These must be the same islands to which Commodore Byron gave the name of George's Islands. Their situation in longitude, which was determined by lunar observations made near the shores, and still farther correct by the difference of longitude carried on by the watch to Otaheite, is 3° 54' more east than he says they lie. This correction, I apprehend, may be applied to all the islands he discovered.

After leaving these isles, we steered south south-west, half west, and south-west by south, with a fine easterly gale, having signs of the vicinity of land, particularly a smooth sea; and, on the 19th, at seven in the morning, land was seen to the westward, which we bore down to, and reached the south-east end by nine o'clock. It proved to be another of these halfoverflowed or drowned islands, which are so common to this part of the ocean; that is, a number of little isles ranged in a circular form, connected together by a reef or wall of coral rock. The sea is, in general, everywhere, on their outside, unfathomable; all their interior parts are covered with water, abounding, I have been told, with fish and turtle, on which the inhabitants subsist, and sometimes exchange the latter with the high islanders for cloth, &c. These inland seas would be excellent harbours, were they not shut up from the access of shipping, which is the case with most of them, if we can believe the report of the inhabitants of the other isles. Indeed few of them have been well searched by Europeans; the little prospect of meeting with fresh water having generally discouraged every attempt of this kind. I, who have seen a great many, have not yet seen an inlet into one. This island is situated in the latitude of 15° 26', longitude 146° 20'. It is five leagues long in the direction of north-north-east and south-south-west, and about three leagues broad. As we drew near the south end, we saw from the mast-head another of these low isles bearing south-east, distant about four or five leagues, but being to windward we could not fetch it. Soon after a third appeared, bearing south-west by south, for which we steered, and at two o'clock P.M. reached the east end, which is situated in latitude 15° 47' S., longitude 146° 30′ W. This island extends west-north-west and east-south-east, and is seven leagues long in that direction; but its breadth is not above two. It is in all respects like the rest; only here are fewer islets, and less firm land on the reef which incloseth the lake. As we ranged the north coast, at the distance of half a mile, we saw people, huts, canoes, and places built, seemingly for drying of fish. They seemed to be the same sort of people as on Tiookea, and were armed with long spikes like them. Drawing near the west end, we discovered another or fourth island, bearing north-north-east. It seemed to be low like the others, and lies west from the first isle, distant six leagues. These four isles I called Palliser's Isles, in honour of my worthy friend Sir Hugh Palliser, at this time comptroller of the

navy.

Not choosing to run farther in the dark, we spent the night making short boards under the top-sail, and on the 20th, at daybreak, hauled round the west end of the third isle, which was no sooner done than we found a great swell rolling in from the south; a sure sign that we were clear of these low islands; and as we saw no more land, I steered S. W. S. for Otaheite; having the advantage of a stout gale at east, attended with showers of rain. It cannot be determined with any degree of certainty whether the group of isles we had lately seen be any of those discovered by the Dutch navigators or not; the situation of their discoveries not being handed down to us with sufficient accuracy. It is, however, necessary to observe, that this part of the ocean, that is from the latitude of 20° down to 14° or 12°, and from the meridian of 138° to 148° or 150° W., is so strewed with these low isles, that a navigator cannot proceed with too much caution.

We made the high land of Otaheite on the 21st, and at noon were about thirteen leagues east of Point Venus, for which we steered, and got pretty well in with it by sunset, when we shortened sail; and, having spent the night, which was squally, with rain, standing on and off, at eight o'clock the next morning anchored in Matavia Bay in seven fathoms water. This was no sooner known to the natives than many of them made us a visit, and expressed not a little joy at seeing us again. As my chief reason for putting in at this place was to give Mr. Wales an opportunity to know the error of the watch by the known longitude, and to determine anew her rate of going, the first thing we did was to land his instruments, and to erect tents for the reception of a guard and such other people as it was

necessary to have on shore. Sick we had none; the refreshments we got at the Marquesas had removed every complaint of that kind.

On the 23rd, showery weather. Our very good friends the natives supplied us with fruit and fish sufficient for the whole crew. On the 24th, Otoo the king, and several other chiefs, with a train of attendants, paid us a visit, and brought as presents ten or a dozen large hogs, besides fruits, which made them exceedingly welcome. I was advertised of the king's coming, and looked upon it as a good omen. Knowing how much it was my interest to make this man my friend, I met him at the tents, and conducted him and his friends on board, in my boat, where they staid dinner; after which they were dismissed with suitable presents, and highly pleased with the reception they had met with.

