THIRD VOYAGE 297 



and religion, impose their restraints, the rich have a reason- 

 able ground of security. It was very different with Omai. 

 He was to live amongst those who are strangers, in a great 

 measure, to any other principle of action besides the im- 

 mediate impulse of their natural feelings. But, what was 

 his principal danger, he was to be placed in the very singular 

 situation of being the only rich man in the community to 

 which he was to belong. And having, by a fortunate 

 connection with us, got into his possession an accumulated 

 quantity of a species of treasures which none of his country- 

 men could create by any art or industry of their own, while 

 all coveted a share of this envied wealth, it was natural to 

 apprehend that all would be ready to join in attempting 

 to strip its sole proprietor. 



" To prevent this, if possible, I advised him to make a 

 proper distribution of some of his moveables, to two or 

 three of the principal chiefs ; who, being thus gratified 

 themselves, might be induced to take him under their 

 patronage, and protect him from the injuries of others. He 

 promised to follow my advice ; and I heard, with satisfaction 

 before I sailed, that this very prudent step had been taken. 

 Not trusting, however, entirely to the operations of grati- 

 tude, I had recourse to the more forcible motive of intimida- 

 tion. With this view, I took every opportunity of notifying 

 to the inhabitants, that it was my intention to return to 

 their island again, after being absent the usual time ; and 

 that if I did not find Omai in the same state of security in 

 which I was now to leave him, all those whom I should 

 then discover to have been his enemies, might expect to 

 feel the weight of my resentment. 



" While we lay in this harbour, we carried ashore the 

 bread remaining in the bread-room, to clear it of vermin 

 The number of cockroaches that infested the ship at this 

 time is incredible ; the damage they did us was very con- 

 siderable ; and every method devised by us to destroy them 

 proved ineffectual. According to Mr. Anderson's observa- 

 tions, they were of two sorts, the Blatta orientalis and 

 germanica. The first of these had been carried home in 

 the ship from her former voyage, where they withstood 

 the severity of the hard winter in 1776, though she was 

 in dock all the time. The others had only made their 

 appearance since our leaving New Zealand ; but had in- 

 creased so fast that when a sail was loosened, thousands of 

 them fell upon the decks. The orientalis, though in infinite 

 numbers, scarcely came out but in the night, when they 

 made everything in the cabin seem as if in motion, from the 

 particular noise in crawling about. 



" The intercourse of trade and friendly offices was carried 



