Owhyhee, I had underflood that the inhabitants o f Onehow had ahnoft
intirely abandoned it, in confequence of the exceflive drought that had
prevailed during the laft fummer; which had nearly caufed the total
.deftru&ion of all its vegetable productions. Finding on my arrival at
Attowai this information to have been well grounded, I came to a determination
to leave our female friends at this ifland.
Being well aware that the mode of living they had lately been con-
rftrained to adopt, and that their having eaten at mine and other tables
in the company of men, was an offence of fo heinous a nature again!!
■ their laws as to fubjef! them both to the punilhment of death, I took
much pains to point out to Titeeree and Taio their innocence in this
refpeft; and obtained from them both the ftrongef! aflurances, that
they fhould not be liable to the leaf! injury on that account, but that
on their landing they Ihould be immediately taken care of ard. protected.
Thefe intreaties I enforced with Enemo, in the prefence o f Raheina
and Tymarow when he was on board; and had the fatisfaCiion of receiving
from him fimilar aflurances of his proteCiion, not only of their per-
fonsr but their property; and that whatever articles we might think
proper to give them, Ihould be fecured to them, and no one Ihould be
permitted to wrefl or extort any thing from them. Thefe aflurances
being given not only by Enemo, but by the reft of the chiefs then pre-
fent, I thought, by the purchafe of a houfe and a fmall portion of land,
to add to their future refpeSability and comfort. This Enemo would not
permit me to do, but inftantly direfled Oeajhew to allot to each of them
an eftate in his newly acquired diftrift of Whymea; to which Oeajhew
with much apparent pleafure confented.
The better to make fure o f this donation, and to fecure the permanent
pofleflion of it to thefe young women, I defired that the houfes and
land might be given to me, that the property Ihould be confidered as
•veiled in me, and that no perfon whatever fhould have any right in it,
but by my permiflion; and that I would allow Raheina and Tymarow
to live upon the eftates.
Matters having been in this manner arranged, Oeajhew had gone
on Chore in the morning to fix upon the lands that were to be thus difpofed
pofed of; and about three in the afternoon he returned, faying that he ’ 793'
had fixed upon two very eligible fituations adjoining to each other, c.— ,—
which if I approved fhould be mine; if not, I was at liberty to make
choice o f any other part of the diftriCi I might think more proper. In
confequence o f this offer, I attended him on fhore, accompanied by
fome o f the officers and our two females, who had received fuch an
affortment of articles from us, as were deemed fufficient to make them
refpefiable, without exciting the envy of the chiefs or their neighbours.
We found the fituation propofed by Oeajhew to be a very large portion
of the fertile valley, noticed on our former vifit on the weftem fide of
the river, commencing at the fea beach, and extending along the banks
of the river to a certain eftablifhed land mark, including a very confi-
derable extent of the inland mountainous country. The contiguity o f
thefe eftates to the commerce of all. the Europeans who vifit this ifland,
and the territory which it comprehended, was in value fo far above our
m o l fanguine expeflations, that I was led to fufpeft the fincerity of the
intended donation. But to this we became reconciled, from the protefi-
tations of the chief himfelf, as alfo from the univerfal declaration of many
of the-natives who had accompanied us, and who aflerted that Oeajhew
really intended- thus to difpofe of the land in queftion ; to which he added.
the moft folemn aflurances that he would protefi them in the poflef-
fton of i t ; together with their canoes, and all the articles they had brought
with them from the fhip; which declarations feemed perfefily to fatisfy
the young women, that they would be put into pofleflion of thefe eftates;
and that their perfons and property would be protefled according to the
aflurances we had now received;
A long eftablifhed line o f divifion, formed by trees and1 a common
road, feparated the two eftates. The lower one neareft. the fea, which was
the mod extenfive, was allotted to Raheina, the other to Tymarow; each of
which they refpeftively took pofleflion of, and in the warmeft and moft
grateful terms acknowledged the obligations they were under, for this,
laft mark o f our attention. to their future happinefs; - and for the friend-
fhip and kindnefs they had experienced during their refidence amongft
us.. They attended us to the beach, where they took an affeflionate
leave,.