Before leaving the island, April 3, 1789, Bligh did what he could to protect the man whose position was alternately made and destroyed by British patronage. If Tu’s situation had not been tragical to the island, it would have been comical. As long as British ships were in Matavai Bay, he was rich and powerful; his house was filled with all that made wealth: axes, fish-hooks, cloth, nails, beads; and cattle, goats, or whatever the ships contained. No other chief received gifts except in trifling amounts. The instant the British ships disappeared, this wealth became an irresistible temptation to Tu’s neighbors and a fatal danger to himself. Tu had been a sort of milch-cow to the chiefs of Eimeo, Faaa, and Hitiaa. He begged the gifts which they were to squeeze from him. Knowing Tu’s situation and dangers, Bligh gave him arms:

"He had frequently expressed a wish that I would leave some firearms and ammunition with him, as he expected to be attacked after the ship sailed, and perhaps chiefly on account of our partiality to him: I therefore thought it but reasonable to accede to his request; and I was the more readily prevailed on, as he said his intentions were to act only on the defensive. This indeed seems most suited to his disposition, which is neither active nor enterprising. If Tinah had spirit in proportion to his size and strength, he would probably be the greatest warrior in Otaheite; but courage is not the most conspicuous of his virtues. When I proposed to leave with him a pair of pistols, which they prefer to muskets, the told me that Iddeah [Tefua, his wife] would fight with one and Oedidee [Itiiti] with the other. Iddeah has learnt to load and fire a musquet with great dexterity, and Oedidee is an excellent marksman. It is not common for women in this country to go to war, but Iddeah is a very resolute woman, of a large make, and has great bodily strength."

Having done what he could to protect Tu, Bligh sailed from the island April 4, and was passing the Friendly, or Tonga, group April 28,

Indigenous Histories