It was Saturday night when the island came in sight.  Early on the Sunday morning by seven o’clock The Duff swung round under a gentle breeze into Matavai[13] Bay and dropped anchor.  But before she could even anchor the whole bay had become alive with Tahitians.  They thronged the beach, and, leaping into canoes, sent them skimming across the bay to the ship.

Captain Wilson, scanning the canoes swiftly and anxiously, saw with relief that the men were not armed.  But the missionaries were startled when the savages climbed up the sides of the ship, and with wondering eyes rolling in their wild heads peered over the rail of the deck.  They then leapt on board and began dancing like mad on the deck with their bare feet.  From the canoes the Tahitians hauled up pigs, fowl, fish, bananas, and held them for the white men to buy.  But Captain Wilson and all his company would not buy on that day—­for it was Sunday.

The missionaries gathered together on deck to hold their Sunday morning service.  The Tahitians stopped dancing and looked on with amazement, as the company of white men with their children knelt to pray and then read from the Bible.

The Tahitians could not understand this strange worship, with no god that could be seen.  But when the white fathers and mothers and children sang, the savages stood around with wonder and delight on their faces as they listened to the strange and beautiful sounds.

But the startling events of the day were not over.  For out from the beach came a canoe across the bay, and in it two Swedish sailors, named, like some fishermen of long ago, Peter and Andrew.  These white men knew some English, but lived, not as Christians, but as the natives lived.

And after them came a great and aged chief named Haamanemane.[14] This great chief went up to the “chief” of the ship, Captain Wilson, and called out to him “Taio."[15]

They did not know what this meant, till Peter the Swede explained that Haamanemane wished to be the brother—­the troth-friend of Captain Wilson.  They were even to change names.  Captain Wilson would be called Haamanemane, and Haamanemane would be called Wilson.

So Captain Wilson said “Taio,” and he and the chief, who was also high priest of the gods of Tahiti, were brothers.

Captain Wilson said to Haamanemane, through Peter, who translated each to the other: 

“We wish to come and live in this island.”

Haamanemane said that he would speak to the king and queen of Tahiti about it.  So he got down again over the side of the vessel into the canoe, and the paddles of his boatman flashed as they swept along over the breakers to the beach to tell the king of the great white chief who had come to visit them.

All these things happened on the Sunday.  On Tuesday word came that the king and the queen would receive them.  So Captain Wilson and all his missionaries got into the whale-boat and pulled for the shore.  The natives rushed into the water, seized the boat and hauled her aground out of reach of the great waves.