I had but just time to get into my boat, when news was brought that Towha had concluded a treaty with Maheine, and had returned with his fleet to Attahooroo. This unexpected event made all further proceedings in the military way quite unneccessary, and the war-canoes, instead of rendezvousing at Oparre, were ordered home to their respective districts. This alteration, however, did not hinder me from following Otoo to Oparre, accompanied by Mr. King and Omai. Soon after our arrival, and while dinner was preparing, a messenger arrived from Eimeo, and related the conditions of the peace, or rather of the truce, it being only for a limited time. The terms were disadvantageous to Otaheite; and much blame was thrown upon Otoo, whose delay in sending reinforcements had obliged Towha to submit to a disgraceful accommodation. It was even currently reported that Towha, resenting his not being supported, had declared, that as soon as I could leave the island he would join his forces to those of Tiaraboo, and attack Otoo at Matavai or Oparre. This called upon me to declare, in the most public manner, that I was determined to espouse the interest of my friend against any such combination; and that whoever presumed to attack him, should feel the weight of my heavy displeasure when I returned again to their island. My declaration probably had the desired effect; and if Towha had any such hostile intention at first, we soon heard no more of the report. Whappai, Otoo's father, highly disapproved of the peace, and blamed Towha very much for concluding it. This sensible old man wisely judged, that my going down with them to Eimeo must have been of singular service to their cause, though I should take no other part whatever in the quarrel. And it was upon this that he built his arguments, and maintained that Otoo had acted properly by waiting for me, though this had prevented his giving assistance to Towha so soon as he expected.

Our debates at Oparre, on this subject, were hardly ended before a messenger arrived from Towha, desiring Otoo's attendance the next day at the morai in Attahooroo, to give thanks to the gods for the peace he had concluded; at least, such was Omai's account to me of the object of this solemnity. I was asked to go; but being much out of order, was obliged to decline it. Desirous, however, of knowing what ceremonies might be observed on so memorable an occasion, I sent Mr. King and Omai, and returned on board my ship, attended by Otoo's mother, his three sisters, and eight more women. At first I thought that this numerous train of females came into my boat with no other view than to get a passage to Matavai. But when we arrived at the ship, they told me they intended passing the night on board, for the express purpose of undertaking the cure of the disorder I complained of; which was a pain of the rheumatic kind, extending from the hip to the foot. I accepted the friendly offer, had a bed spread for them upon the cabin floor, and submitted myself to their directions. I was desired to lay myself down amongst them. Then, as many of them as could get round me, began to squeeze me with both hands, from head to foot, but more particularly on the parts where the pain was lodged, till they made my bones crack, and my flesh became a perfect mummy. In short, after undergoing this discipline about a quarter of an hour, I was glad to get away from them. However, the operation gave me immediate relief, which encouraged me to submit to another rubbing-down before I went to bed; and it was so effectual that I found myself pretty easy all the night after. My female physicians repeated their prescription the next morning before I went ashore, and again in the evening when they returned on board; after which I found the pains entirely removed; and the cure being perfected, they took their leave of me the following morning. This they call romee; an operation which, in my opinion, far exceeds the flesh-brush, or anything of the kind that we make use of externally. It is universally practised amongst these islanders; being sometimes performed by the men, but more generally by the women. If at any time one appears languid and tired, and sits down by any one of them, they immediately begin to practise the romee upon his legs; and I have always found it to have an exceeding good effect.

The war with Eimeo, and the solemn rites which were the consequence of it, being thus finally closed, all our friends paid us a visit on the 26th; and, as they knew that we were upon the point of sailing, brought with them more hogs than we could take off their hands. For, having no salt left, to preserve any, we wanted no more than for present use.

