PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 
425 
On the 12th of February, we received the melancholy intelligence CHAP, 
of the death of Krymakoo, who had long suffered under a dropsical 
complaint, for which he had undergone frequent operations. Only four ^FeE 
days previously he went to bathe in the sea at Kairua, in Owyhee, and 
on coming out of the w^ater he was taken ill, and died very soon after- 
wards, He was at an advanced age, and had been present at the death 
of our immortal countryman in Karakakoa Bay, and perfectly re- 
collected that fatal transaction. Krymakoo, or, as he was more ge- 
nerally called, Pitt, from the circumstance of his being a contemporary 
prime minister with our great statesman, became a prot6ge of Tame- 
hameha shortly after the departure of Cook’s ships. He is first intro- 
duced to our notice by Vancouver, who particularly remarks his superior 
manners and conduct. His hfe was devoted to the advantage of his 
country, and to the support of his illustrious patron, in whose service 
he distinguished himself alike as a warrior and a counsellor. Intelligent, 
faithful, and brave, he was confided in and beloved by his king and 
by his countrymen, and he was a chief in whom the foreign residents 
placed implicit reliance. His ardent spirit and anxiety for the welfare 
of his country led Tamehameha on one or two occasions of insurrection 
to suspect his fidelity, and in order to put it to the test he is said to 
have deprived him for the time of his estates ; an act of injustice, cal- 
culated rather to increase than to allay any dissatisfaction that might 
have existed in his mind. Pitt, nevertheless, remained faithful, and 
fought by the side of his patron. After the death of Tamehameha, he 
enjoyed almost sovereign power, which he employed to the benefit and 
civilization of his countrymen. His command of temper was not less 
praiseworthy than his other virtues. On the occasion of some misun- 
derstanding between the missionaries and the seamen of an American 
vessel, the crew went on shore with the view of burning Mr. Bingham’s 
house, but mistaking the place, they set fire to one belonging to Pitt. The 
natives immediately flew to protect the property of their favourite chief, 
and a serious quarrel was about to take place, to the disadvantage of the 
Americans, when Pitt, who had escaped the flames, harangued the mob 
with the greatest composure, induced them to desist from acts of violence, 
and persuaded the crew, who by this time had discovered their mistake, to 
3 I 
