rocky precipices; clothed 
 with every variety of verdure; from the moss of the 
 jutting promontories on the shore; to the deep and 
 rich foliage of the bread-fruit tree, the Oriental luxu¬ 
 riance of the tropical pandanuS; or the waving plumes 
 of the lofty and graceful cocoa-nut grove. The scene 
 was enlivened by the waterfall on the mountain's side, 
 the cataract that chafed along its rocky bed in the 
 recesses of the ravine; or the stream that slowly wound 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 145 
 
 its way through the fertile and cultivated valleys, and 
 the whole was surrounded by the white-crested waters 
 of the Pacific, rolling their waves of foam in splendid 
 majesty upon the coral reefs, or dashing in spray 
 against its broken shore. 
 
 The cataracts and waterfalls, though occasionally 
 seen, are by no means so numerous on any part of the 
 Tahitian coast, as in the north-eastern shores of Hawaii. 
 The mountains of Tahiti are less grand and stupendous 
 than those of the northern groups—but there is a greater 
 richness of verdure and variety of landscape; the moun¬ 
 tains are much broken in the interior, and deep and 
 frequent ravines intersect their declivity from the 
 centre to the shore. As we advanced towards the 
 anchorage, I had time to observe, not only the diversified 
 scenery, but the general structure and form, of the 
 island. Tahiti, excepting a border of low alluvial 
 land, by which it is nearly surrounded, is altogether 
 mountainous, and highest in the centre. The mountains 
 frequently diverge in short ranges from the interior 
 towards the shore, though some rise like pyramids 
 with pointed summits, and others present a conical, 
 or sugar-loaf form, while the outline of several is 
 regular, and almost circular. Orohena, the central and 
 loftiest mountain in Tahiti, is six or seven thousand 
 feet above the sea. Its summit is generally enveloped 
 in clouds; but when the sky is clear, its appearance is 
 broken and picturesque. 
 
 The level land at the mouth of Matavai valley is broad, 
 but along the eastern and southern sides the mountains 
 approach much nearer to the sea. A dark-coloured 
 sandy beach extends all round the bay, except at its 
 southern extremity, near One-tree Hill, where the shore is 
 
 u 
 
146 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 rocky and bold. Groves of bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees 
 appear in every direction, and amid the luxuriance of 
 vegetation, every where presented, the low and rustic 
 habitations of the natives gave a pleasing variety to the 
 delightful scene. 
 
 Most of the islanders who had boarded us in the 
 morning continued in the ship, others arrived as we 
 approached the bay, and long before we anchored, our 
 decks were crowded with natives. Our prepossessions 
 in their favour continued to increase, and we viewed 
 them with no ordinary interest, as those among whom 
 we were to spend the remainder of our days. Many of 
 them wore some article of European dress, and all were 
 attired in native cloth, though several had only a maro, 
 or broad girdle, round the waist. There was a degree of 
 openness in their countenances, and vivacity in their 
 manners, which was not unpleasing. 
 
 We had not been long at anchor, before Pomare sent 
 us a large albicore, and a variety of provisions, and 
 shortly after came on board. I was struck with his 
 tall and almost gigantic appearance; he was upwards 
 of six feet high, and seemed about forty years of 
 age. His forehead was rather prominent and high, 
 his eyebrows narrow, well defended, and nearly straight; 
 his hair, which was combed back from his forehead, 
 and the sides of his face, was of a glossy black colour, 
 slightly curled behind; his eyes were small, some¬ 
 times appearing remarkably keen, at others rather heavy; 
 his nose was straight, and the nostrils by no means 
 large, his lips were thick, and his chin projecting. He 
 was arrayed in a handsome tiputa of native manufacture. 
 His body was stout, but not disproportioned to his 
 height; and his limbs, though well formed, were not firm 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 147 
 
 and muscular. He welcomed me to Tahiti; but, at the 
 same time, appeared disappointed when he learned that 
 only one Missionary had arrived, having been led to expect 
 several. His acquaintance with English was very partial, 
 and mine with Tahitian much more so; our conversation 
 was, consequently, neither very free nor animated. He 
 inquired after King George, Governor Macquarrie, and 
 Mr. Marsden, the time of our departure from New 
 Holland, the nature of our voyage, &c. These inqui¬ 
 ries I answered, and handed him a number of small 
 presents which I had brought from England, adding a 
 curious penknife of my own, which he had appeared 
 desirous to possess. He had a small English Bible, and, 
 at his request, I read to him one or two chapters. He 
 appeared to understand, in some degree, the English 
 language, although unable to speak it. After spending 
 some time in the cabin, the king went to see the cattle 
 we had brought from New South Wales, and particu¬ 
 larly a horse, which the owners of the ship had sent 
 him as a present. 
 
 Pomare was greatly delighted with the horse ; and, in 
 the course of the afternoon, the poor animal, after having 
 been hung in slings, and unable to lie down during the 
 greater part of the voyage, was hoisted out of the hold, 
 to be taken ashore in a large pair of canoes which the 
 king had ordered alongside for that purpose. During 
 this transition, while the horse w r as suspended midway 
 between the gangway and the yard-arm, some of the 
 bandages gave way; when the animal, after hanging 
 some time by the neck and fore-legs, to the great 
 terror both of Pomare and the captain, slipped through 
 the slings, and, clearing the ship’s side, fell into the 
 sea. He instantly rose to the surface; and, snorting. 
 
148 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 as if glad* even under these circumstances* to gain his 
 freedom* swam towards the shore; hut the natives no 
 sooner saw him at liberty* than they plunged into the 
 water* and followed like a shoal of sharks or porpoises after 
 him. Some seizing his mane* others his tail* endeavoured 
 to hold him* till the terrified creature appeared in great 
 danger of a watery grave. The captain lowered down 
 the boat; the king shouting* directed the natives to leave 
 the horse to himself; but his voice was lost amid the din 
 and clamour of the crowds that accompanied the 
 exhausted and frightened animal to the land. At length 
 he reached the beach in safety; and* as he rose out of the 
 water* the natives on the shore fled with precipitation* 
 climbing the trees* or crouching behind the rocks and 
 the bushes for security. When* however* they saw 
 one of the seamen* who had landed with the captain 
 from the ship* take hold of the halter that was on his 
 neck* they returned* to gratify their curiosity. Most of 
 them had heard of horses* and some of them had, per¬ 
 haps* seen those belonging to Mai* (Omai*) landed on 
 the island by Captain Cook* forty years before; but it 
 was undoubtedly the first animal of the kind the 
 greater part of them had ever seen. 
 
 The king had not been long on board* when the queen 
 arrived* and was ushered into the cabin. Her person 
 was about the middle stature; her complexion fairer 
 than any other native I have ever seen; her form 
 elegant* and her whole appearance remarkably pre¬ 
 possessing. Her voice* however* was by no means 
 soft* and her manners were less engaging than those 
 of several of her companions. She was attired in a 
 light loose and flowing dress of beautifully white 
 native cloth* tastefully fastened on the left shoulder* 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 149 
 
 and reaching to the ankle; her hair was rather 
 lighter than that of the natives in general; and on 
 her head she wore a light and elegant native bonnet, 
 of green and yellow cocoa-nut leaves; each ear was 
 perforated, and in the perforation two or three flowers 
 of the fragrant Cape jessamin were inserted.^ She was 
 accompanied by her sister, Pomare Vahine. Aimata, the 
 young princess, only daughter of Pomare and the queen, 
 who appeared about six years of age, was brought by 
 her nurse, and followed by her attendants into the 
 cabin. We delivered the few presents we had brought 
 for them, regretting that w~e could not enter into con¬ 
 versation. They spent about two hours on hoard; and 
 then, followed by their numerous retinue, returned to 
 the shore. 
 
 Soon after sunrise the next morning, our vessel was 
 surrounded with canoes, and provisions in abundance 
 were offered for barter. Pomare also sent us a present. 
 
 About nine o’clock, I saw crowds of natives repairing 
 towards the place where the horse had been tied up, in 
 charge of one of Pomare’s favourite chiefs ; and shortly 
 afterwards he was led out, while the multitude gazed at 
 him with great astonishment. Soon after breakfast, our 
 captain landed with the saddle and bridle, and other 
 presents, which Mr. Bernie, of Sydney, had sent out 
 with the horse. They were delivered to Pomare, who 
 requested that the saddle and bridle might be put on 
 the horse, and that the captain would ride him. His 
 wishes were complied with, and the multitude appeared 
 highly delighted when they saw the animal walking and 
 running along the beach, with the captain on his back. 
 They called him buaa-horo-fenua and buaa-afai-taata; 
 land-running pig, and man-carrying pig. About mid- 
 
150 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 day the captain returned to the ship; and we shortly 
 afterwards weighed anchor, and sailed for the island of 
 Eimeo. 
 
 Moorea, the name most frequently given by the natives to 
 this island, was discovered by Captain Wallis, and by him 
 called Duke of York Island. It is situated about twelve or 
 fourteen miles west from Tahiti, and is twenty-five miles 
 in circumference. In the varied forms its mountains 
 exhibit, the verdure with which they are clothed, and 
 the general romantic and beautiful character of its 
 scenery, this island far exceeds any other, in either the 
 Georgian or Society groups. A reef of coral, like a ring, 
 surrounds the island; in some places one or two miles 
 distant from the shore, in others united to the beach. 
 Several small and verdant islands adorn the reef: one 
 lies opposite the district of Afareaitu on the eastern side ; 
 two others, a few miles south of Papetoai; the latter are 
 covered with the elegantly growing Casuarina, or Aito 
 trees, and were a favourite retreat of Pomare the Second. 
 Eimeo is not only distinguished by its varied and 
 beautiful natural scenery, but also by the excellence of 
 its harbours, which are better than those in any of the 
 other islands. 
 
 On the north side is Taloo harbour, in lat. 17° 30f 
 north, long. 150° west: one of the most secure and de¬ 
 lightful anchoring places to be met with in the Pacific; 
 Opunohu is the proper name of this harbour; near the 
 mouth of which, on the right-hand side, there is a small 
 rock, called by the natives Tareu , towards which, it is 
 possible, Captain Cook was pointing, or looking, when 
 he inquired of the natives the name of the harbour his 
 ship was then entering. Tareu might be easily under¬ 
 stood as if spelled Taloo, and the name of the rock 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 151 
 
 thus mistaken for that of the harbour. Separated from 
 Opunohu by a high mountain, is another capacious bay, 
 called, after its discoverer. Cook’s harbour; it is equally 
 convenient for anchorage with the former, but is rather 
 more difficult of access. 
 
 On the north-eastern side of Eimeo, between the moun¬ 
 tain and the sea, is an extensive and beautiful lake, called 
 Tamai, on the border of which stands a sequestered 
 village, bearing the same name. The lake is stocked 
 with fish, and is a place of resort for flocks of wild 
 ducks, which are sometimes taken in great numbers. 
 The rivers of Eimeo are but small, and are principally 
 mountain streams, which originate in the high lands, roll 
 down the rocky bottoms of the deep ravines, and wind 
 their way through the valleys to the sea. The mountains 
 are broken, and considerably elevated, but ■ by no means 
 so high as those of Tahiti, which are probably 7000 feet 
 above the level of the sea. 
 
 We enjoyed a most delightful sail along the northern 
 part of Eimeo, the next morning, and soon after twelve 
 o’clock anchored in the spacious and charming bay of 
 Opunohu, or, as it is usually called, by foreigners. The 
 harbour of Taloo. 
 
 Long before we anchored, Messrs. Bicknell, Wilson, 
 Henry, and Davies, came on board, followed by the 
 other members of the Mission, who greeted our 
 arrival with satisfaction. We accompanied them to 
 the shore, and landed on the western side of the bay, 
 in the afternoon of the 13th of February, 1817^ happy, 
 under circumstances of health and comfort, to enter 
 upon our field of future labour, and grateful for the 
 merciful providence by which we had been conducted 
 in safety to the end of our long and eventful voyage. 
 
152 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 On reaching the habitations of the Missionaries, we 
 were cordially welcomed to their society, and were 
 rejoiced to behold them cheered by the intelligence we 
 had brought, and the prospect of receiving a still greater 
 accession to their numbers. The evening passed 
 pleasantly and rapidly away; many of the pious 
 inhabitants and chiefs, in the neighbourhood, came to 
 greet our arrival, with evident emotions of delight ; among 
 them was one, whose salutation I shall never forget: “ la 
 ora na oe i te Atua , la ora oei te haere raa mai io nei , no te 
 Aroha o te Atua oe i tae mai ai” “ Blessing on you from 
 God, peace to you in coming here, on account of the love 
 of God are you come.” These were his words. His 
 person was tall and commanding, his hair black and 
 curling, his eyes benignant, and his whole countenance 
 beamed with a joy that declared his tongue only obeyed 
 the dictates of his heart. His name was Auna, a native 
 of Raiatea, formerly an areoi and a warrior, who had 
 arrived, with numbers of his countrymen, to the support 
 of Pomare, after his expulsion from Tahiti, but whose 
 heart had been changed by the power of the gospel of 
 Christ. He was afterwards associated with us at 
 Huahine, subsequently became my fellow-labourer in 
 the Sandwich Islands, and was, when I last heard from 
 the islands, about to be ordained pastor of a Christian 
 church in Sir Charles Sanders’s Island. 
 
 At a late hour we retired to rest, but not to sleep. 
 We needed and sought repose, but the incidents of 
 the day had produced a degree of excitement that did 
 not speedily subside ; in addition to which, the constant 
 and loud roaring of the surf kept us awake till nearly 
 daybreak. The house in which we lodged was near the 
 shore; and the long heavy billows of the sea rolling 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 153 
 
 in successive surges over the coral reefs that surround 
 the island, kept up, through the night, a hollow and 
 heavy sound, resembling that produced by the rumbling 
 of carriages in a vast city, heard at a distance in the 
 stillness of evening. The wall, or outside of the 
 dwelling, was composed only of large sticks, or poles, 
 placed perpendicularly from the floor to the roof, two 
 or three inches apart, so that we could see the ocean on 
 one side, and the dark outline of the inland mountains 
 on the other; while looking up through the roof, we 
 could easily discern the stars twinkling in a blue and 
 cloudless sky. We did not, however, feel the air too 
 cool; and our lodging was quite as good as that in which 
 the Missionaries to the Sandwich Islands passed their 
 first night in Honoruru; and much better than Mr. 
 Marsden, and his companion, procured in New Zealand. 
 The first night he passed on shore, he slept on the 
 earthern floor, by the side of a warrior, the murderer of 
 the crew of the Boyd, and a cannibal; and the spot on 
 which he lay was encircled by native spears fixed in 
 the ground. 
 
 In the morning we arose somewhat refreshed; and, in 
 the course of the day, landed our goods from the vessel. 
 A house had been prepared, by the king, for the 
 expected Missionaries; but, as it was damp, and our 
 residence at Papetoai was not likely to be permanent, 
 we took up our abode in a dwelling already occupied in 
 part by Mr. Crook and his family. 
 
 I was astonished at the accounts I now received, of the 
 change that had taken place among the people. The 
 profession of Christianity was general, many had learned 
 to read, and were teaching others; all were regular in 
 their exercises of devotion; and, in many of the small 
 
 x 
 
154 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 gardens attached to the native houses, it was pleasing 
 to see the little fare bure buna, house for hidden prayer. 
 The greater part of the Missionaries, who had fled to 
 Port Jackson, when expelled from Tahiti in 1808, having 
 been invited by Pomare, returned in 1812. In 1816 
 they were joined by Mr. Crook, who had been stationed 
 by Captain Wilson in the Marquesas : they had visited 
 Tahiti, for the purpose of preaching to the inhabitants, 
 but they had not been able to re-establish the Mission 
 in their original station, and were, consequently, all 
 residing at Eimeo when we arrived. 
 
 The chiefs of the district, and island, soon visited us, 
 received a few articles as presents, and appeared highly 
 gratified with what they saw, especially with some 
 engravings of natural history. They sent us a present 
 of food; or, as they call it, “faaamuaf a feeding; con¬ 
 sisting of two or three large pigs, which were dragged 
 along by force, squalling terribly all the way, and tied 
 to a stick near the door; a number of bunches of 
 plantains, bananas, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit, were also 
 brought, and piled up in three heaps on the sand, near 
 the pigs. I was then called out, and a native repeated 
 the names of the chiefs who had sent us the food; and, 
 pointing to the heaps of fruit and the pigs, said one was 
 for me, and another for Mrs. Ellis, and the third for 
 our infant daughter. He then directed the native 
 servants of the house to take care of it, and departed. 
 
 Soon after my arrival, I visited the school, and was 
 greatly delighted to behold numbers of adults, as well 
 as children, under the direction of Messrs. Davies and 
 Tessier, learning their alphabet and their spelling, or 
 reading with distinctness their lessons, which were 
 principally extracts from Scripture. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 155 
 
 The building, in which they were taught, stood near 
 the sea-beach, under the shade of a clump of cocoa-nut 
 trees. Though of no very durable kind, it appear¬ 
 ed well adapted to the purpose to which it was 
 appropriated. It was upwards of sixty feet long, and 
 rather narrow. The thatch was composed of the leaves 
 of the pandanus, neatly fastened on rafters of purau or 
 hibiscus, and the walls, or sides and ends, were formed 
 with straight branches resembling the rafters, and 
 planted in the ground about two inches asunder. There 
 was a door at each end; windows were altogether 
 unnecessary in such a building, as the space between 
 the poles, forming the outside, admitted light and air 
 in abundance; and wind, with rain, sometimes in larger 
 quantities than was quite agreeable. The floor, which 
 was of sand, was covered with long dry grass. A rustic 
 sort of table, or desk, between three and four feet 
 high, stood on one side, equally distant from each end, 
 and the whole of the building was filled with low 
 forms, on which the natives were sitting; while, on 
 one side I saw one or two forms longer and broader 
 than the rest, with small ledges on the sides, filled 
 with sand, for the purpose of teaching writing, after 
 the manner of the national schools in England. A 
 number of pillars in the centre supported the ridge 
 pole, or rather the different ridge poles, which unitedly 
 sustained the roof of the building. The different joints 
 in these, and the narrow horizontal boards supporting 
 the bottoms of the rafters, presented a kind of chrono¬ 
 logical index to the history of the place. It was first 
 erected by the liberality of a gentleman in London. He 
 presented to Tapioi, the Marquesan youth who accom¬ 
 panied Mr. Bicknell to England, the articles with which 
 
156 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the natives were hired to build this first school and 
 chapel in Eimeo. It was then much more compact, and 
 the width better proportioned than it now appeared. 
 It had always been employed, not only as a school, but 
 also as a chapel. When the number of scholars and 
 worshippers of the true God increased, so as to 
 render accommodation difficult, one of the ends had 
 been taken down, a new piece of timber joined to the 
 ridge pole, the building lengthened about twelve or 
 fifteen feet, and the end then closed up. When the 
 place became again too small, a similar enlargement 
 had been made; and, as the new piece which supported 
 the roof, was laid upon the former ridge pole, it dis¬ 
 tinctly marked the increase of Christian worshippers at 
 the place within the last four or five years. 
 
 The first Sabbath I spent in the islands, was a day of 
 deep and delightful interest. The Missionaries were 
 accustomed to meet for prayer at sun-rise, on the morn¬ 
 ing of the Sabbath. This service I attended, and was 
 also gratified to find, that not fewer than four or five 
 hundred of the natives, imitating their teachers in this 
 respect, met for the purpose of praise and supplication 
 to the true God, during the interval of public worship, 
 which was held early in the morning, and four in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 About a quarter before nine in the morning, I accom¬ 
 panied Mr. Crook to the public worship of the natives, 
 held in the same house in which I had visited the 
 school a day or two before. It was, indeed, a rude and 
 perishable building, totally destitute of every thing im¬ 
 posing in effect, or exquisite in workmanship ; yet I 
 beheld it with emotions of pleasure, as the first roof 
 under which the natives of Tahiti had assembled, in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 157 
 
 any number, to receive the elements of useful knowledge, 
 to listen with sincerity and satisfaction to the word 
 of God, and to render publicly unto Him the homage 
 of their grateful praise ; for, 
 
 “ Though gilded domes, and splendid fanes, 
 
 And costly robes, and choral strains, 
 
 And altars richly dress’d ; 
 
 And sculptur’d saints, and sparkling gems, 
 
 And mitred priests, and diadems. 
 
 Inspire with awe the breast: 
 
 » 
 
 “ ’Tis not the pageantry of show 
 That can impart devotion’s glow, 
 
 Nor sanctify a prayer. 
 
 The soul enlarged, devout, sincere, 
 
 With equal piety draws near 
 The holy house of God, 
 
 That rudely rears its rustic head, 
 
 Scarce higher than the Indians’ shed ; 
 
 By Indians only trod.” 
 
 The place was thronged with people, and numbers 
 were standing or sitting round the doors and the outside 
 of the building. When we arrived, they readily made 
 way for us to enter; when a scene, destitute indeed of 
 magnificence and splendour as to the structure itself, or 
 the richness in personal adornment of its inmates, but 
 certainly the most delightful and affecting I had ever 
 beheld, appeared before me. Between five and six hun¬ 
 dred native Christians were there assembled, to worship 
 the true God. Their persons were cleanly, their apparel 
 neat, their countenances either thoughtful, or beaming 
 with serenity and gladness. The heads of the men 
 were uncovered, their hair cut and combed, and their 
 beards shaven. Their dress was generally a pareu round 
 the waist, and a native tiaputa over their shoulders, 
 
158 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 which covered the upper part of the body, excepting the 
 arms. The appearance of the females was equally 
 interesting; the greater part of them wore a neat and 
 tasteful bonnet, made with the rich yellow-tinted 
 cocoa-nut leaf. Their countenances were open and 
 lively; many of them had inserted a small bunch of the 
 fragrant and delicately white gardinia, or Cape jessamine 
 flowers, in their hair ; in addition to which, several of 
 their chief women wore two or three fine native pearls 
 fastened together with finely braided human hair, and 
 hanging pendent from one of their ears, while the other 
 was adorned with a native flower. Their dress was 
 remarkably modest and becoming, being generally what 
 they term ahu bu , which consists of large quantities 
 of beautifully white native cloth, wound round the body, 
 then passed under one arm, and fastened on the other 
 shoulder, leaving uncovered only the neck and face, and 
 part of one arm. 
 
 The assembly maintained the most perfect silence, 
 until Mr. Davies, who officiated on the occasion, and 
 was seated behind the table, which answered the double 
 purpose of a desk for the schoolmaster, and a pulpit for 
 the minister, rose up, and gave out a hymn in the 
 native language. The whole congregation now rose, and 
 many of them joined in the singing. A prayer was then 
 offered, during which the congregation remained stand¬ 
 ing; another hymn was sung; the people then sat down, 
 and listened attentively to a discourse, delivered by the 
 Missionary standing on the ground behind the desk. 
 When this was ended, a short prayer was offered, the 
 benediction pronounced, and the service closed. The 
 assembly dispersed with the utmost propriety and order; 
 many of them, as they passed by, cordially shook me by 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 159 
 
 the hand, and expressed their joy at seeing me among 
 them. My joy, and excitement of feeling, was not less 
 than theirs. There was something so pleasing and 
 novel in their appearance, so peculiar in their voices 
 when singing, and in their native language, both during 
 the prayers and sermon, and something so solemn and 
 earnest in their attention, with such an air of sincerity 
 in devotion during the whole service, that it deeply 
 affected my heart. I was desirous of speaking to them 
 in return, and expressing the grateful satisfaction with 
 which I had beheld their worship ; but the scene before 
 me had taken such a powerful hold of my feelings, that 
 I returned home in silence, filled with astonishment at 
 the change that had taken place, and deeply im¬ 
 pressed with the evidence it afforded of the efficacy of 
 the gospel, and the power of the Almighty. At eleven 
 o’clock I attended public worship in the English 
 language. 
 
 At four in the afternoon the natives again assem¬ 
 bled, and I attended at their worship. Though I 
 could not understand their language, I was pleased 
 with the large attendance, and the serious and earnest 
 manner in which the people listened to an ani¬ 
 mated discourse delivered by Mr. Nott. In the even¬ 
 ing several of the Missionaries met for social worship, and 
 with this sacred exercise we closed our first Sabbath in 
 the Society Islands, under a deep impression of the 
 advantages of Christianity, and the pleasing effects which 
 we had that day witnessed, of Divine influence over the 
 hearts of the most profligate idolaters. 
 
 In the afternoon of the succeeding Sabbaths, I visited 
 a number of Christian chiefs at their own houses. We 
 usually found them either reading together, conversing 
 
160 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 on the contents of their books, or some other religious 
 subject. At Hitoti’s dwelling which, I visited on the 
 second Sabbath after my arrival, the household were 
 about to kneel down for prayer when we entered; we 
 joined them, and several of the petitions which thp chief 
 offered up to God, appeared, when interpreted by my 
 companion, remarkably appropriate and expressive. 
 
 In the course of my first week on shore, I made several 
 excursions in different parts of the district. The soil, 
 in all the level part of the valley, was a rich vegetable 
 mould, with a small portion of alluvial, washed down 
 from the surrounding hills, which are generally covered 
 with a stiff kind of loam or brownish-red ochre. Several 
 large plantations were well stocked with the different 
 productions of the island; but a large portion of the 
 valleys adjacent to the settlement, were altogether uncul¬ 
 tivated, and covered with grass or brush-wood, growing 
 with all the rank luxuriance that a humid atmosphere, a 
 tropical sun, and a fertile soil, would combine to pro¬ 
 duce. 
 
 I also accompanied one of the Missionaries on a voyage 
 to the opposite side of the island, about twenty miles 
 distant from the settlement at Papetoai. Two natives 
 paddled over light single canoe along the smooth water 
 within the reefs till we reached Moru, where we landed, 
 to take some refreshment at the house of a friendly 
 chief. This was the first native meal I had sat down to, 
 and it was served up in true Tahitian style. When the 
 food was ready, we were requested to seat ourselves on 
 the dry grass that covered the floor of the house. A 
 number of the broad leaves of the purau, hibiscus tile- 
 aceus, having the stalks plucked off close to the leaf, 
 were then spread on the ground, in two or three succes- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 161 
 
 sire layers, with the downy or underside upwards, and 
 two or three were handed by a servant to each individual, 
 instead of a plate. By the side of these vegetable plates, 
 a small cocoa-nut shell of salt water was placed for each 
 person. Quantities of fine large bread-fruit, roasted 
 on hot stones, were now peeled and brought in, and a 
 number of fish that had been wrapped in plantain leaves, 
 and broiled on the embers, were placed beside them. 
 A bread-fruit and a fish was handed to each individual, 
 and, having implored a blessing, we began to eat, dip¬ 
 ping every mouthful of bread-fruit or fish into the small 
 vessel of salt water,—-without which, to the natives, it 
 would have been unsavoury and tasteless. I opened the 
 leaves, and found the fish nicely broiled; and, imitating 
 the practice of those around me, dipped several of the 
 first pieces I took into the dish placed by my side : but 
 there was a bitterness in the sea water which rendered 
 it rather unpalatable, I therefore dispensed with the 
 further use of it, and finished my meal with the bread¬ 
 fruit and fish. 
 
 About two o’clock in the afternoon, we resumed our 
 journey; travelling sometimes along the sea-beach, and 
 at other times availing ourselves of the canoe until near 
 sunset, when we reached Afareaitu—and created by our 
 arrival no small stir among the people. 
 
 The next morning we examined the district, and were 
 delighted with its fertility, extent, and resources. 
 Afareaitu is on the eastern side of Eimeo, opposite the 
 district of Atehuru in Tahiti, and is certainly one of the 
 finest districts in the island. It comprises two valleys, 
 or rather one large valley partially divided by a narrow 
 hilly ridge extending from the mountains in the in¬ 
 terior, towards the shore. The soil of the bottom of 
 
 Y 
 
162 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 the valley is rich and fertile, well stocked with cocoa- 
 nuts and bread-fruit trees. The surrounding hills are 
 clothed with shrubs or grass, and the lofty and romantic 
 mountains forming the central boundary, are adorned 
 with trees or bushes even to their summits. Several 
 broad cascades flowed in silvery streams down the sides 
 of the mountain, and, broken occasionally by a jutting 
 rock, presented their sparkling waters in beautiful con¬ 
 trast with the rich and dark foliage of the stately trees, 
 and the flowering shrubs that bordered their course. A 
 number of streams originating in these water-falls pursued 
 their course through the valley, and one, receiving in its 
 way the tributary waters of a number of sequestered 
 streamlets, swelled at times into what in these islands 
 might be called a river, and flowed along the most fertile 
 portions of the district into the sea. 
 
 A small bay was formed by an elliptical indentation of 
 the coast, an opening in the reef opposite the bay ad¬ 
 mitted small vessels to enter, and a picturesque little 
 coral island, adorned with two or three clumps of hibis¬ 
 cus and cocoa-nut trees, added greatly to the beauty of 
 its appearance. There was no swamp or marshy 
 land between the shore and the mountains ; the ground 
 was high, and the whole district not only remarkably 
 beautiful, but apparently dry and healthy. The abun¬ 
 dance of natural productions, the apparent salubrity of 
 the air, the convenience of the stream of water, the 
 facility of the harbour, combined to recommend it as 
 an eligible spot for at least the temporary residence of 
 a part of the Missionaries. We therefore waited on the 
 principal chiefs, one of whom had accompanied us from 
 Papetoai, and inquired if it would be agreeable to them 
 for us to come and reside there. They expressed 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 163 
 
 themselves pleased with the prospect of such an event, 
 and promised every assistance in the erection of our houses, 
 &c. Having accomplished the object of our visit, we 
 left Afareaitu, and returned to Papetoai the same evening. 
 
 The circumstances of the inhabitants of the wind¬ 
 ward and leeward islands, most of whom had renounced 
 idolatry, and their earnest desire to receive religious 
 instruction, rendered it exceedingly desirable, that the 
 Missionaries should no longer remain altogether at Pa¬ 
 petoai, but establish themselves in the different islands; 
 but the vessel which they had commenced building in 
 1813, being still unfinished, and the anticipation of a con¬ 
 siderable accession to their numbers, induced them to 
 defer forming any new station, until such reinforcement 
 should arrive. 
 
 The natives in the several islands were in want, not 
 only of teachers, but also of books. I had taken out a 
 printing-press and types, and having, at the request of 
 the Directors, learned the art of printing in England, 
 it was proposed, that as a temporary measure, to supply 
 the existing demand for books, the press should be 
 set up at Afareaitu. By this arrangement two stations 
 would be formed in Eimeo, and the whole of the inhabi¬ 
 tants be brought more fully under religious instruction. 
 In order to carry these plans into effect, we left Papetoai 
 on the 25th of March, with Mr. Davies, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Crook and family. Mrs. Ellis, and myself, with an 
 infant and her nurse, set out in a native canoe, having 
 most of our goods and luggage on board. Mr. Crook and 
 family preceded us in a fine large double canoe, called 
 “Tiaitoerau ” literally “ wait for the west wind,” from 
 tiai to wait, and toerau west wind. It was between 
 thirty and forty feet in length, very strong, and, as a 
 
164 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 piece of native workmanship* well built. The keel* or 
 bottom* was formed with a number of pieces of tough 
 Tamanu wood* inophyllum callophyllum * twelve or six¬ 
 teen inches broad* and two inches thick* hollowed on 
 the inside* and rounded without* so as to form a convex 
 angle along the bottom of the canoe; these were fastened 
 together by lacings of tough elastic cinet* made with the 
 fibres of the cocoa-nut husk. On the front end of the keel, 
 a solid piece* cut out of the trunk of a tree* so contrived as 
 to constitute the forepart of the canoe ; was fixed with the 
 same lashing; and on the upper part of it* a thick board 
 or plank projected horizontally* and formed a line 
 parallel with the surface of the water. This front piece* 
 usually five or six feet long* and twelve or eighteen inches 
 wide* was called the ihu vaa y nose of the canoe* and* 
 without any joining* comprised the stem* bows* and 
 bowsprit of the vessel. 
 
 The sides of the canoe were composed of two lines 
 of short plank or board* an inch and a half or two 
 inches thick. The lowest line was convex on the 
 outside* and nine or twelve inches broad; the upper 
 one straight. The stern was considerably elevated* 
 the keel was inclined upwards* and the lower part 
 of the stern resembled the bottom of a pointed shield* 
 while the upper part of the 1100 * or stern* was nine or 
 ten feet above the level of the sides. The whole was 
 fastened together with cinet* not continued along the 
 seams* but by two* or at most* three holes made in each 
 board* within an inch of each other* and corresponding 
 holes made in the opposite piece* and the cinet passed 
 through from one to the other. A space of nine inches 
 or a foot was left* and then a similar set of holes 
 made. The joints or seams were not grooved together* 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 165 
 
 but the edge of one simply laid on that of the other, and 
 fitted with remarkable exactness by the adze of the work¬ 
 man, guided only by his eye : they never used line or rule. 
 The edges of their planks were usually covered with a 
 kind of pitch or gum from the bread-fruit tree, and a 
 thin layer of cocoa-nut husk spread between them. 
 The husk of the cocoa-nut swelling when in contact 
 with the water, fills any apertures that may exist, and, 
 considering the manner in which they are put together, 
 the canoes are pften remarkably dry. The two canoes 
 forming Tiaitoerau, which was a double one, were fasten¬ 
 ed together by strong curved pieces of wood, placed hori¬ 
 zontally across the upper edges of the canoes, to which 
 they were fixed by strong lashings of thick cinet. 
 
 Skreened Canoe . 
 
 The space between the two bowsprits, or broad 
 planks projecting from the front of our canoe, was 
 covered with boards, and furnished a platform of con¬ 
 siderable extent; over this a kind of temporary awning 
 of platted cocoa-nut leaves was spread, and under it 
 the passengers sat during the voyage. The upper part 
 of each of the canoes was not above twelve or fifteen 
 inches wide; little projections were formed on the inner 
 part of the sides, on which small moveable thwarts or 
 seats were fixed, whereon the men sat who paddled it 
 
166 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 along, while the luggage was either placed in the bot¬ 
 tom, piled up against the stern, or laid on the elevated 
 stage between the two canoes. The heat of the sun 
 was extreme, and we found that our rustic awning 
 afforded a grateful shade. 
 
 The rowers appeared to labour hard. Their paddles, 
 being made of the tough wood of the hibiscus, were 
 not heavy; yet, having no pins in the sides of the 
 canoe, against which the handles of the paddles could 
 bear, but leaning the whole body over the canoe, first 
 on one side, and then on the other, and working the 
 paddle with one hand near the blade, and the other 
 at the upper end of the handle, and shovelling as it 
 were the water, appeared a great waste of strength. 
 They often, however, paddle for a time with remarkable 
 swiftness, keeping time with the greatest regularity. The 
 steersman stands or sits in the stern, w T ith a large paddle; 
 the rowers sit in each canoe two or three feet apart, the 
 leader sits next, the steersman gives the signal to start, 
 by striking his paddle violently against the side of the 
 canoe, every paddle is then put in and taken out of the 
 water with every stroke at the same moment; and after 
 they have thus continued on one side for five or six 
 minutes, the leader strikes his paddle, and the rowers 
 instantly and simultaneously turn to the other side, and 
 thus alternately working on each side of the canoe, they 
 go along at a considerable rate. There is generally a 
 good deal of striking the paddle when a chief leaves or 
 approaches the shore, and the effect pretty much resem¬ 
 bles that of the smacking of the whip, or sounding of 
 the horn, at the starting or arrival of a coach. 
 
 The isolated situation of the islanders, and their 
 dependence on the sea for a large proportion of the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 167 
 
 means of subsistence, necessarily impart a maritime 
 character to their habits, and render the building, 
 fitting, and managing of the vessels one of the most 
 general and important of their avocations. It also 
 procures no small respect and emolument for the 
 Tahua tarai vaa , builder of canoes. Vaa waa , or 
 vafca, is the name of a canoe, in most of the islands of 
 the Pacific; though by foreigners they are uniformly 
 called canoes, a name first given to this sort of boat 
 by the natives of the Caribbean Islands,* and adopted by 
 Europeans ever since, to designate the rude boats used 
 by the uncivilized natives in every part of the world. 
 
 The canoes of the Society Islanders are various, both 
 in size and shape, and are double or single. The canoes 
 belonging to the principal chiefs, and the vaa mataaina, 
 public district canoes, were in general large—fifty, sixty, 
 or nearly seventy feet long, and each about two feet 
 wide, and three or four feet deep; the sterns 
 remarkably high, sometimes fifteen or eighteen feet above 
 the water, and frequently ornamented with rudely carved 
 hollow cylinders, square pieces, or grotesque figures, 
 called tiis. The rank or dignity of a chief was supposed, 
 in some degree, to be indicated by the size of his canoe, 
 the carving and ornaments with which it was embellish¬ 
 ed, and the number of his rowers.—Next in size to 
 these was the pahi, or war canoe. I never saw but 
 one of these: the stern was low, and covered, so as 
 to afford a shelter from the stones of the assailants; 
 the bottom was round, the upper part of the sides 
 
 * After his first interview with the natives of the newly discovered 
 islands, in the Caribbean sea, we are informed by Robertson, that Co¬ 
 lumbus returned to his ship, accompanied by many of the islanders in 
 their boats, which they called canoes ; and though rudely formed out of 
 the trunk of a single tree, they rowed them with surprising dexterity. 
 
168 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 was narrower, and perpendicular; a rude imitation of 
 the human head, or some other grotesque figure, was 
 carved on the stern of each canoe. The stern, often ele¬ 
 vated and curved like the neck of a swan, terminated in 
 the carved figure of a bird’s head, and the whole was 
 more solid and compact than the other vessels. There 
 was a kind of platform in the front, or generally near the 
 centre, on which the fighting men were stationed : these 
 canoes were sometimes sixty feet long, between three 
 and four feet deep, and with their platforms in front, or in 
 the centre, were capable of holding fifty fighting men.* 
 
 War Canoe . 
 
 The vaatii, or sacred canoe, was always strong and large, 
 more highly ornamented with carving and feathers than 
 any of the others. Small houses were erected in each, 
 and the image of the god, sometimes in the shape 
 of a large bird, at other times resembling a hollow 
 cylinder ornamented with various coloured feathers, 
 
 * In Cook’s voyages, a description is given of some, one hundred and 
 eight feet long; but I never saw any so large. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 169 
 
 was kept in these houses. Here the prayers were 
 frequently preferred, and the sacrifices offered. 
 
 Their war canoes were generally strong, well built, 
 and highly ornamented. They formerly possessed 
 large and magnificent fleets of these, and other 
 large canoes ; and, at their general public meetings, or 
 festivals, no small portion of the entertainment was 
 derived from the regattas, or naval reviews, in which 
 the whole fleet, ornamented with carved images, and 
 decorated with flags and streamers, of various native 
 coloured cloth, went through the different tactics with 
 great precision. On these occasions the crews by which 
 they were navigated, anxious to gain the plaudits of 
 the king and chiefs, emulated each other in the exhibi¬ 
 tion of their seamanship. The vaatii, or sacred canoes, 
 formed part of every fleet, and were generally the most 
 imposing in appearance, and attractive in their decora¬ 
 tions. 
 
 The peculiar and almost classical shape of the large 
 Tahitian canoes, the elevated prow and stern, the rude 
 figures, carving, and other ornaments, the loose folding 
 drapery of the natives on board, and the maritime aspect 
 of their general places of abode, are all adapted to pro¬ 
 duce a singular effect on the mind of the beholder. I 
 have often thought, when I have seen a fleet of thirty 
 or forty approaching the shore, that they exhibited no 
 faint representation of the ships in which the Argonauts 
 sailed, or the vessels that conveyed the heroes of Homer 
 to the siege of Troy. 
 
 Every canoe, of any size, had a distinct name, 
 always arbitrary, but frequently descriptive of some 
 real or imaginary excellence in the canoe, or in memory 
 of some event connected with it. Neither the names 
 
 z 
 
170 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of any of their gods, or chiefs, were ever given to their 
 vessels; such an act, instead of being considered an 
 honour, would have been deemed the greatest insult 
 that could have been offered. The names of canoes, in 
 some instances, appear to have been perpetuated, as the 
 king’s state canoe was always called Anuanua, or the rain¬ 
 bow. The most general and useful kind of canoe is 
 the tipairua, or common double canoe, usually from 
 twenty to thirty feet long, strong and capacious, with 
 a projection from the stem, and a low shield-shaped 
 stern. These are very valuable, and usually form the 
 mode of conveyance for every chief of respectability or 
 influence, in the island. They are also used to 
 transport provisions, or other goods, from one place 
 to another. 
 
 They have also a remarkably neat double canoe, 
 called Maihi, or twins, each of which is made out of a 
 single tree, and are both exactly alike. The stem and stern 
 are usually sharp; although, occasionally, there is a 
 small board projecting from each stem. These are 
 light, safe, and swift, easily managed, and seldom used 
 but by the chiefs. A canoe of this kind was a favourite 
 conveyance with the late king Pomare. 
 
 The single canoes are built in the same manner, 
 and with the same materials, as the double ones. 
 Their usual name is tipaihoe , single landing, and they 
 are more various in their kind than the others. The 
 small buhoe , the literal name of which is single shell, 
 is generally a trunk of a tree, seldom more than twenty 
 feet in length, rounded on the outside, and hollow 
 within; sometimes sharp at both ends, though generally 
 only at the stem. It is used by fishermen among the 
 reefs, and also along the shore, and in shallow water, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 171 
 
 seldom carrying more than two persons. The single 
 maihi is only a neater kind of buhoe. 
 
 The vaa motu, island-canoe, is generally a large, 
 strong, single vessel, built for sailing, and principally 
 used in distant voyages, from one island to another. 
 In addition to the ordinary edge, or gunwale, of the 
 canoe, planks, twelve or fifteen inches wide, are fastened 
 along their sides, after the manner of wash-boards in a 
 European boat. The same are also added to double 
 canoes, when employed on long voyages. A single 
 vaa is never used without an outrigger, varying in 
 size with the vessel \ it is usually formed with a light 
 spar of the hibiscus, or of the erythrina, which was 
 highly prized as an ama, or outrigger, on account of its 
 being both light and strong. This is always placed 
 on the left side, and fastened to the canoe by two hori¬ 
 zontal poles, from five to eight feet long; the front one 
 is straight and firm, the other curved and elastic ; it is 
 so fixed, that the bark, when empty, does not float 
 upright, being rather inclined to the left; but, when 
 sunk into the water, on being laden, &c. it is generally 
 erect, while the outrigger, which is firmly and in¬ 
 geniously fastened to the sides by repeated bands of 
 strong cinet, floats on the surface. In addition to this, 
 the island-canoes have a strong plank, twelve or fourteen 
 feet long, fastened horizontally across the centre, in an 
 inclined position, one end attached to the outrigger, and 
 the other extending five or six feet over the opposite 
 side, and perhaps elevated four or five feet above the sea. 
 A small railing of rods is fastened along the sides of 
 this plank, and it is designed to assist the navigators in 
 balancing the keel, as a native takes his station on the 
 one side or the other, to counteract the inclination which 
 
1^2 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the wind or sea might give to the vessel. Sometimes 
 they approach the shore with a native standing or sitting 
 on the extremity of the plank, and presenting a singular 
 appearance, which it is impossible to behold without 
 expecting every undulation of the sea will detach him 
 from his apparently insecure situation, and precipitate him 
 into the water. 
 
 Single , or Island Canoe . 
 
 This kind of canoe is principally employed in the voyages 
 which the natives make to Tetuaroa , a cluster of islands, 
 five in number; the names of which are Rimatu, Onehoa, 
 Moturua, Hoatere, and Reiona ; these are enclosed in one 
 reef, in w’hich there is an opening on the north-west, but 
 only such as to admit, and that with difficulty, their own 
 canoes. The whole cluster is called Tetuaroa. They are 
 low coralline islands, the highest parts being not more than 
 three or four feet above the water, and the only soil they 
 contain is composed of sand and fragments of coral, with 
 which is mingled vegetable mould produced on the 
 islands, or carried from Tahiti. The chief article of food 
 produced in these islands is the fruit of the cocoa-nut 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 173 
 
 tree; with extensive and verdant groves of which they 
 are adorned. They seem, at a distance, as if they were 
 growing on the surface of the water, and the roots and 
 stems of many are washed by the spray, or by the tide, 
 when it rises a few inches higher than usual. Upon the 
 kernel of the cocoa-nut, and the fish taken among the 
 reefs, the inhabitants principally subsist. 
 
 Tetuaroa , the long, or distant, sea, is part of the here¬ 
 ditary possessions of the reigning family, and is attached 
 to the district of Pare. Most of the inhabitants of these 
 little islets occupy, under the king, a part of his own 
 land, from which they are supplied with bread-fruit and 
 taro. They are much employed in fishing, and formerly 
 brought over large quantities of fish, carrying to the islands 
 in return bread-fruit, and other edible productions of 
 Tahiti. In the wars which disturbed the conclusion of 
 the reign of Pomare the First, and the commencement of 
 that of his successor, many of the inhabitants were cut off; 
 and the decrease of population, thus occasioned, has dimi¬ 
 nished the intercourse between these islands and Tahiti. 
 
 In addition to the fishery carried on here, Tetuaroa has 
 long been a kind of watering-place for the royal family, 
 and a frequent resort for what might be called the 
 fashionable and gay of Tahiti.—Hither the areois, dan¬ 
 cers, and singers, were accustomed to repair, together 
 with those whose lives were professedly devoted to indo¬ 
 lent pleasures. It was also frequented by the females of 
 the higher class, for the purposes of haapori , increas¬ 
 ing the corpulency of their persons, and i*emoving, by 
 luxurious ease under the embowering shade of the 
 cocoa-nut groves, the dark tinge which the vertical sun 
 of Tahiti might have burnt upon the complexions. So 
 great was the intercourse formerly, that a hundred of 
 
174 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES 
 
 these island-canoes have been seen at a time upon the 
 beach of Tetuaroa. 
 
 In navigating their double canoes, the natives frequently 
 use two sails, but in their single vessels only one. The masts 
 are moveable, and are only raised when the sails are used. 
 They are slightly fixed upon a kind of step placed across 
 the canoe, and fastened by strong ropes or braces extending 
 to both sides, and to the stem and stern. The sails were 
 made with the leaves of the pandanus split into thin 
 strips, neatly woven into a kind of matting. The shape 
 of the sails of the island-canoes is singular, the 
 side attached to the mast is straight, the outer part 
 resembling the section of an oval, cut in the longest 
 direction. The other sails are commonly used in the 
 same manner as sprit or lugger sails are used in 
 European boats. The ropes from the corners of the sails 
 are not usually fastened, but held in the hands of the 
 natives. The rigging is neither varied nor complex ; 
 the cordage is made with the twisted bark of the hibiscus, 
 or the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk—of which a very good 
 coiar rope is manufactured. 
 
 The paddles of the Tahitians are plain, having a 
 smooth round handle, and an oblong-shaped blade. Their 
 canoes have no rudder, but are steered by a man in the 
 stern, with a paddle generally longer than the rest. In long 
 voyages they have two or three steering paddles, in¬ 
 cluding a very large one, which they employ in stormy 
 weather, to prevent the vessel from drifting to leeward. 
 The tataa , or scoop, with which they bale out the 
 leakage, is generally a neat and convenient article, cut 
 out of a solid piece of wood. Their canoes were 
 formerly ornamented with streamers of various coloured 
 cloths, and tufts of fringe and tassels of feathers were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 175 
 
 attached to the masts and sails, though they are now 
 seldom used. A small kind of house or awning was 
 erected in the centre, or attached to the stern, to skreen 
 the passengers from the sun by day and the damp by 
 night. The latter is still used, though the former is but 
 seldom seen. They do not appear ever to have orna¬ 
 mented the body or hull of their vessels with carving or 
 painting; but, notwithstanding this seeming deficiency, 
 they had by no means an unfinished appearance. 
 
 In building their vessels, all the parts were first accu¬ 
 rately fitted to each other, the whole was taken to pieces, 
 and the outside of each plank smoothed by rubbing it 
 with a piece of coral and sand moistened with water ; 
 it was then dried, and polished with fine dry coral. The 
 wood was generally of a rich yellow colour, the cinet 
 nearly the same, and a new well-built canoe is perhaps 
 one of the best specimens of native skill, ingenuity, and 
 perseverance, to be seen in the islands. Most of the 
 natives can hollow out a buhoe, but it is only those who 
 have been regularly trained to the work, that can build 
 a large canoe, and in this there is a considerable division 
 of labour,—some laying down the keel and building the 
 hull, some making and fixing the sails, and others 
 fastening the outriggers, or adding the ornaments. The 
 principal chiefs usually kept canoe-builders attached to 
 their establishments, but the inferior chiefs generally 
 hired workmen, paying them a given number of pigs, or 
 fathoms of cloth, for a canoe, and finding them in pro¬ 
 vision while they are employed. The trees that are cut 
 down in the mountains, or the interior of the islands, are 
 often hollowed out there, sometimes by burning, but 
 generally by the adze, or cut into the shape designed 
 and then brought down to the shore. 
 
176 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Idolatry was interwoven with their naval architecture, 
 as well as every other pursuit. The priest had certain 
 ceremonies to perform, and numerous and costly 
 offerings were made to the gods of the chief, and of the 
 craft or profession, when the keel was laid down, when 
 the canoe was finished, and when it was launched. 
 Valuable canoes were often among the national offerings 
 presented to the gods, being ever afterwards sacred to 
 the service of the idol. 
 
 The double canoes of the Society Islands were larger, 
 and more imposing in appearance, than most of those 
 used in New Zealand or the Sandwich Islands, but by 
 no means so strong as the former, nor so neat and light 
 as the latter. I have, however, made several voyages 
 in them. In fine weather, and with a fair wind, they 
 are tolerably safe and comfortable; but when the weather 
 is rough, and the wind contrary, they are miserable sea- 
 boats, and are tossed about completely at the mercy of 
 the winds. Many of the natives that have set out on 
 voyages from one island to another have been carried 
 from the group altogether, and have either perished at 
 sea, or drifted to some distant island. 
 
 In long voyages, single canoes are considered safer 
 than double ones, as the latter are sometimes broken 
 asunder, and are then unmanageable; but, even though 
 the former should fill or upset at sea, as the wood is 
 specifically lighter than the water, there is no fear of 
 their sinking. When a canoe is upset or fills, the 
 natives on board jump into the sea, and all taking hold of 
 one end, which they press down, so as to elevate the 
 other end considerably above the sea, a great part of the 
 water runs out; they then suddenly loose their hold of 
 the canoe, which falls upon the water, emptied in some 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 177 
 
 degree of its contents. Swimming along by the side of 
 it, they bale out the rest, and then climb into it again, 
 and pursue their voyage. This has frequently been the 
 case ; and, unless the canoe is broken by upsetting or 
 filling, they are seldom prevented from accomplishing 
 their voyage. The only evil they fear in such circum¬ 
 stances is that of being attacked by sharks, which have 
 sometimes made sad havock among those who have 
 been wrecked at sea. 
 
 An instance of this kind occurred a few years ago, 
 when a number of chiefs and people, all together thirty- 
 two, were passing from one island to another, in a large 
 double canoe. They were overtaken by a severe tempest, 
 the violence of which tore their canoes asunder, and 
 separated them from the horizontal spars by which they 
 were united. It was in vain for them to endeavour to 
 place them upright, or empty out the water, for they 
 could not keep them in an erect position, nor prevent 
 their incessant overturning. As their only resource, they 
 collected the scattered spars and boards, and constructed 
 a raft, on which they hoped they might drift to land. 
 The weight of the whole number, who were now col¬ 
 lected on the raft, was so great as to sink it so far below 
 the surface, that they sometimes stood above their knees 
 in water. They made very little progress, and soon 
 became exhausted by fatigue and hunger. In this con¬ 
 dition they were attacked by a number of sharks. 
 Destitute of a knife, or any other weapon of defence, 
 they fell an easy prey to these rapacious monsters. One 
 after another was seized and devoured, or carried away 
 by them; and the survivors, who with dreadful anguish 
 beheld their companions thus destroyed, saw the num¬ 
 ber of assailants apparently increasing, as each body 
 
 2 A 
 
178 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 was carried away, until only two or three remained. 
 The raft, thus lightened of its load, rose to the sur¬ 
 face of the water, and placed them beyond the reach 
 of the voracious jaws of their relentless destroyers. 
 The voyage on which they had set out, was only 
 from one of the Society Islands to another, conse¬ 
 quently they were not very far from land. The tide 
 and the current now carried them to the shore, where 
 they landed, to tell the melancholy fate of their fellow- 
 voyagers. 
 
 But for the sharks, the South Sea Islanders would 
 be in comparatively but little danger from casualties 
 in their voyages among the islands; and although 
 when armed they have sometimes been known to 
 attack a shark in the water, yet when destitute of a 
 knife or other weapon, they become an easy prey, 
 and are consequently much terrified at such merciless 
 antagonists. 
 
 Another circumstance also, that added to this dread 
 of sharks, was, the superstitious ideas they entertained 
 relative to some of the species. Although they 
 would not only kill, but eat certain kinds of shark ; 
 the large blue sharks, squalus glaucus , were deified by 
 them, and, rather than attempt to destroy them, they 
 would endeavour to propitiate their favour by prayers 
 and offerings. Temples were erected, in which 
 priests officiated, and offerings were presented to the 
 deified sharks, while fishermen and others, who were 
 much at sea, sought their favour. Many ludicrous 
 legends were formerly in circulation among the people, 
 relative to the regard paid by the sharks at sea, to 
 priests of their temples, whom they were always said to 
 recognize, and never to injure. I received one from 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 179 
 
 the mouth of a man 5 formerly a priest of an akua mao, 
 shark god; but it is too absurd to be recorded. The 
 principal motives, however, by which the people appear 
 to have been influenced in their homage to these crea¬ 
 tures, was the same that operated on their minds in refe¬ 
 rence to other acts of idolatry; it was the principle 
 of fear, and a desire to avoid destruction, in the event 
 of being exposed to their anger at sea. 
 
 The superstitious fears of the people have now 
 entirely ceased. I was once in a boat, on a voyage 
 to Borabora, when a ravenous shark approaching 
 the boat, seized the blade of one of the oars, and being 
 detached from that, darted at the keel of the boat, 
 which he attempted to bite. While he was thus em¬ 
 ployed, the native whose oar he had seized, leaning 
 over the side of the boat, grasped him by the tail, suc¬ 
 ceeded in lifting him out of the water, and, with the 
 help of his companions, dragged him alive into the 
 boat, where he began to flounder and strike his tail 
 with great rage and violence. We were climbing up 
 on the seats out of his way, but the natives, giving 
 him two or three blows on the nose with a small 
 wooden mallet, quieted him, and then cut off his head. 
 We landed the same evening, when I believe they baked 
 and ate him. 
 
 The single canoes, though safer at sea, were yet liable 
 to accident, notwithstanding the outrigger, which re¬ 
 quired to be fixed with care, to prevent them from 
 upsetting. To the natives this is a matter of slight 
 inconvenience, but to a foreigner it is not always plea¬ 
 sant or safe. Mrs. Osmond, Mrs. Barf, Mrs. Ellis, and 
 myself, with our two children, and one or two natives, 
 were once crossing the small harbour at Fare, in Hua- 
 
180 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 hine; a female servant was sitting in the fore part of 
 the canoe, with our little girl in her arms, our little 
 boy was at his mother’s breast, and a native, with a 
 long light pole, was paddling the canoe along, when 
 a small buhoe, with a native youth sitting in it, darted 
 out from behind a bush that hung over the water, and 
 before we could turn, or the youth could stop his canoe, 
 it ran across our outrigger. This in an instant went down, 
 our canoe was turned bottom upwards, and the whole 
 party precipitated into the sea. The sun had set soon 
 after we started from the opposite side, and the twilight 
 being very short, the shades of evening had already 
 thickened around us, and prevented the natives on the shore 
 from perceiving our situation. The native woman held 
 our little girl up with one hand, and swam with the 
 other towards the shore, aiding, as well as she could, 
 Mrs. Osmond, who had caught hold of her dark hair, 
 which floated on the water behind her; Mrs. Barf, on 
 rising to the surface, caught hold of the outrigger of 
 the canoe that had occasioned our disaster, and, call¬ 
 ing out for help, informed the people on the shore 
 of our danger, and speedily brought them to our 
 assistance. 
 
 Mr. Osmond no sooner reached the beach, than he 
 plunged into the sea; Mrs. O. leaving the native by 
 whom she had been supported, caught hold of her hus¬ 
 band, and not only prevented his swimming, but sunk 
 him so deep in the water, that, but for the timely arrival 
 of the natives, both would probably have found a watery 
 grave. Mahine-vahine, the queen, sprang in, and con¬ 
 veyed Mrs. Barf to the shore. I came up on the side 
 opposite to that on which the canoe had turned over, 
 and found Mrs. Ellis struggling in the water, with the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 181 
 
 child still at her breast. I immediately climbed upon the 
 canoe, and raised her so far out of the water, as to allow 
 the little boy to breathe, till a small canoe came off to 
 our assistance, into which she was taken, when I swam 
 to the shore, grateful for the deliverance we had expe¬ 
 rienced. 
 
 It was not far from the beach where this occurred, yet 
 the water was deep, and several articles which we had in 
 the canoe, were seen the next day lying at the bottom, 
 among coral and sand, seventeen or eighteen fathoms 
 below the surface. Accidents of this kind, however, 
 occur but seldom ; and though we have made many voy¬ 
 ages, this is the only occasion on which we have been 
 in danger. 
 
 The natives of the eastern isles frequently come down 
 to the Society Islands in large double canoes, which the 
 Tahitians dignify with the name of pahi, the term for 
 a ship. They are built with much smaller pieces of 
 wood than those employed in the structure of the Tahi¬ 
 tian canoes, as the low coralline islands produce but 
 very small kinds of timber, yet they are much superior 
 both for strength, convenience, and sustaining a tempest 
 at sea. They are always double, and one canoe has a 
 permanent covered residence for the crew. The two 
 masts are also stationary, and a kind of ladder, or 
 wooden shroud, extends from the sides to the head of 
 the mast. The sails are large, and made with fine 
 matting. Several of the principal chiefs possess a pahi 
 paumotu, which they use as a more safe and convenient 
 mode of conveyance than their own canoes. One canoe, 
 that brought over a chief from Rurutu, upwards of three 
 hundred miles, was very large. It was somewhat in the 
 shape of a crescent, the stem and stern high and pointed. 
 
182 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and the sides deep ; the depth from the upper edge of the 
 middle to the keel, was not less than twelve feet. It was 
 built with thick planks of the Barringtonia, some of which 
 were four feet wide; they were sewn together with cocoa- 
 nut cinet, and although they brought the chief safely, 
 probably more than six hundred miles, they must 
 have been very ungovernable and unsafe in a storm or 
 heavy sea. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 183 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Account of the remarkable change in the South Sea Islands—Discourag¬ 
 ing impressions under which the Missionaries abandoned the islands— 
 Invitation from Pomare to return—State of the king’s mind during his 
 exile in Eimeo—His reception of the Missionaries—Death of three of 
 their number—Influence of domestic bereavement on the Missionary 
 life—Pomare’s profession of Christianity—Application for baptism— 
 Demonstration of the impotency of their idols—Proposal to erect a 
 place of worship—Extracts from his correspondence—Influence of his 
 steady adherence to Christianity—Ridicule and persecution to which 
 he was exposed—Visit of Missionaries to Tahiti—Oitu and Tuahine— 
 Description of the scenery of the valleys in Tahiti—Explanations of 
 the plate of Matavai. 
 
 Previous to our embarkation from England, we had 
 heard that a favourable change, in regard to Christianity, 
 had taken place, in the minds of the king of Tahiti and 
 a few of the people. On our arrival in Port Jackson, 
 this intelligence was confirmed, and we were also 
 encouraged by the accounts we received of the abolition 
 of idolatry by the whole of the inhabitants of the 
 Georgian or Windward Islands. 
 
 Here we also saw the family idols of Pomare, which 
 had been sent from the islands to be forwarded to 
 England, as specimens of the objects they had been 
 accustomed to worship. When we reached the islands, 
 we found, not only that the reports we had heard 
 were correct, but that the change had progressively 
 advanced, becoming daily more extensive in its influence. 
 
184 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and decisive in its character, and that the whole of the 
 inhabitants were no longer idolaters, but either pro¬ 
 fessors of Christianity, or desirous to receive religious 
 instruction. 
 
 We had now spent some weeks with the Missionaries 
 and people at Papetoai; this had afforded us the means 
 of learning from those who had been on the spot, 
 many of the particulars connected with this amazing and 
 important work. We had also witnessed something of 
 its effects in the conversation and deportment of numbers 
 who had experienced its moral influence, and evinced 
 its benign and elevating power. It was naturally a 
 matter of the deepest interest to a Missionary’s mind, 
 important in all its bearings on the object nearest to 
 his heart, and first in the aims and the purposes of 
 his life. 
 
 The accounts given by the Missionaries, on my first 
 arrival, and the many interesting facts which subsequently 
 came to my knowledge, when I had acquired such an 
 acquaintance with the language of the people, as to be 
 able to pursue my inquiries among them, have not only 
 excited the highest delight, but convinced me, that, in the 
 circumstances under which the change occurred, the 
 agency by which it was accomplished, and the per¬ 
 manency of its effects, it is altogether one of the 
 most remarkable displays of Divine power that has 
 occurred in the history of mankind, and is, perhaps, 
 unparalleled since the days of the apostles. Detached 
 notices of this event have been transmitted to Eng¬ 
 land in the letters of the Missionaries, and in the 
 different publications of the Missionary Society. No 
 connected and regular account has, however, yet been 
 furnished ; and, notwithstanding all that has been 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 185 
 
 recorded, it may still be affirmed in the language of the 
 deputation sent by the Society to the South Seas, that 
 ce God has indeed done great things here.” 
 
 It is much to be regretted, that the Missionaries 
 on the spot—who were intimately acquainted with every 
 indication of the moral and spiritual process that 
 was going on, even in its incipient stages, and every 
 event which marked its gradual development, until, in 
 the language of the natives on another but similar 
 occasion, it burst upon them like the light of the morn¬ 
 ing—did not, at the time, prepare a full and particular 
 account of the work which, under God, they had been 
 instrumental in effecting: but their motto always was, 
 to “ say too little rather than too much,” to persevere 
 in labour, rather than employ their time in detailing 
 their engagements; and to exercise the greatest caution 
 and brevity in speaking of any thing connected with 
 themselves, or the people around them, lest subsequent 
 events should disappoint the anticipations which present 
 favourable appearances might originate. This pru¬ 
 dential reserve, on some accounts, cannot be too highly 
 commended; yet, it is possible to carry it too far; 
 and, in the present instance, however honourable to 
 the individuals who maintained it, it cannot be 
 doubted that the world has been thereby deprived of 
 a full record of events, intimately connected with the 
 destinies of the people among whom they transpired, 
 and with the propagation of the gospel in the most 
 distant parts of the world, during every future age 
 of the Christian church. 
 
 Before proceeding to narrate the leading matters 
 connected with our residence in Afareaitu, some 
 account of that change may, perhaps, be neither impro- 
 
 2 B 
 
186 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 perly nor unacceptably introduced in this place, 
 where our Missionary life may be said to have com¬ 
 menced. It was on my first arrival in Eimeo, that the 
 accounts of this work, although partial, produced the 
 greatest effect on my own mind, and left an impression 
 that was only deepened by subsequent details from the 
 natives themselves; and which, through whatever scenes 
 I may yet pass, will never be effaced. I would, how¬ 
 ever, only offer it as a substitute for the more explicit 
 statement which my predecessors in the islands might 
 render; and if, by attracting their attention to the 
 subject, I should induce them to furnish such a deside¬ 
 ratum, my attempts will not have been altogether in vain. 
 Should this be elicited, they will confer no ordinary 
 benefit on the cause of Missions, and afford great satis¬ 
 faction to the Christian world. 
 
 In the year 1809, Mr. Nott alone remained with 
 the king and the people in the island of Eimeo; 
 the other Missionaries, with the exception of 
 Mr. Hayward, removed from Huahine to Port Jack- 
 son. Although the gospel had been fully, faithfully, 
 and constantly preached, for some years in Tahiti, 
 occasionally in most of the other islands, and many of 
 the people had imbibed a tolerably clear speculative 
 knowledge of the leading doctrines taught in the sacred 
 volume, yet there was no individual on whom they could 
 look, as having been benefited by their instructions—no 
 one whose mind was savingly enlightened, or whose 
 heart had experienced any moral change. Discouraging 
 as these circumstances were, the Missionaries would not 
 have abandoned their station, but for the destruction with 
 which the civil war, and the defeat of the king, seriously 
 threatened them; and, in addition to this darkened aspect 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 187 
 
 of affairs, as it regarded the success of their enterprise, 
 the state of feeling bordering on hopeless despair, under 
 which they departed from the islands, greatly augmented 
 their distress. 
 
 While in Port Jackson, they received affectionate and 
 encouraging letters from the Society, and their friends 
 in England, and communications of a most touching, 
 yet confident kind, from the king, who invited their 
 return. 
 
 The way being thus opened for the resumption 
 of their work, and depending on the blessing of God, 
 they again embarked, in the autumn of 1811, for the 
 islands. During their absence, Pomare had remained 
 excluded from his hereditary dominions, and in exile on 
 the island of Eimeo. Whether the melancholy reverses 
 he had experienced, and the depression of spirits con¬ 
 sequent upon the dissolution of his government, and the 
 desolation of his family, led him to doubt the truth of 
 that system of idol-worship to which he had been 
 devoted, and on which he had invariably relied for suc¬ 
 cess in every military, civil, and political enterprise, 
 or whether the leisure it afforded for contemplation 
 and inquiry, under the influence of these feelings, 
 inclined him to reflect more seriously on the truth 
 of those declarations he had often heard respecting 
 the true God, and to consider his present condition as 
 the chastening of that Being whom he had refused 
 to acknowledge,—it is impossible to determine; but 
 these disastrous events had evidently subdued his 
 spirit, and softened his heart. 
 
 When the Missionaries who returned from Port Jack- 
 son landed in Eimeo, the king received them with the 
 warmest demonstrations of joy. Mr. and Mrs. Bicknell, 
 
188 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the first who arrived, resided some time in the same 
 house with him. He spent much of his time in reading 
 and writing, in conversation, and in earnest inquiry 
 about God, and the way of acceptance with Him,—and 
 sometimes spoke in terms astonishing even to the Mis¬ 
 sionaries themselves. One or two other natives appeared 
 also favourably impressed in regard to the religion 
 of the Bible. Under these auspicious appearances, 
 although prevented by the unsettled state of Tahiti from 
 resuming their station in Matavai, the Missionaries were 
 enabled to commence their labours in the island of 
 Eimeo. They also indulged a hope of establishing a 
 Mission in Raiatea, one of the Leeward or Society 
 Islands, when a series of domestic trials frustrated all 
 their plans of extended usefulness, and confined them for 
 several years to this island. 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1812, Mrs. Henry finished her 
 earthly career. She had accompanied her husband from 
 her native country in the ship Duff, with the first Mis¬ 
 sionaries who landed in Tahiti. In all the trials of the 
 Mission she had sustained her part; and, with unwaver¬ 
 ing devotedness to its interests, had endeavoured to per¬ 
 form with efficiency and cheerfulness the duties of her 
 station, until her life fell a sacrifice to the privations and 
 toils of her eventful and perilous career. It was, how¬ 
 ever, a sacrifice cheerfully offered on her part. Her 
 memory was greatly esteemed by those who had borne 
 with her the burden of the day, and survived her in the 
 field. In a letter to the Directors of the London Mis¬ 
 sionary Society, under the date of June 24, 1813, the 
 Rev. S. Marsden thus wrote of Mrs. Henry —“No 
 woman, in my opinion, could be more sincere, and 
 more devoted to the work, than she was. Her natural 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 189 
 
 disposition was amiable, her piety unaffected, and her 
 love for the poor heathens unfeigned. I trust she is now 
 resting from her labours in Abraham’s bosom ; and that 
 some poor heathens, amongst whom she had lived, have 
 gone before, and that some will follow after, to glory.” 
 This afflictive bereavement was followed by another 
 equally painful, viz. the death of Mrs. Davies,—which 
 took place on the fourth of the following September. 
 Her disconsolate partner had scarcely received the sym¬ 
 pathies of his companions in exile and labour, when the 
 newly closed grave of the mother was opened again, to 
 receive the remains of an infant daughter, who sur¬ 
 vived its parent but three short weeks. In one week 
 more, Mrs. Hayward terminated in death her sufferings, 
 and was buried by the side of her departed sisters. The 
 letters which conveyed to England the animating 
 tidings of the first dawning of a brighter day on Tahiti, 
 conveyed also the sad recital of these inroads of death; 
 and well might the Missionaries on that occasion “ sing 
 of mercy and of judgment.” 
 
 When death enters a family, and removes a wife 
 and a mother from the social and domestic circle, 
 though every alleviation which society, friendship, and 
 religion can impart are available, there is a chasm left, 
 and a wound inflicted on the survivors, which must be 
 felt in order to be understood: when death repeatedly 
 enters in this way a family connexion, the distress is 
 proportionably augmented; but it is impossible to 
 form an adequate idea of the desolateness of the 
 Mission family, (for such it might be called,) at this 
 time, and the cheerless solitude of those thus bereft of 
 the partners of their days, and the mothers of their 
 children. They were left to sustain alone the toils. 
 
190 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sorrows, and privations of their remote and isolated 
 station, and to pursue in solitary pilgrimage the arduous 
 and rugged track in which the providence of God had 
 called them to walk, far from the sympathy of the kin¬ 
 dred and friends of the departed. They were equally 
 remote from all the kind attentions of tenderest friend¬ 
 ship, the rich consolations of Christian intercourse, 
 and the public ordinances of that religion, which is 
 alone adapted to impart effectual consolation. Cut off 
 also from the endearments of home, the pleasures of 
 delightful intercourse in civilized life, the satisfaction 
 derived from books, and the reciprocal interchange of all 
 the offices of friendship, the only earthly solace a 
 Missionary enjoys among an uncivilized people, except 
 what he derives from his work, is found in the social 
 endearments of the domestic circle. However remote 
 from the land of his nativity may be its locality, however 
 rustic his abode, however rude its appendages, or limited 
 its sources of comfort, compared with what in other 
 parts may be enjoyed,—around his rural hearth, and in 
 the bosom of his family, there he finds the scene of his 
 richest earthly felicity. In any situation, bereavements 
 such as those which befell the little band at Eimeo at this 
 time, would have been distressing: to the Missionaries 
 they were peculiarly so. The channels of comfort were 
 dried up, and though they had full and free access to the 
 fountain of all blessedness and consolation, and were 
 enabled to say— u He hath done all things well,” yet their 
 trial must have been peculiarly poignant and severe. It 
 is remarkable, that at a period of such unparalleled 
 domestic distress, the most encouraging appearances 
 of the Divine favour towards the nation around them, 
 should have been afforded j and it is probable that the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 191 
 
 very cheering prospects under which they were at this 
 time called upon to pursue their Missionary engage¬ 
 ments, greatly alleviated their sorrow. 
 
 They had established public worship; Mr. Davies had 
 opened a school; an increased and pleasing attention had 
 been manifested, by several, to the instructions com¬ 
 municated ; and only ten days before the death of Mrs. 
 Henry, Pomare, the king of Tahiti, publicly professed his 
 belief in Jehovah the true God, and his determination to 
 serve him. He also requested to be baptized, and to 
 become one of the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 assuring the Missionaries that his resolution to give him¬ 
 self up to God, was the result of long and increasing con¬ 
 viction of the truth and superiority of the religion of 
 the Bible, expressing at the same time his desire to 
 be more fully instructed in the matters to which it 
 referred. 
 
 Pomare had for some time past shewn his contempt 
 for the idols of his ancestors, and his desire to be 
 taught a more excellent way, that he might obtain the 
 favour of the true God. The natives had watched the 
 change in his mind with the most fearful appre¬ 
 hension, as to its results upon the minds of his sub¬ 
 jects. They were powerfully affected on one occasion 
 when a present was brought him of a turtle , which was 
 always held sacred, and dressed with sacred fire within 
 the precincts of the temple, part of it being invariably 
 offered to the idol. The attendants were proceeding 
 with the turtle to the Marae, when Pomare called them 
 back, and told them to prepare an oven, to bake it 
 in his own kitchen, and serve it up, without offering it 
 to the idol. The people around were astonished, and 
 could hardly believe the king was in a state of sanity, 
 
192 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 or was really in earnest. The king repeated his direc¬ 
 tion ; a fire was made, the turtle baked, and served up 
 at the next repast. The people of the king’s house¬ 
 hold stood, in mute expectation of some fearful 
 visitation of the god’s anger, as soon as the king should 
 touch a morsel of the fish; by which he had, in this 
 instance, committed, as they imagined, an act of daring 
 impiety. The king cut up the turtle, and began 
 to eat it, inviting some that sat at meat with him 
 to do the same ; but no one could be induced to touch 
 it, as they expected every moment to see him either 
 fall down dead, or seized with strong convulsions. 
 The king endeavoured to convince his companions that 
 their idea of the power of the gods was altogether 
 imaginary, and that they had been the subjects of com¬ 
 plete delusion; but the people could not believe him: 
 and although the meal was finished without any evil 
 result, they carried away the dishes with many ex¬ 
 pressions of astonishment, confidently expecting some 
 judgment would overtake him before the morrow, for 
 they could not believe that an act of sacrilege, such as 
 he had been guilty of, could be committed with impu¬ 
 nity. 
 
 The conduct and conversation of Pomare in reference 
 to the gods, on this and similar occasions, must neces¬ 
 sarily have weakened the influence of idolatry on the 
 minds of those by whom he was attended; and if it 
 produced no immediate and salutary effect on them, it 
 doubtless confirmed his own belief in the vanity of idols, 
 and the folly of indulging either hope or fear respecting 
 them. A number of the principal chiefs of the Leeward 
 Islands, as well as the adherents to his cause, and the 
 friends of his family in Tahiti, constantly resided with the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 193 
 
 king, after his expulsion from the island of his ances¬ 
 tors, and accompanied him on his return to resume his 
 former government. He spared no efforts favourably to 
 impress them in regard to Christianity ; but to no purpose 
 for a long time. When he offered himself for baptism, 
 he stated that he had endeavoured to persuade Tamatoa, 
 his father-in-law, and Tapoa, the king and principal 
 chief of Raiatea, to renounce idolatry, and become the 
 disciples of Jesus Christ; but they had assured him, 
 whatever he might do, they would adhere to Oro. 
 Others expressed the same determination; and Pomare 
 came forward alone, requesting baptism, and desiring 
 to hear and obey the word of God, as he said “ he de¬ 
 sired to be happy after death, and to be saved at the 
 day of judgment."" He did not confine his efforts to 
 private conversation, but in public council urged upon 
 Tamatoa and Mahine, the chiefs of Raiatea and Hua- 
 hine, the adoption of the Christian religion; hereby 
 publicly evincing his own determination to adhere to 
 the choice he had made. 
 
 The Missionaries had every reason to believe the king 
 was sincere in his desires to become a true follower of 
 Christ; but as they then deemed only those who were 
 true converts to Christianity, proper subjects for the 
 Christian rite of baptism, and feared that his mind might 
 not be sufficiently informed on the nature and design of 
 that ordinance, and that he was rather an earnest inquirer 
 after divine truth, than an actual possessor of its moral 
 principle and spiritual influence, they proposed to him 
 to defer his baptism until he had received more ample 
 instruction. They were also desirous to receive addi¬ 
 tional evidence of his sincerity, and of the uprightness 
 and the purity of his conduct, during a longer period 
 
 2 c 
 
194 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 than they had yet observed it. The king acquiesced in 
 their proposal, and requested their instructions. 
 
 At the same time that the king thus publicly desired 
 to profess Christianity, he proposed to erect a large and 
 substantial building for the worship of the true God. 
 His own affairs remained unsettled and discouraging; 
 he was still an exile in Eimeo, and rumours of war 
 not only prevailed in Tahiti, but invasion threatened 
 Eimeo. This island the Missionaries considered only 
 as a temporary residence, till they should be able to 
 resume their labours in Tahiti, or establish a mission 
 in the leeward islands, and therefore recommended 
 him to defer it. But he replied, cc No, let us not mind 
 these things, let it be built.” 
 