Next day we had much thunder, lightning, and rain. This did not hinder the king from making me another visit, and a present of a large quantity of refreshments. It hath been already mentioned, that when we were at the island of Amsterdam we had collected, amongst other curiosities, some red parrot feathers. When this was known here, all the principal people of both sexes endeavoured to ingratiate themselves into our favour by bringing us hogs, fruit, and every other thing the island afforded, in order to obtain these valuable jewels. Our having these feathers was a fortunate circumstance; for as they were valuable to the natives, they became so to us; but more especially as my stock of trade was, by this time, greatly exhausted; so that, if it had not been for the feathers, I should have found it difficult to have supplied the ship with the necessary refreshments.

When I put in at this island, I intended to stay no longer than till Mr. Wales had made the necessary observations for the purposes already mentioned; thinking we should meet with no better success than we did the last time we were here. But the reception we had already met with, and the few excursions we had made, which did not exceed the plains of Matavai and Oparree, convinced us of our error. We found, at these two places, built and and building, a great number of large canoes, and houses of every kind; people living in spacious habitations, who had not a place to shelter themselves in eight months before; several large hogs about every house; and every other sign of a rising state. Judging from these favourable circumstances that we should not mend ourselves by removing to another island, I resolved to make a longer stay, and to begin with the repairs of the ship and stores, &c. Accordingly I ordered the empty casks and sails to be got ashore to be repaired, the ship to be calked, and the rigging to be overhauled; all of which the high southern latitudes had made indispensably necessary.

In the morning of the 26th, I went down to Oparree, accompanied by some of the officers and gentlemen, to pay Otoo a visit by appointment. As we drew near we observed a number of large canoes in motion; but were surprised, when we arrived, to see upwards of three hundred ranged in order, for some distance along the shore, all completely equipped and manned, besides a vast number of armed men upon the shore. So unexpected an armament collected together in our neighbourhood, in the space of one night, gave rise to various conjectures. We landed however in the midst of them, and were received by a vast multitude, many of them under arms, and many not. The cry of the latter was Tiyo no Otoo, and that of the former Tiyo no Towha. This chief, we afterwards learned, was admiral or commander of the fleet and troops present. The moment we landed, I was met by a chief whose name was Tee, uncle to the king, and one of his prime ministers, of whom I inquired for Otoo. Presently after we were met by Towha, who received me with great courtesy. He took me by the one hand, and Tee by the other; and, without my knowing where they intended to carry me, dragged me as it were through the crowd that was divided into two parties, both of which professed themselves my friends by crying out Tiyo no Tootee. One party wanted me to go to Otoo, and the other to remain with Towha. Coming to the usual place of audience, a mat was spread for me to sit down upon, and Tee left me to go and bring the king. Towha was unwilling I should sit down, partly insisting on my going with him; but, as I knew nothing of this chief, I refused to comply. Presently Tee returned, and wanted to conduct me to the king, taking hold of my hand for that purpose. This Towha opposed; so that, between the one party and the other, I was like to have been torn in pieces; and was obliged to desire Tec to desist, and to leave me to the

admiral and his party, who conducted me down to the fleet. As soon as we came before the admiral's vessel, we found two lines of armed men drawn up before her, to keep off the crowd, as I supposed, and to clear the way for me to go in. But, as I was determined not to go, I made the water, which was between me and her, an excuse. This did not answer; for a man immediately squatted himself down at my feet, offering to carry me; and then I declared I would not go. That very moment Towha quitted me, without my seeing which way he went, nor would any one inform me. Turning myself round, I saw Tee, who, I believe, had never lost sight of me. Inquiring of him for the king, he told me he was gone into the country Mataou, and advised me to go to my boat; which we accordingly did, as soon as we could get collected together; for Mr. Edgcumbe was the only person that could keep with me; the others being jostled about in the crowd in the same manner we had been. When we got into our boat, we took our time to view this grand fleet. The vessels of war consisted of a hundred and sixty large double canoes very well equipped, manned, and armed. But I am not sure that they had their full complement of men or rowers; I rather think not. The chiefs, and all those on the

