77- I was-not th o rou gh ly acquainted w ith the difpute, and as
f . the people o f Eimeo had newer offended me, I could not
th in k m y f e l f at liberty to eng ag e in hoftilivies againft them.
W ith this declaration they either were, or feemed, fatisfied.
T h e affembly then broke u p ; but, before I left them, Otoo
defired me to come to him in the afternoon, and to bring
Omai w ith me.
A ccordingly, a party o f us waited upon him at the appointed
time ; and we were conducted by him to his father,
in whofe prefence th e difpute w ith Eimeo was again talked
over. Be ing ve ry defirous o f deviling fome method to bring
about an accommodation, I founded the old C h ie f on that
head. But w e found him d e af to any fuch propofal, and
fu lly determined to profecute the war. He repeated the
felicitations w h ich I had already refilled, about g iv in g them
m y affiftance. On our inquirin g into the caufe o f the war,
.we were told, that, feme years ago, a brother o f Wahea-
dooa, o f Tieraboo, was fent to Eimeo, at the requeft o f Ma-
-heine, a popular C h ie f o f that ifland, to be their k in g } but
that he had not been there a w e e k before Maheine, ha vin g
caufed him to be killed, fet up for himfelf, in oppofition to
Tierataboonooe, his fifter’s fen , w ho became the law fu l
heir ; or elfe had been pitched upon, by the people o f Ota-
•heite, to fucceed to the government on the death o f the
x>ther.
T owh a, who is a relation o f Otoo, and C h ie f o f the diftridt
•of Tettaha, a man o f m uch w e igh t in the ifland, and who had
been Commander in C h ie f o f the armament fitted out a ga inft
Eimeo in 1774, happened not to be at Matavai at this time ;
and, confequently, was not prefent at any o f thefe c o n fu t ations.
It, however, appeared that he was no ftranger to
6 what
what was tranfadled; and that he entered w ith more fpirit - * 777-
rr • 1 ‘Mi . n ' " " '" September, into the affair .than- any other Chief. For, early in the morn-
in g o f the 1 ft o f September, a meffenger arrived from him
to acquaint Otoo, that he had killed a man to he facrificed to
the Eataoa, to implore the affiftance o f the God againft
Eimeo. This adt o f worfhip was to be performed at the
great Moral at Attahoorooj and Otoo’s prefence, it feems,
was abfolutely neceffary on that folemn occafion.
Th a t the offering o f human facrifices is part o f the religious
inftitudons o f this ifland, had been mentioned by
Monf. de Bougainville, on the authority o f the native -
whom he carried w ith him to France. Du rin g m y laft
vifit. to Otaheite, and while I had opportunities o f converfihg -
with Omai on the fubjedt, I had fatisfied myfelf, that there
was too much reafon to admit, that fuch a-pradtice, however
inconfiftent w ith the general humanity o f the p e o p le ,,
was here adopted. But as this was one o f thofe extraordinary.
facts, about which many are apt to retain; doubts, un-
lefs the relater h im fe lf has had ocular p roof to co n firm -
what.Ke had heard from others, I thought this a good opportunity
o f obtaining the higheft evidence o f its certainty,,
by being prefent m y fe lf at the.folemnity; and, accordingly,,
propofed to Otoo that I migh t be allowed to accompany him.
To this he readily confented ; and we immediately fet-out
in m y boat, with my-old frien d Potatou, Mr. Anderfon, and •
Mr. Webb er ; Omai fo llow in g in a canoe.
In our w ay we landed upon a little ifland,- w hich l i e s -
o ff Tettaha, where we found T owh a and his retinue. A fte r:
fome little converfation between the two Chiefs, on the fubjedl
o f the war, T ow h a addreffed h im fe lf to me, a ik in g my
(affiftance. When I excufed m y felf, he feemed a n g r y ; thinkin
g