400 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
they arose, hurled their idols from the places they 
had so long occupied, burnt to the ground three 
of their sacred dwellings, in which their idols were 
kept, and, on the same day, proceeded, en masse , 
to the demolition of their temples. 
A large boat, belonging to Mr. Threlkeld, had 
been towed to the island by the vessel which con¬ 
veyed the teachers. After remaining about a 
month in Rurutu, the Raiateans attached to the 
boat took leave of their countrymen, launched their 
boat, loaded with the rejected idols, and, after 
being six days at sea, reached in safety their native 
island. 
The Christians in Raiatea, who had, in hope 
and faith, sent out their first Missionaries, little ex¬ 
pected such immediate success. A public meeting 
was convened, at which the abolished idols were 
exhibited, appropriate addresses delivered, and 
sincere acknowledgments rendered to the Most 
High, for the favourable reception their country¬ 
men had experienced. 
On my return from the Sandwich Islands, in com¬ 
pany with the deputation from London, I called at 
Rurutu, in October, 1822. As we approached the 
shore, a native came off, to a distance of one or two 
miles, not in a canoe, but in a large wooden dish 
used in preparing food; it was about six feet long, and 
eighteen inches or two feet wide. The native invited 
us to the shore. On landing, we were greeted with 
the most cordial welcome by the chiefs and people, 
and were astonished at the effects of little more 
than one short year’s exertion. Many had learned 
to read, and some to write; the teachers had 
erected neat plastered dwellings for themselves, 
and, under their direction, the people had built a 
substantial chapel, eighty feet long, and thirty-six 
