this enquiry, by attending to the age of Teereetareea, the present chief of Huaheine.  His looks shewed that he was not above ten or twelve years old; and we were informed that his father had been killed in one of the battles.  As to the time when the war began, we had no better rule for judging than this, that the young people of about twenty years of age, of whom we made enquiries, could scarcely remember the first battles; and I have already mentioned, that Omai’s countrymen, whom we found at Wateoo, knew nothing of this war; so that its commencement was subsequent to their voyage.

Ever since the conquest of Ulietea and Otaha, the Bolabola men have been considered by their neighbours as invincible; and such is the extent of their fame, that even at Otaheite, which is almost out of their reach, if they are not dreaded, they are, at least, respected for their valour.  It is said that they never fly in battle, and that they always beat an equal number of the other islanders.  But, besides these advantages, their neighbours seem to ascribe a great deal to the superiority of their god, who, they believed, detained us at Ulietea by contrary winds, as being unwilling that we should visit an island under his special protection.

How high the Bolabola men are now in estimation at Otaheite, may be inferred from Monsieur de Bougainville’s anchor having been conveyed to them.  To the same cause we must ascribe the intention of transporting to their island the Spanish bull.  And they had already got possession of a third European curiosity, the male of another animal, brought to Otaheite by the Spaniards.  We had been, much puzzled, by the imperfect description of the natives, to guess what this could be; but Captain Clerke’s deserters, when brought back from Bolabola, told me, that the animal had been there shewn to them, and that it was a ram.  It seldom happens but that some good arises out of evil, and if our two men had not deserted, I should not have known this.  In consequence of their information, at the same time that I landed to meet Opoony, I carried ashore a ewe, which we had brought from the Cape of Good Hope; and I hope that by this present I have laid the foundation for a breed of sheep at Bolabola.  I also left at Ulietea, under the care of Oreo, an English boar and sow, and two goats.  So that not only Otaheite, but all the neighbouring islands, will, in a few years, have their race of hogs considerably improved; and, probably, be stocked with all the valuable animals which have been transported hither by their European visitors.

When once this comes to pass, no part of the world will equal these islands in variety and abundance of refreshments for navigators.  Indeed, even in their present state, I know no place that excels them.  After repeated trials in the course of several voyages we find, when they are not disturbed by intestine broils, but live in amity with one another, which has been the case for some years past, that their productions are in the greatest plenty; and, particularly, the most valuable of all the articles, their hogs.