POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
419 
The natives employed in this work generally laid 
down on the beach short logs of the cylindrical trunk 
of the cocoa-nut tree^ and drew the canoes over these 
natural rollers into the sea. Some of these songs were 
very shorty as Iriti i mua^ iriti i muri, e to^ e to tau 
vaa ie Lift up the stem^ lift up the stern, and pull, and 
pull, my strong canoe. The song employed on the 
present occasion appeared rather a long one : I tried to 
comprehend its import, but, notwithstanding all the 
vociferation of the orator, it was recited with such 
rapidity, and there was so much din and clamour among 
the people, who on such occasions only put forth their 
strength in proportion to the noise which they make, 
that I could only now and then distinguish the wordpahi, 
a large canoe or ship. Had I been able to hear more 
distinctly, it is probable that at that time I should not 
have understood the bard, as many words not in com¬ 
mon use are found in their songs. 
At length the vessel moved towards the sea, amid 
the shouts of the assembled multitudes. Before, how¬ 
ever, she fairly floated, an accident occurred, which 
threw a damp over the spirits of all present. As she 
glided smoothly along towards the water, Pomare, who 
had stationed himself by the sea-side for the purpose, 
gave the vessel her name, by throwing a bottle of wine 
at her, and exclaiming, la ora na oe e Haweisy Prosperity 
to you, O Haweis. It having been agreed to designate 
the first vessel of any size built in the islands The Haweis, 
in honour of the late Dr. Haweis, who was the steady 
friend of the South Sea Mission, and in some respects 
may be said to have been its founder. 
The circumstance of the king’s throwing the wine 
at the ship, the breaking of the bottle, the red wine 