fighting stages, were dressed in their war habits; that is, in a vast quantity of cloth, turbans, breastplates, and helmets. Some of the latter were of such a length as greatly to encumber the wearer. Indeed, their whole dress seemed to be ill calculated for the day of battle, and to be designed more for show than use. Be this as it may, it certainly added grandeur to the prospect, as they were so complaisant as to show themselves to the best advantage. The vessels were decorated with flags, streamers, &c. so that the whole made a grand and noble appearance, such as we had never seen before in this sea, and what no one would have expected. Their instruments of war were clubs, spears, and stones. The vessels were ranged close alongside of each other, with their heads ashore, and their stern to the sea; the admiral's vessel being nearly in the centre. Besides the vessels of war, there were a hundred and seventy sail of smaller double canoes, all with a little house upon them, and rigged with mast and sail, which the war canoes had not. These, we judged, were designed for transports, victuallers, &c.; for in the war canoes was no sort of provisions whatever. In these three hundred and thirty vessels, I guessed there were no less than seven thousand seven hundred and sixty men; a number which appears incredible, especially as we were told they all belonged to the districts of Attahourou and Ahopatea. In this computation, I allow to each war canoe forty men, troops and rowers, and to each of the small canoes eight. Most of the gentlemen who were with me, thought the number of men belonging to the war canoes exceeded this. It is certain that the most of them were fitted to row with more paddles than I have allowed them men; but at this time I think they were not complete. Tupia informed us, when I was first here, that the whole island raised only between six and seven thousand men, but we now saw two districts only raise that number; so that he must have taken his account from some old establishment, or else he only meant Tatatous, that is, warriors, or men trained from their infancy to arms, and did not include the rowers, and those necessary to navigate the other vessels. I should think he only spoke of this number as the standing troops or militia of the island, and not their whole force. This point I shall leave to be discussed in another place, and return to the subject.

HH

After we had well viewed this fleet, I wanted much to have seen the admiral, to have gone with him on board the war canoes. We inquired for him as we rowed past the fleet to no purpose. We put ashore and inquired, but the noise and crowd were so great that no one attended to what we said. At last Tee came, and whispered us in the ear, that Otoo was gone to Matavai, advising us to return thither, and not to land where we were. We accordingly proceeded for the ship, and this intelligence and advice received from Tee gave rise to new conjectures. In short, we concluded that this Towha was some powerful disaffected chief, who was upon the point of making war against his sovereign; for we could not imagine Otoo had any other reason for leaving Oparree in the manner he did.

We had not been long gone from Oparree before the whole fleet was in motion to the westward, from whence it came. When we got to Matavai, our friends there told us that this fleet was part of the armament intended to go against Eimeo, whose chief had thrown off the yoke of Otaheite, and assumed an independency. We were likewise informed, that Otoo neither was nor had been at Matavai; so that we were still at a loss to know why he fled from Oparree. This occasioned another trip thither in the afternoon, where we found him; and now understood that the reason of his not seeing me in the morning was, that some of his people having stolen a quantity of my clothes which were on shore washing, he was afraid I should demand restitution. He repeatedly asked me if I was not angry; and when I assured him that I was not, and that they might keep what they had got, he was satisfied. Towha was alarmed partly on the same account. He thought I was displeased when I refused to go aboard his vessel; and I was jealous of seeing such a force in our neighbourhood without being able to know anything of its design. Thus, by mistaking one another, I lost the opportunity of examining more narrowly into part of the naval force of this isle, and making myself better acquainted with its manoeuvres. Such an opportunity may never occur; as it was commanded by a brave, sensible, and intelligent chief, who would have satisfied us in all the questions we had thought proper to ask; and, as the objects were before us, we could not well have misunderstood each other. It happened unluckily that Oedidee was not with us in the morning; for Tee, who was the only man we could depend on, served only to perplex us. Matters being thus cleared up, and mutual presents having passed between Otoo and me, we took leave and returned on board.

CHAPTER XII.-SOME ACCOUNT OF A VISIT FROM OTOO, TOWHA, AND SEVERAL OTHER CHIEFS; ALSO OF A ROBBERY COMMITTED BY ONE OF THE NATIVES, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, WITH GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUBJECT.

