1771*. ROUND THE WORLD. 65 



made him a present of a dog and a piece of cloth, 

 and then explained to him that our great steering 

 paddle was broken, and that I wanted that tree to 

 make a new one. It was easy to see how well pleased 

 every one present was with the means 1 took to ob- 

 tain it. With one voice they gave their consent, 

 Paowang joining his also, which he perhaps could 

 not have done without the others ; for I do not 

 know that he had either more property or more 

 authority than the rest. This point being obtained, 

 I took our friend on board to dinner, and after it 

 was over went with him on ashore, to pay a visit to 

 an old chief, who was said to be king of the island, 

 which was a doubt with me. Paowang took little or 

 no notice of him. I made him a present, after which 

 he immediately went away, as if he had got all he 

 came for. His name was Geogy, and they gave him 

 the title of Areeke. He was very old, but had a 

 merry open countenance. He wore round his waist 

 a broad red and white checquered belt, the materials 

 and manufacture of which seemed the same as that 

 of Otaheite cloth ; but this was hardly a mark of dis- 

 tinction. He had with him a son, not less than forty- 

 five or fifty years of age. A great number of people 

 were at this time at the landing-place ; most of them 

 from distant parts. The behaviour of many was 

 friendly, while others were daring and insolent, 

 which I thought proper to put up with, as our stay 

 was nearly at an end. 



On the 17th, about ten o'clock, I went ashore, and 

 found in the crowd old Geogy and his son, who soon 

 made me understand that they wanted to dine with 

 me ; and accordingly I brought them, and two more 

 on board. They all called them Areekees (or kings) ; 

 but I doubt if any of them had the least pretensions 

 to that title over the whole island. It had been re- 

 marked that one of these kings had not authority 

 enough to order one of the people up into a cocoa- 

 nut tree to bring him down some nuts. Although 



VOL. IV. f 



