A VOYAGE TO 
natives of Wateeoo fprung, originally, from the fame Hock, 
which hath fpread itfelf fo wonderfully all over the im- 
menfe extent of the South Sea. One would fuppofe, how¬ 
ever, that they put in their claim to a more illuftrious ex¬ 
traction ; for Omai allured us, that they dignified their 
ifland with the appellation of Wenooa no te Eatooa , that is, 
A land of gods ; efteeming themfelves a fort of divinities, 
and pofiefled with the fpirit of the Eatooa. This wild en- 
thufiaftic notion Omai feemed much to approve of, telling 
us there were inftances of its being entertained at Otaheite; 
hut that it was univerfally prevalent amongft the inhabi¬ 
tants of Mataia, or Ofnaburg Ifiand. 
The language fpoken at Wateeoo was equally well un- 
derftood by Omai, and by our two New Zealanders. What 
its peculiarities may be, when compared with the other 
dialects, I am not able to point out; for, though Mr. An- 
derfon had taken care to note down a fpecimen of it, the 
natives, who made no diftindtion of the obje£ts of their 
theft, Hole the memorandum book. 
CHAP. 
