Mr. Green was impatient to see whether all that had been taken away was

returned, and upon examining the box found the stand, and a few small

things of less consequence, wanting; several persons were sent in search

of these, and most of the small things were returned: but it was

signified that the thief had not brought the stand so far, and that it

would be delivered to our friends as they went back; this being

confirmed by Tubourai Tamaide, they prepared to return, as nothing would

then be wanting but what might easily be supplied; and after they had

advanced about two miles, I met them with my party, to our mutual

satisfaction, congratulating each other upon the recovery of the

quadrant, with a pleasure proportionate to the importance of the event.

About eight o’clock, Mr. Banks with Tubourai Tamaide got back to the

fort; when to his great surprise, he found Tootahah in custody, and many

of the natives in the utmost terror and distress, crowding about the

gate. He went hastily in, some of the Indians were suffered to follow

him, and the scene was extremely affecting. Tubourai Tamaide pressing

forward, ran up to Tootahah, and catching him in his arms, they both

burst into tears, and wept over each other, without being able to speak:

the other Indians were also in tears for their chief, both he and they

being strongly possessed with the notion that he was to be put to death.

In this situation they continued till I entered the fort, which was

about a quarter of an hour afterwards. I was equally surprised and

concerned at what had happened, the confining Tootahah being contrary to

my orders, and therefore instantly set him at liberty. Upon inquiring

into the affair, I was told, that my going into the woods with a party

of men under arms, at a time when a robbery had been committed, which it

was supposed I should resent, in proportion to our apparent injury by

the loss, had so alarmed the natives, that in the evening they began to

leave the neighbourhood of the fort with their effects: that a double

canoe having been seen to put off from the bottom of the bay by Mr.

Gore, the second lieutenant, who was left in command on board the ship,

and who had received orders not to suffer any canoe to go out, he sent

the boatswain with a boat after her to bring her back: that as soon as

the boat came up, the Indians being alarmed, leaped into the sea; and

that Tootahah, being unfortunately one of the number, the boatswain took

him up, and brought him to the ship, suffering the rest of the people to

swim on shore: that Mr. Gore, not sufficiently attending to the order

that none of the people should be confined, had sent him to the fort,

and Mr. Hicks, the first lieutenant, who commanded there, receiving him

in charge from Mr. Gore, did not think himself at liberty to dismiss

him.

The notion that we intended to put him to death had possessed him so

strongly, that he could not be persuaded to the contrary till by my

orders he was led out of the fort. The people received him as they would

have done a father in the same circumstances, and every one pressed

forward to embrace him. Sudden joy is commonly liberal, without a

scrupulous regard to merit: and Tootahah, in the first expansion of his

heart, upon being unexpectedly restored to liberty and life, insisted

upon our receiving a present of two hogs; though, being conscious that

upon this occasion we had no claim to favours, we refused them many

times.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander attended the next morning in their usual

capacity of marketmen, but very few Indians appeared, and those who came

brought no provisions. Tootahah, however, sent some of his people for

the canoe that had been detained, which they took away. A canoe having

also been detained that belonged to Oberea, TUPIA, the person who

managed her affairs when the Dolphin was here, was sent to examine

whether any thing on board had been taken away: and he was so well

satisfied of the contrary, that he left the canoe where he found it, and

joined us at the fort, where he spent the day, and slept on board the

canoe at night. About noon, some fishing boats came abreast of the

tents, but would part with very little of what they had on board; and we

felt the want of cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit very severely. In the course

of the day, Mr. Banks walked out into the woods, that by conversing with

the people he might recover their confidence and good-will: he found

them civil, but they all complained of the ill-treatment of their Chief;

who, they said, had been beaten and pulled by the hair. Mr. Banks

endeavoured to convince them, that he had suffered no personal violence,

which to the best of our knowledge was true; yet, perhaps the boatswain

had behaved with a brutality which he was afraid or ashamed to

acknowledge. The Chief himself being probably, upon recollection, of

opinion that we had ill deserved the hogs, which he had left with us as

a present, sent a messenger in the afternoon to demand an axe, and a

shirt, in return: but as I was told that he did not intend to come down

to the fort for ten days, I excused myself from giving them till I

should see him, hoping that his impatience might induce him to fetch

them, and knowing that absence would probably continue the coolness

between us, to which the first interview might put an end.

The next day we were still more sensible of the inconvenience we had

incurred by giving offence to the people in the person of their chief,

for the market was so ill-supplied that we were in want of necessaries.

Mr. Banks therefore went into the woods to Tubourai Tamaide, and with

some difficulty persuaded him to let us have five baskets of

bread-fruit; a very seasonable supply, as they contained above one

hundred and twenty. In the afternoon another messenger arrived from

Tootahah for the axe and shirt; as it was now become absolutely

necessary to recover the friendship of this man, without which it would

be scarcely possible to procure provisions, I sent word that Mr. Banks

and myself would visit him on the morrow, and bring what he wanted with

us.

Early the next morning he sent again to remind me of my promise, and his

people seemed to wait till we should set out with great impatience: I

therefore ordered the pinnace, in which I embarked with Mr. Banks and

Dr. Solander about ten o’clock: we took one of Tootahah’s people in the

boat with us, and in about an hour we arrived at his place of residence

which is called EPARRE, and is about four miles to the westward of the

tents.

