Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where
the Tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed
thousands. Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity,
there were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats
were unknown to the more civilised inhabitants.
NOVEMBER 20, 1835.
In the morning we started early, and reached Matavai at noon. On
the road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild
bananas. I found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in
watering, had moved to the harbour of Papawa, to which place I
immediately walked. This is a very pretty spot. The cove is
surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. The
cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed
with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge.
From the varying accounts which I had read before reaching these
islands, I was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a
judgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would
necessarily be very imperfect. First impressions at all times very
much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. My notions were
drawn from Ellis's "Polynesian Researches"--an admirable and most
interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a
favourable point of view, from Beechey's "Voyage;" and from that of
Kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system.
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