 Shortly after this important event, which may justly 
 be considered as the dawning of that day, and the first 
 ray of that light, which has since shed such lustre, and 
 beamed with such splendour and power, upon these isles 
 of the sea, two chiefs arrived from Tahiti, inviting 
 Pomare to return and resume his government, promising 
 an amicable adjustment of their differences. The 
 interests of his kingdom appeared to require his con¬ 
 currence with their proposal; and, on the thirteenth of 
 August, in less than a month after the pleasing event 
 referred to, he sailed with them from Eimeo, followed 
 by the chiefs and people from the Leeward Islands, and 
 most of the inhabitants of Papetoai and its vicinity. 
 His departure, in this critical state of mind, was much 
 to be regretted, as it deprived him of the instructions of 
 his teachers, exposed him, to many temptations, and 
 much persecution. 
 
 Pomare, in infancy, had been rocked in the cradle of 
 paganism, and trained under its influence through subsc- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 195 
 
 quent life. His father Pomare, and his mother Idia, 
 were probably more infatuated with idolatry, and more 
 uniformly attached to the idols, and every institution 
 connected with their worship, than even the priests, or 
 perhaps any other individuals in the islands. He had 
 been early and often initiated in all the mysteries of 
 falsehood and abomination connected with the system, 
 and had engaged with avidity in the bloody and 
 murderous rites of idol worship. In addition to this, 
 he had been nurtured amid the debasing and pollut¬ 
 ing immorality, for which his country, ever since its 
 discovery, had been distinguished j and although his 
 ideas of the moral perfections of the true God might be 
 but indistinct, and his views of the purity required in 
 the gospel but partial, yet it might naturally be ex¬ 
 pected, that the convictions of guilt in such an indi¬ 
 vidual, when first awakened to a sense of the nature and 
 consequence of sin, would be deep and severe. That 
 this was actually the case, appears from several letters 
 which he wrote to the Missionaries soon after his 
 arrival in Tahiti, as well as from the conversation they 
 had with him on the subject. 
 
 In a letter, dated Tahiti, September 25, 1812, he thus 
 expresses himself: “May the anger of Jehovah be 
 appeased towards me, who am a wicked man, guilty of 
 accumulated crimes,—of regardlessness and ignorance of 
 the true God, and of an obstinate perseverance in wick¬ 
 edness ! May Jehovah also pardon my foolishness, unbe¬ 
 lief, and rejection of the truth ! May Jehovah give me 
 his good Spirit to sanctify my heart, that I may love 
 what is good, and that I may be enabled to put away 
 all my evil customs, and become one of his people, and 
 be saved through Jesus Christ, our only Saviour ! I am 
 
196 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 a wicked man; and my sins are great and accumulated. 
 But O; that we may all be saved; through Jesus Christ.” 
 Referring to his illness about this time; he said; “ My 
 affliction is great; but if I can only obtain God’s favour 
 before I die; T shall count myself well. But; O ! should 
 I die with my sins unpardoned; it will be ill indeed with 
 me. O ! may my sins be pardoned; and my soul saved; 
 through Jesus Christ! May Jehovah regard me before 
 I die; and then I shall rejoice; because I have obtained 
 the favour of Jehovah.” 
 
 Tn another letter; written about a fortnight afterwards; 
 he observes; “ I continue to pray to God without ceas¬ 
 ing. Regardless of other things; I am concerned only 
 that my soul may be saved by Jesus Christ! It is my 
 earnest desire; that I may become one of Jehovah’s 
 people; and that God may turn away his anger from 
 me; which I deserve; for my wickedness; my ignorance 
 of hint; and my accumulated crimes !” In February; 
 1813; he wrote to the following effect. u The Almighty 
 can (or will) make me good. I venture with my 
 guilt (or evil deeds) to Jesus Christ; though I am not 
 equalled in wickedness; not equalled in guilt; not 
 equalled in obstinate disobedience; and rejection of the 
 truth; hoping that this very wicked man may be saved by 
 Jehovah; Jesus Christ.” 
 
 Such was the interesting state of Pomare’s mind; at 
 the close of the year 1812; and the commencement of 
 1813. At the same time that this event shed such 
 light upon the prospects of the Missionaries; other 
 circumstances concurred; to confirm them in the 
 conviction; that God was about to favour in a signal 
 manner their enterprise; to follow their labours with 
 his blessing; and with still greater success. Of one or 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 197 
 
 two other natives they had every reason to hope most 
 favourably, while one, who died about this time, left a 
 pleasing testimony behind, of repentance, and reliance 
 on the pardoning mercy of God. 
 
 The king’s visit to Tahiti did not succeed so well as 
 the messengers had promised, or his friends had antici¬ 
 pated : rumours of war prevailed in the western and 
 southern parts of the island, and many of the chiefs sent 
 professions of subjection; but the continuance of such 
 acknowledgment was uncertain. Some of his ablest 
 allies, especially Tapoa the chief of Raiatea, was removed 
 by death, and the others prepared to return to their own 
 islands. Early in the following year, the district of 
 Matavai was surrendered to Pomare, but he was justly 
 doubtful of the sincerity of the surrender. Amidst all 
 these unfavourable circumstances, he continued bold and 
 uncompromising in his renunciation of the idols, and 
 every rite of idolatry; observing the sabbath, and, on 
 every suitable occasion, exhibiting the truth and ex¬ 
 cellency of the religion of Jesus Christ. Although 
 this honourable conduct produced a surprising effect 
 upon the minds of many of the inhabitants of Tahiti 
 and Eimeo, who considered the king better acquainted 
 both with the religion of the natives, and that of the 
 foreigners, than any other person in the islands; it pro¬ 
 cured him many enemies, and exposed him to no ordi¬ 
 nary degree of ridicule and persecution, not only from 
 his idolatrous rivals, but from his allies, and the mem¬ 
 bers of his household and family. These attributed all 
 his reverses to the respect he had shewn the Mission¬ 
 aries, and the inclination he had indulged towards their 
 God; and declared that he need not expect his affairs to 
 be retrieved, since he had forsaken the gods of his 
 
198 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ancestors, and insulted those to whom his family was in¬ 
 debted for the elevated distinction to which it had been 
 raised in Tahiti, and the neighbouring islands. Pomare, 
 however, was uninfluenced by any of these representa¬ 
 tions, and, notwithstanding the embarrassed state of his 
 affairs, and the uncertainty of the result, to which the 
 present agitation, and the approaching national assem¬ 
 bly of chiefs and people, might lead, and though his 
 friends added insult and reproach to his misfortunes, he 
 remained (c steadfast and unmoveable.” 
 
 The communications between Tahiti and Eimeo were 
 now frequent, and the repeated accounts of Pomare’s 
 persevering and laudable endeavours to enlighten 
 the minds of his subjects, were not the only cheering 
 tidings they received. Mr. Bicknell went over in a 
 vessel bound to the Pearl Islands, and in a few days 
 returned, with the pleasing report that a spirit of inquiry 
 had been awakened among some of the inhabitants of 
 that island, that two of those they had formerly in¬ 
 structed, had occasionally met to pray to God. In order 
 to ascertain the nature and extent of the anxiety 
 which had been excited, and to confer with the indi¬ 
 viduals under its influence, Messrs. Scott and Hayward, 
 having been deputed by their companions to visit Tahiti, 
 sailed over from Eimeo, on the 15th of June, 1813. 
 Although the king was residing in Matavai, they landed 
 in the district of Pare, and proceeding to the valley of 
 Hautaua, they learned that the report was correct, and 
 that in the neighbourhood there were some who had 
 renounced idolatry, and professed to believe in Jehovah, 
 the true God. 
 
 On the following morning, according to the usual 
 practice when travelling among the people, they 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 199 
 
 retired to the bushes near their lodgings, for medi¬ 
 tation and secret prayer. The houses of the natives, 
 however large they might be, never contained more than 
 one room; and were generally so crowded with people, 
 that retirement was altogether unattainable. While 
 seeking this, about the dawn of the day, on the morn¬ 
 ing after their arrival, Mr. Scott heard a voice at no 
 great distance from his retreat. It was not a few de¬ 
 tached sentences that were spoken, but a continued 
 address \ not in the lively tone of conversation, but 
 solemn, as devotion ; or pathetic, as the voice of lamen¬ 
 tation and supplication. 
 
 A variety of feelings led him to approach the spot whence 
 these sounds proceeded, in order to hear more distinctly. 
 O, what hallowed music must have broke upon his 
 listening ear, and what rapture must have thrilled his 
 soul, when he distinctly recognized the voice of prayer, 
 and heard a native, in the accents of his mother-tongue, 
 with an ardour that proved his sincerity, addressing 
 petitions and thanksgivings to the throne of mercy. 
 It was the first time he knew that a native on Tahiti’s 
 shores had prayed to any but his idols ; it was the first 
 native voice in praise and prayer, that he had ever heard, 
 and he listened almost entranced with the propriety and 
 glowing language of devotion, then employed, until 
 his feelings could be restrained no longer. Tears of 
 joy started from his gladdened eye, and rolled in swift 
 succession down his cheeks, while he could hardly 
 forbear rushing to the spot, and clasping in his arms 
 the unconscious author of his ecstacy. He stood trans¬ 
 fixed as it were to the spot, till the native retired ; when 
 he bowed his knees, and, screened from human obser¬ 
 vation by the verdant shrubs, offered up, under the 
 
200 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 canopy of heaven; his grateful adoration to the Most 
 High, under all the melting of soul; and the excite¬ 
 ment of spirit, which the unprecedented; unexpected; 
 though long-desired events of the morning had inspired. 
 When the Missionaries met at the house in which they 
 had lodged; the good tidings were communicated; the 
 individual was sought out; and they were cheered with 
 the simple yet affecting account he gave of what God 
 had done for his own soul; and of the pleasing state of 
 the minds of several of his countrymen. 
 
 His name was then Oito, though it is now Petero; he 
 had formerly been an inmate of the Mission family at 
 Matavai; and had received instructions there. He has 
 since been a useful member of the community; and is still 
 a consistent member of a Christian society; in which he 
 has for some years sustained; with credit to himself 
 and advantage to the church; the office of deacon. 
 He had occasionally been with the king since his return 
 to Tahiti; and some remarks from Pomare had awakened 
 convictions of sin in his conscience. Anxious to obtain 
 direction and relief; yet having no one to whom he could 
 unburden his mind with hopes of suitable guidance; 
 he applied to Tuahine, who had for a long time lived 
 with the Missionaries; hence Oito inferred he would 
 be able to direct his mind aright. Tuahine has since 
 rendered the most important services to the Mission; 
 in aiding Mr. Nott with the translations. When the 
 Gospel by John; and the Acts of the Apostles; were 
 finished; and Mr. Nott left Huahine; in July 1819; he 
 removed to Raiatea; his native island; and has since been 
 not only a useful member of society; and an ornament to 
 the religion he professes; but an officer in the Christian 
 church in Raiatea. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 201 
 
 Tuahine’s mind, on the subject of the Christian reli¬ 
 gion, was in a state resembling that of Oito’s. Their 
 conversation deepened their impressions; they frequently 
 met afterwards for this purpose, and often retired to the 
 privacy of the sequestered valleys or verdant shrub¬ 
 beries adjacent to their dwellings, for conversation and 
 prayer. The singularity of their conduct, together with 
 the report of the change in the sentiments of the king, 
 soon attracted observation: many derided them, but 
 several young men and boys attached themselves to 
 Oito and Tuahine, and this little band, without any 
 Missionary to teach them, or even before any one was 
 acquainted with the circumstance, agreed to refrain from 
 worshipping the idols, from the evil practices of their 
 country—to observe the Sabbath-day,—and to worship 
 Jehovah alone. They had established among themselves 
 a prayer-meeting, which they held on the Sabbath, and 
 often assembled at other times for social worship. 
 
 This intelligence was like life from the dead to the 
 Missionaries; they thanked God, and took courage ; but 
 before commencing their journey round Tahiti, they 
 wrote to their brethren in Eimeo an account of what 
 they had seen and heard : declaring all that they had 
 heard was true, that God had “also granted to the 
 Gentiles repentance unto life,” that some had cast away 
 their idols, and were stretching out their hands in prayer 
 to God, &c. The effect of their letter was scarcely less 
 on the minds of the Missionaries in Eimeo, than the 
 recital had been to themselves in Tahiti. They were 
 deeply affected, even unto tears. I have often heard 
 Mr. Nott speak, with evident indications of strong feeling, 
 of the emotions with which this letter was read. And 
 when we consider the long and cheerless years, which he 
 
 2 D 
 
202 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and some of his associates had spent in fruitless, hope¬ 
 less toil, on that unpromising field, the slightest pros¬ 
 pect of an ultimate harvest, which these facts certainly 
 warranted, was adapted to produce unusual and exalted 
 joys,—emphatically a Missionary’s own,—joys “ that a 
 stranger intermeddleth not with.” 
 
 Messrs. Scott and Hayward made the tour of Tahiti, 
 preaching to the people whenever they could collect a 
 congregation, and then returned to Eimeo with Tuahine, 
 Oito, and their companions,—who accompanied them, in 
 order to attend the school, and receive more full 
 instruction in those things, respecting which, though 
 formerly so indifferent, they were now most anxious to 
 be informed. 
 
 Tuahine was born in the island of Raiatea, but had 
 been some time residing in the inland parts of the dis¬ 
 trict of Pare. Oito was an inhabitant, if not a native, of 
 Hautaua, and in this lovely, verdant, and sequestered 
 valley, the first native meeting for prayer was held, and 
 the first associated vows were paid to heaven. 
 
 I have often passed along the mouth or opening of 
 this valley, and regret that I never had an opportunity 
 of traversing its interior, and visiting the abode of Oito, 
 or the sites of the rural oratories of the first Christians 
 in Tahiti. Hautaua valley is an interesting spot, not 
 only on account of the events connected with the early 
 history of Christianity, which transpired within its bor¬ 
 ders, but also from the peculiarity of its scenery. 
 
 In the exterior, or border landscapes, of Tahiti and 
 the other islands, there is a variety in the objects of 
 natural beauty; a happy combination of land and water, 
 of precipices and level plains, of trees, often hanging 
 their branches clothed with thick dark foliage over the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 203 
 
 sea, and distant mountains shewn in sublime outline and 
 richest hues; and the whole often blended in the harmony 
 of nature, produces sensations of admiration and delight. 
 The inland scenery is of a different character, but not 
 less impressive. The landscapes are occasionally exten¬ 
 sive, but more frequently circumscribed. There is, how¬ 
 ever, a startling boldness in the towering piles of basalt, 
 often heaped in romantic confusion near the source or 
 margin of some cool and crystal stream, that flows in 
 silence at their base, or dashes over the rocky fragments 
 that arrest its progress : and there is the wildness of 
 romance about the deep and lonely glens, around which 
 the mountains rise like the steep sides of a natural 
 amphitheatre, till the clouds seem supported by them— 
 this arrests the attention of the beholder, and for a time 
 suspends his faculties in mute astonishment. There is 
 also so much that is new in the character and growth of 
 trees and flowers, irregular, spontaneous, and luxuriant 
 in the vegetation, which is sustained by a prolific soil, 
 and matured by the genial heat of a tropic clime, that it 
 is adapted to produce an indescribable effect. Often, 
 when, either alone, or attended by one or two com¬ 
 panions, I have journeyed through some of the inland 
 parts of the islands, such has been the effect of the 
 scenery through which I have passed, and the unbroken 
 stillness which has pervaded the whole, that imagination, 
 unrestrained, might easily have induced the delusion, that 
 we were walking on enchanted ground, or passing over 
 fairy lands. It has at such seasons appeared as if we had 
 been carried back to the primitive ages of the world, 
 and beheld the face of the earth, as it was perhaps often 
 exhibited, when the Creator’s works were spread over it 
 in all their endless variety, and all the vigour of ex- 
 
204 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 haustless energy, and before population had extended, 
 or the genius and enterprise of man had altered, the 
 aspect of its surface. 
 
 The valleys of Tahiti present some of the richest 
 inland scenery that can be imagined. Those in the 
 southern parts are remarkable for their beauty, but 
 none more so than those of Hautaua, Matavai, and 
 Apaiano. Those portions of them, in which the incipient 
 effects of the advancement of civilization appear, are the 
 most interesting; presenting the neat white plastered cot¬ 
 tages in beautiful contrast with the picturesque appear¬ 
 ance of the mountains, and the rich verdure of the 
 plains. 
 
 The accompanying plate represents a scene in the 
 valley of Matavai, near the bank of the river which flows 
 through the district. It was taken on the spot by Capt. 
 Elliot, who spent some time at Matavai, in the begin¬ 
 ning of 1821. The rustic building by the side of the 
 stream is a Missionary’s cottage, and was at that time 
 occupied by Mr. Nott. The surrounding scenery is 
 delineated with accuracy and care; but the effect of the 
 lofty mountain in the centre, which often appeared en¬ 
 circled with clouds, through which its romantic peaks 
 sometimes penetrated, and of the rich purple hue that 
 glowed on its sides, with other parts of the landscape, 
 are such as to surpass the efforts of the graphic art. 
 
XMmm £© jLsmxsra khjl ji® 
 

 
 ■ 
 
 ' ■ > *. ! 
 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 203 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 First record of the names of the professors of Christianity—Taaroarii's 
 rejection of idolatrous ceremonies—Determination of Patii, the priest 
 of Papetoai—Idols publicly burnt at Uaeva, in Eimeo—Increase of 
 the scholars—Contempt and persecution on account of the profession 
 of Christianity—Baneful influence of idolatry on social intercourse— 
 Humiliating circumstances to which its institutes reduced the female 
 sex—Happy change in domestic society, attending the introduction of 
 Christianity—Persecution of the Christians—Worshippers of the true 
 God sought as victims, for sacrifice to the pagan idols—Notice of 
 Abrahama—Martyrdom in Tahiti. 
 
 Soon after the return of Messrs. Scott and Hayward 
 from Tahiti, indications of the same convictions and 
 inquiry were occasionally manifested in Eimeo; and 
 on the 25th of July, 1813, which was the Sabbath, 
 the first place for public worship erected in the island 
 of Eimeo was opened. It was also the first build¬ 
 ing in the islands ever used by the natives for this 
 sacred purpose. The exercises of the day were highly 
 interesting both to the Missionaries and their little band 
 of followers. At the close of the evening service Mr. 
 Davies gave notice, according to previous arrangements, 
 that on the following morning a public meeting would 
 be held; when all who had sincerely renounced their 
 false gods, who had desired also to relinquish their evil 
 customs, to receive Jehovah for their God, and to be 
 instructed in his word, were invited to attend. Forty 
 
206 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 natives came at the time appointed; the design 
 of the meeting was explained by Mr. Nott. It was, 
 to urge those who were undecided, and wished to 
 become sincere disciples of Jesus Christ, to make 
 their desires known—that the Missionaries might pay 
 them special attention, and give them suitable instruc¬ 
 tions : they listened attentively, and many appeared 
 deeply affected. They were afterwards individually inter¬ 
 rogated as to their desires in reference to these impor¬ 
 tant matters : during this inquiry thirty-one declared they 
 had renounced the idols, their worship, and every prac¬ 
 tice connected with idolatry; wishing to abandon every 
 thing contrary to the word of God. These thirty-one 
 requested to have their names written down as those 
 that desired to worship God, and to become disciples 
 of Christ. Others said they intended to cast away their 
 idols, but did not wish to have their names written down 
 at that time. All who felt inclined to come were invited, 
 but none were urged. The names of these thirty-one were 
 written down; and among the first of them, Oito and 
 Tuahine’s were to be seen. In writing down the names 
 of those who thus publicly professed Christianity, the 
 Missionaries were influenced by a desire, not only to 
 instruct them more fully, but to become personally 
 acquainted with them, and to exercise over them a 
 guardian care, which they could not do without knowing 
 their names, places of abode, &c. To their number, eleven 
 more were soon added ; and with these they afterwards 
 held frequent meetings, for the purpose of informing their 
 minds, and encouraging them to faithfulness in their 
 attachment to the Redeemer. Among the last number 
 was Taaroarii, the young chief of Huahine and Sir 
 Charles Sanders’ Island, and Matapuupuu, a principal 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 207 
 
 areoi, and chief priest of Huahine, who had long been 
 one of the main pillars of idolatry in the island to which 
 he belonged. 
 
 On the 28th of July, 1813, a number of areois visited 
 Taaroarii’s encampment at Teataebua, five miles from 
 Papetoae, the Missionary settlement; prepared an enter¬ 
 tainment, invited him to attend, and, before it com¬ 
 menced, were about to perform some heathen rites con¬ 
 nected with the food they were to eat, and to deliver an 
 oration, in which his rank, descent, and connexion with 
 the gods by origin and family, and his future place among 
 them, were to have been detailed. This, Taaroarii strictly 
 prohibited; declaring that he intended no longer to 
 acknowledge the gods of Tahiti, which were no gods ; 
 that no more ceremonies should be performed on his 
 account, as he purposed to worship Jehovah. He was 
 anxious to know more respecting God, and wished them 
 also to hear about Him; and, therefore, sent a message 
 to Mr. Nott, requesting him to come down and preach to 
 the people at his place of abode. 
 
 Mr. Nott gladly complied with his request, and, ac¬ 
 companied by Mr. Hayward, repaired a few days after¬ 
 wards to his encampment. When they arrived at Tiatai- 
 bua, Puru, the king of Huahine, and the chief of Eimeo, 
 received them very cordially : said his son Taaroarii 
 wished to be instructed in the word of God, to learn 
 about Jehovah and Jesus Christ, of whom he had so 
 frequently heard Pomare speak. The chief added, that 
 although he had no desire after these things himself, 
 he did not wish to oppose his son, or prevent his hearing 
 whatever Mr. Nott might have to communicate. The 
 finger of the Almighty was strikingly exhibited in the door 
 thus effectually opened for the preaching of the gospel. 
 
208 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Puru and his adherents had not been much with the 
 Missionaries. The people of Huahine and their chief 
 were certainly among the most superstitious and idola¬ 
 trous tribes of the Pacific. Pomare, and not the Mis¬ 
 sionary, had on this occasion been employed as the agent, 
 under God, in influencing the mind of the young chief, 
 who was likely to become the king of Huahine and 
 Eimeo, and in a way which at once demonstrated that 
 it was the purpose of God that he should be made ac¬ 
 quainted with divine truth. Hence he was induced to pro¬ 
 hibit an acknowledgment to the gods of his ancestors, and 
 to invite the messengers of salvation to his camp, to speak 
 unto him and his adherents words whereby they might 
 be saved. While the Missionaries admired the means 
 by which God had thus shewn them that the work was 
 His, and not theirs, and thus deprived them of attributing 
 any thing to their own influence, they rejoiced in the 
 opportunity now afforded of proclaiming the tidings of 
 mercy from the most High. Mr. Nott conversed a long 
 time with them, and preached an instructive and affect¬ 
 ing discourse from Isa. xlix. 7* I have often heard the 
 young man’s mother-in-law, and other members of the 
 household, speak of this discourse as having deeply 
 impressed their minds. When Mr. Nott left them, he 
 invited the chief and his adherents to visit the station 
 on the Sabbath, and cultivate an intercourse with other 
 Christian chiefs. 
 
 On the following Sabbath, Taaroarii attended; his 
 father also became, a few months afterwards, a sincere 
 convert. They accompanied us to Huahine in 1818. 
 Taaroarii died rather suddenly in 1821. His father is 
 the venerable king of Huahine; and has, ever since his 
 return, proved not only a father to the people, but a 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 209 
 
 uniform and bright ornament to the religion of the 
 Cross. 
 
 Besides these regular periods of instruction and 
 times of public worship* the Missionaries frequently- 
 held special meetings with those whose names they 
 had written down* for the purpose of unfolding more 
 fully the sublime doctrines of revelation* and uniting 
 with them in social worship. They had the delightful 
 satisfaction of hearing some of the new converts engage 
 in prayer* and were surprised and gratified* in a high 
 degree* with their fluency and fervour* as well as the 
 appropriateness of their language* when engaged in this 
 sacred duty. They also learned with pleasure* that 
 they were accustomed to retire morning and evening 
 for secret prayer. 
 
 In one of the visits which Mr. Nott made to the 
 residence of Taaroarii* for the purpose of preaching 
 to his people* he was followed by Patii* the priest of 
 the temple in Papetoai* the district in which the 
 Missionaries resided. This individual appeared to listen 
 most attentively to what was said ; and after the con¬ 
 clusion of the service* he and Mr. Nott proceeded toge¬ 
 ther along the beach towards the settlement. As they 
 walked* Patii fully disclosed the feelings of his mind to 
 Mr. Nott* and assured him that on the morrow* at a cer¬ 
 tain hour* he would bring out the idols under his care* 
 and publicly burn them. The declaration was astound¬ 
 ing ; it was too decisive and important in its nature* 
 and promised results almost too momentous to be 
 true. Mr. Nott replied* ce I fear you are jesting with 
 me* and stating what you think we wish* rather than 
 what you intend. I can scarcely allow myself to believe 
 what you say.” “ Don’t be unbelieving*” replied 
 
 2 E 
 
210 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Patii, “wait till to-morrow, and you shall see.” The 
 religion of Jesus Christ was the topic of conversation 
 until they reached the settlement 3 when Patii took his 
 leave, and Mr. Nott informed his colleagues of the suc¬ 
 cess of his visit to the young chief of Huahine, and the 
 determination which the priest of the district had made 
 known to him. The impression which the intelligence 
 of these events produced upon their minds, was that of 
 mingled admiration, gratitude, and hope, to a degree 
 that may be better imagined than expressed. 
 
 The arrival of the evening of the following day was 
 awaited with an unusual agitation and excitement of 
 feeling. Hope and fear alternately pervaded the minds 
 of the Missionaries and their pupils, with regard to the 
 burning of the idols, and the consequent tumult, devasta¬ 
 tion, and bloodshed that might follow. The adherents 
 of Christianity were but few, (less than fifty,) and sur¬ 
 rounded by jealous and cruel idolaters—who already 
 began to wonder “whereunto this thing might grow.” 
 Patii, however, was punctual to his word. He, with his 
 friends, had collected a quantity of fuel near the sea- 
 beach 3 and, in the afternoon, the wood was split, and 
 piled on a point of land in the western part of Papetoai, 
 near the large national Marae, or temple, in which he 
 had officiated. The report of his intention had spread 
 among the people of the district, and multitudes assem¬ 
 bled to witness this daring act of impiety, or the sudden 
 vengeance which they expected would fall upon the 
 sacrilegious criminal. The Missionaries and their 
 friends also attended. The varied emotions of hope and 
 fear, of dread and expectation, with a strange air of 
 mysterious foreboding, agitating the bosoms of the 
 multitude, were strongly marked in the countenances 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 211 
 
 of the spectators; resembling, perhaps in no small 
 degree, the feeling depicted in the visages of the assem¬ 
 bled Israelites, when the prophet Elijah summoned 
 them to prove the power of Baal, or to acknowledge the 
 omnipotence of the Lord God of Israel. short time before 
 sun-set, Patii appeared, and ordered his attendants to 
 apply fire to the pile. This being done, he hastened to the 
 sacred depository of his gods, brought them out, not in¬ 
 deed as he had been on some occasions accustomed to do, 
 that they might receive the blind homage of the waiting 
 populace,—but to convince the deluded multitude of the 
 impotency and the vanity of the objects of their adora¬ 
 tion and their dread. When he approached the burning 
 pile, he laid them down on the ground. They were 
 small carved wooden images, rude imitations of the 
 human figure; or shapeless logs of wood, covered with 
 finely braided and curiously wrought cinet of cocoa-nut 
 fibres, and ornamented with red feathers. The accom¬ 
 panying representations will convey some idea of the 
 shape and appearance of the former kind. 
 
212 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Patii tore off the sacred cloth in which they were enve¬ 
 loped, to be safe from the gaze of vulgar eyes ; stripped 
 them of their ornaments, which he cast into the fire; and 
 then one by one threw the idols themselves into the crack¬ 
 ling flames—sometimes pronouncing the name and pedi¬ 
 gree of the idol, and expressing his own regret at having 
 worshipped it—at others, calling upon the spectators to 
 behold their inability even to help themselves. Thus 
 were the idols which Patii, who was a powerful priest in 
 Eimeo, had worshipped, publicly destroyed. The flames 
 became extinct, and the sun, which had never before shed 
 his rays upon such a scene in those islands, cast his last 
 beams, as he sunk behind the western wave, upon the 
 expiring embers of that fire, which had already mingled 
 with the earth upon which it had been kindled—the ashes 
 of the once obeyed and dreaded idols of Eimeo. 
 
 Patii on this occasion was not prompted by a spirit 
 of daring bravado, but by the conviction of truth, 
 deeply impressed upon his heart, and a desire to 
 undeceive his deluded countrymen; probably consi¬ 
 dering, that as his conduct and instruction had hereto¬ 
 fore done much to extend and propagate the influence 
 of idolatry, so his thus publicly abandoning it, and 
 exposing himself to all the consequences of their dreaded 
 ire, would most effectually weaken their confidence in the 
 gods, and lead them to desire instruction concerning 
 that Being, who, he was convinced, was the only living 
 and true God,—who was a spirit, and was to be wor¬ 
 shipped, not with human or other sacrifices, save those 
 of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, or the sacri¬ 
 fices of thanksgiving and of praise. 
 
 Although many of the spectators undoubtedly 
 viewed Patii with feelings analogous to those with which 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 213 
 
 the Melitians viewed the apostle Paul when the viper 
 fastened on his hand, and were, many of them, evidently 
 disappointed when they saw no evil befall him, they 
 did not attempt to rescue the gods, when insulted, 
 and perhaps riven by the axe, or stripped to be cast 
 into the flames. No tumult followed, and no one 
 came forward to revenge the insult offered to the tute¬ 
 lar deities of their country. Probably, Gamaliel-like, 
 they thought it best not to interfere at that time, as 
 their belief in the power of the gods had hitherto 
 remained unshaken, and they doubtless expected that, in 
 their own way, the gods would take signal vengeance on 
 those by whom, in the sight of the nation, they had been 
 thus dishonoured. 
 
 The watchful providence of God, over His infant cause 
 in these islands, was remarkably conspicuous in pre¬ 
 serving Patii and his friends, and allowing them, after 
 the events of the evening, safely and peacefully to 
 return. There were many present, who were indig¬ 
 nant at the insult, and filled with rage at the impiety of 
 the act, as well as convinced, that if this conduct should 
 be imitated by others, not only would their craft and 
 their emoluments be endangered, but they would no 
 longer be able to exercise that unquestioned influence 
 over the people, to which they had hitherto been accus¬ 
 tomed ; nor to indulge their base propensities, and live 
 in that luxurious ease they then enjoyed. Had any 
 popular tumult followed this heroic act, the idolaters 
 were so numerous and powerful, and the Christians 
 so weak, that their destruction would have been 
 inevitable; and even the lives of the Missionaries, who 
 would have been considered as the cause of all the dis¬ 
 turbances, might not have been secure. God, however. 
 
214 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 preserved them, and they returned, to render to him the 
 thanks and the glory due unto his name. 
 
 The conduct of Patii, when it became more extensively 
 known, produced the most decisive effects on the priests 
 and people. Numbers in Tahiti and Eimeo were em¬ 
 boldened, by his example—not only in burning their 
 idols, but demolishing their maraes or temples; their 
 altars were also stripped and overthrown, and the wood 
 employed in their construction converted into fuel, and 
 used in the native kitchens. 
 
 Patii became the pupil of the Missionaries, and a 
 constant worshipper of the true God, persevering amidst 
 much ridicule and persecution. Whether his mind had 
 at this time undergone a divine and decisive change, it 
 is not necessary now to inquire; every evidence that 
 could be required, has since been given, of the sincerity 
 of his profession of Christianity, and the influence 
 of its principles on his heart. His conduct, from 
 this period, has been uniformly moral and upright, his 
 mind humble, his disposition affectionate and mild, and 
 his habits of life reformed and industrious. The in¬ 
 fluence of his character in Papetoai, where he is best 
 known, has occasioned his election to an important 
 office in the Christian church. He is a valuable and 
 steady friend, and an assistant, in whom the Mis¬ 
 sionaries can repose confidence. Although not a 
 chief of the highest rank, he had been raised by the 
 king and people to the office of a magistrate, in his 
 own district. His conduct on the above occasion gave 
 idolatry a stab more deadly than any which it had 
 before received, and inflicted a wound, from which, 
 with all the energy subsequently manifested, it never 
 could recover. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 215 
 
 In the month of March, 1814, Mr. Nott, accompanied 
 by Mr. Hayward, visited Huahine, Raiatea, and Tahaa, 
 the principal of the Society Islands, conversing with the 
 inhabitants, travelling round the islands, and preaching 
 to the people wherever it was convenient. In every 
 place they were welcomed and entertained with hos¬ 
 pitality. The inhabitants frequently assembled to hear 
 their instructions, as soon as they knew of their arrival 
 in a district or village; whereas, on every former 
 occasion, it had required much time and labour, by 
 personal application, to assemble the smallest congre¬ 
 gations. Many appeared to listen with earnestness and 
 satisfaction to the message they delivered, called God 
 the good spirit, and scrupled not to designate their 
 own gods as varua maamaa> and varua ino , foolish 
 spirits, and evil spirits. 
 
 In the autumn of the same year, Mr. Wilson went on 
 board a vessel at Eimeo, which was driven to the 
 leeward islands, where contrary winds detained him 
 and his companions for three months. During this 
 period he was much among the people, preached to 
 attentive congregations on the Sabbath and other days, 
 and was happy to find that those whose names had been 
 written down at Tahiti continued steadfast. He also 
 added to their number thirty-nine others, whose names, 
 at their own desire, were recorded as the professed wor¬ 
 shippers of the true God. When he left them, they 
 expressed the deepest regret, and requested that one of 
 the Missionaries would come and reside among them. 
 
 Before Mr. Nott visited the Society Islands, he 
 finished the translation of the Gospel of Luke; and, in 
 the course of the same year, the Missionaries sent a 
 copy of their catechism to New South Wales, to be 
 
216 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 printed there. They were exceedingly anxious to obtain 
 a supply of elementary books, as the spelling books 
 from England were expended, and the desire for 
 instruction had increased to such a degree, that 
 upwards of two hundred scholars attended their school 
 at Papetoai. 
 
 About this time, several of the chiefs of the Society 
 Islands, and many of their adherents, who had come 
 up in 1811 to assist Pomare in the recovery of his 
 government and authority in Tahiti, returned to their 
 own dominions; not, however, without most earnestly 
 requesting the Missionaries to send them teachers and 
 books. 
 
 Tamatoa and his brother, with other chiefs, had been 
 residing for some time at the Missionary station in 
 Eimeo, they had attended the school and public in¬ 
 struction in the place of worship; and several, among 
 the most promising, of whom was Paumoana , at 
 present a valuable native Missionary in the Harvey 
 islands, appeared to be under the decisive influence 
 of Christian principle. 
 
 After an absence of two years, during which he had 
 resided in Tahiti, vainly expecting the restoration of 
 his government, and endeavouring to recover his 
 authority in his hereditary dominions, Pomare returned 
 to Eimeo in the autumn of 1814, accompanied by a large 
 train of adherents and dependants, all professors, at least, 
 of Christianity. These regularly attended the school, 
 and increased the congregation to such a degree, that 
 it was necessary to enlarge the place of worship. The 
 king had been unable to withstand the temptation 
 with which he had been assailed at Tahiti, to use 
 ardent spirits; and although not addicted to entire 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 217 
 
 intoxication, yet it induced the Missionaries to fear that 
 he, like Agrippa, was but almost a Christian. They 
 could not but indulge unfavourable apprehensions on 
 his account; yet, considering his previous habits, that 
 intemperance had ever been the vice to which he was 
 most addicted, and the peculiar temptations to which 
 his residence in Tahiti had exposed him, they could not 
 readily relinquish the hopes they had entertained re¬ 
 specting him. 
 
 The numerous attendance and increasing earnestness 
 of the people, induced the Missionaries to meet them 
 for Divine worship twice on the Lord’s day, and once 
 during the week. In addition to these public instruc¬ 
 tions, they held a meeting every Sabbath evening with 
 those whose names had been written down as the 
 disciples of Christ, and spent much time in more 
 private endeavours to direct the views, and confirm 
 the belief, of those who were desirous to be added to 
 their number. These sacred exercises were enlivened 
 by the natives, who united with their teachers in 
 celebrating the praises of Jehovah, a number of the 
 natives having been taught to sing hymns that had been 
 composed in the native language. The Missionaries 
 had often, with mingled feelings of horror and pity, 
 heard their songs of licentiousness or of war, as well as 
 the cantillations of their heathen worship, and their 
 songs in honour of their idols; and it is hardly possible 
 to form an adequate idea of the delightful transport 
 with which, at first, they must have heard the high 
 praises of the Almighty ascend from native voices. 
 
 Upaparu y a principal chief in the eastern part of 
 Tahiti, came over to Eimeo for the express purpose 
 of seeking Christian instruction, and attending the 
 
 2 F 
 
218 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 assemblies for public worship. He was accompanied by 
 twelve of his people, equally anxious with himself, and 
 his wife, Maihota, to know more respecting these 
 important matters. On the 15th of April they reached 
 the Missionary station. The following day was the 
 Sabbath. They attended public worship in the fore¬ 
 noon ; and when they saw the congregation standing up, 
 and heard them sing the praises of Jehovah in their 
 native tongue, they were for some time mute with as¬ 
 tonishment, and some of them so deeply affected, as to 
 be unable to refrain from tears. An excellent discourse 
 was afterwards delivered by Mr. Scott, to which they 
 listened with mingled feelings of wonder and delight. 
 
 A variety of events occurred at this time, to confirm 
 the attachment of those who had professed themselves 
 favourable to Christianity, and to induce those who were 
 undecided to join them. On one occasion, a family in 
 Eimeo were plunged into great distress, on account of 
 the sufferings of one of its members, and the prospect 
 of a fatal issue. A priest was sent for, who implored 
 the assistance of his god; but, continuing his inter¬ 
 cession for a long time, without any apparent relief to 
 the sufferer, he deserted, and left the family in hopeless 
 disappointment. A native, who was a worshipper of 
 Jehovah, was among the attending friends. He kneeled 
 down, and offered up a fervent prayer to the true God. 
 While he was thus engaged, relief was afforded, and 
 the weeping and forebodings of the family turned into 
 grateful wonder, and joyous gratulations.* I simply 
 
 * In recording this incident, it is proper to state, that the Missionaries 
 disclaim all idea of miraculous interposition. At the same time, the provi¬ 
 dential coincidence of the events, and the encouragement which the word 
 of God gives to “fervent and effectual prayer/' demand attentive con¬ 
 sideration, and grateful acknowledgment.—Psalm cvii. 43. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 219 
 
 state the fact, as it is recorded by the Missionary in the 
 island at the time, without making any comment; which, 
 indeed, it neither requires nor admits. On the minds 
 of the family, and the inhabitants of the place, it pro¬ 
 duced a powerful impression. They hastened to the 
 idol temple of the district, which they demolished, 
 breaking down the altars, and bringing forth their gods, 
 which they execrated as false, and publicly committed 
 to the flames. 
 
 A similar instance occurred early in this year. 
 One of the scholars, the wife of an areoi, who had 
 for some time, with her husband’s consent, attended 
 the school, was suddenly taken ill. The members of 
 the family were alarmed; and, accustomed to attribute 
 every calamity to the anger of the gods, immediately 
 concluded that her illness was occasioned by their dis¬ 
 pleasure, which she had probably incurred by attending 
 the school and the Christian worship of the Missionaries. 
 Patii , the priest of the district, was instantly sent for. 
 On his arrival, a small pig and a young plantain were 
 procured, and handed to Patii; who, in offering them to 
 his god, thus addressed him: O Satani! eialia oe e riri, 
 faaorci , factor a, Teie te hapa , ua faarue ia oe , ua haava - 
 rthia e te papaa , Teie te huaa , eiaha e riri; “ O Satan ! 
 be not angry, restore, restore; this is the sin, deceived 
 by the foreigners (she) has forsaken you. Here is a 
 pig (as an atonement,) be not angry.” In this address 
 it is singular to notice the application of the term Satan 
 to the god Patii invoked. It was introduced by the 
 Missionaries, and at this time adopted by the Christians, 
 when speaking of any of the idols of Tahiti. Although 
 dangerously ill at the time these efforts were made, the 
 woman recovered; and, notwithstanding all the fearful 
 
220 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 representation of consequences, made by her friends, 
 attended the school again, so soon as her strength 
 admitted. Her infatuation, as they conceived it to be 
 in this respect, not only encouraged her school-fellows, 
 but, with other circumstances which occurred about the 
 same time, made a considerable impression on the minds 
 of the idolaters, and occasioned some of the priests 
 publicly to declare their firm conviction “that the 
 religion of the foreigners would prevail, in spite of all 
 opposition” 
 
 The progress of Divine truth was so rapid among 
 the natives, that, in the close of 1814, not fewer than 
 300 hearers regularly attended the preaching of the 
 gospel. Upwards of 200 had given in their names, as 
 professors of Christianity. Three hundred scholars 
 attended the means of instruction in Eimeoj besides 
 which, there were a number in Sir Charles Sander’s 
 Island, Huahine, and Raiatea; so that, at this time 
 there is reason to believe that between five and six 
 hundred had renounced idol-worship. 
 
 These encouraging appearances, in regard to the 
 affairs of the new converts, only appeared to arouse the 
 anger of their idolatrous enemies, who were no longer 
 satisfied with simply ridiculing, and treating with con¬ 
 tempt, the objects of their hatred, but proceeded to more 
 alarming plans of resistance against the progress of 
 those new principles which were daily gaining ground 
 among the people. It was by no means an uncontested 
 triumph, nor an undisputed possession, that Christianity 
 acquired in those islands; every inch was reluctantly sur¬ 
 rendered ; and, at several periods, persecution raged, amid 
 the Elysian bowers of Tahiti and Eimeo, as much as ever 
 it had done in the valleys of Piedmont, or the metropolis 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 221 
 
 of the Roman empire. Many, in Tahiti especially, were 
 plundered of their property, banished from their 
 homes and their possessions, their houses were burnt, 
 and they themselves hunted for sacrifices to be offered 
 to Oro, merely because they were Bure Atua prayers to 
 God. In some places, the persecutions were so invete¬ 
 rate as to produce remonstrances, even from several of 
 the inferior chiefs, who were themselves idolaters. 
 
 The commencement of the year 1815 is distinguished, 
 in the annals of Tahiti, by changes in society, affecting 
 deeply, not only the religious, but the domestic condi¬ 
 tion of the people, especially of the females. Idolatry 
 had exerted all its withering and deadly influence, not 
 only over every moment of their earthly existence, but 
 every department of life, destroying, by its debasing and 
 unsocial dictates, every tender feeling, and all the en¬ 
 joyments of domestic intercourse. The father and the 
 mother, with their children, never, as one social happy 
 band, surrounded the domestic hearth, or, assembling 
 under the grateful shade of the verdant grove, partook 
 together, as a family, of the bounties of Providence. 
 The nameless but delightful emotions, experienced on 
 such occasions, were unknown to them, and all that 
 we are accustomed to distinguish by the endearing 
 appellation of domestic happiness. The institutes of 
 Oro and Tane inexorably required, not only that the 
 wife should not eat those kinds of food of which the 
 husband partook, but that she should not eat in the 
 same place, or prepare her food at the same fire. This 
 restriction applied not only to the wife, with regard 
 to her husband, but to all the individuals of the 
 female sex, from their birth to the day of their death. 
 In sickness or pain, or whatever other circumstances. 
 
222 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the mother, the wife, the sister, or the daughter, might 
 be brought into, it was never relaxed. The men, 
 especially those who occasionally attended on the ser¬ 
 vices of idol worship in the temple, were considered 
 ra, or sacred ; while the female sex, altogether, was con¬ 
 sidered noa , or common : the men were allowed to eat 
 the flesh of the pig, and of fowls, and a variety of fish, 
 cocoa-nuts, and plantains, and whatever was presented 
 as an offering to the gods, which the females, on pain 
 of death, were forbidden to touch; as it was supposed, 
 they would pollute them. The fires at which the men’s 
 food w T as cooked, were also sacred, and were forbidden to 
 be used by the females. The baskets in which their pro¬ 
 vision was kept, and the house in which the men ate, were 
 also sacred, and prohibited to the females under the same 
 cruel penalty. Hence the inferior food, both for wives, 
 daughters, &c. was cooked at separate fires, deposited 
 in distinct baskets, and eaten in lonely solitude by the 
 females, in little huts erected for the purpose. 
 
 The most offensive and frequent imprecations which 
 the men were accustomed to use towards each other, 
 referred also to this degraded condition of the females. 
 JE taha miti noa oe no to medua , Mayest thou become a 
 bottle, to hold salt w r ater for thy mother; or another, 
 Mayest thou be baked as food for thy mother ; were im¬ 
 precations they were accustomed to denounce upon each 
 other: or. Take out your eye-ball, and give it to your 
 mother to eat. 
 
 To this cheerless and debasing distinction, the 
 female sex had been for ages subject, from the direct 
 injunctions of their false system of religion ; and as its 
 cumbrous fabric began to give way, this barbarous and 
 arbitrary requisition was proportionably disregarded. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 223 
 
 Not only were the sacred materials with which the altars, 
 and the apendages of the temple, had been constructed, 
 converted into fuel; but the food, considered sacred, was 
 esteemed so no longer, the invidious and debasing dis¬ 
 tinctions attached to the females were removed, and both 
 sexes, among those who professed Christianity, sat down 
 together to their cheerful meal. 
 
 Under the influence of these encouraging prospects, 
 although enfeebled by frequent indisposition, the Mis¬ 
 sionaries prosecuted their work; their scholars increased 
 in the same degree that the profession of Christianity 
 prevailed, and a supply of four hundred copies of their 
 abridgment of the New Testament, and a thousand 
 copies of small elementary books, which had been printed 
 in New South Wales, arrived very opportunely about 
 this time; spelling books they were still much in want 
 of, as those formerly printed in England had long been 
 expended. 
 
 Such was the pleasing state of things in the com¬ 
 mencement of 1815. The importance and advantages of 
 education appeared to be more extensively appreciated, 
 and between forty and fifty, principally adults, regularly 
 attended the Mission school. The agents of vice, ido¬ 
 latry, and cruelty, were not inactive. The struggle 
 between light and darkness, truth and error, order and 
 anarchy, benevolence and barbarism, had never ap¬ 
 peared more intense and conspicuous, than at this 
 time. The little band of scholars in the Mission 
 school, and worshippers in the chapel, unwilling to 
 enjoy their privileges alone, employed every proper 
 and persuasive means to induce their friends and 
 relatives to attend to these things ; at least to make 
 a trial of the school, and to hear what was said about 
 
224 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the true God. The latter, however, frequently became 
 indignant at the very proposal, charging the God of the 
 foreigners with all the maladies under which they 
 suffered, and the disturbances that agitated the country; 
 accusing them also of bringing down the vengeance of 
 their own gods upon the family, by deserting their 
 altars, and worshipping with the strangers. Frequently, 
 however, they answered their entreaties only with ridi¬ 
 cule and scorn, tauntingly inquiring, Where is the good 
 of which you speak so much—the salvation of which you 
 tell us ? the foreigners themselves die, their pupils die, 
 or suffer the same pain that we do; and what good have 
 you derived from going to their schools ? Let us see—if 
 you go this week, and bring home a good bundle of 
 cloth, or scissors, or knives, or any thing else worth 
 having, then we will go too; if not, we will have nothing 
 to do with such profitless work. The state of things 
 resembled greatly that described by the Saviour, when 
 speaking of the results that should follow the promulga¬ 
 tion of his gospel. In many a family, the husband was 
 an idolater, and the wife a Christian,—or the reverse; the 
 parents addicted to the gods of their ancestors, and the 
 child a disciple of Jesus Christ; and many a wife was 
 beaten by her husband, and many a child driven from 
 the parental roof, solely on account of their attachment 
 to the new religion. In Tahiti, the idolaters proceeded 
 to the greatest acts of lawless violence and horrid 
 murder. 
 
 More than once, individuals were selected to be 
 offered in sacrifice to the gods, only because they were 
 Christians. Mr. Davies, in his journey round Tahiti, 
 in 1816, met with the murderer of the young man 
 who was offered in sacrifice by the people of Taia- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 225 
 
 rabu, to insure success in their last attack upon the 
 people of Atehuru and Papara, and whose tragical death 
 he justly considered, ought to be recorded, because it is 
 hoped it was “the last human sacrifice offered in 
 Tahiti,” and because the victim was selected “on 
 account of his attachment to Christianity.” 
 
 Aberahama, an interesting and intelligent young man, 
 who was a pupil in our school at Eimeo, was marked out 
 as a victim; and, when the servants of the priests came 
 to take him, being obliged to fly for his life, he was pursued 
 by the murderers, shot at, wounded, and but narrowly 
 escaped. When he received the ball, he fell, and, 
 unable to save himself by flight, crawled among the 
 bushes, and hid himself so completely, as to elude the 
 vigilant search of his enemies, although it was continued 
 for some time, and they often passed near his retreat* 
 Under cover of the darkness of night, he crept down to 
 the dwelling of his friends, who dressed his wound, and 
 conveyed him to a place of safety. But, although he 
 recovered from the shot, and lives, not only to enjoy the 
 blessings of the gospel in this world, and to be useful 
 in imparting its benefits to others, he will, to adopt the 
 language of Mr. Davies, “ carry the honourable scar to 
 his grave.” 
 
 An immolation, equally affecting, was related to 
 me by Mr. Nott. A fine, intelligent young man, on 
 becoming a disciple of Christ, and a public worshipper 
 of Jehovah, was ridiculed by his family; this proving 
 ineffectual, flattering promises were made of temporal 
 advantages, if he would again unite with those 
 who had been his former associates in idol worship ; 
 these he also declined. He then was threatened with 
 all their weight of vengeance; and still remaining firm 
 
 2 G 
 
226 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 to his determination* he was banished from his father’s 
 house* and forced to leave his home. Not satisfied 
 with this* that rage and malignant hatred of Christianity* 
 which is gendered by ignorance and idolatry* and 
 cherished by Satanic infatuation* pursued him still. A 
 heathen ceremony was at hand* for which a human 
 victim was required* and this young man was selected 
 by his persecutors* because he professed to be a wor¬ 
 shipper of the true God. A more acceptable sacrifice 
 they thought they could not offer* as the revenge they 
 should thereby wreak upon him* they conceived would 
 not only gratify their own insatiate malice* but be so 
 acceptable to the gods whom he had rejected* as cer¬ 
 tainly to render them propitious. On the evening of 
 the day preceding that on which the ceremony was to 
 take place* the young man* as his custom was* had 
 retired to the brow of a hill that overlooked the valley 
 where he dwelt; and there* seated beneath the em¬ 
 bowering shade of an elegantly growing clump of trees* 
 was absorbed in meditation* previous to offering up his 
 evening supplications to his God. While thus engaged* 
 his seclusion was invaded* and his solitude disturbed* 
 by the appearance of a band similar* in some respects* 
 to that which broke in upon the Saviour’s retirement in 
 Gethsemane. A number of the servants of the priests 
 and chiefs approaghed the young man* and told him that 
 the king had arrived* and* wishing to see him* had sent 
 them to invite him down. He knew of the approaching 
 ceremony*—that a human sacrifice was then to be offered* 
 —and he no sooner saw them advancing to his retreat* 
 than a sudden thought* like a flash of lightning* darted 
 through his mind* intimating that he was to be the 
 victim. He received it as a premonition of his doom 3 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 227 
 
 and, in reply to the request, told them, calmly, that he 
 did not think the king had arrived, and that, therefore, 
 it was unnecessary for him to go down. They then told 
 him that the priest, or some of his friends, wished to see 
 him, and again invited him to descend. “ Why,” said 
 he, “do you thus seek to deceive me? The priest, or 
 friends, may wish to see me, but it is under very 
 different circumstances from what your message would 
 imply: I know a ceremony approaches, that a human 
 victim is then to be offered—something within tells me 
 lam to be that victim, and your appearance and your 
 message confirms my conviction. Jesus Christ is my 
 keeper, without his permission you cannot harm me; 
 you may be permitted to kill my body, but, I am not 
 afraid to die! My soul you cannot hurt; that is safe in 
 the hands of Jesus Christ, by whom it will be kept 
 beyond your power.” Perceiving there was but little 
 prospect of inducing him, by falsehood, to accompany 
 them towards the beach, and irritated, probably, by his 
 heroical reply, they rushed upon him, wounded, and 
 murdered him, and then, in a long basket made with the 
 leaves of the overshadowing cocoa-nut tree, bore his 
 body to the temple, where, with exultation, it was 
 offered in sacrifice to their god. They had, perhaps, 
 beheld, with fiend-like joy, his writhing agonies in 
 death, and listened, with equal delight, to his expiring 
 groans. The unconscious earth had been saturated 
 with his blood; and, when they placed his body on 
 the rude altar, or suspended it from the sacred tree, in 
 the presence of their god, they not only supposed they 
 offered a sacrifice, at once acceptable and efficacious, 
 but, doubtless, viewed the immolation as one by which 
 they had achieved for idolatry a triumph over humanity 
 
228 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and Christian principle. Before, however, these feelings 
 could be exercised, and the earth had drank up his 
 blood, or his insulted corpse was deposited on their 
 altar, his liberated and ransomed spirit had winged its 
 way to the realms of blessedness, received the welcome 
 greeting of his Saviour, and, invested with the robes 
 of victory, the palm of triumph, and the crown of glory, 
 had joined “the nobly army of martyrs;” and united in 
 ascriptions of grateful homage unto Him who had loved 
 him, and not only made him faithful to the end, but 
 triumphant over death. Those who heard the young 
 man's dying words, and witnessed his calm unshaken 
 firmness in the moment of trial, with many, among 
 whom the report circulated, were probably led to think 
 differently of the religion he professed, than they had 
 done before. The blood of the martyrs has ever been 
 the seed of the church; and, from an exhibition of 
 principles so unequivocal in their nature, and so happy 
 in their effects, it is not too much to presume that it 
 proved so on the present occasion. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 229 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Distillation of ardent spirits—Description of a native still—Materials 
 employed in distillation—Murderous effects of intoxication—Seizure 
 of the Queen Charlotte—Murder of the officers—Escape of Mr. Shelly 
 —Seizure of the Daphne—Massacre of the captain and part of the crew 
 —Upaparu removes to Eimeo—First Christians denominated Bure 
 Atua —Public triumph over idolatry in Eimeo—Visit of the Queen 
 and her sister to Tahiti—Emblems of the gods committed to the 
 flames—Account of Farefare—Projected assassination of the Bure 
 Atua—Manner of their escape—War in Tahiti—Pomare’s tour of 
 Eimeo. 
 
 Intemperance at this time prevailed to an awful and 
 unprecedented degree. By the Sandwich Islanders, 
 who had arrived some years before, the natives had 
 been taught to distil ardent spirits from the saccha¬ 
 rine ti root, which they now practised to a great 
 extent, and exhibited, in a proportionate degree, 
 all the demoralizing and debasing influence of drun¬ 
 kenness. 
 
 Whole districts frequently united, to erect what might 
 be termed a public still. It was a rude, unsightly 
 machine, yet it answered but too well the purpose for 
 which it was made. It generally consisted of a large 
 fragment of rock, hollowed in a rough manner, and fixed 
 firmly upon a solid pile of stones, leaving a space under¬ 
 neath for a fire-place. The but-end of a large tree was 
 then hollowed out, and placed upon the rough stone boiler 
 for a cap. The baked ti root, Dracance terminal™, 
 
230 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 macerated in water, and already in a state of fermenta¬ 
 tion, was then put into the hollow stone, and covered 
 with the unwieldy cap. The fire was kindled under¬ 
 neath 5 a hole was made in the wooden cap of the still, 
 into which a long, small, bamboo cane, placed in a 
 trough of cold water, was inserted at one end, and, 
 when the process of distillation was commenced, the 
 spirit flowed from the other into a calabash, cocoa-nut 
 shell, or other vessel, placed underneath to receive it. 
 
 Tahitian Still . 
 
 When the materials were prepared, the men and 
 boys of the district assembled in a kind of temporary 
 house, erected over the still, in order to drink the ava , 
 as they called the spirit. The first that issued from 
 the still being the strongest, they called the ao ; it was 
 carefully received, and given to the chief; that subse¬ 
 quently procured, was drunk by the people in general. 
 In this employment they were sometimes engaged for 
 several days together, drinking the spirit as it issued 
 from the still, sinking into a state of indescribable 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 231 
 
 wretchedness, and often practising the most ferocious 
 barbarities. 
 
 Travellers among the natives experienced greater 
 inconvenience from these district stills than from any 
 other cause, for when the people were either prepar¬ 
 ing one, or engaged in drinking, it was impossible to 
 obtain either their attention, or the common offices of 
 hospitality. Under the unrestrained influence of their 
 intoxicating draught, in their appearance and actions 
 they resembled demons more than human beings. 
 
 Sometimes, in a deserted still-house might be seen 
 the fragments of the rude boiler, and the other ap¬ 
 pendages of the still, scattered in confusion on the 
 ground ; and among them the dead and mangled bodies 
 of those who had been murdered with axes or billets 
 of wood in the quarrels that had terminated their dis¬ 
 sipation. 
 
 It was not only among themselves that their unbridled 
 passions led to such enormities. One or two European 
 vessels were seized, and the crews inhumanly murdered. 
 The first was the Queen Charlotte, of Port Jackson, the 
 vessel by which we arrived in the islands. 
 
 Towards the autumn of 1813, Mr. Shelly, formerly a 
 Missionary in Tongatabu, and subsequently in Matavai, 
 arrived as master of the Queen Charlotte, at Eimeo, on 
 his way to the Paumotu, or Pearl Islands. These lie to 
 the eastward of Tahiti, and form what is denominated 
 the Dangerous Archipelago. The vessel was but imper¬ 
 fectly manned, and a number of natives, of Raiatea and 
 Tahiti, were taken on board, to dive among the lagoon 
 islands for the pearl oyster. They proceeded to their 
 destination, but had scarcely commenced their pearl¬ 
 fishing, when the natives attacked the crew, barbarously 
 
232 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 murdered the first and second officers* who were men of 
 fine stature and benevolent dispositions ; and killing one 
 of the seamen* took possession of the ship. Mr. Shelly’s 
 life was threatened* and only spared at the instance of 
 two Tahitians* who* anxious to save him* requested that 
 he might be kept* to navigate the vessel to Tahiti* 
 whither they intended to return. One of these natives 
 was Upaparu* a chief of rank* present secretary to 
 the government of Tahiti* and a steady friend to 
 foreigners. When the vessel arrived at Tahiti* Po- 
 mare succeeded in securing to Mr. Shelly its restoration* 
 though most of the property had been plundered. Mat¬ 
 ting was procured for sails* and the vessel reached Port 
 Jackson in safety. 
 
 Flushed with the success that had attended the savage 
 and daring effort of the Raiateans* the Tahitians* whom 
 Captain Fodger had employed on board his vessel* the 
 Daphne* for the purpose of diving among the pearl 
 islands* rose upon the ship’s company* murdered the 
 captain and some of the men* took possession of the 
 vessel* and brought her to Tahiti. Mr. G. Bicknell* a 
 nephew of Mr. Bicknell* was on board at the time* 
 but his life was spared* amidst the general carnage that 
 attended the assault. The mutinous natives returned 
 to their own island* but were met as they were about 
 to enter the harbour at Tahiti* by Captain Walker of the 
 Endeavour* who succeeded in retaking the vessel* and 
 thus deprived them of their plunder. 
 
 These acts of daring outrage and appalling crime* on 
 the one side* and of increasing and decided attachment 
 to the principles of order* humanity* and religion* on the 
 other* seemed to indicate that matters in Tahiti were 
 fast verging to an important issue* and that* before long, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 233 
 
 some violent convulsion in society must follow. The 
 Missionaries could not view these things with insensi¬ 
 bility, as they saw what they had to expect, should they 
 fall into the hands of those who had been guilty of such 
 wanton cruelty; their support was* however, derived 
 from the conviction, that their God was governor among 
 the nations, and that the Lord omnipotent reigned. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1813, one of the early 
 scholars departed to the world of spirits, under the 
 consolation that pure religion imparts in the hour 
 of death. He was often heard to say, while confined 
 to his couch, when he saw his former companions going 
 to the school, or the place of worship, “ My feet cannot 
 follow, but my heart goes with you.” He did not pre¬ 
 tend to know much, but he knew that he was a sinner, 
 and that Jesus Christ came into the world to save 
 sinners, and this knowledge removed from his mind the 
 fear of death. 
 
 Early in the same year, the number of pupils, and 
 of those who professed Christianity, considerably in¬ 
 creased in Eimeo, and favourable intelligence continued 
 to arrive from the adjacent island. 
 
 The report of the increase of the Christians, and their 
 advancement in knowledge, &c. had already circulated 
 throughout Tahiti; the minds of many were unsettled, 
 and numbers were halting between two opinions. Upa- 
 paru, a chief of rank and influence in the eastern part 
 of Tahiti, with his wife, and twelve or thirteen of his 
 people, came over to Eimeo, in order to receive 
 instruction. The inhabitants of the Leeward Islands, 
 whose encampment he passed when on his way to 
 Papetoai, strongly persuaded him to join their party, 
 and carry the flag of the gods to Raiatea, entreat- 
 
 2 H 
 
234 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ing him to adhere to the religion of his fathers, 
 and to beware of Matupuupuu , a man of influence, an 
 areoi, and a high-priest, from Huahine, who had recently 
 joined the Christian converts, and Utami, a well- 
 informed and enterprising man, chief in the island of 
 Tahaa, who, with his wife, had also attached himself 
 to their number. 
 
 Fifty had now given in their names, as having 
 renounced idolatry, desiring to acknowledge Jehovah 
 alone as the true God, and to be instructed in the 
 obedience his word required. Others attended in such 
 numbers, that it was found necessary to enlarge the 
 first place of worship they had ever used in the islands. 
 The converts were punctual and regular in their ob¬ 
 servance of the outward ordinances of religion, in 
 frequent social meetings for prayer, and seasons 
 of retirement for private devotion. Their whole 
 moral conduct seemed changed; the things they once 
 delighted in, they now abhorred, and found enjoyment 
 in what had formerly been a source of ridicule or 
 aversion. Their habit of invariably asking a blessing, 
 and returning thanks after meals, and their frequent 
 attention to prayer, attracted the notice of their coun¬ 
 trymen, and procured for them, as a term of reproach from 
 their enemies, the designation of Bure Atua , literally 
 Prayers to God; from Bure 3 to pray, and Atua , God; the 
 meaning of which was, the people who prayed to God, 
 or the praying people. Bure Atua is a designation in 
 no respect dishonourable to those to whom it was ap¬ 
 plied, and of which they have never been ashamed, 
 though considered as an epithet of contempt or oppro¬ 
 brium, and applied in a manner similar to that in which 
 the term Saint or Methodist is used in the present day, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 235 
 
 or the designation of Nazarene or Christian was given to 
 the first disciples. Since the profession of Christianity 
 has become general, it has been much less used than 
 formerly. Haapii parau, learners, or brethren, friends, 
 and disciples, are the terms most frequently employed 
 by the converts themselves. 
 
 In the close of 1814, Pomare-vahine, the daughter of 
 the king of Raiatea, and the sister of Pomare’s queen, 
 paid a visit to Eimeo, from the Leeward Islands, and in the 
 month of May, 1815, made a voyage to Tahiti, in com¬ 
 pany with her sister the queen, with a numerous train of 
 companions and attendants, most of whom professed to be 
 Christians. Their object was to make the tour of Tahiti, 
 with the visitor from the Leeward Islands. Previously, 
 however, to their embarkation, a signal triumph was 
 achieved in favour of Christianity, at a public festival, in 
 which they were the most conspicuous party. 
 
 It has ever been considered a mark of respect 
 due to every distinguished visitor, to prepare, soon after 
 the arrival of such an individual, a sumptuous feast, 
 termed by the natives a faamuraa , or feeding. Not, 
 however, by furnishing a rich and splendid entertain¬ 
 ment at the habitation of the proprietors, and inviting 
 as guests the parties in honour of whom it was pre¬ 
 pared, but by cooking a number of whole pigs, fowls, and 
 fish, with a proportionate accompaniment of roots and 
 vegetables, puddings, and what may be called their made- 
 dishes, and carrying the whole to the encampment of the 
 visitor, with a considerable addition of the choicest 
 fruits the season may afford. 
 
 An expensive and sumptuous entertainment of this 
 kind was furnished by the chiefs of Eimeo for the 
 queen’s sister. A large quantity of every valuable kind 
 
236 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of food was dressed and presented, together with several 
 bundles of native cloth. On such occasions, it was cus¬ 
 tomary for a priest or priests to attend; and before any 
 of it was eaten, to offer the whole to the gods, by taking 
 parts of the animals, and particular kinds of the fruit, 
 to the temple, and depositing them upon the altar. The 
 king and his friends were desirous on this occasion to 
 prevent such an acknowledgment. When, therefore, 
 the food was presented to Pomare - vahine, before 
 any article was touched by the attendants, and while 
 the spectators were expecting the priests to select the 
 customary offerings to the idols, one of her principal 
 men, who was a Christian, came forward, uncovered his 
 head, and, looking up to heaven, offered in an audible voice 
 their acknowledgments and thanksgivings to Jehovah, 
 who liberally gave them food and raiment and every 
 earthly blessing. The assembled multitude were con¬ 
 founded and astonished; and the food being, by this 
 act, offered as they considered to Jehovah, no one dared 
 to take any part of it to the idol temple. 
 
 When the party reached Tahiti, they landed in Pare, 
 the hereditary district of Pomare’s family, where they 
 were welcomed by the friends of the king, and the guar¬ 
 dian of Aimata , his only child, who with her nurse 
 resided here. 
 
 From the few Christians in the * neighbourhood, they 
 were happy to learn that the inhabitants of large 
 sections of Pare, and the adjacent district of Matavai, 
 the former residence of their teachers, had renounced 
 idolatry, and were desirous to receive Christian in- 
 truction. 
 
 By the queen, or her sister, the king sent over a new 
 book to Aimata, his infant daughter, which being con- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 237 
 
 sidered as an indication of his purpose that she should 
 be trained up in the new religion, was a source of great 
 encouragement to the converts, and of corresponding 
 dissatisfaction to the idolaters, who already began to 
 meditate on the means of their destruction. 
 
 It was not in Pare and Matavai alone that the pro¬ 
 fessed worshippers of God were to be found. Some 
 there were who openly avowed their attachment to the 
 new order of things, maintaining, in the midst of the 
 heathen around them, daily worship in their families, and 
 morning and evening private devotion; others, who, for 
 fear of giving offence to their chiefs or neighbours, 
 maintained secretly their profession, and at the hour of 
 midnight met together, as the persecuted Christians in 
 England have often formerly done, in the depths of the 
 woods, or the retired glens of the valleys, for conference 
 or social prayer. 
 
 The state of affairs in Tahiti was such, as to prevent 
 the queen and her sister from proceeding on their in¬ 
 tended tour of the island ; but while they remained at 
 Pare, a circumstance occurred similar to that which had 
 transpired in Eimeo, though probably more decisive and 
 important in its immediate results. 
 
 When a present of food and cloth was brought to the 
 visitors by some of the chiefs of Tahiti, the priests also 
 attended, and, observing the party disinclined to 
 acknowledge or render the customary homage to the 
 gods, began to expatiate on the power of the gods, and, 
 pointing to some bunches of wra, or red feathers, which 
 were always considered emblematical of their deities, em¬ 
 ployed insulting language, and threatened with vengeance 
 the queen’s companions. One of Pomare-vahine’s men, 
 the individual who had offered their acknowledgments to 
 
238 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 God, on the presentation of food in Eimeo, hearing this, 
 and pointing to the feathers, said, “ Are those the mighty 
 things you so extol, and with whose anger you threaten 
 us ? If so, I will soon convince you of their inability 
 even to preserve themselves/' Running at the same 
 time to the spot where they were fixed, he seized the 
 bunches of feathers, and cast them into a large fire close 
 by, where they were instantly consumed. The people 
 stood aghast, and uttered exclamations of horror at the 
 sacrilegious deed; and it is probable that this act in¬ 
 creased the hatred already rankling in the bosoms of the 
 idolatrous party. 
 
 The individual who acted so heroic and con¬ 
 spicuous a part on these occasions was Farefau , a 
 native of .Borabora, but attached to the household of 
 Pomare-vahine, with whom he had arrived from the 
 Leeward Islands in 1814. When he reached Eimeo, he 
 was an idolater, but soon became a pupil in the school; 
 and, in the close of the same year, desired that his 
 name might be recorded among the converts. He 
 occupied a prominent station in all the struggles between 
 paganism and true religion; and maintained an un¬ 
 blemished character, and an unwavering profession, 
 through the varied scenes of that unsettled period. 
 He engaged with diligence in teaching the inhabitants 
 of the remote and rocky parts of Taiarabu the cate¬ 
 chism and the art of reading; and after a lingering 
 illness, during which he enjoyed the presence and 
 support which true religion alone can impart, delivered, 
 as he expressed himself on the last day of his life, 
 from the fear of death, and having his hopes fixed or 
 relying on the Son of God as the only Saviour, he died 
 in peace, at our Missionary station in Afareaitu, on the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 239 
 
 29th of July, 1817, nearly two years after the total 
 overthrow of idolatry in 1815. 
 
 He was a man of decision and daring enterprise; 
 and though on the occasion in Tahiti above referred 
 to, he may have acted with a degree of zeal some¬ 
 what imprudent, it was a zeal resulting, not from 
 ignorant rashness, but enlightened principle, and holy 
 indignation against the boasting threatenings and lying 
 vanities of the priests of idolatry; to whose arts of 
 deception he had formerly been no stranger. 
 
 The influence of the Bure Atua in the nation, from 
 the rank many of them held, and the confidence with 
 which they maintained the superiority of their religion, 
 together with the accessions that were daily made to 
 their numbers from various parts of the island, not 
 only increased the latent enmity against Chris¬ 
 tianity which the idolaters had always cherished, but 
 awakened the first emotion of apprehension lest this 
 new word should ultimately prevail, and the gods, their 
 temples, and their worship, be altogether disregarded. 
 To avoid this, they determined on the destruction, the 
 total annihilation, of every one in Tahiti who was known 
 to pray to Jehovah. 
 
 A project was formed by the pagan chiefs of Pare, 
 Matavai, and Hapaiano, to assassinate, in one night, 
 every individual of the Bure Atua. The persecuted 
 party was already formidable in point of numbers and 
 rank, and the idolaters, in order to ensure success in 
 their murderous design, invited the chiefs of Atehuru 
 and Papara to join them. The time was fixed for the 
 perpetration of this bloody deed. At the hour of mid¬ 
 night they were to be attacked, their property plun¬ 
 dered, their houses burnt, and every prisoner secured. 
 
240 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 to be slaughtered on the spot. The parties, who for a 
 long time had been inveterate enemies to each other, 
 readily agreeing to the proposal, were made friends on 
 the occasion, and cordially assented to the plan of 
 destroying the Christians. The intended victims 
 of this treachery were unconscious of their danger, 
 until the evening of the 7th of July; when, a few 
 hours only before the horrid massacre was to have 
 commenced, they received secret intelligence of the ruin 
 that was ready to burst upon them. 
 
 Circumstances, unforeseen and uncontrollable by their 
 enemies, had prevented the different parties from 
 arriving punctually at their respective points of ren¬ 
 dezvous; otherwise, even now escape would have been 
 impracticable, and destruction inevitable, as the Porionu, 
 inhabitants of Pare, Matavai, and Hapaiano, would have 
 been on the one side, and in their rear, and the party 
 from Atehuru and Papara on the other. The delay in 
 the arrival of some of these, afforded the only hope of 
 deliverance. 
 
 At this remarkably critical period, the whole of 
 the party having to attend a meeting either for public 
 worship, or for some other general purpose, assembled 
 in the evening near the sea. No time was to be lost. 
 Their canoes were lying on the beach. They were 
 instantly launched; and, hurrying away what few things 
 they could take, they embarked soon after sunset, and 
 reached Eimeo in safety on the following morning, 
 grateful for the happy and surprising deliverance they 
 had experienced. The different parties, as they arrived 
 towards midnight, learned, with no ordinary remorse 
 and disappointment, that their prey had been alarmed, 
 and had escaped beyond their power. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 241 
 
 A large body of armed and lawless warriors* be¬ 
 longing to different and rival chieftains* thus brought 
 together under irritated feelings* and perhaps mutually 
 accusing each other as the cause of their disappointment* 
 were not long without a pretext for commencing the 
 work of death among themselves. Ancient animosities* 
 restrained only for the purpose of crushing what they 
 considered a common enemy* were soon revived* and 
 led to an open declaration of war between the tribes 
 assembled. The inhabitants of Atehuru and Papara* 
 who had been invited by the Porionu to join them in 
 destroying the Bure Atua* attacked the Porionu; and* 
 in the battle that followed* obtained a complete victory 
 over them* killing one of their principal chiefs* and 
 obliging the vanquished to seek their safety in flight. 
 
 After this affair* the people of Taiarabu joined the 
 victors. The whole island was again involved in war* 
 and the conquering party scoured the coast from 
 Atehuru to the eastern side of the isthmus* burning 
 every house* destroying every plantation* plundering 
 every article of property* and reducing the verdant and 
 beautiful districts of Pare* Faaa* the romantic valleys 
 of Hautaua* Matavai* and Hapaiano* and the whole of 
 the north-eastern part of the island* to a state of barren¬ 
 ness and desolation. 
 
 Success did not bring peace or rest to the victorious 
 party. Proud of their triumph* insolent in crime* and 
 impatient of control* the Atehuruans and natives of 
 Papara quarrelled with the Taiarabuans* who had joined 
 them in destroying the Porionu. A battle followed. 
 The natives of Taiarabu were defeated* and fled to their 
 fortresses in the mountains of their craggy peninsula* 
 leaving the Oropaa masters of the island. 
 
 2 i 
 
242 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Numbers of the vanquished fled to Eimeo, where they 
 were received by the king* or protected by the chiefs, 
 who had taken no part whatever in the wars that were 
 now desolating Tahiti, and who determined to observe 
 the strictest neutrality; or, if they acted at all, to 
 do so only on the defensive, should invasion be at¬ 
 tempted. 
 
 Besides the refugees, who in consequence of defeat 
 in Tahiti had taken shelter in Eimeo, numbers who 
 had secretly embraced Christianity, and feared ultimate 
 destruction from the idolaters, although religion ap¬ 
 peared to have no influence in the present commotion, 
 came over to Eimeo, and joined the Christians. The 
 aggregate of those whose names were written down as 
 such, amounted at this period to nearly four hundred, 
 and the pupils in the school were between six and 
 seven hundred. Want of books alone prevented its being 
 very considerably enlarged. 
 
 Notwithstanding the Bure Atua had escaped the ma¬ 
 chinations of their enemies, and the murderous counsel 
 of the idolaters had issued in their own defeat, yet it 
 was impossible, that, amidst the agitation which prevailed 
 in Tahiti, the adjacent island of Eimeo should remain 
 free from apprehension and disquiet; and although the 
 king had sent repeated messages of a peaceable ten¬ 
 dency to the conquerors, and had received assurances 
 that there was no feeling of hostility towards him and 
 his adherents, yet they knew, by past experience, that 
 no reliance was to be placed on such professions, and 
 were not without daily fears that a hostile fleet might 
 disembark an invading army on their shores. 
 