We found the people waiting for us in great numbers upon the shore, so

that it would have been impossible for us to have proceeded, if way had

not been made for us by a tall well-looking man, who had something like

a turban about his head, and a long white stick in his hand, with which

he laid about him at an unmerciful rate. This man conducted us to the

chief, while the people shouted round us, _Taio Tootahah_, “Tootahah is

your friend.” We found him, like an ancient Patriarch, sitting under a

tree, with a number of venerable old men standing round him; he made a

sign to us to sit down, and immediately asked for his axe: this I

presented to him, with an upper garment of broad cloth, made after the

country fashion, and trimmed with tape, to which I also added a shirt:

he received them with great satisfaction, and immediately put on the

garment; but the shirt he gave to the person who had cleared the way for

us upon our landing, who was now seated by us, and of whom he seemed

desirous that we should take particular notice. In a short time, Oberea,

and several other women whom we knew, came and sat down among us:

Tootahah left us several times, but after a short absence returned; we

thought it had been to shew himself in his new finery to the people, but

we wronged him, for it was to give directions for our refreshment and

entertainment. While we were waiting for his return the last time he

left us, very impatient to be dismissed, as we were almost suffocated in

the crowd, word was brought us, that he expected us elsewhere: we found

him sitting under the awning of our own boat, and making signs that we

should come to him: as many of us therefore went on board as the boat

would hold, and he then ordered bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts to be

brought, of both which we tasted, rather to gratify him than because we

had a desire to eat. A message was soon after brought him, upon which he

went out of the boat, and we were in a short time desired to follow. We

were conducted to a large area or court-yard, which was railed round

with bamboos about three feet high, on one side of his house, where an

entertainment was provided for us, entirely new: this was a

wrestling-match. At the upper end of the area sat the chief, and several

of his principal men were ranged on each side of him, so as to form a

semicircle; these were the judges, by whom the victor was to be

applauded; seats were also left for us at each end of the line; but we

chose rather to be at liberty among the rest of the spectators.

When all was ready, ten or twelve persons, whom we understood to be the

combatants, and who were naked, except a cloth that was fastened about

the waist, entered the area, and walked slowly round it, in a stooping

posture, with their left hands on their right breasts, and their right

hands open, with which they frequently struck the left fore-arm so as to

produce a quick smart sound: this was a general challenge to the

combatants whom they were to engage, or any other person present: after

these followed others in the same manner, and then a particular

challenge was given, by which each man singled out his antagonist: this

was done by joining the finger ends of both hands, and bringing them to

the breast, at the same time moving the elbows up and down with a quick

motion: if the person to whom this was addressed accepted the challenge,

he repeated the signs, and immediately each put himself into an attitude

to engage; the next minute they closed; but, except in first seizing

each other, it was a mere contest of strength: each endeavoured to lay

hold of the other, first by the thigh, and if that failed by the hand,

the hair, the cloth, or elsewhere as he could: when this was done they

grappled, without the least dexterity or skill, till one of them, by

having a more advantageous hold, or greater muscular force, threw the

other on his back. When the contest was over, the old men gave their

plaudits to the victor in a few words, which they repeated together in a

kind of tune: his conquest was also generally celebrated by three

huzzas. The entertainment was then suspended for a few minutes, after

which another couple of wrestlers came forward and engaged in the same

manner: if it happened that neither was thrown, after the contest had

continued about a minute, they parted, either by consent or the

intervention of their friends, and in this case each slapped his arm, as

a challenge to a new engagement, either with the same antagonist or some

other. While the wrestlers were engaged, another party of men performed

a dance which lasted also about a minute; but neither of these parties

took the least notice of each other, their attention being wholly fixed

on what they were doing. We observed with pleasure, that the conqueror

never exulted over the vanquished, and that the vanquished never repined

at the success of the conqueror; the whole contest was carried on with

perfect good-will and good-humour, though in the presence of at least

five hundred spectators, of whom some were women. The number of women

indeed was comparatively small, none but those of rank were present, and

we had reason to believe that they would not have been spectators of

this exercise but in compliment to us.

This lasted about two hours; during all which time the man who had made

way for us when we landed, kept the people at a proper distance, by

striking those who pressed forward very severely with his stick: upon

inquiry we learnt, that he was an officer belonging to Tootahah, acting

as a master of the ceremonies.

It is scarcely possible for those who are acquainted with the athletic

sports of very remote antiquity, not to remark a rude resemblance of

them in this wrestling-match among the natives of a little island in the

midst of the Pacific Ocean: and even our female readers may recollect

the account given of them by Fenelon in his Telemachus, where, though

the events are fictitious, the manners of the age are faithfully

transcribed from authors by whom they are supposed to have been truly

related.

When the wrestling was over, we were given to understand that two hogs,

and a large quantity of bread-fruit, were preparing for our dinner,

which, as our appetites were now keen, was very agreeable intelligence.

Our host, however, seemed to repent of his liberality; for, instead of

setting his two hogs before us, he ordered one of them to be carried

into our boat; at first we were not sorry for this new disposition of

matters, thinking that we should dine more comfortably in the boat than

on shore, as the crowd would more easily be kept at a distance: but when

we came on board, he ordered us to proceed with his hog to the ship:

this was mortifying, as we were now to row four miles while our dinner

was growing cold; however, we thought fit to comply, and were at last

gratified with the cheer that he had provided, of which he and Tubourai

Tamaide had a liberal share.

