PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
103 
what we have already seen, we must either attack them or be at¬ 
tacked. I had received many wanton provocations from them; they 
refused to be on friendly terms with us; they attacked and insult¬ 
ed our friends, for being such; and repeated complaints were made 
to me on the subject. I had borne with their reproaches, and my mo¬ 
deration was called cowardice. I offered them friendship, and my 
offers were rejected with insulting scorn. I sent to them mes¬ 
sengers, and they were sent back with blows; hostilities had been 
commenced by them, and they believed they had obtained an ad¬ 
vantage over us; a mere thread connected us with the other tribes; 
that once broken our destruction was almost inevitable; they fear¬ 
ed us and were our friends; should there be no longer cause for 
fear, should they no longer believe us invincible, instead of hos¬ 
tilities with the single tribe of Typees, we should, in all probabi¬ 
lity, have been at war with all on the island. The Happahs con¬ 
sidered themselves a conquered tribe, ready, at the first good op¬ 
portunity, to shake off the yoke; the Shouemes and some others, 
if not conquered by our arms, they were by the apprehensions of 
them; they had been led to believe that no force could resist 
us, and had they been convinced that the Typees could keep 
us at bay, they must have felt satisfied that their united forces 
were capable of destroying us: a coalition would have been fatal 
to us—it was my duty to prevent it—and I saw no means of suc¬ 
ceeding but by reducing the Typees before they could come to an 
understanding with the other tribes; and by placing all on the 
same footing, I hoped to bring about a general peace and secure 
the future tranquillity of the Island. 
Wars are not always just, and are rarely free from excesses—r 
my conscience acquits me of any injustice, and no excesses were 
committed, but what the Typees had it in their power to stop by 
ceasing hostilities—the evils they experienced they brought upon 
themselves, and the blood of their relations and friends must be 
on their own heads—had no opposition been made none would have 
been killed—-had they wished for peace, it would haye been grant¬ 
ed; but proud of the honour of being the greatest warriors on 
the island, they believed themselves invincible, and hoped to iit : 
suit all others with impunity. 