 When the queen and her sister went over to Tahiti, 
 Pomare undertook a journey round Eimeo, purposing 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 243 
 
 to travel by short stages* and* by conversation with the 
 chiefs of the different districts* to inform them of the 
 nature of Christianity* endeavour to induce them to 
 receive it* and recommend it to the people. He was 
 not at first exempt from some degree of ridicule in 
 this undertaking; for many of the chiefs and landed 
 proprietors in Eimeo* were by no means strongly 
 attached to his family. They were* moreover* at that 
 time the firm supporters of idolatry* and considered 
 his neglect of the gods of his ancestors* as the cause 
 of his own troubles* and the disastrous war then 
 desolating Tahiti* his hereditary kingdom. He was 
 not* however* discouraged; and it must have been 
 truly gratifying to have beheld him thus usefully 
 engaged. 
 
 Whatever may have been the influence of Christian 
 principles on his own mind* in subsequent periods of 
 his life* Pomare certainly was employed by the Almighty* 
 as an instrument most effectually to promote the im¬ 
 portant process* at this time changing altogether the 
 moral* civil* and religious aspect of the nation. The 
 success that attended his endeavours appears from a 
 letter which he addressed to the Missionaries while 
 encamped in the district of Maatea* on the side of 
 the island nearly opposite to that in which the Euro¬ 
 pean settlement stood. In this letter he stated his 
 delight in beholding the chiefs inclined to obey the 
 word of God ; which* he said* Jehovah himself was 
 causing to grow* so that it prospered exceedingly. 
 Thirty-four or thirty-six* in one district* had* to use 
 his own expression* “laid hold of the word of God*” 
 though there were others who paid no attention to 
 those things. 
 
244 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 At Haumi, the adjoining district, but few were pre¬ 
 vailed upon to forsake paganism 3 but among them was 
 an intelligent man, who was a priest. 
 
 At Maatea, the district from which the king wrote, 
 ninety-six renounced idolatry while he was there, in 
 addition to others who had done so before. The change 
 appeared to be general here. The chiefs, priests, and 
 people publicly committed their idols to the flames, 
 attended public worship, requested to have their names 
 written down as desirous of becoming Christians, 
 and importuned the king and his attendants to pro¬ 
 tract their visit, that they might be more fully in¬ 
 formed in all the matters connected with the profes¬ 
 sion they had now made. 
 
 The Bure Atua had hitherto escaped the ruin intended 
 for them by their enemies 3 and, though these were 
 masters of Tahiti, in Eimeo, and secretly in Tahiti, the 
 number of those who had joined the Christians was 
 greatly increased. This state of things could not long 
 remain. The haughty and turbulent spirit of the victors 
 was such as to prevent it: and in the event of their pro¬ 
 ceeding to the object for which they had taken up 
 arms, viz. the suppression of Christianity, it was by no 
 means improbable that both the native Christians and 
 their teachers, if they were not destroyed by their 
 enemies, might be expelled from Tahiti and Eimeo. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 245 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 The refugees in Eimeo invited to return to Tahiti—Voyage of the king 
 and his adherents—Opposition to their landing—Public worship on 
 the Sabbath disturbed by the idolatrous army—Courage of the king— 
 Circumstances of the battle of Bunaauia—Death of the idolatrous 
 chieftain—Victory of the Christians—Clemency of the king and 
 chiefs—Destruction of the image temple and altars of Oro—Total sub¬ 
 version of paganism—General reception of Christianity—Consequent 
 alteration in the circumstances of the people—Pomare’s prayer— 
 Tidings of the victory conveyed to Eimeo—Its influence in the adjacent 
 islands—Remarks on the time, circumstances, means, and agents, con¬ 
 nected with the change. 
 
 In the commencement of the year 1815* the affairs of 
 Tahiti and Eimeo, in reference to the supremacy of 
 Christianity or idolatry, were evidently tending to a 
 crisis; and although the converts had carefully avoided 
 all interference in the late wars which had deso¬ 
 lated the larger island, they were convinced that 
 the time was not very remote, when their faith and 
 principles must rise pre-eminent above the power and 
 influence of that system of delusion and crime, of which 
 they had so long been the slaves. To maintain the Chris¬ 
 tian faith, and enjoy a continuance of their present peace 
 and comfort, they foresaw would be impossible. Under 
 the influence of these impressions, the 14th of July, 
 1815, was set apart as a day of solemn fasting and 
 prayer to God, whose guidance and protection was 
 implored. A chastened and dependent frame of mind 
 was very generally experienced at this period by the 
 
246 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES* 
 
 Christians, which led them to be prepared for what¬ 
 ever in the course of Divine providence might tran¬ 
 spire. 
 
 Soon after this event, the pagan chiefs of Tahiti sent 
 messengers to the refugees in Eimeo, inviting them to re¬ 
 turn, and re-occupy the lands they had deserted. This 
 invitation they accepted ; and, as the presence of the 
 king was necessary in several of the usages and cere¬ 
 monies observed on these occasions, Pomare went over 
 about the same time, formally to reinstate them in 
 their hereditary possessions. A large number of Po- 
 mare’s adherents, who were professors of Christianity, 
 and inhabitants of Huahine, Raiatea, and Eimeo, with 
 Pomare-vahine and Mahine, the chief of Eimeo and Hua¬ 
 hine, accompanied the king and the refugees to Tahiti. 
 When they approached the shores of this island, the 
 idolatrous party appeared in considerable force on the 
 beach, assumed a hostile attitude, prohibited their 
 landing, and repeatedly fired upon the king’s party. 
 Instead of returning the fire, the king sent a flag of 
 truce and a proposal of peace. Several messages were 
 exchanged, and the negociations appeared to terminate in 
 confidence and friendship. The king and his followers were 
 allowed to land, and several of the people returned un¬ 
 molested to their respective districts and plantations. 
 Negociations for the adjustment of the differences that 
 had existed between the king and his friends, and the 
 idolatrous chiefs, were for a time carried on, and at 
 length arranged, apparently to the satisfaction of the 
 respective parties. The king, and those attached to his in¬ 
 terest, were not however without suspicion, that it was 
 only an apparent satisfaction ; and they were not mis¬ 
 taken. The idolaters had indeed joined with them in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 247 
 
 bending the wreath of amity and peace, while they 
 were at the same time secretly and actively concerting 
 measures for their destruction. 
 
 The 12th of November, 1815, was the most eventful 
 day that had yet occurred in the history of Tahiti. It 
 was the Sabbath. In the forenoon, Pomare, and the 
 people who had come over from Eimeo, probably about 
 eight hundred, assembled for public worship at a place 
 called Narii, near the village of Bunaauia, in the district 
 of Atehuru. At distant points of the district, they sta¬ 
 tioned piquets; and when divine service was about to 
 commence, and the individual who was to officiate stood 
 up to read the first hymn, a firing of muskets was heard $ 
 and, looking out of the building in which they were 
 assembled, a large body of armed men, preceded and 
 attended by the flag of the gods, and the varied emblems 
 of idolatry, were seen marching round a distant point 
 of land, and advancing towards the place where they 
 were assembled. It is war! It is war! was the cry 
 which re-echoed through the place \ as the approaching 
 army were seen from the different parts of the building. 
 Many, agreeably to the precautions of the Missionaries, 
 had met for worship under arms \ others, who had not, 
 were preparing to return to their tents, and arm for the 
 battle. Some degree of confusion consequently prevailed. 
 Pomare arose, and requested them all to remain quietly in 
 their places ; stating, that they were under the special 
 protection of Jehovah, and had met together for his worship, 
 which was not to be forsaken or disturbed even by the 
 approach of an enemy. Auna , formerly an areoi and a 
 warrior, now a Christian teacher, who was my informant 
 on these points, then read the hymn, and the congregation 
 sang it. A portion of scripture was read, a prayer 
 
248 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 offered to the Almighty, and the service closed. Those 
 who were unarmed, now repaired to their tents, and 
 procured their weapons. 
 
 In assuming the posture of defence, the king’s 
 friends formed themselves into two or three columns, 
 one on the sea-beach, and the other at a short distance 
 towards the mountains. Attached to Pomare’s camp, 
 was a number of refugees, who had, during the late 
 commotions in Tahiti, taken shelter under his protec¬ 
 tion, but had not embraced Christianity 3 on these the 
 king and his adherents placed no reliance, but stationed 
 them in the centre, or the rear, of the column. The 
 Bure Atua requested to form the viri or frontlet, ad¬ 
 vanced guard 3 and the paparia , or cheek of their forces 3 
 while the people of Eimeo, immediately in the rear, 
 formed what they called the tapono , or shoulder, of their 
 army. In the front of the line, Anna , Upaparu , Hitote , 
 and others equally distinguished for their steady adhe¬ 
 rence to the system they had adopted, took their station 
 on this occasion, and shewed their readiness to lay 
 down their lives rather than relinquish the Christian 
 faith, and the privileges it conferred. Mahine, the king of 
 Huahine, and Pomare-vahine, the heroic daughter of the 
 king of Raiatea, with those of their people who had pro¬ 
 fessed Christianity, arranged themselves in battle-array 
 immediately behind the people of Eimeo, forming the body 
 of the army. Mahine on this occasion wore a curious 
 helmet, covered on the outside with plates of the beauti¬ 
 fully spotted cowrie, or tiger shell, so abundant in the 
 islands 3 and ornamented with a plume of the tropic, or 
 man-of-war bird’s feathers. The queen’s sister, like a 
 daughter of Pallas, tall, and rather masculine in her sta¬ 
 ture and features, walked and fought by Mahine’s side 3 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 249 
 
 clothed in a kind of armour of net-work, made with small 
 and strongly twisted cords of romaha , or native flax, 
 and armed with a musket and a spear. She was sup¬ 
 ported on one side by Farefau, her steady and courageous 
 friend, who acted as her squire or champion ; while 
 Mahine was supported on the other by Patini, a fine, 
 tall, manly chief, a relative of Mahine’s family; and one 
 who, with his wife and two children, has long enjoyed 
 the parental and domestic happiness resulting from Chris¬ 
 tianity,—but whose wife, prior to their renunciation of 
 idolatry, had murdered twelve or fourteen children. 
 
 Pomare took his station in a canoe with a number of 
 musketeers, and annoyed the flank of his enemy nearest 
 the sea. A swivel mounted in the stern of another 
 canoe, which was commanded by an Englishman, called 
 Joe by the natives, and who came up from Raiatea, did 
 considerable execution during the engagement. 
 
 Before the king’s friends had properly formed them¬ 
 selves for regular defence, the idolatrous army arrived, 
 and the battle commenced. The impetuous attack of 
 the idolaters, attended with all the fury, imprecations, 
 and boasting shouts, practised by the savage when rush¬ 
 ing to the onset, produced by its shock a temporary con¬ 
 fusion in the advanced guard of the Christian army: 
 some were slain, others w r ounded, and Upaparu, one of 
 Pomare’s leading men, saved his life only by rushing 
 into the sea, and leaving part of his dress in the hands 
 of the antagonist* with whom he had grappled. Not- 
 
 * This man was afterwards an inmate of my family, and, in conversa¬ 
 tion on the subject, has often declared that he did not go to battle to 
 support idolatry, about which he was indifferent; but from the 
 allegiance he owed to his chief, in whose cause he felt bound to fight, 
 and who was leader of the idolatrous army. 
 
 2 K 
 
250 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 withstanding this, the assailants met with steady and 
 determined resistance. 
 
 Overpowered, however, by numbers, the viri, or front 
 ranks, were obliged to give way. A kind of running fight 
 commenced, and the parties were intermingled in all the 
 confusion of barbarous warfare. 
 
 u Here might the hideous face of war be seen, 
 
 Stript of all pomp, adornment, and disguise.” 
 
 The ground on which they now fought, excepting that 
 near the sea-beach, was partially covered with trees 
 and bushes; which at times separated the contending 
 parties, and intercepted their view of each other. Under 
 these circumstances it was, that the Christians, when 
 not actually engaged with their enemies, often kneeled 
 down on the grass, either singly or two or three together, 
 and offered up an ejaculatory prayer to God—that he 
 would cover their heads in the day of battle, and, if 
 agreeable to his will, preserve them, but especially 
 prepare them for the results of the day, whether victory 
 or defeat, life or death. 
 
 The battle continued to rage with fierceness ; several 
 were killed on both sides; the idolaters still pursued their 
 way, and victory seemed to attend their desolating march, 
 until they came to the position occupied by Mahine, 
 Pomare-vahine, and their companions in arms. The 
 advanced ranks of these united bands met, and arrested 
 the progress of the hitherto victorious idolaters. One 
 of Mahine’s men, Raveae ,* pierced the body of Upufara , 
 
 * In 1818 this individual accompanied us to Huahine, where he died 
 a short time before I left the islands. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 251 
 
 the chief of Papara, and the commander - in - chief 
 of the idolatrous forces. The wounded warrior fell^ 
 and shortly afterwards expired. As he sat gasping on 
 the sand, his friends gathered round, and endeavoured 
 to stop the bleeding of the wound, and afford every assist¬ 
 ance his circumstances appeared to require. “ Leave 
 me, 5 ’ said the dying warrior; u mark yonder man, in 
 front of Mahine’s ranks; he inflicted this wound ; on him 
 revenge my death.” Two or three athletic men instantly 
 set off for that purpose. Raveae was retiring towards the 
 main body of Mahine’s men, when one of the idolaters, 
 who had outrun his companions, sprang upon him before 
 he was aware of his approach. Unable to throw him on 
 the sand, he cast his arms around his neck, and endea¬ 
 voured to strangle, or at least to secure his prey, until 
 some of his companions should arrive, and despatch him. 
 Raveae was armed with a short musket, which he had 
 reloaded since wounding the chief; of this, it is supposed, 
 the man who held him was unconscious. Extend¬ 
 ing his arms forward, Raveae passed the muzzle of his 
 musket under his own arm, suddenly turned his body on 
 one side, and, pulling the trigger of his piece at the 
 same instant, shot his antagonist through the body, who 
 immediately lost hold of his prey, and fell dying to the 
 ground. 
 
 The idolatrous army continued to fight with obstinate 
 fury, but were unable to advance, or make any impres¬ 
 sion on Mahine and Pomare-vahine’s forces. These not 
 only maintained their ground, but forced their adversaries 
 back ; and the scale of victory now appeared to hang 
 in doubtful suspense over the contending parties. Tino, 
 the idolatrous priest, and his companions, had, in the 
 name of Oro, promised their adherents a certain and an 
 
252 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 easy triumph. This inspired them for the conflict, and made 
 them more confident and obstinate in battle than they 
 would otherwise have been; but the tide of conquest, which 
 had rolled with them in the onset, and during the early part 
 of the engagement, was already turned against them, 
 and as the tidings of their leader’s death became more 
 extensively known, they spread a panic through the ranks 
 he had commanded. The pagan army now gave way 
 before their opponents, and soon fled precipitately from 
 the field, seeking shelter in their pari’s, strong-holds, 
 or hiding places, in the mountains; leaving Pomare, 
 Mahine, and the princess from Raiatea, in undisputed 
 possession of the field. 
 
 Flushed with success, in the moment of victory, the 
 king’s warriors were, according to former usage, pre¬ 
 paring to pursue the flying enemy. Pomare approached, 
 and exclaimed, Atira! It is enough !—and strictly prohi¬ 
 bited any one of his warriors from pursuing those who 
 had fled from the field of battle; forbidding them also 
 to repair to the villages of the vanquished, to plunder 
 their property, or murder their helpless wives and 
 children. 
 
 While, however, the king refused to allow his men to 
 pursue their conquered enemies, or to take the spoils 
 of victory, he called a chosen band, among which was 
 Farefau, who had offered up the public thanksgiving 
 at the festival in Eimeo and Patini, a near relative 
 of Mahine, who had been his champion on that day, and 
 sent them to Tautira, where the temple stood in which 
 the great national idol, Oro, was deposited. He gave 
 them orders to destroy the temple, altars, and idols, with 
 every appendage of idolatry that they might find. 
 
 In the evening of the day, when the confusion of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 253 
 
 battle had in some degree subsided, Pomare and the 
 chiefs invited the Christians to assemble, probably in 
 the place in which they had been during the morning 
 disturbed—there to render thanks to God, for the pro¬ 
 tection he had, on that eventful day, so mercifully 
 afforded. Their feelings on this occasion must have 
 been of no common order. From the peaceful exercise of 
 sacred worship, they had been that morning hurried into 
 all the confusion and turmoil of murderous conflict with 
 enemies, whose numbers, equipment, implacable hatred, 
 and superstitious infatuation from the prediction of their 
 prophets, had rendered them unusually formidable in 
 appearance, and terrible in combat. Defeat and death 
 had, as several of them have more than once declared, 
 appeared, during several periods of the engagement, 
 almost certain $ and, in connexion with the anticipated 
 extirpation of the Christian faith in their country, the 
 captivity of those who might be allowed to live, the 
 momentous realities of eternity, upon which, ere the 
 close of the day, it appeared to themselves by no means 
 improbable they would enter; had combined to produce 
 a deep agitation, unknown in the ordinary course of 
 human affairs, and seldom perhaps experienced, even in 
 the field of battle. They now celebrated the subversion 
 of idolatry, under circumstances that, but a few hours 
 before, had threatened their own extermination, with the 
 overthrow of the religion they had espoused, and on 
 account of which their destruction had been sought. 
 The Lord of hosts had been with them, the God of 
 Jacob was their helper, and to him they rendered the 
 glory and the praise for the protection he had bestowed, 
 and the victory they had obtained. In this sacred act 
 they were joined by numbers, who heretofore had wor- 
 
254 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 shipped only the idols of their country, but who now 
 desired to acknowledge Jehovah as God alone. 
 
 The noble forbearance and magnanimity of the king and 
 chiefs, in the hour of conquest, when under all the intoxi¬ 
 cating influence of recent victory and conscious power, 
 were no less honourable to the principles which they 
 professed, and the best feelings of their hearts, than con¬ 
 ducive to the cause of Christianity. This generous tem¬ 
 per did not terminate with the command issued on the 
 field of contest, but it was a prominent feature in all 
 their subsequent conduct. 
 
 When the king despatched a select band to demolish 
 the idol temple, he said, c( Go not to the little island, 
 where the women and children have been left for security; 
 turn not aside to the villages or plantations; neither 
 enter into the houses, nor destroy any of the property 
 you may see; but go straight along the high road, 
 through all your late enemy’s districts.” His direc¬ 
 tions were attended to ; no individual was injured, no 
 fence broken down, no house burned, no article of pro¬ 
 perty taken. The bodies of the slain were not wantonly 
 mangled, nor left exposed to the elements, or to be 
 devoured by the wild dogs from the mountains, and the 
 swine that formerly would have been allowed to feed upon 
 them; but they were all decently buried by the victors, 
 and the body of the fallen chief, Upufara, was conveyed 
 to his own district, to be interred among the tombs of 
 his forefathers. 
 
 Upufara, the late chief of Papara, was an intelli¬ 
 gent and interesting man; his death was deeply 
 regretted by Tati, his near relative, and successor in the 
 government of the district. His mind had been for a 
 long time wavering, and he was, almost to the morning 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 255 
 
 of the battle, undetermined whether he should renounce 
 the idols, or still continue their votary. One of his 
 intimate companions informed me, that a short time 
 before his death, he had a dream which somewhat 
 alarmed him. He thought he saw an immense oven, 
 (such as that used in preparing opio,) intensely heated, 
 and in the midst of the fire a large fish writhing in 
 apparent agony, unable to get out, and yet unconsumed, 
 living and suffering in the midst of the fire. An im¬ 
 pression at this time fixed itself on his mind, that perhaps 
 this suffering was designed to shew the intensity of the 
 torments which the wicked would endure in the place 
 of punishment. He awoke in a state of great agitation 
 of mind, with profuse perspiration covering his body, 
 and was so affected, that he could not sleep again that 
 night. The same individual who resided with Upufara 
 stated also, that only a day or two before the battle, 
 he said to some one, with whom he was conversing, 
 “ Perhaps we are wrong : let us send a message to the 
 king and Tati, and ask for peace ; and also for books, 
 that we may know what this new word, or this new 
 religion, is.” But the priests resisted his proposal, 
 and assured the chiefs, that Oro would deliver the Bure 
 Atua into their hands, and the hau and mana , government 
 and power, would be with the gods of Tahiti. In 
 addition to this, and any latent conviction that still 
 might linger in his mind, of the power of Oro, and the 
 result of his anger should he draw back; he stood 
 pledged to the cause of the gods, and probably might 
 feel a degree of pride influencing his adherence to 
 their interest, lest he should be charged with cowardice 
 in wishing to avoid the war, on which the chiefs, who 
 were united to suppress Christianity, had determined. 
 
256 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The party sent by the king to the national temple 
 at Tautira, in Taiarabu, proceeded directly to their place 
 of destination. It was apprehended that, notwithstand¬ 
 ing what had befallen the adherents of idolatry in 
 battle, the inhabitants of Taiarabu, who were at that 
 time more zealous for the idols than those of any other 
 part of the island, who considered it an honour to be 
 entrusted with the custody of Oro, and also regarded his 
 presence among them as the palladium of their safety, 
 might, perhaps, rise en masse , to protect his person from 
 insults, and his temple from spoliation. No attempt 
 of this kind, however, was made. The soldiers of 
 Pomare, soon after reaching the district, proceeded to 
 the temple, acquainted the inhabitants of the place and 
 keepers of the temple with the events of the war, and 
 the purpose of their visit. No remonstrance was made, 
 no opposition offered—they entered the depository of 
 Tahiti’s former god ; the priests and people stood round 
 in silent expectation; even the soldiers paused a 
 moment, and a scene was exhibited, probably strikingly 
 analogous to that which was witnessed in the temple 
 of Serapis in Alexandria, when the tutelar deity of that 
 city was destroyed by the Roman soldiers. At length they 
 brought out the idol, stripped him of his sacred cover¬ 
 ings and highly valued ornaments, and threw his body 
 contemptuously on the ground. It was a rude, un¬ 
 carved log of aito wood, casuarina equisatifolia , about 
 six feet long. The altars were then broken down, the 
 temples demolished, and the sacred houses of the gods, 
 together with their covering, ornaments, and all the 
 appendages of their worship, committed to the flames. 
 The temples, altars, and idols, all round Tahiti, were 
 shortly after destroyed in the same way. The log of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 25 7 
 
 wood, called by the natives the body of Oro, into which 
 they imagined the god at times entered, and through 
 which his influence was exerted, Pomare’s party bore 
 away on their shoulders, and, on returning to the camp, 
 laid in triumph at their sovereign’s feet. It was subse¬ 
 quently fixed up as a post in the king’s kitchen, and 
 used in a most contemptuous manner, by having bas¬ 
 kets of food suspended from it; and, finally, it was 
 riven up for fuel. This was the end of the principal 
 idol of the Tahitians, on whom they had long been 
 so deluded as to suppose their destinies depended; 
 whose favour, kings, and chiefs, and warriors had 
 sought; whose anger all had deprecated; and who had 
 been the occasion of more bloody and desolating wars, 
 for the preceding thirty years, than all other causes 
 combined. Their most zealous devotees were in general 
 now convinced of their delusion, and the people united 
 in declaring that the gods had deceived them, were 
 unworthy of their confidence, and should no longer be 
 objects of respect or trust. 
 
 Thus was idolatry abolished in Tahiti and Eimeo; 
 the idols hurled from the thrones they had for 
 ages occupied; and the remnant of the people 
 liberated from the slavery and delusion in which, by 
 the cunningly devised fables of the priests, and the 
 “doctrines of devils,” they had been for ages held 
 as in fetters of iron. It is impossible to contemplate 
 the mighty deliverance thus effected, without exclaiming, 
 “What hath God wrought!” and desiring, with regard 
 to other parts of the world, the arrival of that promised 
 and auspicious era, when the gods “ that have not made 
 the heavens” shall be destroyed, and “ the idols shall be 
 utterly abolished.” 
 
 2 L 
 
258 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The total overthrow of idolatry, splendid and im¬ 
 portant as it was justly considered, was but the begin¬ 
 ning of the amazing work that has since advanced 
 progressively in those islands. It resembled the dis¬ 
 mantling of some dark and gloomy fortress, or the razing 
 to its very foundation of some horrid prison of despotism 
 and cruelty, with the materials of which, when cut 
 and polished and adorned, a fair and noble structure 
 was, on its very ruins, to be erected, rising in gran¬ 
 deur, symmetry, and beauty, to the honour of its pro¬ 
 prietor, and the admiration of every beholder. The 
 work was but commenced, and the abolition of 
 idolatry was but one of the great preliminaries in those 
 designs of mercy, and arrangements of divine provi¬ 
 dence, which were daily unfolded, with increasing 
 interest and importance, in their influence on the destiny 
 of the people. 
 
 The conduct of the victors, on the memorable 12th of 
 November, had an astonishing effect on the minds of the 
 vanquished, who had sought shelter in the mountains. 
 Under cover of the darkness of night, they sent spies 
 from the retreats to their habitations, and to the places 
 of security in which they had left their aged and 
 helpless relatives, their children, and their wives. 
 These found every one remaining as they had left 
 them on the morning of the battle, and were in¬ 
 formed, by the wives and relatives of the defeated war¬ 
 riors, that Pomare and the chiefs had, without any excep¬ 
 tion, sent assurances of security to all who had fled. This 
 intelligence, when conveyed to those who had taken refuge 
 in the mountains, appeared to them incredible. After 
 waiting, however, some days in their hiding-places, they 
 ventured forth, and singly, or in small parties, returned 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 259 
 
 to their dwellings; and when they found their planta¬ 
 tions uninjured, their property secure, their wives and 
 children safe, they were utterly astonished. From the 
 king they received assurances of pardon, and were not 
 backward in unitedly tendering submission to his autho¬ 
 rity, and imploring his forgiveness for having appeared 
 in arms against him. Pomare was now, by the unani¬ 
 mous will of the people, reinstated on the throne of his 
 father, and raised to the supreme authority in his 
 dominions. His clemency in the late victory still 
 continued to be matter of surprise to all parties 
 who had been his opponents. “Where,” said they, 
 “ can the king and the Bure Atua have imbibed these 
 new principles of humanity and forbearance ? We have 
 done every thing in our power, by treachery, stratagem, 
 and open force, to destroy him and his adherents; and 
 yet, when the power was placed in his hand, victory on 
 his side, we at his mercy, and his feet upon our necks, 
 he has not only spared our lives, and the lives of our 
 families, but has respected our houses and our property !” 
 While making these inquiries, many of them, doubtless, 
 recollected the conduct of his father, in sending one 
 night, when the warriors of Atehuru had gone over to 
 Tautira, a body of men, who at midnight fell upon their 
 defenceless victims, the aged relations, wives, and 
 children of the Atehuruans, and in cold blood cruelly 
 murdered upwards of one hundred helpless individuals, 
 and this probably made the conduct of Pomare II. 
 appear more remarkable. At length, they concluded that 
 it must be from the new religion, as they termed Chris ¬ 
 tianity ; and hence they unanimously declared their de¬ 
 termination to embrace it, and to place themselves 
 and their families under the direction of its precepts. 
 
260 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The family and district temples and altars, as well 
 as those that were national, were demolished, the idols 
 destroyed by the very individuals who had but recently 
 been so zealous for their preservation, and in a very 
 short time there was not one professed idolater remain¬ 
 ing. Messengers were sent by those who had hitherto been 
 pagans, to the king and chiefs, requesting that some of 
 their men might be sent to teach them to read, and to 
 instruct them concerning the true God, and the worship 
 and obedience required by his word. Those who sent 
 them expressed at the same time their determination 
 to renounce every evil practice connected with their 
 former idolatrous life, and their desire to become alto¬ 
 gether a Christian people. Schools were built, and 
 places for public worship erected3 the Sabbath was ob¬ 
 served, divine service performed 3 child-murder, and the 
 gross abominations of idolatry, were discontinued. 
 
 What an astonishing and happy change must have 
 taken place in the views, feelings, and pursuits of the 
 inhabitants of Tahiti, in the course of a few weeks, from 
 the battle of Narii, or Bunaau'ia ! A flood of light, like 
 the rays of the morning, had broken in upon the in¬ 
 tellectual and spiritual night, which, like a funeral pall, 
 had long been spread over the inhabitants of the val¬ 
 leys and hills of Tahiti, and had rendered their abodes, 
 though naturally verdant and lovely as the bowers of 
 Eden, yet morally cheerless and desolate as the region 
 of the shadow of death ! 
 
 If the spirits of departed prophets, from their seats of 
 bliss, look down upon our globe 3 how must Judah's royal 
 bard have bent with rapture, to behold the accomplish¬ 
 ment of triumphs, which, while he swept the hallowed 
 harp of prophecy, he had foretold :—The multitude of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 261 
 
 the isles made glad* under Jehovah’s reign* and the kings 
 of the isles bringing presentsf to his Son ! And what 
 new transport must have thrilled Isaiah’s ardent spirit* 
 when he now beheld a partial accomplishment of what* 
 in distant ages* he had delighted to sing. “ The wilder¬ 
 ness rejoiced—the desert blossomed as the rose—the 
 sword was beaten into the ploughshare—the wolf and 
 the lamb dwelt together—and the islands sang the 
 praises of Jehovah !”J 
 
 With equal transport* and with greater sympathy* 
 those happy disembodied spirits of just men made perfect* 
 who have more recently entered on their everlasting rest* 
 if they have a knowledge of what passes on earth* must 
 have viewed the change! And if angels* who have none 
 of those sympathies which the redeemed must feel* 
 experience an addition to their joy* in every sinner 
 that by penitence returns to God* it seems an inference 
 not unwarranted by revelation* that the spirits of de¬ 
 parted believers may have a knowledge of events and moral 
 changes* which transpire in our world* especially with 
 those relating to the progress of the Messiah’s reign among 
 mankind. Then with what augmented joy must that 
 honoured and distinguished saint*§ in strict obedience 
 to whose last bequest and dying charge* the South Sea 
 Mission was attempted* with those holy and devoted 
 men who first matured* and subsequently aided so 
 nobly* the plan of sending the gospel to Tahiti* have 
 viewed the pleasing change. Those patient labourers* 
 also* who had toiled in the field* but had been called 
 away before the first waive-sheaf was gathered in* must 
 have felt their joy increased* as the enlarged spiritual 
 
 * Psalm xcvii. 1, t Psalm lxxii. 10. t Isaiah xlii. 10. 
 § The late Countess of Huntingdon. 
 
262 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 perceptions which they possess enabled them to look not 
 only on the outward change in circumstances and in 
 conduct* but on that more delightful transformation of 
 character, which every day unfolded to their view some 
 new and lovely features. And with what loud ecstatic 
 songs of gratitude and praise, must they have welcomed, 
 to those realms of happiness, the first arrivals from 
 those clustering isles, of redeemed and purified spirits, 
 who had been made partakers of the grace of life, and 
 heirs with them of immortality. 
 
 The knowledge of the spiritual nature of Christianity, 
 possessed by many of the new converts, was doubtless 
 but imperfect, their acquaintance with the will of God 
 but partial, and probably on many points at first erro¬ 
 neous, but still there was a warmth of feeling, an undis¬ 
 guised sincerity, and an ardour of desire, (in scripture 
 called “the first-love”) that has never been exceeded.Aged 
 chiefs and priests, and hardy warriors, with their 
 spelling-books in their hands, might be seen sitting, 
 hour after hour, on the benches in the schools, by the 
 side, perhaps, of some smiling little boy or girl, by 
 whom they were now thankful to be taught the use of 
 letters. Others might be often seen employed in pulling 
 down the houses of their idols, and erecting temples for 
 the worship of the Prince of peace, working in happy 
 companionship and harmony with those whom they had 
 met so recently upon the field of battle. 
 
 Their Sabbaths must have presented spectacles on which 
 angels might look down w r ith joy. Crowds, who never 
 had before attended any worship but that of their 
 demon gods, might now be seen repairing to the rustic 
 and lowly temple erected for Jehovah's praise ; amidst 
 their throng, mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 263 
 
 who never were before allowed to join the other sex 
 in any acts of worship. Few remained behind; all the 
 inhabitants of the district or village* who were able* 
 attended public worship. It is true* there was no 
 Missionary to preach the gospel to them* or to lead 
 their public service* yet it was performed with earnest¬ 
 ness* propriety* and devotional feeling. 
 
 The more intelligent among the natives* who had been 
 longest under instruction at Eimeo* usually presided. 
 They sung a hymn; a portion of their scripture history* 
 which was entirely composed of scripture extracts* was 
 read; and prayer* in simplicity of language but sincerity 
 of heart* was offered up to God. Those who had not 
 printed books* wrote out portions of scripture for these 
 occasions* and sometimes the prayers they used. 
 These were often remarkably simple* expressive* and 
 appropriate: I have one of Pomare’s by me* in his 
 own hand-writing* furnished by Mr. Nott. There is no 
 date affixed to it* but from the evident frequency with 
 which it has been used* and the portion of scripture 
 written on the preceding pages of the same sheet of 
 paper* I am inclined to think it was written about this 
 period. The prayer is excellent* and the translation* 
 which I also received from Mr. Nott* will require from 
 the Christian reader no apology for its insertion* as a speci¬ 
 men of the style and sentiments employed by the natives 
 of Tahiti in their devotional services. It is as follows : 
 
 “ Jehovah* thou God of our salvation* hear our 
 prayers* pardon thou our sins* and save our souls. Our 
 sins are great, and more in number than the fishes* in the 
 
 * This is, perhaps, the most natural and expressive figure, or com¬ 
 parison, an Islander could make. There is no idea of multitude more 
 familiar to his mind than that of a shoal of fishes, by which the shores 
 he inhabits are occasionally or periodically visited. 
 
264 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sea, and our obstinacy has been very great, and without 
 parallel. Turn thou us to thyself, and enable us to cast 
 off every evil way. Lead us to Jesus Christ, and let 
 our sins be cleansed in his blood. Grant us thy good 
 Spirit to be our sanctifier. Save us from hypocrisy. 
 Suffer us not to come to thine house with carelessness, 
 and return to our own houses and commit sin. Unless 
 thou have mercy upon us, we perish. Unless thou save 
 us, unless we are prepared and made meet for thy 
 habitation in heaven, we are banished to the fire, we 
 die; but let us not be banished to that unknown world 
 of fire. Save thou us through Jesus Christ, thy Son, the 
 prince of life; yea, let us obtain salvation through him. 
 Bless all the inhabitants of these islands, all the families 
 thereof; let every one stretch out his hands unto God, and 
 say, Lord save me, Lord save me. Let all these islands, 
 Tahiti with all the people of Moorea, and of Huahine, 
 and of Raiatea, and of the little islands around, partake 
 of thy salvation. Bless Britain, and every country in the 
 world. Let thy word grow with speed in the world, 
 so as to exceed the progress of evil. Be merciful to us 
 and bless us, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” 
 
 While these delightful changes were advancing in Tahiti, 
 the king and his friends were not unmindful of those who 
 had been left behind in a state of painful uncertainty at 
 Eimeo. As soon as possible after the battle, a canoe was 
 despatched by Mahine, king of Eimeo and Huahine, with 
 the tidings of its result. Matapuupuu, or, as he is now 
 called, Taua, was the bearer of the gladdening intelli¬ 
 gence, and was a very suitable person to be sent on 
 such an errand. He was a native of Huahine, where 
 he had been chief priest since the death of his elder 
 brother, who had sustained that office before him. He 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 265 
 
 came up from Huahine to Pomare’s assistance in 1811; 
 early in the year 1813, he had made a profession of 
 Christianity, and was among the first whose names were 
 written down at Eimeo. He was not only a priest, but an 
 areoi, and a warrior of no ordinary prowess. When his 
 canoe approached the shore of Eimeo, the teachers and 
 their pupils hastened to the beach, under the conflicting 
 emotions of hope and fear. The warrior was seen stand¬ 
 ing on the prow of his light skiff, that seemed impatiently 
 dashing through the spray, and rushing along the tops of 
 the waves towards the shore, which its keel scarcely 
 touched, when, with his light mat around his loins, his 
 scarf hanging loosely over his shoulder, and his spear in 
 his hand, he leaped upon the sandy beach. Before they 
 had time to ask a single question, he exclaimed, “ Ua 
 pau ! Ua pau ! i te bure anaeVanquished ! vanquished ! 
 by prayer alone ! His words at first seemed but as words 
 of irony or jest; but the earnestness of his manner, the 
 details he gave, and the intelligence he brought from 
 the king and some of the chiefs, confirmed the declara¬ 
 tion. 
 
 The Missionaries were almost overcome with surprise, 
 and hastened to render their acknowledgments of 
 grateful praise to the Most High, under feelings 
 that it would be impossible to describe. It was, indeed, 
 a joy unspeakable, the joy of harvest. In that one year 
 they reaped the harvest of sixteen laborious seed-times, 
 sixteen dreary and anxious winters, and sixteen unpro¬ 
 ductive summers. They now enjoyed the unexpected 
 but exhilarating satisfaction resulting from the pleasure 
 of the Lord prospering in their hands, in a degree 
 and under circumstances that few are privileged to 
 experience. 
 
 2 M 
 
266 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 As soon as possible, Mr. Nott was despatched by his 
 companions to Tahiti. On reaching the shores of this 
 island, from which five years before he had been obliged 
 to flee for his life, he found it was all true that had been 
 told them, that the people were in that interesting state 
 described by the prophet, when, enraptured by the 
 visions of Messiah’s future glories, he exclaimed, u The 
 isles shall wait for his law.” In this delightful situation, 
 as he travelled round the islands, he literally found them 
 not merely willing to be instructed, but anxious to hear; 
 meeting together of their own accord, and often spend¬ 
 ing the hours of night in conversation and inquiry on 
 the important matters connected with the religion of 
 Jesus Christ. When he returned, Mr. Bicknell went 
 over on the same errand; and observed every where the 
 most encouraging attention, on the part of the people, 
 to the instructions he communicated. The school at 
 Papetoai was greatly increased; and hundreds, who had 
 been early scholars there, were now stationed as teachers 
 among the adjacent islands, imparting to others the 
 knowledge they had received. 
 
 Not fewer than three thousand persons at this time pos¬ 
 sessed a knowledge of the books in their native language, 
 which were in daily use. Besides eight hundred copies 
 of the Abridgment of Scripture, and many copies of part 
 of the Gospel of St. Luke in manuscript, about two 
 thousand seven hundred spelling-books had already been 
 distributed among the pupils at Eimeo, or sent over to 
 Tahiti $ still they were unable to meet the daily increas¬ 
 ing demand of the people. 
 
 The mighty workings of the Spirit of God, in pro¬ 
 ducing this remarkable change, were not confined to 
 Tahiti, Eimeo, and the adjacent islands, forming the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 267 
 
 Georgian group, it extended also to the Leeward or 
 Society Islands. A simultaneous movement appears to 
 have taken place among the rulers of the people, to 
 throw off the yoke of pagan priestcraft, to rend asunder 
 their fetters, and remove from the eyes of the nation, 
 in its remote extremities, the veil of delusion by which 
 they had so long been blinded. Tamatoa, the king of 
 Raiatea, shortly after his return from Tahiti, publicly 
 renounced idol-worship, and declared himself a believer 
 in Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Many of the chiefs, and 
 a number of the people, followed his example. 
 
 The prince of darkness, the author of paganism, 
 whose sway had been unrivalled, and whose seat and 
 stronghold had long been here, as well as in the other 
 islands, did not tamely surrender his dominions. The 
 idolatrous chiefs and inhabitants took up arms, to defend 
 the cause of the gods, and revenge the insult offered by 
 the king. Their efforts, however, were but as the 
 ragings of an expiring monster, whose fangs were broken 
 and whose heart had been pierced. The idolaters were de¬ 
 feated, and afterwards treated with the same clemency and 
 lenient conduct which the Christian conquerors in Tahiti 
 had manifested, and Christianity was firmly established. 
 The vanquished, however, though spared and liberated 
 by the generosity of Tamatoa, shewed themselves un¬ 
 worthy of the kindness with which they had been treated, 
 by still talking of war on behalf of the idols. But as 
 their numbers were few, their influence small, and as the 
 great body of the people were doubtless favourable to the 
 new order of things, hopes of success were comparatively 
 faint, and no further attempt was made. 
 
 The chiefs and greater part of the population of Tahaa, 
 an island included in the same reef with Raiatea, imitated 
 
268 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the example of Tamatoa and the Raiatean Christians, and 
 destroyed their idols. 
 
 The intelligent and enterprising chiefs of Borabora, 
 Mai, and Tefaaora, were remarkably active in weakening 
 the influence of the gods on the minds of the people 
 under their government, undermining and subverting 
 every species of idol-worship that prevailed in the islands. 
 They succeeded, at length, in inducing the inhabitants, by 
 their example and persuasion, to seek an acquaintance 
 with that more excellent way revealed in the word of 
 God, for whose worship they erected a convenient and 
 respectable building. 
 
 Mahine sent a special message to Huahine, and the 
 same change took place in that island; which was per¬ 
 haps, for its size and population, more attached to its 
 idols than any other. Idol-worship, with all its attend¬ 
 ant cruelty and moral degradation, was discontinued^ 
 The temples were demolished, and the gods committed 
 to the flames. Thus, in one year, the system of false 
 worship, which had, from the earliest antiquity of its popu¬ 
 lation, prevailed in these islands, was happily abolished, 
 it is hoped to be revived no more. 
 
 In the course of the following year, the loss sustained 
 by the death of Mr. Scott was repaired by the arrival 
 of Mr. Crook from New South Wales; he reached the 
 islands in the month of May, and rendered important 
 service in the prosecution of the common enterprise. 
 
 During the same year, the profession of Christianity 
 became general throughout the whole of the Society 
 Islands. Several of the chiefs and people of Borabora 
 and Raiatea visited Maurua, the most westerly of the 
 Leeward Islands, and succeeded in persuading the chiefs 
 and people to demolish their temples and idols, and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 269 
 
 receive Christian instruction. The most pleasing results 
 continued to attend the efforts of the new converts in 
 Tahiti. Pomare sent most of his own family idols to 
 the Missionaries, that, as he observed in a letter accom¬ 
 panying them, dated February 19th, 1816, “they might 
 either commit them to the flames, or send them to 
 England.” 
 
 These idols I saw at Port Jackson, in 1816; they are 
 now deposited in the Missionary Museum, Austin Friars. 
 It is impossible to behold them without sympathizing in 
 the feelings of Pomare, when he calls them—Tahiti’s 
 foolish gods. 
 
 A number of interesting and important inquiries 
 is naturally suggested by this amazing change ; 
 and we are anxious to be made acquainted with every 
 fact, in the application of those means which induced its 
 commencement, and sustained its progress. In all its 
 departments, and under every circumstance, it bears the 
 impress, and exhibits, in the clearest manner, the sove¬ 
 reignty and the power, of the Almighty, in regard alike 
 to the time of its commencement, the circumstances of 
 its progress, and the means of its accomplishment. 
 
 In regard to the time of its occurrence. During no 
 period in the history of the Mission, could “ the time to 
 favour” the nation have appeared more unlikely than the 
 present. The king’s mind appears to have been first 
 seriously exercised in reference to the declaration which he 
 subsequently made, after the dispersion of the Mission¬ 
 aries, and their departure from the islands, when only 
 one (viz. Mr. Nott) remained with him; and when, 
 in consequence of the state of perpetual alarm and 
 agitation in which tlie people were kept by the war, 
 none could be induced to attend preaching or instruction. 
 
270 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 It is probable that at that period public ordinances 
 were altogether discontinued. The first public or open 
 indications of the change, were given at a time which, 
 according to human probabilities, was but little favourable 
 to such events. The Missionaries had but recently 
 returned from their banishment, and the work of instruc¬ 
 tion had scarcely been resumed ; it was the beginning, 
 and but the beginning, of a second attempt to plant the 
 gospel in those islands. The Missionaries considering 
 the whole of the twelve years spent in Tahiti as so much 
 time lost, were commencing afresh their endeavours on 
 another island, and could hardly expect that at this 
 time, after such a protracted delay, God would at once 
 prosper their undertaking. 
 
 The circumstances of the nation, and of the Mission, 
 were by no means favourable to such a change. It was 
 not a time of peace, and leisure, but of protracted, obsti¬ 
 nate, and barbarous war—the king and his adherents 
 were in exile, alternately agitated by the entreaties of 
 their auxiliaries to attempt to retrieve their affairs by a 
 descent upon Tahiti, or expecting their retreat to be in¬ 
 vaded by their audacious and rebellious conquerors. It was 
 a period of humiliation, darkness, and distress; while the 
 population of Tahiti itself was torn by factions, and 
 desolated by wars, that threatened its extinction. Their 
 teachers were not much more favourably circumstanced. 
 Few in number, compared with what they had been when 
 they maintained their former station in Matavai, and 
 suffering under the heaviest domestic bereavements ; pre¬ 
 vented by personal indisposition, and other circum¬ 
 stances, from engaging, either very frequently or ex¬ 
 tensively, in the main work of instructing the people; 
 their exertions, greatly to their own regret, were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 271 
 
 exceedingly circumscribed. In addition to these dis¬ 
 couragements, the prejudices of many of the king’s most 
 warm and valuable friends were unusually strong, as they 
 considered the continuance of his misfortunes to result, 
 in part, from the countenance he was giving, and the 
 inclination he manifested towards the religion of the 
 foreigners. 
 
 In the means employed there was nothing extraordinary. 
 It is recorded, in the history of the Greenland Missions, 
 that the Moravian brethren, for five or seven years, 
 laboured patiently and diligently in teaching their hearers 
 what are termed the first principles of religion,—incul¬ 
 cating the doctrines of the being and attributes of God, 
 and the requirements of his law,—without making the least 
 favourable impression upon them, or being, in many 
 instances, able to secure the attention of the people to 
 their instructions. The first instance of decisive and 
 salutary effect from their teaching, was, we are in¬ 
 formed, what would, in general, be termed accidental, 
 and occasioned by their reading to some native visitors 
 an account of the sufferings and death of the Saviour, 
 which they were translating into the vernacular tongue. 
 The attention of one of the party was arrested, his heart 
 deeply affected, and ultimately his character entirely 
 changed. This circumstance led to a complete 
 alteration in the instructions they gave. The incarna¬ 
 tion, the life, especially the sufferings and death, of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, were, from this time, the principal 
 subjects brought before the minds of their hearers, and 
 the results were such as to shew the propriety of the 
 alteration. Where they had before been unable to make 
 the least impression, they now beheld numbers deeply 
 affected, and on whom these truths appeared to 
 
272 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 produce an entire change of character and deportment. 
 I do not, however, suppose we are to infer from the 
 account that is given of this amazing work in 
 Greenland, that, during the first five or seven years 
 of their labours there, the being and character of God, 
 &c. were inculcated, to the exclusion or neglect of the 
 way of salvation through Jesus Christ. Their teaching 
 would, in that case, have been more defective than I am 
 willing to suppose it was. Nor do I think we are to 
 conclude, that, after the change in their instruction, 
 the doctrines of the Saviour’s advent, sufferings, and 
 death, were insisted on, to the exclusion of the former: 
 this mode of exhibiting scripture truth would have been 
 almost as defective as the other; but I suppose that, 
 during the earliest years of their labours, the first prin¬ 
 ciples of religion were more frequent and prominent in 
 their instructions, than the doctrines peculiar to the 
 gospel, and that, subsequently, these points received that 
 more frequent attention, which the character, being, 
 and law of God, had formerly obtained. No alteration, 
 even of this kind, however, appears to have taken place 
 in the kind of doctrines inculcated by the Missionaries 
 among the Tahitians. From the time of my arrival in 
 the islands, I had always a great desire to know whether 
 any change had been made by the early preachers in their 
 discourses, and other means employed at this period : 
 
 I have not, however, been able to learn that there w r as 
 any thing extraordinary; they do not appear in any re¬ 
 spect to have varied the manner, or the matter, of their 
 instructions. I have often asked Mr. Nott, and 
 others who were on the spot, if there was any 
 alteration in the mode of instruction, or the nature of 
 their addresses, as to the prominency of any of the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 273 
 
 doctrines of the gospel, which had not been so fully 
 exhibited before ; but I have invariably learned, that they 
 were not aware of the least difference in the kind of 
 instruction, or the manner of representing the truths 
 taught at this period, and those inculcated during their 
 former residence in Tahiti. 
 
 Their aim had always been to exhibit fully, 
 and with the greatest possible simplicity, the grand 
 doctrines and precepts taught in the Bible, giving 
 each that share of attention which it appeared to 
 have obtained in the volume of revelation. God, they 
 had always endeavoured to represent as a powerful, 
 benevolent, and holy Being, justly requiring the grate¬ 
 ful homage, and willing obedience, of his creatures. 
 Man, they had represented as the Scripture described 
 him, and their own observation represented him to be, 
 a sinner against his Maker, and exposed to the conse¬ 
 quences of his guilt;—the love of God, in the gift of his 
 only begotten Son, as a propitiation for sin, and the 
 only medium of reconciliation with God, restoration to the 
 enjoyment of his favour, and the blessing of immor¬ 
 tality ; faith in this atonement, and the sinner’s justifica¬ 
 tion before God, were truths frequently exhibited. 
 The doctrine of Divine benevolence thus displayed, 
 was altogether new to the Tahitians ) nothing analo¬ 
 gous to it had ever entered into any part of their 
 mythology. Its impression on their minds was at 
 this time proportionate. The necessity also of Divine 
 influences, to make the declaration of these truths 
 effectual to conversion, and to meeten those who believed 
 for the heavenly state, had ever been inculcated in the 
 catechetical and other exercises of the school, in the 
 meetings for reading the Scriptures and conversation, 
 
 2 N 
 
2/4 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and in the discourses delivered in their assemblies for 
 public worship. 
 
 The wonderful change that now seemed to be wrought 
 in the minds and hearts of many, did not appear to be 
 more the immediate result of instructions given at the 
 time, than the remote but certain effect of truth im¬ 
 parted, and precious seed, which, having been scattered 
 years before, was now revived with a power, that 
 the individuals themselves could not comprehend, nor 
 on ordinary principles explain. This circumstance 
 should never be lost sight of; it is a wonderful mani¬ 
 festation of the faithfulness of God, who has declared 
 that his word shall not return unto him void, but shall 
 be found even after many days; and it is remarkably 
 adapted to cheer the hearts of all who are called to 
 labour and wait patiently, sowing season after season 
 in hope, without reaping the wished-for harvest. 
 
 The universal, and in many instances permanent, 
 moral and religious change, that has been effected in 
 the South Sea Islands, (of the commencement, and more 
 important parts of which, a regular, though necessarily 
 brief account, has now been given,) appears, in whatever 
 view we can possibly contemplate either its nature or 
 its results, nothing less than a moral miracle. A change 
 so important in its character, so rapid in its progress, so 
 decisive in its influence, sublime almost in proportion 
 to the feebleness of the agency by which it was, 
 under God, accomplished, although effected on but 
 a small tribe or people, is perhaps not exceeded in 
 the history of nations, or the revolutions of empires, 
 that have so often altered the moral and civil aspect of 
 our world. This great and important event, confirmed 
 in its results, and strengthened in its character, by the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 2*Jh 
 
 extension of its influence, and the increasing power of 
 the principles it implanted, during the last fourteen 
 years, already occupies no inferior place among the 
 modern evidences of Christianity, and the demonstra¬ 
 tions of its legitimate tendency to ameliorate the condi¬ 
 tion, and elevate the moral and intellectual character, 
 of the most wretched and depraved among mankind. 
 Emotions of astonishment, admiration, and gratitude, 
 involuntarily arise in every mind in the least degree sus¬ 
 ceptible of humanity or religion ; while increasing con¬ 
 victions of the divine origin of revelation must fasten 
 on the understanding, and additional encouragement 
 strengthen the hopes, of every individual who, accord¬ 
 ing to the promise of God, is anticipating the arrival 
 of a period, when a transformation, equally decisive and 
 lovely, shall change the moral deserts of the earth into 
 regions of order and beauty, and the wilderness shall 
 become as the garden of the Lord. 
 
 In order more fully to illustrate the kind of scripture 
 truth that appears, in connexion with others, to have 
 affected deeply the minds of the people, one single 
 instance, among many that might be adduced, 
 will shew, that in the mild and verdant islands of 
 the south, as well as the frozen and barren regions of 
 the north, in Tahiti as well as in Greenland, the attrac¬ 
 tions of the Cross move and melt the human heart. 
 It was the custom of the Missionaries, not only to 
 instruct the natives in the school, preach to them in 
 the chapel, and itinerate through the villages, but 
 to assemble them for the purpose of reading, from 
 manuscript, such portions of the scripture as were 
 deemed suitable to their circumstances. On one of 
 these occasions, Mr. Nott was reading the first portions 
 
276 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of the Gospel of St. John to a number of the natives. 
 When he had finished the sixteenth verse of the 
 third chapter, a native, who had listened with avidity and 
 joy to the words, interrupted him, and said, “ What words 
 were those you read ? what sounds were those I heard ? 
 let me hear those words again.” Mr. Nott read again 
 the verse, “God so loved,” &c. when the native rose from 
 his seat, and said. Is that true ? can that be true ? God 
 love the world, when the world not love him; God so 
 love the world as to give his Son to die, that man 
 might not die. Can that be true ? Mr. Nott again 
 read the verse, “ God so loved the world,” &c. told him 
 it was true, and that it was the message God had sent to 
 them, and that whosoever believed in him, would not 
 perish, but be happy after death. The overwhelming 
 feelings of the wondering native were too powerful 
 for expression or restraint. He burst into tears, and 
 as these chased each other down his countenance, he 
 retired to meditate in private on the amazing love of 
 God, which had that day touched his soul ; and there 
 is every reason to believe he was afterwards raised 
 to share the peace and happiness resulting from the 
 love of God shed abroad in his heart. 
 
 Connected with the means employed in the accom¬ 
 plishment of this important work, a few remarks on the 
 agents who, under God, were instrumental in effecting it, 
 may not be inappropriate. In common with the Mis¬ 
 sionaries in other parts of the world, they have been 
 described, by the enemies of religion, as ignorant and 
 dogmatical fanatics; more intent on the inculcation of 
 the peculiarities of their sect or party, than promoting 
 the well-being of the people; holding out no induce¬ 
 ment, by precept or example, to industrious habits, &c. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 277 
 
 The present state of the islands in which they have 
 spent so many years* compared with what it was at the 
 time of their arrival* and during several subsequent 
 years* is a sufficient refutation to every charge of this 
 kind. 
 
 But there are individuals* from whose general habits of 
 observation* and principles of judgment* it might have 
 been supposed a more just conclusion would have been 
 formed* who have occasionally described them as 
 the most unsuitable agents that could have been em¬ 
 ployed. This mode of representation* although I do 
 not regard the Missionaries or their proceedings as per¬ 
 fect* I consider to be far from just or correct. It is not my 
 intention to eulogize their diversified labours* or to lavish 
 panegyric upon their achievements. But in the esti¬ 
 mate of their character* qualifications* and exertions* 
 a variety of considerations ought to have a greater in¬ 
 fluence on the minds of those by whom they are thus 
 represented* than they are sometimes allowed to exert. 
 Missionary effort* on the extended scale* and in the dis¬ 
 tant and comparatively unexplored field in which they 
 attempted it* w T as an event as new among the British 
 churches* as the broad* catholic principles* upon which it 
 was undertaken* were unparalleled. 
 
 The authentic information possessed by many who 
 combined in arranging the plan* as well as by those who 
 attempted its execution* was not only exceedingly 
 limited* but received through a medium* that neces¬ 
 sarily imparted a higher glow of colouring* than those 
 channels through which more accurate accounts have 
 since been transmitted. Many* no doubt* embarked in 
 the enterprise* as subsequent events fully proved* with 
 * Voyages of Cook, Bligh, &c. 
 
278 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 incorrect ideas of the work, or mistaken views of the 
 qualifications necessary for its accomplishment. It is 
 not; however, to those who abandoned the task, that I 
 refer so much, as to those who (except when driven from 
 it by the approaching desolations of murderous war) 
 maintained their post, and died in the field; or who, 
 after having sustained the privation and toil of thirty 
 years of exile from country and from home, are still 
 willing to end their days among the people with 
 whose interests and destiny they have identified them¬ 
 selves. 
 
 Their family connexions may not indeed have been 
 of the highest class, neither may the individuals them¬ 
 selves have enjoyed the advantages of a very liberal edu¬ 
 cation, nor possessed any very extensive acquaintance 
 with the world. It is only in comparatively recent times 
 that individuals of this class have, by embarking person¬ 
 ally on the arduous and self-denying work of propagat¬ 
 ing Christianity amongst the pagan nations, exhibited 
 some noble examples of Christian devotedness. Many 
 of the first Missionaries to the South Sea Islands were 
 acquainted with the most useful of the mechanic arts, 
 which vrere adapted to produce a very favourable im¬ 
 pression upon the minds of the people. They had 
 obtained a creditable English, if not a classical, educa¬ 
 tion, a due knowledge of the scriptures, and an experi¬ 
 mental aquaintance with the principles of Christianity r , 
 while some, with great mental vigour combined no small 
 degree of intellectual culture. Their own improvement, 
 and the preparation for the work, was prosecuted contem¬ 
 poraneously with their efforts to instruct the people; 
 and the numerous and respectable philological and other 
 manuscripts which these have transmitted to England, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 279 
 
 although never published, shew that they were far from 
 being unqualified for their work. 
 
 Had the first Mission to the South Seas been com¬ 
 posed entirely of individuals eminent for their scientific 
 knowledge and classical attainments, they would proba¬ 
 bly have been less suitable agents than those who 
 actually went; as, it may be presumed, their previous 
 habits of life would not have furnished the best prepara¬ 
 tives for the privations and difficulties to which they 
 would have been exposed. Yet it would undoubtedly 
 have been highly advantageous to the Mission, had some 
 such gifted individuals been included among its mem¬ 
 bers. Such were not, however, at that time so ready, as 
 they have subsequently been, to engage in the enter¬ 
 prise, and the service necessarily devolved on those who 
 were willing, under every accompanying disadvantage, 
 to undertake it. They were not perhaps distinguished 
 by brilliancy of genius, or loftiness of intellect; but 
 in uncompromising sternness of principle, unaffected 
 piety, ardour of devotedness, uncomplaining endurance 
 of privations, not easily comprehended by those who 
 have always remained at home, or visited only civilized 
 portions of foreign climes, in undeviating perseverance 
 in exertion under discouragements the most protracted 
 and depressing, and in plain and honest detail of their 
 endeavours and success, they have been inferior to few 
 who have been honoured to labour in the Missionary 
 field. I have known some of these devoted men, who, 
 though not insensible to the endearments of kindred 
 and home, and the comforts of civilized life, have for 
 years been deprived of what most would deem the 
 necessaries of life. These self-denying individuals have 
 been so destitute of a change of apparel, that they could 
 
280 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES 
 
 not; without some sacrifice of feeling, meet any of their 
 own countrymen by whom the island might be visited ; 
 and, often rising in the morning from the rustic bed, 
 without knowing whence the supplies of even native 
 food for the day were to be derived, they have sent out a 
 native servant-boy to seek for bread-fruit in the moun¬ 
 tains, or to solicit a supply from the trees of some 
 friendly chief in the neighbourhood, while they have 
 repaired to the school, and pursued their daily exercises 
 of instruction, cheered and encouraged only by the pro¬ 
 gress of their scholars. 
 
 Such are the men who have long laboured in these 
 islands; and though others may have been associated 
 with them, who have turned back, or proved themselves 
 unequal to the station, where many, who stand firm 
 at their post at home, would perhaps have fainted, or 
 have fallen under the discouragements inseparable from 
 it—they have been faithful. They seek not the praise 
 that cometh from man, but the testimony of their con¬ 
 sciences and the approval of Heaven j and irrespective 
 of the honour God has put upon them, they are entitled, 
 from their steady and successful course, to be “ highly 
 esteemed for their works’ sake.” 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 281 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 Account of the music and amusements of the islanders—Description of 
 the sacred drum—Heiva drum, &c. Occasions of their use—The bu or 
 trumpet—Ihara—The vivo, or flute—General character of their 
 songs—Ballads, a kind of classical authority—Entertainments and 
 amusements—Taupiti, or festival—Wrestling and boxing—Effects 
 of victory and defeat—Foot-races—Martial games—Sham fights— 
 Naval reviews—Apai, bandy or cricket—Tuiraa, or foot-ball—The 
 haruraa puu, a female game—Native dances—Heiva, &c.—The te-a, 
 or archery—Bows and arrows—Religious ceremonies connected with 
 the game—Cock-fighting—Aquatic sports—Swimming on the surf— 
 Danger from sharks—Juvenile amusements. 
 
 With the ancient idolatry of the people, their music, 
 their dances, and the whole circle of their amuse¬ 
 ments, had been so intimately blended, that the one 
 could not survive the other. When the former was 
 abolished, the latter were also discontinued. Their 
 music wanted almost every quality that could render it 
 agreeable to the ear accustomed to harmony, and was 
 deficient in all that constitutes excellence. It was 
 generally boisterous and wild, and,, with the exception of 
 the soft and plaintive warblings of the native flute, was 
 distinguished by nothing so much as its discordant, 
 deafening sounds. 
 
 The principal musical instrument used by the South 
 Sea Islanders, was the pahu , or drum. This varied in 
 size and shape, according to the purpose for which it 
 was designed. Their drums were all cut out of a solid 
 piece of wood. The block out of which they were 
 
 2 o 
 
282 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 made, being hollowed out from one end, remaining 
 solid at the other, and having the top covered with 
 a piece of shark’s skin, occasioned their frequently 
 resembling, in construction and appearance, a kettle¬ 
 drum. The pua and the reva, which are remarkably 
 close-grained and durable, were esteemed the most suit¬ 
 able kinds of wood for the manufacture of their drums. 
 The pahu ra , sacred drum, which was rutu , or beaten, 
 on every occasion of extraordinary ceremony at the idol 
 temple, was particularly large, standing sometimes eight 
 feet high. The sides of one, that I saw in Tane’s marae 
 at Maeva, was not more than a foot in diameter, but 
 many were much larger. In some of the islands, these 
 instruments were very curiously carved. One which I 
 brought from High Island, and have deposited in the 
 Missionary Museum, is not inelegantly decorated; 
 others, however, I have seen, exhibiting very superior 
 workmanship. 
 
 Tahitian Drums. 
 
 The drums used in their heivas and dances were 
 ingeniously made. Their construction resembled that 
 of those employed in the temple, the skin forming the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES* 
 
 283 
 
 head was fastened to the open work at the bottom by 
 strings of finely-braided cinet* made with the fibres of 
 the cocoa-nut husk. The drums beaten as accompani¬ 
 ments to the recital of their songs* were the same in 
 shape* but smaller. They were all neatly made* and 
 finely polished. The large drums were beaten with two 
 heavy sticks* the smaller ones with the naked hand. 
 When used* they were not suspended from the shoulders 
 of the performers* but fixed upon the ground* and con¬ 
 sequently produced no very musical effect. The sound 
 of the large drum at the temple* which was sometimes 
 beaten at midnight* was most terrific. The inhabitants 
 of Maeva* where my house stood within a few yards of the 
 ruins of the temple* have frequently told me* that at the 
 midnight hour* when the victim was probably to be 
 offered on the following day* they have often been 
 startled from their slumbers by the dull* deep* thrilling 
 sound of the sacred drum; and as its portentous sounds 
 have reverberated among the rocks of the valley* 
 every individual through the whole district has trem¬ 
 bled with fear of the gods* or apprehension of being 
 seized as the victim for sacrifice. 
 
 The sound of the trumpet* or shell* a species of murex 
 used by the priests in the temple* and also by the herald* 
 and others on board their fleets* was more horrific 
 than that of the drum. The largest shells were 
 usually selected for this purpose* and were sometimes 
 above a foot in length* and seven or eight inches in 
 diameter at the mouth. In order to facilitate the blow¬ 
 ing of this trumpet* they made a perforation* about an 
 inch in diameter* near the apex of the shell. Into this 
 they inserted a bamboo cane* about three feet in length* 
 which was secured by binding it to the shell with 
 
284 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 finely-braided cinet \ the aperture was rendered air-tight 
 by cementing the outsides of it with a resinous gum 
 from the bread-fruit tree. These shells were blown 
 when any procession marched to the temple, at the in¬ 
 auguration of the king, during the worship at the 
 temple, or when a tabu, or restriction, was imposed in 
 the name of the gods. We have sometimes heard them 
 blown. The sound is extremely loud, but the most 
 monotonous and dismal that it is possible to imagine. 
 
 The ihara was another exceedingly noisy instrument. 
 It was formed from the single joint of a large bamboo 
 cane, cut off a short distance beyond the two ends or 
 joints. In the centre, a long aperture was made from 
 one joint towards the other. The ihara, when used, 
 was placed horizontally on the ground, and beaten with 
 sticks. It was not used in their worship, but simply as 
 an amusement; its sounds were harsh and discordant. 
 
 The vivo , or flute, was the most agreeable instrument 
 the Tahitians appear to have been acquainted with. 
 It was usually a bamboo cane, about an inch in diameter, 
 and twelve or eighteen inches long. The joint in the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 285 
 
 cane formed one end of the flute 3 the aperture through 
 which it was blown was close to the end 3 it seldom had 
 more than four holes, three in the upper side covered 
 with the fingers, and one beneath, against which the 
 thumb was placed. Sometimes, however, there were 
 four holes on the upper side. It was occasionally plain, 
 but more frequently ornamented, by being partially 
 scorched or burnt with a hot stone, or having fine and 
 beautifully plaited strings of human hair wound round 
 it alternately with rings of neatly-braided cinet. It was 
 not blown from the mouth, but the nostril. The per¬ 
 former usually placed the thumb of the right hand upon 
 the right nostril, applied the aperture of the flute, which 
 he held with the fingers of his right hand, to the other 
 nostril, and, moving his fingers on the holes, produced his 
 music. The sound was soft, and not unpleasant, though 
 the notes were few 3 it was generally played in a plain¬ 
 tive strain, though frequently used as an accompaniment 
 to their pehes , or songs. These were closely identified 
 both with the music and the dances. The ihara , the 
 drum and the flute, were generally accompanied by the 
 song, as was also the native dance. 
 
 Their songs were generally historical ballads, and 
 varied in their nature with the subjects to which they 
 referred. They were exceedingly numerous, and adapted 
 to every department of society, and every period of life. 
 The children were early taught these iibus , and took 
 great delight in their recital. Many of their songs referred 
 to the legends or achievements of the gods, some to the 
 exploits of their distinguished heroes and chieftains; 
 while others were of a more objectionable character^ 
 They were often, when recited on public occasions, 
 accompanied with gestures and actions corresponding to 
 
286 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 the events, or scenes described, and assumed in this 
 respect a histrionic character. In some cases, and on 
 public occasions, the action presented a kind of panto-’ 
 mime. They had one song for the fisherman, another 
 for the canoe-builder, a song for cutting down the tree, 
 a song for launching the canoe. But they were, with 
 few exceptions, either idolatrous or impure; and were, 
 consequently, abandoned when the people renounced 
 their pagan worship. Occasionally, however, we heard 
 parts of these songs recited, when events have occur¬ 
 red similar to those on which, in former times, they 
 would have been used. 
 
 Their traditionary ballads were a kind of standard, or 
 classical authority, to which they referred, for the 
 purpose of determining any disputed fact in their 
 history. The fidelity of public recitals referring to 
 former events, was sometimes questioned by the orators 
 or chroniclers of the party opposed to that by whom the 
 recital had been made. The disputes which followed, 
 were often carried on with great pertinacity and deter¬ 
 mination. As they had no records to which they could 
 at such times refer, they could only oppose one oral tra¬ 
 dition to another, which unavoidably involved the 
 parties in protracted, and often obstinate debates. At 
 such times, a reference to some distich, in any of their 
 popular and historic songs, often set the matter in dis¬ 
 pute at rest. On a recent occasion, two parties were 
 disputing in reference to an event which occurred in 
 the bay of Papara during the time Captain Bligh 
 remained there in the Bounty, in 1788 or 1789. The 
 fact questioned was the loss of the buoy of his anchor: 
 after disputing it for some time without convincing his 
 opponent, the individual who had stated the fact re- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 287 
 
 ferred to the following lines m one of their ballads, 
 relating that event. 
 
 u O mea eid e Tareu eid 
 Eid te poito a Bligh” 
 
 Such an one a thief, and Tareu a thief, 
 
 Thieved (or stole) the buoy of Bligh. 
 
 The song was one well known to most, and the existence 
 of this fact, among the others that had taken place, and 
 the remembrance of which the ballad was designed to 
 preserve, was conclusive, and appeared to satisfy the par¬ 
 ties by whom it had been questioned. Most of their 
 historical events were thus preserved. These songs 
 were exceedingly popular for a time. The facts on 
 which they were grounded became thus generally known ; 
 and they were, undoubtedly, one of the most effectual 
 means they had of preserving the knowledge of the 
 leading events of former times. 
 
 Freed, in a great degree, so far as the means of sub¬ 
 sistence were concerned, from anxiety and labour, the 
 islanders were greatly devoted to amusements: war, 
 pagan worship, and pleasure, appear to have engaged 
 their attention, and occupied the principal portion of 
 their time. Their games were numerous and diversi¬ 
 fied, and were often affairs of national importance. 
 They do not appear ever to have been gamblers, or to 
 have accompanied any of their sports with betting, or 
 staking property upon success, as the Sandwich Islanders 
 have done from the earliest periods of their history, but 
 seem to have followed their games simply for amuse¬ 
 ment. 
 
 The Taupiti, or Oroa, was generally a season of 
 public festivity, when thousands, of both sexes. 
 
288 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 arrayed in their most splendid garments, assembled to 
 witness the games. These festivals were usually con¬ 
 nected with some religious ceremony, or cause of 
 national rejoicing. The return of the king from a 
 tour, or the arrival of a distinguished visitor, were 
 among the most ordinary occasions of these games. 
 Wrestling was the favourite, and perhaps most fre¬ 
 quent sport; hence the taupiti, or assembly, was often 
 called the taupiti maona, assembly for wrestling. A 
 large quantity of food was always prepared for these 
 occasions, and generally served out to the different 
 parties, at the commencement of the festival, where¬ 
 by the banquet was concluded before the games 
 began. The wrestlers of one district sometimes chal¬ 
 lenged those of another, but the trial of strength and 
 skill often took place between the inhabitants of 
 different islands; the servants of the king of the 
 island forming one band, and those in the train of his 
 guest the other. 
 
 In this, as in most of their public procedings, the gods 
 presided. Before wrestling commenced, each party 
 repaired to the marae of the idols of which they 
 were the devotees. Here they presented a young 
 plantain-tree, which was frequently a substitute for 
 a more valuable offering, and having invoked aid of 
 the tutelar deity of the game, they repaired to the 
 spot where the multitude had assembled. A space 
 covered with a grassy turf, or the level sands of the 
 sea-beach, was usually selected for these exhibitions. 
 Here a ring was formed, perhaps thirty feet in diameter. 
 The aufenua, people of the country, being on one side, 
 the visitors on the other. The inner rank sat down, 
 the others stood behind them; each party had their 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 289 
 
 instruments of music with them, but all remained 
 quiet until the games began. Six or ten, perhaps, 
 from each side, entered the ring at once, wearing 
 nothing but the maro or girdle, and having their 
 limbs sometimes anointed with oil. 
 
 The fame of a celebrated wrestler was usually spread 
 throughout the islands, and those who were considered 
 good wrestlers, priding themselves upon their strength 
 or skill, were desirous of engaging only with those 
 they regarded as their equals. Hence, when a chief 
 was expected, in whose train were any distin¬ 
 guished wrestlers, those among the adherents of the 
 chief, by whom the party was to be entertained, 
 who wished to engage, were accustomed to send 
 a challenge previous to their arrival. If this, 
 which was called tipaopao, had been the case when 
 they entered the ring, they closed at once, without 
 ceremony. But if no such arrangement had been 
 made, the wrestlers of one party, or perhaps their 
 champion, walked around and across the ring, 
 having the left arm bent, with the hand on the 
 breast \ and striking the right hand violently against 
 the left, and the left against the side, produced a loud 
 hollow sound, which was challenging any one to 
 the trial of his skill. The strokes on the arm were 
 sometimes so violent, as not only to bruise the flesh, 
 but to cause the blood to gush out. 
 
 When the challenge was accepted, the antagonists 
 closed, and the most intense interest was manifested 
 by the parties to which they respectively belonged. 
 Several were sometimes engaged at once, but more 
 frequently only two. They grasped each other by the 
 shoulders, and exerted all their strength and art, each 
 
 2 p 
 
290 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 to throw his rival; this was all that was requisite; and 
 although they generally grappled with each other, this 
 was not necessary according to the rules of the game. 
 Mape, a stout, and rather active, though not a large 
 man, who was often in my house at Eimeo, was a 
 famous wrestler. He was seen in the ring once, with 
 a remarkably tall heavy man, who was his antagonist ; 
 they had grappled and separated, when Mape walked 
 carelessly towards his rival, and on approaching him, 
 instead of stretching out his arms as was expected, he 
 ran the crown of his head with all his might against 
 the temple of his antagonist, and laid him flat on the 
 earth. 
 
 The most unbroken silence and attention was mani¬ 
 fested during the struggle; but as soon as one was 
 thrown, the scene was instantly changed; the van¬ 
 quished was scarcely stretched on the sand, when a shout 
 of exultation burst from the victor’s friends. Their 
 drums struck up 3 the women rose, and danced in 
 triumph over the fallen wrestler, and sung in defiance 
 to the opposite party. These were neither silent nor 
 unmoved spectators, but immediately commenced a 
 most deafening noise, partly in honour of their own 
 clan or tribe, but principally to mar and neutralize the 
 triumph of the victors. It is not easy to imagine the 
 scenes that must often have been presented at one of 
 their taupitis, or great wrestling matches, when not 
 less than four or five thousand persons, dressed in 
 their best apparel, and exhibiting every variety of cos¬ 
 tume and brilliancy of colour, were under the influence 
 of excitement. One party were drumming, dancing, and 
 singing, in the pride of victory, and the menace of 
 defiance; while, to increase the din and confusion, the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 291 
 
 other party were equally vociferous in reciting the 
 achievements of the vanquished, or predicting the 
 shortness of his rival’s triumph. 
 
 However great the clamour might be, as soon as the 
 wrestlers who remained in the ring engaged again, the 
 drums ceased, the song was discontinued, and the 
 dancers sat down. All was perfectly silent, and the 
 issue of the second struggle was awaited with as great an 
 intensity of interest as the first. If the vanquished 
 man had a friend or taio in the ring, he usually arose, 
 and challenged the victor, who having gained one 
 triumph, either left the ring, which it was considered 
 honourable for him to do, or remained and awaited a 
 fresh challenge. If he had retired, two fresh com¬ 
 batants engaged, and when one was thrown, exhibitions 
 of feeling, corresponding with those that had attended 
 and concluded the first struggle, were renewed, and fol¬ 
 lowed every successive engagement. When the con¬ 
 test was over, the men repaired again to the temple, 
 and presented their offering of acknowledgment, usually 
 young plantain trees, to the idols of the game. 
 
 There are a number of men still living, who, under 
 the system of idolatry, were celebrated as wrestlers 
 through the whole of the islands. Among these, Fenua- 
 peho, the hardy chieftain of Tahaa, is perhaps the 
 most distinguished. He is not a large man, but broad, 
 strong, sinewy, and remarkably firm-built. In person 
 he appears to have beeen adapted to excel in such 
 kinds of savage sports. 
 
 Although wrestling was practised principally by the 
 men, it was not confined to them. Often, when they 
 had done, the women contended, sometimes with each 
 other, and occasionally with men, who were not per- 
 
292 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 haps reputed wrestlers. Persons in the highest rank 
 sometimes engaged in the sport; and the sister of the 
 queen has been seen wearing nearly the same clothing 
 as the wrestlers wore, covered all over with sand, 
 and wrestling with a young chief, in the midst 
 of a ring, around which thousands of the people were 
 assembled. 
 
