which so grieved those of their countrymen, and of Ulietea, whom they met with in that island, that they obtained some assistance from them. They were equipped with only ten fighting canoes; but, though their force was so inconsiderable, they conducted the expedition with so much prudence, that they landed at Huaheine at night, when dark, and falling upon the Bolabola men by surprise killed many of them, forcing the rest to fly. So that, by this means, they got possession of their island again, which now remains independent, under the government of its own chiefs. Immediately after the defeat of the united fleets of Ulietea and Huaheine, a proposal was made to the Bolabola men by their allies of Otaha, to be admitted to an equal share of the conquests. The refusal of this broke the alliance; and in the course of the war, Otaha itself, as well as Ulietea, was conquered; and both now remain subject to Bolabola; the chiefs who govern them being only deputies of Opoony, the sovereign of that island. In the reduction of the two islands, five battles were fought, at different places, in which great numbers were slain on both sides. Such was the account we received. I have more than once remarked, how very imperfectly these people recollect the exact dates of past events. And with regard to this war, though it happened not many years ago, we could only guess at the time of its commencement and its conclusion, from collateral circumstances, furnished by our own observation, as the natives could not satisfy our inquiries with any precision. The final conquest of Ulietea, which closed the war, we know, had been made before I was there in the Endeavour, in 1769; but we may infer, that peace had not been very long restored, as we could see marks of recent hostilities[15] having been committed upon that island. Some additional light may be thrown upon this inquiry, by attending to the age of Teereetareea, the present chief of Huaheine. His looks showed, that he was not above ten or twelve years old; and we were informed, that his father had been killed at 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 inquiries, could scarcely remember the first battles; and I have already mentioned, that Omai’s countrymen, whom we found at Wateeoo, knew nothing of this war; so that its commencement was subsequent to their voyage.