Our friend Omai got one good thing at this island for the many good things he gave away. This was a very fine double sailing canoe, completely equipped, and fit for the sea. Some time before, I had made up for him, a suit of English colours; but he thought these too valuable to be used at this time; and patched up a parcel of colours, such as flags and pendants, to the number of ten or a dozen, which he spread on different parts of this vessel, all at the same time; and drew together as many people to look at her, as a man-of-war would, dressed, in a European port. These streamers of Omai were a mixture of English, French, Spanish, and Dutch, which were all the European colours that he had seen. When I was last at this island, I gave to Otoo an English jack and pendant, and to Towha a pendant; which I now found they had preserved with the greatest care. Omai had also provided himself with a good stock of cloth and cocoa-nut oil, which are not only in greater plenty, but much better, at Otaheite than at any of the Society Islands; insomuch, that they are articles of trade. Omai would not have behaved so inconsistently, and so much unlike himself, as he did, in many instances, but for his sister and brother-in-law, who, together with a few more of their acquaintance, engrossed him entirely to themselves, with no other view than to strip him of everything he had got. And they would, undoubtedly, have succeeded in their scheme, if I had not put a stop to it in time, by taking the most useful articles of his property into my possession. But even this would not have saved Omai from ruin, if I had suffered these relations of his to have gone with, or to have followed us to, his intended place of settlement, Huaheine. This they had intended; but I disappointed their farther views of plunder, by forbidding them to show themselves in that island, while I remained in the neighbourhood; and they knew me too well not to comply.

On the 28th, Otoo came on board, and informed me, that he had got a canoe, which he desired I would take with me, and carry home, as a present from him to the Earee rahie no Pretane; it being the only thing, he said, that he could send worth his Majesty's acceptance. I was not a little pleased with Otoo for this mark of his gratitude. It was a thought entirely his own, not one of us having given him the least hint about it; and it showed that he fully understood to whom he was indebted for the most valuable presents that he had received. At first, I thought that this canoe had been a model of one of their vessels of war; but I soon found that it was a small ivahah, about sixteen feet long. It was double, and seemed to have been built for the purpose; and was decorated with all those pieces of carved work, which they usually fix upon their canoes. As it was too large for me to take on board, I could only thank him for his good intentions; but it would have pleased him much better, if his present could have been accepted.

We were detained here some days longer than I expected, by light breezes from the west, and calms by turns; so that we could not get out of the bay. During this time, the ships were crowded with our friends, and surrounded by a multitude of canoes; for not one would leave the place till we were gone. At length, at three o'clock in the afternoon of the 29th [September], the wind came at east, and we weighed anchor. As soon as the ships were under sail, at the request of Otoo, and to gratify the curiosity of his people, I fired seven guns, loaded with shot; after which, all our friends, except him, and two or three more, left us with such marks of affection and grief, as sufficiently showed how much they regretted our departure. Otoo being desirous of seeing the ship sail, I made a stretch out to sea, and then in again; when he also bid us farewell, and went ashore in his canoe. The frequent visits we have lately paid to this island, seem to have created a full persuasion that the intercourse will not be discontinued. It was strictly enjoined to me by Otoo, to request, in his name, the Earee rahie no Pretane, to send him, by the next ships, red feathers, and the birds that produce them; axes; half a dozen muskets, with powder and shot; and by no means to forget horses.

I have occasionally mentioned my receiving considerable presents from Otoo, and the rest of the family, without specifying what returns I made. It is customary for these people, when they make a present, to let us know what they expect in return; and we find it necessary to gratify them; so that what we get by way of present, comes dearer than what we get by barter. But as we were sometimes pressed by occasional scarcity, we could have recourse to our friends for a present, or supply, when we could not get our wants relieved by any other method; and therefore, upon the whole, this way of traffic was full as advantageous to us as to the natives. For the most part, I paid for each separate article as I received it, except in my intercourse with Otoo. His presents generally came so fast upon me, that no account was kept between us. Whatever he asked for, that I could spare, he had whenever he asked for it; and I always found him moderate in his demands.

If I could have prevailed upon Omai to fix himself at Otaheite, I should not have left it so soon as I did; for there was not a probability of our being better or cheaper supplied with refreshments at any other place, than we continued to be here, even at the time of our leaving it. Besides, such a cordial friendship and confidence subsisted between us and the inhabitants, as could hardly be expected anywhere else; and, it was a little extraordinary, that this friendly intercourse had never once been suspended by any untoward accident; nor had there been a theft committed that deserves to be mentioned... In this Omai was of great use, as I instructed him to point out to them the good consequences of their honest conduct; and the fatal mischiefs they must expect to suffer by deviating from it.

