118 
MISSIONARY TOUR 
from the north-west coast of America, left at the 
islands by Captain Cook, or some of his companions, 
was afterwards worshipped by the people. They called 
it, probably from its singular shape, Opaitauarii, a 
crab or shrimp, for a chief to rest on; from opai, a crab 
or shrimp, tau, to rest or sit, and arii, a chief. 
Many of the chiefs frequently express the sorrow 
they feel whenever they think of the Captain; and even 
the common people usually speak of these facts with 
apparent regret. Yet they exonerate the king Taraiopu 
from all blame, as nothing was done by his orders. I 
was once in a house in Oahu with Karaimoku, and 
several other chiefs, looking over the plates in the folio 
edition of Cook’s Voyages. They were greatly alfected 
with the print which represented his death, and in¬ 
quired if I knew the names of those who were slain on 
that occasion. I perceived Karaimoku more than once 
wipe the tears from his eyes, while conversing about 
this melancholy event. He said, he recollected Captain 
Cook’s visit, if not also his person, though he was at 
Maui at the time of his death. More than once, when 
conversing with us on the length of time the mission¬ 
aries had been in the Society Islands, they have said. 
Why did you not come here sooner? Was it.because 
we killed Captain Cook ? 
We have sometimes asked them what inducement 
they had to steal the boat, when they possessed so 
many canoes of their own. They have generally an¬ 
swered, that they did not take it to transport them¬ 
selves from one island to another, for their own canoes 
were more convenient, and they knew better how to 
manage them; but because they saw it was not sewed 
together, but fastened with nails. These they wanted,— 