 On all great public festivals, wrestling was succeeded 
 by the Moto raa, or Boxing. This does not appear to 
 have been so favourite an amusement with the Tahitians 
 as wrestling; and there was generally a smaller number 
 to engage. It was mostly practised by the lower orders 
 and servants of the areois, and was with them, as 
 boxing is every where, savage work ; though, con¬ 
 sidering the rude and barbarous state of the people, 
 who had little idea of influence or power, but as con¬ 
 nected with their gods, or with mere brute strength, 
 we are not surprised that it should have existed. 
 The challenge was given in the same way as in 
 wrestling; but when the combatants engaged, the 
 combat was much sooner ended, and no time was spent 
 in sparring or parrying the blows. These were 
 generally straight forward, severe, and heavy; usually 
 aimed at the head. They fought with the naked 
 fist, and the whole skin of the forehead has been 
 at times torn or driven off at a blow. No one inter¬ 
 fered with the combatants while engaged; but as soon 
 as either of them fell, or stooped, or shunned his 
 antagonist, he was considered vanquished, the battle 
 closed, and was instantly succeeded by the shouts and 
 dances of triumph. 
 
 These barbarous sports, though generally followed by 
 the common people, were not confined to them; other 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 293 
 
 classes sometimes engaged; chiefs and priests were 
 often among the most famous boxers and wrestlers. 
 These games were not only dreadfully barbarous, 
 but demoralizing in their influence on the people, 
 who would set up a shriek of exultation, when the 
 blood started, or the vanquished fell senseless on the 
 sand. They were also often fatal. Metia , a taura no 
 Oro , priest of Oro, who resided at Matavai, was cele¬ 
 brated for his prowess, and slew two antagonists, a 
 father and a son, at one of these festivals, in Taiarapu. 
 Considering the brutalizing tendency and the fatal re¬ 
 sults of boxing and wrestling, we cannot but rejoice that 
 they have ceased with that system of barbarism and 
 cruelty with which they were associated, and by which 
 they were supported. 
 
 Connected with these athletic sports was another, less 
 objectionable than either. This was the faatitiaihe- 
 mo raa , or foot-race, in which the young men of the 
 opposite parties engaged. Great preparation was made 
 for this trial of strength and agility. The bodies of the 
 runners were anointed with oil; the maro , or girdle, the 
 only garment they wore, was bound tight round the loins. 
 A wreath of flow r ers adorned the brows, and a light white 
 or coloured bandage of native cloth was sometimes bound 
 like a turban round the head. A smooth line of sandy 
 beach was usually selected for the course. Sometimes 
 they returned to the place from which they had started, 
 but in general they ran the prescribed distance in a 
 straight line. One of these races took place at Afareaitu 
 while we resided there. It was between one of the 
 king’s servants, and a young man recently arrived from 
 the Pearl Islands. The stranger was a tall, thin, handsome 
 young man; and, as they walked past my house to the 
 
294 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 course, the people in general seemed to think his rival 
 had but little prospect of equalling the swiftness of his 
 speed, and it was thought he had already secured the 
 re, or prize. The result, however, disappointed their 
 expectations; and, as the spectators returned, I learned 
 that, although on the first effort it was impossible to 
 determine to whom the prize belonged, after repeated 
 trials it was adjudged to Pomare’s domestic. The 
 faatitiaihemo raa vaa , or canoe-race, was occasionally 
 practised on the smooth waters of the ocean, within 
 the reefs; and appeared to afford a high degree of 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Their martial games were numerous ; and to these 
 preparatory sports, the youth paid great attention. 
 The moto , or boxing, and the maona , or wrestling, were 
 regarded as a sort of military drilling ; but the veropatia , 
 throwing the spear or javelin, and the practice of throw¬ 
 ing stones from a sling, were the principal military games. 
 In the latter, the Tahitians excelled most of the nations 
 of the Pacific ; devoting to its practice a considerable 
 portion of their time, and being able to cast the stone 
 with great accuracy. 
 
 Throwing the 'spear, or darting the javelin, was an 
 amusement in which they passed many of their juvenile 
 hours. It was not a mere exercise of strength, like that 
 exhibited in shooting with the bow and arrow, but a 
 trial of skill. The stalk, or stem, of a plantain tree was 
 their usual mark or target. This they fixed perpendi¬ 
 cularly in the ground ; and, retiring to a spot a number 
 of yards distant, endeavoured to strike the mark with 
 their missiles. These, thrown with precision and force, 
 readily penetrated its soft and yielding substance. Al¬ 
 though this was with some a favourite amusement, the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 295 
 
 Tahitians do not appear to have followed it with such 
 avidity as the Sandwich Islanders were accustomed to 
 do, nor to have made such proficiency in the art. In 
 order to avoid accidents while practising with the sling, 
 the boys generally employed the fruit of the nono, 
 Morinda citrifolia , instead of a stone. The mark at 
 which they threw was a thin cane, or small white stick, 
 fixed erect in the ground; and the force and preci¬ 
 sion with which it was repeatedly struck, were truly 
 astonishing. 
 
 Besides these games, they often had what might be 
 termed reviews of their land and naval forces. In these, 
 all the appendages of battle were exhibited on land, and 
 the fleets were equipped as in maritime war. The 
 fighting men, in both exhibitions, wore the dress and 
 bore the arms employed in actual combat. They also 
 performed their different evolutions, or plans of attack 
 and defence, advance and retreat. Sham-fights were 
 connected with these displays of naval or military 
 parade. In their mock engagements, they threw the 
 spear, thrust the lance, parried the club, and at length, 
 with deafening shouts, mingled in general and promis¬ 
 cuous struggle. Some of the combatants were thrown 
 down, others captured, and the respective parties re¬ 
 treated to renew the contest. 
 
 Their naval reviews often exhibited a spectacle, which 
 to them was remarkably imposing. Ninety or a hun¬ 
 dred canoes were, on these occasions, ranged in a line 
 along the beach, ready to be launched in a moment. 
 Their elevated and often curiously carved sterns, their 
 unwieldy bulk, the raised and guarded platform for 
 the fighting men, the motley group assembled there, bear¬ 
 ing their singularly and sometimes fantastically shaped 
 
296 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 weapons, the numerous folds of native cloth that formed 
 their cumbrous dress, their high, broad, spread turbans, 
 the lofty sterns of their vessels, grotesque and rudely 
 carved, together with the broad streamers floating in the 
 breeze, combined to inspire them with the most elevated 
 ideas of their naval prowess. The effect thus produced 
 was greatly heightened by the appearance of the sacred 
 canoes, bearing the images or the emblems of the gods, 
 the flag of the gods, and the officiating or attending 
 priests. Often, while the vessels were thus ranged along 
 the beach, the king stood in a small one, drawn 
 by a number of his men, who walked in the sea. In 
 front of each canoe he paused, and addressed a short 
 harangue to the warriors, and an ubu , or invocation, to 
 the gods. After this was ended, at a signal given, the 
 whole fleet was in a moment launched upon the bosom 
 of the ocean, and pulled with rapidity and great dex¬ 
 terity to a considerable distance from the shore, where 
 the several varieties of their naval tactics were ex¬ 
 hibited ; after which, they returned in regular order, 
 with remarkable precision, to the shore. 
 
 Many of their games were most laborious. One at 
 which the men played, called apai , or paipai , resembled 
 a sport in some parts denominated “ bandy.” A similar 
 game, called palican , was formerly a frequent amusement 
 among the aborigines of South America, and those in¬ 
 habiting the northern parts of the same continent, even 
 as far as Canada. A ball is provided, and the players 
 are furnished with sticks about three or four feet long, 
 bent at one end; with these they strike the ball, each 
 party endeavouring to send it beyond the boundary 
 mark of their opponents. The ball is made with tough 
 shreds of native cloth, tightly knotted together. The 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 29 / 
 
 sticks used by the Tahitians were rude and unpolished, 
 just as they were cut from the tree ; but those used by 
 the inhabitants of the Southern Islands are made with 
 the aitOy or iron-wood, the handle wrought with great 
 care, and sometimes curiously carved, while a round 
 protuberance is formed at the lower end, which is 
 slightly curved, and augments the force with which they 
 strike the ball. 
 
 The tuiraa , or foot-ball, is also a frequent game, 
 though perhaps it was followed more by the women than 
 the men: yet whole districts engaged in this amusement. 
 In the former, they only struck the ball with a stick ; in 
 this, they employed the foot, and each party endeavoured 
 to send it beyond the opposite boundary line, which had 
 been marked out before they began. When either party 
 succeeded in this, the air was rent with their shouts 
 of success. 
 
 The haru raa puu , seizing of the ball, was however the 
 favourite game of this kind. The females alone en¬ 
 gaged in the seizing of the ball; in projecting which, 
 neither sticks nor feet were allowed to be applied. An 
 open place was necessary for all their sports, and the sea- 
 beach was usually selected. The boundary mark of each 
 party was fixed by a stone on the beach, or some other object 
 on the shore, having a space of fifty or a hundred yards 
 between. The ball was a large roll or bundle of the tough 
 stalks of the plantain leaves twisted closely and firmly 
 together. They began in the centre of the space. One 
 party, seizing the ball, endeavoured to throw it over the 
 boundary mark of the other. As soon as it was thrown, 
 both parties started after it, and, in stooping to seize it, 
 a scramble often ensued among those who first reached 
 the ball; the numbers increased as the others came up, 
 
 2 Q 
 
298 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and they frequently fell one over the other in the greatest 
 confusion. Amidst the shouts* and din* and disorder 
 that followed* arms or legs were sometimes broken be¬ 
 fore the ball was secured. As the pastime was usually 
 followed on the beach* the ball was often thrown into 
 the sea; here it was fearlessly followed* and* with all 
 the noise and cheering of the different parties* forty or 
 fifty women might sometimes be seen* up to their knees 
 or their waists in the water* splashing and plung¬ 
 ing amid the foam and spray* after the object 
 of their pursuit. These are only some of the games 
 that were followed by the adults* at their great meetings 
 pr national festivals. In these* and in feasting* the 
 hours of the day were spent. 
 
 Their dances were numerous and diversified; the 
 heiva was performed by the men and women—in many 
 the parties did not dance together. The dress of the 
 women was remarkably curious* and not inelegant; their 
 heads were decorated with fillets of tamau * or plaited 
 human hair* and adorned with wreaths of the white 
 sweet-scented teairi flower. The arms and neck were 
 uncovered* the breasts ornamented with shells or cover¬ 
 ings of curiously wrought net-work and feathers. The 
 native cloth they wore was always white* sometimes 
 edged with a scarlet border. Their movements were 
 generally slow* but remarkably regular and exact; the 
 arms* during their dances* were exercised as much as 
 their feet. The drum and the flute were the music by 
 which they were led; and the dance was usually accom¬ 
 panied by songs and ballads. There were other kinds 
 of dances* in which smaller parties engaged; and* 
 although sometimes held in the open air* they were 
 more frequently performed under the cover of the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 299 
 
 spacious houses, erected in most of the districts for 
 public entertainments. These structures were frequently 
 large, and well-built; and consisted of a roof supported 
 by pillars, without any shelter for the sides. A low 
 fence, called aumoa , surrounded the house; and the 
 inside was covered with mats, on which the company sat 
 and the dancers performed. The patau , or prompter, 
 sat by the drum, and regulated the several parts of the 
 performance. After the athletic exercises of the day, 
 the dances ensued in the evening, and were often con¬ 
 tinued till the dawn of the following morning. There were 
 gods supposed to preside over their dances, whose 
 sanction patronized every immorality connected with 
 them. 
 
 The te-a , or archery, was also a sacred game, more so, 
 perhaps, than any other. The bows, arrows, quiver, and 
 cloth in which they were usually kept together, with 
 the dresses worn by the archers, were all sacred, and 
 under the special care of persons regularly appointed to 
 keep them. It was usually practised as a most honour¬ 
 able recreation, between the residents of a place and their 
 guests. The sport was generally followed either at the 
 foot of a mountain, or on the sea-shore. My house, in 
 the valley of Haamene at Huahine, stood very near an 
 ancient vahi te-a , place of archery. Before commencing 
 the game, the parties repaired to the marae,and performed 
 several ceremonies ; after which, they put on the archers* 
 dress, and proceded to the place appointed. They did 
 not shoot at a mark ; it was therefore only a trial of 
 strength. In the place to which they shot the arrows, 
 two small white flags were displayed, between which 
 the arrows were directed. 
 
 The bows were made of the light, tough wood of the 
 
300 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 purau ; and were, when unstrung, perfectly straight, 
 about five feet long ; an inch, or an inch and a quarter, 
 in diameter in the centre, but smaller at the ends. They 
 were neatly polished, and sometimes ornamented with 
 finely braided human hair, or cinet of the fibres of the 
 cocoa-nut husk, wound round the ends of the bow in 
 alternate rings. The string was of romaha, or native 
 flax; the arrows were made of small bamboo reeds, 
 exceedingly light and durable. They were pointed with 
 a piece of aito, or iron-wood, but were not barbed. 
 Their arrows were not feathered; but, in order to their 
 being firmly held while the string was drawn, the lower 
 end was covered with a resinous gum from the bread¬ 
 fruit tree. The length of the arrows varied from two 
 feet six inches, to three feet. The spot from which they 
 were shot was considered sacred; there was one of these 
 within my garden at Huahine. It was a stone pile, 
 about three or four feet high, of a triangular form, one 
 side of the angle being convex. 
 
 When the preparations were completed, the archer 
 ascended this platform, and, kneeling on one knee, 
 drew the string of the bow with the right hand, till the 
 head of the arrow touched the centre of the bow, when 
 it was discharged with great force. It was an effort 
 of much strength in this position to draw the bowstring 
 so far. The line often broke, and the bow fell from 
 the archer’s hand when the arrow was discharged. 
 The distance to which it was shot, though various, was 
 frequently three hundred yards. A number of men, 
 from three to twelve, with small white flags in their 
 hands, were stationed to watch the arrows in their 
 fall. When those of one party went farther than 
 those of the other, they waved the flags as a signal 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 301 
 
 to those below. When they fell short, they held down 
 their flags, but lifted up their foot, exclaiming, ua 
 pau , beaten. 
 
 This was a sport in the highest esteem, the king 
 and chiefs usually attending to witness the exercise. 
 As soon as the game was finished, the bow, with the 
 quiver of arrows, was delivered to the charge of a 
 proper person: the archers repaired to the marae, 
 and were obliged to exchange their dress, and bathe 
 their persons, before they could take any refreshment, 
 or even enter their dwellings. It is astonishing to 
 notice how intimately their system of religion was 
 interwoven with every pursuit of their lives. Their 
 wars, their labours, and their amusements, were all 
 under the control of their gods. 
 
 The arrows they employed were sometimes beauti¬ 
 fully stained and variegated. The bows were plain, 
 but the quivers were often truly elegant in shape and 
 appearance. They were usually made with the single 
 joint of a bamboo cane, three feet six or nine inches 
 long, and about two inches in diameter. The outside 
 was sometimes handsomely stained, and finely polished 
 at the top and the bottom; they were adorned with 
 finely braided cinet, and plaited human hair. The 
 cap or cover of the quiver was usually a small, hand¬ 
 some, well-formed cocoa-nut, of a dark brown choco¬ 
 late colour, highly polished, and attached to the quiver 
 by a braided cinet passing up the inner side of the 
 quiver, and fastened near the bottom. 
 
 The bow and arrow were never used by the Society 
 Islanders, excepting in their amusements; hence, perhaps, 
 their arrows, though pointed, were not barbed, and they 
 did not shoot at a mark. In throwing the spear. 
 
302 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and the stone from the sling, both of which they used 
 in battle, they were accustomed to set up a mark, and 
 practised, that they might throw with precision, as well 
 as force. In the Sandwich Islands, they are used also 
 as an amusement, especially in shooting rats, but are not 
 included in their accoutrements for battle ; while in the 
 Friendly Islands, the bow was not only employed on occa¬ 
 sions of festivity, but also used in war ; this, however, may 
 have arisen from their proximity to the Feejee Islands, 
 where it is a general weapon. In the Society and 
 Sandwich Islands, it is now altogether laid aside, in 
 consequence of its connexion with their former idolatry. 
 I do not think the Missionaries ever inculcated its 
 discontinuance, but the adults do not appear to have 
 thought of following this or any other game, since 
 Christianity has been introduced among them. 
 
 The most ancient, but certainly not the most inno¬ 
 cent game among the Tahitians, was the faatitoraa- 
 moa , literally, the causing fighting among fowls, or 
 cock-fighting. The traditions of the people state, that 
 fowls have existed in the islands as long as the people, 
 that they came with the first colonists by whom the 
 islands were peopled, or that they were made by Taaroa at 
 the same time that men were made. The traditions and 
 songs of the islanders, connected with their amusements, 
 are as ancient as any in existence among them. The 
 Tahitians do not appear to have staked any property, 
 or laid any bets, on their favourite birds, but to have 
 trained and fought them for the sake of the gratification 
 they derived from beholding them destroy each other. 
 Long before the first foreign vessel was seen off their 
 shores, they were accustomed to train and to fight 
 their birds. The fowls designed for fighting were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 303 
 
 fed with great care; a finely carved fatapua , or stand, 
 was made as a perch for the birds. This was 
 planted in the house, and the bird fastened to it by a 
 piece of curious cinet, braided flat that it might not 
 injure the leg. No other substance would have been 
 secure against the attacks of his beak. Their food 
 was chiefly poe , or bruised bread-fruit, rolled up in 
 the hand like paste, and given in small pieces. The 
 fowl was taught to open his mouth to receive his 
 food and his water, which was poured from his master’s 
 hand. It was also customary to sprinkle water over 
 these birds, to refresh them. 
 
 The natives were universally addicted to this sport. 
 The inhabitants of one district often matched their 
 birds against those of another, or those of one division 
 of a district against those of another division. They 
 do not appear to have entertained any predilection 
 for particular colour in the fowls, but seem to have 
 esteemed all alike. They never trimmed any of the 
 feathers, but were proud to see them with heavy wings, 
 full-feathered necks, and long tails. They also accus¬ 
 tomed them to fight without artificial spurs, or other 
 means of injury. In order that the birds might be 
 as fresh as possible, they fought them early in the morn¬ 
 ing, soon after day-break, while the air was cool, and 
 before they became languid from the heat. More than 
 two were seldom engaged at once, and so soon as 
 one bird avoided the other, he was considered as vi 9 or 
 beaten. Victory was declared in favour of his oppo¬ 
 nent, and they were immediately parted. This amuse¬ 
 ment was sometimes continued for several days suc¬ 
 cessively. 
 
 Like the inhabitants of most of the islands of the 
 
304 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Pacific, the Tahitians are fond of the water, and lose 
 all dread of it before they are old enough to know the 
 danger to which we should consider them exposed. 
 They are among the best divers that are known, and 
 spend much of their time in the sea, not only when 
 engaged in acts of labour, but when following their 
 amusements. One of their most favourite sports, is the 
 faahee , or swimming in the surf, when the waves are high, 
 and the billows break in foam and spray among the 
 reefs. Individuals of all ranks and ages, and both sexes, 
 follow this pastime with the greatest avidity. They 
 usually selected the openings in the reefs, or entrances 
 of some of the bays, for their sport; where the long 
 heavy billows of the ocean rolled in unbroken majesty 
 upon the reef or the shore. They used a small board, 
 which they called papa faahee —swam from the beach 
 to a considerable distance, sometimes nearly a mile, 
 watched the swell of the wave, and when it reached 
 them, resting their bosom on the short flat pointed 
 board, they mounted on its summit, and, amid the foam 
 and spray, rode on the crest of the wave to the shore: 
 sometimes they halted among the coral rocks, over which 
 the waves broke in splendid confusion. When they 
 approached the shore, they slid off the board, which 
 they grasped with the hand, and either fell behind the 
 wave, or plunged toward the deep, and allowed it to 
 pass over their heads. Sometimes they were thrown 
 with violence upon the beach, or among the rocks on 
 the edges of the reef. So much at home, however, do 
 they feel in the water, that it is seldom any accident 
 occurs. 
 
 I have often seen, along the border of the reef forming 
 the boundary line to the harbour of Fare, in Huahine, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 305 
 
 from fifty to a hundred persons, of all ages, sporting like 
 so many porpoises in the surf, that has been rolling with 
 foam and violence towards the land, sometimes mounted 
 on the top of the wave, and almost enveloped in spray, 
 at other times plunging beneath the mass of water that 
 has swept in mountains over them, cheering and animat¬ 
 ing each other; and, by the noise and shouting they 
 made, rendering the roaring of the sea, and the dashing 
 of the surf, comparatively imperceptible. Their surf¬ 
 boards are inferior to those of the Sandwich Islanders, 
 and I do not think swimming in the sea as an amuse¬ 
 ment, whatever it might have been formerly, is now 
 practised so much by the natives in the south, as by 
 those in the north Pacific. Both were exposed in this 
 sport to one common cause of interruption ; and this was, 
 the intrusion of the shark among them. The cry of a mao 
 among the former, and a mano among the latter, is one 
 of the most terrific they ever hear; and I am not sur¬ 
 prised that such should be the effect of the approach of 
 one of these voracious monsters. The great shouting and 
 clamour which they make, is principally designed to 
 frighten away such as may approach. Notwithstanding 
 this, they are often disturbed, and sometimes meet their 
 death from these formidable enemies. 
 
 A most affecting instance of this kind occurred very 
 recently in the Sandwich Islands, of which the following 
 account is given by Mr. Richards, and published in the 
 American Missionary Herald: 
 
 “At nine o’clock in the morning of June 14th, 1826, 
 while sitting at my writing-desk, I heard a simultaneous 
 scream from multitudes of people, Pan i ka mano! Pan i 
 ka manol (Destroyed by a shark! Destroyed by a shark !) 
 The beach was instantly lined by hundreds of persons, 
 
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306 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and a few of the most resolute threw a large canoe into 
 the w'ater, and alike regardless of the shark, and the 
 high rolling surf, sprang to the relief of their companion. 
 It was too late. The shark had already seized his prey. 
 The affecting sight was only a few yards from my door, 
 and while I stood watching, a large wave almost filled the 
 canoe, and at the same instant a part of the mangled 
 body was seen at the bow of the canoe, and the shark 
 swimming towards it at her stern. When the swell had 
 rolled by, the water was too shallow for the shark to 
 swim. The remains, therefore, were taken into the 
 canoe, and brought ashore. The water was so much 
 stained by the blood, that we discovered a red tinge in 
 all the foaming billows, as they approached the beach. 
 
 “ The unhappy sufferer was an active lad about fourteen 
 years old, who left my door only about half an hour 
 previous to the fatal accident. I saw his mother, in the 
 extremity of her anguish, plunge into the water, and 
 swim towards the bloody spot, entirely forgetful of the 
 power of her former god.” 
 
 “ A number of people, perhaps a hundred, were at this 
 time playing in the surf, which was higher than usual. 
 Those who were nearest to the victim heard him shriek, 
 perceived him to strike with his right hand, and at 
 the same instant saw a shark seize his arm. Then 
 followed the cry which I heard, which echoed from one 
 end of Lahaina to the other. All who were playing in 
 the water made the utmost speed to the shore, and those 
 who were standing on the beach saw the surf-board of 
 the unhappy sufferer floating on the water, without any 
 one to guide it. When the canoe reached the spot, they 
 saw nothing but the blood with which the water was 
 stained for a considerable distance, and by which they 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 30 ; 
 
 traced the remains, whither they had been carried by the 
 shark, or driven by the swell. The body was cut in two, 
 by the shark, just above the hips; and the lower part, 
 together with the right arm, were gone. 
 
 “ Many of the people connect this death with their old 
 system of religion; for they have still a superstitious 
 veneration for the shark, and this veneration is increased 
 rather than diminished by such occurrences as these. 
 
 u It is only about four months since a man was killed 
 in the same manner at Waihee, on the eastern part of 
 this island. It is said, however, that there are much 
 fewer deaths by the shark than formerly. This, perhaps, 
 may be owing to their not being so much fed by the 
 people, and therefore they do not frequent the shores so 
 much.” 
 
 Besides the faahee , or surf-swimming, in which the 
 adults principally engaged, there were a number of 
 aquatic pastimes peculiar to the children; among these, 
 the principal was erecting a kind of stage near the 
 margin of a deep part of the sea or river, leaping from the 
 highest elevation into the sea, and, chasing each other in 
 the water, diving to an almost incredible depth, or 
 skimming along the surface. Large companies of children, 
 from nine or ten to fifteen or sixteen years of age, have 
 often been seen, the greater part of the forenoon, eagerly 
 following this apparently dangerous game, with the 
 most perfect confidence of safety. Another amuse¬ 
 ment, which appears to afford high satisfaction to the 
 children of the islanders, is the construction of small 
 canoes, boats, or ships, and floating them in the sea. 
 Although they are rude in appearance, and soon destroy¬ 
 ed, many of the boys display uncommon ingenuity in 
 constructing this kind of toy. The hull is usually 
 
308 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 made with a piece of light wood of the hibiscus, the 
 cordage of bark, and the sails either of the leaflets of 
 the cocoa-nut, or the native cloth. The owners of these 
 little vessels frequently go in small parties, and, taking 
 their small-craft in their hands, wade up to their waist 
 or arm-pits in the sea, and sometimes swim still further 
 out ; and then, launching their miniature fleets, consisting 
 of ships, brigs, sloops, boats, canoes, &c. return towards 
 the shore. They usually fix a piece of stone at the 
 bottom of the little barks, which keeps them upright; and 
 as the wind wafts them along the bay, their owners run 
 along up to their knees in the sea, splashing and shouting 
 as they watch their progress. 
 
 Such were some of the amusements of the natives in the 
 South Sea Islands. In these, when not engaged in war, 
 they spent much of their time. There were also others, 
 of a less athletic kind, and of less universal prevalence. 
 Among these, the aperea was one of the most prevalent; 
 it consisted in jerking a reed, two feet and a half or 
 three feet in length, along the ground. The men seldom 
 played at it, but it was a common diversion for the 
 women and children. Timo , or timotimo , was another 
 game with the same class. The parties sat on the 
 ground, with a heap of stones by their side, held a small 
 round stone in the right hand, which they threw several 
 feet up into the air, and, before it fell, took up one of 
 the stones from the heap, which they held in the right 
 hand till they caught that which they had thrown up, 
 when they threw down the stone they had taken up, 
 tossed the round stone again, and continued taking up 
 a fresh stone every time they threw the small round 
 one into the air, until the whole heap was removed. 
 The teatea mata w r as a singular play among the children. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 309 
 
 who stretched open their eyelids by fixing a piece of 
 straw, or stiff grass, perpendicularly across the eye, so 
 as to force open the lids in a most frightful manner. 
 Tupaurupauru, a kind of blind-man’s-buff, was also a 
 favourite juvenile sport. 
 
 They were very fond of the tahoro, or swing, and 
 frequently suspended a rope from the branch of a 
 lofty tree, and spent hours in swinging backwards 
 and forwards. They used the rope singly, and at the 
 lower end fastened a short stick, which was thus sus¬ 
 pended in a horizontal position; upon this stick they 
 sat, and, holding by the rope, were drawn or pushed 
 backwards and forwards by their companions. Walking 
 
 The Tahitian Swing . 
 
 in stilts was also a favourite amusement with the 
 youth of both sexes. The stilts were formed by nature, 
 and generally consisted of the straight branches of a 
 tree, with a smaller branch projecting on one side. Their 
 
310 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES* 
 
 naked feet were placed on this short branch, and thus, 
 elevated about three feet from the ground, they pur¬ 
 sued their pastime. 
 
 The boys were very fond of the uo, or kite, which 
 they raised to a great height. The Tahitian kite was 
 different in shape to the kites of the English boys. 
 It was made of light native cloth, instead of paper, and 
 formed in shape according to the fancy of its owner. 
 
 These are only some of the principal games, or 
 amusements, of the natives ; others might be added, but 
 these are sufficient to shew that they were not destitute 
 of sources of entertainment, either in their juvenile or 
 more advanced periods of life. With the exception of 
 one or two, they have all, however, been discontinued, 
 especially among the adults; and the number of those 
 followed by the children is greatly diminished. This 
 is, on no account, matter of regret. When we consider 
 the debasing tendency of many, and the inutility of 
 others, we shall rather rejoice that much of the time of 
 the adults is passed in more rational and beneficial 
 pursuits. Few, if any of them, are so sedentary in their 
 habits, as to need these amusements as a means of exer¬ 
 cise ) and they are not accustomed to apply so closely to 
 any of their avocations, as to require them merely for 
 relaxation. 
 
VO L Y X KSI A X R KS EARC II ES . 
 
 311 
 
 fj's 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 An account of the Areois, the institution peculiar to the inhabitants of 
 the Pacific—Antiquity of the Areoi society—Tradition of its origin— 
 Account of its founders—Infanticide enjoined with its establishment— 
 General character of the Areois—Their voyages—Public dances— 
 Buildings for their accommodation—Marine exhibitions—Oppression 
 and injury occasioned by their visits—Distinction of rank among them 
 —Estimation in which they are held—Mode of admission—Ceremonies 
 attending advancement to the higher orders—Demoralizing nature of 
 their usages—Singular rites at their death and interment—Description 
 of Rohutunaunoa, the Areois heaven—Reflections on the baneful ten¬ 
 dency of the Areoi society—Its dissolution—Conversion of some of the 
 principal Areois—Character and death of Manu—Infanticide connected 
 with the Areoi society—Numbers destroyed—Universality of the crime 
 —Mode of its perpetration—Reasons assigned by the people for its 
 continuance—Disproportion it occasioned between the sexes—Its aboli¬ 
 tion on the reception of Christianity—Influence of Christian principles. 
 Maternal tenderness—Former treatment of children. 
 
 The greatest source of amusement to the people, as a 
 nation, was most probably the existence of a society, 
 peculiar to the islands of the Pacific, if not to the inha¬ 
 bitants of the southern groups. This was an institution 
 called the Areoi society. Many of the regulations of 
 this body, and the practices to which they were addicted, 
 cannot be made public, without violence to every feel¬ 
 ing of propriety ; but, so far as it can be consistently 
 done, it seems desirable to give some particulars re¬ 
 specting this most singular institution. Although I 
 never met with an account of any institution analogous 
 
312 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 to this, among the barbarous nations in any parts of the 
 world, I have reason to believe it was not confined to 
 the Society group, and neighbouring islands. It does 
 not appear to have existed in the Marquesas or Sand¬ 
 wich Islands; but the Jesuit Missionaries found an 
 institution, bearing a striking resemblance to it, among 
 the inhabitants of the Caroline or Ladrone Islands; a 
 privileged fraternity, whose practices were, in many 
 respects, similar to those of the Areois of the southern 
 islands. They were called uritoy ; which, omitting the 
 £, would not be much unlike areoi. A greater difference 
 exists in the pronunciation of words known to be 
 radically the same. 
 
 How long this association has existed in the South 
 Sea Islands, we have no means of ascertaining with 
 correctness. According to the traditions of the people, 
 its antiquity is equal to that of the system of pollution 
 and error with which it was so intimately allied; and, 
 by the same authority, we are informed that there have 
 been Areois almost as long as there have been men. 
 These, however, were all so fabulous, that we can only 
 infer from them that the institution is of ancient origin. 
 According to the traditions of the people, Taaroa created, 
 and, by means of Hina, brought forth, when full-grown, 
 Orotetefa and Urutetefa. They were not his sons; 
 oriori is the term employed by the people, which seems 
 to mean create . They were called the brothers of Oro, 
 and were numbered among the inferior divinities. They 
 remained in a state of celibacy; and hence the devotees 
 were required to destroy their offspring. The origin of 
 the Areois institution is as follows. 
 
 Oro, the son of Taaroa, desired a wife from the 
 daughters of Taata, the first man; he sent two of his 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 313 
 
 brothers, Tufarapainuu and Tufarapairai, to seek among 
 the daughters of man a suitable companion for him; 
 they searched through the whole of the island, from 
 Tahiti to Borabora, but saw no one that they supposed 
 fit to become the wife of Oro, till they came to Borabora. 
 Here, residing near the foot of Mouatahuhuura, red-ridged 
 mountain , they saw Vairaumati. When they beheld 
 her, they said one to the other. This is the excellent 
 woman for our brother. Returning to the skies, they 
 hastened to Oro, and informed him of their success; 
 told him they had found among the daughters of man 
 a wife for him, described the place of her abode, and 
 represented her as a vahine purotu aiai> a female 
 possessed of every charm. The god fixed the rainbow 
 in the heavens, one end of it resting in the valley at 
 the foot of the red-ridged mountain, the other pene¬ 
 trating the skies, and thus formed his pathway to the 
 earth. 
 
 When he emerged from the vapour which, like a 
 cloud, had encircled the rainbow, he discovered the 
 dwelling of Vairaumati, the fair mistress of the cottage, 
 who became his wife. Every evening he descended on 
 the rainbow, and returned by the same pathway on the 
 following morning to the heavenly regions. His wife 
 bore a son, whom he called Hoa-tabu-i-te-rai , friend, 
 sacred to the heavens. This son became a powerful 
 ruler among men. 
 
 The absence of Oro from his celestial companions, 
 during the frequent visits he made to the cottage of 
 Vairaumati in the valley of Borabora, induced two of his 
 younger brothers, Orotetefa and Urutetefa, to leave their 
 abode in the skies, and commence a search after him. 
 Descending by the rainbow in the position in which 
 
 2 s 
 
314 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 he had placed it, they alighted on the world near the 
 base of the red-ridged mountain, and soon perceived 
 their brother and his wife in their terrestrial habitation. 
 Ashamed to offer their salutations to him and his bride 
 without a present, one of them was transformed on the 
 spot into a pig, and a bunch of wm, or red feathers. 
 These acceptable presents the other offered to the inmates 
 of the dwelling, as a gift of congratulation. Oro and his 
 wife expressed their satisfaction at the present; the pig 
 and the feathers remained the same, but the brother of 
 the god assumed his original form. 
 
 Such a mark of attention, on such an occasion, was 
 considered by Oro to require some expression of his 
 commendation. He accordingly made them gods, and 
 constituted them Areois, saying, Ei Areoi orua i ie ao net , 
 ia noaa ta orua tuhaa: Be you two Areois in this world, 
 that you may love your portion, (in the government, &c.) 
 In the commemoration of this ludicrous fable of the pig 
 and the feathers, the Areois, in all the taupiti, and public 
 festivals, carried a young pig to the temple; strangled 
 it, bound it in the aim haio , (a loose open kind of cloth,) 
 and placed it on the altar. They also offered the 
 red feathers, which they called the uru maru no te Areoi ; 
 the shadowy uru of the Areoi, or the red feathers of the 
 party of the Areoi. 
 
 It has been already stated that the brothers, who were 
 made gods and kings of the Areois, lived in celibacy; 
 consequently they had no descendants. On this ac¬ 
 count, although they did not enjoin celibacy upon their 
 devotees, they prohibited their having any offspring. 
 Hence, one of the standing regulations of this in¬ 
 stitution was, the murder of their children. The first 
 company, the legend states, were nominated, ac- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 315 
 
 cording to Oro’s direction, by Urutetefa and Orotetefa, 
 and comprised the following individuals : Huatua, of 
 Tahiti; Tauraatua, of Moorea, orEimeo; Temaiatea, of 
 Sir Charles Sander’s Island; Tetoa and Atae, of Huahine; 
 Taramanini and Airipa, of Raiatea; Mutahaa, of Tahaa; 
 Bunaruu, of Borabora; and Marore, of Maurua. These 
 individuals, selected from the different islands, consti¬ 
 tuted the first Areoi society. To them, also, the gods 
 whom Oro had placed over them delegated authority, 
 and gave permission to admit to their order all such as 
 were desirous to unite with them, and consented to mur¬ 
 der their infants.'* These were always the names of the 
 principal Areois in each of the islands; and were 
 borne by them in the several islands at the time of 
 their renouncing idolatry; when the Areois name, and 
 Areois customs, were simultaneously discontinued. 
 
 It is a most gratifying fact, that some of those who 
 bore these names, and were ringleaders in all the vice 
 and cruelty connected with the system, have since been 
 distinguished for their active benevolence, and moral and 
 exemplary lives.' Auna, one of the first deacons in the 
 church at Huahine, one of the first native teachers sent 
 out by that church to the heathen, and who has been the 
 minister of the church in Sir Charles Sander’s Island, 
 an indefatigable, upright, intelligent, and useful man, as 
 a Christian Missionary in the South Sea Islands, was 
 the principal Areoi of Raiatea. He was the Taramanini 
 of that island, until he embraced Christianity. 
 
 They were a sort of strolling players, and privi- 
 
 * The above is one of the most regular accounts of the origin of the 
 Areois institution, extant among the people. Mr. Barff, to whom I 
 am indebted for it, received it from Auna, and Mahine the king of 
 Huahine. 
 
316 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 leged libertines, who spent their days in travelling 
 from island to island, and from one district to another, 
 exhibiting their pantomimes, and spreading a moral con¬ 
 tagion throughout society. Great preparation was neces¬ 
 sary before the mareva , or company, set out. Numbers 
 of pigs were killed, and presented to Oro ; large quanti¬ 
 ties of plantains and bananas, with other fruits, were 
 also offered upon his altars. Several weeks were neces¬ 
 sary, to complete the preliminary ceremonies. The con¬ 
 cluding parts of these consisted in erecting on board 
 their canoes, two temporary maraes , or temples, for the 
 worship of Orotetefa and his brother, the tutelar deities 
 of the society. This was merely a symbol of the pre¬ 
 sence of the gods ; and consisted principally in a stone 
 for each, from Oro’s marae, and a few red feathers from 
 the inside of the sacred image. Into these symbols the 
 gods were supposed to enter when the priest pronounced 
 a short ubu , or prayer, immediately before the sailing of 
 the fleet. The numbers connected with this fraternity, 
 and the magnitude of some of their expeditions, will 
 appear from the fact of Cook’s witnessing, on one occa¬ 
 sion, in Huahine, the departure of seventy canoes filled 
 with Areois. 
 
 On landing at the place of destination, they proceeded 
 to the residence of the king or chief, and presented their 
 marotai , or present; a similar offering was also sent to 
 the temple and to the gods, as an acknowledgment for 
 the preservation they had experienced at sea. If they 
 remained in the neighbourhood, preparations were made 
 for their dances and other performances. 
 
 On public occasions, their appearance was, in some 
 respects, such as it is not proper to describe. Their 
 bodies were painted with charcoal, and their faces. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 317 
 
 especially, stained with the mati 9 or scarlet dye. Some¬ 
 times they wore a girdle of the yellow ti leaves 3 which, 
 in appearance, resembled the feather girdles of the Peru¬ 
 vians, or other South American tribes. At other times 
 they wore a vest of ripe yellow plantain leaves, and orna¬ 
 mented their heads with wreaths of the bright yellow 
 and scarlet leaves of the hutu 9 or Barringtonia 3 but, in 
 general, their appearance was far more repulsive than 
 when they wore these partial coverings. 
 
 Upaupa was the name of many of their exhibitions. 
 In performing these, they sometimes sat in a circle on 
 the ground, and recited, in concert, a legend or song 
 in honour of their gods, or some distinguished Areoi. 
 The leader of the party stood in the centre, and 
 introduced the recitation with a sort of prologue, 
 when, with a number of fantastic movements and 
 attitudes, those that sat around, began their song 
 in a low and measured tone and voice 3 which increased 
 as they proceeded, till it became vociferous and unin¬ 
 telligibly rapid. It was also accompanied by move¬ 
 ments of the arms and hands, in exact keeping with the 
 tones of the voice, until they were wrought to the 
 highest pitch of excitement. This they continued, until, 
 becoming breathless and exhausted, they were obliged to 
 suspend the performance. 
 
 Their public entertainments frequently consisted in 
 delivering speeches, accompanied by every variety of 
 gesture and action 3 and their representations, on these 
 occasions, assumed something of the histrionic character. 
 The priests, and others, were fearlessly ridiculed in 
 these performances, in which allusion was ludicrously 
 made to public events. In the taupiti, or oroa, they 
 sometimes engaged in wrestling, but never in boxing; 
 
318 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 that would have been considered too degrading for them. 
 Dancing, however, appears to have been their favourite 
 and most frequent performance. In this they were always 
 led by the manager or chief. Their bodies, blackened 
 with charcoal, and stained with mati, rendered the exhibi¬ 
 tion of their persons on these occasions most disgusting. 
 They often maintained their dance through the greater 
 part of the night, accompanied by their voices, and the 
 music of the flute and the drum. These amusements 
 frequently continued for a number of days and nights 
 successively at the same place. The upaupa was then 
 huiy or closed, and they journeyed to the next district, or 
 principal chieftain’s abode, where the same train of 
 dances, wrestlings, and pantomimic exhibitions, was 
 repeated. 
 
 Several other gods were supposed to preside over 
 the upaupa, as well as the two brothers who were 
 the guardian deities of the Areois. The gods of these 
 diversions, according to the ideas of the people, were 
 monsters in vice, and of course patronized every evil 
 practice perpetrated during such seasons of public 
 festivity. 
 
 Substantial, spacious, and sometimes highly orna¬ 
 mented houses, were erected in several districts through¬ 
 out most of the islands, principally for their accommo¬ 
 dation, and the exhibition of their performances. The 
 house erected for this purpose, which we saw at Tiatae- 
 puaa, was one of the best in Eimeo. Sometimes they 
 performed in their canoes, as they approached the shore ; 
 especially if they had the king of the island, or any 
 principal chief, on board their fleet. When one of these 
 companies thus advanced towards the land, with their 
 streamers floating in the wind, their drums and flutes 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 319 
 
 sounding, and the Areois, attended by their chief, who acted 
 as their prompter, appeared on a stage erected for the 
 purpose, with their wild distortions of person, antic ges¬ 
 tures, painted bodies, and vociferated songs, mingling with 
 the sound of the drum and the flute, the dashing of the 
 sea, and the rolling and breaking of the surf, on the ad¬ 
 jacent reef; the whole must have presented a ludicrous 
 imposing spectacle, accompanied with a confusion of 
 sight and sound, of which it is not very easy to form an 
 adequate idea. 
 
 The above were the principal occupations of the Areois; 
 and in the constant repetition of these, often obscene 
 exhibitions, they passed their lives, strolling from the 
 habitation of one chief to that of another, or sailing 
 among the different islands of the group. The farmers 
 did not in general much respect them; but the chiefs, 
 and those addicted to pleasure, held them in high esti¬ 
 mation, furnishing them with liberal entertainment, and 
 sparing no property to detain them. This often proved 
 the cause of most unjust and cruel oppression to the 
 poor cultivators. When a party of Areois arrived in a 
 district, in order to provide a daily sumptuous enter¬ 
 tainment for them, the chief would send his servants 
 to the best plantations in the neighbourhood; and 
 these grounds, without any ceremony, they plundered 
 of whatever was fit for use. Such lawless acts of 
 robbery were repeated every day, so long as the Areois 
 continued in the district; and when they departed, the 
 gardens often exhibited a scene of desolation and ruin, 
 that, but for the influence of the chiefs, would have 
 brought fearful vengeance upon those who had occa¬ 
 sioned it. 
 
 A number of distinct classes prevailed among the 
 
320 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Areois, each of which was distinguished by the kind or 
 situation of the tatauing on their bodies. The first or 
 highest class was called Avae parai, painted leg; the 
 leg being completely blackened from the foot to the 
 knee. The second class was called Otiore, both arms 
 being marked, from the fingers to the shoulders. The 
 third class was denominated Harotea, both sides of the 
 body, from the arm-pits downwards, being marked with 
 tatau. The fourth class, called Hua , had only two or 
 three small figures, impressed with the same material, 
 on each shoulder. The fifth class, called Atoro , had 
 one small stripe, tataued on the left side. Every indivi¬ 
 dual in the sixth class, designated Ohemara , had a 
 small circle marked round each ankle. The seventh 
 class, or Poo, which included all who were in their 
 noviciate, was usually denominated the Poo faarearea , 
 or pleasure-making class, and by them the most 
 laborious part of the pantomimes, dances, &c. was per¬ 
 formed ; the principal or higher orders of Areois, though 
 plastered over with charcoal, and stained with scarlet 
 dye, were generally careful not to exhaust themselves 
 too much by physical effort, for the amusement of 
 others. 
 
 In addition to the seven regular classes of Areois, 
 there were a number of individuals, of both sexes, who 
 attached themselves to the dissipated and wandering fra¬ 
 ternity, prepared their food and their dresses, per¬ 
 formed a variety of servile occupations, and attended 
 them on their journeys, for the purpose of witnessing 
 their dances, or sharing in their banquets. These were 
 called Fauaunau, because they did not destroy their 
 offspring, which was indispensable with the regular 
 members. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 321 
 
 Although addicted to every kind of licentiousness 
 themselves, each Areoi had his own wife, who was also 
 a member of the society; and so jealous were they in 
 this respect, that improper conduct towards the wife of 
 one of their own number, was sometimes punished with 
 death. This summary and fatal punishment was not con¬ 
 fined to their society, but was sometimes inflicted, for the 
 same crime, among other classes of the community. 
 
 Singular as it may appear, the Areoi institution was 
 held in the greatest repute by the chiefs and higher 
 classes; and, monsters of iniquity as they were, the 
 grandmasters, or members of the first order, were 
 regarded as a sort of superhuman beings: they were 
 treated with a corresponding degree of veneration by 
 many of the vulgar and ignorant. The fraternity was 
 not confined to any particular rank or grade in society, 
 but was composed of individuals from every class. But 
 although thus accessible to all, the admission was attended 
 with a variety of ceremonies; a protracted noviciate 
 followed; and it was only by progressive advancement, 
 that any were admitted to the superior distinctions. 
 
 It was imagined that those who became Areois were 
 generally prompted or inspired to adopt this course 
 by the gods. When any individual therefore wished 
 to be admitted to their society, he repaired to some 
 public exhibition, in a state of apparent neneva, or 
 derangement. He generally w^ore a girdle of yellow 
 plantain or ti leaves round his loins ; his face was 
 stained with mati, or scarlet dye; his brow decorated 
 with a shade of curiously platted yellow cocoa-nut 
 leaves; his hair perfumed with powerfully scented oil, 
 and ornamented with a profusion of fragrant flowers. 
 Thus arrayed, disfigured, and adorned, he rushed through 
 
 2 T 
 
322 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the crowd assembled round the house in which the actors 
 or dancers were performing, and, leaping into the circle, 
 joined with seeming frantic wildness in the dance or 
 pantomime. He continued in the midst of the per¬ 
 formers until the exhibition closed. This was consider¬ 
 ed an indication of his desire to join their company; 
 and if approved, he was appointed to wait, as a servant, 
 on the principal Areois. After a considerable trial of 
 his natural disposition, docility, and devotedness, in 
 this occupation, if he persevered in his determination 
 to join himself with them, he was inaugurated with 
 all the attendant rites and observances. 
 
 This ceremony took place at some taupiti, or other 
 great meeting of the body, when the principal Areoi 
 brought him forth arrayed in the ahu haio , a curiously 
 stained sort of native cloth, the badge of their order, and 
 presented him to the members who were convened in 
 full assembly. The areois, as such, had distinct names, 
 and, at his introduction, the candidate received from 
 the chief of the body, the name by which in future he 
 was to be known among them. He was now directed, 
 in the first instance, to murder his children; a deed of 
 horrid barbarity, which he was in general too ready to 
 perpetrate. He was then instructed to bend his left arm, 
 and strike his right hand upon the bend of the left 
 elbow, which at the same time he struck against his 
 side, whilst he repeated the song or invocation for the 
 occasion ; of which the following is a translation. 
 
 a The mountain above, mouna tabu ,* sacred moun¬ 
 tain. The floor beneath Tamapua, + projecting point of 
 
 * The conical mountain near the lake of Maeva. 
 
 t The central district on the borders of the lake, lying at the foot of the 
 mountain. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 323 
 
 the sea. Manunu , of majestic or kingly bearing fore¬ 
 head. Teariitarai* the splendour in the sky. I am 
 such a one, (pronouncing his new Areoi name,) of the 
 mountain huruhuru.” He was then commanded to seize 
 the cloth worn by the chief woman present, and by this 
 act he completed his initiation, and became a member, 
 or one of the seventh class. 
 
 The lowest members of the society were the 
 principal actors in all their exhibitions, and on them 
 chiefly devolved the labour and drudgery of dancing and 
 performing, for the amusement of the spectators. The 
 superior classes led a life of dissipation and luxurious 
 indolence. On this account, those who were novices 
 continued a long time in the lower class ; and were only 
 admitted to the higher order, at the discretion of the 
 leaders or grand masters. 
 
 The advancement of an Areoi from the lower classes, 
 took place also at some public festival, when all the 
 members of the fraternity in the island were expected 
 to be present. Each individual appointed to receive 
 this high honour, attended in the full costume of 
 the order. The ceremonies were commenced by the 
 principal Areoi, who arose, and uttered an invocation to 
 Te huaa ra , (which, I presume, must mean the sacred 
 pig,) to the sacred company of Tabutabuatea , (the name 
 of all the principal national temples,) belonging to Tara- 
 manini, the chief Areoi of Raiatea. He then paused, and 
 another exclaimed. Give us such an individual, or indi¬ 
 viduals, mentioning the names of the party nominated 
 for the intended elevation. 
 
 When the gods had been thus required to sanction 
 their advancment, they were taken to the temple. Here, 
 
 * The hereditary name of the king or highest chief of Huahine. 
 
324 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 in the presence of the gods, they were solemnly anointed, 
 the forehead of each person being sprinkled with 
 fragrant oil. The sacred pig, clothed or wrapped in the 
 haio or cloth of the order, was next put into his hand, 
 and offered to the god. Each individual was then 
 declared, by the person officiating on the occasion, to be 
 an Areoi of the order to which he was thus raised. If 
 the pig wrapped in the sacred cloth was killed, which 
 was sometimes done, it was buried in the temple; but if 
 alive, its ears were ornamented with the orooro , or sacred 
 braid and tassel, of cocoa-nut fibre. It was then libe¬ 
 rated, and being regarded as sacred, or considered as 
 belonging to the god to whom it had been offered, it was 
 allowed to range the district uncontrolled till it died. 
 
 The artist or priest of the tatau was now employed 
 to imprint, in his unfading marks, the distinctive badges 
 of the rank or class to which the individuals had been 
 raised. As this operation was attended with consider¬ 
 able suffering to the parties invested with these insignia 
 of rank, it was usually deferred till the termination of 
 the festival which followed the ceremony. This was 
 generally furnished with an extravagant profusion: every 
 kind of food was prepared, and large bales of native 
 cloth were also provided, as presents to the Areois, 
 among whom it was divided. The greatest peculiarity, 
 however, connected with this entertainment was, that the 
 restrictions of tabu, which prohibited females, on pain of 
 death, from eating the flesh of the animals offered in 
 sacrifice to the gods, were removed, and they partook, 
 with the men, of the pigs, and other kinds of food con¬ 
 sidered sacred, which had been provided for the occasion. 
 Music, dancing, and pantomime exhibitions, followed, 
 and were sometimes continued for several days. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 325 
 
 These, though the general amusements of the Areois, 
 were not the only purposes for which they assembled. 
 They included 
 
 “ All monstrous, all prodigious things . 0 
 
 And these were abominable, unutterable; in some of 
 their meetings, they appear to have placed their 
 invention on the rack, to discover the worst pollutions 
 of which it was possible for man to be guilty, and to 
 have striven to outdo each other in the most revolting 
 practices. The mysteries of iniquity, and acts of more 
 than bestial degradation, to which they were at times 
 addicted, must remain in the darkness in which even they 
 felt it sometimes expedient to conceal them. I will not 
 do violence to my own feelings, or offend those of my 
 readers, by details of conduct, which the mind cannot 
 contemplate without pollution and pain. I should not 
 have alluded to them, but for the purpose of shewing the 
 affecting debasement, and humiliating demoralization, 
 to which ignorance, idolatry, and the evil propensities 
 of the human heart, when uncontrolled or unrestrained 
 by the institutions and relations of civilized society and 
 sacred truth, are capable of reducing mankind, even 
 under circumstances highly favourable to the culture of 
 virtue, purity, and happiness. 
 
 In these pastimes, in their accompanying abomina¬ 
 tions, and the often-repeated practices of the most unre¬ 
 lenting, murderous cruelty, these wandering Areois passed 
 their lives, esteemed by the people as a superior order 
 of beings, closely allied to the gods, and deriving from 
 them direct sanction, not only for their abominations, 
 but even for their heartless murders. Free from labour or 
 care, they roved from island to island, supported by the 
 
32(5 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 chiefs and the priests; and were often feasted with provi¬ 
 sion plundered from the industrious husbandman, whose 
 gardens were spoiled by the hands of lawless violence, 
 to provide their entertainments, while his own family was 
 not unfrequently deprived thereby, for a time, of the 
 means of subsistence. Such was their life of luxurious 
 and licentious indolence and crime. And such was the 
 character of their delusive system of superstition, that, 
 for them, too, was reserved the Elysium which their 
 fabulous mythology taught them to believe, was pro¬ 
 vided in a future state of existence, for those so preemi¬ 
 nently favoured by the gods. 
 
 A number of singular ceremonies were, on this 
 account, performed at the death of an Areoi. The oto- 
 haa , or general lamentation, was continued for two or 
 three days. During this time the body remained at 
 the place of its decease, surrounded by the relatives 
 and friends of the departed. It was then taken by 
 the Areois to the grand temple, where the bones of 
 the kings were deposited. Soon after the body had 
 been brought within the precincts of the marae, the 
 priest of Oro came, and, standing over the corpse, 
 offered a long prayer to his god. This prayer, and the 
 ceremonies connected therewith, were designed to divest 
 the body of all sacred and mysterious influence the 
 individual was supposed to have received from the god, 
 when, in the presence of the idol, the perfumed oil had 
 been sprinkled upon him, and he had been raised to 
 the order or rank in which he died. By this act it was 
 imagined they were all returned to Oro, by whom 
 they had been originally imparted. The body was then 
 buried as the body of a common man, within the pre¬ 
 cincts of the temple, in which the bodies of chiefs were 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 327 
 
 interred. This ceremony was not much unlike certain 
 portions of the degrading rites performed on the person 
 of a heretic, in connexion with an auto de fe, in the 
 Romish church. 
 
 The resources of the Areois were ample. They were, 
 therefore, always enabled to employ the priest of Roma- 
 tane, who was supposed to have the keys of Rohutu noa- 
 noa, the Tahitian’s paradise. This priest consequently 
 succeeded the priest of Oro, in the funeral ceremonies : 
 he stood by the dead body, and offered his petitions to 
 Urutaetae, who was not altogether the Charon of their 
 mythology, but the god whose office it was to conduct 
 the spirits of Areois and others, for whom the priest of 
 Romatane was employed, to the place of happiness. 
 
 This Rohutu noanoa, (literally, perfumed or fragrant 
 Rohutu,) was altogether a Mahomedan paradise. It was 
 supposed to be near a lofty and stupendous mountain 
 in Raiatea, situated in the vicinity of Hamaniino har¬ 
 bour, and called Temehani unauna , splendid or glorious 
 Temehani. It was, however, said to be invisible to 
 mortal eyes, being in the rev a, or aerial regions. The 
 country was described as most lovely and enchanting in 
 appearance, adorned with flowers of every form and hue, 
 and perfumed with odours of every fragrance. The air 
 was free from every noxious vapour, pure, and most 
 salubrious. Every species of enjoyment, to which the 
 Areois and other favoured classes had been accustomed 
 on earth, was to be participated there. Rich viands 
 and delicious fruits were supposed to be furnished in 
 abundance, for the frequent and sumptuous festivals 
 celebrated there. Handsome youths and women, purotu 
 anae , all perfection, thronged the place. These honours 
 and gratifications were only for the privileged orders. 
 
328 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the Areois, and the chiefs, who could afford to pay the 
 priests for the passport thither: the charges were so 
 great, that the common people seldom or never thought 
 of attempting to procure it for their relatives ) besides, 
 it is probable that the high distinction kept up between 
 the chiefs and people here, would be expected to 
 exist in a future state, and to exclude every individual of 
 the lower ranks, from the society of his superiors. 
 
 Those who had been kings or Areois in this world, 
 were the same there for ever. They were supposed to 
 be employed in a succession of amusements and indul¬ 
 gences similar to those to which they had been addicted 
 on earth, often perpetrating the most unnatural crimes, 
 which their tutelar gods were represented as sanctioning 
 by their own example. 
 
 These are some of the principal traditions and par¬ 
 ticulars relative to this singular and demoralizing in¬ 
 stitution, which, if not confined to the Georgian and 
 Society Islands, appears to have been patronized and 
 carried to a greater extent there than among any other 
 islands of the Pacific. Considering the imagined source 
 in which it originated, the express appointment of Oro, 
 their powerful god, the antiquity it claimed, its remark¬ 
 able adaptation to the indolent habits and depraved 
 uncontrolled passions of the people, the sanction it 
 received here, and the prospect it presented to its 
 members of the perpetuity, in a future state, of gratifica¬ 
 tions most congenial to those to whom they were 
 exhibited, the Areoi institution appears a master-piece 
 of satanic delusion and deadly infatuation, exerting an 
 influence over the minds of an ignorant, indolent, and 
 demoralized people, which no human power, and nothing 
 less than a Divine agency, could counteract or destroy. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 329 
 
 The entire dissolution of this association, and the 
 abolition of its cruel and abominable practices, on the 
 introduction of Christianity, is one of the most powerful 
 demonstrations God has given to his church and to the 
 world, of the irresistible operation of those means which 
 he has appointed for the complete demolition of the 
 very strong holds of paganism, and the universal exten¬ 
 sion of virtue, purity, and happiness among the most pro¬ 
 fligate and debased of mankind. It is a matter of devout 
 acknowledgment to the Almighty, by whose power alone 
 the means employed have been rendered efficacious in its 
 annihilation, and furnishes a cause of hallowed triumph 
 to the friends of moral order, humanity, and religion. 
 
 No sooner did these deluded, polluted, and cruel people, 
 receive the gospel of Christ, the elevated sentiments, 
 sacred purity, and humane tendency of which, convinced 
 them that it must have originated in a source as opposite 
 to that whence idolatry had sprung, as light is to 
 darkness, than the spell in which they had been for 
 ages bound was dissolved, and the chains of their cap¬ 
 tivity were burst asunder. They were astonished at 
 themselves, and were a wonder to all who beheld them. 
 The fabled legends by which, as by enchantment, they 
 had been deceived, were banished from their recollec¬ 
 tions ; the abominations, and the bloodshed to which 
 they had been addicted, ceased; and they became moral, 
 virtuous, affectionate, devout, and upright members of a 
 Christian community. There is reason to believe that 
 many, even of the Areois, have been purified from 
 their moral defilement, in that blood which cleanseth 
 from all sin, and that the language addressed by the 
 apostle to the Corinthians may with propriety be ap¬ 
 plied to them. 
 
330 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The astonishing and gratifying change which has 
 taken place among them, nothing but Christian prin¬ 
 ciples could have effected. Numbers of the Areois early 
 embraced Christianity, and some from the highest 
 orders were amongst the first converts. With few 
 exceptions, they have been distinguished by ardour 
 of zeal, and steady adherence to the religion of the 
 Bible. Many of them have been the most regular 
 and laborious teachers in our schools, and the most 
 efficient and successful native Missionaries. Among 
 this class, also, as might naturally be expected, have 
 been experienced the most distressing apprehensions as 
 to the consequences of sin, and the greatest compunction 
 of mind on account of it. Many of them immediately 
 changed their names, and others would be happy to 
 obliterate every mark of that fraternity, the badges of 
 which they once considered an honourable distinction. 
 I have heard several wish they could remove from their 
 bodies the marks tataued upon them, but these figures 
 remain too deeply fixed to be obliterated, and per¬ 
 petually remind them of what they once were. It is 
 satisfactory to know, that not a few have enjoyed a 
 sense of the pardoning mercy of God, and though some 
 have been distressed in the prospect of death, others 
 have been happy in the cheering hope, not of a 
 pagan elysium, or a sensual sort of Turkish paradise, 
 but of a holy and peaceful rest in the regions of 
 blessedness. 
 
 One of these, whose name was Mann , a bird, resided 
 at Bunaauia, in the district of Atehuru. His age and 
 bodily infirmities were such as to prevent his learning 
 to read, yet he constantly attended the school, and, from 
 listening to others, was able to repeat with correctness 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 331 
 
 large portions of the scriptures, which were regularly- 
 read by the pupils. From meditation on these, he 
 derived the highest consolation and support. He 
 was an early convert to Christianity; his deport¬ 
 ment was uniformly upright; his character respected 
 by all who knew him; and for several years before his 
 death, he was a member of the Christian church at 
 Burder's Point. The recollection of the abominations 
 and iniquity of which he had been guilty while a mem¬ 
 ber of the Areoi institution, though not greater than 
 those of his companions in crime, often filled his mind 
 with horror and dismay. Whenever he alluded to that 
 society, or to the crimes committed by its members, it 
 was always with evident feelings of the deepest distress. 
 From these it was his mercy to find relief, through faith 
 in the atonement of Christ. This was his only ground 
 of hope for pardon from God; and when, by thus look¬ 
 ing to the great means of purity and peace, he was 
 enabled to rest in hope, and his mind became calm, and 
 peaceful, tears of contrition were often seen, while 
 he gratefully remembered the amazing love of God. 
 Towards the latter part of his life, his pastor had the 
 pleasure of observing the greatest circumspection and 
 moral purity in his whole conduct, with a high and 
 increasing degree of spirituality of mind and tranquil joy f 
 How striking the contrast which the evening of his days 
 must have presented, to the early part of his life, spent 
 among the impure, degraded, and wretched members of 
 that infamous association to which he belonged ! It is 
 not surprising that his own mind should have been so 
 deeply affected; but from all the moral pollution and 
 guilt then contracted, he was washed and renewed, 
 and prepared for the society of the blessed in the abode 
 
332 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of purity and happiness. He died suddenly on the 5th 
 of March, 1823; and, to use the language of the Mission¬ 
 ary who watched his progress and his end with the 
 deepest interest, we doubt not he is gone to be with 
 that Saviour, u whom he loved with all his heart.” 
 
 Infanticide, the most revolting and unnatural crime 
 that prevails, even amongst the habitations of cruelty 
 which fill the dark places of the earth, was intimately 
 connected with this execrable institution. This 
 affecting species of murder was not peculiar to the 
 inhabitants of the Pacific. It has prevailed in different 
 parts of the world, in ancient and modern times, among 
 civilized as well as barbarous nations : but, until the 
 introduction of Christianity, it was probably practised 
 to a greater extent, and with more heartless barbarity, 
 by the South Sea Islanders, than by any other people 
 with whose history we are acquainted. Although we 
 have been unable accurately to ascertain the date of its 
 introduction to Tahiti and the adjacent isles, the tradi¬ 
 tions of the people warrant the inference, that it is of no 
 very recent origin. I am, however, inclined to think it 
 was practised less extensively in former times than dur¬ 
 ing the fifty years immediately preceding the subversion 
 of their ancient system of idolatry. There is every 
 reason to suppose that, had the inhabitants murdered 
 their infants during the early periods of their history, 
 in any great degree, much less to the extent to which they 
 have carried this crime in subsequent years, the popula¬ 
 tion would never have become so numerous, as it 
 evidently was, not many generations prior to their 
 discovery. 
 
 It is difficult to learn to what extent infanticide was 
 practised at the time Wallis discovered Tahiti, or the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 333 
 
 subsequent visits the islanders received from Cook 3 but 
 its frequency and avowed perpetration was such as to 
 attract the attention of the latter. Captain Cook’s 
 general conduct among the natives* notwithstanding the 
 harsh measures he deemed it expedient to pursue to¬ 
 wards the inhabitants of Eimeo* was humane3 he took 
 every opportunity of remonstrating with the king and 
 chiefs* against a usage so truly merciless and savage. 
 
 When the Missionaries arrived in the Duff* this was 
 one of the first and most affecting appendages of idolatry 
 that awakened their sympathies* and called forth their 
 expostulation and interference. Adult murder some¬ 
 times occurred ; many were slain in war3 and during the 
 first years of their residence in Tahiti* human victims 
 were frequently immolated. Yet the amount of all these 
 and other murders did not equal that of infanticide alone. 
 No sense of irresolution or horror appeared to exist in 
 the bosoms of those parents who deliberately resolved on 
 the deed before the child was born. They often visited 
 the dwellings of the foreigners* and spoke with per¬ 
 fect complacency of their cruel purpose. On these occa¬ 
 sions* the Missionaries employed every inducement to 
 dissuade them from executing their intention* warning 
 them* in the name of the living God* urging them also 
 by every consideration of maternal tenderness* and 
 always offering to provide the little stranger with a 
 home* and the means of education. The only answer 
 they generally received was* that it was the custom of 
 the country 3 and the only result of their efforts* was the 
 distressing conviction of the inefficacy of their humane 
 endeavours. The murderous parents often came to 
 their houses almost before their hands were cleansed 
 from their children’s blood* and spoke of the deed with 
 
334 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 worse than brutal insensibility, or with vaunting satis¬ 
 faction at the triumph of their customs over the per¬ 
 suasions of their teachers. 
 
 In their earliest public negociations with the king 
 and the chiefs, who constituted the government of the 
 island, the Missionaries had enjoined, from motives of 
 policy, as well as humanity and a regard to the law of 
 God, the abolition of this cruel practice. The king 
 Pomare acknowledged that he believed it was not right; 
 that Captain Cook, for whom they entertained the 
 highest respect, had told him it ought not to be 
 allowed; and that for his part he was willing to discon¬ 
 tinue it. These, however, were bare professions; for 
 his own children were afterwards murdered, as well as 
 those of his subjects. 
 
 In point of number, the disproportion between the 
 infants spared and those destroyed, was truly distress¬ 
 ing. It was not easy to learn exactly what this dispro¬ 
 portion was > but the first Missionaries published it as 
 their opinion, that not less than two-thirds of the 
 children were murdered by their own parents. Subse¬ 
 quent intercourse with the people, and the affecting 
 details many have given since their reception of Chris¬ 
 tianity, authorize the adoption of the opinion as correct. 
 The first three infants, they observed, were frequently 
 killed; and in the event of twins being born, both 
 were rarely permitted to live. In the largest families 
 more than two or three children were seldom spared, 
 while the numbers that were killed were incredible. 
 The very circumstance of their destroying, instead of 
 nursing their children, rendered their offspring more 
 numerous than it would otherwise have been. We 
 have been acquainted with a number of parents, who, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 335 
 
 according to tlieir own confessions* or the united testi¬ 
 mony of their friends and neighbours* had inhumanly 
 consigned to an untimely grave* four* or six* or eight* or 
 ten children* and some even a greater number. I feel 
 hence the painful and humiliating conviction which I 
 have ever been reluctant to admit* forced upon me from 
 the testimony of the natives themselves* the propor¬ 
 tion of children found by the first Missionaries* and 
 existing in the population at the time of our arrival* that 
 during the generations immediately preceding the sub¬ 
 version of paganism* not less than two-thirds of the 
 children were massacred. A female* who was frequently 
 accustomed to wash the linen for our family* had thus 
 cruelly destroyed five or six. Another* who resided 
 very near us* had been the mother of eight* of which 
 only one had been spared. But I will not multiply in¬ 
 stances* which are numerous in every island* and of the 
 accounts of which the recollection is most distinct. I 
 am desirous to establish beyond doubt the belief of the 
 practice* as it is one which* from every consideration* is 
 adapted to awaken in the Christian mind liveliest 
 gratitude to the Father of mercies* strongest convic¬ 
 tions of the miseries inseparable from idolatry* tenderest 
 commiseration for the heathen* and most vigorous efforts 
 for the amelioration of their wretchedness. 
 
 The universality of the crime was no less painful 
 and astonishing than its repeated perpetration by the 
 same individuals. It does not appear to have been 
 confined to any rank or class in the community; and 
 though it was one of the indispensable regulations of 
 the Areoi society* enforced on the authority of those 
 gods whom they were accustomed to consider as the 
 founders of their order* it was not peculiar to them 
 
336 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 It was perhaps less practised by the raatiras, or farmers* 
 than any other class, yet they were not innocent. I 
 do not recollect having met with a female in the islands, 
 during the whole period of my residence there, who 
 had been a mother while idolatry prevailed, who 
 had not imbrued her hands in the blood of her offspring. 
 I conversed more than once on the subject with Mr, 
 Nott, during his recent visit to his native country. On 
 one occasion, in answer to my inquiry, he stated, that he 
 did not recollect having, in the course of the thirty 
 years he had spent in the South Sea Islands, known a 
 female, who was a mother under the former system of 
 superstition, that had not been guilty of this unnatural 
 crime. Startling and affecting as the inference is, it is 
 perhaps not too much to suppose, that few, if any, be¬ 
 came mothers, in those later periods of the existence of 
 idolatry, who did not also commit infanticide. Without 
 reference to other deeds of barbarism, they were in this 
 respect a nation of murderers ; and, in connexion with 
 the Areoi institution, murder was sanctioned by their 
 laws. 
 
 The various methods by which it was effected are most 
 of them of such a nature, as to prohibit their publica¬ 
 tion. It does not appear that they ever buried them 
 alive, as the Sandwich Islanders were accustomed to do, 
 by digging a hole, sometimes in the floor of the dwelling, 
 laying a piece of native cloth upon the infant’s mouth, 
 and treading down the earth upon the helpless child. 
 Neither were the children as liable to be destroyed, after 
 having been suffered to live for any length of time. The 
 horrid deed was always perpetrated before the victim had 
 seen the light, or in a hurried manner, and immediately 
 after birth. The infants thus disposed of, were called 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 337 
 
 iamarii huihia , uumihea, or tahihia , children stabbed or 
 pierced with a sharp-pointed strip of bamboo cane, 
 strangled by placing the thumbs on the throat, or 
 tahihia , trodden or stamped upon. These were the 
 mildest methods ; others, sometimes employed, were too 
 barbarous to be mentioned. 
 
 The parents themselves, or their nearest relatives, who 
 often attended on the occasion for this express purpose, 
 were the executioners. Often, almost before the new¬ 
 born babe could breathe the vital air, gaze upon the light 
 of heaven, or experience the sensations of its new 
 existence, that existence has been extinguished by its 
 cruel mother’s hand; and the “ felon sire,” instead of 
 welcoming with all a father’s joy, a daughter or a son, 
 has dug its grave upon the spot, or among the thick 
 grown bushes a few yards distant. On receiving the 
 warm palpitating body from its mother’s hand, he has, 
 with awful unconcern, deposited the precious charge, not 
 in a father’s arms, but in its early sepulchre; and 
 instead of gazing, with all that thrilling rapture which 
 a father only knows, upon the tender babe, has concealed 
 it from his view, by covering its mangled form with the 
 unconscious earth; and, to obliterate all traces of the deed, 
 has trodden down the yielding soil, and strewed it 
 over with green boughs, or covered it with verdant turf. 
 This is not an exaggerated description, but the narrative 
 of actual fact; other details, more touching and acute, 
 have been repeatedly given to me in the islands, by 
 individuals, who had been themselves employed in these 
 unnatural deeds. 
 
 The horrid act, if not committed at the time the infant 
 entered the world, was not perpetrated at any subse¬ 
 quent period. Whether this was a kind of law among 
 
 2 x 
 
338 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the people, or whether it was the power of paternal affec¬ 
 tion, by which they were influenced, it is not necessary 
 now to inquire; but the fact is consolatory. If the little 
 stranger was, from irresolution, the mingled emotions 
 that struggled for mastery in its mother’s bosom, or 
 any other cause, suffered to live ten minutes or half an 
 hour, it was safe; instead of a monster’s grasp, it received 
 a mother’s caresses, and a mother’s smile, and was after¬ 
 wards treated with the greatest tenderness. The cruel 
 act was indeed often committed by the mother’s hand; 
 but there were times, when a mother’s love, a mother’s 
 feelings, overcame the iron force of pagan custom, and all 
 the mother’s influence and endeavours have been used to 
 preserve her child. Most affecting instances, which I 
 forbear reciting, have been detailed by some, who now 
 perhaps are childless, of the struggles between the 
 mother to preserve, and the father and relatives to destroy, 
 the infant. This has arisen from the motives of false 
 pride, by which they were on some occasions influ¬ 
 enced. 
 
 The reasons assigned for this practice, though varied, 
 were uniformly shameful and criminal. The first is, the 
 regulation of the Areoi institution, in order to be a mem¬ 
 ber of which, it was necessary, in obedience to the 
 express injunction of the tutelar gods of the order, that 
 no child should be permitted to live. Another cause 
 was the weakness and transient duration of the con¬ 
 jugal bond, whereby, although the marriage contract 
 was formed by individuals in the higher ranks of 
 society, with persons of corresponding rank, fidelity 
 was seldom maintained. 
 
 The marriage tie was dissolved whenever either of 
 the parties desired it; and though amongst their 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 339 
 
 principal chiefs it was allowed nominally to remain, 
 the husband took other wives, and the wife other 
 husbands. These were mostly individuals of personal 
 attractions, but of inferior rank in society. The progeny 
 of such a union was almost invariably destroyed, if 
 not by the parents themselves, by the relatives of 
 those superior in rank, lest the dignity of the family, 
 or their standing in society, should be injured by being 
 blended with those of an inferior class. More infant 
 murders have probably been committed under these 
 circumstances, from notions of family pride, than from 
 any other cause. One of my Missionary companions* 
 states, that by the murder of such children, the party 
 of inferior birth has been progressively elevated in rank, 
 and that the degree of distinction attained, was 
 according to the number destroyed,—that by this means, 
 parties, before unequal, were considered as correspond¬ 
 ing in rank, and their offspring allowed to live. 
 
 The raatiras , or secondary class of chiefs, and others 
 by whom it was practised, appear to have been influ¬ 
 enced by the example of their superiors, or the shame¬ 
 less love of idleness. The spontaneous productions of 
 the soil were so abundant, that little care or labour was 
 necessary to provide the means of subsistence: the 
 climate was so warm, that the clothing required, as 
 well as the food, could be procured with the greatest 
 facility; yet they considered the little trouble required 
 as an irksome task. A man with three or four 
 children, and this was a rare occurrence, was said to 
 be a taata taubuubuu , a man with an unwieldy or 
 cumbrous burden; and there is reason to believe that, 
 simply to avoid the trifling care and effort necessary 
 * Mr. Williams. 
 
340 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 to provide for their offspring during the helpless 
 periods of infancy and childhood, multitudes were 
 consigned to an untimely grave. The females were 
 subject to the most abasing degradation during the 
 whole of their lives; and their sex was often, at their 
 birth, the cause of their destruction: if the pur¬ 
 pose of the unnatural parents had not been fully 
 matured before, the circumstances of its being a female 
 child, was often sufficient to fix their determination 
 on its death. Whenever we have asked them, what 
 could induce them to make a distinction so invidious, 
 they have generally answered,—that the fisheries, the 
 service of the temple, and especially war, were the only 
 purposes for which they thought it desirable to rear chil¬ 
 dren ; that in these pursuits women were comparatively 
 useless; and therefore female children were frequently 
 not suffered to live. Facts fully confirm these state¬ 
 ments. 
 
 In the adult population of the islands at the time of 
 our arrival, the disproportion between the sexes was 
 very great. There were, probably, four or five men to 
 one woman. In all the schools established on the first 
 reception of Christianity, the same disproportion pre¬ 
 vailed. In more recent years the sexes are nearly equal. 
 In addition to this cruel practice, others, equally unna¬ 
 tural, prevailed, for which the people had not only the 
 sanction of their priests, but the direct example of their 
 respective deities. 
 
 Without pursuing this painful subject any further, or 
 inquiring into its antiquity or its origin, which is pro¬ 
 bably co-equal with that of the monstrous Areoi institu¬ 
 tions ; these details are of a kind that must impress 
 every mind, susceptible of the common sympathies of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 341 
 
 humanity, with the greatest abhorrence of paganism, 
 under the sanction of which such cruelties were per¬ 
 petrated. They are also adapted to convey a most 
 powerful conviction of the true character of heathenism, 
 and the miseries which its victims endure. 
 
 The abolition of this practice, with the subversion 
 of idolatry, is a grateful reward to those who have 
 sent the mild and humane principles of true religion 
 to those islands. This single fact demands the grati¬ 
 tude of every Christian parent, especially of every 
 Christian female, and affords the most cheering encou¬ 
 ragement to those engaged in spreading the gospel 
 throughout the world. 
 
