1789. and returned, -when. I faw Ti-nah a n d ‘Greepyah, ,with a
March‘ , number of,people, at a houfe at feme :h andloon
after they all marched to the eaftward, palling elofe bymur
poft. Oedidee, who was with me, told-me that they had ira-
ftelligerice of the thief, arid were gone in que ft of him: and
in lefs than an hour, news was brought that they had taken
him. ^Shortly after, the,whale party appeared, y^ith-jt^Le
water-calk andebmpafs,. Tinah bad hold o f the thief by the
arm, andy ftiewing him to me, deliredthat I w°pld-kill him.
The beddihg, he laid, he had not heard.io^ but would go in
fearch of it. I applauded him for the pains he had taken in
-this bufinefs, and explained, withfome fuccefe, the injuftice
of ftealing from us : that i f any of our.peppl© committed
the leaft oflfcnce agaiuft them,. it: did not paf% unnoticed;
dnd: that friendlhip required.on their part, th^t* thofe who
injured us fhotild not be protected by ;them. Tinah flopped
me from. faying more by. embracing njp, | and. the
whole crowd cried | opt 7yo tnity ,(i. e. - ..good - friend.)
Tinah then le ft me, foenquire after the bedfling,,and I
len t the offender on hoard, whom^I ppuifhed w.itb
flogging. I was .glad to find thisjrnan was nptr of Opaxre
o r Matavahe v
The fine fruit, called Avee, was juft-coming into fea-~
foa r it was; Iikewife ih fealbnLat the time of. our arrival
in O&oberr The bread-fruit trees, I have no doubt,
•bear-all the year: round r we have tfoep
^uit, but have never been wholly, lyifhopt it. jerproöt
wals Ihewri to me, which, in fcarce fe^lpns, ;is.u|ëd
by the natives as bread. It bears a long,even-edged,leaf,
about ah inch wide; the tafte fomgwhat ?refembled that o f
a yam; I was informed by our people, that in -th^irr walks
they faw, in many places, patches o f Indian corn juft mak-
*. ing
ing their appearance ^throughthergrqund.jlThis-convinces ,1789.
me- tbit; the: cbrhr 11 > M-R_
better difpp{ed,.p#f,
'■ "'Goats are frequently offered for Tale, but I ratherdiftput'mged
the hppinglli tiüpb nfpr «B^Éf •
The . natives (wijl .nolo©0-?-; .them, (-neither. < will the.y.; t^fte
the -milkl .anjd .afkiwith fome ,aPBearance.ofs!,^i^^ft^why
Hve-do' nqtjïrpilk the{lbws^jg'l ergl pay opred/; to R^1
Tinah and HdeaS to* batch'd goats milk,- b y mixing, it^ ^ h
fruitj!but they would onrydtiA' wlé- fpoonful.
'i We had began to- make preparations’ for failing and
Tinah fupplied- us with*a$fefficient >fto’ck of wood, by ordering'trees
to'-’Be brought down from the-'country. ' He .
had- frequently expreffèd - a wilh that ’ I 'would leave fome
fire-arms and ammunition with him, as he expected to he
attacked after the Ihip failed-; and, perharps, chiefly on< account'of
our partiality' td^him : I,'therefore,'thought it
but rekfonable to attend >to his requeft ; and I Was the more
readily prevailed on, as he faid his intentions were to abt
only on the defenfive. This indeed feetosmoft fuked to
his'difpofition, Which is neither a&iVe nor enterprifing. If
Tinah had fpirit in proportion to bus fize- -and 'ftrength, he
would probably be the"greateft warrior in Otaheite t but
courage is not the moft confpicuofus o f his virtues. When
I pro nailed to leave with him a pair of piftolS', which they
prefer to mufkets, he told me, that Mdfeah wouM fight- with
©ne, and Oedidee-with the other. Iddeah has learnt to loM
and fire a mufquet with great dextërity, and Oedidee is an
excellent markfman. It is not common forewomen iit this
country to go to war, but fddeah is a very rfefolute woman,,
of a large make, and has great bodily ftrength..
Friday