EARLY VISITORS. 
439 
ehu, who are, by all the natives of the islands, 
considered as the descendants of these foreigners, 
who acknowledge themselves to be such, and es¬ 
teem their origin by no means dishonourable. 
Another party is said to have afterwards arrived 
at the same place, but the accounts the natives 
give of their landing are not very distinct; and we 
feel undecided whether there were two distinct 
parties, or only two different accounts of the same 
event. 
We have heard from one of the chiefs of Hawaii, 
that there is a tradition, of a ship having touched 
at the island of Maui prior to the arrival of Capt. 
Cook ; but, with the exception of this chief, all the 
natives we have conversed with on the subject, 
and we have conversed with many, declare that 
they had no idea of a ship before Capt. Cook was 
seen off Tauai. The ship they called motu , an 
island, probably supposing it was an island, with 
all its inhabitants. 
Marvellous reports respecting the ships and 
people were circulated through the islands, be¬ 
tween the first discovery of Tauai, and the return 
of the vessels from the north-west coast of 
America. A a mo, skin of lizard’s egg, a native of 
Tauai, who was on board on one of the ships, pro¬ 
cured a piece of canvass, about a yard and a half 
long, which Tiha, king of Tauai, sent as a present 
to Poriorani, king of Oahu. He gave it to his 
queen Opuhani, by whom it was worn on the most 
conspicuous part of her dress in a public pro¬ 
cession, and attracted more attention than any 
thing else. The piece of cloth was called Aa mo, 
after the man who had the honour of bringing it 
from the ships. 
The most unaccountable circumstance connected 