 The elevating, mild, and humanizing influence of 
 Christianity, has not only effected its entire abolition, 
 but it has revived and cherished those emotions of 
 parental tenderness and affection originally implanted 
 in the human bosom. A change of feeling and of 
 conduct, in this respect, has taken place, as delightful 
 as it is astonishing. The most civilized and Christian 
 parts of the world do not furnish more affectionate 
 parents than the Society Islanders now are. In general, 
 they are too tender towards their children, and do not 
 exercise that discipline and control over them which 
 the well-being of the child, and the happiness of the 
 parent, requires. 
 
 The most decisive instances of parental affection are 
 every day presented. Sometimes, in reference to the 
 present enjoyment and temporal advantage of the 
 children, and not unfrequently in regard to their 
 spiritual benefit. I have often been deeply affected, on 
 beholding a mother, whom I have known to have been 
 guilty of the destruction of four, five, or six children. 
 
342 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 come into the place of public worship, with a little babe 
 in her arms, often gazing, with evident tenderness and 
 delight, on its smiling countenance. Sometimes a 
 mother has been seen conducting her child to school, or 
 applying for a book at our dwelling; and, occasionally, 
 we have beheld a mother reading and explaining the 
 scriptures to her children, or joining with them in prayer 
 to the Most High. These changes of feeling and practice 
 have taken place, not by a gradual process during 
 successive generations, but among the same people, and 
 in regard to the same individuals, who were subject to 
 all the cruel insensibility, and addicted to all the bar¬ 
 barities, of infant murder. 
 
 In the treatment of those children formerly spared, 
 a number of singular customs were observed, and 
 several ceremonies performed. The mother bathed in 
 the sea immediately after a profuse perspiration had 
 been induced, and the infant was taken to the water 
 almost as soon as it entered the world. It was also 
 taken to the marea, where a variety of ceremonies were 
 celebrated. In some of the islands, a number of these 
 were attended to before its birth. When the mother 
 repaired to the temple, the priest, after presenting the 
 costly and numerous offerings, caught the god in a 
 kind of snare, or loop made with human hair, and also 
 offered up his prayer that the child might be an honour 
 to his family, a benefit to the nation, and be more 
 famous than any of his ancestors had been. This 
 ceremony prevailed in the Hervey Islands. A number 
 of amoa were performed in the Society Islands, which 
 were a kind of religious ceremony, referring as much 
 to the relatives as to the child. If it was of high 
 rank, the inhabitants of the district were prohibited 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 343 
 
 from kindling fires, or from burning torches, for 
 several days. The child was, soon after its birth, 
 invested with the name and office of its father, who 
 was henceforward considered its inferior. This, how¬ 
 ever, during the minority of the child, was merely 
 nominal; the father exercised all authority, though in the 
 name of the child. The children were frequently nursed 
 at the breast till they were able to walk, although they 
 were fed with other food. 
 
 As soon as the child was able to eat, a basket was 
 provided, and its food was kept distinct from that 
 of the parent. During the period of infancy, the 
 children were seldom clothed, and were generally laid or 
 carried in a horizontal position. They were never con¬ 
 fined in bandages, or wrapped in tight clothing, but 
 though remarkably plump and healthy in appearance, 
 they were generally very weak until nearly twelve 
 months old. 
 
 The Tahitian parents and nurses were careful in 
 observing the features of the countenance, and the shape 
 of the child’s head, during the period of infancy, and 
 often pressed or spread out the nostrils of the females, 
 as a flat nose was considered by them a mark of beauty. 
 The forehead and the back of the head, of the boys, were 
 pressed upwards, so that the upper part of the skull 
 appeared in the shape of a wedge. This, they said, was 
 done, to add to the terror of their aspect, when they 
 should become warriors. They were very careful to 
 haune , or shave, the child’s head with a shark’s tooth. 
 This must have been a tedious, and sometimes a painful 
 operation, yet it was frequently repeated; and although 
 every idolatrous ceremony, connected with the treatment 
 of their children, has been discontinued for a number of 
 
344 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES* 
 
 years, the mothers are still very fond of shaving the 
 heads, or cutting the hair of their infants as close as 
 possible. This often gives them a very singular appear¬ 
 ance. The children are in general large and finely 
 formed; and, but for the prevalence of the disease which 
 produces such a distortion of the spine, there is reason 
 to believe, that a deformed person would be very rarely 
 seen among the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands. 
 
 Having suspended the narrative of my personal pro¬ 
 ceedings and observations during several preceding chap¬ 
 ters, for the purpose of introducing an account of the 
 remarkable change which had taken place in the islands, 
 prior to our arrival, but which had been a very frequent 
 topic of conversation during our residence with our pre¬ 
 decessors,—having, also, given a brief account of some 
 of the principal institutions and usages, belonging to the 
 system which the nation had abolished,—I propose to 
 resume the narrative with the commencement of the 
 succeeding chapter. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 345 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 Voyage to A-fa-re-ai-tu—Means of subsistence among the islands—Pigs 
 —Dogs—Fowls—Different varieties of fish eaten by the people— 
 Methods of dressing animal food—Edible vegetables and fruits—De¬ 
 scription of the bread-fruit tree and fruit—Various methods of preparing 
 it—-Arum, or Ta-ro—U-hi, or yam—U-ma-ra, or sweet potato—Culture, 
 preparation, and method of dressing arrow-root—Growth, appearance, 
 and value of the cocoa-nut tree—Several stages of growth in which 
 the fruit is used by the people—Process of manufacturing cocoa-nut 
 oil—Varieties of plantain, or banana—Vi, or Brazilian plum—A-hia, 
 or jambo—Inocarpus, or native chestnut—Varieties of Dracanas— 
 Combinations of native fruits, &c.—Foreign fruits and vegetables that 
 flourish in the islands. 
 
 It was soon after sunrise on the 25th of March, 1817, 
 that we left Papetoai in a tipairua , or large double canoe. 
 The wind was contrary when we started; and, after pro¬ 
 ceeding only five miles, we landed at Tiataepuaa, the 
 usual residence of the chiefs of Eimeo. Here we found 
 Mr. Crook and his family waiting our arrival, to join in 
 partaking of the breakfast they had prepared. 
 
 As soon as our men had refreshed themselves, we em¬ 
 barked in our respective canoes, and, resuming our voyage, 
 proceeded along the smooth surface of the sea between the 
 reefs and the shore. The wind died away, and a perfect 
 calm succeeded. The heat of the sun was intense, and 
 its scorching effect on our faces was increased by the 
 reflection of the sea. This considerably diminished the 
 pleasure we derived from watching through the perfectly 
 
 2 y 
 
346 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 transparent waters, the playful movements of the shoals 
 of small and variegated rock-fish, of every rich and glow¬ 
 ing hue, which often shone in brilliant contrast with the 
 novel and beautiful groves of many-coloured coral, that 
 rendered the sandy bottom of the sea, though frequently 
 several fathoms beneath us, in appearance at least, an 
 extensive and charming submarine shrubbery, or flower- 
 garden. The corallines were spread out with all the 
 endless variety and wild independence exhibited in the 
 verdant landscape of the adjacent shore. 
 
 The heat of the sun, and the oppressiveness of the 
 atmosphere, with the labour of rowing with their pad¬ 
 dles our heavily laden canoes every inch of the way, had 
 so fatigued our men, that when we reached A-ti-ma-ha, 
 fifteen miles from the place whence we started in 
 the morning, we deemed it expedient to land for the 
 night. 
 
 I took a ramble through the district a short time be¬ 
 fore sunset, and was delighted with the wild and roman¬ 
 tic beauty of the surrounding scenery,—the luxuriant 
 groves of trees, and the shrubs, that now covered the 
 fertile parts of this almost uninhabited district. In 
 every part I met with sections of pavement, and other 
 vestiges of former inhabitants ; and was deeply affected 
 in witnessing the depopulation thus indicated, and which 
 is found to have taken place throughout the island. 
 
 Notwithstanding the total absence of every thing 
 resembling accommodation in our lodging, where we 
 spread our bed upon the ground, we should probably 
 have enjoyed a night of refreshing sleep, but for the 
 musquitoes. In these thinly peopled, damp, and woody 
 districts, they are exceedingly numerous and annoying, 
 especially to those who have recently arrived; and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 347 
 
 although during my subsequent residence in the island* 
 I was less incommoded by them* I was on this occa¬ 
 sion glad to escape their noise* &c. by leaving the house 
 soon after midnight* and walking along the shore* or sit¬ 
 ting on the beach until day-break. 
 
 Heavy showers detained us at Atimaha until ten 
 o’clock in the forenoon* when we pursued our voyage. 
 At Maatea I landed about twelve o’clock* and walked 
 through the district of Haume to Afareaitu. The wind 
 was contrary throughout the day* and it was near sunset 
 before Mrs. Ellis and our little girl* with her nurse* 
 arrived in the canoe. We had suffered much from 
 exposure to the sun* and from the fatigue of our tedious 
 voyage ; we were* however* thankful to have reached our 
 destination in safety. The natives cheerfully gave up a 
 large oval-shaped house for our accommodation: Mr. 
 and Mrs Crook occupied one end of it* and we took up 
 our abode in the other. The floor was of earth ; upon 
 this we spread some clean white sand* which was 
 covered over with plaited leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. 
 There were no partitions 5 but by hanging up some mats 
 and native cloth* we soon succeeded in partitioning off a 
 comfortable bed-room* sitting-room* and store-room. 
 Our kitchen was the open yard behind our dwelling; 
 and its only fixtures were a couple of large stones placed 
 in the ground* parallel to each other* and about six 
 inches apart. This was our stove* or fire-place* and 
 during the dry season* answered tolerably well. 
 
 With the study of the language* the erection of aprinting- 
 ofiice and a dwelling house now demanded my attention. 
 A spot near the principal stream was selected for their 
 site ; the inhabitants of the district undertook to 
 build the printing-office* while the king’s people* and 
 
348 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the inhabitants of Maatea* agreed to put up the frame of 
 my dwelling-house. The acquisition of the language I 
 commenced with Mr. Crook* and was happy to avail 
 myself of the aid of Mr. Davies* who was well acquainted 
 with it* and willing to render us every assistance which 
 his other avocations would admit. 
 
 The natives of Afareaitu* and of the neighbouring 
 districts* were rejoiced at our coming among them; they 
 seemed a people predisposed to receive instruction. 
 A spacious chapel was erected prior to our arrival* and 
 a large school was subsequently built; multitudes from 
 other parts of the island took up their abode in the 
 settlement* the school was filled with scholars* and the 
 chapel well attended. 
 
 The indigenous productions of the island were abun¬ 
 dant in the neighbourhood* and were comparatively 
 cheap* as this part of the island had been but little 
 visited by foreigners. When the flour*, and other 
 foreign articles of provision which we had brought from 
 Port Jackson* were nearly expended* we subsisted almost 
 entirely on native food; and though most of it was 
 rather unsavoury at first* it afterwards became tolerably 
 palatable. Wheat is not grown in any of the islands; it 
 has often been tried* but* either from the heat of the climate, 
 the exceeding fertility of the soil* or the absence of regular 
 seasons* it has always failed. No other kind of grain* 
 with the exception of a small quantity of maize* or Indian 
 corn* is cultivated. Flour is* consequently* now only to 
 be obtained from the vessels visiting the islands. It is* 
 however* frequently brought from New South Wales* and 
 from South or North America* and a tolerably good supply 
 may* in general* be regularly obtained. The European 
 is thus enabled to procure bread; which* amid all the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 349 
 
 varied productions of the country, is still to him “the 
 staff of life.” 
 
 The islands are certainly well stocked with all that the 
 natives need for subsistence, in greater abundance than 
 is, perhaps, to be found in any other part of the world, 
 and, with a very small degree of care and industry, the 
 inhabitants may, at all seasons, secure whatever is neces¬ 
 sary to their comfortable maintenance. They have, it is 
 true, neither beef nor mutton, nor any great variety of 
 animal food; and, considering the heat of the climate, 
 and the indolence of their habits, a vegetable diet is 
 probably the most conducive to health. On public 
 occasions, however, a considerable quantity of meat 
 is dressed, and the chiefs seldom take a meal without 
 it; but the generality of the people use, comparatively, 
 but little animal food. 
 
 The flesh of swine, called - by the natives huaa , con¬ 
 stituted their principal meat. Pigs, which the natives 
 say were brought by the first inhabitants, were found in 
 the island by Wallis and Cook. Those originally found 
 there differed considerably from the present breed, 
 which is a mixture of English and Spanish. They are 
 described as having been smaller than the generality of 
 hogs now are, with long legs, long noses, curly or almost 
 woolly hair, and short erect ears. An animal of this 
 kind is now and then seen, and the people say such 
 were the only hogs formerly in Tahiti. It was also said, 
 that they, unlike all other swine, were wholly averse to 
 the mire; and a phenomenon so novel among the habits of 
 their species, produced a poetical effusion, which appeared 
 in a periodical publication about five or six and twenty 
 years ago. If such were the cleanly habits of the 
 swine in Tahiti at that time, they have degenerated 
 
350 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 very much since, for I have often seen them stretched 
 out at ease in a miry slough, apparently as much at 
 home as the greatest pig would be in such a situation, 
 in any other part of the world. 
 
 The hogs now reared are large, and often well fed; 
 they are never confined in sties, but range about in 
 search of food. Those that feed in the heads of the 
 valleys live chiefly upon fruit, while those kept about 
 the houses of the natives are fed occasionally with 
 bread-fruit or cocoa-nuts. Unless well fed, they are 
 very destructive to the fences and the native gardens, 
 and will bite through a stick one or two inches in 
 diameter, with very little effort: sometimes the natives 
 break their teeth, or put a kind of yoke upon them; 
 which, in some of the islands of the Pacific, is r.ather 
 a singular one. A circular piece, as large as a shilling 
 or a half-crown, is cut out of each ear, and when the 
 wound has healed, a single stick, eighteen inches or 
 two feet long, is passed through the apertures. This 
 wooden bar lies horizontally across the upper part of the 
 pig’s head, and, coming in contact with the upright 
 sticks of a fence, arrests his progress, even when he 
 has succeeded in forcing his head through. The flesh 
 of the pig is in general soft, rich, and sweet; it is not 
 so fine as English-fed pork, neither has it the peculiarly 
 agreeable taste by which the latter is distinguished. 
 This is probably caused by the Tahitian swine feed¬ 
 ing so much upon cocoa-nuts, and other sweet fruit. For 
 the kind, however, native pork is very good; but, having 
 little meat besides, we soon became tired of it. Although 
 capable, when all the bones are taken out, of being 
 preserved by salt, the natives never, till lately, thought 
 of sitting down to less than a hog baked whole. Several 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 351 
 
 of the chiefs, however, now only dress as much as is 
 necessary for the immediate consumption of their 
 families, and salt the remainder. 
 
 Next to the flesh of swine, that of the dog was formerly 
 prized by the Tahitians, as an article of food. Never¬ 
 theless, dogs do not appear to have been reared for food 
 so generally as among the Sandwich Islanders; here they 
 were fed rather as an article of luxury, and principally 
 eaten by the chiefs. They were usually of a small or 
 middling size, and appear a kind of terrier breed, but 
 were by no means ferocious ; and, excepting their shape 
 and habits, they have few of the characteristics of 
 the English dog: this probably arises from their differ¬ 
 ent food. The hog and the dog were the only quadru¬ 
 peds whose flesh was eaten by the Tahitians. Rats were 
 occasionally eaten uncooked by the Friendly Islanders; 
 but, although numerous, they do not appear to have been 
 used for that purpose here. The Tahitians have no 
 kinds of game, but the common domestic fowls are 
 reared in great numbers; these were used as food: 
 they had also a few wild ducks, together with pigeons, 
 in the mountains, and several kinds of aquatic birds. 
 The fowls, although good, are not now much eaten by 
 the natives, but are usually reared for the purpose of 
 supplying the ships, which touch at the islands for 
 refreshments. 
 
 Fish abound on the coasts, among the coral reefs 
 that surround the islands, and in their extensive 
 lagoons. The islanders are usually expert fishermen, 
 and fish is a principal means of support for those 
 who reside near the shore. The albicore, bonito, 
 ray, sword-fish, and shark, are among the larger 
 sea-fish that are eaten by them; in addition to which. 
 
352 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES'. 
 
 they have an almost endless variety of rock-fish, which 
 are remarkably sweet and good. 
 
 In the rivers they find prawns and eels, and in their 
 lakes, where there is an opening to the sea, multitudes 
 of excellent fish are always found; among others is a 
 salmon, which, at certain seasons of the year^ is taken in 
 great abundance. It exactly resembles the northern 
 salmon in size, shape, and structure, but the flesh is 
 much whiter than that of the salmon of Europe, or those 
 taken on the northern coasts of America; the taste is also 
 the same, excepting that the Tahitian salmon is rather 
 drier than the other. In the sand they find muscles and 
 cockles, and on the coral reef a great variety of shell¬ 
 fish; among which, the principal are crabs, lobsters, 
 welks, a large species of chain, and several varieties of 
 echinis, or sea-egg. Numbers of turtle are also found 
 among the reefs and low coralline or sandy islands. 
 The turtle was formerly considered sacred; a part of 
 every one taken was offered to the gods, and the rest 
 dressed with sacred fire, and eaten only by the king and 
 chiefs; and then, I think, either within the precincts of 
 the temple, or in its immediate vicinity; now they are 
 eaten by whomsoever they are caught. Most of their 
 fish is very good, and furnishes a dish of which we were 
 never tired. 
 
 Formerly, the natives had but two methods of dressing 
 their meat, fowl, and fish; these were, by wrapping it in 
 leaves, and placing it in an oven of heated stones, or 
 broiling it over the fire. Cooking utensils are now, 
 however, introduced among them, and are generally 
 used, where the natives have the means of purchasing 
 them. 
 
 Edible fruits, roots, and vegetables, are found in plenty 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCIIES. 
 
 353 
 
 and variety. The bread-fruit, artocarpus , is the 
 principal, being produced in greater abundance, and 
 used more generally, than any other. The tree on which 
 it grows is large and umbrageous; the bark is light- 
 coloured and rough; the trunk of the tree is sometimes 
 two or three feet in diameter, and rises from twelve to 
 twenty feet without a branch. The outline of the tree is 
 remarkably beautiful, the leaves are broad, and indented 
 somewhat like those of the fig-tree, frequently twelve or 
 eighteen inches long, and rather thick, of a dark green 
 colour, with a surface glossy as that of the richest 
 evergreens. 
 
 The fruit is generally circular or oval, and is, on an 
 average, six inches in diameter; it is covered with a 
 roughish rind, which is marked with small square or 
 lozenge-shaped divisions, having each a small elevation in 
 the centre, and is at first of a light pea-green colour, 
 subsequently it changes to brown, and when fully ripe 
 assumes a rich yellowish tinge. It is attached to the small 
 branches of the tree by a short thick stalk, and hangs 
 either singly, or in clusters of two or three together. 
 
 There is nothing very attractive or pleasing in the 
 blossom; but a fine stately tree, clothed with dark 
 shining leaves, and loaded with many hundreds of large 
 light green or yellowish coloured fruit, is one of the 
 most splendid and beautiful objects to be met with, 
 among the rich and diversified scenery of a Tahitian 
 landscape. Two or three of these trees are often 
 seen growing around the rustic native cottage, and 
 embowering it with their interwoven and prolific 
 branches. The tree is propagated by shoots from the 
 root, it bears in about five years, and will probably con¬ 
 tinue bearing for fifty. 
 
 2 z 
 
35 1 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The bread-fruit is never eaten raw, except by pigs; 
 the natives, however, have several methods of dressing 
 it. When travelling on a journey, they often roast it 
 in the flame or embers of a wood-fire; and, peeling off 
 the rind, eat the pulp of the fruit: this mode of 
 dressing is called tunu pa , crust or shell roasting. 
 Sometimes, when thus dressed, it is immersed in a stream 
 of water, and, when completely saturated, forms a soft, 
 sweet, spongy pulp, or sort of paste; of which the 
 natives are exceedingly fond. 
 
 The general and the best way of dressing the 
 bread-fruit, is by baking it in an oven of heated 
 stones. The rind is scraped off, each fruit is cut in 
 three or four pieces, and the core carefully taken out; 
 heated stones are then spread over the bottom of the 
 cavity forming the oven, and covered with leaves, upon 
 which the pieces of bread-fruit are laid; a layer of green 
 leaves is placed over the fruit, and other heated stones 
 are laid on the top; the whole is then covered in with 
 earth and leaves, several inches in depth. In this 
 state, the oven remains half an hour or longer, when 
 the earth is cleared away, the leaves are removed, and 
 the pieces of bread-fruit taken out; the outsides are 
 in general nicely browned, and the inner part pre¬ 
 sents a white or yellowish, cellular, pulpy substance, 
 in appearance, slightly resembling the crumb of a small 
 wheaten loaf. Its colour, size, and structure are, how¬ 
 ever, the only resemblance it has to bread. It has but 
 little taste, and that is frequently rather sweet; it is 
 somewhat farinaceous, but by no means so much so as 
 several other vegetables, and probably less so than 
 the English potato, to which in flavour it is also 
 inferior. It is slightly astringent, and, as a vegetable, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 355 
 
 it is very good, but is a very indifferent substitute for 
 English bread. 
 
 To the natives of the South Sea Islands it is the prin¬ 
 cipal article of diet, and may indeed be called their staff 
 of life. They are exceedingly fond of it, and it is 
 evidently adapted to their constitutions, and highly 
 nutritive, as a very perceptible improvement is often 
 witnessed in the appearance of many of the people, a few 
 weeks after the bread-fruit season has commenced. 
 For the chiefs, it is usually dressed two or three times 
 a day; but the peasantry, &c. seldom prepare more than 
 one oven during the same period ; and frequently tihana , 
 or bake it again, on the second day. 
 
 During the bread-fruit season, the inhabitants of a 
 district sometimes join, to prepare a quantity of opto. 
 This is generally baked in an immense oven. A large pit, 
 twenty or thirty feet in circumference, is dug out ; the 
 bottom is filled with large stones, logs of firewood are 
 piled upon them, and the whole is covered with other large 
 stones. The wood is then kindled, and the heat is often 
 so intense, as to reduce the stones to a state of liquefac¬ 
 tion. When thoroughly heated, the stones are removed 
 to the sides; many hundred ripe bread-fruit are then 
 thrown in, just as they have been gathered from the 
 trees, and are piled up in the centre of the pit; a few 
 leaves are spread upon them, the remaining hot stones 
 built up like an arch over the heap, and the whole 
 is covered, a foot or eighteen inches thick, with leaves 
 and earth. In this state it remains a day or two; a 
 hole is then dug on one side, and the parties to whom 
 it belongs take out what they want, till the whole 
 is consumed. Bread-fruit baked in this manner, will 
 keep good several weeks after the oven is opened. 
 
356 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Although the general or district ovens of opio were 
 in their tendency less injurious than the public stills* 
 often erected in the different districts* they were usually 
 attended with debauchery and excess* highly injurious 
 to the health* and debasing to the morals of the people* 
 who generally relinquished their ordinary employment* 
 and devoted their nights and days to mere animal exis¬ 
 tence* of the lowest kind—rioting* feasting* and sleep¬ 
 ing* until the opio was consumed. Within the last 
 ten years* very few ovens of opio have been prepared* 
 those have been comparatively small* and they are now 
 almost entirely discontinued. 
 
 Another mode of preserving the bread-fruit is by sub¬ 
 mitting it to a slight degree of fermentation* and reducing 
 it to a soft substance* which they call mahi. When the 
 fruit is ripe* a large quantity is gathered* the rind 
 scraped off* the core taken out* and the whole thrown in 
 a heap. In this state it remains until it has under¬ 
 gone the process of fermentation* when it is beaten into 
 a kind of paste. A hole is now dug in the ground* 
 the bottom and sides of which are lined with green ti 
 leaves ; the mahi is put into the pit* covered over with 
 ti leaves* and then with earth or large stones. In this 
 state it might be preserved several months ; and* although 
 rather sour and indigestible* it is generally esteemed by 
 the natives as a good article of food during the scarce 
 season. Previous to its being eaten* it is rolled up in 
 small portions* enclosed in bread-fruit leaves* and baked 
 in the native ovens. 
 
 The tree on which the bread-fruit grows* besides pro¬ 
 ducing three* and in some cases four crops in a year* of 
 so excellent an article of food* furnishes a valuable 
 gum* or resin* which exudes from the bark* when punc- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 357 
 
 tured, in a thick mucilaginous fluids which is hardened 
 by exposure to the sun, and is very serviceable in ren¬ 
 dering water-tight the seams of their canoes. The bark 
 of the young branches is used in making several varieties 
 of native cloth. The trunk of the tree also furnishes one 
 of the most valuable kinds of timber which the natives 
 possess, it being used in building their canoes and houses, 
 and in the manufacture of their articles of furniture. It 
 is of a rich yellow colour, and assumes, from the effects 
 of the air, the appearance of mahogany; it is not 
 tough, but durable when not exposed to the weather. 
 
 It is very probable, that in no group of the Pacific 
 Islands is there a greater variety in the kinds of this 
 valuable fruit, than in the South Sea Islands. The 
 several varieties ripen at different seasons, and the 
 same kinds also come to perfection at an earlier 
 period in one part of Tahiti than in another; so that 
 there are but few months in the year in which ripe 
 fruit is not to be found in the several parts of this 
 island. The Missionaries are acquainted with nearly 
 fifty varieties, for which the natives have distinct names 
 —these I have by me, but it is unnecessary to insert 
 them—the principal are, the paea, artocarpus incisa, 
 and the uru maohe , artocarpus integrifolia. 
 
 Next to the bread-fruit, the taro, or arum , is the 
 most serviceable article of food the natives possess, and 
 its culture receives a considerable share of their atten¬ 
 tion. It has a large, solid, tuberous root, of an oblong 
 shape, sometimes nine or twelve inches in length, and 
 five or six in diameter. The plant has no stalk; the 
 broad heart-shaped leaves rise from the upper end of the 
 root, and the flower is contained in a sheath or spathe. 
 There are several varieties; for thirty-three of which 
 
358 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the natives have distinct names; and it is culti¬ 
 vated in low marshy parts, as the plant is found to 
 thrive best in moist situations. A large kind, called ape, 
 arum costatum , which is frequently planted in the dry 
 grounds, is also used in some seasons, but is considered 
 inferior to the taro. 
 
 All the varieties are so exceedingly acrid and pungent 
 in their raw state, as to cause the greatest pain, if not 
 excoriation, should they be applied to the tongue or 
 palate. They are always baked in the same manner as 
 bread-fruit is dressed; the rind, or skin, being first 
 scraped off with a shell. The roots are solid, and 
 generally of a mottled green or gray colour; and when 
 baked, are palatable, farinaceous, and nutritive, resem¬ 
 bling the Irish potato more than any other root in the 
 islands. 
 
 The different varieties of arum are propagated either 
 by transplanting the small tubers, which they call pohiri , 
 that grow round the principal root, or setting the top 
 or crown of those roots used for food. When destitute 
 of foreign supplies, we have attempted to make flour 
 with both the bread-fruit and the taro, by employing the 
 natives to scrape the root and fruit into a kind of pulpy 
 paste, then drying it in the sun, and grinding it in a 
 hand-mill. The taro in this state was sometimes rather 
 improved, but the bread-fruit seldom is so good as when 
 dressed immediately after it has been gathered. 
 
 The uhi, or yam, dioscoria alata , a most valuable 
 root, appears to be indigenous in most of the South 
 Sea Islands, and flourishes remarkably well. Several 
 kinds grow in the mountains; their shape is generally 
 long and round, and the substance rather fibrous, but 
 remarkably farinaceous and sweet. The kind most in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 359 
 
 use is generally of a (lark brown colour, with a roughish 
 skin ; it is called by the natives ohura. 
 
 The yam is cultivated with much care, though to no 
 very great extent, on account of the labour and attention 
 required. The sides of the inferior hills, and the sunny 
 banks occasionally met with in the bottoms of the val¬ 
 leys, are selected for its growth. Here, a number of 
 small terraces are formed one above another, covered with 
 a mixture of rich earth and decayed leaves. The roots 
 intended for planting are kept in baskets till they begin 
 to sprout; a yam is then taken, and each eye, or sprout, 
 cut off, with a part of the outside of the root, an inch long 
 and a quarter of an inch thick, attached to it; these 
 pieces, sometimes containing two eyes each, are spread 
 upon a board, and left in some part of the house to dry; 
 the remainder of the root is baked and eaten. This 
 mode of preparing the parts for planting does not appear 
 to result from motives of economy, as is the case in 
 some parts, where the Irish potato is prepared for 
 planting in a similar manner; but because the natives 
 imagine it is better thus to plant the eyes when they 
 first begin to open, or germinate, with only a small 
 part of the root, than to plant the whole yam, which 
 they say is likely to rot. Whether the same plan 
 might be adopted in planting the sweet potato, and 
 other roots, I am not prepared to say, as it is only in 
 raising the yam that it is practised in the horticulture 
 of the natives. When the pieces are sufficiently dry, 
 they are carefully put in the ground with the sprouts 
 uppermost, a small portion of dried leaves is laid upon 
 each, and the whole lightly covered with mould. When 
 the roots begin to swell, they watch their enlargement, 
 and keep them covered with light rich earth, which is 
 
360 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 generally spread over them about an inch in thick¬ 
 ness. 
 
 The yam is one of the best flavoured and most nu¬ 
 tritive roots which the islands produce. The natives 
 usually bake them; they are, however, equally good when 
 boiled ; and, as they may be preserved longer out of the 
 ground than any other, they are the most valuable sea- 
 stock to be procured; and it is to be regretted that they are 
 not more generally cultivated. Few are reared in the 
 Georgian Islands ; more perhaps in the Society cluster ; 
 but Sir Charles Sander’s Island is more celebrated for 
 its yams than any other of the group. 
 
 The umara , or sweet potato, convolvulus hatatus , or 
 chrysorizus , is grown by the natives as an article of food. 
 The richest black mould is chosen for its culture; and 
 the earth is raised in mounds nine or ten feet in 
 diameter, and about three feet high. They do not plant 
 the roots; but in the top of these mounds insert a 
 small bunch of the vines, which germinating, produce the 
 tuberous roots eaten by the natives. In the Sandwich 
 Islands, the sweet potato is one of the principal means 
 of subsistence; here it is only partially cultivated, and 
 is greatly inferior to those grown in the northern islands, 
 probably from the difference of soil and climate. The 
 roots are large, and covered with a thin smooth skin. 
 In size, shape, and structure, they resemble several kinds 
 of the Irish potato. The umara is very sweet, seldom 
 mealy, and sometimes quite soft, and altogether less 
 palatable than the taro or the yam. It is dressed by the 
 natives in their stone ovens, and is only used when the 
 bread-fruit is scarce. 
 
 Patara , is a root growing wild in the valleys, in shape 
 and taste resembling a potato more than any other 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 361 
 
 root found in Tahiti. It is highly farinaceous, though 
 less nutritive than the yam; the stem resembles the 
 woodbine or convolvulus. The natives say the flower 
 is small and white; I never saw one, for it is not culti¬ 
 vated, and but seldom sought, as the tuberous root is 
 small, and more than two are seldom found attached to 
 the same vine or stalk. 
 
 The natives are acquainted with rice; but, although 
 both the soil and climate would probably favour its 
 growth, it has not yet been added to the edibles of Tahiti. 
 We have not been very anxious to introduce it, as the 
 quantity of water required for its culture, would, we 
 have supposed, induce in such a climate a state of at¬ 
 mosphere by no means conducive to health. But though 
 they have not rice, they have a plant which they call 
 hoi , the shape and growth of which resembles the 
 Patara; but in taste and appearance it is so much 
 like rice, that the natives call the latter by the native 
 designation of the former. It is very insipid, and only 
 sought in seasons of scarcity. 
 
 The pici , or arrow-root, chailea tacca , is indigenous 
 and abundant. It is sometimes cultivated; but in most 
 of the islands it grows spontaneously on the high sandy 
 banks near the sea, or on the sides of the lower mountains, 
 and appears to thrive in a light soil and dry situation. 
 Though evidently of a superior quality, and capable of 
 being procured in any quantity, it requires some labour 
 to render it fit for food, and on this account was not 
 extensively used by the natives, but formed rather a 
 variety in their dishes at public feastings, than an 
 article of general consumption. 
 
 The growth of the arrow-root resembles that of the 
 potato. Although indigenous, and growing spon- 
 
 3 A 
 
302 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 taneously, it is occasionally cultivated in the native 
 gardens, by which means much finer roots are procured. 
 When it is raised in this manner, a single root uncut is 
 planted ; a number of tuberous roots, about the size of 
 large new potatoes, are formed at the extremities of 
 fibres, proceeding from the root which had been planted. 
 The leaves are of a light green colour, and deeply indent¬ 
 ed ; they are not attached to one common stem, but the 
 stalk of each distinct leaf proceeds from the root. The 
 stalk, bearing the flower, rises in a single shaft, resem¬ 
 bling a reed, or arrow, three or four feet high, crowned 
 with a tuft of light pea-green petalled flowers. These 
 are succeeded by a bunch of green berries, resembling 
 the berries of the potato. 
 
 When the leaves from the stalk dry or decay, the 
 roots are dug up and washed; after which the rind is 
 scraped off with a cowrie shell. The root is then grated 
 on a piece of coral, and the pulp pressed through a sieve 
 made with the wiry fibrous matting of the cocoa-nut 
 husk. This is designed to remove the fibres and other 
 woody matter which the root may contain. The pulp, 
 or powder, is received in a large trough of water, placed 
 beneath the rustic sieve. Here, after having been repeat¬ 
 edly stirred, it is allowed to subside to the bottom, and 
 the water is poured off. Fresh water is applied and 
 removed, until it flows from the pulp, tasteless and 
 colourless; the arrow-root is then taken out, dried in the 
 sun, and is fit for use. 
 
 The process is simple, but it requires considerable 
 care to dry it properly. When partially dry, the natives 
 were formerly accustomed to knead or roll it up in circular 
 masses, containing six or seven pounds each, and in this 
 state expose it to the sun till sufficiently dry to be pre- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 363 
 
 served for use. By this process they prepared much 
 that has been exported from the islands, which may 
 account for its inferior colour, as the whole mass 
 was seldom sufficiently dry to prevent its turning 
 mouldy, and assuming a brown or unfavourable colour. 
 
 They had no means of boiling it, but were accustomed 
 to put a quantity of the arrow-root powder with the ex¬ 
 pressed milk from the kernel of the cocoa-nut into a 
 large wooden tray, or dish; and, having mixed them 
 well together, to throw in a number of red-hot stones, 
 which being moved about by thin white sticks, heated 
 the whole mass nearly to boiling, and occasioned it to 
 assume a thick, broken, jellied appearance. In this state 
 it is served up in baskets of cocoa-nut leaves, and is a 
 very rich sweet kind of food, usually forming a part of 
 every public entertainment. 
 
 Arrow-root has recently been prepared in large 
 quantities, as an article of exportation to England; 
 but although it is by no means inferior to that brought 
 from the West Indies, it has not been so well cleaned, 
 dried, or packed, and has consequently appeared very 
 inferior when it has been brought into the market. 
 There is reason, however, to believe, that when the 
 natives shall have acquired better methods of preparing 
 their arrow-root, it may become a valuable article of 
 commerce. 
 
 There is a very large and beautiful species of fern, 
 called by the natives nahe ; the leaves of which are fra¬ 
 grant, and, in seasons of scarcity, the large tuberous 
 kind of root is baked and eaten. It is insipid, affords 
 but little nutriment, and is only resorted to when other 
 supplies fail. It is altogether a different plant from the 
 fern, the root of which is eaten by the natives of New 
 
364 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Zealand. The berries, or apples, of the nono, morindo 
 citrifolia, and the stalks of the pohue , convolvulus Bra - 
 siliensis , are also eaten in times of famine. 
 
 The fruits of the islands are not so numerous as in 
 some continental countries of similar temperature, but 
 they are valuable; and, next to the bread-fruit, the haari , 
 or cocoa-nut, coccos nucifera y is the most serviceable. The 
 tree on which it grows is also one of the most useful 
 and ornamental in the islands, imparting to the land¬ 
 scape, in which it fails not to form a conspicuous object, 
 all the richness and elegance of intertropical verdure. 
 
 The stem is perfectly cylindrical, three or four feet in 
 diameter at the root, very gradually tapering to the top, 
 where it is probably not more than eighteen inches 
 round. It is one single stem from the root to the 
 crown, composed apparently of a vast number of small 
 hollow reeds, united by a kind of resinous pith, and 
 enclosed in a rough, brittle, and exceedingly hard kind 
 of bark. The stem is without branch or leaf, excepting 
 at the top, where a beautiful crown or tuft of long green 
 leaves appears like a graceful plume waving in the 
 fitful breeze, or nodding over the spreading wood, or the 
 humble shrubbery. The nut begins to grow in a few 
 months after it is planted; in about five or six years, 
 the stem is seven or eight feet high, and the tree 
 begins to bear. It continues to grow and bear fifty 
 or sixty years, or perhaps longer, as there are many 
 groves of trees, apparently in their highest perfection, 
 which were planted by Pomare nearly forty years ago. 
 While the plants are young, they require fencing, in 
 order to protect them from the pigs; but after the crown 
 has reached a few feet above the ground, the plants re¬ 
 quire no further care. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 365 
 
 The bread-fruit, the plantain, and almost every other 
 tree furnishing any valuable fruit, arrives at perfec¬ 
 tion only in the most fertile soil; but the cocoa- 
 nut, although it will grow in the rich bottoms of the 
 valleys, and by the side of the streams that flow through 
 them, yet flourishes equally on the barren sea-beach, amid 
 fragments of coral and sand, where its roots are washed by 
 every rising tide; and on the sun-burnt sides of the 
 mountains, where the soil is shallow, and remote from 
 the streams so favourable to vegetation. The trunk of 
 the tree is used for a variety of purposes: their best 
 spears were made with cocoa-nut wood; wall plates, 
 rafters, and pillars for their larger houses, were often of 
 the same material; their instrument for splitting bread¬ 
 fruit, their rollers for their canoes, and also their most 
 durable fences, were made with its trunk. It is also a 
 valuable kind of fuel, and makes excellent charcoal. 
 
 The timber is not the only valuable article the cocoa- 
 nut tree furnishes. The leaves, called niau , are composed 
 of strong stalks twelve or fifteen feet long. A number 
 of long narrow pointed leaflets are ranged alternately 
 on opposite sides. The leaflets are often plaited, when 
 the whole leaf is called paua , and forms an excellent 
 skreen for the sides of their houses, or covering for their 
 floors. Several kinds of baskets are also made with the 
 leaves, one of which, called arairi , is neat, convenient, and 
 durable. They were also plaited for bonnets or shades 
 for the forehead and eyes, and were worn by both sexes. 
 In many of their religious ceremonies they were used, 
 and the niau , or leaf, was also an emblem of authority, 
 and was sent by the chief to his dependents, when any 
 requisition was made: bunches or strings of the leaf¬ 
 lets were also suspended in the temple on certain occa- 
 
366 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sions, and answered the same purpose as beads in 
 Roman Catholic worship, reminding the priest or the 
 worshipper of the order of his prayers. On the tough 
 and stiff stalks of the leaflets, the candle-nuts, em¬ 
 ployed for lighting their houses, were strung when 
 used. 
 
 Round that part of the stem of the leaf which is 
 attached to the trunk of the tree, there is a singular 
 provision of nature, for the security of the long leaves 
 against the violence of the winds. A remarkably fine, 
 strong, fibrous matting, attached to the bark under the 
 bottom of the stalk, extending half way round the trunk, 
 and reaching perhaps two or three feet up the leaf, 
 acting like a bracing of network to each side of the 
 stalk, keeps it steadily fixed to the trunk. While the 
 leaves are young, this substance is remarkably white, 
 transparent, and as fine in texture as silver paper. In 
 this state it is occasionally cut into long narrow slips, 
 tied up in bunches, and used by the natives to ornament 
 their hair. Its remarkable flexibility, beautiful white¬ 
 ness, and glossy surface, render it a singularly novel, 
 light, and elegant plume ; the effect of which is height¬ 
 ened by its contrast with the black and shining ringlets 
 of the native hair it surmounts. As the leaf increases 
 in size, and the matting is exposed to the air, it becomes 
 coarser and stronger, assuming a yellowish colour, 
 and is called Aa. 
 
 There is a kind of seam along the centre, exactly 
 under the stem of the leaf, from both sides of which 
 long and tough fibres, about the size of a bristle, regu¬ 
 larly diverge in an oblique direction. Sometimes there 
 appear to be two layers of fibres, which cross each 
 other, and the whole is cemented with a still finer, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 367 
 
 fibrous, and adhesive substance. The length and even¬ 
 ness of the threads or fibres, the regular manner in 
 which they cross each other at oblique angles; the 
 extent of surface, and the thickness of the piece, corre¬ 
 sponding with that of coarse cotton cloth; the singular 
 manner in which the fibres are attached to each other— 
 cause this curious substance, woven in the loom of 
 nature, to present to the eye a remarkable resemblance 
 to cloth spun and woven by human ingenuity. 
 
 This singular fibrous matting is sometimes taken off 
 by the natives in pieces two or three feet wide, and used 
 as wrapping for their arrow-root, or made up into bags. 
 It is also occasionally employed in preparing articles 
 of clothing. Jackets, coats, and even shirts, are made 
 with the though the coarsest linen cloth would be 
 much more soft and flexible. To these shirts the natives 
 generally fix a cotton collar and wristbands, and seem 
 susceptible of but little irritation from its wiry texture 
 and surface. It is a favourite dress with the fishermen, 
 and others occupied on the sea. 
 
 The fruit, however, is the most valuable part of this 
 serviceable, hardy, and beautiful plant. The flowers 
 are small and white, insignificant when compared 
 with the size of the tree or the fruit. They are 
 ranged along the sides of a tough, succulent, branch¬ 
 ing stalk, surrounded by a sheath, which the natives call 
 aroe , and are fixed to the trunk of the tree, immediately 
 above the bottom of the leaf. Fruit in every stage, from 
 the first formation after the falling of the blossom, to the 
 hard, dry, ripe, and full-grown nut, that has almost be¬ 
 gun to germinate, may be seen at one time on the same 
 tree, and frequently fruit in several distinct stages on the 
 same bunch, attached to the trunk of the same stalk. 
 
368 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The tree is slow in growth, and the fruit does not, 
 probably, come to perfection in much less than twelve 
 months after the blossoms have fallen. A bunch will 
 sometimes contain twenty or thirty nuts, and there are, 
 perhaps, six or seven bunches on the tree at a time. 
 Each nut is surrounded by a tough fibrous husk, in some 
 parts two inches thick ; and when it has reached its full 
 size, it contains, enclosed in a soft white shell, a pint 
 or a pint and a half of the juice usually called cocoa- 
 nut milk. 
 
 There is at this time no pulp whatever in the inside. 
 In this stage of its growth the nut is called oua , and 
 the liquid is preferred to that found in the nut in any 
 other state. It is perfectly clear, and in taste combines 
 a degree of acidity and sweetness, which renders it equal 
 to the best lemonade. No accurate idea of the consis¬ 
 tency and taste of the juice of the cocoa-nut can be 
 formed from that found in the nuts brought to England. 
 These are old and dry, and the fluid comparatively 
 rancid; in this state they are never used by the natives, 
 except for the purpose of planting or extracting oil. The 
 shell of the oua , or young cocoa-nut, is often used medi¬ 
 cinally. 
 
 In a few weeks after the nut has reached its full 
 size, a soft white pulp, remarkably delicate and sweet, 
 resembling, in consistency and appearance, the white 
 of a slightly boiled egg, is formed around the inside of 
 the shell. In this state it is called niaa , and is eaten 
 by the chiefs as an article of luxury, and used in pre¬ 
 paring many of what may be called the made-dishes of 
 Tahitian banquets. After remaining a month or six 
 weeks longer, the pulp on the inside becomes much 
 firmer, and rather more than half an inch in thickness. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 369 
 
 The juice assumes a whitish colour, and a sharper 
 taste. It is now called omoto , and is not so much used. 
 If allowed to hang two or three months longer on the 
 tree, the outside skin becomes yellow and brown, the 
 shell hardens, the kernel increases to an inch or an 
 inch and a quarter in thickness, and the liquid is reduced 
 to less than half a pint. It is now called opaa, and, after 
 hanging some months on the tree, falls to the ground. 
 The hard nut is sometimes broken in two and broiled, 
 or eaten as taken from the tree, but is generally used in 
 making oil. 
 
 If the cocoa-nut be kept long after it is fully 
 ripe, a white, sweet, spongy substance is formed in 
 the inside, originating at the inner end of the germ 
 which is enclosed in the kernel, immediately opposite one 
 of the three apertures or eyes, in the sharpest end of the 
 shell. This fibrous sponge ultimately absorbs the water, 
 and fills the concavity, dissolving the hard kernel, and 
 combining it with its own substance, so that the shell, 
 instead of containing a kernel and milk, encloses only a 
 soft cellular substance. While this truly wonderful 
 process is going on within the nut, a single bud or 
 shoot, of a white colour but hard texture, forces its way 
 through one of the holes in the shell, perforates the 
 tough fibrous husk, and, after rising some inches, begins 
 to unfold its pale green leaves to the light and the air; 
 at this time, also, two thick white fibres, originating in 
 the same point, push away the stoppers or covering from 
 the other two holes in the shell, pierce the husk in an 
 opposite direction, and finally penetrate the ground. 
 If allowed to remain, the shell, which no knife would 
 cut, and which a saw would scarcely penetrate, is burst 
 by an expansive power, generated within itself; the 
 
 3 B 
 
370 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 busk and the shell gradually decays and, forming a 
 light manure, facilitate the growth of the young plant, 
 which gradually strikes its roots deeper, elevates its 
 stalk, and expands its leaves, until it becomes a lofty, 
 fruitful, and graceful tree. 
 
 There are many varieties of the cocoa-nut tree, in 
 some of which the fruit is rather small and sweet. For 
 each variety the natives have a distinct name, as well as 
 for the same nut in its different stages of perfection. I 
 have the names of six sorts, but it is unnecessary to 
 insert them. 
 
 The juice of the nuts growing on the sea-shore does 
 not appear to partake, in any degree, of the saline pro¬ 
 perty of the water that must constantly moisten the roots 
 of the tree. The milk of the nuts from the sandy 
 beach or the rocky mountain, is often as sweet and 
 as rich as that grown in the most fertile parts of the 
 valley. 
 
 On first arriving in the islands, we used the cocoa-nut 
 milk freely, but, subsequently, preferred plain water 
 as a beverage ; not that the milk became less agreeable, 
 but because we supposed the free use of it predis¬ 
 posed to certain dropsical complaints prevalent among 
 the people. Cocoa-nuts were formerly a considerable 
 article of food among the common people, and were 
 used with profusion on every feast of the chiefs ; but, 
 for some years past, they have been preserved, and 
 allowed to ripen on the tree, for the purpose of pre¬ 
 paring oil, which has recently become an article of 
 exportation, although the value is so small as to afford 
 them but little encouragement to its extended manu¬ 
 facture. 
 
 The cocoa-nut trees are remarkably high, sometimes 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 371 
 
 sixty or seventy feet, with only a tuft of leaves, and a 
 number of bunches of fruit, on the top; yet the natives 
 gather the fruit with comparative ease. A little boy 
 strips off a piece of bark from a purau , branch, and 
 fastens it round his feet, leaving a space of four or five 
 inches between them, and then, clasping the tree, he 
 vaults up its trunk with greater agility and case 
 than a European could ascend a ladder to an equal 
 elevation. When they gather a bunch at a time, they 
 lower them down by a rope; but when they pluck the 
 fruit singly, they cast them on the ground. In throw¬ 
 ing down the nuts, they give them a whirling motion, 
 that they may fall on the point, and not on the side, 
 whereby they would be likely to burst. 
 
 The cocoa-nut oil is procured from the pulp, and is 
 prepared by grating the kernel of the old nut, and 
 depositing it in a long wooden trough, usually the trunk 
 of a tree hollowed out. This is placed in the sun 
 every morning, and exposed during the day; after a few 
 days the grated nut is piled up in heaps in the trough, 
 leaving a small space between each heap. As the oil 
 exudes, it drains into the hollows, whence it is scooped 
 in bamboo canes, and preserved for sale or use. After 
 the oil ceases to collect in the trough, the kernel is put 
 into a bag, of the matted fibres, and submitted to the 
 action of a rude lever press ; but the additional quantity 
 of oil, thus obtained, is inferior in quality to that pro¬ 
 duced by the heat of the sun. 
 
 In addition to these advantages, the shells of the large 
 old cocoa-nuts are used as water-bottles, the largest of 
 which will hold a quart; they are of a black colour, 
 frequently highly polished, and, with care, last a 
 number of years. All the cups and drinking vessels of 
 
3/2 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the natives are made with cocoa-nut shells, usually of 
 the omoto, which is of a yellow colour. It is scraped 
 very thin, and is often slightly transparent. Their 
 ava cups were generally black, highly polished, and 
 sometimes ingeniously carved with a variety of devices, 
 but the Tahitians did not excel in carving. The fibres 
 of the husk are separated from the pulp by soaking them 
 in water, and are used in making various kinds of cinet 
 and cordage, especially a valuable coiar rope. 
 
 It is impossible to contemplate either the bread-fruit 
 or cocoa-nut tree, in their gigantic and spontaneous 
 growth, their majestic appearance, the value and abun¬ 
 dance of their fruit, and the varied purposes to which 
 they are subservient, without admiring the wisdom and 
 benevolence of the Creator, and his distinguishing 
 kindness towards the inhabitants of these interesting 
 islands. 
 
 More rich and sweet to the taste, though far less 
 serviceable as an article of food, is the maia , plantain 
 and banana, musa paradisaica , and musa sapientum. 
 These are also indigenous, although generally culti¬ 
 vated in the native gardens. They are a rich nutritive 
 fruit, common within the tropics, and so generally 
 known as to need no particular description here. There 
 are not, perhaps, fewer than thirty varieties cultivated 
 by the natives, besides nearly twenty kinds, very large 
 and serviceable, that grow wild in the mountains. The 
 orea , or maiden plantain, with the other varieties, 
 comes to the highest perfection in the South Sea 
 Islands, and is a delicious fruit. The stalk, or tree, 
 on which these fruits grow, is seldom above eight 
 or twelve feet high; the leaves are fine broad spe¬ 
 cimens of the luxuriance of tropical vegetation, being 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 373 
 
 frequently twelve or sixteen feet long* eighteen inches or 
 two feet wide, of a beautiful pea-green colour when 
 fresh, and a rich bright yellow when dry. The fruit is 
 about nine inches long, and in shape somewhat like a 
 cucumber, excepting that the angles are frequently well 
 defined, which gives to the fruit the appearance of a 
 triangular or quadrangular prism when ripe, of a bright 
 delicate yellow colour. Sixty or seventy single fruit 
 are occasionally attached to one stalk. Each plantain 
 stem, or tree, produces only one bunch of fruit, and 
 when the fruit is ripe, it is cut down, and its place 
 supplied by the suckers that rise around the root 
 whence it originally sprung. If the suckers, or offsets, 
 be four or five feet high when the parent stem is cut 
 down, they will bear in about twelve months. 
 
 The fruit is not often allowed to ripen on the trees, 
 but it is generally cut down as soon as it has reached its 
 full size, and while yet green; the bunch is then hung 
 up in the native houses to ripen, and eaten as each turns 
 yellow. When they wish to accelerate their ripeness for 
 a public entertainment, they cut them down green, wrap 
 them in leaves, and bury them thirty-six or forty-eight 
 hours in the earth, and on taking them out they are 
 quite soft, and apparently ripe, but much more insipid 
 than those which had gradually ripened on the tree, or 
 even in the house. The kinds growing in the mountains 
 are large, and, though rich and agreeable when baked, 
 are most unpalatable when raw; they have a red skin, 
 and a bright yellow pulp. Their native name is fei: 
 their habits of growth are singular ; for, while the fruit 
 of all the other varieties hangs pendent from the stem, 
 this rises erect from a short thick stalk in the centre of 
 the crown or tuft of leaves at the top. In several of 
 
374 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 these islands, the fei is the principal support of the 
 inhabitants. The plantain is a fruit that is always 
 acceptable, and resembles in flavour a soft, sweet, but not 
 juicy pear; it is very good in milk, and also in 
 puddings and pies, and, when fermented, makes excellent 
 vinegar. 
 
 The vi , or Brazilian plum, a variety of spondias , 
 (spondias dulcis of Parkinson,) is an abundant and ex¬ 
 cellent fruit, of an oval or oblong shape, and bright 
 yellow colour. In form and taste it somewhat resem¬ 
 bles a magnum-bonum plum, but it is larger, and, instead 
 of a stone, has a hard and spiked core, containing a 
 number of seeds. The tree on which it grows is 
 deciduous, and one of the largest found in the islands, 
 the trunk being frequently four or five feet in diameter. 
 The bark is gray and smooth, the leaf pinnate, of a light 
 green colour; the fruit hangs in bunches, and is often so 
 plentiful, that the ground underneath the trees is covered 
 with ripe fruit, while the satisfied, and almost sur¬ 
 feited pigs, lie sleeping round its roots. 
 
 The ahia, or jambo, eugenia Mallaccensis , is perhaps 
 the most juicy of the indigenous fruits of the Society 
 Islands. It resembles, in shape, a small oblong apple, 
 is of a bright beautiful red colour, and has a white, juicy, 
 but rather insipid pulp. Though grateful in a warm 
 climate like Tahiti, its flavour is by no means so good as 
 that of the ahia growing on the Sandwich Islands. Like 
 the vi, it bears but one crop in the year, and does not 
 continue in season longer than two or three months. 
 Both these trees are propagated by seed. 
 
 In certain seasons of the year, if the bread-fruit be 
 scarce, the natives supply the deficiency thus occa¬ 
 sioned with the fruit of the mape or rata, a native 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 375 
 
 chestnut, tuscarpus edulis . Like other chestnut-trees, 
 the mape is of stately growth and splendid foliage. It 
 is occasionally seen in the high grounds, but flourishes 
 only in the rich bottoms of the valleys, and seldom 
 appears in greater perfection than on the margin of a 
 stream. From the top of a mountain I have often been 
 able to mark the course of a river by the winding and 
 almost unbroken line of chestnuts, that have towered 
 in majesty above the trees of humbler growth. The 
 mape is branching, but the trunk, which is the most 
 singular part of it, usually rises ten or twelve feet 
 without a branch, after which the arms are large and 
 spreading. 
 
 During the first seven or eight years of its growth, 
 the stem is tolerably round, but after that period, as 
 it enlarges, instead of continuing cylindrical, it 
 assumes a different shape altogether. In four or five 
 places round the trunk, small projections appear, extend¬ 
 ing in nearly straight lines from the root to the branches. 
 The centre of the tree seems to remain stationary; 
 while these projections increasing, at length seem like so 
 many planks covered with bark, and fixed round the tree, 
 or like a number of natural buttresses for its support. 
 The centre of the tree often continues many years with 
 perhaps not more than two or three inches of wood 
 round the medula, or pith; while the buttresses, though 
 only about two inches thick, extend two, three, and 
 four feet, being widest at the bottom. I have observed 
 buttresses, not more than two inches in thickness, pro¬ 
 jecting four feet from the tree, and forming between 
 each buttress natural recesses, in which I have often 
 taken shelter from the rain. When the tree becomes 
 old, its form is still more picturesque, as a number of 
 
376 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 knots and contortions are formed on the buttress and 
 branches, which render the outlines more broken and 
 fantastic. 
 
 The wood of the rata has a fine straight grain, but 
 being remarkably perishable, is seldom used, excepting 
 for fire-wood. Occasionally, however, they cut off one 
 of the buttresses, and thus obtain a good natural plank, 
 with which they make the long paddles for their canoes, 
 or axe-handles. The leaf is large and beautiful, six or 
 eight inches in length, oblong in shape, of a dark green 
 colour, and, though an evergreen, exceedingly light and 
 delicate in its structure. The tree bears a small white raci- 
 mated panicle flower, esteemed by the natives on account 
 of its fragrance. The fruit, which hangs singly, or in 
 small clusters, from the slender twigs, is flat, and some¬ 
 what kidneyshaped. The same term is also used by the 
 natives for this fruit, and the kidney of an animal. The 
 nut is a single kernel, in a hard, tough, fibrous shell, 
 covered with a thin, compact, fibrous husk. It is not 
 eaten in a raw state; but, though rather hard when fully 
 ripe, it is, when roasted in a green state, soft, and plea¬ 
 sant to the taste. 
 
 In addition to these, the tfz-root, dracanea terminalis , 
 resembling exactly that found in the Sandwich Islands, 
 is baked and eaten; and the to , or sugar-cane, sac - 
 charum officinarum , which grows spontaneously, and 
 perhaps in greater perfection than in any other part 
 of the world, was formerly cultivated, and eaten raw. 
 On a journey, the natives often carry a piece of sugar¬ 
 cane, which furnishes a sweet and nourishing juice, ap¬ 
 peasing at once, to a certain degree, both thirst and hunger. 
 Within a few years, they have been taught to extract the 
 juice, and, by boiling it, to prepare a very good sugar. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 3/7 
 
 These valuable indigenous productions are not only 
 eaten when dressed, as taken from the tree, or dug out 
 of the ground, but, by a variety of combinations, several 
 excellent kinds of food are prepared from them, which may 
 be termed the confectionary, or made-dishes, of Tahiti. 
 With the ripe bread-fruit and plantains they make what 
 they call pepe, which, when baked, looks not unlike 
 soft gingerbread. A mixture of arrow-root and grated 
 cocoa-nut kernel, wrapped in green bread-fruit leaves, 
 and baked, is called taota; with the arrow-root and 
 plantain they also make a number of sweet puddings, 
 which are wrapped in plantain leaves, and baked in the 
 native ovens. A rich sauce, called taxero , is made with 
 very finely grated young cocoa-nut; which undergoes, 
 before using, a slight degree of fermentation. It is pre¬ 
 pared with much care; and being considered an article 
 of great luxury, is usually thought an essential dish in 
 their public entertainments. The taste of this sauce is not 
 unsavoury ; but it is too oily to suit an English palate. 
 
 The most general dish in the Southern Islands is what 
 they call popoi, nearly resembling the poe of the Sandwich 
 Islands. It is made with the ripe mountain plantain, 
 either raw or baked, beaten up to a paste or jelly, and di¬ 
 luted with cocoa-nut milk. Another kind of popoi is 
 made with bread-fruit, or opio, beaten up and diluted with 
 cocoa-nut or plain water. With the riper cocoa-nuts 
 they make a sauce called mitiaro , which is prepared by 
 cutting the kernel of the cocoa-nut in thin slices, and 
 putting it into a calabash with salt water, in which it is 
 shaken every day until the nut is dissolved. This, 
 although a most unpleasant mixture, is eaten by the na¬ 
 tives as sauce to their fish, bread-fruit, and almost every 
 other article of food. 
 
 3 c 
 
3/8 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The several kinds of animal food, and the varied edible 
 vegetables, are good; and, could flour be procured, and 
 occasionally beef or mutton, Europeans would find the 
 diet every way adapted to their support; but the princi¬ 
 pal animal food being, with the exception of a few goats, 
 either fowls or pork, (the kind of meat of which we are 
 perhaps likely to tire sooner than of any other,) and want¬ 
 ing bread and all the varied preparations of flour, the 
 native food is generally found not to afford that 
 strength and nourishment which Europeans are accus¬ 
 tomed to derive from the diet of their own country. 
 The native fruits are delicious ; and their number has 
 been greatly increased by the addition of many of the 
 most valuable tropical fruits. Oranges, shaddocks, limes, 
 and other plants, were introduced by Captains Cook, 
 Bligh, and Vancouver. Vines were originally taken by the 
 Missionaries, but nearly destroyed by the natives in their 
 wars. In 1824 I brought a number of plants from the 
 Sandwich Islands ; which, I have since heard, thrive well. 
 Citrons, tamarinds, pine-apples, guavas, Cape mulberries, 
 and figs; custard apples, annona triloba , and coffee 
 plants, have at different times been introduced, and 
 successfully cultivated, by the Missionaries. Many 
 foreign vegetables have been tried, yet few of them 
 thrive. The growth of wheat has been more than once 
 attempted. Pumpkins, melons, water-melons, cucum¬ 
 bers, cabbages, and French-beans, flourish better than 
 any other foreign vegetables. 
 
 To the list of the edible vegetables, fruits, and roots 
 of the Society Islands, given in the preceding chapter, 
 others might probably be added, but these are sufficient 
 to shew the abundance, diversity, nutritiveness, delicacy, 
 and richness of the provision spontaneously furnished 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 379 
 
 to gratify the palate, and supply the necessities, of their 
 inhabitants. Here man seemed to live only for enjoy¬ 
 ment, and appeared to have been placed in circumstances, 
 where every desire was satisfied, and where it might be 
 imagined that even the apprehension of want was a thing 
 unknown. Amid the unrestrained enjoyment of a bounty 
 so diversified and profuse, it is hardly possible to sup¬ 
 pose that the divine Author of all should neither be 
 recognized nor acknowledged ; or, that his very mercies 
 should foster insensibility, and alienate the hearts of 
 the participants in his bounty. Such, however, was the 
 melancholy fact: Although 
 
 ---the soil untiird 
 
 Pour’d forth spontaneous and abundant harvests, 
 The forests cast their fruits, in husk or rind, 
 Yielding sweet kernels or delicious pulp, 
 
 Smooth oil, cool milk, and unfennented wine, 
 
 In rich and exquisite variety; 
 
 On these the indolent inhabitants 
 Fed without care or forethought. 
 
380 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Times cf taking food among the islands—Tradition of the origin of the 
 bread-fruit tree—Tahitian architecture—Materials employed in the erec¬ 
 tion of native houses—Description of their various kinds of buildings 
 —Usual enclosures—Increased demand for books—Establishment Of 
 the printing press—Eager anticipations of the people—First printing 
 in the island done by the king—Printing the Gospel of St. Luke— 
 Liberal aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society—Influence of 
 the process of printing, &c. on the minds of the people—Visit of a 
 party of natives from the eastern archipelago—Desire of the inhabitants 
 for the scriptures—Applicants from different islands—Estimation in 
 which the scriptures are held—Influence of the press in the nation— 
 Number of works printed. 
 
 The natives of the South Sea Islands have no regular 
 times for eating, but arrange their meals, in a great mea¬ 
 sure, according to their avocations, or the supply of their 
 provision. They usually eat some time in the forenoon ; 
 but their principal meal is taken towards the evening. 
 Their food being lighter, and of a less stimulating kind, 
 than that of Europeans, is usually consumed by them in 
 much larger quantities at a time. They do not appear 
 ever to have been very temperate in their diet, except¬ 
 ing from necessity, and many seem to have made the 
 gratification of their appetite the means of shorten¬ 
 ing their existence. 
 
 We have often endeavoured to learn from the natives 
 whether the vegetable productions used as food when the 
 islands were discovered by Captain Wallis, were found 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 381 
 
 on the islands by those who first peopled them; whether 
 these colonists, from whatsoever country they may have 
 come, had brought any seeds or roots with them; or 
 whether they had been, at a more recent period, con ¬ 
 veyed thither from any other islands,—but their answers 
 with regard to the origin of most of them, have been so 
 absurd and fabulous, that no correct inference can be 
 drawn from them. 
 
 In reference to the origin of the bread-fruit, one of 
 their traditionary legends states, that in the reign of 
 a certain king, when the people ate araea y red earth, a 
 husband and wife had an only son, whom they tenderly 
 loved. The youth was weak and delicate; and one day 
 the husband said to the wife, “I compassionate our son, 
 he is unable to eat the red earth. I will die, and become 
 food for our son.” The wife said, “How will you be¬ 
 come food?” He answered, “I will pray to my god ; 
 he has power, and he will enable me to do it.” Accord¬ 
 ingly, he repaired to the family marae, and presented 
 his petition to the deity. A favourable answer was 
 given to his prayer, and in the evening he called his 
 wife to him, and said, “ I am about to die ; when I am 
 dead, take my body, separate it, plant my head in one 
 place, my heart and stomach in another, &c. and then 
 come into the house and wait. When you shall hear 
 at first a sound like that of a leaf, then of a flower, after¬ 
 wards of an unripe fruit, and subsequently of a ripe round 
 fruit falling on the ground, know that it is I, who am 
 become food for our son.” He died soon after. His 
 wife obeyed his injunctions, planting the stomach near the 
 house, as directed. After a while, she heard a leaf fall, 
 then the large scales of the flower, then a small unripe 
 fruit, afterwards one full-grown and ripe. By this time 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 it was daylight; she awoke her son. took him out* 
 and they beheld a large and handsome tree, clothed with 
 broad shining leaves, and loaded with bread-fruit. She 
 directed him to gather a number, take the first to the 
 family god and to the king; to eat no more red earth, 
 but to roast and eat the fruit of the tree growing 
 before them.—This is only a brief outline of the 
 tradition which the natives give of the origin of 
 the bread-fruit. The account is much longer, and I 
 wrote it out in detail once or twice from the mouth of 
 the natives, but it is too absurd to demand attention 
 or afford information. It was probably invented by 
 some priest, to uphold the influence of the gods, and the 
 tribute of first-fruits paid to the king. The origin of 
 the cocoa-nut, chestnut, and yam, are derived from simi¬ 
 lar sources; the cocoa-nut having grown from the head 
 of a man, the chestnut from his kidneys, the yams from 
 his legs,—and other vegetable productions from diffe¬ 
 rent parts of his body. 
 
 The fei , or mountain plantain, beaten into a pulp, 
 and diluted with cocoa-nut milk or water till brought to 
 the consistency of arrow-root, as ordinarily prepared in 
 England, was much used. Large quantities were usu¬ 
 ally prepared for every festival; a kind of cistern 
 was made, with a framework of wood, and a lining 
 of leaves, which when filled was a sufficient load for 
 six men to carry. Seven or eight of these were some¬ 
 times filled, and carried on men’s shoulders to one feast. 
 The mode of preparing their made-dishes was seldom, 
 according to our ideas, the most cleanly, and we rarely 
 partook of any of their dressed food, excepting it had 
 been cooked as brought from the garden, or prepared by 
 our own servants. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 383 
 
 From this enumeration of the various articles of diet 
 procurable among the islands, it will be evident, that 
 though neither wheat, oats, barley, pease, and beans, nor 
 other pulse and grain, are grown, yet the aborigines with 
 a moderate degree of labour may obtain the necessaries, 
 and many of what are by them esteemed the luxuries, of 
 life. Their diet and modes of living are, however, still very 
 different from those to which a European has been accus¬ 
 tomed, and which he finds, even in their altered climate, 
 most conducive to his health. In this respect, the first 
 Missionaries endured far greater privations than those 
 who have at subsequent periods joined them. They 
 were often without tea and sugar, had no other animal 
 food than that which they procured in common with the 
 natives, and but seldom obtained flour. For some years 
 after our arrival in the islands, the supply of this last 
 important article of diet was very inadequate and uncer¬ 
 tain ; we have been many months at a time without 
 tasting it, either in the form of bread or any other pre¬ 
 paration. The supply now procured is, however, more 
 regular, and the introduction of goats furnishing milk, 
 and the flesh of the kid, the feeding of cattle, by which 
 means the residents are able to make butter and occa¬ 
 sionally to kill an ox, has greatly improved their circum¬ 
 stances. 
 
 In a short time after our arrival at Afareaitu, the 
 people began to erect the printing-office, and the frame 
 of our dwelling. According to the directions of the 
 king, and the arrangements among themselves, the work 
 was divided between several parties. The people of Afa¬ 
 reaitu erected the printing-office; and those of Maatea, 
 a neighbouring district, my dwelling. The king wrote a 
 letter to the chief of the district, hastening him in the 
 
384 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 undertaking, and in a few weeks came over himself, in 
 order to encourage and stimulate the parties engaged 
 in the work. 
 
 Fa-re is the term for house in most of the islands, 
 and an account of the erection of those we occupied here 
 will convey a general idea of their plan of building. 
 The timber being prepared, they planted the square posts 
 which support the ridge-pole about three feet deep. The 
 piece forming the ridge was nearly triangular, flat under¬ 
 neath, but raised along the centre on the upper side, and 
 about nine inches wide; the joints were accurately fitted, 
 and square mortises were made, to receive the tenons 
 formed on the top of the posts. As soon as these were 
 firmly secured, it was raised by ropes, and fixed in its 
 proper place. The side-posts were next planted, about 
 three or four feet apart; these were square, and nearly 
 nine inches wide. In the top of each post, a groove, about 
 six inches deep and an inch and a half wide, was cut; 
 in this was fixed a strong board, eight or nine inches 
 broad, bevelled on the upper edge, forming a kind of 
 wall-plate along the side of the house. The rafters, 
 which they call aho , were put on next; they are usually 
 straight branches of the purau , hibiscus tileaceus, 
 an exceedingly useful tree, growing luxuriantly in every 
 part of the islands. The poles used for rafters are about 
 four inches in diameter at the largest end. As soon 
 as they are cut, the bark is stripped off, and used in 
 the manufacture of cordage, lines, &c. The rafters are 
 then deposited in a stream of water for a number of 
 days, in order to extract the juices with which they are 
 impregnated, and which, the natives suppose, attract a 
 number of insects, that soon destroy them. When taken 
 out, the poles are dried, and considered fit for use. The 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 385 
 
 wood is remarkably light, its growth is rapid, and though 
 the old parts of the tree are exceedingly tough, the 
 young branches or poles, used for rafters and other pur¬ 
 poses, are soft and brittle, resembling the texture and 
 strength of branches of the English willow. The foot 
 of the rafter is partially sharpened, and about eighteen 
 inches from the end a deep notch is cut, which receives 
 the bevelled edge of the ra-pe , or wall-plate, while the 
 upper extremity rests upon the ridge. The rafters are 
 generally ranged along on one side, three feet apart, with 
 parallel rafters on the opposite side, which cross each 
 other at the top of the ridge, where they are firmly tied 
 together with cinet, or the strong fibres of the ieie, a 
 remarkably tough mountain plant. A pole is then fixed 
 along, above the junction of the opposite rafters, and the 
 whole tied down to pegs fastened in the piece of timber 
 forming the ridge. The large wood used in building 
 is of a fine yellow colour, the rafters are beautifully 
 white; and as the house is often left some days in frame, 
 its appearance is at once novel and agreeable. 
 
 The buildings are thatched with ran far a, (the leaves 
 of the pandanus,) which are prepared with great care. 
 When first gathered from the trees, they are soaked 
 three or four days in the sea, or a stream of water. 
 The sound leaves are then selected, and each leaf, after 
 having been stretched singly on a stiff stick fixed in 
 the ground, is coiled up with the concave side outwards. 
 In this state they remain till they are perfectly flat, 
 when each leaf is doubled about one-third of the way 
 from the stalk, over a strong reed or cane six feet 
 long, and the folded leaf laced together with the stiff 
 stalks of the cocoa-nut leaflets. The thatch, thus pre¬ 
 pared, is taken to the building, and a number of lines 
 - 3d 
 
386 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of cinet are extended above the rafters, and in each of 
 the spaces between, from the lower edge to the ridge. 
 The thatchers now take a reed of leaves, and fasten it 
 to the lower ends of the rafters at the left extremity of 
 the roof, and, placing another reed about an inch above 
 it, pierce the leaves with a long wooden needle, and 
 sew it to the lines fixed on the outer side of the rafters 
 and in the space between them: when six or eight reeds 
 are thus fixed, they pass the cord with which they are 
 sewn two or three times round each of the three rafters 
 over which the reed extends. Placing every successive 
 reed about an inch above the last, they proceed until 
 they reach the ridge. The workmen now descend, and 
 carry up another course of thatch, in the same way 
 inserting the ends of the reeds of the fresh course into 
 the bent part of the leaves on the former. It is sin¬ 
 gular to see a number of men working underneath the 
 rafters, in thatching a house. 
 
 When the roof is finished, the points only of the 
 long palm-leaves are seen hanging on the outside; and 
 the appearance within, from the shining brown colour 
 of the leaves bent over the reeds, and the wdiiteness of 
 the rafters, is exceedingly neat and ingenious. The 
 inside of the rafters of the chiefs’ houses, or public 
 buildings, is frequently ornamented with braided cords 
 of various colours, or finely-fringed white or chequered 
 matting. These are bound or wrapped round the rafters, 
 and the extremities sometimes hanging down twelve or 
 thirteen inches, give to their roof or ceiling a light 
 and elegant appearance. Most of the natives are able 
 to thatch a house, but covering in the ridge is more dif¬ 
 ficult, and is only understood by those wdio have been 
 regularly trained for the w r ork. A quantity of large 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 387 
 
 cocoa-nut^ or fern leaves, is first laid on the upper part 
 of the thatch, and afterwards a species of long grass, 
 called aretu , is curiously fixed or woven from one end 
 to the other, so as to remain attached to the thatch, and 
 yet cover the ridge of the house. 
 
 The roof being finished, they generally level the 
 ground within, and enclose the sides. In the erection of 
 my house, this part was allotted to the king’s servants. 
 About thirty of them came one morning with a number 
 of bundles of large white purau poles, from two to three 
 inches in diameter. After levelling the floor, they dug 
 a trench a foot deep round the outside, and then, cut¬ 
 ting the poles to a proper length, planted them an inch 
 and a half or two inches apart, until the building was 
 completely enclosed, excepting the space left for a door 
 in the front and opposite sides. In order to keep the 
 poles in their proper place, two or three light sticks, 
 called tea , were tied horizontally along the outside. 
 Partitions were then erected in the same manner, as 
 we w r ere desirous, contrary to the native practice, to have 
 more than one room. The house was now finished, and 
 in structure resembled a large birdcage. In two of 
 the rooms we laid down boards which we had brought 
 from Port Jackson, and either paved the remainder of 
 the floor with stones, or plastered it with lime. The 
 outside was skreened with platted cocoa-nut leaves, lined 
 with native cloth. This also constituted our curtains, 
 and, hung up before the entrance to some of the apart¬ 
 ments, answered the purpose of a door. Thus fitted up, 
 our native house proved a comfortable dwelling during 
 the months we remained at Afareaitu. 
 
 The houses of the natives, although varying in size 
 and shape, were all built with the same kind of materials, 
 
388 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and in a similar manner. Some of them were exceed¬ 
 ingly large, capable of containing two or three thousand 
 people. Nanu , a house belonging to the king, on the 
 borders of Pare, was three hundred and ninety-seven 
 feet in length. Others were a hundred* or a hundred and 
 forty feet long. These* however* were erected only for 
 the leading chiefs. As the population has decreased* a 
 diminution has also taken place in the size of the dwell¬ 
 ings* yet* for some time after our arrival* several remained 
 an hundred feet in length. The chiefs seem always to 
 have been attended by a numerous retinue of dependants* 
 or Areois* and other idlers. The unemployed inhabitants 
 of the districts where they might be staying, were also 
 accustomed to attend the entertainments given for the 
 amusement of the chiefs* and this probably induced the 
 people to erect such capacious buildings for their accom¬ 
 modation. 
 
 Some of the houses were straight at each end* and 
 resembled in shape an English dwelling; this was 
 called haupape: but the most common form for the 
 chiefs’ houses was what they called pote, which was 
 parallel along the sides* and circular at the ends. 
 Houses of this kind have a very neat* light* and yet 
 compact appearance. The above are the usual forms of 
 their permanent habitations* and the durability of the 
 house depends much upon the manner in which it is 
 thatched: if there is much space between the reeds* it 
 soon decays ; but if they are placed close together* it will 
 last five or seven years without admitting the rain. 
 Occasionally two or three coverings of thatch are put on 
 the same frame. The Tahitians are a social people* 
 naturally fond of conversation* song* and dance; hence 
 several families often resided under the same roof. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 389 
 
 In addition to the oval and the oblong house, they 
 often had the fare pora y the fare ran , and the buhapa , or 
 other temporary dwellings, for encampments during the 
 period of war, or when journeying through the moun¬ 
 tains ; and their farau vaa , or canoe houses, which were 
 large, and built with care; a number of what they 
 call oa were planted at unequal distances on both sides 
 of the rafter and post, which being one piece of timber, 
 tended to strengthen the building. 
 
