THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 73 



to rcqueft, in his name, the Earee mhle no Pretane, to fend g^'^^^^^^^ 



him, by the next fliips, red feathers, and the birds that pro- v_-. — -y 

 duce them ; axes ; half a dozen muflcets, wi[h powder and 

 fliot ; and, by no means, to forget horfes. 



I have occafionally mentioned my receiving confiderable 

 prefents from Otoo, and the reft of the family, without fpe- 

 cifying what returns 1 made. It is cuftomary for thefe 

 people, when they make a prefent, to lee us know what 

 they Gxpeifl in return ; and we find it necefTary to gratify 

 them ; fo that, what we get by way of prefent, comes 

 dearer than what we get by barter. But as we were 

 fometimes preflbd by occafional fcarcity, we could have 

 recourfe to otir friends for a prefent, or fupply, when we 

 could not get our wants relieved by any other method ; 

 and, therefoje, upon the whole, this way of traffic was 

 full as advantageous to us as to the natives. For the moll 

 part, I paid for each feparate article as I received it, except 

 in my intercourfe with Otoo. His prefents, generally, came 

 fo faft upon me, that no account was kept between us. 

 Whatever he aflced for, that I could fpare, he had whenever 

 he afked for it j and I always found him moderate in his 

 demands. 



If I could have prevailed upon Omai to fix himfelf at 

 Otaheite, I (hould not have left it fo foon as I did. For 

 there was not a probability of our being better or cheaper 

 fupplied with refrefliments at any other place, than wc 

 continued to be here, even at the time of our leaving ir. 

 Befides, fuch a cordial friendlhip and confidence fubfilled 

 between us and the inhabitants, as could hardly be expecT:ed 

 any where elfe ; and, it was a little extraordinary, that this 

 friendly intercourfe had never once been fufpended, by any 

 untoward accident; nor had there been a theft committed 

 Vol. II. L that 