Our reconciliation with this man operated upon the people like a charm;

for he was no sooner known to be on board, than bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts,

and other provisions were brought to the fort in great plenty.

Affairs now went on in the usual channel; but pork being still a scarce

commodity, our master, Mr. Mollineux, and Mr. Green, went in the pinnace

to the eastward, on the 8th, early in the morning to see whether they

could procure any hogs or poultry in that part of the country: they

proceeded in that direction twenty miles; but though they saw many hogs,

and one turtle, they could not purchase either at any price: the people

every where told them, that they all belonged to Tootahah, and that they

could sell none of them without his permission. We now began to think

that this man was indeed a great prince; for an influence so extensive

and absolute could be acquired by no other. And we afterwards found that

he administered the government of this part of the island, as sovereign,

for a minor whom we never saw all the time that we were upon it. When

Mr. Green returned from this expedition, he said he had seen a tree of a

size which he was afraid to relate, it being no less than sixty yards in

circumference; but Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander soon explained to him,

that it was a species of the fig, the branches of which, bending down,

take fresh root in the earth, and thus form a congeries of trunks, which

being very close to each other, and all joined by a common vegetation,

might easily be mistaken for one.

Though the market at the fort was now tolerably supplied, provisions

were brought more slowly; a sufficient quantity used to be purchased

between sunrise and eight o’clock, but it was now become necessary to

attend the greatest part of the day. Mr. Banks, therefore, fixed his

little boat up before the door of the fort, which was of great use as a

place to trade in: hitherto we had purchased cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit

for beads; but the market becoming rather slack in these articles, we

were now, for the first time, forced to bring out our nails: one of our

smallest size, which was about four inches long, procured us twenty

cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit in proportion, so that in a short time our

first plenty was restored.

On the 9th, soon after breakfast, we received a visit from Oberea, being

the first that she had made us after the loss of our quadrant, and the

unfortunate confinement of Tootahah; with her came her present

favourite, Obadée, and Tupia: they brought us a hog and some

bread-fruit, in return for which we gave her a hatchet. We had now

afforded our Indian friends a new and interesting object of curiosity,

our forge, which having been set up some time, was almost constantly at

work. It was now common for them to bring pieces of iron, which we

suppose they must have got from the Dolphin, to be made into tools of

various kinds; and as I was very desirous to gratify them, they were

indulged except when the smith’s time was too precious to be spared.

Oberea having received her hatchet, produced as much old iron as would

have made another, with a request that another might be made of it; in

this, however, I could not gratify her, upon which she brought out a

broken axe, and desired it might be mended: I was glad of an opportunity

to compromise the difference between us: her axe was mended, and she

appeared to be content. They went away at night, and took with them the

canoe, which had been a considerable time at the point, but promised to

return in three days.

On the 10th, I put some seeds of melons and other plants into a spot of

ground which had been turned up for the purpose; they had all been

sealed up by the person of whom they were bought, in small bottles with

rosin; but none of them came up except mustard; even the cucumbers and

melons failed, and Mr. Banks is of opinion that they were spoiled by the

total exclusion of fresh air.

This day we learnt the Indian name of the island, which is OTAHEITE, and

by that name I shall hereafter distinguish it: but after great pains

taken we found it utterly impossible to teach the Indians to pronounce

our names; we had, therefore, new names, consisting of such sounds as

they produced in the attempt. They called me _Toote_; Mr. Hicks, _Hete_;

Mollineux they renounced in absolute despair, and called the Master

_Boba_, from his Christian name Robert; Mr. Gore was _Toarro_; Dr.

Solander, _Torano_; and Mr. Banks, _Tapane_; Mr. Green, _Eteree_; Mr.

Parkinson, _Patini_; Mr. Sporing, _Polini_; Petersgill, _Petrodero_; and

in this manner they had now formed names for almost every man in the

ship: in some, however, it was not easy to find any traces of the

original, and they were perhaps not mere arbitrary sounds formed upon

the occasion, but significant words in their own language. Monkhouse,

the Midshipman, who commanded the party that killed the man for stealing

the musket, they called _Matte_; not merely by an attempt to imitate in

sound the first syllable of Monkhouse, but because _Matte_ signifies

_dead_; and this probably might be the case with others.

CHAP. XII.

SOME LADIES VISIT THE FORT WITH VERY UNCOMMON CEREMONIES: THE INDIANS

ATTEND DIVINE SERVICE, AND IN THE EVENING EXHIBIT A MOST EXTRAORDINARY

SPECTACLE: TUBOURAI TAMAIDE FALLS INTO TEMPTATION.

FRIDAY, the 12th of May, was distinguished by a visit from some ladies

whom we had never seen before, and who introduced themselves with some

very singular ceremonies. Mr. Banks was trading in his boat at the gate

of the fort as usual, in company with Tootahah, who had that morning

paid him a visit, and some other of the natives; between nine and ten

o’clock, a double canoe came to the landing-place, under the awning of

which sat a man and two women: the Indians that were about Mr. Banks

made signs that he should go out to meet them, which he hastened to do;

but by the time he could get out of the boat, they had advanced within

ten yards of him; they then stopped, and made signs that he should do so

too, laying down about a dozen young plantain trees, and some other

small plants: he complied, and the people having made a lane between

them, the man, who appeared to be a servant, brought six of them to Mr.

