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Se^mber. whicl1 had Paded at Oparre the preceding day, when Otoo,
-v— 1 w ith all the folemnities obferved on fuch occafions, reftored
Saturday 13
Sunday 14.
to the friends and followers o f the late k in g Tootaha, the
lands and poffeffions, w hich had been withheld from them
ever lince his death. Probably, the new facrifice was the
concluding ceremony o f what may be called the reverfal o f
attainder.
T h e fo llow in g evening, Otoo returned from exerctfing this
10ft difagreeable o f all his duties as fovereign ; and, the
next day, being now honoured with his company, Captain
Clerke and I, mounted on horfeback, took a ride round the
plain o f Matavai, to the ve ry great furprize o f a great train
o f people who attended on the 0Ccaii;6n,‘ g a z in g upon us,
w ith as much aftonifhment as i f we had been centaurs.
Omai, indeed, had, once or twice, before this, attempted
to ge t on horfeback; but he had as often been thrown
off; before he could 'contrive to feat h im f e lf ; To "that this'
was the firfl time they had feen any body ride a horfe.
What Captain Clerke and I began, was, after this, repeated
every day, while we ftaid, by one or another o f our people.
And yet the curiofiry o f the natives continued ilil-l unabated.
The y were exceedingly delighted with thefe animals, after
they had feen the ufe that was made o f them • and, a s far
as I could judg e, they conveyed to them a better idea o f the
greatnefs o f other nations, than all the other novelties, put
together, that their European vifiters had carried amongft
them. Both the horfe and mare were in good cafe, and
looked extremely well.
Monday I5. T h e next day, 'Etary, or Olla, the god o f Bolabola, w h o
had, for feveral days paft, been in the neighbourhood o f
Matavai, removed to Oparre, attended by feveral failing canoes.
We were told, that Otoo did not approve o f his being
3 - fo
io near our ftation, where his people could more eafily in - >777.
vade our property. I muft do Otoo the juftice to fay, that Seplembl:j;;
he took every method prudence could fu g g ed to prevent
thefts and ro b b e rie s ; and it was more owing, to his regu la tions,
than to ou r own circumfpedtion, that fo few were
committed. He had taken care to e reff a little houfe or two,
on the other fide o f the r iv e r ,‘behind our pod; and two
others, clofe to our tents, on the bank between the river and
the fea. In all thefe, places fome of, his own people con-
flantly kept watch ; and his, father generally refided on
Matavai point; fo that we were, in a manner, furrounded
b y them. Thus t 1 they not only guarded us in the
n ight from thieves, but could obferve every thing that palled
in the d a y ; and were ready to c o lle t , contributions from
fuch girls as had private connections with our p eo p le ;
w hich was generally done e ve ry , morning. So that the
meafures adopted b y him to fecure our fafety, at the fame
time ferved the more effential purpofe o f enlargin g h is
own, profits.-
Otoo in fo rm in g me, that his prefence was neceffary at
Oparre, where he was to give audience to the great per-
fonage from Bolabola; and a ik in g me to accompany him, I
readily confented, in hopes o f meeting with fomething worth
our notice. Accordingly I went with him, in the morning
o f the 16th, attended b y Mr, Anderfon, Nothing, however
occurred on this soccafipn, that was either imerefting or cu- | f t | 8
nous. We faw Etary a n d his followers prefent fome coarfe
cloth and hogs to O to o ; and each article was delivered with
fome ceremony, and a fet fpqeeh. A fte r this, they, and
fome other Chiefs, held a con fu ta tion about the expedition
to Eimeo. Etary, at firfl, feemed to dffapprove o f i t ; but,
a tla ft, his objeitions were over-ruled. Indeed, it appeared,
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