90 cook's VOYAGE TO OCT. 



a proportional part of the hill was included in the 

 grant. 



This business being settled to the satisfaction of all 

 parties, I set up a tent ashore, established a post, and 

 erected the observatories. The carpenters of both 

 ships were also set to work, to build a small house for 

 Omai, in which he might secure the European com- 

 modities that were his property. At the same time, 

 some hands were employed in making a garden for 

 his use, planting shaddocks, vines, pine-apples, me- 

 lons, and the seeds of several other vegetable arti- 

 cles ; all of which I had the satisfaction of observ- 

 ing to be in a flourishing state before I left the island. 



Omai now began seriously to attend to his own 

 affairs, and repented heartily of his ill-judged prodi- 

 gality while at Otaheite. He found at Huaheine, a 

 brother, a sister, and a brother-in-law ; the sister be- 

 ing married. But these did not plunder him, as he 

 had lately been by his other relations. I was sorry, 

 however, to discover, that, though they were too 

 honest to do him any injury, they were of too little 

 consequence in the island to do him any positive good. 

 They had neither authority nor influence to protect 

 his person or his property ; and, in that helpless situ- 

 ation, I had reason to apprehend, that he ran great 

 risk of being stripped of every thing he had got 

 from us, as soon as he should cease to have us within 

 his reach, to enforce the good behaviour of his 

 countrymen, by an immediate appeal to our irresist- 

 ible power. 



A man who is richer than his neighbours is sure 

 to be envied by numbers who wish to see him brought 

 down to their own level. But in countries where 

 civilization, law, and religion, impose their restraints, 

 the rich have a reasonable ground of security. And, 

 besides, there being, in all such communities, a diffu- 

 sion of property, no single individual need fear, that 

 the efforts of all the poorer sort can ever be united 

 to injure him, exclusively of others who are equally 