Banks by one of each at a time, passing and repassing six times, and

always pronouncing a short sentence when he delivered them. Tupia, who

stood by Mr. Banks, acted as his master of the ceremonies, and receiving

the branches as they were brought, laid them down in the boat. When this

was done, another man brought a large bundle of cloth, which having

opened, he spread piece by piece upon the ground, in the space between

Mr. Banks and his visitors; there were nine pieces, and having laid

three pieces one upon another, the foremost of the women, who seemed to

be the principal, and who was called OORATTOOA, stepped upon them, and

taking up her garments all round her to the waist, turned about, with

great composure and deliberation, and with an air of perfect innocence

and simplicity, three times; when this was done, she dropped the veil,

and stepping off the cloth, three more pieces were laid on, and she

repeated the ceremony, then stepping off as before, the last three were

laid on, and the ceremony was repeated in the same manner the third

time. Immediately after this the cloth was rolled up, and given to Mr.

Banks as a present from the lady, who, with her friend, came up and

saluted him. He made such presents to them both, as he thought would be

most acceptable, and after having staid about an hour they went away. In

the evening the Gentlemen at the fort had a visit from Oberea, and her

favourite female attendant, whose name was OTHEOTHEA, an agreeable girl,

whom they were the more pleased to see, because, having been some days

absent, it had been reported she was either sick or dead.

On the 13th, the market being over about ten o’clock, Mr. Banks walked

into the woods with his gun, as he generally did, for the benefit of the

shade in the heat of the day: as he was returning back, he met Tubourai

Tamaide, near his occasional dwelling, and stopping to spend a little

time with him, he suddenly took the gun out of Mr. Banks’s hand, cocked

it, and, holding it up in the air, drew the trigger: fortunately for him

it flashed in the pan: Mr. Banks immediately took it from him, not a

little surprised how he had acquired sufficient knowledge of a gun to

discharge it, and reproved him with great severity for what he had done.

As it was of infinite importance to keep the Indians totally ignorant of

the management of fire-arms, he had taken every opportunity of

intimating that they could never offend him so highly as by even

touching his piece; it was now proper to enforce this prohibition, and

he therefore added threats to his reproof: the Indian bore all

patiently; but the moment Mr. Banks crossed the river, he set off with

all his family and furniture for his house at Eparre. This being quickly

known from the Indians at the fort, and great inconvenience being

apprehended from the displeasure of this man, who upon all occasions had

been particularly useful, Mr. Banks determined to follow him without

delay, and solicit his return: he set out the same evening accompanied

by Mr. Mollineux, and found him sitting in the middle of a large circle

of people, to whom he had probably related what had happened, and his

fears of the consequences; he was himself the very picture of grief and

dejection, and the same passions were strongly marked in the

countenances of all the people that surrounded him. When Mr. Banks and

Mr. Mollineux went into the circle, one of the women expressed her

trouble, as Terapo had done upon another occasion, and struck a shark’s

tooth into her head several times, till it was covered with blood. Mr.

Banks lost no time in putting an end to this universal distress; he

assured the Chief, that every thing which had passed should be

forgotten, that there was not the least animosity remaining on one side,

nor any thing to be feared on the other. The Chief was soon soothed into

confidence and complacency, a double canoe was ordered to be got ready,

they all returned together to the fort before supper, and as a pledge of

perfect reconciliation, both he and his wife slept all night in Mr.

Banks’s tent: their presence, however, was no palladium; for, between

eleven and twelve o’clock, one of the natives attempted to get into the

fort by scaling the walls, with a design, no doubt, to steal whatever he

should happen to find; he was discovered by the sentinel, who happily

did not fire, and he ran away much faster than any of our people could

follow him. The iron, and iron-tools, which were in continual use at the

armourer’s forge, that was set up within the works, were temptations to

theft which none of these people could withstand.

On the 14th, which was Sunday, I directed that Divine service should be

performed at the fort: we were desirous that some of the principal

Indians should be present, but when the hour came, most of them were

returned home. Mr. Banks, however, crossed the river, and brought back

Tubourai Tamaide and his wife Tomio, hoping that it would give occasion

to some enquiries on their part, and some instruction on ours: having

seated them, he placed himself between them, and during the whole

service, they very attentively observed his behaviour, and very exactly

imitated it; standing, sitting, or kneeling, as they saw him do: they

were conscious that we were employed about somewhat serious and

important, as appeared by their calling to the Indians without the fort

to be silent; yet when the service was over, neither of them asked any

questions, nor would they attend to any attempt that was made to explain

what had been done.

Such were our matins; our Indians thought fit to perform vespers of a

very different kind. A young man, near six feet high, performed the

rites of Venus with a little girl about eleven or twelve years of age,

before several of our people, and a great number of the natives, without

the least sense of its being indecent or improper, but, as appeared, in

perfect conformity to the custom of the place. Among the spectators were

several women of superior rank, particularly Oberea, who may properly be

said to have assisted at the ceremony; for they gave instructions to the

girl how to perform her part, which, young as she was, she did not seem

much to stand in need of.

