1793* and the little traffic that was entered into, was carried on with thé great-
■ . - ■ eft honefty.
Wednef. 13. On wednefday afternoon we were honored with the prefence o f Titeeree,
who I was given to underftand was confidered as the king of all the
iflands to leeward o f Owhyhee; and that from him Taio derived his
authority.
There feemed, however, nothing in his charafter or appearance to
denote fo high a ftatiön, nor was his arrival attended by any accumulation
in the number of the natives on the ffiores, or in the canoes about
the veffels. He came boldly alonglxde, but entered the Ihip with a fort
o f partial confidence, accompanied by feveral chiefs who conftantly attended
him; his age I fuppofed mult have exceeded lix ty ; he was greatly
debilitated and emaciated; and, from the colour of his fkin, I judged his
feeblenefs to have been brought on by an exceffive ufe of the ava. His
faultering voice befpoke the decline of life; and his countenance, though
furrowed by his years and irregularities, ftill preferved marks o f his having
been, in his juvenile days, a man of pleating and cheerful manners,
with a confiderable degree o f fenfibility, which the iron hand of time had
not yet intirely obliterated.
Amongft the articles I prefented'to Titeeree on this occafion, was a
cloak, fimilar to thofe I had given Tamaahmaah; this highly delighted
him ; and he was alfo well pleafed with the other prefents he received. In
proportion to their rank, and the fituations they held, his whole fuite
were complimented, and all feemed well latisfied with their vifit.
After a ffiort converfation refpecting the ftay I purpofed. to make at
Mowee, and iflands to leeward, with other mifcellaneous matters, I introduced
the fubjeft of a peace with Owhyhee, and was attended to with
great earneftnefs; not only by the king, but by the whole of his attendants,
who feemed unanimoufly defirous for the accompliffiment of fo beneficial
an objeft, and a meafure fo important to their future happinefs and
tranquillity. They appeared to be perfectly convinced o f my good intentions
as a mediator; but the fame want o f confidence prevailed here
as at Owhyhee. They all agreed, that no faith could be repofed in the
2 integrity
integrity of the Owhyhean" chiefs; and that if peace was again reftored,
the feveral chiefs who had been affembled in Mowee for their general
protection, would retire to their refpeflive iflands; and Mowee and its
dependencies would be again left open to the invafion of Tamaahmaahy
whofe unconquerably ambitious fpirit, they faid, would not allow him
to negjeft fo favorable an opportunity. I endeavoured to combat thefe
prejudices by every argument I could make ufe of, and affured them, that
I firmly , believed that Tamaahmaah, and the people of Owhyhee, were as
defirous o f peace as they could poffibly b e ; that the king was fincere, and
that I was convinced he would moft religioufly abide by fuch conditions
as might be mutually approved. Our deliberations however drawing to
no conclufion, it was agreed to adjourn the fubjefl until the arrival of
Taio from Morotoi, who was expected in the courfe o f the following
day. ’
The royal party appearing, to be perfectly fatisfied o f our friendly intentions,
I demanded of Titeeree, what offence had been committed by
the late Mr. Hergeft, and Mr. Gooch, to occafion their haying been put
to death ? T o this queftion they all replied, that neither of thofe gentlemen,
nor any other perfon belonging to the Daedalus, had, to their
knowledge, been guilty o f any offence whatever. I then'requefted to
know, what was the reafon of their having been murdered without any provocation
on their p a r ta n d who was the chief that gave orders for that pur-
pofe, or that was by any other means the caufe. o f theirdoling their lives?
This queftion was alfo anfwered by the folemn declaration of the whole
party, that there was no chief prefent on that melancholy occafion; nor
was any chief in the leaft degree concerned; but that the murder was
committed by a lawlels let of ill-minded men; and that the inftant Titeeree
had become acquainted with the tranfaftion, he had ordered all thole who
had been principally concerned to be put to death ; and in confequence
of his directions, three o f the offenders had fuffered that punilhment. I
then defired to know if three people only had been concerned ? The
king then replied, that many were prefent at the time, but that only
three or four more were concerned in the murder;- who would likewife
have fuffered death, had they not found, means to efcape to the moun