tains, after roaming all day over the fea in queft of food
and that the tropic-bird in particular has its neft there. The
long tail -feathers, which it annually fheds, are commonly
found there, and much fought after by the natives. We
faw the clouds coming over the fummit, and defcending towards
u s ; therefore, in order to keep our plants dry, we-
haftened down, and at four o'clock reached the fhip, where
we found the whole royal family affembled, and among:
them Neehourai, the eldeft lifter of O-Too, married to-
T ’-aree-Derre, the fon of Ammo*. T’-aree-Watow, the-
king’s next brother, ftaid after they were all gone, and
pafled the night on board. To amufe him we let off fome
falfe fires at the maft-head, with which he was highly entertained.
At fupper, he enumerated to us all his relations,
and gave us fome account of the hiftory of
Taheitee, which o-Mai entirely confirmed to me, after
my return to England. From his information we
learned, that Ammo,'Happai, and Tootahah were three
brothers, and that Ammo, being the eldeft, was king o f all
Taheitee. He married o-Poorea (Oberea) a princefs of the
royal family, and had by her t’-Aree-Derre, who was immediately
fly led Aree-rahaf, or king of Taheitee. During
the period of Ammo’ s reign, captain Wallis vifited the
illand, and found o-Poorea (Oberea) inverted with regal authority.
thority. About a year after his departure, a war broke out
between o-Ammo and his vaffal Aheatua, the king of the
leffer peninfula. Aheatua landed at Paparra, where Ammo
commonly refided, and after routing his forces with great
llaughter, deftroyed the plantations and houfes by fire, and
carried off all the hogs and poultry which he could find.
Ammo and Poorea, with all their attendants, among whom
o-Mai, according to his own account, was one, fled to the
mountains in December r 7 <5 8 . At laft the conqueror con-
fented to a peace, on condition that Ammo fhould entirely
refign the government, and that the fucceflion fhould be
taken from his fon, and conferred upon o-Too, the eldeft
fon of his brother Happai. This was agreed to, and Tootahah,
the youngeft brother of Ammo, was appointed regent.
This revolution bears a great refemblance to thofe
which happen too frequently in the defpotic kingdoms o f
Afia. It is but feldom that the conqueror dares to govern^
the country which he has fubdued; in general he only plunders
it, and appoints another fovereign, whom he choofes>
from among the royal family of the land. O-Poorea foon’
after quarrelled with her hufband, and frequently beat him;-
upon which they feparated ; he took a very handfome young
woman to his bed, and fhe heaped her favours on Obadee-
and other lovers. Some infidelity on the part o f Ammo-
feems to have been the foundation of this quarrel. Thefe
accidents, which are not fo frequent at Taheitee as in England,,