This incident is not mentioned as an object of idle curiosity, but as it

deserves consideration in determining a question which has been long

debated in philosophy; Whether the shame attending certain actions,

which are allowed on all sides to be in themselves innocent, is

implanted in nature, or superinduced by custom? If it has its origin in

custom, it will, perhaps, be found difficult to trace that custom,

however general, to its source; if in instinct, it will be equally

difficult to discover from what cause it is subdued, or at least

over-ruled among these people, in whose manners not the least trace of

it is to be found.

On the 14th and 15th, we had another opportunity of observing the

general knowledge which these people had of any design that was formed

among them. In the night between the 13th and 14th, one of the

water-casks was stolen from the outside of the fort: in the morning,

there was not an Indian to be seen who did not know that it was gone;

yet they appeared not to have been trusted, or not to have been worthy

of trust; for they seemed all of them disposed to give intelligence

where it might be found. Mr. Banks traced it to a part of the bay where

he was told it had been put into a canoe, but as it was not of great

consequence he did not complete the discovery. When he returned, he was

told by Tubourai Tamaide, that another cask would be stolen before the

morning: how he came by this knowledge it is not easy to imagine; that

he was not a party in the design is certain, for he came with his wife

and his family to the place where the water-casks stood, and placing

their beds near them, he said he would himself be a pledge for their

safety, in despight of the thief: of this, however, we would not admit;

and making them understand that a sentry would be placed to watch the

casks till the morning, he removed the beds into Mr. Banks’s tent, where

he and his family spent the night, making signs to the sentry when he

retired, that he should keep his eyes open. In the night this

intelligence appeared to be true; about twelve o’clock the thief came,

but discovering that a watch had been set, he went away without his

booty.

Mr. Banks’s confidence in Tubourai Tamaide had greatly increased since

the affair of the knife, in consequence of which he was at length

exposed to temptations which neither his integrity nor his honour was

able to resist. They had withstood many allurements, but were at length

ensnared by the fascinating charms of a basket of nails: these nails

were much larger than any that had yet been brought into trade, and had,

with perhaps some degree of criminal negligence, been left in a corner

of Mr. Banks’s tent, to which the chief had always free access. One of

these nails Mr. Banks’s servant happened to see in his possession, upon

his having inadvertently thrown back that part of his garment under

which it was concealed. Mr. Banks being told of this, and knowing that

no such thing had been given him, either as a present or in barter,

immediately examined the basket, and discovered, that out of seven nails

five were missing. He then, though not without great reluctance, charged

him with the fact, which he immediately confessed, and however he might

suffer, was probably not more hurt than his accuser. A demand was

immediately made of restitution; but this he declined, saying, that the

nails were at Eparre: however, Mr. Banks appearing to be much in

earnest, and using some threatening signs, he thought fit to produce one

of them. He was then taken to the fort, to receive such judgment as

should be given against him by the general voice.

After some deliberation, that we might not appear to think too lightly

of his offence, he was told, that if he would bring the other four nails

to the fort, it should be forgotten. To this condition he agreed; but I

am sorry to say he did not fulfil it. Instead of fetching the nails, he

removed with his family before night, and took all his furniture with

him.

As our long-boat had appeared to be leaky, I thought it necessary to

examine her bottom, and to my great surprise found it so much eaten by

the worms, that it was necessary to give her a new one; no such accident

had happened to the Dolphin’s boats, as I was informed by the officers

on board, and therefore it was a misfortune that I did not expect: I

feared that the pinnace also might be nearly in the same condition; but,

upon examining her, I had the satisfaction to find that not a worm had

touched her, though she was built of the same wood, and had been as much

in the water; the reason of this difference I imagine to be, that the

long-boat was paid with varnish of pine, and the pinnace painted with

white lead and oil; the bottoms of all boats, therefore, which are sent

into this country, should be painted like that of the pinnace, and the

ships should be supplied with a good stock, in order to give them a new

coating when it should be found necessary.

Having received repeated messages from Tootahah, that if we would pay

him a visit he would acknowledge the favour by a present of four hogs, I

sent Mr. Hicks, my first lieutenant, to try if he could not procure the

hogs upon easier terms, with orders to show him every civility in his

power. Mr. Hicks found that he was removed from Eparre to a place called

TETTAHAH, five miles farther to the westward. He was received with great

cordiality; one hog was immediately produced, and he was told that the

other three, which were at some distance, should be brought in the

morning. Mr. Hicks readily consented to stay; but the morning came

without the hogs, and it not being convenient to stay longer, he

returned in the evening with the one he had got.

On the 25th, Tubourai Tamaide and his wife Tomio made their appearance

at the tent, for the first time since he had been detected in stealing

the nails; he seemed to be under some discontent and apprehension, yet

he did not think fit to purchase our countenance and good will by

restoring the four which he had sent away. As Mr. Banks and the other

gentlemen treated him with a coolness and reserve which did not at all

tend to restore his peace or good humour, his stay was short, and his

departure abrupt. Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, went the next morning in

order to effect a reconciliation, by persuading him to bring down the

nails, but he could not succeed.

CHAP. XIII.

ANOTHER VISIT TO TOOTAHAH, WITH VARIOUS ADVENTURES: EXTRAORDINARY

AMUSEMENT OF THE INDIANS, WITH REMARKS UPON IT: PREPARATIONS TO OBSERVE

THE TRANSIT OF VENUS, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THE MEAN TIME AT THE FORT.

