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What he wanted in numbers was supplied by his unexampled valour, and his superiority in the art of war. He subdued one island after another, and at last Tahaiti itself, and having captured its King, offered the zealot murderer of his innocent subjects as a sacrifice to their manes.
Since, however, the position pointed out by him is extremely incorrect, it is uncertain whether the island which he called Sagittaria was really O Tahaiti or not. More probably, the honour of the discovery belongs to the English Captain Wallis, who in the year 1767 landed there, and took possession of the country by a solemn declaration, in the name of his King.
In both peninsulas of Tahaiti the form of government was monarchical, and each had its own king, assisted by a council of Yeris, whom he consulted on all important occasions. These were held in great veneration among the people.
Since my readers will hardly wish to study the Tahaitian language very thoroughly, I here close my extracts from its grammar. Whoever really desires to learn it must go to Tahaiti.
Bougainville says, "The inhabitants of Tahaiti consist of two distinct races, which remain such, although their language and manners are the same, and they appear to mingle indiscriminately with each other. One, the most numerous, produces the tallest men, commonly six feet and upwards; and I have never seen better proportioned, or finer forms.
Every noon the whole year round, at the moment the sun touches the meridian, the water is highest, and falls with the sinking sun till midnight. This phenomenon serves, as well as the sun's motion, to supply the place of clocks to the inhabitants. According to Humboldt, the altitude of the highest mountain in Tahaiti is ten thousand feet; according to the barometrical measurement of Mr.
Although Tahaiti is only seventeen degrees from the Equator, the heat is so much moderated by refreshing breezes that it is very supportable even to an European. Bougainville never found it above twenty-two, and often under eighteen degrees of Reaumur. That indeed was during the winter; but even in January, the middle of the Tahaitian summer, the atmosphere is much cooled by the frequent rains.
When the Bounty again cast anchor before Tahaiti, the natives crowded to the shore, rejoicing in the speedy return of their friends, but were much surprised at missing the captain and a great part of the crew.
The article te often stands before proper names; also before God, Te Atua; sometimes o, which then appears to be an article; as, O Pomare, O Huaheine, O Tahaiti. Sometimes this o is placed before the personal pronouns in the nominative case. O vau, I; o oe, thou; o oia, she, he, it. In these pronouns the Tahaitian, and those languages to which it bears affinity, are particularly rich.
This belief in ghosts is perhaps not more universal in Tahaiti than among civilized nations. According to another of Cook's companions, the supreme God united departed souls with his own existence, which was signified by the phrase, "He eats them." This was purification, after which the soul, or the genius, reached the abode of eternal happiness.
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