In the morning of the 27th, I received a present from Towha, consisting of two large hogs and some fruit, sent by two of his servants, who had orders not to receive anything in return; nor would they, when offered them. Soon after, I went down to Oparree in my boat, where having found both this chief and the king, after a short stay, I brought them both on board to dinner, together with Tarevatoo, the king's younger brother, and Tee. As soon as we drew near the ship, the admiral, who had never seen one before, began to express much surprise at so new a sight. He was conducted all over the ship, every part of which he viewed with great attention. On this occasion Otoo was the principal show-man; for, by this time, he was well acquainted with the different parts of the ship. After dinner Towha put a hog on board and retired, without my knowing anything of the matter, or having made him any return either for this or the present I had in the morning. Soon after, the king and his attendants went away also. Otoo not only seemed to pay this chief much respect, but was desirous I should do the same; and yet he was jealous of him, but on what account we knew not. It was but the day before that he frankly told us, Towha was not his friend. Both these chiefs when on board solicited me to assist them against Tiarabou, notwithstanding a peace at this time subsisted between the two kingdoms, and we were told that their joint force was to go against Eimeo. Whether this was done with a view of breaking with their neighbours and allies, if I had promised them assistance, or only to sound my disposition, I know not. Probably they would have been ready enough to have embraced

an opportunity which would have enabled them to conquer that kingdom, and annex it to their own as it was formerly. Be this as it may, I heard no more of it; indeed, I gave them no encouragement.

Next day we had a present of a hog sent by Wahea-toua, king of Tiarabou. For this, in return, he desired a few red feathers, which were, together with other things, sent him accordingly. Mr. Forster and his party set out for the mountains, with an intent to stay out all night. I did not go out of the ship this day. Early on the morning of the 29th, Otoo, Towha, and several other grandees, came on board, and brought with them as presents, not only provisions, but some of the most valuable curiosities of the island. I made them returns, with which they were well pleased. I likewise took this opportunity to repay the civilities I had received from Towha.

The night before, one of the natives attempting to steal a water-cask from the wateringplace, he was caught in the act, sent on board, and put in irons; in which situation Otoo and the other chiefs saw him. Having made known his crime to them, Otoo begged he might be set at liberty. This I refused, telling him, that since I punished my people, when they committed the least offence against his, it was but just this man should be punished also; and as I knew he would not do it, I was resolved to do it myself. Accordingly, I ordered the man to be carried on shore to the tents, and having followed myself with Otoo, Towha, and others, I ordered the guard out under arms, and the man to be tied up to a post. Otoo, his sister, and some others begged hard for him; Towha said not one word, but was very attentive to everything going forward. I expostulated with Otoo on the conduct of this man, and of his people in general; telling him, that neither I, nor any of my people, took anything from them, without first paying for it; enumerating the articles we gave in exchange for such and such things, and urging that it was wrong in them to steal from us who were their friends. I, moreover, told him, that the punishing this man would be the means of saving the lives of others of his people, by deterring them from committing crimes of this nature, in which some would certainly be shot dead, one time or another. With these and other arguments, which I believe he pretty well understood, he seemed satisfied, and only desired the man might not be Matterou (or killed). I then ordered the crowd, which was very great, to be kept at a proper distance, and, in the presence of them all, ordered the fellow two dozen of lashes with a cat-of-nine-tails, which he bore with great firmness, and was then set at liberty. After this, the natives were going away; but Towha stepped forth, called them back, and harangued them for near half an hour. His speech consisted of short sentences, very little of which I understood; but, from what we could gather, he recapitulated part of what I had said to Otoo; named several advantages they had received from us; condemned their present conduct, and recommended a different one for the future. The gracefulness of his action, and the attention with which he was heard, bespoke him a great orator. Otoo said not one word. As soon as Towha had ended his speech, I ordered the marines to go through their exercise, and to load and fire in volleys with ball; and as they were very quick in their manœuvres, it is easier to conceive than to describe the amazement the natives were under the whole time, especially those who had not seen anything of the kind before.

This being over, the chiefs took leave and retired with all their attendants, scarcely more pleased than frightened at what they had seen. In the evening, Mr. Forster and his party returned from the mountains, where he had spent the night, having found some new plants, and some others which grew in New Zealand. He saw Huaheine, which lies forty leagues to the westward; by which a judgment may be formed of the height of the mountains in Otaheite.

Next morning I had an opportunity to see the people of ten war-canoes go through part of their paddling exercise. They had put off from the shore before I was apprised of it; so that I was only present at their landing. They were properly equipped for war, the warriors with their arms, and dressed in their war habits, &c. In landing, I observed that the moment the canoe touched the ground, all the rowers leaped out, and, with the assistance of a few people on the shore, dragged the canoe on dry land to her proper place; which being done, every one walked off with his paddle, &c. All this was executed with such