ON the 27th, it was determined that we should pay our visit to Tootahah,

though we were not very confident that we should receive the hogs for

our pains. I therefore set out early in the morning, with Mr. Banks and

Dr. Solander, and three others, in the pinnace. He was now removed from

Tettahah, where Mr. Hicks had seen him, to a place called ATAHOUROU,

about six miles farther, and as we could not go above half-way thither

in the boat, it was almost evening before we arrived: we found him in

his usual state, sitting under a tree, with a great crowd about him. We

made our presents in due form, consisting of a yellow stuff petticoat,

and some other trifling articles, which were graciously received; a hog

was immediately ordered to be killed and dressed for supper, with a

promise of more in the morning: however, as we were less desirous of

feasting upon our journey than of carrying back with us provisions,

which would be more welcome at the fort, we procured a reprieve for the

hog, and supped upon the fruits of the country. As night now came on,

and the place was crowded with many more than the houses and canoes

would contain; there being Oberea with her attendants, and many other

travellers whom we knew, we began to look out for lodgings. Our party

consisted of six: Mr. Banks thought himself fortunate in being offered a

place by Oberea in her canoe, and wishing his friends a good night, took

his leave. He went to rest early, according to the custom of the

country, and taking off his clothes, as was his constant practice, the

nights being hot, Oberea kindly insisted upon taking them into her own

custody, for otherwise she said they would certainly be stolen. Mr.

Banks having such a safeguard, resigned himself to sleep with all

imaginable tranquillity: but waking about eleven o’clock, and wanting to

get up, he searched for his clothes where he had seen them deposited by

Oberea when he lay down to sleep, and soon perceived that they were

missing. He immediately awakened Oberea, who starting up, and hearing

his complaint, ordered lights, and prepared in great haste to recover

what he had lost: Tootahah himself slept in the next canoe, and being

soon alarmed, he came to them, and set out with Oberea in search of the

thief. Mr. Banks was not in a condition to go with them, for of his

apparel scarce any thing was left him but his breeches; his coat, and

his waistcoat, with his pistols, powder-horn, and many other things that

were in the pockets, were gone. In about half an hour his two noble

friends returned, but without having obtained any intelligence of his

clothes or of the thief. At first he began to be alarmed, his musket had

not indeed been taken away, but he had neglected to load it; where I and

Dr. Solander had disposed of ourselves he did not know; and therefore,

whatever might happen, he could not have recourse to us for assistance.

He thought it best, however, to express neither fear nor suspicion of

those about him, and giving his musket to Tupia, who had been waked in

the confusion and stood by him, with a charge not to suffer it to be

stolen, he betook himself again to rest, declaring himself perfectly

satisfied with the pains that Tootahah and Oberea had taken to recover

his things, though they had not been successful. As it cannot be

supposed that in such a situation his sleep was very sound, he soon

after heard music, and saw lights at a little distance on shore: this

was a concert or assembly, which they call a HEIVA, a common name for

every public exhibition; and as it would necessarily bring many people

together, and there was a chance of my being among them with his other

friends, he rose, and made the best of his way towards it: he was soon

led by the lights and the sound to the hut where I lay, with three other

gentlemen of our party; and easily distinguishing us from the rest, he

made up to us more than half naked, and told us his melancholy story. We

gave him such comfort as the unfortunate generally give to each other,

by telling him that we were fellow-sufferers; I showed him that I was

myself without stockings, they having been stolen from under my head,

though I was sure I had never been asleep, and each of my associates

convinced him, by his appearance, that he had lost a jacket. We

determined, however, to hear out the concert, however deficient we might

appear in our dress; it consisted of three drums, four flutes, and

several voices: when this entertainment, which lasted about an hour, was

over, we retired again to our sleeping-places; having agreed, that

nothing could be done toward the recovery of our things till the

morning.

We rose at day-break, according to the custom of the country: the first

man that Mr. Banks saw was Tupia, faithfully attending with his musket;

and soon after, Oberea brought him some of her country clothes, as a

succedaneum for his own, so that when he came to us he made a most

motley appearance, half Indian and half English. Our party soon got

together, except Dr. Solander, whose quarters we did not know, and who

had not assisted at the concert: in a short time Tootahah made his

appearance, and we pressed him to recover our clothes; but neither he

nor Oberea could be persuaded to take any measure for that purpose, so

that we began to suspect that they had been parties in the theft. About

eight o’clock, we were joined by Dr. Solander, who had fallen into

honester hands, at a house about a mile distant, and had lost nothing.

Having given up all hope of recovering our clothes, which, indeed, were

never afterwards heard of, we spent all the morning in soliciting the

hogs which we had been promised; but in this we had no better success:

we, therefore, in no very good humour, set out for the boat about twelve

o’clock, with only that which we had redeemed from the butcher and the

cook the night before.

