THROUGH HAWAII. 
149 
expected, like the southern islanders, to delight in the 
occupations of peace, and cease to learn the art, or 
find satisfaction in the practice, of war. Many most 
decisive and pleasing illustrations of the peaceful ten¬ 
dency of the principles of the Bible, have been given 
by the Southern Islanders. 
One of these occurred under my own observation. In 
the year 1817 I visited the island of Tubuai, about 300 
miles south of Tahiti. While there, two or three natives 
of the Paumotu or Paliser’s Islands, which lie to the 
eastward of the Society Islands, came on board our ves¬ 
sel, and asked the captain for a passage to Tahiti. He 
inquired their business there ? They said, that some 
weeks before, they left Tahiti, whither they had been 
on a visit, to return to their native islands, but that con¬ 
trary winds drifted their canoe out of its course, and they 
reached the island of Tubuai; that shortly after their 
arrival, the natives of the island attacked them, plun¬ 
dered them of their property, and broke their canoe ; 
that they wished to go to Tahiti, and acquaint Pomare 
with their misfortune, procure another canoe, and prose¬ 
cute their original voyage. Two Europeans, who were 
on the island at the time, told me they were very peace¬ 
able in their behaviour; that the natives of Tubuai had 
attacked the strangers because they had tried to per¬ 
suade them to cast away their idols, and had told them 
there was but one true God, viz. Jehovah. Our captain, 
and some others who were present, asked why they did 
not resist the attack ? inquiring, at the same time, if 
they were averse to war; knowing that their country¬ 
men were continually engaged in most savage wars, and 
were also cannibals. They said they had been taught to 
delight in war, and were not afraid of the natives of 
