168 THE KING'S FAITHLESS CONDUCT.

still refused to consent, Otu rose up in anger, and his people seized hold of Oro, and ran with him towards the sea, and placed him in one of the canoes. The Atehurans pursued them to the shore; and would have attacked them, had not the king's men in the canoes pointed their muskets at them, and thus obliged them to flee away.

This was the beginning of war. It was brought on by the faithlessness of Otu-for it was faithless to steal the god, when permitted, as a favour, to worship him.

The god was taken by sea, to that part of the island called Taiarabu. There the king committed one of those bloody deeds, to which he was so much accustomed. Fearing, lest Oro should be angry, at the treatment he had received, the king desired, that one of his own servants should be slain on the beach of Taiarabu, as a sacrifice.

Mr. Nott, and Mr. Elder, who had witnessed the stealing of Oro from the marae, returned to their brethren on April 5th, with the alarming news that war was begun.

It was necessary for them to prepare to defend themselves against the Atehurans; for, as they were known to be the friends of the king, the rebels would, of course, be inclined to injure them. Their situation would now

THE GUARD OF SAILORS.

169

have been very terrible, if God, in his providence, had not caused a great number of English sailors, to be at that time in Tahiti.

Six of these English sailors, with Captain Bishop, had been left at Tahiti by their ship, for the purpose of buying hogs, and salting their flesh; while seventeen more had just been wrecked on the island, and had saved from their ship the cannons, and many of the stores. In general the missionaries disliked having sailors on the island, on account of their wicked examples; but on this occasion they rejoiced, and thought that God had sent them for their defence.

The brethren placed four cannons around their dwellings, and posted guards to watch to see whether the enemy was approaching. The sailors assisted them, and prepared to shoot, whenever the enemy should come. The brethren thought it would be right that even they themselves should fire, in case they were attacked. They now passed their nights, and days in constant alarm, except as far they were enabled to place their trust in God. They heard accounts of the manner in which the people of Atehuru were marching over the country, and burning houses wherever they came. At last the Atehurans came near Matavai. They stopped, and knowing how well the brethren were defended, offered to make

170

MISSIONARIES' FORTIFICATIONS.

peace with them. To this proposal, the brethren gladly consented. The Atehurans then departed to Taiarabu, and attacked the king's army in the night, conquered them, and got possession of Oro.

Pomare, and Otu, and the army, fled in their canoes to the missionaries. They arrived with sorrowful looks, but they were cheered, when they perceived the plans the brethren were arranging for their defence. All the brethren had gone into the new house, and had endeavoured to make it strong. They had cut down groves of cocoa-nut trees, and bread-fruit trees that they had planted near it, lest the enemies should climb the trees and shoot upon them; and with these trees they had made a fence all round the lower windows of the house. They had placed cannons in some of the upper windows, and stuffed others with bedding. They also had had the grief of pulling down the chapel, (lately built with so much pains,) lest the enemies should set it on fire, and lest the fire should spread to the house. They had also stuck some boards full of large nails, and had hid them under the paths, that led to their dwelling. Thus fortified, they spent many days crowded in their house, almost in darkness, and expecting every moment, to hear the shouts of the savage Atehurans.

Pomare now committed an action that will

POMARE'S CRUEL SLAUGHTER.

171

make your ears tingle when you hear it; yet it was one common in that wicked country. Pomare knew that the wives and children of the Atehurans, were left almost alone in their dwellings while the men were destroying the other parts of the island. Therefore he went with his army secretly at night, and fell upon the weak women and innocent babes, and a few men who were with them, and slaughtered two hundred of them; and having committed this bloody deed, he returned to Matavai. When the Atehurans heard that Pomare had destroyed their families, they were fiercer than ever, and swore that they would destroy him and all his family.

At this time of terror, another ship arrived: it was called the Nautilus.

Pomare was delighted at this circumstance, and entreated the captain to lend him a large boat, full of sailors, to go and attack the Atehurans. The captain consented, and a boat full of sailors, armed with muskets, accompanied Pomare's fleet of canoes along the shores, till it reached the coast of Atehuru. But now you will be astonished to hear of Pomare's folly. Instead of attacking the enemy, he merely desired to offer up some sacrifices to Oro. The Atehurans would not allow him to enter the great marae, therefore he contented himself with presenting his sacrifices on the beach. In vain the English

172

THE ENEMIES' STRONGHOLDS.

sailors advised him now to attack the enemy; he was afraid, and returned to Matavai, satisfied with having performed a foolish ceremony.

The captain and sailors were much annoyed by Pomare's folly, and determined to go themselves with Pomare to attack the enemy. The missionaries consented to this plan, though they refused to go themselves to war. They sent, however, Mr. Elder, who was a surgeon, with the king's army. Otu remained at Matavai, but Pomare and Idia set out with their army and twenty Englishmen in the fleet of canoes.

July 3rd was the day of battle. It was eleven o'clock in the morning when the king's army landed at Atehuru. They found the shores deserted, and heard that the enemy had climbed some very high places in the mountains, about four miles from the sea-coast. Pomare did not dare to attack them in their strongholds, for he thought that he should not conquer, because the Atehurans had Oro in their possession; besides this, he was a very cowardly man, and was alarmed at the sight of the immense stones that the Atehurans rolled down from the rocks, and at the showers of smaller stones that they hurled from their slings.

There was one young man in Pomare's army, remarkably brave: he had lived much with the