As we were returning to the boat, however, we were entertained with a

sight that in some measure compensated for our fatigue and

disappointment. In our way we came to one of the few places where access

to the island is not guarded by a reef, and, consequently, a high surf

breaks upon the shore; a more dreadful one, indeed, I had seldom seen;

it was impossible for any European boat to have lived in it; and if the

best swimmer in Europe had, by any accident, been exposed to its fury, I

am confident that he would not have been able to preserve himself from

drowning, especially as the shore was covered with pebbles and large

stones; yet, in the midst of these breakers, were ten or twelve Indians

swimming for their amusement: whenever a surf broke near them, they

dived under it, and, to all appearance with infinite facility, rose

again on the other side. This diversion was greatly improved by the

stern of an old canoe, which they happened to find upon the spot: they

took this before them, and swam out with it as far as the outermost

breach, then two or three of them getting into it, and turning the

square end to the breaking wave, were driven in towards the shore with

incredible rapidity, sometimes almost to the beach; but generally the

wave broke over them before they got half way, in which case they dived,

and rose on the other side with the canoe in their hands: they then swam

out with it again, and were again driven back, just as our holiday youth

climb the hill in Greenwich-park for the pleasure of rolling down it. At

this wonderful scene we stood gazing for more than half an hour, during

which time none of the swimmers attempted to come on shore, but seemed

to enjoy their sport in the highest degree; we then proceeded in our

journey, and late in the evening got back to the fort.

Upon this occasion it may be observed, that human nature is endued with

powers which are only accidentally exerted to the utmost; and that all

men are capable of what no man attains, except he is stimulated to the

effort by some uncommon circumstances or situation. These Indians

effected what to us appeared to be supernatural, merely by the

application of such powers as they possessed in common with us, and all

other men who have no particular infirmity or defect. The truth of the

observation is also manifest from more familiar instances. The

rope-dancer and balance-master owe their art, not to any peculiar

liberality of nature, but to an accidental improvement of her common

gifts; and though equal diligence and application would not always

produce equal excellence in these, any more than in other arts, yet

there is no doubt but that a certain degree of proficiency in them might

be universally attained. Another proof of the existence of abilities in

mankind, that are almost universally dormant, is furnished by the

attainments of blind men. It cannot be supposed that the loss of one

sense, like the amputation of a branch from a tree, gives new vigour to

those that remain. Every man’s hearing and touch, therefore, are capable

of the nice distinctions which astonish us in those that have lost their

sight, and if they do not give the same intelligence to the mind, it is

merely because the same intelligence is not required of them: he that

can see may do from choice what the blind do by necessity, and by the

same diligent attention to the other senses may receive the same notices

from them; let it, therefore, be remembered, as an encouragement to

persevering diligence, and a principle of general use to mankind, that

he who does all he can will ever effect much more than is generally

thought to be possible.

Among other Indians that had visited us, there were some from a

neighbouring island which they called EIMEO or IMAO, the same to which

Captain Wallis had given the name of the Duke of York’s island, and they

gave us an account of no less than two-and-twenty islands that lay in

the neighbourhood of Otaheite.

As the day of observation now approached, I determined, in consequence

of some hints which had been given me by Lord Morton, to send out two

parties to observe the transit from other situations; hoping, that if we

should fail at Otaheite, they might have better success. We were,

therefore, now busily employed in preparing our instruments, and

instructing such gentlemen in the use of them as I intended to send out.

On Thursday the 1st of June, the Saturday following being the day of the

transit, I dispatched Mr. Gore in the long boat to Imao, with Mr.

Monkhouse and Mr. Sporing, a gentleman belonging to Mr. Banks, Mr. Green

having furnished them with proper instruments. Mr. Banks himself thought

fit to go upon this expedition, and several natives, particularly

Tubourai Tamaide and Tomio, were also of the party. Very early on the

Friday morning, I sent Mr. Hicks with Mr. Clerk and Mr. Petersgill, the

master’s mates, and Mr. Saunders, one of the midshipmen, in the pinnace

to the eastward, with orders to fix on some convenient spot, at a

distance from our principal observatory, where they also might employ

the instruments with which they had been furnished for the same purpose.

The long-boat not having been got ready till Thursday in the afternoon,

though all possible expedition was used to fit her out; the people on

board, after having rowed most part of the night, brought her to a

grappling just under the land of Imao. Soon after day-break, they saw an

Indian canoe, which they hailed, and the people on board shewed them an

inlet through the reef into which they pulled, and soon fixed upon a

coral rock, which rose out of the water about one hundred and fifty

yards from the shore, as a proper situation for their observatory: it

was about eighty yards long and twenty broad, and in the middle of it

was a bed of white sand, large enough for the tents to stand upon. Mr.

Gore and his assistants immediately began to set them up, and make other

necessary preparations for the important business of the next day. While

this was doing, Mr. Banks, with the Indians of Otaheite, and the people

whom they had met in the canoe, went ashore upon the main island, to buy

provisions; of which he procured a sufficient supply before night. When

he returned to the rock, he found the observatory in order, and the

telescopes all fixed and tried. The evening was very fine, yet their

solicitude did not permit them to take much rest in the night: one or

other of them was up every half hour, who satisfied the impatience of

the rest by reporting the changes of the sky, now encouraging their

hope, by telling them that it was clear, and now alarming their fears,

by an account that it was hazy.

At day-break they got up, and had the satisfaction to see the sun rise

without a cloud. Mr. Banks then wishing the observers, Mr. Gore and Mr.

Monkhouse, success, repaired again to the island, that he might examine

its produce, and get a fresh supply of provisions: he began by trading

with the natives, for which purpose he took his station under a tree;

and to keep them from pressing upon him in a crowd, he drew a circle

round him, which he suffered none of them to enter.

