The last of the Society Islands to which our commander sailed was Bolabola, where he arrived on the 8th of December. His chief view in passing over to this island was to procure from its monarch, Opoony, an anchor which Monsieur de Bougainville had lost at Otaheite, and which had been conveyed to Bolabola. It was not from a want of anchors that Captain Cook was desirous of making the purchase, but to convert the iron of which it consisted into a fresh assortment of trading articles, these being now very much exhausted. The captain succeeded in his negotiation, and amply rewarded Opoony for giving up the anchor.
Whilst our commander was at Bolabola, he received an account of those military expeditions of the people of this country, which he had heard much of in each of his three voyages, and which had ended in the complete conquest of Ulietea and Otaha. The Bolabola men, in consequence of these enterprises, where in the highest reputation for their valour; and, indeed, were deemed so invincible, as to be the objects of terror to all the neighbouring islands. It was an addition to their fame, that their country was of such small extent, being not more than eight leagues in compass, and not half so large as Ulietea.
Captain Cook continued to the last his zeal for furnishing the natives of the South Sea with useful animals. At Bolabola, where there was already a ram, which had originally been left by the Spaniards at Otaheite, he carried ashore an ewe, that had been brought from the Cape of Good Hope; and he rejoiced in the prospect of laying a foundation, by this present, for a breed of sheep in the island. He left also at Ulietea, under the care of Oree, an English boar and sow, and two goats. It may, therefore, be regarded as certain, that not only Otaheite, but all the neighbouring islands, will, in a few years, have their race of hogs considerably improved; and it is probable, that they will be stocked with all the valuable animals, which have been transported thither by their European visitors. When this shall be accomplished, no part of the world will equal these islands, in the variety and abundance of the refreshments which they will be able to afford to navigators; nor did the captain know any place that excelled them, even in their present state.
It is an observation of great importance, that the future felicity of the inhabitants of Otaheite, and the Society Islands, will not a little depend on their continuing to be visited from Europe. Our commander could not avoid expressing it as his real opinion, that it would have been far better for these poor people, never to have known our superiority in the accommodations and arts which render life comfortable, than after once knowing it, to be again left and abandoned to their original incapacity of improvement. If the intercourse between them and us should wholly be discontinued, they cannot be restored to that happy mediocrity, in which they lived before they were first discovered. It seemed to Captain Cook, that it was become, in a manner, incumbent upon the Europeans to visit these islands once in three or four years, in order to supply the natives with those conveniences which we have introduced among them, and for which we have given them a predilection. Perhaps they may heavily feel the want of such occasional supplies, when it may be too late to go back to their old and less perfect contrivances; contrivances which they now despise, and which they have discontinued since the introduction of ours. It is, indeed, to be apprehended, that by the time that the iron tools, of which they had become possessed, are worn out, they will have almost lost the knowledge of their own. In this last voyage of our commander, a stone hatchet was as rare a thing among the inhabitants as an iron one was eight years before; and a chisel of bone or stone was not to be seen. Spike nails had succeeded in their place; and of spike nails the natives were weak enough to imagine that they had gotten an inexhaustible store. Of all our commodities, axes, and hatchets remained the most unrivalled; and they must ever be held in the highest estimation through the whole of the islands. Iron tools are so strikingly useful, and are now become so necessary to the comfortable existence of the inhabitants, that, should they cease to receive supplies of them, their situation, in consequence of their neither possessing the materials, nor being trained up to the art of fabricating them, would be rendered completely miserable. It is impossible to reflect upon this representation of things without strong feelings of sympathy and concern. Sincerely is it to be wished, that such may be the order of events, and such the intercourse carried on with the southern islanders, that, instead of finally suffering by their acquaintance with us, they may rise to a higher state of civilization, and permanently enjoy blessings far superior to what they had heretofore known.
Amidst the various subordinate employments which engaged the attention of Captain Cook and his associates, the great objects of their duty were never forgotten. No opportunity was lost of making astronomical and nautical observations; the consequence of which was, that the latitude and longitude of the places where the ships anchored, the variations of the compass, the dips of the needle, and the state of the tides, were ascertained with an accuracy that forms a valuable addition to philosophical science, and will be of eminent service to future navigators.
Our commander was now going to take his final departure from Otaheite and the Society Islands. Frequently as they had been visited, it might have been imagined, that their religious, political, and domestic regulations, manners and customs, must, by this time, be thoroughly understood. A great accession of knowledge was undoubtedly gained in the present voyage; and yet it was confessed, both by Captain Cook and Mr. Anderson, that their accounts of things were still imperfect in various respects; and that they continued strangers to many of the most important institutions which prevail among the natives. There was one part of the character of several of these people, on which the well regulated mind of the captain would not permit him to enlarge. 'Too much,' says he, 'seems to have been already known, and published in our former relations, about some of the modes of life, that made Otaheite, so agreeable an abode to many on board our ships; and if I could now add any finishing strokes to a picture, the outlines of which have been already drawn with sufficient accuracy, I should still have hesitated to make this journal the place for exhibiting a view of licentious manners, which could only serve to disgust those for whose information I write.
From Mr. Anderson's account of the Otaheitans, it appears, that their religious system is extensive, and, in various instances, singular. They do not seem to pay respect to one God as possessing pre-eminence, but believe in a plurality of divinities, all of whom are supposed to be very powerful. In different parts of the island, and in the neighbouring islands, the inhabitants choose those deities for the objects of their worship, who, they think, are most likely to protect them, and to supply all their wants. If, however, they are disappointed in their expectations, they deem it no impiety to change their divinity, by having recourse to another, whom they hope to find more propitious and successful. In general, their notions concerning Deity are extravagantly absurd. With regard to the soul, they believe it, according to Mr. Anderson, to be both immaterial and immortal; but he acknowledges, that they are far from entertaining those sublime expectations of future happiness which the Christian revelation affords, and which even reason alone, duly exercised might teach us to expect.
Although seventeen months had elapsed since Captain Cook's departure from England, during which time he had not, upon the whole, been unprofitably employed, he was sensible that, with respect to the principal object of his instructions, it was now only the commencement of his voyage and that, therefore, his attention was to be called anew to every circumstance which might contribute towards the safety of his people, and the ultimate success of the expedition. Accordingly, he had examined into the state of the provisions, whilst he was at the Society Islands, and, as soon as he had left them, and had gotten beyond the extent of his former discoveries, he ordered a survey to be taken of all the boatswain's and carpenters stores which were in the ships, that he might be fully informed of their quantity and condition; and, by that means, know how to use them to the greatest advantage.
It was on the 8th of December, the very day on which he had touched there, that our commander sailed from Bolabola. In the night between the 22nd and 23rd, he crossed the line, in the longitude of 203° 15' east; and on the 24th land was discovered, which was found to be one of those low uninhabited islands, that are so frequent in this ocean. Here our voyagers were successful in catching a large quantity of turtle, which supplied them with an agreeable refreshment; and here, on the 28th, an eclipse of the sun was observed by Mr. Bayley, Mr. King, and Captain Cook. On account of the season of the year, the captain called the land where he now was, and which he judged to be about fifteen or twenty leagues in circumference, Christmas Island. By his order, several cocoa-nuts and yams were planted, and some melon seeds sown in proper places; and a bottle was left, containing this inscription:
Georgius Tertius, Rex. 31 Decembris, 1777.
{ Resolution, Jac. Cook, Pr.
Naves {
{ Discovery. Car. Clerke, Pr.