THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 91

district of Papetoai, whither King Pomare had fled fromTahiti .

About this time King Pomare made a striking test ofthe power of his false gods. When a turtle, which wasconsidered a sacred animal, was brought to him for food,instead of making the customary offering of a part of it tothe idol in the temple before eating it, he gave orders tobake it at once, and when it was prepared proceeded toeat it. The natives watched him with horror, expectingto see him writhe in convulsions, and when they saw thatno harm came to him were much shaken in their belief re-specting idolatry.

King Pomare now urged Tapoa, king of Raiatea, andseveral chiefs of that island, who were visiting Tahiti , tounite with him in renouncing idolatry. One of thesechiefs, a brother of Tapoa, went a step further than Po-mare, and burnt his idol, and ate breadfruit baked in itsashes.

Pomare now returned by invitation to resume thegovernment of Tahiti , and there labored to dissuade thepeople from worshipping idols, and to enlighten themabout the true religion. When the missionaries heardwhat he was doing they sent two of their number,Messrs. Scott and Hayward, to aid him. In the morn-ing after their arrival Mr. Scott heard a native among thebushes near their lodging engaged in prayer. It wasthe first native voice in praise and prayer that he hadever heard, and he listened almost entranced and withtears of joy. The name of the native was Oito. He wasawakened to interest about the Christian religion by re-