 The floor of their dwellings was covered with long 
 dried grass, which, although comfortable when first 
 laid down, was not often changed, and, from the mois¬ 
 ture occasioned by the water spilled at meals and 
 other times, was frequently much worse than the naked 
 sand or soil would have been. Their door was an in¬ 
 genious contrivance, being usually a light trellis-frame 
 of bamboo-cane, suspended by a number of braided 
 thongs, and attached to a long cane in the upper part 
 of the inside of the wall-plate—the thongs sliding back¬ 
 wards and forwards like the rings of a curtain, whenever 
 it was opened or closed. Many of their houses are 
 erected within their enclosures or plantations, but they 
 generally stand on the shore, or by the wayside. Every 
 chief of rank, or person of what in Tahiti would be 
 termed respectability, has an enclosure round his dwell¬ 
 ing, leaving a space of ten or twenty feet width with- 
 inside. This court is often kept clean, sometimes 
 spread over with dry grass, but generally covered with 
 black basaltic pebbles, or anaana , beautifully white frag¬ 
 ments of coral. The aumoa is a neat and durable fence, 
 about four feet high; the upright pieces are tenoned 
 into a polished rail along the top, or surmounted with 
 the straight and peeled branches of the purau or tamanu. 
 
390 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The size, structure, and conveniency of the Tahitian 
 houses, such as Wallis found, and such as are here 
 described, exhibit no small degree of invention, skill, 
 and attention to comfort, and shew that the natives were 
 even then far removed from a state of barbarism. They 
 also warranted the inference that they were not deficient 
 in capacity for improvement, and that, with better models 
 and tuition, they would improve in the cultivation of 
 every art of civilized life, especially when they should 
 be put in the possession of iron and iron tools, as those 
 they had heretofore used were rude stone adzes, or chisels 
 of bone. 
 
 It is, however, proper to remark, that although all 
 were capable of building good native houses, and many 
 erected comfortable dwellings, yet great numbers, from 
 indolence or want of tools, reared only temporary and 
 wretched huts, as unsightly in the midst of the beau¬ 
 tiful landscape, as they were unwholesome and com¬ 
 fortless to their abject inhabitants. 
 
 When our printing-office was finished, as the purau 
 branches afforded but an indifferent shelter from the 
 rain and wind, the sides of the printing-office were 
 boarded, and one or two glass windows introduced 5 
 probably the first ever seen in Eimeo. The floor was 
 covered partly with the trunks of trees split in two^ 
 and partly paved with stone. In searching for suitable 
 stones, we pulled down the remaining ruins of one 
 or two maraes in the neighbourhood, and, finding 
 among them a number of smooth and level-surfaced 
 basaltic stones, we were happy to remove them from the 
 temple, and fix them in the pavement of the printing- 
 office floor; thus appropriating them to a purpose very 
 different indeed from that for which they were primarily 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 391 
 
 designed, by those who had evidently prepared them 
 with considerable labour and care. 
 
 Numbers of the inhabitants of several parts of Tahiti 
 and Eimeo flocked to Afareaitu, to attend the means 
 of instruction, and the public ordinances of religion, as 
 it was more convenient to many than Papetoai. They 
 were also anxious to see this wonderful machine, the 
 printing-press, in operation, having heard much of the 
 facility with which, when once it should be established, 
 they would be supplied with books ; an article at that 
 time more valuable, in their estimation, than any other. 
 
 A few copies of the spelling-book printed in England 
 had been taken to the island in the year 1811. Some 
 hundred copies of a smaller spelling-book, and a brief 
 summary of the Old and New Testament, the latter 
 containing about seventy-five 12mo pages, had been 
 printed at Port Jackson, and were in circulation; but 
 many hundreds of the natives who had learned to read, 
 were still destitute of a book. Others could repeat 
 correctly, from memory, the whole of the books, and 
 were anxious for fresh ones. In many families, where 
 all were scholars, there was but one book; while others 
 were totally destitute. The inhabitants of the neighbour¬ 
 ing islands were in still greater need. I have seen many 
 who had written out the whole of the spelling-book on 
 sheets of writing paper; and others who, unable to procure 
 paper, had prepared pieces of native cloth with great care, 
 and then, with a reed immersed in red or purple native 
 dye, had written out the alphabet, spelling, and reading 
 lessons, on these pieces of cloth, made with the bark of a 
 tree. It was also truly affecting to see many of them, not 
 with phylacteries, but with portions of scripture, or the 
 texts they had heard preached from, written on scraps of 
 
392 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 paper* or fragments of cloth* preserved with care* and read 
 till fixed in the memory of their possessors. This state 
 of affairs* together with the earnest desire of the people 
 to increase their knowledge of sacred truth* rendered it 
 exceedingly desirable that the press should be set to 
 work as soon as possible. Within three months after 
 our arrival at Afareaitu* every thing was in readiness* 
 and on the 10th of June* 1817* the operations prepa¬ 
 ratory to printing were commenced. 
 
 Pomare* who was exceedingly delighted when he heard 
 of its arrival, and had furnished every assistance in 
 his power, both in the erection of the building* and the 
 removal of the press* types* &c. from Papetoai* where 
 they had been landed* was not less anxious to see it 
 actually at work. He had for this purpose visited 
 Afareaitu* and* on his return to the other side of the 
 island* requested that he might be sent for whenever 
 we should begin. A letter having been forwarded to 
 inform him that we were nearly ready* he hastened 
 to our settlement* and* in the afternoon of the day 
 appointed* came to the printing-office* accompanied 
 by a few favourite chiefs* and followed by a large con¬ 
 course of people. 
 
 Soon after his arrival* I took the composing-stick 
 in my hand* and observing Pomare looking with curious 
 delight at the new and shining types, I asked him if he 
 would like to put together the first A B or alphabet. 
 His countenance was lighted up with evident satisfac¬ 
 tion* as he answered in the affirmative. I then placed 
 the composing-stick in his hand; he took the capi¬ 
 tal letters* one by one* out of their respective com¬ 
 partments* and* fixing them* concluded the alphabet. 
 He put together the small letters in the same man- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 393 
 
 ner, and the few monosyllables composing the first 
 page of the small spelling-book were afterwards add¬ 
 ed. He was delighted when he saw the first page 
 complete, and appeared desirous to have it struck 
 off at once; but when informed that it would not 
 be printed till as many were composed as would 
 fill a sheets he requested that he might be sent for 
 whenever it was ready. He visited us almost daily 
 until the 30th; when, having received intimation that 
 it was ready for the press; he came; attended by only 
 two of his favourite chiefs. They were; however; 
 followed by a numerous train of his attendants; &c. 
 who had by some means heard that the work was about 
 to commence. Crowds of the natives were already 
 collected around the door; but they made way for hini; 
 and; after he and his two companions had been admitted; 
 the door was closed; and the small window next the 
 sea darkened; as he did not wish to be overlooked by 
 the people on the outside. The king examined; with 
 great minuteness and pleasure; the form as it lay on 
 the press, and prepared to try to take off the first sheet 
 ever printed in his dominions. Having been told how 
 it was to be done; he jocosely charged his companions 
 not to look very particularly at him; and not to laugh 
 if he should not do it right. I put the printer’s ink- 
 ball into his hand; and directed him to strike it two or 
 three times upon the face of the letters; this he did; 
 and then placing a sheet of clean paper upon the parch¬ 
 ment; I covered it down; and; turning it under the press; 
 directed the king to pull the handle. He did so, and 
 when the paper was removed from beneath the press, 
 and the covering lifted up, the chiefs and attendants 
 rushed towards it, to see what effect the king’s pres- 
 
 3 R 
 
394 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sure had produced. When they beheld the letters black, 
 and large, and well defined, there was one simultaneous 
 expression of wonder and delight. 
 
 The king took up the sheet, and having looked first at 
 the paper and then at the types with attentive admira¬ 
 tion, handed it to one of his chiefs, and expressed a 
 wish to take another. He printed two more; and, 
 w r hile he was so engaged, the first sheet was shewn to 
 the crowd without, who, when they saw it, raised one 
 general shout of astonishment and joy. When the king 
 had printed three or four sheets, he examined the press in 
 all its parts with great attention. On being asked what 
 he thought of it, he said it was very surprising; but that 
 he had supposed, notwithstanding all the descriptions 
 which had been given of its operation, that the paper 
 w r as laid down, and the letters by some means pressed 
 upon it, instead of the paper being pressed upon the 
 types. He remained attentively watching the press, 
 and admiring the facility with which, by its mechanism, 
 so many pages were printed at one time, until it was 
 near sunset, when he left us ; taking with him the sheets 
 he had printed, to his encampment on the opposite side 
 of the bay. 
 
 When the benefits which the Tahitians have already 
 derived from education, and the circulation of books, 
 are considered, with the increasing advantages which 
 it is presumed future generations will derive from the 
 establishment of the press, we cannot but view the 
 introduction of printing as an auspicious event. The 
 30th of June 1817* was, on this account, an important 
 day in the annals of Tahiti; and there is no act of 
 Pomare’s life, excepting his abolition of idolatry, his cle¬ 
 mency after the battle of Bunaina, and his devotedness 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 395 
 
 in visiting every district of the island, inducing the 
 chiefs and people to embrace Christianity, that will be 
 remembered with more grateful feeling than the cir¬ 
 cumstance of his printing the first page of the first 
 book published in the South Sea Islands. 
 
 The spelling-book being most needed, was first 
 put to press, and an edition of 2600 copies soon 
 finished. The king with his attendants passed by the 
 printing-office every afternoon, on their way to his 
 favourite bathing-place, and seldom omitted to call, 
 and spend some time in watching the progress of the 
 work. He engaged in counting several of the letters, 
 and appeared surprised when he found that, in sixteen 
 pages of the spelling-book, there were upwards of five 
 thousand of the letter a . An edition of 2300 copies 
 of the Tahitian Catechism, and a Collection of Texts, or 
 Extracts, from Scripture, were next printed; after which, 
 St. Luke's Gospel, which had been translated by Mr. 
 Nott, was put to press. 
 
 While the spelling-book was in hand, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Orsmond arrived in the islands, and took up their 
 residence at Afareaitu; increasing thereby the enjoy¬ 
 ment of our social hours. 
 
 The first sheet of St. Luke's Gospel was nearly printed, 
 when the Active, with six Missionaries from England, 
 arrived. Among them were our fellow-voyagers, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Threlkeld, and our esteemed friends Mr. and Mrs. 
 Barft*; we had parted with them in England, and were 
 truly rejoiced to welcome them to the distant shores of 
 our future dwelling-place. By the same vessel, a sup¬ 
 ply of printing paper was sent from the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society. Its arrival was most providen¬ 
 tial. The paper sent by the Missionary Society was 
 
396 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 only sufficient, after the elementary books had been 
 finished, to enable us to print 1500 copies ; but the 
 arrival of the liberal grant from the Bible Society 
 enabled us at once to double the number of copies. 
 Although the demand has increased, and larger editions 
 of the subsequent books have been necessary, the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society has generously 
 furnished the paper for every subsequent portion of the 
 Scriptures that has been printed in the islands. 
 
 The composition and press-work of the elementary 
 books, and of the greater portion of the edition of nearly 
 3000 copies of St. Luke’s Gospel, was performed almost 
 entirely by Mr. Crook and myself. In the mean time, 
 two natives were instructed to perform the most 
 laborious parts; and, before the book was finished, they 
 were able, under proper superintendence, to relieve us 
 from the mechanical labour of press-work,—a depart¬ 
 ment in which, they with others have been ever since 
 employed; receiving regular payment for the same. 
 In all works subsequently published, the Missionaries, 
 on whom the management of printing has devolved, 
 have been in a great measure relieved, by the aid of 
 those instructed in that department of this useful art. 
 
 We laboured eight, and sometimes ten, hours daily, 
 yet found that the work advanced but slowly. Not¬ 
 withstanding all the care that had been exercised in 
 selecting the printing materials and the accompanying 
 apparatus, many things were either deficient or spoiled ; 
 here we could procure no proper supply, and the edition 
 was not completed until the beginning of 1818. It was 
 entitled, “ Te Evanelia na Luka , iritihia ei parau 
 Tahiti ” literally. The Gospel of Luke, taken out to be, 
 or transferred to, the language of Tahiti; E-parau hae - 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 397 
 
 rekia te parau maitai o te hciu nei e ati paatoai te ao 
 nei ia ite te mau fenua atoa , was the motto u This good 
 word (or gospel) of the kingdom shall be published in 
 all the world/' Matt. xxiv. 14. and the imprint was, 
 Neneihia i te nenei raa parau a te mau Misionari , 1818. 
 Pressed at the (paper or book) presser of the Mis¬ 
 sionaries.—There being no term in the native language 
 answering to the word translated Gospel, the Greek word 
 Evangelion was introduced, some of the consonants being 
 omitted in conforming it to the native idiom. 
 
 The curiosity awakened in the inhabitants of Afareaitu 
 by the establishment of the press, was not soon satisfied : 
 day after day Pomare visited the printing-office ; the 
 chiefs applied to be admitted inside, while the people 
 thronged the windows, doors, and every crevice through 
 which they could peep, often involuntarily exclaiming, 
 Beri-ta-nie! fenua paari: Oh Britain ! land of skill, or 
 knowledge. The press soon became a matter of universal 
 conversation; and the facility with which books could 
 be multiplied, filled the minds of the people in general 
 with wonderful delight. Multitudes arrived from every 
 district of Eimeo, and even from other islands, to 
 procure books, and to see this astonishing machine. 
 The excitement manifested frequently resembled that 
 with which the people of England would hasten to 
 witness, for the first time, the ascent of a bal¬ 
 loon, or the movement of a steam-carriage. So great 
 was the influx of strangers, that for several weeks before 
 the first portion of the Scriptures was finished, the dis¬ 
 trict of Afareaitu resembled a public fair. The beach 
 was lined with canoes from distant parts of Eimeo and 
 other islands ; the houses of the inhabitants were 
 thronged, and small parties had erected their temporary 
 
398 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 encampments in every direction. The school during 
 the week, and chapel on the Sabbath, though capable of 
 containing 600 persons, were found too small for 
 those who sought admittance. The printing-office 
 was daily crowded by the strangers, who thronged the 
 doors, &c. in such numbers, as to climb upon each others 
 backs, or on the sides of the windows, so as frequently 
 to darken the place. The house had been enclosed 
 with a fence five or six feet high; but this, instead of 
 presenting an obstacle to the gratification of their 
 curiosity, was converted into a means of facilitating 
 it: numbers were constantly seen sitting on the top 
 of the railing; whereby they were able to look over the 
 heads of their companions who were round the windows. 
 
 Among the various parties in Afareaitu, at this time, 
 were a number of the natives of the Paumotu, or 
 Pearl Islands, which lie to the north-east of Tahiti, and 
 constitute what is called the Dangerous Archipelago. 
 These numerous islands, like those of Tetuaroa to the 
 north, are of coralline formation, and the most elevated 
 parts of many of them are seldom more than two or three 
 feet above high-water mark. The principal, and almost 
 only edible vegetable they produce, is the fruit of the 
 cocoa-nut. On these, with the numerous kinds of fishes 
 resorting to their shores or found among the coral reefs, 
 the inhabitants entirely subsist. They appear a hardy 
 and industrious race, capable of enduring great priva¬ 
 tions. The Tahitians believe them to be cannibals ; but 
 as to the evidence or extent of this charge, we cannot 
 speak confidently. They are in general firm and mus¬ 
 cular, but of a more spare habit of body than the Tahi¬ 
 tians. Their limbs are well formed, their stature gene¬ 
 rally tall. The expression of their countenance, and the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 399 
 
 outline of their features* greatly resemble those of the 
 Society Islanders; their manners are* however* more rude 
 and uncourteous. The greater part of the body is 
 tataued* sometimes in broad stripes* at others in large 
 masses of black* and always without any of the taste 
 and elegance frequently exhibited in the figures marked 
 on the persons of the Tahitians. By the latter* the 
 natives of the Pearl Islands were formerly regarded with 
 the greatest contempt* as teehae and maua , savages and 
 barbarians. It was some months since they had arrived 
 from their native islands* which they had left for the 
 purpose of procuring books and teachers for their 
 countrymen. From the time of their landing* Pomare 
 had taken them under his protection; and when he 
 came over to Eimeo* they followed in his train. 
 
 A considerable party of the Aura tribe came one 
 day to the printing-office* to see the press. When they 
 were admitted* and beheld the native printer at work* 
 their surprise and astonishment were truly affecting. 
 They were some time before they would approach very 
 near* and appeared at a loss whether to consider it as an 
 animal or a machine. As their language is strikingly 
 analogous to that spoken in the Society Islands* I 
 entered into conversation with them. They were very 
 urgent to be supplied with spelling-books* which I 
 regretted my inability to effect to any extent* as our 
 edition was nearly expended. Learning that they had 
 discontinued idol-worship* I asked why they had aban¬ 
 doned their gods. They replied* that they were evil 
 spirits* and had never done them any good* but had 
 caused frequent and desolating wars. Moorea** they 
 
 * He had been a professor of Christianity, and a pupil in the Mission- 
 school some time before our arrival. 
 
400 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 said; was their teacher, and had instructed them con¬ 
 cerning the true God, for whose worship in the island 
 of Anaa,* whence most of them came, they had already 
 erected three chapels. 
 
 But little time was allowed for the drying of the printed 
 sheets. The natives were in want of books, and most 
 eager for them: the first inquiry of every party that 
 arrived, usually was, “When will the books be ready ?” 
 The presses were therefore fixed, and, having acquired 
 some knowledge of bookbinding as well as printing, 
 before leaving England, I proceeded, as soon as the 
 printing was finished, to binding, though but inadequately 
 furnished with materials. 
 
 The first bound copy was sent to Papetoai, and is 
 still, I believe, in Mr. Nott’s possession; the second, 
 half-bound in red morocco, was presented to the king, 
 who evidently received it with high satisfaction. The 
 queen and chiefs were next supplied, and preparations 
 made for meeting the demands of the people. In order 
 to preserve the books, it was deemed inexpedient 
 to give them into the hands of the natives, either 
 unbound, or merely covered as pamphlets. We had 
 only a small quantity of mill-boards, and it was necessary 
 to increase them on the spot; a large quantity of native 
 cloth, made with the bark of a tree, was therefore pur¬ 
 chased, and females employed to beat a number of 
 layers or folds together, usually from seven to ten. 
 These were afterwards submitted to the action of a 
 powerful upright screw-press, and, when gradually dried, 
 formed a good stiff pasteboard. For their covers, the 
 few sheep-skins brought from England were cut into slips 
 for the backs and corners, and a large bundle of old 
 * Prince of Wales’s Island 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 401 
 
 newspapers dyed, for covers to the sides. In staining 
 these papers, they were covered over with the juice of 
 the stems of the mountain plantain, or fei. The young 
 plants brought from the mountains were generally two 
 or three inches in diameter at the lower end. The root 
 was cut off above the part that had been in the ground, 
 and the stem being then fixed over a vessel, half a pint 
 sometimes of thick purple juice exuded from it. This 
 was immediately spread upon the paper, imparting to 
 the sheet, when dried in the sun, a rich glossy purple 
 colour, which remained as long as the paper lasted. If 
 lime-juice was sprinkled upon it, a beautiful and delicate 
 pink was produced. When the juice of the fei was 
 allowed to remain till the next day, the liquor became 
 much thinner, assumed a brownish red tinge, and im¬ 
 parted only a slight colour to the paper. 
 
 The process of binding appeared to the natives much 
 more simple than that of printing; yet, in addition to 
 those whom we were endeavouring to instruct, each of 
 the principal chiefs sent one of his most clever men, to 
 learn how to put a book together. For some time we 
 bound every book that was given to the natives ; but our 
 materials being expended long before they were supplied, 
 and the people continuing impatient for the books, 
 even in sheets—rather than keep them destitute of the 
 Scripture already printed, they were thus distributed. 
 
 Those among the natives who had learned to bind 
 were now overwhelmed with business, and derived no in¬ 
 considerable emolument from their trade, as they required 
 each person to bring the pasteboard necessary for his own 
 books, and also a piece of skin or leather for the back, 
 or for the whole cover. Many soon learned to sew the 
 sheets together, others cut pieces of wood very thin, 
 
 3 F 
 
402 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 instead of pasteboard, which were fastened to the sides ; 
 the edges of the leaves were then cut with a knife ; and 
 the book used in this state daily, while the owner was 
 searching for a skin or a piece of leather, with which to 
 cover it for more effectual preservation. This was the 
 most difficult article to procure, and many books were 
 used in this state for many months. 
 
 Leather was now the article in greatest requisition 
 among all classes; and the poor animals, that had hereto¬ 
 fore lived in undisturbed ease and freedom, were hunted 
 solely for their skins. The printing-office was converted 
 into a tanyard; old canoes, filled with lime-water, were 
 prepared; and all kinds of skins brought to have the 
 hair extracted, and the oily matters dissipated. It was 
 quite amusing to see goats’ dogs’ and cats’ skins 
 collected to be prepared for book-covers. Sometimes they 
 procured the tough skin of a large dog, or an old goat, 
 with long shaggy matted hair and beard attached to it, or 
 the thin skin of a wild kitten taken in the mountains. As 
 soon as the natives had seen how they were prepared, 
 which was simply by extracting the hair and the oil, 
 they did this at their own houses; and in walking 
 through the district at this period, no object was more 
 common than a skin stretched on a frame, and suspended 
 on the branch of a tree, to dry in the sun. 
 
 All the books, hitherto in circulation among the 
 people, had been gratuitously distributed; but when 
 the first portion of Scripture was finished, as it was 
 a larger book than had yet been published, it was 
 thought best to receive a small equivalent for it, lest 
 the people should expect that books afterwards printed 
 would be given also, and lest, from the circumstance 
 of their receiving them without payment, they should be 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 403 
 
 induced to undervalue them. A small quantity of cocoa- 
 nut oil, the article they could most easily procure, was 
 therefore demanded for each book, and cheerfully paid 
 by every native. This was not done with a view of 
 deriving any profit from the sale of the books, but 
 merely to teach the people their value; as no higher 
 price was required than what it was supposed would 
 cover the expense of paper and printing materials,—and 
 we still continued to distribute elementary books gra¬ 
 tuitously. 
 
 The season occupied in the printing and binding of 
 these books was one of incessant labour, which, in a 
 tropical climate, and a season when the sun was ver¬ 
 tical, was often found exceedingly oppressive; yet it 
 was one of the happiest periods of my life. It was 
 cheering to behold the people so prepared to receive 
 the sacred volume, and anxious to possess it. I 
 have frequently seen thirty or forty canoes from 
 distant parts of Eimeo, or from some other island, 
 lying along the beach; in each of which, five or six per¬ 
 sons had arrived—whose only errand was to procure 
 copies of the Scriptures. For these many waited five or 
 six weeks, while they were printing. Sometimes I have 
 seen a canoe arrive with six or ten persons for books; 
 who when they have landed, have brought a large 
 bundle of letters, perhaps thirty or forty, written on 
 plantain leaves, and rolled up like a scroll. These let¬ 
 ters had been written by individuals, who were unable 
 to come and apply personally for a book, and had 
 therefore thus sent, in order to procure a copy. 
 Often, when standing at my door, which was but a 
 short distance from the sea-beach, as I have gazed 
 on the varied beauties of the rich and glowing land- 
 
404 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 scape, and the truly picturesque appearance of the 
 island of Tahiti, fourteen or eighteen miles distant, the 
 scene has been enlivened by the light and nautilus-like 
 sail of the buoyant canoe, first seen in the distant hori¬ 
 zon as a small white speck, sometimes scarcely distin¬ 
 guishable from the crest of the waters, at others bril¬ 
 liantly reflecting the last rays of the retiring sun, and ap¬ 
 pearing in bold and beautiful relief before 
 
 “ The impassioned splendour of those clouds 
 That wait upon the sun at his departure.” 
 
 The effect of this magnificent scene has often 
 been heightened by the impression that the voyagers, 
 whose approaching bark became every moment more 
 conspicuous among the surrounding objects, were not 
 coming in search of pearls or gems, but the more 
 valuable treasure contained in the sacred Scriptures, 
 deemed by them “ more precious than gold, yea, 
 than much fine gold.” One evening, about sunset, a 
 canoe from Tahiti with five men arrived on this errand. 
 They landed on the beach, lowered their sail, and, 
 drawing their canoes on the sand, hastened to my native 
 dwelling. I met them at the door, and asked them 
 their errand. Luka , or Te parau na Luka , “Luke, 
 or. The word of Luke,” was the simultaneous reply, 
 accompanied with the exhibition of the bamboo-canes 
 filled with cocoa-nut oil which they held up in their 
 hands, and had brought as payment for the copies re¬ 
 quired. I told them I had none ready that night, but 
 that if they would come on the morrow, I would give 
 them as many as they needed; recommending them, in 
 the mean time, to go and lodge with some friend in the 
 village. Twilight in the tropics is always short, it soon 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 405 
 
 grew dark; I wished them good nighty and afterwards 
 retired to rest, supposing they had gone to sleep at the 
 house of some friend; but, on looking out of my 
 window about daybreak, I saw these five men lying 
 along on the ground on the outside of my house, 
 their only bed being some platted cocoa-nut leaves, and 
 their only covering the large native cloth they usually 
 wear over their shoulders. I hastened out, and asked 
 them if they had been there all night: they said they 
 had: I then inquired why they did not, as I had directed 
 them, go and lodge at some house, and come again. Their 
 answer surprised and delighted me: they said, “We 
 were afraid that, had we gone away, some one might have 
 come before us this morning, and have taken what 
 books you had to spare, and then w r e should have 
 been obliged to return without any; therefore, after 
 you left us last night, we determined not to go 
 away till we had procured the books.” I called them 
 into the printing-office, and, as soon as I could put the 
 sheets together, gave them each a copy; they then re¬ 
 quested two copies more, one for a mother, the other 
 for a sister; for which they had brought payment. I 
 gave these also. Each wrapped his book up in a 
 piece of white native cloth, put it in his bosom, wished 
 me good morning, and without, I believe, eating oi 
 drinking, or calling on any person in the settlement, 
 hastened to the beach, launched their canoe, hoisted their 
 matting sail, and steered rejoicing to their native island. 
 This is only one instance among many that occurred at 
 the time, both at Afareaitu and Papetoai, exhibiting 
 the ardent desire of the people in general to possess the 
 Scriptures as soon as they could be prepared for them. 
 They frequently expressed their apprehensions lest the 
 
406 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 number of the books should not be sufficient for those 
 who were waiting ; and have more than once told us, that 
 the fear of being disappointed has often deprived them 
 of sleep. 
 
 Many were doubtless influenced by motives of 
 curiosity, others by a desire to possess an article of pro¬ 
 perty now so highly esteemed by all parties, but many 
 were certainly influenced by a desire to become more 
 fully acquainted with the revelation God had made to 
 man, and to read for themselves, in their own language, 
 those truths that were able to make them “ wise unto 
 salvation/' By some, after the first emotion of curiosity 
 had subsided, the books were probably neglected; but 
 by most they were carefully and regularly read, becom¬ 
 ing at once the constant companion of their possessors, 
 and the source of their highest enjoyment. 
 
 When the Gospel of Luke was finished, an edition of 
 Hymns in the native language was printed, partly origi¬ 
 nal and partly translations from our most approved Eng¬ 
 lish compositions; and although the book was but small, 
 it was acceptable to the people, who are exceedingly 
 fond of metrical compositions, their history and tradi¬ 
 tions having been preserved in a metrical kind of bal¬ 
 lad. This circumstance rendered the Hymn-book which 
 was completed at Huahine, quite a favourite, and af¬ 
 forded the means, not only of assisting them in the 
 matter of their praises to Almighty God, but enabled 
 them to convey the most important truths of revelation 
 in the manner most attractive and familiar to the native 
 mind. 
 
 While engaged in these labours, the principal object 
 besides, that occupied our attention, was the study of 
 the language. Several hours every day were devoted 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 407 
 
 to its acquisition, and twice a week we met, when we 
 were assisted by the instructions of Mr. Davies, who 
 favoured us with the use of his manuscript vocabu¬ 
 lary, and the outlines of a grammar, which he had pre¬ 
 pared several years before. In addition to these means, 
 I found the composing, or setting, of the types for the 
 Tahitian books, the best method of acquiring all that was 
 printed in the language. Every letter in every word 
 passing repeatedly, not only under my eye, but through 
 my hand, I acquired almost mechanically the orthogra¬ 
 phy. The number of natives by whom we were always 
 surrounded, afforded the best opportunities for learning 
 the meaning of those words which we did not under¬ 
 stand. The structure of many sentences was also 
 acquired by the same means; and, in much less than 
 twelve months, I could converse familiarly on any 
 common subject. 
 
 My acquisition of the language was thus facilitated 
 by attention to the printing in the native language. 
 The use of the press in the different islands, we natu¬ 
 rally regard as one of the most powerful human agen¬ 
 cies that can be employed in forming the mental and 
 moral character of the inhabitants, imparting to their 
 pursuits a salutary direction, and elevating the whole 
 community. It is not easy to estimate correctly the 
 advantages already derived from this important engine 
 of improvement. The sacred scriptures, and the codes 
 of laws, are the only standard works of importance yet 
 printed. The whole of the New, and detached portions 
 of the Old Testament, have been finished, and the 
 remaining parts are in progress. 
 
 In the native language, they also possess Old 
 and New Testament histories—several large editions 
 
408 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of spelling-books, reading lessons, and different 
 catechisms—a short system of arithmetic—the codes 
 of laws for the different islands—regulations for barter, 
 and their intercourse with shipping. Numerous ad¬ 
 dresses on the subject of Christian practice—several 
 editions of the native hymn-book—the reports of their 
 different Societies—and, lastly, they have commenced a 
 periodical publication called the Repository. I have re¬ 
 ceived the first number, and most earnestly hope they 
 will be able to carry it on. Every work yet printed has 
 been prepared by the Missionaries, with the assistance of 
 the most intelligent among the people. But we look 
 forward, with pleasing anticipation, to the time when the 
 natives themselves shall become writers. In the investi¬ 
 gation and illustration of many things connected with 
 the peculiar genius and character of their own country¬ 
 men, they will have advantages which no individual, who 
 is a foreigner, can ever possess ; and we may hope that 
 the time is not far distant, when they will not only have 
 standard works by native authors, but that their periodi¬ 
 cal literature will circulate widely, and spread know¬ 
 ledge and piety among all classes of the people. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 409 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 Arrival of Missionaries from England—Retrospect of labour at Afareaitu 
 —Honesty of the people—Departure from Eimeo—Voyage to the 
 Society Islands—Appearance of Huahine—Fa-re harbour and sur¬ 
 rounding country—Accommodations on shore—Building and launching 
 of the Haweis—Re-occupation of Matavai—New stations in Tahiti— 
 Journeys across the interior of Eimeo—Village of Tamai—State of the 
 inhabitants of Huahine—Commencement of Missionary labours— 
 Influence of presents to the people. 
 
 About a month after our departure from Papetoai, 
 Mr. Orsmond, who had sailed from England about July, 
 1816, arrived at Eimeo, and, after residing some time 
 with the Missionaries at Papetoai, he removed to 
 Afareaitu, pursued harmoniously with us the study of 
 the language, assisted in preparing books for the 
 people, and in other duties of the station, and subse¬ 
 quently accompanied us to the the Leeward Islands. 
 On the 17th of November, in the same year, Messrs. 
 Bourne, Darling, Platt, and Williams, with their wives, 
 who sailed from England 17th November, 1816, reached 
 the islands. Mr. and Mrs. Threlkeld, who had sailed 
 with us from England, but had been obliged by domestic 
 affliction to remain at Rio Janeiro, and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Barff, who had originally left England with Mr. Ors * 
 mond, joined us by the same conveyance. This event 
 was truly cheering to their predecessors, conveying 
 the strongest evidence of the desire, on the part of the 
 
 3 G 
 
410 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Society at home, to relieve them from every distressing 
 anxiety as to their successors, and to afford every aid 
 in the prosecution of their important and extending 
 work. To us it was a matter of gratitude and satis¬ 
 faction. With some who had now arrived, we had 
 parted nearly two years before in our native land; 
 others we had left among strangers on a foreign shore; 
 but we were now, in the providence of God, brought 
 together under circumstances peculiarly encouraging; 
 and not only permitted to enjoy each others’ society, 
 but to combine our energies for the advancement of that 
 cause to which our lives were devoted. 
 
 The arrival of so large a reinforcement enabled the 
 Missionaries to make arrangements for re-occupying 
 their original station in Tahiti, and establishing a Mis¬ 
 sion in the Society, or, as they are usually termed, when 
 spoken of in connexion with Tahiti and Eimeo, the 
 Leeward Islands. It was, however, thought desirable 
 that no division of their numbers should take place 
 until the vessel, which had been commenced building 
 soon after the return from Port Jackson, should be 
 finished, and the works prepared for the press were 
 printed. 
 
 As soon as these objects were accomplished, we pre¬ 
 pared to remove to the island of Huahine, the most 
 windward of the group properly called the Society 
 Islands. This name was given to the cluster (which 
 includes Sir Charles Sander’s Island, Huahine, Raiatea, 
 Tahaa, Borabora, Maupiti or Maurua, Tubai, and the 
 small islets surrounding them,) by Captain Cook, in 
 honour of the Royal Society, at whose recommenda¬ 
 tion the voyages to the South Seas, which led to their 
 discovery, were undertaken. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 411 
 
 The king, and many of the chiefs of Tahiti and Eimeo, 
 appeared to lament the removal of the press; but as 
 Mr. Bourne, who was acquainted with the art of print¬ 
 ing, had a small press and types, and others had been 
 requested from England, it was the less to be regretted. 
 The principal object attempted in the establishment of 
 a station at Afareaitu having been accomplished, we 
 left our houses and gardens, and took a most affec¬ 
 tionate leave of our friends, who evinced great regret 
 at our departure. 
 
 The season we had spent with them had been to us a 
 period of no ordinary activity and excitement, and 
 would probably be regarded by them as forming an 
 era in their history. We trust some advantage was 
 derived from the instructions they had received; and 
 we have every reason to remember, with gratitude and 
 satisfaction, the hospitality and kindness we experienced. 
 Once a week, the people of Maatea, a neighbouring 
 district, brought our family a present of bread-fruit, 
 and other articles of food; the inhabitants of Afareaitu, 
 and the district of Teavaro, took a similar one to our 
 companions. We reposed the most entire confidence 
 in the people, and had no reason to regret even the 
 exposure of our property. We were robbed by an 
 English servant, whom we had taken from Port Jack- 
 son, of linen and clothing; but, although we had no 
 lock, and for a long time no bolt on our door, (which, when 
 fastened, a native could at any time have opened, by 
 putting his hand through the sticks and pushing back 
 the bolt,) and though sometimes the door was left open 
 all night,—yet we do not know that one single article 
 was stolen from us by the natives, during the eighteen 
 months we resided among them. 
 
412 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 I have visited the district only once since; and 
 although welcomed with every expression of pleasure 
 by the people* I experienced a sensation of melancholy 
 interest* in walking over the garden* the fences of 
 which had been taken down* and a few flourishing 
 shrubs only remained* to mark its original situation. 
 Most of the valuable plants had been removed by the 
 people to their own gardens* as the spot selected by me 
 was not one which they would have preferred. A few 
 cocoa-nuts which I had planted near the printing-office 
 appeared to thrive* as they were protected by a light 
 fence round each of the trees. 
 
 The vessel came round* took our goods* and the 
 articles belonging to the printing-office* &c.* on board, 
 and proceeded to Papetoai* where we shipped our cattle. 
 On the eighteenth of June* 1818* Mr. Davies* Mr. and 
 Mrs. Williams* Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond* Mrs. Ellis* and 
 myself* accompanied by a number of the principal chiefs* 
 sailed from Eimeo to the Leeward Islands. We arrived 
 at Huahine late on the evening of the following day* 
 and some of our party went on shore* but it was not till 
 the morning of the 20th that we reached the anchor¬ 
 age in Fare harbour. 
 
 Here I looked abroad with new and mingled emo¬ 
 tions on the scene in which I was to commence 
 my labours* and probably to spend the remainder 
 of my life. The clear sky was reflected in the unruffled 
 waters of the bay* which was bordered with a fine beach 
 strewed with various shells. The luxuriant convolvulus* 
 presenting its broad and shining leaves in striking 
 contrast with the white coral and sand* spread its vines 
 across the beach* even to the margin of the water* over 
 which the slender shrub or the flowering tree often 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 413 
 
 extended their verdant branches* while the groves of 
 stately bread-fruit* and the clumps of umbrageous callo- 
 phyllum , or tamanu trees* and the tall and gracefully wav¬ 
 ing cocoa-nuts* shaded the different parts of the shore. 
 
 The district of Fa-re, bordering the harbour of the 
 same name* is about a mile and a half* or two miles* in 
 length* and reaches from the shore to the centre of 
 the island. It is bounded on the south by a range of 
 mountains separating it from the district of Haapape* 
 and on the north by the small district of Buaoa* whence a 
 long* bleak point of land* called the Faaao * extending a 
 considerable distance into the sea* and covered with tall 
 cocoa-nut trees* adds much to the beauty of the shore* 
 and the security of the harbour. A ridge of inferior 
 hills divides the district in the centre* and it greatly 
 increases the picturesque appearance of its scenery. A 
 small river rises on the northern side of this ridge* and* 
 flowing along the boundary between the two districts* 
 meets the sea exactly opposite the northern entrance. 
 Another stream* more broad and rapid* rises at the head 
 of the principal valley* and flows in a circuitous 
 course to the southern part of the bay. The district is 
 well watered and wooded. The lower hills* at the time 
 of our arrival* were clothed with verdure* and the 
 mountains in the centre of the island* whose summits 
 appeared to penetrate the clouds* were often entirely 
 covered with trees. All was rich and luxuriant in 
 vegetation* but it was the richness and the luxuriance 
 of a wilderness ; scarcely a trace of human culture 
 could be seen* yet I could but think the scene 
 “ How fair, 
 
 Were it but from sin refined : 
 
 Man how free, how happy here, 
 
 Were he pure as God is kind.” 
 
414 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 A few native houses were visible: there were not 
 probably more than ten or twelve in the district, and 
 the inhabitants might be occasionally seen guiding the 
 light canoe across the bay, or leisurely walking beneath 
 the grateful shade of the spreading trees. They were 
 the rude untutored tenants of the place; their appearance 
 and their actions were in perfect keeping with the scenes 
 of wildness by which they were surrounded. The 
 only clothing most of them wore was a girdle of cloth 
 bound loosely round the waist, and a shade of cocoa- 
 nut leaves over their foreheads. Notwithstanding this, 
 it was impossible to behold without emotion either 
 the scenery or the inhabitants. 
 
 The accompanying Plate exhibits an accurate repre¬ 
 sentation of the outline and character of the scenery in 
 the north-eastern parts of the district and harbour, 
 although it was taken at a period subsequent to our 
 arrival, when the landscape had been improved by partially 
 clearing the ground near the shore, and erecting a num¬ 
 ber of houses. 
 
 In the forenoon of the day after we came to anchor, 
 accompanied by Matapuupuu, we walked through the 
 district, in search of a housa for Mr. Orsmond and myself, 
 and at length selected one on the southern side of the bay; 
 belonging to Taaroarii, the young chief of the island, 
 while Mr. and Mrs. Williams were accommodated with 
 another belonging to Maau, a raatira, who resided near 
 the anchorage. Towards noon, our goods were most of 
 them landed, and taken into our new habitation. It was 
 a large oval building, standing within ten or twelve 
 yards of the sea, without either partitions or even sides, 
 consisting simply of a large roof, supported by three 
 pillars along the centre, and a number round the sides. 
 

 
 
 '*• ,. 
 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 415 
 
 The floor was composed of stones, sand, and clay. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond occupied one end, and we took 
 up our abode in the other. 
 
 When our goods, &c. were all brought under its cover, 
 and the boats had returned to the ship, we sat down to 
 rest, and could not avoid gazing on the scenes around 
 us, before we began to adjust our luggage. Large 
 fragments of rock were scattered at the base of the 
 mountains that rose on one side of our dwelling, the 
 sea rolled within a few yards on the other, and in each 
 direction along the shore there was one wild and uncul¬ 
 tivated wilderness. A pair of cattle that we had brought 
 from New South Wales, with a young calf, all of which 
 had been landed from the ship during the morning, 
 were tied to an adjacent bread-fruit tree ; two or three 
 milch goats from Eimeo, fastened together by bands 
 of hibiscus bark tied round their horns, had already 
 taken their station on the craggy projections at the 
 foot of the mountain, and were cropping the herbage 
 that grew in the fissures of the rocks. One of our 
 little ones was smiling in the lap of its native nurse, 
 while the other was playing on the dried grass lying 
 by the side of the boxes on which we were sitting, 
 and the natives, under the full influence of highly ex¬ 
 cited curiosity thronged around us in such numbers 
 as to impede the circulation of the air. 
 
 Our first effort was to prepare some refreshment. 
 The chiefs had sent us a present of bread-fruit and 
 fish. A native youth, fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 leaving the crowd, came forward, and asked if he should 
 cook us some bread-fruit. We accepted his offer; he 
 became a faithful servant, and continued with us till we 
 removed from the islands. He fixed two large stones 
 
416 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 in the ground for a fire-place, and, bringing a bundle 
 of dry sticks from the adjacent bushes, lighted a fire 
 between the stones, upon which he placed the tea-kettle. 
 While he was employed in dressing our bread-fruit, &c. 
 we removed some of the boxes, piled up our luggage 
 as compactly as we could, and, when the food was 
 prepared, sat down to a pleasant repast of fried fish, 
 bread-fruit, and plantains, cocoa-nut milk, and tea. 
 As a beverage, we always preferred the latter, although 
 the former is exceedingly pleasant. 
 
 The large island of Raiatea lies immediately to 
 the west of Fare harbour, and, by the time we had 
 finished our meal, the sun was partly hid behind the 
 high and broken summits of its mountains. This 
 admonished us to prepare our sleeping-place, as 
 the twilight is short, and we were not sure of pro¬ 
 curing lights for the evening. The natives cut 
 down four stout sticks from the neighbouring trees; 
 these we fixed in the earthen floor, and fastening sheets 
 and native cloth from one to the other, enclosed our 
 bed-room; a couple of chests were carried into it, upon 
 which we spread our bed, making up one for the chil¬ 
 dren, by the side of our own, on some packages that lay 
 on the floor. We procured cocoa-nut oil, and when it 
 grew dark, breaking a cocoa-nut in half, took one end, 
 and winding a little cotton-wool round the thin stalk 
 of the leaflet of the tree, fixed it erect in the kernel of 
 the nut. This we filled with the oil, and thus our lamp 
 and oil were entirely the production of the cocoa-nut 
 tree ; the small piece of cotton-wick gathered from the 
 garden in Eimeo, being the only article it had not 
 supplied. These were the only kind of lamps we had 
 for some years, and, though rude in appearance. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 417 
 
 gave a good light, when kept steady, and sheltered from 
 the wind. Shortly, however, after sunset this evening, 
 the land-breeze came down from the mountains. 
 As we had no shelter for our lamp, we found it 
 difficult to keep it burning, and at an early hour 
 retired to rest, tying our screen down with strips of 
 bark, to prevent its being blown aside by the wind. 
 Notwithstanding the novelty of our situation, the 
 exposure to the air from the mountains, the roaring 
 of the heavy surf on the reefs, the inroads of dogs, pigs, 
 and natives, with no other shelter than a pile of boxes; 
 we passed a comfortable night, and rose refreshed in 
 the morning, thankful for the kind protection we had 
 experienced, gratified also to find that no article of 
 our property had been stolen, though all was unavoid¬ 
 ably exposed. 
 
 The vessel that had conveyed us from Eimeo to 
 Huahine, and in the building of which the Missionaries 
 were engaged when we arrived, had been undertaken 
 jointly by them and the king, at the recommendation 
 of the Governor of New South Wales, and the Rev„ 
 S. Marsden. The king proposed to find materials, and 
 the Missionaries labour. By this means they hoped 
 they might be enabled to instil into the minds of the 
 natives a spirit of enterprise, and induce them to de¬ 
 sire to build ships for themselves. It was intended 
 to employ the vessel in the pearl-fishery, among the 
 Paumotu Islands to the eastward; to work her with 
 native seamen; to take the pearls, and mother-of-pearl 
 shell, to Port Jackson; bringing from that settlement 
 tools, cutlery, and manufactured goods for the natives, 
 and supplies for the Mission; thus proving, at the same 
 time, a means of stimulating the people to habits of 
 
 3 H 
 
418 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 industry, and defraying to a certain degree the expenses 
 of the Mission. Such were the views with which the 
 building of the vessel was undertaken; but circumstances 
 had arisen since that time, which left but little hope 
 that these ends would ever be answered. The work was, 
 however, already so far advanced, that all parties were 
 unwilling to abandon it. 
 
 The vessel was about seventy tons burden, and the 
 hull was nearly completed. The Missionaries who had 
 arrived undertook to complete what their predecessors 
 had commenced; and although it was an undertaking 
 of great labour, it was ready to be launched in a few 
 weeks after they had landed. 
 
 The 7th of December, 1817* being the day fixed 
 for the launch, crowds of the inhabitants assembled 
 to witness the spectacle: when the preparations were 
 completed, the wedges were removed; but as the vessel 
 did not move, strong ropes were passed round her stern, 
 and a number of the natives on each side began pulling 
 her towards the water. Pomare was present, and 
 exerted all his influence to stimulate the natives em¬ 
 ployed in launching the ship. One of the king’s 
 orators, a short, plump, round-faced man, about fifty 
 years of age, was perched upon a projecting rock by 
 the sea-side, vociferating one of their ubus , or songs, 
 on the launching of their own large canoes, suiting 
 the action to the word, and using at times the most 
 violent gesticulations, as if he imagined his own muscular 
 powers alone were to move the vessel. They have a 
 number of these kind of songs, some of considerable 
 length, which I have at different times written down. 
 They were designed to stimulate the men who were 
 drawing the canoes into the water. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 419 
 
 The natives employed in this work generally laid 
 down on the beach short logs of the cylindrical trunk 
 of the cocoa-nut tree, and drew the canoes over these 
 natural rollers into the sea. Some of these songs were 
 very short, as “ Iriti i mua , iriti i muri , e to, e to tau 
 vaa ie Lift up the stem, lift up the stern, and pull, and 
 pull, my strong canoe. The song employed on the 
 present occasion appeared rather a long one: I tried to 
 comprehend its import, but, notwithstanding all the 
 vociferation of the orator, it was recited with such 
 rapidity, and there was so much din and clamour among 
 the people, who on such occasions only put forth their 
 strength in proportion to the noise which they make, 
 that I could only now and then distinguish the word pahi , 
 a large canoe or ship. Had I been able to hear more 
 distinctly, it is probable that at that time I should not 
 have understood the bard, as many words not in com¬ 
 mon use are found in their songs. 
 
 At length the vessel moved towards the sea, amid 
 the shouts of the assembled multitudes. Before, how¬ 
 ever, she fairly floated, an accident occurred, which 
 threw a damp over the spirits of all present. As she 
 glided smoothly along towards the water, Pomare, who 
 had stationed himself by the sea-side for the purpose, 
 gave the vessel her name, by throwing a bottle of wine 
 at her, and exclaiming, la ora na oe e Haweis, Prosperity 
 to you, O Haweis. It having been agreed to designate 
 the first vessel of any size built in the islands The Haweis, 
 in honour of the late Dr. Haweis, who was the steady 
 friend of the South Sea Mission, and in some respects 
 may be said to have been its founder. 
 
 The circumstance of the king’s throwing the wine 
 at the ship, the breaking of the bottle, the red wine 
 
420 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 spreading abroad, and pieces of glass bottle flying 
 in every direction, startled the natives who were pull¬ 
 ing the ropes on that side of the vessel. They im¬ 
 mediately left hold of the ropes, and stood gazing in 
 astonishment alternately at the king, and the place 
 against which the bottle had been thrown. Those 
 on the opposite side continued pulling with all their 
 might, and soon drew the vessel on one side, till she 
 fell. One simultaneous cry, Aue te pahi e , Alas, the 
 ship! or Oh, the ship ! resounded in every direction, and 
 the king seemed to think she would never be launched. 
 With great effort she was replaced, during the same 
 afternoon, in an upright position, and subsequently 
 launched upon the bosom of the Pacific, amid the exult¬ 
 ing shouts of the multitudes who thronged the shores. 
 
 The Haweis was afterwards rigged, and employed in 
 conveying the Missionary families to their respective 
 stations ; after which she made one or two very profit¬ 
 less voyages to New South Wales. On account of the 
 heavy expenses attending every voyage, although it 
 was of great importance to maintain regular inter¬ 
 course between the respective stations, and between the 
 islands and the colony, it was found necessary to dis¬ 
 pose of the ship, which had been built with so much cost 
 and labour ; she was sold in New South Wales, and 
 is now employed in trading between Port Jackson and 
 Van Diemen’s Land. 
 
 Although finishing the vessel, and printing, required 
 the greater number of the Missionaries to continue in 
 Eimeo, these duties did not detain the whole, but left 
 several at liberty to extend, in some degree, their 
 efforts. Matavai, the original Missionary station, 
 was the first that was re-occupied. Mr. Wilson, one 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 421 
 
 of the Missionaries who first landed from the Royal 
 Admiral in 1801, resumed his labours here in the early 
 part of 1818, within a quarter of a mile of the spot from 
 which he had been obliged to fly when the Mission was 
 broken up in the close of the year 1809, and not far from 
 the place where Mr. Lewis was murdered. 
 
 Mr. Bicknell, accompanied by Mr. Tessier, formed a 
 station under the auspices of Tati, in the populous 
 district of Papara. A new station was also commenced 
 by Mr. Crook and Mr. Bourne at Papaoa, in the district 
 of Faa; and when the Haweis was finished, Mr. Darling 
 joined Mr. Wilson at Matavai. At the urgent request 
 of Utami, the chief of the populous district of Atehuru, 
 he subsequently commenced a Mission among his people 
 at Bunaauia or Burdens Point, whither Mr. Bourne also 
 repaired. 
 
 The two stations at Eimeo being on opposite sides 
 of the island, occasioned us frequent journeys from 
 Afareaitu to Papetoai. These excursions, although they 
 gave us an opportunity of examining more extensively 
 the aspect of the country and the state of its inhabitants, 
 often proved fatiguing. Sometimes we walked along 
 the beach to Papeare, several miles to the north of our 
 abode—ascended a low ridge of mountains, extending 
 nearly to the sea—crossed the elevated eastern range— 
 and extending through the defiles and ravines of the 
 interior mountains, descended on the opposite side of 
 the island, and approached the shore near the inland 
 boundary of Opunohu bay. At other times, we tra¬ 
 velled round in the neighbourhood of the shore, alter¬ 
 nately walking on the beach, or, proceeding in a light 
 canoe, paddled along the shallow water near the shore. 
 Occasionally we passed through the inland village of 
 
422 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Tamae; and although, whenever we took this route, 
 we had to walk three - quarters of a mile along the 
 margin of the lake, up to our knees in water, yet we 
 have always been amply repaid, by beholding the 
 neatness of the gardens, and the sequestered peace of 
 the village, by experiencing the generous hospitality, and 
 receiving unequivocal proofs of the simple piety of its 
 inhabitants. Once or twice, when approaching Tamae 
 about sunrise, we have met the natives returning from 
 the bushes, whither, by the break of day, they had 
 retired for meditation and secret prayer. Their counte¬ 
 nance beamed with peace and delight; and, Ia ora oe ia 
 IesUy Ia ora oe i te Atua —Peace to you from Jesus, 
 Blessing on you from God—was the general strain of 
 their salutation. 
 
 More than once we had to take our little boy, even 
 before he was three months old, from Afareaitu, where 
 he was born, to Papetoai, for medical advice. 
 
 These journeys were exceedingly wearisome: return¬ 
 ing from one of them, night overtook us many miles 
 before we reached our home; we travelled part of 
 the way in a single canoe, but for several miles, where 
 there was no passage between the reef and the shore, 
 and the fragile bark was exposed without shelter to the 
 long heavy billows of the Pacific, we proceeded along 
 the beach, while the natives rowed the canoe upon the 
 open sea. Two native female attendants alternately 
 carried the child, while Mrs. Ellis and I walked on 
 the shore, occasionally climbing over the rocks, or sink¬ 
 ing up to our ankles in fragments of coral and sand. 
 Wearied with our walk, we were obliged to rest before 
 we reached the place where we expected to embark again. 
 Mrs. Ellis, unable to walk any further, sat down upon a 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 423 
 
 rock of coral, and gave our infant the breast, while I 
 hailed the natives, and directed them to bring the canoe 
 over the reef, and take us on board. Happily for us, the 
 evening was fair, the moon shone brightly, and her mild 
 beams, silvering the foliage of the shrubs that grew near 
 the shore, and playing on the rippled and undulating 
 wave of the ocean, added a charm to the singularity of 
 the prospect, and enlivened the loneliness of our situa¬ 
 tion. The scene was unusually impressive. I remember 
 distinctly my feelings as I stood, wearied with my walk, 
 leaning on a light staff by the side of the rock on 
 which Mrs. Ellis with our infant was sitting, and behind 
 which our female attendants stood. On one side the 
 mountains of the interior, having their outline edged, 
 as it were with silver, from the rays of the moon, rose 
 in lofty magnificence, while the indistinct form, rich 
 and diversified verdure, of the shrubs and trees, increased 
 the effect of the whole. On the other hand was the 
 illimitable sea, rolling in solemn majesty its swelling 
 waves over the rocks which defended the spot on which 
 we stood. The most profound silence pervaded the whole 
 scene, and we might have fancied that we were the only 
 beings in existence, for no sound was heard, excepting the 
 gentle rustling of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree, as the 
 light breeze from the mountain swept through them, or 
 the loud hollow roar of the surf, and the rolling of the 
 foaming wave, as it broke over the distant reef, and the 
 splashing of the paddle of our canoe, as it approached 
 the shore. It was impossible, at such a season, 
 to behold this scene, exhibiting impressively the 
 grandeur of creation, and the insignificance of man, 
 without experiencing emotions of adoring wonder and 
 elevated devotion, and exclaiming with the psalmist. 
 
424 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, 
 the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what 
 is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
 man, that thou visitest him ?” 
 
 The canoe at length reached the shore 5 we seated 
 ourselves in its stern, and, advancing pleasantly along 
 for seven or eight miles, reached our habitation about 
 midnight. 
 
 The island of Huahine had, in common with the 
 others forming the leeward group, been visited by 
 Mr. Nott, who had travelled round it, preaching 
 to the inhabitants of the principal villages. The 
 Missionaries who had been expelled from Tahiti, had 
 remained here some months prior to their final depar¬ 
 ture for Port Jackson; but at these periods only a 
 temporary impression had been made upon the minds 
 of the people, which had in a great degree, if not alto¬ 
 gether, subsided. After the abolition of idolatry in Tahiti 
 and Eimeo, and the subsequent adoption of Christianity 
 by their inhabitants, Mahine, the king of Huahine, 
 had sent down Vahaivi, one of his principal men, with 
 directions to the chiefs to burn the idols, demolish the 
 temples, and discontinue the ceremonies and worship 
 connected therewith. This commission was exe¬ 
 cuted, and not only were their objects of worship 
 destroyed, their temples thrown down, the houses of 
 their idols consumed, and idol-worship no longer prac¬ 
 tised ; but the rude stills employed in preparing ardent 
 spirits from the sugarcane, and other indigenous pro¬ 
 ductions, were either broken, or hid under ground. 
 Intoxication, infant murder, and some of the more 
 degrading vices, indulged under the sanction of their 
 superstition, were also discontinued. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 425 
 
 This change, although approved and effected by the 
 principal chiefs on the islands, in conjunction with 
 the messenger of the king, was nevertheless opposed. 
 Several chiefs, of inferior influence, collecting their depen¬ 
 dents, encamped on the borders of the lake near Maeva, 
 and threatened to avenge the insult to the gods, by at¬ 
 tacking the chiefs who had sanctioned their destruction. 
 Both parties, however, after assuming a hostile attitude 
 for some time, adjusted their differences, and returned 
 in peace to their respective districts, mutually agree¬ 
 ing to embrace Christianity, and wait the arrival of 
 the Missionaries, whose residence among them they 
 had been led to expect. In this state we found them 
 when we landed ; they had, with the exception of one 
 or two individuals, forsaken idolatry, and, in profession 
 at least, had become Christians; probably without 
 understanding the nature of Christianity, or feel¬ 
 ing in any great degree its moral restraints or its 
 sacred influence. A few, including two or three who 
 had been to Eimeo, had acquired the elements of reading, 
 or had learned to repeat the lessons in the spelling- 
 book, more from memory than acquaintance with 
 spelling and reading; the rest were nearly in the same 
 state in which they were when visited in 1808 and 
 1809, excepting that their superstitious ceremonies 
 were discontinued, and they had a building for the wor¬ 
 ship of the true God. 
 
 For a number of Sabbaths after our arrival, but few of 
 the inhabitants assembled for public worship, and the 
 schools were very thinly attended. Those who came 
 were so little acquainted with the gospel, that in the 
 lessons given in the school, and the addresses delivered 
 to assemblies met for worship, it was found necessary to 
 
 3 i 
 
426 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 begin with the first principles of instruction* and of 
 Christianity. Numbers excused themselves from 
 attending^ on account of the wearisomeness of learning 
 their letters* when there was every reason to believe 
 that unwillingness to conform to the precepts incul¬ 
 cated* was the true cause of their disinclination. They 
 usually neglected public worship* because they said they 
 did not know how to read; this being considered a 
 sufficient apology for the non-observance of the Sabbath* 
 or the social duties of religion. Such neglect was also 
 frequently used as a cover for their vices. When 
 spoken to on the impropriety of their conduct* they 
 would sometimes answer* “We are not scholars*” or, 
 “We are not praying peoplethese being the terms 
 employed to designate those who made a profession 
 of religion. Many were induced to keep back from the 
 schools* and the place of public worship* from a desire to 
 remain free from those restraints on their vicious prac¬ 
 tices* which such profession of Christianity was con¬ 
 sidered to impose. 
 
 Under these circumstances we acted upon the prin¬ 
 ciples by which our predecessors had invariably regu¬ 
 lated their endeavours to teach the inhabitants of Tahiti 
 and Eimeo; and respecting which* after careful obser¬ 
 vation* I believe we are unanimous in our convic¬ 
 tion that they are the true principles upon which any 
 attempts to instruct a rude untutored people can be pro¬ 
 secuted with a prospect of the greatest ultimate success. 
 We made no presents to those who were our scholars* 
 more than to others from whom we had experienced an 
 equal degree of hospitality ; we offered no reward to any 
 one for learning* and held out no prospect of personal 
 or temporal advantage to our pupils and hearers; and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 427 
 
 studiously avoided presenting any other inducements to 
 learn* than the advantages that would be secured to 
 our scholars themselves* by the possession of that 
 knowledge* which we were not only willing but desirous 
 to impart. At the same time we were most anxious, 
 distinctly and powerfully to impress on their minds the 
 desirableness and necessity of their possessing correct 
 ideas of the true God—the means of seeking his favour 
 —the happiness that would result therefrom in the 
 present life* and in that state of existence after death* 
 to which this was but preparative—together with the vast 
 increase of knowledge and enjoyment that would attend 
 their being able to read the printed books*—preserve 
 whatever they heard that was valuable* by making it 
 fast upon the paper*—and corresponding by letter with 
 their friends at a distance* as familiarly and distinctly as 
 if they were present. By representations such as these, 
 we endeavoured to excite in their minds a desire to 
 hear the Scriptures read* and the Gospel preached* 
 in the chapels* and to attend our instructions in the 
 schools. 
 
 Had our means been ample* and had we* on landing* 
 or when inviting the attention of the chiefs and people 
 to the objects of our proposed residence among them* 
 liberally distributed presents of cloth* ironmongery* &c. 
 or even engaged in part to support the children that 
 would receive our lessons* the chapel would undoubtedly 
 have been well attended* and the scholars proportionably 
 multiplied; but then it would have been only from the 
 desire to receive a constant supply of such presents—a 
 motive highly prejudicial to the individuals by whom 
 it would have been indulged* destructive of the com¬ 
 fort* and disastrous to the future labours* of the Mis- 
 
428 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sionary among them. So long as our distributions had 
 been frequent and increasingly valuable, the expressions 
 of attachment would have b en ardent, and the attend¬ 
 ance regular; but when these had failed, their zeal, &c. 
 would have declined, and the chapel and the school 
 would have been deserted. In addition to this, when¬ 
 ever a fresh supply of articles, for our own mainte¬ 
 nance or use, might have arrived, if we had not been 
 equally liberal in the distribution of our presents, we 
 should have been unhesitatingly charged with keeping 
 for ourselves that which was designed for them, and 
 thus have been involved in most unpleasant altercation. 
 
 The plans of procedure, in the commencement of a new 
 Mission, must necessarily be regulated in a great degree 
 by the circumstances of the people among whom it may 
 be established; and the extreme poverty, or fugitive 
 habits, of the parents, may render it desirable for the 
 teachers either wholly or in part to maintain the 
 scholars, - order to secure attendance. These instances 
 are I believe very rare, and absolute necessity alone 
 can warrant recourse to such a plan. Instruction itself 
 will be undervalued; it can never be attempted but on a 
 very limited scale, and will be always liable to vexatious 
 interruptions. A system of maintenance should only 
 be adopted in regard to such pupils as it is hoped are 
 under religious impressions, or are training with a view 
 to their becoming monitors or schoolmasters themselves. 
 In those parts of the world where the scholars could not 
 be supported while at the schools, it would be better 
 for them to devote a portion of their time to such em¬ 
 ployment as would enable them to procure the means 
 of subsistence themselves, than that they should receive 
 their maintenance from the Mission. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 429 
 
 These remarks apply principally to the commence¬ 
 ment of a Mission among an unenlightened people, 
 where a school will be an essential part of such esta¬ 
 blishment ; at subsequent periods, rewards to those who 
 have excelled, consisting of books, penknives, inkstands, 
 slates, or other articles connected with the pursuits of the 
 school, may be given with a good effect, tending rather 
 to stimulate to diligent enterprise, than to cherish a spirit 
 of dependent indolence. 
 
 In reference to presents made by Missionaries to 
 chiefs, on their first settlement among an unenlightened 
 people, I am disposed to think they are always in¬ 
 jurious, when given with a view of gaining influence, 
 or inducing their recipients to attend to religious in¬ 
 struction. Self-interest, or a desire for property, is 
 the principle upon which the intercourse uncivilized 
 persons have with foreigners visiting their country for 
 purposes of commerce, &c. is regulated; the estima¬ 
 tion in which such individuals are usually held, and 
 the influence they exercise, is generally proportioned 
 to the extent of their property, or the portions of it 
 which the natives receive. Not a few instances have 
 occurred among the islands of the Pacific, in which in¬ 
 dividuals, who, while their presents were unsparingly 
 lavished upon the people, were regarded as kings 
 and chiefs among them, but who, when they have ex¬ 
 perienced a reverse in their circumstances, have been 
 treated with marked and contemptuous neglect. An 
 equal degree of this kind of influence, the means of the 
 Missionary will never enable him to gain among the peo¬ 
 ple, nor ought he for a moment to desire it. Discourag¬ 
 ing indeed will be his prospects, if the estimation in 
 which he is held by those among whom he labours be 
 
430 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 only that which arises from their expectation of the pre¬ 
 sents he may make them. His influence must be of 
 another and a higher order, if he desires to succeed. 
 
 The effect of a present on the mind of a rude or 
 partially civilized chieftain is instantaneous, but requires 
 constant repetition, or increase, to prevent its decline. 
 The influence which a Missionary will aim to possess 
 is more difficult to attain; but when once possessed, is of 
 exceedingly greater value. It is the result of a convic¬ 
 tion in the minds of the people, that his ultimate aim is 
 their welfare; that he comes among them to promote, 
 not his own, but their interest; and that his efforts tend 
 to increase their knowledge and their enjoyments, and 
 are adapted to put them in possession of the means of 
 multiplying their comforts in this life, and leading them 
 to future blessedness. 
 
 To produce and sustain this conviction in the minds 
 of the people around him, should be one of the first and 
 the constant endeavours of a Missionary. Until he has 
 effected this, he can expect but little success; and when 
 once, under the blessing of God, it is attained, one of the 
 greatest difficulties in his way will be removed. This 
 influence is not to be obtained by presents; these, the 
 most rude and untutored heathen know, are seldom 
 given unless an equivalent is expected in return; but 
 it is to be gained by a full, plain, and explicit state¬ 
 ment of his objects in the commencement of his work, 
 and a uniform reference, in all his subsequent conduct, to 
 the advancement of these objects. Uncivilized communi¬ 
 ties are often most shrewd observers of the conduct of 
 those who enter their society, and pay far more regard 
 to the actions and dispositions, than the mere declara¬ 
 tions, of strangers. Singleness of aim, and purity of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 431 
 
 motive* embodied* before such observers* in undeviating 
 and disinterested efforts* will in general be appreciated, 
 although they may not soon yield themselves up to the 
 influence of those efforts. 
 
 One of the most effectual means of implanting 
 and preserving this impression* is the exhibition of 
 uniform benevolence. The office and the aim of 
 every Missionary require the exercise of this dis¬ 
 position in the highest degree; and he who would 
 be successful* should by this identify himself* as far 
 as possible* with the objects of his regard. Without 
 officiously interfering with their individual or family 
 affairs* he should interest himself in their welfare* and 
 strive to share and alleviate their distress. Besides 
 the deep commiseration* which their spiritual wretch¬ 
 edness will excite* he will often find their temporal 
 afflictions and sorrows such* as to claim his tenderest 
 sympathy. “ Kindness is the key to the human heart*” 
 when the spirit is softened or subdued under the 
 influence of sufferings* it is often most suscepti¬ 
 ble of salutary impression; and the exercise of Chris¬ 
 tian sympathy and kindness* in such a season* will 
 seldom fail to produce* even among the most bar¬ 
 barous tribes* highly favourable results. 
 
 In mere casual visits* or journeys through the coun¬ 
 tries of uncivilized tribes* presents to their chiefs are 
 necessary* and often desirable* even where a Missionary 
 is a permanent resident; but they should always be 
 given as a token of friendship and personal respect 
 from the Missionary* or of good-will from some friends 
 by whom they may have been sent* and not as a 
 means of obtaining influence* or inducing the people 
 to attend to instruction. 
 
432 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 Arrivals in Huahine—Support of the Mission—Formation of the Tahi¬ 
 tian Missionary Society—Place of meeting—Speech of the king-- 
 Formation of a Society in Huahine—Establishment of the Mission in 
 Raiatea—Description of the district of Fare—Erection of dwellings 
 —Preaching in the native language—Indolence of the South Sea 
 Islanders—Means adopted for the encouragement of industry—Cotton 
 plantation—Disappointment in returns—Arrival of Mr. Gyles—Intro¬ 
 duction of the art of making sugar, &c.—Visit to Tahiti—Sugar 
 plantations and mills in the Leeward Islands—Introduction of 
 coffee from Norfolk Island—Culture and preparation of tobacco for 
 exportation. 
 
 Shortly after our arrival in Huahine, a large boat be¬ 
 longing to Mahine, the chief of the island, two others be¬ 
 longing to Messrs. Orsmond and Williams, and a fleet 
 of canoes, brought down from Eimeo a number of chiefs 
 and people belonging to Huahine, Raiatea, &c. They 
 had gone to Tahiti some years before, for the purpose 
 of assisting Pomare in the resumption of his authority, 
 had witnessed and participated the change that had taken 
 place, and had afterwards prolonged their residence, in 
 order to enjoy the advantages of instructtion, until a 
 Mission should be established in their native islands. 
 Their arrival was welcomed with the liveliest satisfaction, 
 and we were happy to receive their countenance and co¬ 
 operation in the prosecution of our work. An excite¬ 
 ment, highly beneficial in its tendency, was awakened in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 433 
 
 the minds of the people; who, influenced by the ex¬ 
 ample and advice of their friends from Eimeo, at¬ 
 tended in great numbers daily at the schools, and were 
 seen in the chapel, not only on the Sabbath, but when¬ 
 ever it was open for public worship. Numerous appli¬ 
 cations were also made for spelling-books, of which, 
 with others of an elementary kind, a supply had been 
 printed in Eimeo. 
 
 When the whole of the Missionaries reached Huahine, 
 it was proposed in the first instance to form only one 
 station in the Leeward Islands ; and that those of us who 
 had but recently arrived from England, should unitedly 
 prosecute the study of the language, with such assistance 
 as Messrs. Davies and Nott could render us, until we 
 should be able to perform divine service among the people, 
 and conduct the affairs of a distinct station. The acqui¬ 
 sition of the language engaged our constant attention; 
 and we not only devoted some hours every day to its 
 study, but met together two or three times a week to 
 receive instruction, and facilitate our improvement. 
 
 We had not been many weeks at Fare before Ta- 
 matoa the king of Raiatea, with his brother, and a 
 number of chiefs from Raiatea, Tahaa, and Borabora 
 arrived. They were exceedingly anxious that some 
 of our number should at once remove to their islands. 
 Mai, the king or chief of Borabora, who was also 
 at Huahine, had before written to the Missionaries, 
 reminding them that Jesus Christ and his apostlfes did 
 not confine themselves to one place, but visited different 
 parts, that as many as could might receive their in¬ 
 structions. The necessities of the people were so 
 very obvious, the prospects of usefulness so extensive, 
 and the request of the chiefs so urgent, that, although 
 
 3k 
 
434 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 unwilling to be deprived of the assistance of their 
 seniors, in the acquisition of the language, Mr. Wil¬ 
 liams and Mr. Threlkeld felt it to be their duty to 
 accompany Tamatoa, and the chiefs who were with him, 
 to the island of Raiatea. They purposed to attempt 
 their civilization, the establishment of schools, and, with 
 the assistance of pious and intelligent natives, their 
 instruction in the use of letters, and the first principles 
 of religion; while they were cultivating such an ac¬ 
 quaintance with the language as would enable them 
 more fully to unfold the great objects of their Mis¬ 
 sion. They represented distinctly the disadvantages 
 under which they should commence public instruction, 
 from their very partial knowledge of the language; 
 but the chiefs always replied, “ Never mind that, you 
 possess enough now to teach us more than we know, 
 and we will make it our business to teach you our lan¬ 
 guage.” The visitors from Raiatea were supported in 
 their application by a number of chiefs belonging to the 
 same island ; who, after residing some years in Eimeo, 
 had now removed to Huahine, and were desirous of 
 returning to their own possessions in Raiatea and 
 Tahaa, yet did not wish to go unaccompanied by some 
 of those, from whose instruction they had derived so 
 much advantage. 
 
 It was always a matter of regret with the Missionaries, 
 that the expenses of the establishment in the islands 
 should be sustained altogether by the parent Society; 
 and in order to diminish this, they had from time to 
 time disposed of the fruits of their own industry, to 
 the captains of vessels touching at Tahiti; or they 
 had sent small quantities to New South Wales, receiv¬ 
 ing, in return, such articles as they were most in need 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 435 
 
 of. The greater portion of the inhabitants having now 
 embraced Christianity, they availed themselves of what 
 appeared to them the most suitable means for impressing 
 the minds of the converts with the principle laid down 
 in the Scriptures, that it is the duty of those who enjoy 
 the gospel, not only to maintain, but also to extend it. 
 It appeared to them that both these ends might be 
 answered most appropriately and effectually, by estab¬ 
 lishing among the natives a Missionary Society, auxi¬ 
 liary to the London Society, rather than by calling 
 upon them, immediately after their conversion, to sup¬ 
 port the teachers labouring among them. Such a 
 measure might, while they were but partially acquainted 
 with the true nature and design of Christianity, have in¬ 
 duced some, who were perhaps halting between two 
 opinions, to infer that the Missionaries were influenced 
 by motives of pecuniary advantage, in their endeavours 
 to induce them to receive Christian instruction. 
 
 The inhabitants of the islands knew that many of the 
 supplies which the families from time to time received, 
 were sent by their friends in England, and procured by 
 the voluntary contributions of those there, who had first 
 sent, and subsequently maintained the Mission; and it 
 was thought that it would be better that their contribu¬ 
 tions towards the support of Christianity, should be 
 combined with those of the contributors to the Mis¬ 
 sionary Society; that the supplies for the teachers 
 might still be drawn from this source, while at the same 
 time the natives would be contributing towards the 
 support of their own instructors, and yet identifying 
 themselves with British Christians in their efforts to 
 propagate Christianity throughout the world. 
 
 The plan was proposed to the king, and at once 
 
436 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 approved by him; it was also mentioned to several of 
 the leading chiefs, by whom it was favourably received. 
 Auna told me that the king one day said to him, “ Auna, 
 do you think you could collect five bamboo canes of 
 oil in a year?" He answered. Yes; and the king said, 
 “Do you think you could appropriate so much towards 
 sending the word of God to the heathens?" Again he 
 answered in the affirmative; and the king again said, 
 “ Do you think those that value the gospel would think 
 it a great labour to collect so much yearly for this pur¬ 
 pose?" Auna answered, that he did not think they 
 would. “Then," said the king, “think about it, and 
 perhaps we can have a combination, or society, for this 
 purpose." The king found several chiefs favourably 
 disposed; the Missionaries also proposed it to others; 
 and, as it met with general approbation, the approach¬ 
 ing month of May was appointed for the formation of 
 the association. 
 
 Mr. Nott came over to Afareaitu for the purpose 
 completing the plan. On the 23d of April, in the 
 same year, Messrs. Nott, Davies, Orsmond, and myself, 
 held a meeting with the king, at our house; when the 
 principles upon which the society should be formed, 
 and the rules by which it was proposed to regulate 
 its proceedings, were considered, and, on the following 
 day, finally adjusted. 
 
 The 13th of May, 1818, being the anniversary of the 
 parent institution in England, was fixed for the establish¬ 
 ment and organization of the native society. The king 
 and chiefs met at Papetoae, and it was a delightful and 
 interesting day to all who were present. 
 
 At sunrise we held a prayer-meeting in the English 
 language. The natives held one among themselves at 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 437 
 
 the same hour. The forenoon was appropriated to wor¬ 
 ship in English; at which time a sermon was preach¬ 
 ed by Mr. Henry, one of the senior Missionaries; and in 
 the afternoon the services were entirely in the native 
 language. 
 
 The chiefs and people assembled from most of the 
 districts of Eimeo, and a number of strangers from 
 Tahiti, residing at Papetoai, were also present. The 
 extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom had been the 
 topic of discourses in the native congregation on the 
 preceding Sabbath, and had in some degree prepared 
 the minds of the people for entering more fully into the 
 subject. The public services on this occasion were to 
 commence at three o’clock in the afternoon; but long 
 before the appointed hour, the chapel was crowded, 
 and a far greater number than had gained admis¬ 
 sion, still remained on the outside. 
 