It is not always in the power of the chiefs to prevent robberies; they are frequently robbed themselves; and complain of it as a great evil. Otoo left the most valuable things he had from me in my possession, till the day before we sailed; and the reason he gave for it was, that they were nowhere so safe. Since the bringing in of new riches, the inducements to pilfering must have increased. The chiefs, sensible of this, are now extremely desirous of chests. They seemed to set much value upon a few the Spaniards had left amongst them; and they were continually asking us for some. I had one made for Otoo, the dimensions of which, according to his own directions, were eight feet in length, five in breadth, and about three in depth. Locks and bolts were not a sufficient security; but it must be large enough for two people to sleep upon, by way of guarding it in the night.

It will appear a little extraordinary, that we, who had a smattering of their language, and Omai, besides, for an interpreter, could never get any clear account of the time when the Spaniards arrived, how long they staid, and when they departed. The more we inquired into this matter, the more we were convinced of the inability of most of these people to remember, or note the time, when past events happened; especially if it exceeded ten or twenty months. It, however, appeared, by the date of the inscription upon the cross, and by the information we received from the most intelligent of the natives, that two ships arrived at Oheitepeha in 1774, soon after I left Matavai, which was in May, the same year. They brought with them the house and live-stock before mentioned. Some said, that, after landing these things, and some men, they sailed in quest of me, and returned in about ten days. But I have some doubt of the truth of this, as they were never seen, either at Huaheine or at Ulietea. The live-stock they left here consisted of one bull, some goats, hogs, and dogs, and the male of some other animal; which we afterwards found to be a ram, and, at this time, was at Bolabola, whither the bull was also to have been transported.

The hogs are of a large kind; have already greatly improved the breed originally found by us upon the island; and, at the time of our late arrival, were very numerous. Goats are, also, in tolerable plenty; there being hardly a chief of any note that has not got some. As to the dogs that the Spaniards put ashore, which are of two or three sorts, I think they would have done the island a great deal more service, if they had hanged them all, instead of leaving them upon it. It was to one of them that my young ram fell a victim. When these ships left the islands, four Spaniards remained behind. Two were priests, one a servant, and the fourth made himself very popular among the natives, who distinguish him by the name of Mateema. He seems to have been a person who had studied their language, or at least to have spoken it so as to be understood, and to have taken uncommon pains to impress the minds of the islanders with the most exalted ideas of the greatness of the Spanish nation, and to make them think meanly of the English. He even went so far as to assure them that we no longer existed as an independent nation; that Pretane was only a small island which they, the Spaniards, had entirely destroyed; and for me, that they had met with me at sea, and with a few shot had sent my ship and every soul in her to the bottom; so that my visiting Otaheite at this time was of course very unexpected. All this, and many other improbable falsehoods, did this Spaniard make these people believe. If Spain had no other views in this expedition but to depreciate the English, they had better have kept their ships at home; for my returning again to Otaheite was considered as a complete confutation of all that Mateema had said.

With what design the priests staid, we can only guess. If it was to convert the natives to the catholic faith, they have not succeeded in any one instance. But it does not appear that they ever attempted it; for, if the natives are to be believed, they never conversed with them, either on this, or on any other subject. The priests resided constantly in the house at Oheitepeha; but Mateema roved about, visiting most parts of the island. At length, after he and his companions had staid ten months, two ships came to Oheitepeha, took them on board, and sailed again in five days. This hasty departure shows, that, whatever design the Spaniards might have had upon this island, they had now laid it aside. And yet, as I was informed by Otoo, and many others, before they went away, they would have the natives believe that they still meant to return, and to bring with them houses, all kinds of animals, and men and women, who were to settle, live, and die on the island. Otoo, when he told me this, added, that if the Spaniards should return, he would not let them come to Matavai Fort, which, he said, was ours. It was easy to see that the idea pleased him; little thinking that the completion of it would at once deprive him of his kingdom, and the people of their liberties. This shows with what facility a settlement might be made at Otaheite; which, grateful as I am for repeated good offices, I hope will never happen. Our occasional visits may, in some respects, have benefited its inhabitants; but a permanent establishment amongst them, conducted as most European establishments amongst Indian nations have unfortunately been, would, I fear, give them just cause to lament that our ships had ever found them out. Indeed, it is very unlikely that any measure of this kind should ever be seriously thought of, as it can neither serve the purposes of public ambition, nor of private avarice; and, without such inducements, I may pronounce that it will never be undertaken.