September ^enc^ worth his Majefty’s acceptance. I was not a little
<— v— > pleafed w ith Otoo, fo r this mark o f his gratitude. It was a
thought entirely his own, not one o f us ha vin g g iv en h im
the leaft hint about i t ; and it fhewed, that he fu lly under-
ftood to whom he was indebted for the moil valuable pre-
fents that he had received. At firft, I thought, that this canoe
had been a model o f one o f their veffels o f w a r ; but I
foon found, that it was a fmall ivahah, about fixteen feet
long. It was double, and feemed to have been built for the
p u rp o fe ; and was decorated with all thofe pieces o f carved
work, w hich they u fu a lly fix upon their canoes. As it was*
too large for me to take on board, I could only thank him
fo r h isgo od intention ; but it wou ld have pleafed him much
better, i f his prefent could have been accepted.
We were detained here fome days longer than I expedled,
by ligh t breezes from the Weft, and calms by turns ; fo that
w e could not g e t out o f the bay. Du rin g this time, the
Ihips were crowded w ith our friends, and furrounded b y a
multitude o f canoes; for not one would leave the place, f i l l
we were gone. At length, at three o ’clo ck in the afternoon
Monday S i ° f the 29th, the wind came at Eaft, and we weighed anchor.
As foon as the ihips were under fail, at the requeft o f Otoo,
and to gra tify the curiofity o f his people, I fired feven guns,
loaded with flio t; after w hich, all our friends, except him,
and two or three more, left us with fuch marks o f affedtion
and grief, as fufficiently fhewed how much the y regretted
our departure. Otoo being defirous o f fee ing the fhip fail,
I made a ftretch out to fea, and then in again ; when he alfo
bid .us farewell, and went afhore in his canoe.
T he frequent vifits we had lately paid to this ifland, feem
to have created a fu ll perfuafion, that the intercourfe w ill
not be difcontinued. It was f t r iilly enjoined to me by Otoo,
to
to requeft, in his name, the Earee rahie no Pretane, to fend >777-
_ , n • t r t * * • S ep tem b e r . him, by the next ihips, red feathers, and the birds that pro- — -j
duce them ; axes ; h a lf a dozen mufkets, w ith powder and
f l io t ; and, b y no means, to forge t horfes.
I have occafionally mentioned m y re ce ivin g conliderable
prefents from Otoo, and the reft o f the fam ily , without fpec
ify in g w hat returns 1 made. It is cuftomary for thefe
people, when they, make a prefent, to let us kn ow what
they expect in return ; and w e find it neceflary to gra tify
th em ; fo that, what w e get b y w a y o f prefent, comes
dearer than what w e g e t' b y barter. B u t' as we were
fometimes prefled by occafional fcarcity, w e could have
recourfe to our friends fo r a prefent, or fupply, when we
could not g e t our wants relieved b y any other m e th o d ;
and, therefore, upon the whole, this w a y o f traffic was
fu ll as advantageous to us as to the natives. For the moft
part, I paid for each feparate article as I received it, except
in m y intercourfe with Otoo. His prefents, g en e ra lly , came
fo fail upon me, that no account was kept between us.
Whatever he a iked'for, that I could fpare, he had whenever
he a iked for i t ; and I always found him moderate in his
demands.
I f I could have prevailed upon Gmai to fix h im fe lf at
Otaheite, I ihould not have left it fo foon as I did. For
there was not a probability o f our being better or cheaper
fupplied with refreihments at any other place, than we
continued to be here, even at the time o f our lea v in g it.
Befides, fuch a cordial friendihip and confidence fubfifted
between us and the inhabitants, as could hardly be expedled
an y where elfe ; and, it was a little extraordinary, that this
friendly intercourfe had never once been fufpended, by any
untoward accident; nor had there been a theft committed
V'OL,IL L thac