 Three or four hundred yards distant from the 
 chapel, there was a beautiful and extensive grove. To 
 this spot it was proposed to adjourn, and thither the 
 natives immediately repaired, seating themselves on the 
 ground under the cocoa-nut trees. At three o’clock we 
 walked to the grove, and on entering it we beheld one of 
 the most imposing and delightful spectacles I think 
 I ever witnessed in the islands. The sky was clear, 
 the smooth surface of the ocean rippled with the cool 
 and stirring breeze. The grove, stately and rich in all 
 the luxuriance of tropical verdure, extended from the 
 white beach of coral and shells to the very base of the 
 mountains, whose gradual ascent, and rocky projections, 
 led to the interior. The long-winged and interwoven 
 leaves of the trees formed a spreading canopy, through 
 which a straggling sunbeam occasionally found its way, 
 
438 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 and among whose long and graceful leaflets the breeze 
 from the ocean, sweeping softly, gave even a degree 
 of animation to the whole. The grass that grew 
 underneath appeared like a rich carpet, spread by nature 
 for the interesting ceremony; pendulous plants, some 
 verdant in foliage, others rich and variegated in blossom, 
 hung from the projections of the rocks, while several 
 species of convolvulus and climbing plants were twined 
 round the trunks of the trees, or hung in gay festoons 
 among the gigantic and wide-spread leaves of the grove, 
 ornamenting the whole with their large and splendid 
 pink blossoms. Near one of the large cocoa-nut trees 
 whose cylindrical trunk appeared like a natural pillar 
 supporting the roof, there was a rustic sort of stand, 
 four or five feet above the ground, on which Mr. Nott 
 took his station. Before him, in a large arm-chair pro¬ 
 vided for the occasion, sat Pomare, supported on the right 
 by Tati, chief of Papara, and on the left by Upaparu, the 
 king’s secretary. A number of chiefs, with the queen and 
 chief women of the islands, sat around; while thousands 
 of the natives, attired in their gay and many-coloured 
 native or European dresses, composed the vast assemblage, 
 each one having come as to a public festival, in his best 
 apparel. Pomare was dressed in a fine yellow tiputa, 
 stamped on that part which covered his left breast with a 
 rich and elegant scarlet flower, instead of a star. Most 
 of the chiefs wore the native costume, and the females 
 were arrayed in beautifully white native cloth, and yellow 
 cocoa-nut-leaf shades, or bonnets with wreaths of sweet- 
 scented flowers round their necks, or garlands of the 
 same in their black and glossy hair. The services 
 commenced with singing, in which many of the natives 
 joined. A solemn prayer was offered, after which Mr. Nott 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 439 
 
 delivered a shorty animated, and suitable discourse, 
 from the Eunuch’s answer to Philip, Acts viii. 30, 31. 
 As soon as this was concluded, Pomare addressed the 
 multitude of his subjects around, proposing the forma¬ 
 tion of a society. 
 
 He began by referring them back to the ages that were 
 past, and to the system of false religion by which they 
 had been so long enslaved, reminding them very feelingly 
 of the rigid exactions imposed in the name of their ima¬ 
 ginary gods, for they were but pieces of wood, or cocoa- 
 nut husk. He then alluded to the toil they endured, and 
 the zeal and diligence so often manifested, in the service 
 of these idols. To them the first-fruits of the field, the 
 choicest fish from the sea, with the most valuable 
 productions of their labour and ingenuity, were offered; 
 and to propitiate their favour, avert their displeasure, 
 and death, its dreaded consequence, human victims were 
 so often slain. While referring to these dark and dis¬ 
 tressing features of their idolatry, the general serious¬ 
 ness of the assembly, and the indications of re¬ 
 morse or horror in the recollection of these cruelties, 
 appeared to accompany and respond confirmation to his 
 statements. In striking contrast with them, he placed 
 the mild and benevolent motives and tendency of the 
 Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the benefits its introduction 
 had conferred: alluding to the very fact of their being 
 assembled for the purpose which had convened them, 
 as a powerful illustration of his remarks. He then 
 stated the vast obligations they were under to God 
 for sending them his word, and the partial manifestation 
 of gratitude they had yet given. After this, he directed 
 their attention to the miserable situation of those whom 
 God had not thus visited, and proposed that, from a 
 
440 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 sense of the value of the gospel, and a desire for 
 its dissemination, they should form a Tahitian Mission¬ 
 ary Society, to aid the London Society in sending 
 the Gospel to the heathen, especially those in the 
 islands of the surrounding ocean; explaining the kind 
 of remuneration given to the proprietors of ships, and 
 the expensiveness even of sending Missionaries. “The 
 people of Africa,” said he, “ have already done so; 
 for though, like us, they have no money, they have 
 given of their sheep, and other property. Let us also 
 give of the produce of our islands,—pigs, or arrow-root, 
 or cocoa-nut oil. Yet it must be voluntary, let it not 
 be by compulsion. He that desires the word of God to 
 grow where it has been planted, and to be conveyed to 
 countries wretched as ours was before it was brought to 
 us, will contribute freely and liberally to promote its 
 extension: he who is unacquainted with its influence, 
 and insensible to its claims, will not, perhaps, exert 
 himself in this work. So let it be. Let him 
 not be reproved; neither let the chiefs in general, nor 
 his superiors, be angry with him on that account.” 
 Pomare on this occasion seemed anxious to impress 
 the minds of the people with his desire that they should 
 act according to the dictates of their own judgment, 
 and not form themselves into a society, simply because 
 he had recommended it. As he drew to the close of his 
 address, he intimated his wish that those who approved 
 of the proposal he had made, should lift up their right 
 hands. Two or three thousand naked arms were simul¬ 
 taneously elevated from the multitude assembled under 
 the cocoa-nut grove, presenting a spectacle no less im¬ 
 posing and affecting, than it was picturesque and new. 
 The regulations of the society were then read, and the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 441 
 
 treasurer and secretaries chosen. By this time the 
 shades of the evening began to gather round us, and 
 the sun was just hidden by the distant wave of the 
 horizon, when the king rose from his chair, and 
 the chiefs and people retired to their dwellings, under 
 feelings of high excitement and satisfaction. There 
 was so much rural beauty and secluded quietude in 
 the scene, and so much that was novel and striking in 
 the appearance of the people, momentous and delight¬ 
 ful in the object for which they had been convened, that 
 it was altogether one of the most interesting meetings I 
 ever attended. 
 
 Mahine, and the Leeward or Society Island chiefs, 
 who had been present at the formation of the Tahitian 
 Missionary Society, were desirous that Huahine, 
 although it had not been equally favoured with faci¬ 
 lities for receiving the gospel, should not be behind 
 any of the Windward group in the efforts of its 
 inhabitants to sustain and to propagate it. In a few 
 months after their arrival, therefore, they proposed that 
 a society, upon the plan of that established in Eimeo, 
 should be formed in Huahine, in aid of the parent 
 society in London. We were anxious to aid in the 
 accomplishment of their design; and a day was fixed, 
 on which a public meeting was to be held for its forma¬ 
 tion. In the forenoon of the 6th of October, 1818, 
 Mahine, and the Missionaries of Huahine, Tamatoa, and 
 those of Raiatea, Mai, and numbers from Borabora, 
 repaired to the chapel, followed by crowds of the people. 
 The place was soon filled, and a far greater number 
 remained outside than were assembled mider the loof. 
 In order that as many as possible might hear, directions 
 were given to take down one of the ends of the house; 
 
 3 L 
 
442 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 this was soon done, and those who could not gain admis¬ 
 sion, were enabled to hear. 
 
 Temporary verandas or coverings of cocoa-nut leaves 
 had been attached to the side of the house next the 
 sea, widening it five or six feet, and on the other side 
 it was also thrown open. A sermon was preached in 
 the forenoon, and in the afternoon the people were ad¬ 
 dressed by Mahine, Taua, and other leading chiefs, on 
 the advantages they had derived from the gospel, the 
 destitute state of those who had not received it, and the 
 obligation they were under to send it; proposing, at the 
 same time, that each person, so disposed, should annually 
 prepare a small quantity of cocoa-nut oil, which should 
 be collected, sent to England, and sold, to aid the 
 Society, which had sent teachers to Tahiti, in sending 
 them to other nations. 
 
 Those who had been at Eimeo, and many of the 
 inhabitants of Huahine, appeared interested in the 
 details that were given of the condition of other parts 
 of the world, and the efforts that had been made 
 by Christians in England to send them the means of 
 instruction. The presence of the chiefs of the different 
 islands, with numbers of their people, the former 
 devotees of their respective national idols, and the 
 adherents of the different political parties, who had often 
 within the last twenty years met each other in battle 
 on the shores of Huahine or Raiatea, together with the 
 novelty of the object, and the excitement of feeling 
 which such a concourse of people necessarily produced, 
 rendered the meeting exceedingly interesting, though 
 to us it was less so than one subsequently held in 
 Fare, and that which we had attended in Eimeo. 
 
 The Haweis having conveyed the Missionaries to 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 443 
 
 their respective stations, taken in cocoa-nut oil, and such 
 other productions of the islands as were marketable at 
 Port Jackson, left Tahiti, and touched at Huahine, on 
 her way to the colony of New South Wales. Messrs, 
 Williams and Threlkeld had availed themselves of the 
 visit of the Active, in the month of September, to re¬ 
 move with their families to Raiatea, and form a new 
 station in that large and important island. Tamatoa 
 the king, and his brother, accompanied them, while the 
 rest of the chiefs and people of that island followed 
 in their boats and canoes. In the Haweis, which left 
 Huahine early in December, 1818, Mr. Hayward, from 
 Eimeo, proceeded on a voyage to Port Jackson, and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond to Raiatea, while Messrs. Nott, 
 Davies, Barff, and myself, remained at Huahine. 
 
 Our temporary dwelling was scarcely rendered com¬ 
 fortable, by partitioning the different rooms with 
 bamboo-canes, and covering them with Tahitian cloth, 
 when it was necessary to prepare for the erection of a 
 printing-office, the supply of books brought from Eimeo 
 being found unequal to the increasing demand. Mr. 
 Nott was also revising, for the press, the Gospel by 
 John, and Mr. Davies had the Gospel of Matthew ready. 
 This rendered it expedient to examine the district, that 
 we might select the most eligible place for the erection 
 of our permanent dwelling, to which we purposed to 
 attach the printing-office. 
 
 We were desirous of securing the advantages of gar¬ 
 den-ground and water; but in seeking these, we avoided 
 obliging the natives to remove from any of those spots 
 which they had already appropriated to their own use. 
 In this there was not much difficulty, the whole dis¬ 
 trict was before us, and but few places, except in the 
 
444 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 vicinity of the shore* had been selected by the people* 
 who were waiting till we had made our choice* that 
 they might build as near our dwelling as would be 
 convenient. 
 
 We explored the district carefully* but often found the 
 brushwood* and interlaced branches of the trees* so imper¬ 
 vious* that* without a hatchet* we should have penetrated 
 but a short distance from the winding paths trodden by 
 the natives. The soil was good throughout; and* as the 
 natives had chosen the most eligible places along the 
 shore* we fixed upon a small elevation near the junction 
 of two clear and rapid streamlets* about a quarter of 
 a mile from the entrance of the valley of Mahamene. 
 It was at this time a complete wilderness* overgrown 
 with rank weeds and thick brushwood. We com¬ 
 menced preparing it for the site of our dwelling; and 
 when cleared* it was a most delightful spot. 
 
 A garden is a valuable acquisition in this part of the 
 world; and* next to our dwellings* we regarded it as an 
 important part of our domestic establishment. As 
 soon as the sites of our houses were fixed* we em¬ 
 ployed natives to enclose a piece of ground adjoin¬ 
 ing them. I had received from governor Macquarie in 
 New South Wales* a hundred ears of Egyptian wheat* 
 which being a kind frequently grown in a warm cli¬ 
 mate* it was supposed might flourish in the islands. 
 The grain was planted with care* and grew remark¬ 
 ably well; the leaf was green* the stalks high and 
 strong* and the ears large; but as they began to turn 
 yellow* it appeared that scarcely one of them con¬ 
 tained a single grain of corn* and the few that 
 were found* were shrivelled and dry. Potatoes were 
 also tried* and have been repeatedly planted since* in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 445 
 
 different situations and seasons; but although, after 
 the first growth, they usually appear like young po¬ 
 tatoes,—if planted again, they are invariably soft and 
 sweet, very small, and by no means so palatable as 
 the indigenous sweet potato. 
 
 At Afareaitu, I had sown a number of seeds from 
 England, Rio Janeiro, and New South Wales. Coffee 
 and cashew-nuts, anacardium Occident ale, I had before 
 planted in boxes; they grew well, but the coffee and the 
 cashew-nuts were totally destroyed by the goats, which, 
 leaping the fence one day, in a few minutes ate up 
 the plants, on which I had bestowed much care. I suc¬ 
 ceeded, however, in preserving the custard-apple, 
 anona triloba or squamosa , that I had brought from 
 Rio, and plants from it are now bearing fruit in several 
 of the islands. In addition to these, I was enabled to 
 cultivate the pap aw apple, carica papaya , French- 
 beans, carrots, turnips, cabbages, and Indian corn ; 
 while our little flower-garden, in Huahine, was 
 adorned with the convolvulus major and minor, cap¬ 
 sicum, helianthus, and amaranthus, with several bril¬ 
 liant native flowers, among which the gardenia and 
 hibiscus rosea chinensis were always conspicuous. The 
 front of our house was shaded by orange trees, and 
 our garden enclosed with a citron hedge. 
 
 The comfort connected with a garden, and the 
 means of support derived therefrom, were not our 
 only inducements to its culture; we were desirous 
 to increase the vegetable productions of the island, and 
 anxious also that our establishments should become 
 models for the natives in the formation of their own, 
 and in this we were not disappointed. Before I left 
 the islands, a neat little garden was considered by num- 
 
446 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 bers as a necessary appendage to their habitation. 
 The natives display a taste for the beautiful, in their 
 fondness of flowers. The gardenia, hibiscus, and 
 amaranthus, were often woven in most graceful 
 wreaths or garlands, and worn on their brows. They 
 were delighted when the helianthus was added to 
 their flowers. The king and queen passed by my 
 garden when the first ever grown in the islands was 
 in flower, and came in, to admire its size and bril¬ 
 liant colours. Soon after their return, I received a 
 note from the king, asking for a flower for the queen, 
 and also one for her sister; I sent them each a small 
 one; and the next time they appeared in public, the 
 large sunflowers were fixed as ornaments in their hair. 
 
 A stream rolled at the bottom of a steep bank, about 
 twenty yards from our houses. Two or three aged and 
 stately chestnut-trees growing on the margin of this 
 bank, extended their branches over the stream and the 
 bank, casting around a grateful and an inviting shelter 
 from the noontide sun. 
 
 Immediately behind this spot, Matoereere , black rock, 
 the loftiest mountain in the island, towered in majesty 
 above the surrounding hills. The lower part of the moun¬ 
 tain appears basaltic; the central strata are composed 
 of a vesicular kind of volcanic rock, while the upper 
 parts are a large kind of breccia. It is verdant to its 
 summit, which is of a beautiful conic shape, sup¬ 
 ported by a perpendicular rock. The inferior hills, on 
 one side, were not only verdant, but to a considerable 
 extent clothed with shrubs or trees, while a degree of 
 sterile whiteness marked the basaltic and volcanic rocks 
 on the other. These gave a richness and picturesque 
 appearance to the landscape, which was greatly height- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 44 / 
 
 ened by the lofty mountain in the centre. Often have 1 
 seen the mists and clouds resting on its sides* or encir¬ 
 cling its brow* while the sunbeams have irradiated its 
 summit; and it has appeared* especially when seen from 
 a distance* 
 
 “ As some tali cliff that rears its awful form, 
 
 Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm.” 
 
 On the northern side of the valley* and near the foot 
 of Matoereere* we proposed to erect our dwelling and the 
 printing-house. Mr. Davies selected a spot between this 
 place and the sea* on the same side; and Mr. Orsmond 
 fixed upon one near the southern border of the harbour* 
 and on the opposite side of the valley of Mahamene. 
 which was spacious* fertile* well watered* and suffi¬ 
 ciently high to be secure from dampness. 
 
 The people readily erected the frame of our house 
 and the printing-office* which was put up much in the 
 same manner as that had been which we occupied 
 in Eimeo; but* as it was intended for a more permanent 
 abode* it was finished with greater care. It had but one 
 floor* excepting that over the printing-office there was 
 a kind of loft for drying the paper. The front was 
 boarded with materials brought from Port Jackson. 
 The walls at the ends and the back were plastered with 
 excellent coral lime; and both the printing-house and 
 dwelling were floored with bread-fruit boards* split or 
 sawn by the natives; the windows in the bed-rooms* 
 sitting-rooms* study* and printing-house* were glazed; 
 and what was a new and strange thing to the natives* 
 our kitchen* in which was a stone oven* fire-place* and 
 chimney* was included under the same roof. 
 
 Cooking houses were usually detached from the dwell- 
 
448 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ings of the chiefs and foreigners, but we attached it to our 
 house, that Mrs. Ellis might avoid exposure to the sun, 
 and the heat of the middle of the day, whenever it might 
 be necessary to instruct the servant, or superintend the 
 dressing of our food. The partitions separating the dif¬ 
 ferent apartments were framed, wattled with thin sticks, 
 and plastered; and although we found the labour of 
 building oppressive, we were amply compensated by the 
 comfort we subsequently enjoyed. The house was 
 finished early in 1819, became our residence shortly 
 afterwards, and continued so until we embarked for the 
 Sandwich Islands. 
 
 Building houses, and avocations of a similar kind, 
 were regarded as secondary objects; our main efforts 
 were directed to the acquisition of the language. What¬ 
 ever besides we had been able to do, we consi¬ 
 dered ourselves wholly inefficient, until we were capa¬ 
 ble of delivering our message to the inhabitants in 
 their own tongue. We had many difficulties to en¬ 
 counter, and were obliged to pick up the greater part 
 of the language from the natives, who, unacquainted 
 with our speech, could only explain to us the meaning 
 ol words and phrases by their own : thus their explana¬ 
 tions often increased our perplexity. My intimate 
 acquaintance with all that had been printed, afforded 
 me great facility in prosecuting the study of Tahitian. 
 In less than a year, I was able to converse with the people 
 on common topics, and preached my first sermon in 
 Tahitian in the month of November, 1818. 
 
 I was much affected on giving up myself to Mission¬ 
 ary pursuits, on leaving England, and on reaching the 
 islands, but I had never so deeply felt the responsibility 
 of my situation, and my insufficiency for the work, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 449 
 
 as I did on the day when I delivered my first native 
 discourse. The congregation was large, the chiefs and 
 Missionaries were present; and, at the appointed time, 
 I commenced the services with singing, reading, and 
 prayer, exercises in which I had occasionally engaged 
 before. I had selected for the text what appeared a 
 most suitable passage with which to commence my 
 public ministry : “ This is a faithful saying, and worthy 
 of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world 
 to save sinners/’ 1 Tim. i. 15. I was enabled to conclude 
 the service with less difficulty than I expected, and was 
 happy to have an opportunity of declaring, though very 
 imperfectly, truths that were able to make those to 
 whom they were delivered, wise unto salvation, through 
 faith in Christ Jesus. In continuing my labours, I 
 found it necessary, on account of the peculiarities of 
 the native language, to write out most of my discourses, 
 and commit them to memory, before I could venture to 
 address them to the people. 
 
 The establishment of schools, the reducing to writing, 
 and a regular grammatical system, uncultivated and oral 
 languages, and the translation of the sacred Scriptures, 
 have ever been acknowledged as important, if not essen¬ 
 tial parts of a Missionary’s duty; but the promulgation 
 of the gospel by the living voice has always been con¬ 
 sidered by us as the primary means of converting the 
 heathen; and though the other departments of labour 
 have not been neglected, this has been regarded as the 
 first great duty of a Missionary, according w T ith his 
 very designation, the principal design of the institution 
 under whose patronage he is engaged—the practice of 
 the apostles and first Missionaries, and the spirit as 
 well as the letter of the Divine commission, whence he 
 
 3 M 
 
450 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 derives his highest sanction, and anticipates greatest 
 success. Preparation for this service has therefore been 
 regarded as demanding particular attention. 
 
 Since our arrival at Huahine, in addition to the 
 preparation of their dwellings, Messrs. Nott and Davies 
 had been employed in preaching to the people, and 
 preparing the Gospels of Matthew and John for the 
 press. In the schools, Mr. Barff, had been much en¬ 
 gaged, and Mr. Orsmond, prior to his removal to Raiatea, 
 had assisted in the instruction of the people, not only 
 of Fare, but also of the adjoining districts. 
 
 The indolence of the South Sea Islanders has long 
 been proverbial, and our minds were not less affected 
 on beholding it, than those of other visitors had been. 
 We were convinced that it was the parent of many 
 of their crimes, infant-murder not excepted, and was 
 also a perpetual source of much of their misery. The 
 warmth of the climate, the spontaneous abundance with 
 which the earth and the sea furnished, not merely the 
 necessaries of life, but what was to the inhabitants the 
 means of luxurious indulgence, had, no doubt, strength¬ 
 ened their natural love of ease, and nurtured those habits 
 of excessive indolence in which they passed the greater 
 portion of their lives. 
 
 These habits, so perfectly congenial to their unculti¬ 
 vated minds, to the fugitive manner of life, mirthful dis¬ 
 position, and rude state of society that prevailed among 
 the islanders, appeared one of the most formidable 
 barriers to their receiving our instructions, imbibing 
 the spirit and exhibiting the moral influence of reli¬ 
 gion, and advancing in civilization. All classes were 
 alike insensible to the gratification arising from mental 
 improvement, and ignorant of all the enjoyments of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 451 
 
 social and domestic life* the comforts of home, and the 
 refinements, and conveniences, which arts and labour add 
 to the bestowments of Providence. The difficulties we 
 encountered resulted not less from the inveteracy of their 
 idle habits, than from the absence of all inducements to 
 labour, that were sufficiently powerful to call into action 
 their dormant energies. Their wants were few, and their 
 desires limited to the means of mere animal existence 
 and enjoyment; these were supplied without much anxiety 
 or effort, and possessing these, they were satisfied. 
 
 During the early periods of their residence in the 
 islands, our predecessors often endeavoured to rouse 
 them from their abject and wretched modes of life, 
 by advising them to build more comfortable dwell¬ 
 ings, to wear more decent clothing, and to adopt, so 
 far as circumstances would admit, the conveniences 
 and comforts of Europeans; contrasting at times the 
 condition of their own families with that of the 
 natives around them. While the inhabitants continued 
 heathens, their endeavours were altogether unavailing. 
 The people frequently said, “We should like some of 
 these things very well, but we cannot have them without 
 working;—that we do not like, and therefore would 
 rather do without them. The bananas and the plan¬ 
 tains, &c. ripen on the trees, and the pigs fatten on the 
 fruits that are strewed beneath them, even while we sleep; 
 these are all we want, why therefore should we work?” 
 
 “ They knew no higher, sought no happier state, 
 
 Had no fine instinct of superior joys. 
 
 Why should they toil to make the earth bring forth, 
 
 When without toil she gave them all they wanted ? 
 
 The bread-fruit ripened, while they lay beneath 
 Its shadows in luxurious indolence ; 
 
 The cocoa filled its nuts with milk and kernels, 
 
452 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 And while they slumbered from their heavy meals, 
 
 In dead forgetfulness of life itself, 
 
 The fish were spawning in unsounded depths, 
 
 The birds were breeding in adjacent trees, 
 
 The game was fattening in delicious pastures, 
 
 Unplanted roots were thriving under ground, 
 
 To spread the tables of their future banquets !” 
 
 They furnish a striking illustration of the sentiment, 
 that to civilize a people they must first be christianized. 
 A change in their views and feelings had now taken 
 place, and, learning from the Scriptures, that idleness, 
 and irregular and debasing habits of life, were as 
 opposed to the principles of Christianity, as to their own 
 personal comfort ; they were disposed to attend to the 
 recommendations of their teachers in this, as well as 
 other matters. 
 
 Industry, however, soon languishes, unless nurtured 
 by more powerful motives than the effects of abstract 
 principles upon partially enlightened and ill-regulated 
 minds. To increase their wants, or to make some of 
 the comforts and decencies of society as desirable as 
 the bare necessaries of life, appeared to us the most 
 probable method of furnishing the best incitements to 
 permanent industry. It was therefore recommended to 
 them to erect for themselves more comfortable dwellings, 
 and cultivate a larger quantity of ground, to meet the 
 exigencies of those seasons of scarcity which they often 
 experienced during the intervals between the bread¬ 
 fruit crops. We also persuaded them to use such 
 articles of our clothing as were adapted to their climate 
 and habits, and to adopt our social and domestic habits 
 of life. This not only required a considerable addition 
 of personal labour, but a variety of articles that could 
 not be supplied on the islands, and must be obtained 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 453 
 
 through the medium of commerce with Port Jackson 
 and England; and they could only procure these 
 articles, in a degree equal to that in which they mul¬ 
 tiplied the productions of the soil, so as to be able to 
 exchange them for the manufactured goods of civilized 
 countries. 
 
 None of the spontaneous productions of the islands 
 were available for purposes of barter or exportation. 
 The sandal-wood of the Sandwich Islands, and the pine- 
 timber of New Zealand, produced without effort on 
 the part of the inhabitants, being valuable commodities, 
 and given in exchange for the articles conveyed by 
 foreign vessels to their shores, afforded great induce¬ 
 ments to commercial adventure, and furnished the natives 
 of those countries with facilities for increasing their 
 resources and their comforts, of which the Tahitians 
 were destitute. Whatever articles of export they could 
 ever expect to furnish, must be the product of their 
 own industry; this we were desirous to direct in 
 channels the most profitable, such as were best suited 
 to their means, and congenial to their previous habits. 
 We therefore recommended them to direct their at¬ 
 tention to the culture of cotton, one variety of which 
 appeared to be an indigenous plant in most of the 
 islands. Several valuable kinds of cotton having been 
 at different times introduced, were also growing re¬ 
 markably well. 
 
 Soon after we reached Huahine, a number of those 
 who accompanied us from Eimeo, with some of the chiefs 
 of the island, united in clearing and fencing a large piece 
 of ground, which they planted with the best seeds they 
 could procure, and called aua vavae , cotton-garden. 
 The females were the most active in this work. Whether 
 
454 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 they were more anxious than the other sex to obtain 
 foreign articles of dress* and the conveniences and 
 the comforts of domestic life—or whether* feeling more 
 peculiarly their obligations to Christianity* and desiring 
 to take the lead in the introduction of those habits which 
 they had been taught to consider as the necessary re¬ 
 sult of its principles* and the accompaniments of a 
 Christian profession—it is unnecessary to determine; but 
 they laboured diligently and perseveringly* cutting down 
 in the mountains wood for the fencing* employing their 
 own servants to transport it to the shore* clearing away 
 the brushwood* enclosing the ground* digging the soil* 
 planting the seed* watching with constancy its growth* 
 and carefully gathering the cotton. 
 
 In order to encourage them by our example* and 
 direct them by our own proceedings* Messrs. Barff* Ors- 
 mond* and myself* having obtained permission from 
 the owners of the valley in which we resided* employed 
 natives to clear away the trees and bushes with which 
 it was overgrown* for the purpose of planting it with 
 coffee* sugarcane* or cotton. On this we also bestowed 
 personally many an hour* desirous not only to afford 
 those who were inclined to follow our advice* and 
 cultivate the earth for articles of commerce* the 
 encouragement of our counsel and direction* but to 
 demonstrate the practicability of accomplishing* by 
 means within their power* what had been proposed. 
 
 The directors of the Missionary Society were fully 
 sensible of the necessity of introducing a regular 
 system of industry among the islanders* in order to 
 the assuming and maintaining a station amongst 
 Christian or civilized nations ; and felt that the interest¬ 
 ing and peculiar circumstances of the people at this time* 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 455 
 
 required something beyond the inculcation of the prin¬ 
 ciples of Christianity, and instruction in the use of 
 letters. They justly inferred, that, unless habits of 
 regular industry were introduced, and civilization pro¬ 
 moted, the people, if they did not absolutely return 
 to all the absurdities, superstition, and cruelty of pagan¬ 
 ism, would develop but partially the genius and spirit 
 of Christianity, and exercise very imperfectly its 
 practical virtues. The state of feeling, also, that pre¬ 
 vailed among the inhabitants at this time, predisposed 
 them readily to attend to any recommendations of the 
 kind ; and the great deference they now paid to the 
 counsel of their teachers, presented an opportunity more 
 favourable than had ever occurred before, or was likely 
 to occur again. 
 
 Influenced by these considerations, the Directors sent 
 to the South Sea Islands Mr. Gyles, a gentleman who 
 had been many years manager of a plantation in 
 Jamaica, and who, being well acquainted with the 
 culture of the cane and the manufacture of sugar, 
 was furnished by the Missionary Society with the 
 necessary machinery and apparatus for introducing 
 this branch of industry. Mr. Gyles was engaged for four 
 years, during which time it was supposed he would 
 be able, not only to commence his operations, but to 
 
 proceed so as to convince the king and chiefs what 
 
 might be done, and also to improve the natives in the 
 art of cultivating cane, instruct them in the process of 
 
 boiling, &c., and leave them capable of carrying it on 
 
 by themselves. He reached Tahiti in August, 1818, 
 and shortly afterwards removed to Eimeo, where he 
 began to erect the machinery, and enclosed a con¬ 
 siderable tract of ground in the fertile and extensive 
 
456 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 valley at the head of the beautiful bay of Opunohu, 
 usually called Taloo Harbour. Circumstances detained 
 the king at Tahiti for many months after Mr. Gyles’s 
 arrival in Eimeo, and retarded very materially the 
 progress of the undertaking. Sugarcane was, however, 
 procured from the gardens of the adjacent districts, 
 and sugar made in the presence of the natives, who 
 were delighted on discovering that an article, so highly 
 esteemed, could be made on their own shores, from the 
 spontaneous product of their soil. 
 
 The advantageous and expensive arrangements of the 
 Directors, for the purpose of introducing these im¬ 
 portant branches of commerce and productive labour, 
 although not entirely frustrated, were in the first 
 instance rendered to a great degree unavailing, by the 
 unfounded and injurious reports of unprincipled and 
 interested individuals, who beheld the advancement of 
 the people in knowledge and civilization with any other 
 feelings than those of satisfaction. 
 
 Early in the year 1819, the captain of a vessel, the Indus, 
 whom purposes of commerce led to Tahiti, informed the 
 king that Mr. Gyles’s errand to Tahiti was merely ex¬ 
 perimental ; and that, should the attempt to manufacture 
 sugar succeed, individuals from distant countries, pos¬ 
 sessing influence and large resources, would establish 
 themselves in the islands, and, with an armed force, 
 which he would in vain attempt to oppose, would either 
 destroy the inhabitants, or reduce them to slavery. 
 These alarming statements were strengthened by allusion 
 to the present state of the West Indies, where Mr. 
 Gyles had been engaged in the manufacture of sugar 
 and the culture of coffee. This device was employed for 
 a short time with success against the establishment of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 45 / 
 
 the Mission among the Sandwich Islands; where the 
 king and chiefs were told, that though foreigners first 
 went in a peaceable and friendly manner to the West 
 Indies, they subsequently went with all the apparatus 
 of war, attacked and defeated the inhabitants, hunted 
 the fugitives with blood-hounds, finally exterminated 
 them, and remained masters of the islands. 
 
 Though the inconsistency of this statement with 
 the defenceless manner in which the Missionaries had 
 come amongst them, would have been self-evident to an 
 enlightened mind,—being supported by an incontro¬ 
 vertible historical fact, it was remarkably adapted, to 
 operate powerfully upon an individual but partially 
 informed, and exceedingly suspicious of every measure 
 that might permanently alienate the smallest portion of 
 territory, or lead to the establishment of foreign pro¬ 
 prietorship, and consequent influence, in the islands. 
 
 This view of the enterprise led Pomare to decline 
 rendering that assistance which it was expected would 
 have been readily imparted, and the want of which 
 retarded considerably the progress of the work. The 
 necessary labour required from the natives was paid 
 for at a remarkably high price, and often difficult to 
 obtain on any terms. 
 
 Matters continued in this state until the month of 
 May, 1819, when a national assembly of chiefs and 
 people from Tahiti and Eimeo met at Papaoa, in the 
 district of Pare. The Missionaries from the several sta¬ 
 tions assembled at the same period, for the purpose of 
 commemorating the anniversary of the Tahitian Aux¬ 
 iliary Missionary Society. 
 
 Before they returned, the king informed them, that, 
 apprehensive of unfavourable results from the reports 
 
 3 N 
 
458 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 already in circulation among the chiefs and people, he 
 could not consent to the prosecution of the manufacture 
 of sugar, &c., excepting on a very limited scale. Pomare 
 was not hasty in forming his decision on any matter 
 of importance, and by no means precipitate in his 
 measures; but on this occasion he appears to have 
 been altogether uninfluenced by that temperate delibera¬ 
 tion, and judicious policy, which he generally manifested 
 in matters tending to improve the condition of the peo¬ 
 ple, and increase the national resources. 
 
 The Missionaries also appear to have been so strongly 
 influenced by the king’s communication, that, instead of 
 endeavouring to remove his objections, by persuading 
 him to allow the trial to be fairly made, and then 
 act accordingly, they deemed it expedient, that so 
 far as they, or the Society by which the machinery 
 had, at great expense, been sent out, were concerned, 
 it should be at once discontinued. Accordingly, on the 
 14th of May, “ in order to satisfy the king, and quiet 
 the minds of the people/’ they advised Mr. Gyles cc to 
 return to New South Wales by the first conveyance.” 
 
 Shortly after this decision, communications from 
 England required a general meeting of the Missionaries 
 from the several stations; and Messrs. Williams, Barff, 
 and myself, went up from the Leeward Islands to 
 Tahiti and Eimeo. By the same conveyance Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nott removed to Tahiti, where Mr. Nott has since 
 laboured, regularly in Matavai, or the adjacent district 
 of Pare. We were detained there about a fortnight; 
 during which period we received from Mr. Gyles much 
 information on the culture of the plant, and the manu¬ 
 facture of sugar. Before we left, Mr Gyles very oblig¬ 
 ingly had a quantity of cane bruised and boiled, that 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 159 
 
 we might not only understand the theory, but witness 
 the process of grinding canes, boiling the juice, and 
 granulating the sirup, so as to introduce it among the 
 inhabitants of the Leeward Islands. 
 
 Our business at Tahiti being finished, Messrs. Barff, 
 Williams, and myself, with a number of natives, sailed 
 from Eimeo about noon, on the 12th of August, in an 
 open boat belonging to Mr. Hayward. Before the sun 
 had set, we had nearly lost sight of the island; and 
 when the night gathered round us, we found ourselves in 
 the midst of the vast Pacific, in a very small and fragile 
 bark, without compass or nautical instrument, or any 
 other means of directing our way than the luminaries of 
 heaven. The night, however, was cloudless, and 
 
 “ Star after star, from some unseen abyss, 
 
 Came through the sky, till all the firmament 
 Was thronged with constellations, and the sea 
 Strown with their images.” 
 
 The interval between the close of the evening and the 
 dawn of the following day was pleasantly spent; and soon 
 after sun-rise, on the morning of the 13th, we were glad¬ 
 dened by the sight of the lofty mountains in Huahine, 
 which were seen above the line of clouds that rested on 
 the western horizon. About five in the afternoon of the 
 same day, Mr. Barff and myself were restored to the 
 bosom of our families; thankful for the guidance and 
 protection we had enjoyed on the voyage, and the merci¬ 
 ful care which those we left had experienced. 
 
 The facility with which the manufacture of sugar might 
 be carried on by the people, and the certain market it 
 would always find in Port Jackson should they be able 
 to furnish more than their own necessities required, 
 
160 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 induced us not only to recommend it to the natives, but 
 also to plant with sugarcane the ground already cleared 
 and enclosed. 
 
 The proprietors of the cotton garden watched the 
 progress of the plants with care and anxiety, accom¬ 
 panied probably with some of those golden dreams 
 of future emolument which frequently operate very 
 powerfully on the minds of individuals commencing an 
 enterprise, which, although in some degree uncertain as to 
 its results, yet promises, upon the whole, an increase of 
 wealth or enjoyment. Unhappily for them, the ground 
 they had chosen was unsuitable, and many of the 
 plants were not productive. The first crop, however, 
 was gathered, the seeds carefully picked out, and the 
 cotton packed in baskets. When a ship arrived, they 
 were eager to dispose of it, expecting far more in 
 return than the warmest encouragement in its culture 
 had ever warranted. Their estimate of its value had 
 been formed according to its bulk; and when it was 
 weighed, and they saw a large basket-full weigh only 
 two or three pounds, and a proportionate price offered, 
 they were greatly disappointed. They brought back 
 their cotton, and hung it up in their houses till another 
 ship arrived, when it was again presented for sale ; but 
 being again estimated by weight, little if any more was 
 offered for it. Some sold what they had collected, 
 others were so disappointed, that they seemed hardly to 
 care what became of it. This circumstance, together 
 with the length of time and the constant attention that 
 a cotton plantation required, before any return could be 
 received, greatly discouraged them, and prevented their 
 continuing its culture. They chose rather to feed a 
 number of pigs, or cultivate the vegetables in demand 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 461 
 
 by the shippings dispose of them when vessels might 
 put in for refreshments, and receive at once in ex¬ 
 change, articles of cloth, &c. than wait till the crops 
 should be gathered, and experience so much uncertainty, 
 or meet with such annoying disappointments in the 
 amount of their returns. 
 
 Mr. Gyles, on his way to the colony of New South 
 Wales in the month of August 1819, spent some time 
 at Huahine and Raiatea; and we gladly availed our¬ 
 selves of his visit, to make further inquiries relative 
 to the object for which he had come to the islands. 
 Some spare machinery and boilers, sent out by the 
 Society, were also left at Huahine. Assisted by the 
 natives, we subsequently erected a rustic mill ; and, 
 when the cane in our plantation was ripe, com¬ 
 menced our endeavours to convert it into sugar. The 
 cylinders for crushing the cane were perpendicular: an 
 ox was trained to draw in the mill. He was yoked 
 to a lever on one side of the central roller ; a num¬ 
 ber of natives, pushing at another on the opposite side, 
 turned the mill, and pressed the juice from the cane. 
 The natives were surprised at the quantity of juice from 
 a single cane, as they had never been accustomed to see 
 it thus collected, but had generally broken it in small 
 pieces, and, by masticating the cane, extracted the juice. 
 
 After boiling it some time, we added the temper or 
 mixture of lime and water; and when we supposed 
 the quantity had been sufficiently reduced, directed the 
 natives to remove it to a suitable vessel for cooling, the 
 progress of which we watched very anxiously, and, 
 ultimately, had the satisfaction of beholding fine-grained 
 crystals of sugar formed from the liquid. The natives 
 were delighted and astonished; and although our sur- 
 
462 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 prise was not less than theirs, our satisfaction was more 
 chastened; for, notwithstanding we had succeeded so 
 well in our first attempt, we considered it more the 
 result of accident than skill, and were by no means 
 confident that, in a second effort, we should be equally 
 successful. 
 
 We were, however, sufficiently encouraged to recom¬ 
 mend the people, notwithstanding their disappointment 
 in regard to the cotton, to direct their attention to the 
 culture of sugar, since they had no longer any cause to 
 doubt the practicability of procuring, from their re¬ 
 spective plantations, sugar for their own use, or for 
 barter with shipping. Our advice was not unheeded; 
 several of the chiefs were induced to cultivate the cane; 
 the mill we had erected became a kind of public 
 machine, to which they brought their produce; and 
 although, in some instances, we failed in procuring 
 good sugar, in time the people were so well acquainted 
 with the process, as to be able to boil it themselves. 
 The Missionaries in Raiatea also erected a mill, more 
 efficient than the one we had constructed in Huahine, 
 cultivated a quantity of cane, made sugar themselves, 
 and taught the inhabitants of the island to do the 
 same. 
 
 Sugarcane grows spontaneously in all the South Sea 
 islands, and more than ten varieties are indigenous. It 
 has been stated, that the best canes now cultivated in the 
 West Indies, are the kinds taken thither by Captain Bligh. 
 In their native islands they grow remarkably fine. I 
 have frequently seen canes as thick as a man’s wrist, and 
 ten or twelve feet between the root and the leaves. The 
 irimotu , a large yellow cane, and the to-ura> of a dark 
 red colour, grow verv large, and yield an abundance of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 4G3 
 
 juice, but the patn , a small light red, long-jointed cane, 
 with a thin husk, or skin, contains the greatest quantity 
 of saccharine matter. Some of the sugar manufactured 
 by Mr. Gyles was of a very superior quality; and if hired 
 labour were less expensive, or the people more in¬ 
 dustrious, it might be raised with facility in considerable 
 quantities. The return, however, is distant, and the 
 crops are less productive than many other articles that 
 might be cultivated in the islands, especially uncon¬ 
 nected with the distillation of rum from the refuse of 
 the juice, or the molasses of the sugar. This is pro¬ 
 bably the only plan that would render it in any degree 
 profitable; but to the use of rum, the present chiefs, 
 particularly those of the Leeward or Society Islands, 
 are averse; its introduction since embracing Chris¬ 
 tianity, they have been able to prevent; and it will 
 be matter of deepest regret, if either they or their suc¬ 
 cessors should favour its distillation on the islands, or 
 its importation from abroad. Next to idolatry, and 
 the diseases introduced by foreigners, it is the greatest 
 scourge that has ever spread its desolations through 
 their country. 
 
 But although these circumstances have hitherto ope¬ 
 rated against the general culture of the cane, the 
 chiefs and some of the people make sugar for their own 
 consumption, and have occasionally supplied captains 
 of ships, who have wished to replenish their sea-stock. 
 In this respect, although the attempt of the Directors 
 to introduce extensively its cultivation, has failed in 
 the first instance; the natives have nevertheless ac¬ 
 quired, from Mr. Gyles’s transient residence among 
 them, an acquaintance with the process of manufac¬ 
 turing this valuable article of commerce, which, it is 
 
464 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 presumed, will prove to the nation an important and 
 a permanent advantage. 
 
 The Haweis, in returning to the islands in the spring 
 of 1819, touched at Norfolk Island, formerly an appen¬ 
 dage to the colony of New South Wales, and I believe 
 re-occupied since that period. From this island the 
 captain brought away a number of young coffee plants, 
 which, on his arrival in the islands, were distributed 
 among the different stations. The tender plants were 
 once or twice removed, and all perished, excepting 
 those in my garden at Huahine, which I was happy 
 to succeed in preserving. The climate was favourable 
 to their growth, and they appeared to thrive well. 
 After four years, each tree bore about forty berries, 
 which when perfectly ripe were gathered, and sent to 
 the several stations. They were planted, and have 
 since flourished, so that in every island the coffee 
 plant is now growing, and may be cultivated to almost 
 any extent. The chiefs are fond of coffee as a beve¬ 
 rage, and, with the people, will doubtless raise it for 
 their own use; and as it requires but comparatively 
 little attention, probably it may be furnished in greater 
 abundance than either the sugarcane or cotton. 
 
 The tobacco plant is another exotic, common now 
 in all the islands: it was introduced by Captain Cook, 
 and has since been cultivated to a small extent by the 
 natives, merely for their own use. Mr. Williams 
 encouraged its culture to a considerable extent in the 
 island of Raiatea, and the natives were taught to pre¬ 
 pare it for the market of New South Wales, in a man¬ 
 ner that rendered the Raiatean tobacco equal to any 
 brought into Sydney. A lucrative branch of industry 
 and commerce now appeared open to the enterprising 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 465 
 
 and industrious inhabitants, when a heavy duty, which, 
 according to report, in order to favour its growth in 
 New Holland, was laid upon all taken into the port of 
 Sydney, prevented their continuing its culture with the 
 least expectation of profit. It was therefore in a great 
 degree abandoned. The information, however, which 
 the inhabitants received from the individual whom Mr. 
 Williams employed to instruct them, not only in its 
 growth, but in the methods of preparation, by which 
 it assumes the different forms under which it is offered 
 in the markets, was valuable; and though no very advan¬ 
 tageous results have hitherto followed, it may hereafter 
 be productive of good. 
 
466 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 Renewed endeavours to promote industry among the people—Arrival of 
 Messrs. Blossom and Armitage—Establishment of the cotton factory— 
 First cloth made in Eimeo—Prospects of success—Death of Mrs. 
 Orsmond—Voyage to Raiatea—Sudden approach of a storm—Con¬ 
 duct of the natives—Violence of the tempest—Appearance of the 
 waterspouts—Emotions awakened by the surrounding phenomena— 
 Influence of waterspouts on the minds of the natives—Conduct of a 
 party overtaken by one at sea—Deliverance during a voyage from 
 the Sandwich Islands—Abatement of the storm—Appearance of the 
 evening—Arrival at Raiatea—Kindness of the inhabitants—District of 
 Opoa—Visit to the settlement—Importance of education—Methods of 
 instruction—Sabbath schools—Annual examination of the scholars— 
 Pubfic procession—Contrast between the present and former circum¬ 
 stances of the children. 
 
 Although the expensive and commendable measures 
 adopted by the Directors of the Missionary Society, for 
 encouraging industry among the South Sea Islanders, 
 and furnishing them with a source of productive labour 
 by introducing the manufacture of sugar, had not 
 accomplished all that was designed, and Mr. Gyles 
 had returned to England before the expiration of the 
 period for which he had been engaged, the Direc¬ 
 tors still considered that it was their duty to en¬ 
 deavour to promote the temporal prosperity of the 
 people—that the introduction of useful mechanic arts, 
 and other means of advancing their civilization, though 
 objects of only secondary importance, were not to be 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 467 
 
 overlooked. Some stimulus to more regular employ¬ 
 ment than that to which the natives had been accus¬ 
 tomed, during the unsettled and indolent state of 
 society from which they were just emerging, was 
 still necessary for their contentment and individual 
 happiness, as well as their national prosperity. 
 
 The Directors of the Missionary Society were not 
 influenced by their own choice, but by the necessities 
 of the people, in making these and other secular arrange¬ 
 ments, which were not contemplated in the original 
 constitution and object of their association, but have 
 resulted from the changes effected by their agents in 
 the circumstances of those communities among which 
 they have resided; and have sometimes involved an 
 expense which could not always be met without 
 difficulty. These collateral exertions often occasion 
 embarrassment, and it would be highly gratifying, if 
 other institutions were able to prosecute those depart¬ 
 ments of effort, which are rather appendages than pro¬ 
 per parts of Missionary labour. Were the resources 
 of those societies formed for the universal diffusion 
 of education, and the means of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society such as to enable them to undertake 
 entirely the instruction of the heathen, and the trans¬ 
 lation and circulation of the Scriptures, it would greatly 
 facilitate the extension of Christianity. If, in addition 
 to those already in existence, there was also an institu¬ 
 tion for the promotion of agriculture, mechanic arts, 
 social order, and the general civilization of rude and 
 barbarous tribes, such a society would exert a most 
 beneficial and commanding influence, and furnish an 
 able and important agency, in conjunction with those 
 now engaged. It would enable Missionary institu- 
 
468 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 tions to follow more energetically their simple and pri¬ 
 mary labours, in sending forth messengers to preach the 
 gospel to the heathen. 
 
 Such a society, however, did not exist. The promo¬ 
 tion of industry and civil improvement were important 
 objects, and, in order to accomplish them, especially in 
 reference to the rising generation, two artisans, Messrs. 
 Blossom and Armitage, were sent out with the depu¬ 
 tation who visited the South Seas in 1821. The former 
 was a carpenter, acquainted with the construction of 
 machinery and wood-work in general; a department of 
 labour highly advantageous to a rude, or but partially 
 civilized people, and at this time in great estimation 
 among the Tahitians. Mr. Blossom has been engaged 
 in teaching native youth, and others, these arts; and 
 though not altogether so successful as he desired, has 
 nevertheless had the pleasure of beholding two or three 
 excellent workmen trained under his care. 
 
 The introduction among an indolent people, of any 
 art that requires constant, and sometimes heavy labour, 
 must be gradual; but as building, and the use of house¬ 
 hold furniture, &c., increases among the people, skill 
 in these departments will be held in higher esteem, 
 and the number of workmen will necessarily increase 
 with the demand for their labour, and the remuneration 
 it receives. 
 
 It was known, that with but slight attention the 
 cotton-plant might be cultivated in the islands to 
 almost any extent; and it was supposed, that although 
 the smallness of the returns it had brought, when 
 offered for sale in the raw state, together with the 
 difficulties attending their first attempt, had deterred 
 the people from persevering in its culture; yet that 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 469 
 
 they might be induced to resume it* if taught on the 
 spot to manufacture cotton cloth. This was an article 
 in great and constant demand throughout the islands. 
 Mr. Armitage was therefore appointed to attempt to 
 teach the natives to spin and weave the cotton grown 
 in their own gardens. He was a native of Man¬ 
 chester, where the members of his family still reside. 
 He was well qualified for the undertakings possessing 
 an intimate acquaintance with the various processes 
 by which raw cotton is made into cloth, and having 
 been overseer or foreman of an extensive manufac¬ 
 tory. 
 
 In acceding to the proposal of the Directors, and 
 engaging in this enterprise, he manifested a degree of 
 generous devotedness seldom excelled. He exchanged 
 inviting prospects of wealth, comfort, and usefulness at 
 home, for the toil and self-denial inseparable from such 
 an attempt. He was on the eve of entering into a matri¬ 
 monial engagement. The gentleman who had hitherto 
 been his employer had proposed to make him his part¬ 
 ner, had arranged for the advance of a very considera¬ 
 ble sum of money; part of the materials for commencing 
 the new establishment were procured* and the results in 
 that line of business have since been such, as to war¬ 
 rant the inference, that every advantage the parties 
 anticipated might have been realized. This, however, 
 he relinquished, and cheerfully engaged in an attempt 
 to improve the temporal condition of the islanders, 
 with no other remuneration than the Missionaries re¬ 
 ceive—a bare supply of the necessaries of life. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be thought that I am trespassing 
 the bounds of propriety in giving these particulars 
 to the public; but, in this instance, and there are 
 
470 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 others that might also be adduced, I feel it due, not 
 more to the individual than to the cause in which he 
 is embarked; to the friends by whom it is supported; 
 and even to those who, in consequence of mistaken 
 views and misrepresentation, may sometimes be in¬ 
 duced to suppose mercenary motives influence those 
 who engage in Missionary undertakings. 
 
 In the month of September, 1821, they reached Tahiti, 
 The carding machine, looms, &c. were landed, and 
 placed under the care of Paiti, a chief residing near 
 the harbour of Taone; and in the adjacent village of 
 Pirae, Messrs. Armitage and Blossom took up their 
 abode. 
 
 Like every other undertaking that has yet been 
 made to promote the true interests of the people, the 
 cotton factory had to contend with great difficulty. 
 At first the king and chiefs, under the recollection 
 of the reported design and tendency of the sugar 
 manufactory, expressed their wishes that the esta¬ 
 blishment should be formed near their principal resi¬ 
 dence, that all proceedings connected with it might 
 be under their inspection. Subsequently, when they 
 entered into its design, and began to consider that 
 it would become a source of pecuniary advantage, 
 although it was thought that Eimeo would be most 
 eligible for its establishment, the chiefs of Pare and 
 the adjoining districts refused to allow the machinery 
 to be removed. In this state matters remained some 
 time, and several of the finer parts of the iron-work 
 were destroyed by the rust, and the whole greatly 
 injured. 
 
 The deputation and the Missionaries, however, con¬ 
 sidering that the island of Eimeo afforded the greatest 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 471 
 
 facilities for carrying on the work, removed it thither, 
 and with great expense and labour Messrs. Armitage 
 and Blossom erected the machinery and commenced 
 their work. Shortly after this was completed, Mr. 
 Blossom removed to the opposite side of the island, 
 to take charge of the secular concerns of the South 
 Sea Academy, and the work has since been carried on 
 by Mr. Armitage alone. 
 
 The machinery, &c. were considered as belonging 
 to the Missionary Society, but at a public meeting held 
 in Eimeo, in May 1824, for the purpose of arranging 
 the principles upon which its future operations should 
 be conducted, it was distinctly stated by the deputa¬ 
 tion, and recognized by the Missionaries, “That the 
 Society contemplates no other advantage in promot¬ 
 ing the manufacture of cloth by this machinery, than 
 the good of the inhabitants of these islands/' “ That 
 no charges by way of profit shall be made upon the 
 cloth, manufactured and sold to the inhabitants, more 
 than is merely necessary to defray the expenses attend¬ 
 ing it," and “ That all the inhabitants of the islands 
 connected with both the Windward and Leeward Mis¬ 
 sions, shall be allowed to share alike in the advan¬ 
 tages of this manufactory." At the same time it was 
 recommended, that two young men and two young 
 women from each island, should be sent, to learn the 
 art of making looms, spinning, weaving, &c. 
 
 The work commenced with cotton belonging to the 
 native Missionary Societies. Mr. Armitage taught them 
 to card the cotton, and Mrs. Armitage instructed them 
 in spinning. Their first attempts, as might be ex¬ 
 pected, were exceedingly awkward, and the warp they 
 furnished difficult to weave. One piece of cloth, how- 
 
472 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ever, fifty yards in length, was finished, and presented 
 to the king. Its appearance was coarse, and inferior 
 to the imported calicoes of British manufacture; it was 
 nevertheless grateful to the chiefs, from the fact of its be¬ 
 ing the first ever manufactured in their native islands. 
 
 Cotton for another piece was prepared, and the 
 natives commenced spinning; but the confinement 
 required being irksome, and their expectations rather 
 lowered, as to the quality of the cloth they were to 
 receive as wages for their labour,—before the warp was 
 ready for the loom, they simultaneously discontinued 
 their attendance at the factory. When interrogated 
 as to their reasons for this sudden change in their 
 conduct, it was found that they had not indeed struck 
 for higher wages, but had left off to think about it, 
 and that, until their minds were made up, they could 
 not return. The spinning-wheels and the loom now 
 stood still, excepting that Mrs. Armitage and Mrs. 
 Blossom, with the assistance of their own servants, spun 
 the cotton, which Mr. Armitage wove into about fifty 
 yards of cloth, for the use of the academy. 
 
 Notwithstanding the inferior appearance of the cloth 
 manufactured in Eimeo, it was soon found to be more 
 durable than that procured from the ships. Yet the dis¬ 
 appointment which the natives had experienced pre¬ 
 vented their cultivating the cotton; and but little was 
 available for the establishment, excepting that sub¬ 
 scribed by the members of the native Missionary 
 Societies : the people declined coming to learn, and 
 prospects were most unpromising. This, however, 
 was not the only source of discouragement. 
 
 Traders, influenced by the limited views and inte¬ 
 rested motives which too frequently regulate the pro- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 473 
 
 ceedings of those who traffic with uncivilized nations* 
 employed a variety of inducements to prevent the 
 natives affording any encouragement to the establish¬ 
 ment. At one time they assured them that it would 
 be injurious to their interest* and* if successful* pre¬ 
 vent their being visited by shipping* &c.* offering at 
 the same time* to give them for their raw cotton 
 twice as much cloth as they could procure at the 
 factory. At other times they threatened Mr. Armitage 
 with ruin* and announced their determination to oppose 
 him. Sometimes they endeavoured to persuade him to 
 abandon so hopeless a project* as that of attempting 
 to train the people to habits of industry. 
 
 Their tbreatenings to seek his ruin* by opposing 
 his efforts* are rather amusing. They doubtless sup¬ 
 posed the attempt was on his part a speculation for 
 the accumulation of wealth; the only end which most 
 propose* who visit those islands; and which* when 
 pursued on fair upright principles* is not to be 
 condemned. These proceedings* however* must have 
 originated in the most contracted views of the influ¬ 
 ence of such an establishment* which* while it may 
 induce and encourage habits of more regular employ¬ 
 ment* can never diminish* excepting in a very small 
 degree* the demand for British calicoes* which will 
 be superior in texture* pattern* &c. to any that can 
 be made in the islands. It will also tend to encourage 
 the more extensive culture of the cotton* and in the 
 raw state the natives will never decline disposing of 
 it to him who offers the best price. 
 
 Notwithstanding these and various other discourage¬ 
 ments* Mr. Armitage was able to persevere; and as 
 there was little prospect of the females he had taught 
 
 3 p 
 
474 
 
 POL Y NES IA N R ES E A ECU ES. 
 
 to spin making up their minds to return, another 
 party was selected. Nearly twenty girls, and eight 
 or ten boys, engaged to learn to spin and weave. 
 The conditions on which they were instructed were 
 almost such as they or their friends chose to propose, 
 both as to the time they should continue, and the 
 hours they should labour; and instead of receiving a 
 premium for teaching them, Mr. Armitage agreed to 
 pay them for every ounce of cotton they should spin. 
 
 In every undertaking of this kind, the greatest 
 embarrassments attend it at the outset, and the same 
 difficulties that had suspended the instruction of the 
 two former parties, were again to be overcome. The 
 indolent habits of these young persons generally, their 
 impatience of control, and the fugitive and unsettled 
 mode of life to which many have been accustomed, were 
 not to be at once overcome. Recent accounts, however, 
 convey the pleasing intelligence, that the prospect of 
 ultimately introducing this branch of labour very 
 extensively among the people, is more encouraging 
 than ever. The females were able to spin strong 
 and regular thread, or yarn; one or two of the 
 boys had been taught to make, all things considered, 
 very good cloth. Mr. Armitage has also succeeded in 
 dying the cloth, and thus furnishing different patterns 
 and colours, which has g.reatly increased its value in 
 their estimation. While the hands of the parties spin¬ 
 ning or weaving are employed, the improvement of 
 their minds is not neglected. Reading-lessons and 
 passages of scripture are affixed to the walls and dif¬ 
 ferent parts of the factory. 
 
 The carding engine, and some of the other parts of 
 the machinery, were turned by a large water-wheel. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 475 
 
 and the work has often been retarded by the repairs 
 that the wheel or its appendages have required. 
 
 Several of the best native carpenters have, however, 
 readily come forward to repair the wheel, and have 
 received their payment in cloth made at the factory. 
 The derangement of the machinery suspending the 
 work of the spinners, some of them requested to take 
 the cotton home, to prepare and spin at their own 
 houses. The experiment has succeeded far beyond 
 what was anticipated, and the natives now bring to 
 the factory for sale the cotton yarn spun at their own 
 dwellings, and ready at once for the loom. 
 
 This circumstance, though insignificant, is one of the 
 most interesting that has yet transpired in connexion 
 with this enterprise. The natives are now convinced 
 that they can make cloth; others, besides those taught 
 in the factory, will desire to learn; and as they can 
 prepare and spin the cotton at their own dwellings, 
 this employment, which is certainly adapted to their 
 climate and habits, as they can take it up and lay 
 it down at their convenience, will probably be very 
 extensively followed through the islands. The native 
 carpenters will be able to make looms, as they have 
 made turning-lathes, which, though rude, will be such as 
 will answer their purpose. The spinning-wheel will also 
 become an article of furniture in most of their houses ; 
 and the father, the brother, and the son, will have the 
 satisfaction of wearing native or home-spun garments, 
 made with cotton grown in their own gardens or 
 plantations, and spun by their wives’ or sisters’ or 
 daughters’ hands. The Tahitian, like the Indian weaver, 
 may, perhaps, be seen fixing his rude and simple loom 
 under the shadow of the cocoa-nut, or the banana tree. 
 
476 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 whilst the objects that often give such a charm to 
 rural village scenery, and awaken so many ideas of 
 contentment and happy simplicity in connexion with 
 the peasantry of England, may be witnessed throughout 
 the South Sea Islands. 
 
 In the month of December, 1818, when the Haweis 
 sailed from Huahine, on her first voyage to New South 
 Wales, Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond left us, as we mutually 
 supposed, on a visit of a few months to the island of 
 Raiatea, for the purpose of receiving Mr. Threlkeld’s 
 attentions at a season of unusual domestic anxiety. 
 For two or three months contrary winds prevented any 
 intercourse between us, when at length Mr. Orsmond's 
 boat arrived, with the unexpected and melancholy 
 tidings of the death of Mrs. Orsmond, which had taken 
 place on the 6th of January, 1819. She had survived 
 but a few hours the birth of an infant daughter, by 
 whom, in the space of five short days, she was followed 
 to the eternal world, and, we believe, to the abodes of 
 holy and unending rest. The disconsolate partner of 
 her days was thus left a widower and childless, far 
 from all the alleviation which the sympathies and 
 attentions of kindred and friends in such seasons 
 impart,—a lone wanderer, amid a rude untutored race, 
 in a solitary island of the sea. The kindness and the 
 sympathy of his fellow-labourers mitigated, however, 
 in a great degree, the poignancy of his distress; and 
 the promises of inspired truth, with the consolations of 
 religion, supported his mind under a bereavement which 
 he had sustained in circumstances unusually distress¬ 
 ing. The people around were touched with a feeling 
 of compassion; but although their commiseration was 
 fully appreciated by their teacher, there was not that 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 477 
 
 reciprocity of feeling which could lessen, in any con¬ 
 siderable degree, the burden of his grief. In the family 
 of Mr. Williams he spent the greater part of his 
 time, when not engaged in public duties, and expe¬ 
 rienced from its members every attention which kindness 
 and attachment could prompt or bestow. 
 
 Early in 1819, circumstances rendered it desirable 
 for us to visit Raiatea. We were anxious, also, to 
 mingle our sympathies with those of our companions 
 there, in that bereavement by which all were so deeply 
 affected. We had been acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Orsmond before leaving England. We had all left our 
 native land about the same period, and had spent the 
 greater part of our time, since arriving in the islands, 
 either at the same station or under one roof, and 
 felt very deeply the first breach now made by death, 
 in the little circle with which we were more imme¬ 
 diately connected. We therefore availed ourselves of 
 the return of Mr. Orsmond’s boat to visit the sta¬ 
 tion. 
 
 About nine o’clock in the morning, Mr. Barff and 
 myself, accompanied by five natives, and an English 
 sailor who had charge of the boat, embarked from 
 Huahine. Though the settlements were about thirty 
 miles apart, yet, as the width of the channel w T as not 
 much more than twenty miles, the mountains, and 
 coast of the opposite island, were distinctly seen. 
 The wind being fair, we expected to reach the Raiatean 
 shore in three or four hours, and to arrive at the 
 residence of our friends long before the close of day. 
 We had not, however, been an hour at sea, when 
 the heavens began to gather blackness, and dense 
 lowering clouds intercepted our view* of the shore we 
 
478 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 had left, and that to which we were bound. The wind 
 became unsteady and boisterous, the sea rose, not in 
 long heavy billows, but in short, cross, and broken 
 waves. We had no compass on board. The dark and 
 heavy atmosphere obscuring the sun, prevented our 
 discerning the land, and rendered us unconscious of 
 the direction in which the gathering storm was driving 
 us. We took down our large sails, leaving only a small 
 one in the forepart of the boat, merely to keep it 
 steady. 
 
 The tempest increasing, the natives were alarmed, 
 and during the occasional intervals in which the wind 
 abated its violence, the rain came down in such torrents, 
 as if the windows of heaven had been opened, and a 
 deluge was descending. The rain calmed in a degree 
 the broken and agitated surface of the dark blue ocean, 
 that raged in fearful and threatening violence. Our boat 
 being but small, not above eighteen feet long, and 
 her edge, when the sea had been smooth, not more 
 than a foot or eighteen inches above its surface \ every 
 wave that broke near, threw its spray over us, and each 
 billow, in striking our little bark, forced part of its 
 foaming waters over the bow or the sides. Happily, 
 we had a bucket on board, by means of which we were 
 able to bale out the water. 
 
 In this state we continued, I suppose, about two 
 hours, hoping the clouds would disperse, and the winds 
 abate; but, instead of this, the storm seemed to increase, 
 and with it our danger. Most of the natives sat down 
 in the bottom of the boat; and, under the influence of 
 fear, either shut their eyes, or covered them with their 
 hands, expecting every moment that the waves would 
 close over us. We were not unconscious of our perilous 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 479 
 
 situation 3 and, as a last resort, took down our little 
 sail and our mast, tied the masts, bowsprit, and oars 
 together in a bundle, with one end of a strong rope, 
 and, fastening the other end to the bow of our boat, 
 threw them into the sea. The bundle of masts, oars, 
 &c., acted as a kind of buoy, or floating anchor; and 
 not only broke the force of the billows that were rolling 
 towards the boat, but kept it tolerably steady, while 
 we were dashed on the broken wave, or wafted we 
 knew not whither by the raging tempest and the pelting 
 storm. 
 
 The rain soon abated, and the northern horizon 
 became somewhat clear, but the joyful anticipation 
 with which we viewed this change was soon superseded 
 by a new train of feelings. Hurt , Awn, tia moana , 
 exclaimed one of the natives; and, looking in the 
 direction to which he pointed, we saw a large 
 cylindrical waterspout, extending, like a massive column, 
 from the ocean to the dark and impending clouds. It 
 was evidently at no very remote distance, and seemed 
 moving towards our apparently devoted boat. 
 
 The roughness of the sea forbade our attempting to 
 hoist a sail in order to avoid it; and as we had no other 
 means of safety at command, we endeavoured calmly to 
 wait its approach. The natives abandoned themselves to 
 despair, and either threw themselves along in the bottom 
 of the boat, or sat crouching on the keel, with their faces 
 downwards, and their eyes covered with their hands. 
 The sailor kept at the helm, Mr. Barff sat on one 
 side of the stern, and I on the other, watching the 
 alarming object before us ! While thus employed, we 
 saw two other waterspouts, and subsequently a third, 
 if not more, so that we seemed almost surrounded with 
 
480 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 them. Some were well defined, extending in an 
 unbroken line from the sea to the sky, like pillars 
 resting on the ocean as their basis, and supporting 
 the black and overhanging clouds; others assuming the 
 shape of a funnel or inverted cone, attached to the 
 clouds, and extending towards the waters beneath. 
 From the distinctness with which we saw them, not¬ 
 withstanding the density of the atmosphere, the farthest 
 could not have been many miles distant. In some, we 
 imagined we could trace the spiral motion of the water 
 as it was drawn to the clouds, which were every moment 
 augmenting their portentous darkness. The sense, 
 however, of personal danger, and perhaps almost 
 immediate destruction, if brought within the vortex 
 of their influence, restrained in a great degree all 
 curious, and what, in other circumstances, would have 
 been interesting observation, on the wonderful pheno¬ 
 mena around us, the mighty agitation of the elements, 
 and the terrific sublimity of these wonders of the 
 deep. 
 
 The hoarse roaring of the tempest, and the hollow 
 sounds that murmured on the ear, as the heavy billow 
 rolled in foam, or broke in contact with opposing 
 billows, seemed as if deep called unto deep • and the 
 noise of waterspouts might almost be heard, while we 
 were momentarily expecting that the mighty waves 
 would sweep over us. 
 
 I had once before, when seized with the cramp 
 while bathing at a distance from my companions, been, 
 as I supposed, on the verge of eternity. The danger then 
 came upon me suddenly, and my thoughts, while in 
 peril, were but few. The danger now appeared more 
 imminent, and a watery grave every moment more 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 481 
 
 probable; yet there was leisure afforded for reflection* 
 and the sensibilities and powers of the mind were roused 
 to an unusual state of excitement by the mighty conflict 
 of the elements on every side. 
 
 A retrospect of life* now perhaps about to close* 
 presented all the scenes through which I had passed* 
 in rapid succession and in varied colours* each ex¬ 
 hibiting the lights and shades by which it had been 
 distinguished. Present circumstances and connexions 
 claimed a thought. The sorrow of the people—the 
 dearest objects of earthly attachment* left but a few 
 hours before in health and comfort on the receding 
 shore—those unconscious infants that would soon* per¬ 
 haps* be left fatherless* and dependent on their widowed 
 mother* who* in cheerless loneliness* far from friends* 
 and home* and country* might remain an exile among 
 a strange* untutored race* emerging from the rudest 
 barbarism;—these reflections awakened a train of 
 feelings not to be described. But the most impressive 
 exercise of mind was that referring to the awful change 
 approaching. The struggle and the gasp* as the 
 wearied arm should attempt to resist the impetuous 
 waves* the straining vision that should linger on the 
 last ray of retiring light* as the deepening veil of water 
 would gradually conceal it for ever* and the rolling 
 billows heaving over the sinking and dying body* which* 
 perhaps ere life should be extinct* might become the 
 prey of voracious inhabitants of the deep* caused scarcely 
 a thought* compared with the appearance of the disem¬ 
 bodied spirit in the presence of its Maker* the account 
 to be rendered* and the awful and unalterable destiny 
 that would await it there. These momentous objects 
 absorbed all the powers of the mind* and produced an 
 
 3 Q 
 
482 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 intensity of feeling, which for a long time rendered me 
 almost insensible to the raging storm, or the liquid 
 columns which threatened our destruction. 
 
 The hours that followed were some of the most 
 solemn I have ever passed in my life. Although much 
 recurred to memory that demanded deep regret and most 
 sincere repentance, yet I could look back upon that 
 mercy that had first brought me to a knowledge [of the 
 Saviour, with a gratitude never perhaps exceeded. Him, 
 and Him alone, I found to be a refuge, a rock in the 
 storm of contending feelings, on which my soul could 
 cast the anchor of its hope for pardon and acceptance 
 before God: and although not visibly present, as with 
 his disciples on the sea of Tiberias, we could not but 
 hope that He was spiritually present, and that, should 
 our bodies rest till the morning of the resurrection 
 in the unfathomed caverns of the ocean, our souls 
 would be by Him admitted to the abodes of blessed¬ 
 ness and rest. I could not but think how awful 
 would my state have been, had I in that hour been 
 ignorant of Christ, or had I neglected and despised the 
 offers of his mercy ; and while this reflection in¬ 
 duced thankfulness to Him through whom alone we 
 had been made to share a hope of immortality, it 
 awakened a tender sympathy for our fellow-voyagers, 
 who sat in mournful silence at the helm or in the 
 bottom of the boat, and seemed averse to conversation. 
 Our prayers were offered to Him who is a present help 
 in every time of danger—for ourselves—and those who 
 sailed with us; and under these, or similar exercises, 
 several hours passed away. The storm continued 
 during the day. At intervals we beheld, through the 
 clouds and rain, one or other of the waterspouts, the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 483 
 
 whole of which appeared almost stationary, until 
 at length we lost sight of them altogether, when the 
 spirits of our native voyagers evidently revived. 
 
 The natives of the South Sea Islands, although 
 scarcely alarmed at thunder and lightning, are at sea 
 greatly terrified by the appearance of waterspouts. 
 They occur much more frequently in the South than 
 in the North Pacific, and although often seen among the 
 Society Islands, are more rarely met with in the Sand¬ 
 wich group. But throughout the Pacific, waterspouts 
 of varied form and size are among the most frequent 
 of the splendid phenomena, and mighty works of the 
 Lord, which those behold who go down to the sea 
 in ships, and do business upon the great waters. They 
 are sublime objects of unusual interest, when viewed 
 from the shore; but when beheld at sea, especially 
 if near, and from a small and fragile bark, as 
 we have seen them, it is almost impossible so to 
 divest the mind of a sense of personal danger, as 
 to contemplate with composure or with satisfaction 
 their stately movement, or the rapid internal circular 
 eddy of the waters. 
 
 Nor is it easy for an individual, who has never be¬ 
 held them in such a situation, to realize the sensa¬ 
 tion produced, w T hen the solitary voyagers, from their 
 light canoe, or their deckless boat, dancing on every 
 undulating wave, descry these “ liquid columns,” tower¬ 
 ing from the surface of the water, uniting the ocean 
 and the heavens, while the powerful agitation of the 
 former indicates the mighty process by which they 
 are sustained. By the natives of the Society Islands 
 they are called hurt hurt tia moana , the meaning of 
 which probably is, “ turning, turning perpendicularly 
 
484 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 the ocean,” or the deep : from huri, to turn over or 
 up, the reduplication of the word donoting a repeti¬ 
 tion or continuance of the action; tia , to erect or to 
 stand upright; and maona , the deep or ocean. Some¬ 
 times they have approached the shore, and although 
 I do not recollect any instance of their actually de¬ 
 stroying persons at sea, I am inclined to presume 
 such a calamity must have occurred, or they would 
 not be such objects of terror to the people. 
 
 During our abode in Huahine, a number of natives 
 were on a voyage from the Leeward to the Windward 
 Islands, in a boat belonging to Mr. Williams, when 
 a waterspout approached them. They had heard that, 
 when seen by navigators, they sometimes averted the 
 threatened danger by discharging their artillery at the 
 waterspout. Having a loaded musket in the boat, 
 they at first thought of firing at the advancing 
 column; but as it approached, the agitation of the 
 water was so great, and the phenomenon so impos¬ 
 ing and appalling, that their hearts failed; and when 
 it was, according to their own account, within a 
 hundred yards of their boat, and advancing directly 
 upon them, they laid the musket down. The man at 
 the helm now shut his eyes, and his companions threw 
 themselves flat on their faces in the bottom of the 
 boat. This is the exact position in which a captive, 
 doomed to death, awaited the fatal stroke of a victor 
 by whom he had been overcome in battle. After 
 waiting in fearful suspense several minutes, the 
 helmsman, hearing a rushing noise, involuntarily 
 opened his eyes, and saw the column passing, with 
 great velocity, a short distance from the stern of the 
 boat. He immediately called his companions, who 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 485 
 
 joined not only in watching its receding progress, 
 but in acknowledging the protection of the Almighty 
 in their preservation. 
 
 When returning from the Sandwich Islands on board 
 the ship Russell, in 1825, we experienced a happy 
 deliverance from one of these wonderful and alarming 
 objects. Our Sabbath afternoon, worship on the quar¬ 
 ter deck had just terminated; Mrs. Ellis was lying 
 on a sofa, and, observing unusual indications of terror 
 in the countenance of the boy at the helm, she 
 said, “What is it that alarms you?” He answered, 
 in hurried accents, “ I see a whirlwind coming,” 
 pointing to a cloud a little to the windward of the 
 ship. His actions attracted the notice of the officer 
 on deck, who instantly sent an able seamen to the 
 helm, and called the captain. I had taken the 
 books down into the cabin, and was putting them 
 by, when I heard the officer, in a tone of unusual 
 earnestness, ask the captain to come on deck. I 
 hastily followed, and my attention was instantly 
 directed to the waterspout. 
 
 The breeze was fresh, and as the object of alarm 
 was still at some distance, it was possible we might 
 avoid coming in contact with it. The captain, there¬ 
 fore, took in none of the sails, but called all hands 
 on deck, ordered them to stand by the halyards , or 
 ropes by which the sails are pulled up, so that, if 
 necessary, they might let them go in an instant, and 
 thus lower down the sails. We all marked its ap¬ 
 proach with great anxiety. The column was well 
 defined, extending in an unbroken line from the sea 
 to the clouds, which were neither dense nor lowering. 
 Around the outside of the liquid cylinder was a kind 
 
486 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 of thick mist, and within, a substance resembling 
 steam, ascending apparently with a spiral motion. 
 We could not perceive that much effect was produced 
 on the cloud attached to the upper part of the 
 column, but the water at its base was considerably agi¬ 
 tated with a whirling motion; while the spray, which 
 was thrown off from the circle formed by the lower 
 part of the column, rose apparently twenty feet 
 above the level of the sea. After watching in breath¬ 
 less suspense for some time its advance in a direct 
 line towards our ship, we had the satisfaction to see 
 it incline in its course towards the starboard quar¬ 
 ter, and ultimately pass by about a mile distant from 
 the stern. The ropes of the sails were again fastened, 
 the men repaired to their respective stations, and we 
 pursued our way under the influence of increased thank¬ 
 fulness for the deliverance we had experienced. 
 
 The storm, which had raged with violence ever 
 since an hour after our departure from Huahine, began 
 to abate towards the close of the day: we did not, 
 however, see the land, and knew not whither we had 
 drifted; but soon after the setting of the sun, the 
 clouds dispersed, and a streak of light lingering in 
 the western sky, indicated the direction in which we 
 ought to proceed. The rain now ceased, the wind 
 subsided; and although the surface of the sea was con¬ 
 siderably agitated, it was no longer that quick dashing 
 conflict of the waves to which we had been exposed 
 while “a war of mountains raged upon its surface,” 
 but a long and heavy sluggish sort of motion. We 
 pulled in our bundle of masts and oars, and placing 
 the masts along the seats of the boat, the natives man¬ 
 ned the oars, and rowed towards the west. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 487 
 
 The moon rose soon after the light of the sun had de¬ 
 parted, and although she shone not at first in cloudless 
 majesty through an untroubled sky, yet the night was 
 a perfect contrast to the day. The light fleecy 
 clouds that passed over the surface of the sky, 
 fringed with the moon’s silver light, gave a pleasing 
 animation to the scene, and 
 
 “ With scarce inferior lustre gleamed the sea, 
 
 Whose waves were spangled with phosphoric fire, 
 
 As though the lightnings there had spent their shafts, 
 
 And left the fragments glittering on the field.’' 
 
