1774..
June.
Friday 3.
was unwilling to give his opinion, and feeitiing to doubt of
the truth of the report, always abruptly changed the fub-
jefl of converfation, with all the art of an European
politician.
The next day the natives came in great numbers to the
fhip with abundance of provifions, which they fold very
cheap, as captain Cook propofed to fail the next day. His
ftore of hatchets and knives had been expended long ago •,
our armourer was therefore fet to work to make new ones,
which were ill-fhapen, and of very little worth, particularly
the knives, [which were made of pieces of iron hoops»
The natives were contented with them, not knowing how
to diftmguifh the good from the bad by the eye. They
fometimes picked our pockets, or ftole What we did not
fufficiently look after ; but their Cmplicity now gave rooms
for a fevere retaliation.’
Among the natives of the Society Wands there are a few
men who preferve the national traditions, together with alt
their ideas of mythology and allronomy. Mahine, whilft
we were at fea, had frequently fpoken of them as the mod
learned of his countrymen, and named them Tata-o-RerrOj.
which we would exprefs by teacher#. After much enquiry,
we found a chief, named Tootavai, in the diftrift of Har
maneno, who was diftinguifhed by this epithet. As our,
departure was fo near at hand, we regretted that we had not
known
A V O Y A G E ROUND T H E WORLD, r49
known him fooner j but my father, determined to employ
his remaining time in making enquiries on a fubjedt fo
interefting as the hiftory of religious opinions.
Tootavat Was pleafed with an opportunity of difplaying
his knowledge j he was flattered with the attention which
we paid to his words, and therefore continued to converfe
on the fame fubjedt with much greater patience and perfe-
verance, than we could have expedted from a lively inhabitant
of thefe iflands. The'religion of the iflanders appears
to be as Angular a fyilem of polytheifm as ever was
invented. Few nations are fo wretched, and fo wholly occupied
with the means of preferving their exiftence, as to
lay afide all ideas of a creator. Thefe ideas rather feem to
have remained traditionally among mankind, ever fince
the firft ages, when the Deity revealed himfelf. Agreeably
to this opinion, the people of Taheitee and the Society
Iflands have preferved this fpark of divine inftrudtion, and
believe the exiftence of a Supreme Being, the maker and
progenitor of all things, vifible and invifible. It has been,
the fate of mod nations to inveftigate more or lefs the qualities
of this univerfal and incomprehenfible fpirit, and to
adopt abfurdities, by overftepping the bounds prefcribed by
the Creator himfelf to our fenfes and mental faculties. The
different attributes of the Deity were foon perfonified by
narrow minds, which could not contain the vaft idea of
fu>