206 AN EXPEDITION TO 
Mr. Hoffman, our mineralogist, an active 
young man, resolved to undertake this expe- 
dition, accompanied by three Tahaitians :— 
Maititi, who on our arrival had concluded a 
treaty of friendship with him, and adopted the 
name of Hoffman ; Tauru, a respectable elderly 
man; and Teiraro, a brisk and lively young 
fellow. The two latter could write their own 
names. At first they raised many objections, 
assuring him that the journey, at all times dif- 
ficult, was now dangerous from the waters 
being swollen by the rains; however, a shirt 
promised to each of them overcame all these 
obstacles, and the travellers set out at mid-day 
in excellent spirits. Maititi, a soldier in the 
royal Tahaitian army, bore the insignia of his 
rank in a musket, to which nothing but the 
lock was wanting, and a cartouche-box with- 
out powder. He had learnt a few English 
words, and, by their help, advised Mr. Hoff- 
man to carry with him some presents for his” 
countrymen: for he observed, that though hos- 
pitality and the consequence attaching to the 
stranger’s appearance would secure him a good 
reception, it was desirable that a man with 
