THROUGH HAWAII. 
449 
versed with many, declare that they had no idea of a 
ship before Captain 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, between the first 
discovery of Tauai and the return of the vessels from 
the N. w. coast of America. Aa mo, (skin of lizard’s 
egg,) a native of Tauai, who was on board one of the 
ships, procured 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 conspi¬ 
cuous part of her dress in a public procession, 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 
with the priest Paao, is his arriving alone, though he 
might be the only survivor of his party. If such a 
person ever did arrive, we should think he was a 
Roman Catholic priest, and the reported gods an image 
and a crucifix. 
The different parties that subsequently arrived wers 
probably, if any inference may be drawn from the 
accounts of the natives, survivors of the crew of some 
Spanish ship wrecked in the neighbourhood, perhaps 
on the numerous reefs to the north-west; or they might 
have been culprits committed by their countrymen to 
the mercy of the waves. The circumstance of the first 
party leaving the island in the same boat in which 
they arrived, would lead us to suppose they had been 
wrecked, and had escaped in their boat, or had con- 
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