VOYAGE TO THE 
Hetotte at length determined to put their assertions to the test, by a 
breach of one of the strictest laws of his religion, and resolved either 
to die under the experiment or embrace the new faith. 
A custom prevailed of offering pigs to the deity, which were brought 
to the morai and placed upon whattas, or fautas, for the purpose. From 
that moment they were considered sacred, and if afterwards any human 
being, the priests excepted, dared to commit so great a sacrilege as to 
partake of the offering, it was supposed that the offended god would 
punish the crime with instant death. Hetotte thought a breach of this 
law would be a fair criterion of the pow er of the deity, and accordingly 
stole some of the consecrated meat, and retired with it to a solitary part 
of the wood to eat it, and perhaps to die. Having partaken of the food, 
he expected at each mouthful to experience the vengeance he had pro- 
voked, and he waited a considerable time in the wood in awful suspense ; 
until, finding himself rather refreshed, than otherwise, by his meal, he 
quitted the retreat and went quietly home. For several days he kept 
his secret, but finding no bad effects from his transgression, he disclosed 
it to every one, renounced his religion, and embraced Christianity. 
Such instances of resolution and good sense, though they have been 
practised before, are extremely rare in Otaheite, and in this sketch of 
these twm brothers a highly favourable picture is presented of the class 
to which they belong; though there are others, particularly Taate, 
the first and most pow^erful chief upon the island, who are equally 
deserving of favourable notice. 
Of the rest of the population, though their external deportment is 
certainly more guarded than formerly, in consequence of the severe 
penalties which their new laws attach to a breach of decorum, yet their 
morals have in reality undergone as little change as their costume. 
Notwithstanding all the restrictions imposed, I do not believe that I 
should exceed the bounds of truth in saying, that, if opportunity offered, 
there is no favour w^hich might not be obtained from the females of 
Otaheite for the trifling consideration of a Jew^’s harp, a ring, or some 
other bauble. 
Their dwellings, with the exception of doors to some, and occa- 
sionally latches and locks, are precisely what they w^ere w^hen the island 
