THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
19 
poifefied with the fpirit of the divinity, came and Hood be- m7 . 
fore us. He had all the appearance of a man not in his u Augu ll ‘ 
right fenfes; and his only drefs was a large quantity of 
plantain leaves, wrapped round his waift. He fpoke in a 
low, fqueaking voice, fo as hardly to be underfiood ; at 
leaf!:, not by me. But Omai laid, that he comprehended 
him perfectly, and that he was adviling Waheiadooa not to 
go with me to Matavai; an expedition which I had never 
heard that he intended, nor had I ever made fuch a propofal 
to him. The Eatooa alfo foretold, that the Blips would not 
get to Matavai that day. But in this he was miftaken; 
though appearances now rather favoured his prediction, 
there not being a breath of wind in any direction. While 
he was prophefying, there fell a very heavy Brower of rain, 
which made every one run for Ihelter, but himfelf, who 
feemed not to regard it. He remained fqueaking, by us, 
about half an hour, and then retired. No one paid any at¬ 
tention to what he uttered; though fome laughed at him. 
I aflced the Chief what he was, whether an Earee , or a T )u- 
tou f and the anfwer I received was, that he was taata eno ; 
that is, a bad man. And yet, notwithBanding this, and the 
little notice any of the natives feemed to take of the mad 
prophet, fuperBition has fo far got the better of their reafon, 
that they firmly believe fuch perfons to be poifefied with the 
fpirit of the Eatooa. Omai feemed to be very well infiruCted 
about them. He faid, that, during the fits that come upon 
them, they know nobody, not even their mofi intimate ac¬ 
quaintances ; and that, if any one of them happens to be a 
man of property, he will very often give away every move- 
able he is poifefied of, if his friends do not put them out of 
his reach; and, when he recovers, will inquire what had 
become of thofe very things, which he had, but jufi before, 
D 2 difiributed, 
