Augui anc^ modefty. Neverthelefs, ve ry little notice vvas taken o f
— > ' him. Perhaps, envy had fome ihare in producing this cold
reception. He made the C h ie f a prefent o f a la rge piece o f
red feathers, and about two or three yards o f gold c lo th ;
and I gave him a fuit o f fine linen, a gold-laced hat, fome
tools, and, what was o f more value than a ll the other articles,
a quantity o f red feathers, and one o f the bonnets
in ufe at the Friendly Iflands.
Afte r the hurry o f this vifit was over, the k in g , and the
w ho le royal fam ily , accompanied me on board, followed
by feveral canoes, laden w ith all kind o f provifions, in
quantity fuflicient to have ferved the companies o f both
ihips for a week. Each o f the fam ily owned, or pretended
to own, a p a r t; ib that I had a prefent from eve ry one o f
th em ; and every one o f them had a feparate prefent in-return
from me ; w h ich was the great objedt in view. Soon
after, the k in g ’s mother, w ho had not been prefent at. the
firfi interview, came on board, b rin g in g w ith her a quantity
o f provifions and cloth, w hich £he divided between me
and Omai. For, although he was but little noticed, at firfi, by.
his countrymen, they no fooner gained the kn owledge o f
his riches, than they began to court his friendlhip. I encouraged
this as much as I could ; for it was m y w iih to fix
him with Otoo. As I intended to leave all my European
animals at this ifland, I thought he would be able to give
fome inftrudtion about the management o f them, and about
their ufe. Befides, I kn ew and faw, that the farther he was
from his native ifland, he would be the better refpefted.
But, unfortunately, poor Omai rejected m y advice, and cond
u c e d h im fe lf in fo imprudent a manner, that he foon loft
the friendihip o f Otoo, and o f every other perfon o f note
in Otaheite. He afiociated with none but vagabonds and
ftrangers,
ftrangers, whofe foie views Were fo plunder him. And, i f
, A u g u f t .
I had not interfered, they w ou ld not have left him a fingle >__ .
article worth the ca rryin g from the ifland. This necefiarily
drew upon him the ill-w ill o f the principal C h ie fs ; w ho
found that they could not propure, .from any one in the
ihips, fuch valuable prefents as Omai bellowed on the loweft
o f the people, his companions.
As foon as we had dined, a party o f us accompanied Otoo i
to Oparre, tak ing w ith us the poultry, with w hich we were
to ftock the ifland. T h e y confided o f a peacock and hen
(w h ich Lord Befborough was fo kind as to fend me, fo r
this purpofe, a few days before I le ft London); a turkey
cock-and h e n ; one gander, and three geefe.; a drake, and
four ducks. All thefe I le ft at Oparre, in the pofieliion o f
Otoo; and the geefe and d u c k s 'b e g a n to breed, before w e
failed. We found there, a gander, w h ich the natives told
us, was the fame that Captain Wallis had given to ¡Oberea
ten years b e fo r e ; feveral g o a ts ; and the Spanilh b u ll,
whom they kept tied to a tree, near Otoo’s houfe. I never
faw a finer animal o f his kind. He was now the property
o f Etary, and had been brought from Oheitepeha to this,
place, in order to be lhipped fqr Bolabola. But it pafles m y
comprehenfion, how they can contrive to carry him in one
o f their canoes. I f w e had not arrived, it would have been o f
little confequence who had the property o f him, as, without:
a cow, he could,be o f no ufe ; and none had been,left with
him. T h o u gh the natives told us, that there were cows on
board the Spanilh ihips, and that they took them awa y with
them, I cannot believe this ; and fhou'ld rather fuppofe, that
they had died in the paflage from Lima. T h e next day, I Monday *f .
fent the three cows, that I had on board, to this b u l l ; and"
the