38 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC 
so. But the canoe was not restored. Our people thought, 
therefore, that if Cook would steal from them, it would be 
right to steal from him; so in the night time, they swam under 
water a long distance to the ships, loosened the boat from 
one of them, and having brought it ashore, broke it in pieces 
for the nails. Cook was very much enraged at the loss of 
his boat, and threatened us with destruction if it were not 
returned. But it could not be ; it was destroyed. 
u A number of days passed in very angry intercourse be¬ 
tween our people and the foreigners, during which a chief 
suggested that so unjust a being could not be a god. But 
all others said he was the great Kono. This was in our 
days of darkness. Why do you press me to remember such 
unpleasant things 1” 
I explained that I was anxious to know the truth of the 
matter, and she continued : 
u At length Cook came on shore with an armed force, 
and went to the king’s house to persuade him to go on 
board his ship. The chiefs interfered and prevented him. 
Cook was angry, and the people were in a great rage. He 
went down to the shore where his boat lay. The people 
gathered around him. The chief who did not believe him 
a god, tried to kill Cook, but Cook killed him; and then 
the people who belonged to that chief, killed Cook. It 
thus became clear that Cook was no god; for we thought 
our old gods could not die. These were our years of sin, 
before the Pono (Gospel) came among us; and it is not 
pleasant to speak of them.” 
This venerable chieftainess was advanced in womanhood 
at the time of Vancouver’s visit, in 1779. She gave the 
following account of it: 
u When Vancouver arrived at Hawaii, Kamehameha was 
the chief of three districts on that island. These were Kona, 
Kohala, and Hamakua. That year he fought against the 
reigning king, and conquered the whole island. Kameha¬ 
meha did not see Vancouver at Kona, where he first an- 
