"Mauri i te popoi a ee i te au marere i hiti tovau.
Ia tari a oe. Tari a rutu mai i hea?
A rutu mai i toerau i hitia!
O te au marere i hiti atu a Vaua a ratu i reira
A rutu i toerau roa!
Areare te hai o Nu'u-hiva roa.
I te are e huti te tai a Vavea."

"The spirit of the morning rides the flying vapor that rises salt
from the sea.
Bear on! Bear on! And strike--where?
Strike to the northeast!
The vapor flies to the far rim of the Sea of Atolls.
Strike there! Strike far north!
The sea casts up distant Nuka-Hiva, Land of the War Fleet,
where the waves are towering billows."


This was the ancient chant of the Raiateans, sung in the old days
before the whites came, when they thought of the deeds that were
done by the more-than-human men who lived on these desolate islands.

[Illustration: Harbor of Tai-o-hae]

[Illustration: Schooner _Fetia Taiao_ in the Bay of Traitors
The little isle behind the schooner is Hanake]