14 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
the principal persons and things that had come 
under the notice of such, individuals, and even in 
the representation of these, the orthography was as 
various as the writers had been numerous. In 
reference to their attempts to acquire the know¬ 
ledge of Tahitian, they remarked, that they found 
all Europeans, who had visited Tahiti, had mis¬ 
taken the language as to spelling, pronunciation, 
and ease of acquisition. In addition to the printed 
specimens, they had a small vocabulary, compiled 
by one of the officers of the mutineers in the 
Bounty, who had resided some months in Tahiti, 
prior to the arrival of the Pandora ; when he was 
arrested, and brought a prisoner to England, where 
he was executed at Portsmouth. This vocabulary 
he left with the worthy clergyman who attended 
him in his confinement, and by him it was kindly 
given to the Missionaries; who found it more 
useful than every aid besides. On their voyage, 
they had carefully studied it, but though they were 
thus put in possession of a number of words, in 
their proper collocation they discovered that they 
had every thing to learn. They had arranged a 
number of words in sentences according to the 
English idiom, which they supposed would be 
serviceable on landing; but the use of which they 
soon found it necessary to discontinue. One of 
these sentences, Mity po tuaana, often afterwards 
amused the king, when he came to know what 
they intended by it. Maitai is good, po is night, 
and tuaana brother. Good-night, brother, was 
the sentiment intended ; but if the natives under¬ 
stood the English word mighty, it would mean, 
Mighty night, brother ; or, if they understood mity 
as their word maitai, the phrase would be an 
assertion to this effect, Good (is the) night, bro- 