 After rowing some time, we heard the hoarse roaring 
 of the surf, as it broke in foam upon the coral reef 
 surrounding the shore. To us this was a most wel¬ 
 come sound, indicating our approach to the land. 
 Shortly afterwards we saw a small island, with two 
 or three cocoa-nut trees upon it, and subsequently 
 the coral reef appeared in view. We now found 
 ourselves near the Ava Moa , Sacred Passage, leading 
 to Opoa , the southernmost harbour in the island of 
 Raiatea; and after rowing two or three miles, landed 
 about midnight. Weary and famished, drenched with 
 the rain, and suffering much from the cold occasioned 
 by the wetness of our clothes, we were truly thank¬ 
 ful, after the incidents of the day, to find ourselves 
 once again on shore. The hospitable inhabitants of 
 the dwelling which we entered soon rose from their 
 beds, kindled a large fire in the centre of the floor, 
 cooked us some provisions, and furnished us with 
 warm and clean native cloth, to wear while our own 
 clothes were hung up to dry. Having refreshed our¬ 
 selves, and united in grateful thanksgiving to the 
 
488 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 Preserver of our lives, we lay down upon our 
 mats, and enjoyed several hours of comfortable and 
 refreshing repose. I have often been overtaken with 
 storms when at sea in European vessels, boats, and 
 native canoes, but, to whatever real danger I may 
 have been exposed, I never was surrounded by so 
 much that was apparent, as during this voyage. 
 
 After a few hours of unbroken rest, we arose re¬ 
 cruited the next morning, found our dried clothes 
 comfortable, united with our host and his family in 
 the morning devotions, and then, while they were pre¬ 
 paring refreshments, took a view of the district. 
 We found it not very extensive, though the land is 
 rich and good. The gardens were large, and, at this 
 time, well stocked with indigenous roots and vege¬ 
 tables. Opoa has long been a place of celebrity, 
 not only in Raiatea, but throughout the whole of 
 the Society Islands. It was the hereditary land of 
 the reigning family, and the usual residence of the 
 king and his household. But the most remarkable 
 object connected with Opoa, was the large marae, 
 or temple, where the national idol was worshipped, 
 and human victims sacrificed. These offerings were 
 not only brought from the districts of Raiatea and 
 the adjacent islands, but also from the windward 
 group, and even from the more distant islands to 
 the south and south-east. 
 
 The worship of Oro, in the marae here, appears 
 to have been of the most sanguinary kind; human 
 immolation was frequent, and, in addition to the 
 bones and other relics of the former sacrifices, now 
 scattered among the ruins of the temple, there is 
 still a large enclosure, the walls of which are formed 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 489 
 
 entirely of human skulls. The horrid piles of sculls, 
 in their various stages of decay, exhibit a most ghastly 
 and affecting spectacle. They are principally, if not 
 entirely, the sculls of those who have been slain in 
 battle. A number of beautiful trees grow around, 
 especially the tamanu, callopliyllum inophyllum , and 
 the aoa, ficus prolixa , resembling, in its growth and 
 appearance, one of the varieties of the banian in 
 India. 
 
 In the inland part of the district there is a cele¬ 
 brated pare , or natural fortress, frequently resorted to 
 by the inhabitants in seasons of war; and with a 
 little attention it might easily be made impregnable, at 
 least to such forces or machines as the natives could 
 bring against it. 
 
 A fine quay, or causeway, of coral rock had been 
 raised along the edge of the southern side of the bay, 
 on which the natives had erected the frame of a 
 large and substantial place of worship. It appeared 
 to have remained in the state in which we saw it 
 for some months past. The king and chiefs, with 
 their numerous attendants, had removed to the vicinity 
 of the Missionary station on the other side of the 
 island, and the district appeared comparatively deserted. 
 The frame of the building had been prepared with 
 great care, several of the pillars being of highly 
 polished aito , or casuarina. 
 
 Early in the afternoon we left our kind friends, 
 and enjoyed a pleasant sail within the reef, along the 
 eastern shore of the island; which was remarkably 
 broken, and beautiful in mountain scenery, as well as 
 rich and verdant in the foliage with which the 
 woody parts of the country were clothed. We passed 
 
 3 R 
 
490 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 between Tahaa and Raiatea, and arrived at the new 
 Missionary settlement, on the north-west side of the 
 latter, about noon. Here we received a cordial wel¬ 
 come from our friends Messrs. Orsmond, Williams, 
 and Threlkeld; who were comfortable in their new 
 sphere of action, and greatly attached to the people; 
 by whom they were highly respected, and among 
 whom they had reason to believe they were use¬ 
 fully employed. 
 
 Mr. Orsmond appeared to sustain his bereavement 
 with Christian fortitude. We visited the grave of the 
 first labourer that had been called from our little band, 
 and (with mingled feelings of regret at her early de¬ 
 parture from the field we had unitedly cultivated, 
 and sympathy with him whom she had left behind,) 
 beheld the humble mound under which her mortal 
 remains were reposing, and around which a number 
 of indigenous and exotic flowers had been planted. 
 Mr. Williams and Mr. Orsmond had for some 
 time past preached in the native language. They 
 were not only anxious to instruct the people in 
 religion, but to improve their present condition by 
 encouraging them to build comfortable houses after 
 our example, and to bring under cultivation a larger 
 portion of the soil than they had hitherto been ac¬ 
 customed to enclose. While we remained, we visited 
 the different parts of the district, and called upon 
 the king,—whom we were delighted to find in a 
 neat plastered house,—and, after spending two or 
 three days with them at Vaoaara, we returned to 
 Huahine. 
 
 No circumstances connected with the interesting sta¬ 
 tion at Raiatea afforded us more satisfaction, than the 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 491 
 
 favourable appearance under which the education of the 
 inhabitants had been commenced. 
 
 Next to the direct communication of the gospel 
 by the living voice, the schools have been considered 
 as the most important department of regular instruc¬ 
 tion. We have always superintended the schools, 
 and generally taught the higher classes. In some 
 stations, the boys and the men have been educated 
 in one school, and the women and girls in another; 
 in others, the different sexes have been taught at 
 different times; and in some, they have assembled 
 in the same schools. This, however, has not been 
 general. We have been highly favoured, in most of 
 the stations, with valuable native teachers, in both 
 the male and female schools. To this method of 
 instruction we have looked for the perpetuity of the 
 work, of which we had been privileged to witness 
 the commencement; and from its influence on the 
 rising generation, we have derived great encourage¬ 
 ment in reference to the stability and increase of 
 the Christian church. 
 
 In the island of Huahine, we had, during the latter 
 part of our residence there, two district schools, one 
 for the males and the other for the females, which 
 we found more conducive to their improvement, 
 than the method of instructing both sexes in the 
 same school. After the departure of Mr. Davies 
 in 1820, the superintendence of the schools had 
 devolved entirely on Mr. Barff. The female school 
 in Huahine was under the management of Mrs. Barff 
 and Mrs. Ellis; and those at several of the other 
 stations were also superintended by the wives of the 
 Missionaries. 
 
492 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The habits of the people did not allow of their 
 attending school with that regularity which scholars 
 are accustomed to observe in England. Many of the 
 pupils being adults, had other needful engagements. 
 In order, however, to ensure as regular and punc¬ 
 tual an attendance as possible, the principal instruc¬ 
 tion was given at an early hour every morning, 
 that the people might attend the school before en¬ 
 gaging in their ordinary avocations. The natives, 
 therefore, assembled soon after sunrise: Mr. Barff 
 usually repaired to the school for the men and boys 
 about half past six o’clock in the morning, and, 
 during the latter part of our residence in Huahine, 
 Mr. Barff and Mrs. Ellis, either unitedly or alter¬ 
 nately, visited the female school at the same hour. 
 It closed in general about eight, after which the 
 people repaired to their daily employments. The 
 boys’ school was open at two o’clock in the afternoon, 
 but it was principally for the instruction of children. 
 Many of the adults received instruction more readily 
 than the children, and acquired a knowledge of read¬ 
 ing with much greater facility than persons of the 
 same age would do in England. With many, how¬ 
 ever, more advanced in life, it was a most difficult 
 task; and some, after two or three years’ applica¬ 
 tion, were still unable to advance beyond the alpha¬ 
 bet, or the first syllables of the spelling-book. 
 Another source of perplexity resulted from the inju¬ 
 dicious methods of the native teachers, who at first, 
 in their zeal to encourage and assist their scholars, 
 repeated to them every word in the columns of 
 spelling, and their lessons, so frequently, that many 
 of their pupils could repeat from memory, perhaps. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 493 
 
 the whole of the book* without being able to read 
 a single line. When they took the book* it was 
 only necessary for them to be told the first word 
 or sentence in a chapter* in order to their repeat¬ 
 ing the whole correctly* even though the book 
 should be open at some other part* or the page be 
 placed bottom upwards. Such individuals did not 
 always like to go back to the lowest classes* and 
 begin to learn the simplest words ; yet it was ne¬ 
 cessary. In order to convince them of the propriety 
 of this* they were told we could not distribute 
 copies of the Scriptures to any but those who could 
 read any part on looking at it* without pronoun¬ 
 cing the words merely from memory. The native 
 teachers had fallen into this practice* from the in¬ 
 fluence of former habits. All their knowledge* tradi¬ 
 tions* songs* &c. were preserved by memory ; and the 
 preceptor recited them to his pupil* till the latter 
 could repeat them correctly. The matter of the 
 lessons* they also thought was the great thing to be 
 remembered; and this* together with a desire to faci¬ 
 litate the advancement of those under their care* led 
 them to adopt the method of teaching the scholars 
 to repeat lessons without due attention to the words 
 of the book. It has been* however* discontinued. 
 
 After the conclusion of the usual school exercises* 
 Mr. Barff appropriated half an hour to the instruction 
 of the natives in the art of singing. The islanders 
 in general are remarkably fond of singing* and 
 always ready to learn. They have not such sweet 
 melodious voices as the natives of Africa have* yet 
 learn to sing* considering their circumstances* remark¬ 
 ably well. Many of the female voices are clear and 
 
494 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 soft 3 without being weak; and they usually perforin 
 parts appropriated to the female voice better than 
 the men do theirs. 
 
 Translations of the most approved psalms and hymns, 
 with a number that are original, have been pre¬ 
 pared in the native language, in almost every variety 
 of metre. To these the most popular English tunes 
 are affixed; and with most of those sung by ordi¬ 
 nary congregations in England, the natives are ac¬ 
 quainted. Mr. Davies, I believe, first taught them to 
 sing, and a tune usually called “George’s” was the 
 first they learned. On our arrival in the islands in 
 1817, it was in general use; and whenever we 
 walked among the habitations of the people, some 
 parts of it broke upon the ear. It is now, however, 
 very seldom heard. The “ Old Hundredth Psalm,” 
 66 Denmark,” Ci Sicilian Mariners,” and others of a more 
 moderate date, are among their greatest favourites. 
 
 The Bible has been the basis of the greater part 
 of the instruction given in the schools, but not to 
 the exclusion of other departments of knowledge. 
 In addition to the various portions of Scripture, and 
 numerous tracts that have been printed, a system of 
 arithmetic has been prepared by Mr. Davies, and a 
 table of chronology, which is extensively used; and, 
 so soon as the entire volume of Scripture shall be 
 completed, other useful works will be translated. 
 Although a work on geography has not yet been 
 printed, many of the natives have a tolerably cor¬ 
 rect idea of the extent, population, and relative 
 positions of the most important countries of the world. 
 They are certainly fond of calculations, and make 
 themselves familiar with figures, so far as their 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 495 
 
 books enable them to proceed. The schools are 
 important appendages of every Missionary station, 
 and are considered such by the most intelligent and 
 influential of the people. 
 
 As it respects the spiritual improvement of the rising 
 generation, the understanding of the Scriptures, and 
 the extension of genuine Christianity, Sabbath-schools 
 are the most interesting and encouraging sections of 
 this department. The scholars are the same as in 
 the day-schools, but the mode of instruction pur¬ 
 sued is different. Writing, reading, and spelling are 
 not taught, but the time is devoted to the religious 
 instruction of the children. Each class is under the 
 care of a native instructor, and we have in several of 
 the stations been highly favoured in the co-operation 
 of most valuable Sabbath-school teachers. In Huahine 
 we found some most able assistants among them, 
 especially the teachers in the girls* school. They 
 were not satisfied with attending during the hours 
 of school, and merely imparting the ordinary instruc¬ 
 tion, or hearing the usual recitals, but identified 
 themselves with the advancement of the children, 
 and exercised an affectionate care over them during 
 the intervals between the Sabbaths. 
 
 By this means they gained the confidence and 
 love of many of their pupils, and were resorted 
 to for guidance and counsel in every engagement 
 of importance, or season of difficulty. Frequently 
 one of these teachers, in order to greater quietude, 
 and more unreserved converse with the children, 
 would take her little class to some retired spot 
 in one of the valleys behind the settlement, for 
 the purpose of talking in the most affectionate 
 
496 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 manner to each individually, and then uniting with 
 them in prayer to the Most High. I cannot imagine 
 a more cheering and affecting scene, than must often 
 have been presented, when a native Sabbath-school 
 teacher has seated herself on the grass, under the 
 shade of a spreading tree, or by the side of a 
 winding stream, and has there gathered her little 
 class around her, for the purpose of unfolding, and 
 impressing on their tender minds, the pure and 
 sacred precepts of inspired truth; or has, under these 
 circumstances, engaged with them in prayer to that 
 God, who is not confined to temples made with 
 hands, and who regards the sincerity of those who 
 call upon him, rather than the circumstances under 
 which their petitions are offered. Their delightful 
 labours in this department of instruction have not 
 been in vain. Several children and young persons, 
 who have died, have left behind them the most consoling 
 and satisfactory evidence, that they had departed to 
 be with Christ 5 and others have been at an early 
 age admitted members of the Christian church. 
 
 The annual examinations of these schools are among 
 the most exhilarating and interesting festivities now 
 observed in the islands. They are usually held in 
 the chapel of the station, in order to afford accom¬ 
 modation to a greater number of persons than could 
 gain admittance to the schools. Sometimes the adults 
 are examined as well as the children, but, in general, 
 only the latter. Their parents attend, to witness the pro¬ 
 cedure, with great satisfaction. An entertainment and 
 a procession usually terminate the exercises of the day. 
 
 One of these anniversaries, held at Burder’s Point, 
 the Missionary station, the district of Atehuru, in 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 497 
 
 the year 1824, was unusually interesting. This district 
 had formerly been distinguished, even among the dis¬ 
 tricts of Tahiti, for the turbulent and warlike dis¬ 
 positions of its inhabitants, and the ardour of their 
 zeal in the service of their idols—the magnitude of 
 the idol temples—the sanguinary character of their 
 worship—and the presence of Oro, the great war- 
 god of the South Sea Islanders. Within the precincts 
 of the Missionary station, not far from the place of 
 worship, one of the great national maraes formerly 
 stood,—where the image of Oro had often been kept, 
 where human sacrifices had frequently been offered, where 
 the inauguration of the last heathen king who reigned 
 in Tahiti took place, and where every cruelty and 
 every abomination connected with paganism had been 
 practised for ages. After the subversion of idolatry, 
 this marae was divested of its glory, stripped of all 
 its idolatrous appendages, and robbed of its gods, 
 while the houses they occupied were committed to 
 the flames. Still the massy pile of solid stonework, 
 constituting one end of the area which the marae 
 included, remained in a state of partial dilapidation— 
 an imposing monument of the reign of terror, as 
 they denominated idolatry. The natives were, how¬ 
 ever, determined to remove even this vestige of the 
 system of which they so long had been the vassals, 
 and therefore levelled, for this occasion, the mighty 
 pile, and with the materials formed a spacious solid 
 platform, three feet high, one hundred and ninety- 
 four feet long, and one hundred and fifty-seven feet 
 wide; the whole surrounded with a stone wall ce¬ 
 mented with lime. Here a festival was held on the 
 11th of June, 1824. Upon this platform ninety tables 
 
 3s 
 
498 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 were prepared* after the manner of preparation for a 
 feast in England. Seats* usually native-made sofas 
 or chairs* were arranged along the sides of the tables* 
 and all the children in the school* about two hundred 
 and forty* dined together. 
 
 The Missionaries* and many of the parents of the 
 children* were present—delighted to witness the cheer¬ 
 fulness of the boys and the girls* as they sat to¬ 
 gether* and unitedly partook of the bounties of Pro¬ 
 vidence. Mr. Darling, the indefatigable Missionary 
 of the station* remarks* “This was on the very spot 
 where Satan’s throne stood* and where* a few years 
 ago* if a female had eaten but a mouthful* so sacred was 
 the place considered* that she would have been put 
 to death.” What a spectacle of loveliness and peace 
 must the platform have on this day exhibited* when 
 compared with the scenes of abomination* absurdity, 
 and cruelty* that had often been presented* when the 
 very materials of which it was composed had formed 
 part of an idolatrous temple. The children afterwards 
 walked in procession through the settlement* halted 
 at each of the extremities* sung a hymn* and then 
 repaired to the chapel* where a suitable address 
 was delivered to them by the pastor. These annual 
 examinations and festivals are not peculiar to Buna- 
 auia* but are instituted in other stations of the Geor¬ 
 gian group. 
 
 In the Leeward or Society Islands the remembrance 
 of these exercises are among the most pleasing recol¬ 
 lections I retain of my intercourse with the people. 
 In Huahine they are usually held at the close of the 
 public services connected with the Missionary anni¬ 
 
 versaries. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 499 
 
 Oil the 11th of May 1821, a large chapel was nearly 
 filled with spectators. The school contained between 
 four and five hundred children. Several from each 
 class were examined, and manifested that they had 
 been neither indolent nor careless. I beheld, with no 
 common interest, a number of fine, healthy, and 
 sprightly-looking children on that occasion assembled 
 together, and saw a little boy, seven or eight years 
 of age, with a little fringed mat wound round his 
 waist, and a light scarf thrown over the shoulder* 
 stand up on a form, and repeat aloud two or three 
 chapters of one of the Gospels, and answer a variety 
 of questions; and pass through the whole of his 
 examination with scarcely a single mistake. This 
 was the case with several on that occasion. At 
 the close of the examination, the children were 
 rewarded by Mr. Barff, who, on delivering the pre¬ 
 sents, which were different books in the native lan*- 
 guage, accompanied each by a suitable remark to the 
 favoured proprietor. Often, as the little boy has 
 walked back to the seat with his prize—perhaps a 
 copy of one of the Gospels—I have seen the mother’s 
 eye follow the child with all a parent’s fond emo¬ 
 tion beaming in her eye, while the tear of pleasure 
 has sparkled there; and, in striking contrast with 
 this, the childless mother might be seen weeping 
 at the recollection of the dear babes, which, under 
 the influence of idolatry, she had destroyed—and which, 
 but for her own murderous hands, might have min^ 
 gled in the throng she then beheld before her. On 
 the occasion above alluded to, when the examina¬ 
 tions in the place of worship had terminated, the 
 children walked, in the same order in which they 
 
500 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 were accustomed to proceed from the school to the 
 chapel, to a rising ground in the vicinity of the 
 governor’s house. Here an entertainment had been 
 provided for them by the chiefs. We followed, 
 amid the multitude of their parents and friends; 
 and, on reaching the place of the assemblage, beheld 
 a most delightful scene. About three hundred boys 
 sat in classes on the grass on the right-hand side 
 of the rising ground, each teacher presiding at the 
 head of his class. On the left-hand, about two hun¬ 
 dred girls were arranged in the same manner. A 
 plentiful repast had been prepared, which was carved, 
 and handed to them as they sat upon the green 
 turf. In the centre, tables were spread for the 
 chiefs, and the parents and friends of the children: 
 we sat down with them, gratified with their hos¬ 
 pitality, but deriving far more pleasure from gazing on 
 the spectacle on either side, than in partaking of the 
 provision. Before the assembly departed, I gave a 
 short address to the parents, teachers, and children. 
 When I concluded, they all stood up; the boys 
 formed a circle on one side, and the girls on the 
 other, and sang alternately the verses of a hymn 
 in the native language; after which, one of the 
 teachers offered a short prayer,—and we retired, under 
 the influence of those emotions of satisfaction which 
 appeared to pervade the bosom of every individual; 
 and it was not easy to say whether it was most 
 powerfully exhibited in the countenances of the chil¬ 
 dren or their parents. 
 
 Towards the evening of the day, the children 
 walked two and two, hand in hand, from one end of 
 the settlement to the other, preceded by the flag 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 501 
 
 belonging to the schools. The best boy in the school 
 carried the flag; which was not of silk emblazoned 
 with letters of gold, but of less costly materials. 
 The banners of the schools attached to the different 
 stations were various; some of white native cloth, 
 with the word “ Hosanna” impressed upon it in scarlet 
 dye; another was of light, but woven cloth, with 
 the following sentiment inscribed upon it, la ora 
 te hid arii e ia maoro teienei hau , “ Life and bless¬ 
 ing to the Reigning Family, and long be this peaceful 
 reign!” The one at Huahine was of fine blue cloth, 
 with a white dove and olive branch in the centre, 
 beneath which was inscribed the Angels* Song, as 
 the motto of the school. Sometimes the children, 
 as they passed along, would sing, “Long be this 
 peaceful reign/* or any other motto that might be 
 inscribed upon the banner. And when they walked 
 through the district, a father or mother, or both, 
 came out of the door of their little cottages, and 
 gazed with highest pleasure on them as they passed 
 by, walked beside them, or followed them with 
 their eye until some clump of trees, or winding in 
 the road, hid them from their view. 
 
 The meeting at Raiatea in the year 1824 was deeply 
 affecting. It was held on a kind of pier or quay 
 built in the sea. Six hundred children assembled to 
 partake of the feast their parents had provided. 
 The boys afterwards delivered public addresses. A 
 religious service in the chapel closed the exercises 
 of the day, and all retired to their respective homes, 
 apparently delighted. Mr. Williams, in reference to 
 this interesting spectacle, questions whether, but for 
 the influence of Christianity, one-fourth of the chil- 
 
502 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 dren would have been in existence, and states his 
 opinion, that they would not, and that “ the hands 
 of their mothers would have been imbrued in their 
 bloods This was not groundless opinion, but an 
 inference authorized by the most melancholy but 
 unquestionable facts. At a former meeting held on 
 the spot where the chapel stood, in which the chil¬ 
 dren were examined, he was present. A venerable 
 chief rose, and addressed the assembly, with impres¬ 
 sive action, and strongly excited feeling. Comparing 
 the past with the present state of the people, he 
 said, “ I was a mighty chief; the spot on which 
 we are now assembled was by me made sacred for 
 myself and family; large was my family, but I alone 
 remain; all have died in the service of Satan—they 
 knew not this good word which I am spared to 
 see; my heart is longing for them, and often says 
 within me, Oh! that they had not died so soon: 
 great are my crimes; I am the father of nineteen 
 children; all of them I have murdered —now my 
 heart longs for them.—Had they been spared, they 
 would have been men and women—learning and 
 knowing the word of the true God. But while I 
 was thus destroying them, no one, not even my own 
 cousin, (pointing to Tamatoa the king, who pre¬ 
 sided at the meeting,) stayed my hand, or said, 
 Spare them. No one said, The good word, the true 
 word is coming, spare your children; and now my 
 heart is repenting—is weeping for them \” 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 503 
 
 CHAP. XVIIL 
 
 Account of Taaroarii—Encouraging circumstances connected with his 
 early life—His marriage—Profligate associates—Fatal effects of bad 
 example—Disorderly conduct—His illness—Attention of the chiefs 
 and people—Visits to his encampment—Last interview—Death of Taa- 
 roarii—Funeral procession—Impressive and affecting circumstances 
 connected with his decease and interment—His monument and epitaph 
 —Notice of his father—His widow and daughter—General ideas of the 
 people relative to death and a future state—Death the consequence of 
 Divine displeasure—State of spirits—Miru, or heaven—Religious cere¬ 
 monies for ascertaining the causes of death-—Embalming—The burying 
 of the sins of the departed—Singular religious ceremony—Offerings to 
 the dead—Occupation of the spirits of the deceased—Superstitions of 
 the people—Otohaa, or lamentation—Wailing—Outrages committed 
 under the paroxysms of grief—Use of sharks’ teeth—Elegiac ballads 
 singularly beautiful—The heva—Absurdity and barbarism of the 
 practice—Institution of Christian burial—Dying expressions of native 
 converts. 
 
 Although many of the parents had the satisfaction to 
 behold their children growing up under the influence of 
 those instructions which they were so anxious to impart, 
 and realizing, as they arrived at years of maturity, all 
 they had desired, there were instances of an opposite 
 kind. The circumstances preceding the death of Taa- 
 roarii, the only son of the king, the chief of Sir Charles 
 Sanders’ Island, and the heir to the government of 
 Huahine, were peculiarly distressing. 
 
504 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The young chieftain was in his nineteenth year; his 
 high rank, and extensive influence, led us to indulge 
 cheering anticipations ; and, during his juvenile years, 
 he was greatly beloved by the people. He had also, when 
 it was supposed he could scarcely have arrived at years 
 of discretion, shewn his contempt for the idols of his 
 country, his desire to be instructed concerning the true 
 God, and had prohibited the licentious and idolatrous 
 ceremonies of the Areois, when there were very few in 
 any degree favourable to Christianity. Subsequently, 
 Taaroarii had become a diligent pupil of the Mission¬ 
 aries. We could not but hope that Divine Providence 
 was raising him up to succeed his father, and to govern 
 the islands under his authority, for the stability of the 
 Christian faith, and the advancement of the people’s true 
 interests. 
 
 These hopes, however, were disappointed. He treated 
 Christianity and the worship of God with respect, 
 was a steady enemy to the introduction or use of ardent 
 spirits by chiefs or people, and was not a profligate 
 man. But, soon after our establishment in Hua- 
 hine, a number of the most abandoned young men, 
 of that and other islands, attached themselves to his 
 retinue, which was always numerous, became his com¬ 
 panions, flattered his pride, and, in many respects mini¬ 
 stering to his wishes, they infused their own spirit into 
 his mind. 
 
 Being naturally cheerful and good-natured, he was 
 induced by his companions, first to neglect instruction, 
 then the public worship of God, and, subsequently, to 
 patronize and support his unprincipled followers. His 
 venerable father beheld the change with the most 
 poignant grief, and used all the affection, influence, and 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 505 
 
 authority of a parent, to lead him from those evil courses ; 
 but his efforts, and those of other friends, failed. 
 
 In order to draw him from this influence, a matri¬ 
 monial connexion was arranged, and he was united in 
 marriage with the daughter of Hautia, who, next to 
 Mahine, was the highest chief, and deputy-governor of 
 the island. His daughter was near the age of the king’s 
 son ; and though rather inferior in rank, she was in every 
 other respect a suitable partner, and proved a faithful 
 and affectionate wife. 
 
 A house was built for him near the dwelling of his 
 wife’s family, and subsequently a domestic establish¬ 
 ment formed for the youthful couple, adjacent to his 
 father’s residence. It was, however, soon manifest that 
 the baneful influence of his former associates was not 
 destroyed. They gathered around him again, and he 
 gave himself up to their guidance and counsel. 
 
 His wife was treated with cruelty, but still continued 
 attentive to his comfort. A number of the most pro¬ 
 fligate of the young men attached to his establishment, 
 having tataued themselves, he was induced to submit to 
 the same, it is supposed, with a view to skreen them 
 from punishment. They imagined the magistrates would 
 not bring him to public trial; and if he was exempted, 
 they knew they should escape. In this, however, they 
 were mistaken. 
 
 When it was found that the young chief had actually 
 violated the laws, the magistrates came to the king, to 
 ask him whether he should be tried. The struggle was 
 severe; but, under the influence of a patriotism worthy 
 of his station, he said he wished the laws to be regarded, 
 rather than those feelings which would lead him to spare 
 his son the disgrace to which he had subjected himself. 
 
 3 T 
 
506 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 To convince the people that the government would act 
 according to the laws* and to deter others from their 
 violation* he directed that his son should be tried. 
 Taaroarii received his sentence with apparent indiffe¬ 
 rence* but was so exasperated with his father* that he 
 more than once threatened to murder him, or to cause 
 his destruction. 
 
 Some months after this* he broke a blood-vessel* it is 
 supposed* with over-exertion at the public work ap¬ 
 pointed as a penalty for his crime. After this* he laid 
 aside his labour; his people would have performed the 
 work for him at once* but he would not allow it, and 
 appeared to identify himself with them* in the humi¬ 
 liating situation to which they had reduced themselves. 
 In the conversations we sometimes had with him* he 
 seemed to regret having connected himself with the party 
 who now considered him as their head and leader. 
 
 Shortly after this event* symptoms of rapid consump¬ 
 tion appeared* and assumed a most alarming character. 
 Every available means were promptly employed* but 
 without effect. His father frequently visited him* and 
 his wife was his constant attendant. In order to try 
 the effect of change of air* he was laid upon a litter* 
 and brought on men’s shoulders into the valley* where 
 a temporary encampment had been erected near our 
 dwelling. The chiefs of the island* with their guards, 
 attended* and* when they reached the valley* fired three 
 volleys of musketry* indicative of their sympathy. 
 
 While he remained here* we often saw him; he was 
 generally communicative* and sometimes cheerful* ex¬ 
 cepting when the topic of religion was introduced* and 
 then an evident change of feeling took place; he would 
 attend to our observations, but seldom utter a syllable 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 50 7 
 
 in reply, and seemed unwilling to have the subject 
 brought under consideration. This was the most dis¬ 
 tressing circumstance attending his illness, and to none 
 more painfully affecting than to his aged father. 
 
 On the last day of his life, Mrs. Ellis and our two 
 elder children, to whom he had always been partial, went 
 to see him: he appeared comparatively cheerful, listened 
 to all that was said, and shook the children by the 
 hand very affectionately, when they said la ora na , or 
 Farewell. I spent some time with him during the 
 same afternoon, and it was the most affecting inter¬ 
 course I ever had with a dying fellow-creature. 
 
 The encampment was fixed on an elevated part of 
 the plain, near which the river, that flowed from the 
 interior mountain to the sea, formed a considerable 
 curvature. The adjacent parts of the valley were covered 
 with shrubs, but the margin of the river was overgrown 
 with slender branching purau, and ancient chestnut-trees, 
 that reared their stately heads far above the rest, and 
 shed their grateful shade on the waters, and on the 
 shore. Near the edge of the cool stream that rippled 
 among the pebbles, and at the root of one of these stately 
 trees, I found the young chieftain, lying on a portable 
 couch, surrounded by his sorrowing friends and attend¬ 
 ants. 
 
 I asked why they had brought him there : they said 
 that he complained of heat or want of air, and they had 
 brought him to that spot that he might enjoy the refresh¬ 
 ing coolness of the stream and the shade. I could not 
 but admire their choice as I sat beside him, and felt, after 
 leaving the portions of the valley exposed to the sun’s 
 rays, as if I had entered another climate. The gentle 
 but elastic current of air swept along the course of the 
 
508 
 
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 river, beneath the foliage that often formed beautiful 
 natural arches over the water, and through which a 
 straggling sun-beam was here and there seen sparkling 
 in the ripple of the stream. 
 
 After mingling my sympathy with the friends around, 
 I spoke at some length to the young man, whose visage 
 had considerably altered since the preceding day. I 
 endeavoured to direct his mind to God, for mercy through 
 Christ, and affectionately urged a personal and immediate 
 application, by faith, to him who is able to save even to 
 the uttermost, and willing to receive even at the eleventh 
 hour, &c. 
 
 All prospect of his recovery had ceased; our soli¬ 
 citude was therefore especially directed to his prepara¬ 
 tion for that state on which he was so soon to enter. 
 This indeed had been our principal aim in all our inter¬ 
 course with him. On this occasion he made no reply, 
 (indeed I suppose he was unable, had he been disposed,) 
 but he raised his head after I had done speaking, and 
 gazed stedfastly upon me, with an expression of anguish 
 in his whole countenance, which I never shall forget, and 
 which is altogether indescribable. Whether it arose 
 from bodily or mental agony, I am not able to say, but I 
 never beheld so affecting a spectacle. 
 
 Before I left his couch, I attempted to direct his mind 
 to the compassionate Redeemer, and, I think, engaged in 
 prayer with him. The evening was advancing when I 
 took leave, and the conviction was strongly impressed 
 on my mind, that it was the last day he would spend on 
 earth. My eye lingered on him with intense and mingled 
 interest, as I stood at his feet, and watched his short 
 heaving and laborious respiration; his restless and fever¬ 
 ish head had been long pillowed on the lap of his affec- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 509 
 
 tionate wife, whose face, with that of every other friend, 
 was suffused with tears. His eye rolling its keen fitful 
 glance on every object, but resting on none, spoke a state 
 of feeling very remote indeed from tranquillity and ease. 
 I could not help supposing that his agitated soul was, 
 through this her natural window, looking wishfully on 
 all she was then leaving; and as I saw his eye rest on his 
 wife, his father, his friends around, and then glancing to 
 the green boughs that waved gently in the passing breeze, 
 the bright and clear blue sky that appeared at intervals 
 through the foliage, and the distant hills whose summits 
 were burnished with the splendour of the retiring sun— 
 I almost imagined the intensity and rapidity of his 
 glance indicated an impression that he would never gaze 
 on them again. Such was the conviction of my own 
 mind; and I reluctantly retired, more deeply than ever 
 impressed with the necessity of early and habitual pre¬ 
 paration for death. 
 
 O ! how different would the scene have been, had this 
 interesting youth, as earth with all its associations re¬ 
 ceded from his view, experienced the support and conso¬ 
 lations of the gospel, with the hopes of immortality. 
 I presume not to say that in his last hours, in those emo¬ 
 tions of the soul, when nature was too much exhausted 
 to allow him to declare, and which were known only to 
 God and to himself, he was not cheered by these anti¬ 
 cipations. I would try to hope it was so : for indications 
 of such feelings his dear sorrowing and surviving friends 
 anxiously waited. 
 
 How striking the contrast between his last day on earth, 
 and that of Teivaiva, another youth of Huahine, and, like 
 Taaroarii, an only son and an only child, who, when he 
 saw his sorrowing parents weeping by the side of the 
 
510 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 couch on which he lay, collected his remaining strength, 
 and rousing himself, said—“ I am in pain, but I am not 
 unhappy; Jesus Christ is with me, and he supports 
 me; we must part, but we shall not be parted long; 
 in heaven we shall meet, and never die. Father, don’t 
 weep for me. Mother, don’t weep for me. We shall 
 never die in heaven.” But the latter of these, while in 
 health and comfort, had been happy in the ways of 
 religion, seeking the favour of God : the former had neg¬ 
 lected and departed from those ways, and had lived in 
 the practice of sin. 
 
 About nine o’clock in the evening, Mahine sent word 
 that his son was worse. Mr. Barff and myself hastened 
 to the encampment, and found him apparently dying, but 
 quite sensible. We remained with them some time, 
 endeavoured to administer a small portion of medicine, 
 and then returned. A short time before midnight, on the 
 25th of October, 1821, he breathed his last. 
 
 When the messenger brought us the tidings of his 
 death, we repaired to the tent, found his parents, his wife, 
 and an aunt who was exceedingly fond of him, sobbing 
 and weeping bitterly by the side of the corpse. The 
 attendants joined in the lamentation; it was not the 
 wild and frantic grief of paganism, so universal formerly 
 on such occasions, but the expression of deepest anguish, 
 chastened and subdued by submission to the Divine will. 
 We mingled our sympathies with the mourners, spent a 
 considerable time with them endeavouring to impart 
 consolation to their minds, and then returned to rest, but 
 not to sleep. 
 
 The sudden departure of the young chieftain, and the 
 circumstances connected with it, powerfully affected our 
 minds. We had been intimate with him ever since our 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES, 
 
 511 
 
 arrival in the islands, had received many tokens of kind¬ 
 ness from him, had watched his progress with no ordinary 
 interest, especially since his removal to Huahine in 1818. 
 We had considered him as the future sovereign of the 
 island in which we should probably spend our days, but 
 he was now for ever removed. We hoped we had been 
 faithful to him. But at times such as this, when one and 
 another was removed from the people amongst whom we 
 laboured, we were led to ponder on the state into which 
 they had entered; and when their prospects had been 
 dark, and their character doubtful, we could not but fear 
 that we perhaps had not manifested all the solicitude we 
 ought to have done, nor used means available for the 
 purpose of leading them to Him, who alone could deliver 
 from the fear of death, and all the consequences of con¬ 
 scious guilt. Reflections of this kind were now solemn 
 and intense, and I trust profitable. 
 
 The funeral was conducted in the Christian manner : a 
 coffin was made for the body, and a new substantial 
 stone vault was built in the south-west angle of the 
 chapel-yard; on account of which, his interment was 
 deferred until five days after his decease. 
 
 About three o’clock in the afternoon of the 30th of 
 October, we repaired to the encampment of the king, and 
 found most of the people of the island assembled. About 
 four the procession left the tent. Mr. Barff and myself 
 walked in front, followed by a few of the favourite 
 attendants of the young chief. The coffin was borne by 
 six of his own men ; it was covered with a rich yellow 
 pall, of thick native cloth, with a deep black border. 
 Six young chiefs, in European suits of mourning, bore 
 the pall; amongst them was the son of the king of Raia- 
 tea. His wife, his father, and near relations, followed. 
 
512 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 wearing also deep European mourning. Mrs. Barff and 
 Mrs. Ellis, with our children, walked after these; the 
 tenantry of his own district, and servants of his house¬ 
 hold, came next; and after them the greater part of the 
 population of the island. 
 
 When we reached the place of sepulture, I turned and 
 looked towards the valley, and beheld, I think, a scene 
 of the most solemn interest that ever I witnessed. Be¬ 
 fore us stood the bier, on which was laid the corpse of 
 the individual of highest hopes among all I beheld, des¬ 
 tined for the highest distinction the nation knew, whose 
 tall, and, for his years, gigantic form, open and manly 
 brow, had promised fair for many years of most com¬ 
 manding influence, an influence which we once had 
 hoped would have advanced his country’s welfare. Be¬ 
 side that bier stood his youthful widow, weeping, we 
 have reason to believe, tears of unfeigned sorrow; and 
 who, in addition to the loss she had sustained, was on 
 the eve of becoming a mother. Near her stood his 
 venerable sire, gray with age, and bending with infir¬ 
 mities, taking a last sad look of all that now remained 
 of what had once been the stay of his declining years, 
 his hope and joy; towards whom, in all his wayward 
 courses, he had exercised the affection of a father. 
 
 Around them stood the friends, and, along the margin 
 of the placid ocean, and emerging from the shadowy 
 paths that wound along the distant valley, the mourning 
 tribes, the father, and the mother, with their children, 
 were seen advancing slowly to the spot. Each individual 
 in the whole procession, which, as they walked only two 
 abreast, extended from the sepulchre to the valley, wore 
 some badge of mourning; frequently it was a white tiputa 
 or mantle, with a wide black fringe. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 513 
 
 When the greater part had reached the chapel yard* 
 Mr. Barff addressed the spectators, and I offered a prayer 
 to the Almighty, that the mournful event might be 
 made a blessing to the survivors. The body was 
 then deposited in the tomb, the pall left on the coffin. 
 The father, the widow, and several other friends, entered, 
 took a last glance, and retired in silence, under strong 
 and painful emotion. When we withdrew, the servants 
 placed a large stone against the entrance, and left it till 
 the following day, when it was walled up. The tomb was 
 whitewashed, and a small coral stone placed perpendicu¬ 
 larly, at the end towards the sea, on which was inscribed 
 in the native language, this simple epitaph, “ Taaroarii, 
 died October 25th, 1821.” On the following Sabbath, 
 the solemn event was improved, in a discourse from 
 2 Kings xx. 1. 
 
 I never saw persons more deeply affected than the 
 friends of the deceased had been during his illness, 
 especially his excellent father, and his wife. For many 
 days prior to his death, the latter sat by his couch, sup¬ 
 porting his aching head in her lap, wiping the cold per¬ 
 spiration from his brow, or refreshing him with her fan, 
 watching with fondest solicitude his look, and aiming, if 
 possible, to anticipate his wishes. It ended not with his 
 decease. She scarcely left his body until it was interred, 
 sitting on one side, while his aunt, or some other relative, 
 sat on the other, through the day; and when overcome 
 with fatigue and watching, falling asleep in the same 
 station at night; yet I never heard the least murmur or 
 repining word against the dealings of God. It was but 
 the excess of sorrow, on account of the bereavement. 
 Two months afterwards she became a mother, and, during 
 our continuance on the island, Mrs. Ellis was considered 
 
 3 tj 
 
514 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 as the guardian of her infant daughter. Since our de¬ 
 parture the child has been trained, by its fond mother, 
 according to the direction of Mrs. Barff, and will proba¬ 
 bly succeed to the government of the island at its grand¬ 
 father’s death. 
 
 Mahine, the pious and venerable chief, still lives to be 
 an ornament to the Christian religion, a nursing father 
 to the infant churches established in his country, and 
 the greatest blessing to the people whom he governs. 
 His daughter-in-law in some degree supplies to him the 
 place of bis departed son, and is, indeed, the comfort 
 and solace of his declining years. Her behaviour to him 
 and his family has been uniformly affectionate and re¬ 
 spectful—the whole of her public and domestic conduct, 
 such as to deserve the imitation of her own sex, among 
 whom she has maintained her elevated station with 
 becoming propriety, and to confirm those pleasing anti¬ 
 cipations we have often indulged respecting her religious 
 character. We have reason to hope that she is not a 
 Christian merely in sentiment and opinion, but that her 
 mind is under the decisive influence of the principles 
 inculcated in the sacred volume.* 
 
 Having had occasion to speak of the decease and inter¬ 
 ment of Taaroarii, an account of the views of death and 
 a future state, and the rites of burial, which formerly 
 
 * Among a number of letters which have recently come to hand from 
 the Society Islands, Mrs. Ellis had the satisfaction to receive one from the 
 widow of Taaroarii, of an extract from which, the following is a literal 
 translation. “ Peace to you from the true God, from Jehovah, and from 
 Jesus Christ. My word to you is, that my affection for you and your 
 children is unabated. Through the goodness of God your breath has 
 been lengthened out. We did not know whether you were living or 
 not, and, behold, your little presents arrived, and we knew that you were 
 still living. On account of the goodness of God, our breath is lengthened, 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 515 
 
 prevailed in the islands, will not be inappropriately 
 introduced here. Some of their usages and opinions on 
 these subjects were remarkably curious. Every disease to 
 which they were subject, was supposed to be the effect 
 of direct supernatural agency, and to be inflicted by the 
 gods for some crime against the tabu, of which the 
 sufferers had been guilty, or in consequence of some 
 offering made by an enemy to procure their destruction. 
 Hence, it is probable, in a great measure resulted their 
 neglect and cruel treatment of their sick. The same 
 ideas prevailed with regard to death, every instance of 
 which they imagined was caused by the direct influence 
 of the gods. 
 
 The natives acknowledged that they possessed articles 
 of poison, which, when taken in the food, would produce 
 convulsions and death, but those effects they considered 
 more the result of the god’s anger, and operating by 
 means of these substances, than the effects of the poisons 
 themselves. Those who died of eating fish, of which 
 several kinds found on their coasts are at certain seasons 
 unsuitable for food, were supposed to die by the influence 
 of the gods; who, they imagined, had entered the fish, or 
 rendered it poisonous. Several Europeans have been 
 affected by these fish, though only in a slight degree, 
 usually causing swelling of the body, a red colour diffused 
 on the skin, and a distressing head-ache. Those who 
 were killed in battle were also supposed to die from the 
 
 and our dwelling prolonged in this land; but we know not that we shall 
 see each other’s faces again. You know that frail and feeble is the body 
 of man. Tamarii (her infant daughter) is learning the word of God. 
 Come back to Huahine. Peace be to you all, from Jesus Christ.”— 
 The letter from which the above is taken, is dated October 5, 1827, 
 and is signed, “ Taaroarii-vahine.” 
 
516 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 influence of the gods, who, they fancied, had actually 
 entered the weapons of their murderers. Hence, 
 those who died suddenly were said to be seized by the 
 god. 
 
 Their ideas of a future state were vague and indefinite. 
 They generally spoke of the place to which departed 
 spirits repaired on leaving the body, as the po , state of 
 night. This also was the abode or resort of the gods, 
 and those deified spirits that had not been destroyed. 
 What their precise ideas of a spirit were, it is not easy 
 to ascertain. They appear, however, to have imagined 
 the shape or form resembled that of the human body, in 
 which they sometimes appeared in dreams to the sur¬ 
 vivors. 
 
 When the spirit left the body, which they called unuhi 
 te varua e te atua , the spirit drawn out by the god, (the 
 same term, unuhi , is applied by them to the drawing of 
 a sword out of its scabbard,) it was supposed to be 
 fetched, or sent for, by the god. They imagined that 
 oramatuas , or demons, were often waiting near the body, 
 to seize the human spirit as it should be drawn out (they 
 supposed) from the head; and, under the influence of 
 strong impressions from such superstitions, or the effects 
 of a disordered imagination, when dying, the poor crea¬ 
 tures have sometimes pointed to the foot of the mat or 
 the couch on which they were lying, and have exclaimed, 
 “ There the varua , spirits, are waiting for my spirit; 
 guard its escape, preserve it from them,” &c. 
 
 On leaving the body, they imagined it was seized by 
 other spirits, conducted to the po , or state of night, 
 where it was eaten by the gods; not at once, but by 
 degrees. They imagined that different parts of the 
 human spirit were scraped with a kind of serrated shell. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 517 
 
 at different times; that the ancestors or relatives of 
 the deceased performed this operation; that the spirit 
 thus passed through the god, and if it underwent this 
 process of being eaten, &c. three different times, it became 
 a deified or imperishable spirit, might visit the world, 
 and inspire others. 
 
 They had a kind of heaven, which they called Miru . 
 The heaven most familiar, especially in the Leeward 
 Islands, is Rohutu noanoa , sweet-scented Rohutu. This 
 was situated near Tamahani unauna , glorious Tama- 
 hani, the resort of departed spirits, a celebrated moun¬ 
 tain on the north-west side of Raiatea. The perfumed 
 Rohutu, though invisible but to spirits, was somewhere 
 between the former settlement and the district of Tipae- 
 hapa on the north side of Raiatea. It was described as 
 a beautiful place, quite an elysium, where the air was 
 remarkably salubrious, flowers abundant, highly odori¬ 
 ferous, and in perpetual blossom. Here the Areois, and 
 others raised to this state, followed all the amusements 
 and pursuits to which they had been accustomed in the 
 world, without intermission or end. Here was food in 
 abundance, and every indulgence. It is worthy of 
 remark, that the misery of the one, and enjoyments of the 
 other, debasing as they were, were the destiny of indivi¬ 
 duals, altogether irrespective of their moral character and 
 virtuous conduct. The only crimes that were visited by 
 the displeasure of their deities were the neglect of some 
 rite or ceremony, or the failing to furnish required offer¬ 
 ings. I have often, in conversations with the people and 
 sometimes with the priests, endeavoured to ascertain 
 whether they had any idea of a person’s condition in a 
 future state being connected with his disposition and 
 general conduct in this; but I never could learn that 
 
518 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 they expected, in the world of spirits, any difference in 
 the treatment of a kind, generous, peaceful man, and 
 that of a cruel, parsimonious, quarrelsome one. I am, 
 however, inclined to think, from the great anxiety about 
 a future state, which some have evinced when near death, 
 that natural conscience, which I believe pronounced a 
 verdict on the moral character of every action throughout 
 their lives, is not always inactive in the solemn hour of 
 dissolution, although its salutary effects were neutralized 
 by the strength of superstition. 
 
 As soon as an individual was dead, the tahua tutera 
 was employed, for the purpose of discovering the cause 
 of the deceased person’s death. In order to effect this, the 
 priest took his canoe, and paddled slowly along on the 
 sea, near the house in which the body was lying, to watch 
 the passage of the spirit ; which they supposed would 
 fly upon him, with the emblem of the cause for which the 
 person had died. If he had been cursed by the gods, 
 the spirit would appear with a flame, fire being the 
 agent employed in the incantation of the sorcerers; if 
 pifaod , or killed, by the bribery of some enemy, given to 
 the gods, the spirit would appear with a red feather, the 
 emblem or sign of evil spirits having entered his food. 
 After a short time, the tahua, or priest, returned to the 
 house of the deceased, and told the survivors the cause 
 of his death, and received his fee, the amount of which 
 was regulated by the circumstances of the parties. 
 
 The taata faatere, or faatubua, was then employed, to 
 avert the destruction of the surviving members of the 
 family. A number of ceremonies were performed and 
 prayers offered, according to the cause of the death 
 that had taken place; and when these were concluded, 
 the priest, informing the family that he had been sue- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 519 
 
 cessful, and that the remaining members were now safe* 
 received another fee, and departed. 
 
 The disposal of the corpse was the next concern. The 
 bodies of the chiefs, and persons of rank and affluence, 
 were preserved; those of the middle and lower orders 
 buried: when interred, the body was not laid out 
 straight or horizontal, but placed in a sitting posture, 
 with the knees elevated, the face pressed down between 
 the knees, the hands fastened under the legs, and the 
 whole body tied with cord or cinet wound repeatedly 
 round. It was then covered over, and deposited not very 
 deeply in the earth. 
 
 However great the attachment between the deceased 
 and the survivors might have been, and however they 
 might desire to prolong the melancholy satisfaction 
 resulting from the presence of the lifeless body, on 
 which they still felt it some alleviation to gaze, the 
 heat of the climate was such, as to require that it should 
 be speedily removed, unless methods were employed for 
 its preservation, and these were generally too expensive 
 for the poor and middle ranks. They were therefore 
 usually obliged to inter the corpse sometimes on the 
 first, and seldom later than the second day after death. 
 During the short period that they could indulge the 
 painful sympathies connected with the retention of the 
 body, it was placed in a sort of bier covered with the 
 best white native cloth they possessed, and decorated 
 with wreaths and garlands of the most odoriferous 
 flowers. The body was also placed on a kind of bed of 
 green fragrant leaves, which were also strewed over the 
 floor of the dwelling. During the period which elapsed 
 between the death and interment of the body, the rela¬ 
 tives and surviving friends sat round the corpse, indulg- 
 
520 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 ing in melancholy sadness* giving vent to their grief in 
 loud and continued lamentations* often accompanied 
 with the use of the shark’s tooth ; which they employed 
 in cutting their temples* faces* and breasts* till they 
 were covered with the blood from their self-inflicted 
 wounds. The bodies were frequently committed to 
 the grave in deep silence* unbroken excepting by occa¬ 
 sional lamentations of those who attended. But on some 
 occasions* the father delivered an affecting and pathetic 
 oration at the funeral of his son. 
 
 The bodies of the dead* among the chiefs* were* how¬ 
 ever* in general preserved above ground: a temporary 
 house or shed was erected for them* and they were placed 
 on a kind of bier. The practice of embalming appears to 
 have been long familiar to them ; and the length of time 
 which the body was thus preserved* depended altogether 
 upon the costliness and care with which the process 
 was performed. The methods employed were at all 
 times remarkably simple : sometimes the moisture of the 
 body was removed by pressing the different parts* 
 drying it in the sun* and anointing it with fra¬ 
 grant oils. At other times* the intestines* brain* &c. 
 were removed* all moisture extracted from the body* 
 which was fixed in a sitting position during the day, 
 and exposed to the sun* and* when placed horizontally at 
 night was frequently turned over* that it might not 
 remain long on the same side. The inside was then 
 filled with cloth saturated with perfumed oils* which 
 were also injected into other parts of the body* and 
 carefully rubbed over the outside every day. This, 
 together with the heat of the sun* and the dryness of 
 the atmosphere* favoured the preservation of the 
 body. 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 521 
 
 Under the influence of these causes* in the course of a 
 few weeks the muscles dried up, and the whole body 
 appeared as if covered with a kind of parchment. It 
 was then clothed, and fixed in a sitting posture; a small 
 altar was erected before it, and offerings of fruit, food, 
 and flowers, daily presented by the relatives, or the 
 priest appointed to attend the body. In this state it 
 was preserved many months, and when it decayed, the 
 skull was carefully kept by the family, while the other 
 bones, &c. were buried within the precincts of the family 
 temple. 
 
 It is singular that the practice of preserving the bodies 
 of their dead by the process of embalming, which has 
 been thought to indicate a high degree of civilization, 
 and which was carried to such perfection by one of the 
 most celebrated nations of antiquity, some thousand 
 years ago, should be found to prevail among this people. 
 It is also practised by other distant nations of the Pacific, 
 and on some of the coasts washed by its waters. 
 
 In commencing the process of embalming, and placing 
 the body on the bier, another priest was employed, who 
 was called the tahua Lure tiapapau , literally “ corpse-pray 
 ing priest." His office was singular: when the house for 
 the dead had been erected, and the corpse placed upon 
 the platform or bier, the priest ordered a hole to be dug 
 in the earth or floor, near the foot of the platform. Over 
 this he prayed to the god, by whom it was supposed the 
 spirit of the deceased had been required. The purport 
 of his prayer was, that all the dead man's sins, and 
 especially that for which his soul had been called to the 
 po , might be deposited there, that they might not attach 
 in any degree to the survivors, and that the anger of the 
 god might be appeased. 
 
 3 x 
 
522 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The priest next addressed the corpse, usually saying, 
 Ei ia oe na te hara e vai ai , “ With you let the guilt now 
 remain.” The pillar or post of the corpse, as it was called, 
 was then planted in the hole, perhaps designed as a per¬ 
 sonification of the deceased, to exist after his body 
 should have decayed—the earth was thrown over, as 
 they supposed, the guilt of the departed—and the hole 
 filled up. 
 
 At the conclusion of this part of the curious rite, the 
 priest proceeded to the side of the corpse, and, taking a 
 number of small slips of the fa maia , plantain leaf-stalk, 
 fixed two or three pieces under each arm, placed a few 
 on the breast, and then addressing the dead body, said. 
 There are your family, there is your child, there is your 
 wife, there is your father, and there is your mother. Be 
 satisfied yonder, (that is, in the world of spirits.) Look 
 not towards those who are left in this world.—The con¬ 
 cluding parts of the ceremony were designed to impart 
 contentment to the departed, and to prevent the spirit 
 from repairing to the places of his former resort, and so 
 distressing the survivors. 
 
 This was considered a most important ceremony, being 
 a kind of mass for the dead, and necessary for the peace 
 of the living, as well as the quiet of the deceased. It 
 was seldom omitted by any who could procure the accus¬ 
 tomed fees for the priest, which for this service were 
 generally furnished in pigs and cloth, in proportion to 
 the rank or possessions of the family. 
 
 All who were employed in embalming, which they 
 called muri , were, during the process, carefully avoided 
 by every person, as the guilt of the crime for which the 
 deceased had died, was supposed in some degree to 
 attach to such as touched the body. They did not feed 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 523 
 
 themselves* lest the food defiled by the touch of their 
 polluted hands* should cause their own death* but were 
 fed by others. 
 
 As soon as the ceremony of depositing the sins in the 
 hole was over* all who had touched the body or the 
 garments of the deceased* which were buried or de¬ 
 stroyed* fled precipitately into the sea* to cleanse them¬ 
 selves from the pollution* called mahuruhuru , which they 
 had contracted by touching the corpse; casting also 
 into the sea* the clothes they had worn while employed 
 in the work. Having finished their ablutions* they 
 gathered a few pieces of coral from the bottom of the 
 sea* and* returning with them to the house* addressed 
 the dead body by saying* a With you may the mahuruhuru , 
 or pollution* be*” and threw down the pieces of coral on 
 the top of the hole that had been dug for the purpose of 
 receiving every thing contaminating connected with the 
 deceased. 
 
 The ceremonies in general were now finished* but if 
 the property of the family was abundant* their attach¬ 
 ment to the deceased great* and they wished his spirit 
 to be conveyed to Rohutu noanoa * the Tahitian paradise* 
 the fifth priest was employed. Costly offerings were 
 presented* and valuable articles given to the priest of 
 Romatane* the keeper of this happy place; Urutaetae 
 was the guide of such as went thither* and the 
 duty of the priest now employed was to engage him to 
 conduct the spirit of the departed to this region of fan¬ 
 cied enjoyment. 
 
 The houses erected as depositories for the dead* were 
 small and temporary buildings* though often remarkably 
 neat. The pillars supporting the roof were planted in 
 the ground* and were seldom more than six feet high. 
 
524 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 The bier or platform on which the body was laid* was 
 about three feet from the ground, and was moveable, for 
 the purpose of being drawn out, and exposing the body 
 to the rays of the sun. The corpse was usually clothed, 
 except when visited by the relatives or friends of the 
 deceased. It was, however, for a long time carefully 
 rubbed with aromatic oils once a day. 
 
 A light kind of altar was erected near it, on which 
 articles of food, fruits, and garlands of flowers were 
 daily deposited ; and if the deceased were a chief of 
 rank or fame, a priest or other person was appointed to 
 attend the corpse, and present food to its mouth at 
 different periods during the day. When asked their 
 reason for this senseless practice, they have said they 
 supposed there was a spiritual as well as a material part 
 of food, a part which they could smell ; and that if the 
 spirit of the deceased returned, the spirit or scent of the 
 offering would be grateful. Connected with the depo¬ 
 sitories of the dead, there was what they called the 
 aumiha , a kind of contagious influence, of which they 
 appeared to be afraid; and hence, at night especially, 
 they avoided the place of sepulture. The family, district, 
 or royal maraes were the general depositories of the 
 bones of the departed, whose bodies had been embalmed, 
 and whose skulls were sometimes preserved in the dwell¬ 
 ing of the survivors. The marae or temple being sacred, 
 and the bodies being under the guardianship of the gods, 
 were in general considered secure when deposited there. 
 This was not, however, always the case; and in times 
 of war, the victors sometimes, not only despoiled the 
 temples of the vanquished, and bore away their idol, but 
 robbed the sacred enclosure of the bones of celebrated 
 individuals. These spoils were appropriated to what 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 525 
 
 the nation considered the lowest degradation* by being 
 converted into chisels or borers* for the builders of 
 canoes and houses* or transformed into fishing-hooks. 
 In order to avoid this* they carried the bones of their 
 chiefs* and even the recently deceased corpse* and depo¬ 
 sited them in the caverns of some of the most inaccessi¬ 
 ble rocks in the lofty and fearful precipices of the moun¬ 
 tain defiles. 
 
 Notwithstanding the labour and care bestowed on the 
 bodies of the dead* they did not last very long; proba¬ 
 bly the most carefully preserved could not be kept more 
 than twelve months. When they began to decay* the 
 bones* &c. were buried* but the skull was preserved in the 
 family sometimes for several generations* wrapt carefully 
 in native cloth* and often suspended from some part of 
 the roof of their habitations. In some of the islands they 
 dried the bodies* and* wrapping them in numerous folds 
 of cloth* suspended them also from the roofs of their 
 dwelling houses. 
 
 The tribes inhabiting the islands of the Pacific 
 were remarkably superstitious* and among them none 
 more so than the inhabitants of the Georgian and Society 
 Islands. They imagined they lived in a world of spirits* 
 which surrounded them night and day* watching every 
 action of their lives* and ready to avenge the slightest 
 neglect* or the least disobedience to their injunctions* as 
 proclaimed by their priests. 
 
 These dreaded beings were seldom thought to resort 
 to the habitations of men on errands of benevolence. 
 They were supposed to haunt the places of their former 
 abode, to arouse the survivors from their slumbers by 
 making a squeaking noise* which when the natives heard 
 they would sometimes reply to* asking what they were, 
 
526 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 what they wanted* &c. Sometimes the spirits upbraided 
 the living with former wickedness* or the neglect of 
 some ceremonious enactment* for which they were 
 unhappy. 
 
 When a person was seized with convulsions or hys¬ 
 terics* it was said to be from seizure by the spirits* who 
 sometimes scratched their faces* tore their hair* or other¬ 
 wise maltreated them. For some time after the death of 
 Taaroarii we could seldom induce any of our servants to 
 go out of the house after it was dark* under an apprehen¬ 
 sion that they should see or be seized by his spirit. They 
 were* however* very ignorant young persons. The natives 
 in general laugh at their former credulity. The whole 
 system of their superstition seems to have been* in every 
 respect* wonderfully adapted to debase the mind* and 
 keep the people in the most abject subjection to the 
 priests* who* in order to maintain their influence* had 
 recourse to this extensive and imposing machinery of 
 supernatural agency; and it must be confessed that* con¬ 
 sidering their isolated situation* their entire ignorance 
 of science* of natural and experimental philosophy* their 
 ardent temperament* the romantic nature of the 
 country* and the adventurous character of many of their 
 achievements* there was something remarkably imposing 
 to an uncultivated mind in the system here incul¬ 
 cated. 
 
 Almost every native custom connected with the death 
 of relations or friends* was singular* and none perhaps 
 more so than the otahaa * which* though not confined 
 to instances of death* was then most violent. It consisted 
 in the most frantic expressions of grief* under which 
 individuals acted as if bereft of reason. It commenced 
 when the sick person appeared to be dying ; the wail- 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 527 
 
 ing then was often most distressing, but as soon as 
 the spirit had departed, the individuals became quite 
 ungovernable. 
 
 They not only wailed in the loudest and most affecting 
 tone, but tore their hair, rent their garments, and cut 
 themselves with shark’s teeth or knives in a most shock¬ 
 ing manner. The instrument usually employed was a 
 small cane, about four inches long, with five or six shark’s 
 teeth fixed in, on opposite sides. With one of these in¬ 
 struments every female provided herself after marriage, 
 and on occasions of death it was unsparingly used. 
 
 With some this was not sufficient; they prepared a 
 short instrument, something like a plumber’s mallet, 
 about five or six inches long, rounded at one end for a 
 handle, and armed with two or three rows of shark’s 
 teeth fixed in the wood, at the other. With this, on the 
 death of a relative or a friend, they cut themselves un • 
 mercifully, striking the head, temples, cheek, and breast, 
 till the blood flowed profusely from the wounds. At the 
 same time they uttered the most deafening and agonizing 
 cries; and the distortion of their countenances, their torn 
 and dishevelled hair, the mingled tears and blood that 
 covered their bodies, their wild gestures and unruly con¬ 
 duct, often gave them a frightful and almost inhuman 
 appearance. This cruelty was principally performed by 
 the females, but not by them only; the men committed 
 on these occasions the same enormities, and not only cut 
 themselves, but came armed with clubs and other deadly 
 weapons. 
 
 The otohaa commenced with the nearest relations of 
 the deceased, but it was not confined to them; so soon as 
 the tidings spread, and the sound of the lamentations 
 was heard through the neighbourhood, the friends and 
 
528 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 relatives repaired to the spot, and joined in the tragic 
 performance. 
 
 I am not prepared to say that the same enormities 
 were practised here as in the Sandwich Islands at these 
 times, but on the death of a king or principal chief the 
 scenes exhibited in and around the house were in ap¬ 
 pearance demoniacal. The relatives and members of the 
 household began; the other chiefs of the island and their 
 relatives came to sympathize with the survivors, and, on 
 reaching the place, joined in the infuriated conduct of 
 the bereaved; the tenantry of the chiefs also came, and, 
 giving themselves up to all the savage infatuation 
 which the conduct of their associates or the influence of 
 their superstitions inspired, they not only tore their hair, 
 and lacerated their bodies, till they were covered with 
 blood, but often fought with clubs and stones till murder 
 followed. 
 
 Auna has now some dreadful indentations on his skull 
 from blows he received by stones on one of these occa¬ 
 sions at Huahine; and in almost one of the last otohaa 
 observed in the same island, a man was killed by the 
 contents of the musket of another. Since the introduction 
 of fire-arms, they have been used in these seasons ; and 
 the smoke and report of the guns must have added to 
 the din and terrible confusion of the scene. I cannot 
 conceive of a spectacle more appalling, than that which 
 the infuriated rabble, smeared with their own blood, pre¬ 
 senting every frightful distortion in feature, and frantic 
 madness in action, must often have exhibited. This scene 
 was sometimes continued for two or three successive 
 days, or longer, on the death of a person of distinction. 
 
 I have often conversed with the people on their reasons 
 for this strange procedure, and have asked them if it 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 529 
 
 was not exceedingly painful to them to cut themselves as 
 they were accustomed to do. They have always answered 
 that it was very painful in some parts of the face—that 
 the upper-lip, or the space between the upper-lip and the 
 nostril, was the most tender, and a stroke there was 
 always attended with the greatest pain—that it was their 
 custom, and therefore considered indispensable, as it was 
 designed to express the depth of their sorrow—that any 
 one who should not do so, would be considered deficient 
 in respect for the deceased, and also as insulting to his 
 family. The acts of violence committed, they added, 
 were the effects of the paroxysms of their sorrow, which 
 made them neneva , or insensible. They continued till 
 their grief was ua maha , or satisfied, which often was 
 not the case till they had received several severe blow's 
 upon the tender part above mentioned. 
 
 The females on these occasions sometimes put on a 
 kind of short apron of a particular sort of cloth, which 
 they held up with one hand, w r hile they cut themselves 
 with the other. In this apron they caught the blood that 
 flowed from these grief-inflicted wounds, until it was almost 
 saturated. It was then dried in the sun, and given to the 
 nearest surviving relations as a proof of the affection of 
 the donor, and was preserved by the bereaved family as a 
 token of the estimation in which the departed had been 
 held. 
 
 Had the otohaa been confined to instances of death, or 
 seasons of great calamity, it would not have appeared so 
 strange, as it does in connexion with the fact, that it 
 was practised on other occasions, when feelings, the 
 most opposite to those of calamity, were induced. 
 In its milder form, it was an expression of joy, as 
 well as grief; and wdien a husband or a son returned to 
 
 3 Y 
 
530 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 his family, after a season of absence, or exposure to 
 danger, his arrival was greeted, not only with the cordial 
 welcome, and the warm embrace, but loud wailing was 
 uttered, and the instrument armed with shark’s teeth 
 applied, in proportion to the joy experienced. 
 
 The early visitors, and the first Missionaries, were 
 much surprised at this strange and contradictory usage \ 
 and, in answer to their inquiries, were informed, that it 
 was the custom of Tahiti. The wailing was not so 
 excessive, or the duration so long, nor were the enormities 
 committed so great, as in the event of a death. The 
 otohaa appears to have been adopted by the people to 
 express the violence or excess of the passion with which 
 they were exercised, whether joy or grief. 
 
 There was another custom associated with their be¬ 
 reavements by death, of an opposite character, and more 
 agreeable to contemplate. This was their elegiac 
 ballads, prepared by the bards, and recited for the con¬ 
 solation of the family. They generally followed the 
 otohaa, and were often treasured up in the memory of 
 the survivors, and eventually became a part of the 
 ballads of the nation. Though highly figurative and 
 beautiful in sentiment, breathing a pathetic spirit of 
 sympathy and consolation, they were often historical, or 
 rather biographical, recounting, under all the imagery 
 of song, the leading events in the life of the individuals, 
 and were remarkably interesting, when that life had been 
 one of enterprise, adventure, or incident. 
 
 “ In every nation it has been found that poetry is of 
 much earlier date than any other production of the 
 human mind,” and I am disposed to ascribe the highest 
 antiquity to these ballads. Much of their mythology is 
 probably to be ascribed to this source, and many of their 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 531 
 
 legends were originally funeral or elegiac songs, in 
 honour of departed kings or heroes. I have heard them 
 recited, and have often been struck with their pathos 
 and beauty; two lines of one, which Mr. Nott heard 
 recited for the consolation of a mother and family, on the 
 death of an only son, have always appeared exceedingly 
 beautiful. The grief generally felt was described in 
 affecting strains, and then, in reference to sympathy of a 
 higher order, it was added— 
 
 To rii rii te ua ite iriatae: 
 
 Eere ra te ua, e roimata ia no Oro, 
 
 The literal rendering of which would be— 
 
 “ Thickly falls the small rain on the face of the sea, 
 
 They are not drops of rain, but they are tears of Oro.” 
 
 The sentiment of the second line is weakened by the 
 introduction of the plural pronoun and the conjunction ; 
 but, preserving the idiom, as well as the sense, the line 
 w T ould be— 
 
 Not rain, but the iveeping it is of Oro. 
 
 In the Tahitian, the word for tears, roimata , is the 
 same in the singular and plural, and accords with the 
 singular pronoun. 
 
 Scarcely had Taaroarii, the young chieftain of Huahine, 
 been consigned to the tomb, when a ballad was prepared, 
 after the ancient usage of his country. I heard it once 
 or twice, and intended to have committed it to paper, 
 but my voyage to the Sandwich Islands, shortly after¬ 
 wards, prevented. It commenced in a truly pathetic 
 manner; the first lines were— 
 
 Ua moe te teoteo o Atiapii i roto te ana 
 Ua rata e adu tona uuauna. 
 
 “ The pride of Atiapii* sleeps in the cavern ; 
 
 Departed has its glory, or its brightness,” &c. 
 
 * One of the names of the island of Iluahiue. 
 
532 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 It was, throughout, adapted to awaken tenderness, and 
 feelings of regret at the event, and sympathy with the 
 survivors. 
 
 Several weeks after the decease of a chief or person of 
 distinction, another singular ceremony, called a heva, was 
 performed by the relatives or dependants. The princi¬ 
 pal actor in this procession was a priest, or relative, who 
 wore a curious dress, the most imposing part of which 
 was the head-ornament, or parae. A cap of thick native 
 cloth was fitted close to the head; in front were two large 
 broad mother-of-pearl shells, covering the face like a 
 mask, with one small aperture through which the wearer 
 could look. Above the mask a number of beautiful, 
 long, white, red-tipped, tail feathers of the tropic bird, 
 were fixed, diverging like rays; beneath the mask was a 
 curved piece of thin yet strong board, six or nine inches 
 wide in the centre, but narrow at the ends, which were 
 turned upwards, and gave it the appearance of a cres¬ 
 cent. 
 
 Attached to this was a beautiful kind of net-work of 
 small pieces of brilliant mother-of-pearl shell, each 
 piece being about an inch, or an inch and a half long, 
 and less than a quarter of an inch wide. Every piece 
 was finely polished, and reduced to the thinness of a 
 card; a small perforation was made at each corner, and 
 the pieces fastened together by five threads passed 
 through these perforations. They w T ere fixed perpendi¬ 
 cularly to the board, and extended nearly from one end 
 to the othei. The depth varied according to the taste 
 or means of the family, but it was generally nine inches 
 or a foot. 
 
 The labour in making this part of the parae must have 
 been excessive,. The many hundred pieces of mother-of 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 533 
 
 pearl shell that must have been cut* ground down to the 
 required thickness* polished, and perforated* without iron 
 tools* before a single line could be fixed upon the head¬ 
 dress* required a degree of patience that is surprising. 
 
 This part covered the breast of the wearer; a succes¬ 
 sion of pieces of black and yellow cloth fastened to the 
 pearl-shell netting* surrounded the body* and reached 
 sometimes to the loins* to the knees* or even to the 
 ankles. The beautiful mother-of-pearl shell net-work 
 was fringed with feathers ; a large bunch of man-of-war- 
 bird’s plumage was fixed at each end of the board* and 
 two elegantly shaped feather tassels* hanging from each 
 end* were attached to the light board by cords* also 
 covered with feathers. 
 
 In one hand the heva carried a paeho* a terrific weapon 
 about five feet long* one end rounded for a handle* the 
 other broad and flat* and in shape not unlike a short 
 scythe. The point was ornamented with a tuft of fea¬ 
 thers* and the inner or concave side armed with a line of 
 large* strong* sharks’ teeth* fixed in the wood by the 
 fibres of the tough ieie. In the other hand he held a 
 tete or kind of clapper* formed with a large and a smaller 
 pearl-oyster shell* beautifully polished. 
 
 The man thus arrayed led the procession* and con¬ 
 tinued* as he walked along* to strike or jingle the shells 
 against each other* to give notice of his approach. He 
 was attended by a number of men and boys* painted 
 with charcoal and red and white clay, as if they had 
 endeavoured to render themselves as hideous as possible. 
 They wore only a maro or girdle* and were covered with 
 these coloured earths. Sometimes the body was painted 
 red* with black and white stripes; at other times the 
 face painted red or black, and the rest of the body red 
 
534 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCH PS. 
 
 and white. They were armed with a club or cudgel, 
 and proceeded through the district, seizing and beating 
 every person they met with out of doors. All who saw 
 their approach instantly fled, or hid themselves. 
 
 They did not enter any of the dwellings, but often 
 struck them as they passed by, to the great terror of 
 those within. They appeared and acted as if they were 
 deranged, and were supposed to be inspired by the spirit 
 of the deceased, to revenge any injury he might have 
 received, or to punish those who had not shewn due 
 respect to his remains. 
 
 Since the introduction of Christianity, these and other 
 barbarous and heathen customs, in connexion with the 
 death and burial of the natives, have ceased; the rites 
 and usages of Christian burial, as far as it seemed 
 desirable, or the circumstances of the people would 
 admit, have been introduced, and are generally observed. 
 At each of the Missionary stations, a piece of ground 
 near the sea-shore, and at some distance from the houses, 
 has been devoted by the government to the purposes of 
 interment, and all who die near are buried there. 
 
 Those who die in the remote districts are buried by 
 their friends near the place; sometimes in the vicinity 
 of their little rustic chapel, at others in the garden near 
 their dwelling. They are not always deposited in a 
 coffin, as the survivors are often destitute of boards and 
 nails; they are, however, decently interred, usually 
 wrapped in native cloth and matting, and placed in the 
 keel or lower part of a canoe. 
 
 If there be a native Missionary or teacher near, he is 
 called to officiate at the interment; if not, a male branch 
 of the family usually offers up a prayer when the body 
 is committed to the earth. Some inconvenience was 
 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 535 
 
 sustained when the natives first embraced Christianity, 
 with regard to the burial of those who died at a 
 distance from the Missionary station. The heat of the 
 climate was such as often to render it necessary to inter 
 them on the day of their decease, or on that which fol¬ 
 lowed, and they had not time to send for a native teacher. 
 To obviate this, a prayer suitable to be offered up at the 
 time of interment was written, and distributed among 
 the natives, for the use of those who resided at a distance. 
 This appeared not only according to Christian propriety, 
 but necessary, from any latent influence of the former 
 superstitions, which might lurk in the minds of those 
 who, though they renounced idolatry, were but very par¬ 
 tially instructed in many points of Christian doctrine. 
 
 At the Missionary stations, the corpse has seldom 
 been brought to the place of worship. We in general 
 repair to the house, and, offering up a prayer with the 
 family, accompany the procession to the place of inter¬ 
 ment ; our practice, however, in this respect is not uni¬ 
 form, but is regulated by circumstances. 
 
 On reaching the burying - ground, we stand by the 
 side of the grave, which is usually about six feet deep, 
 and when the coffin is lowered down, address the friends 
 of the deceased, and the spectators, and conclude the 
 service with a short prayer. 
 
 At first they believed that the deceased must be in 
 some degree benefited by this service; and that such 
 should occasionally have been their ideas, is by no means 
 surprising, when we consider the mass of delusion from 
 which they had been so recently delivered. This, how¬ 
 ever, rendered it necessary for us to be more explicit in 
 impressing upon their minds, that the state of the dead 
 was unalterably fixed, and that our own benefit alone 
 
53G 
 
 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
 
 could be advanced by attending it.—But the views and 
 ceremonies connected with death, and with the disposal 
 of the body, either in the pagan or Christian manner, are 
 unimportant in comparison with the change in the indi¬ 
 viduals who have died, and the views and anticipations 
 w T hich, under these systems, different individuals have 
 entertained. “ One thing, of all I have read or heard,” 
 said the aged and venerable Matahira, “now supports 
 my mind : Christ has said, I am the way.” 
 
 He the beloved Son, 
 
 The Son beloved, Jesus Christ, 
 
 The Father gave, 
 
 That we through him might live/’ 
 
 was sung by another in the native language, with the last 
 breath she drew. “I am happy, I am happy,” were among 
 the last words of the late distinguished regent of the 
 Sandwich Islands, These are expressions no pagan ever 
 used, in looking forward to his dissolution. They result 
 alone from the effects which the mercy of God in Christ 
 is adapted to kindle in our hearts, augmented by grati¬ 
 tude to Him who hath brought life and immortality to 
 light. 
 
 END OF VOL. i. 
 
 Londou : Henry Fisher, Son, and P. Jackson, Printers. 
 

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