About eight o’clock, he saw two canoes coming towards the place, and was

given to understand by the people about him, that they belonged to

TARRAO, the King of the island, who was coming to make him a visit. As

soon as the canoes came near the shore, the people made a lane from the

beach to the trading-place, and his Majesty landed, with his sister,

whose name was NUNA; as they advanced towards the tree where Mr. Banks

stood, he went out to meet them, and, with great formality, introduced

them into the circle from which the other natives had been excluded. As

it is the custom of these people to sit during all their conferences,

Mr. Banks unwrapped a kind of turban of Indian cloth, which he wore upon

his head instead of a hat, and spreading it upon the ground, they all

sat down upon it together. The royal present was then brought, which

consisted of a hog and a dog, some bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and other

articles of the like kind. Mr. Banks then dispatched a canoe to the

observatory for his present, and the messengers soon returned with an

adze, a shirt, and some beads, which were presented to his Majesty, and

received with great satisfaction.

By this time, Tubourai Tamaide and Tomio joined them, from the

observatory. Tomio said, that she was related to Tarrao, and brought him

a present of a long nail, at the same time complimenting Nuna with a

shirt.

The first internal contact of the planet with the sun being over, Mr.

Banks returned to the observatory, taking Tarrao, Nuna, and some of

their principal attendants, among whom were three very handsome young

women, with him: he showed them the planet upon the sun, and endeavoured

to make them understand that he and his companions had come from their

own country on purpose to see it. Soon after, Mr. Banks returned with

them to the island, where he spent the rest of the day in examining its

produce, which he found to be much the same with that of Otaheite. The

people whom he saw there also exactly resembled the inhabitants of that

island, and many of them were persons whom he had seen upon it; so that

all those whom he had dealt with knew of what his trading articles

consisted, and the value they bore.

The next morning, having struck the tents, they set out on their return,

and arrived at the fort before night.

The observation was made with equal success by the persons whom I had

sent to the eastward, and at the fort, there not being a cloud in the

sky from the rising to the setting of the sun, the whole passage of the

planet Venus over the sun’s disk was observed with great advantage by

Mr. Green, Dr. Solander, and myself: Mr. Green’s telescope and mine were

of the same magnifying power, but that of Dr. Solander was greater. We

all saw an atmosphere or dusky cloud round the body of the planet, which

very much disturbed the times of contact, especially of the internal

ones; and we differed from each other in our accounts of the times of

the contacts much more than might have been expected. According to Mr.

Green,

Hours. Min. Sec.

The first external contact, or first appearance }

of Venus on the sun, was 9 25 42 }

} Morning

The first internal contact, or total immersion, }

was 9 44 4 }

The second internal contact, or beginning of }

the emersion, 3 14 8 } Afternoon

}

The second external contact, or total emersion, 3 32 10 }

The latitude of the observatory was found to be 17° 29ʹ 15ʺ, and the

longitude 149° 32ʹ 30ʺ W. of Greenwich. A more particular account will

appear by the tables, for which the reader is referred to the

Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. lxi. part 2. page 39. _et seq._,

where they are illustrated by a cut.

But if we had reason to congratulate ourselves upon the success of our

observation, we had scarce less cause to regret the diligence with which

that time had been improved by some of our people to another purpose.

While the attention of the officers was engrossed by the transit of

Venus, some of the ship’s company broke into one of the store-rooms, and

stole a quantity of spike-nails, amounting to no less than one hundred

weight: this was a matter of public and serious concern; for these

nails, if circulated by the people among the Indians, would do us

irreparable injury, by reducing the value of iron, our staple commodity.

One of the thieves was detected, but only seven nails were found in his

custody. He was punished with two dozen lashes, but would impeach none

of his accomplices.

CHAP. XIV.

THE CEREMONIES OF AN INDIAN FUNERAL PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED: GENERAL

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUBJECT: A CHARACTER FOUND AMONG THE INDIANS TO

WHICH THE ANCIENTS PAID GREAT VENERATION: A ROBBERY AT THE FORT, AND ITS

CONSEQUENCES: WITH A SPECIMEN OF INDIAN COOKERY, AND VARIOUS INCIDENTS.

ON the 5th, we kept his Majesty’s birth-day; for though it is the 4th,

we were unwilling to celebrate it during the absence of the two parties

who had been sent out to observe the transit. We had several of the

Indian chiefs at our entertainment, who drank his Majesty’s health by

the name of Kihiargo, which was the nearest imitation they could produce

of King George.

About this time died an old woman of some rank, who was related to

Tomio, which gave us an opportunity to see how they disposed of the

body, and confirmed us in our opinion that these people, contrary to the

present custom of all other nations now known, never bury their dead. In

the middle of a small square, neatly railed in with bamboo, the awning

of a canoe was raised upon two posts, and under this the body was

deposited upon such a frame as has before been described: it was covered

with fine cloth, and near it was placed bread-fruit, fish, and other

provisions: we supposed that the food was placed there for the spirit of

the deceased, and, consequently, that these Indians had some confused

notion of a separate state; but upon our applying for further

information to Tubourai Tamaide, he told us, that the food was placed

there as an offering to their gods. They do not, however, suppose that

the gods eat, any more than the Jews suppose that Jehovah could dwell in

a house: the offering is made here upon the same principle as the temple

was built at Jerusalem, as an expression of reverence and gratitude, and

a solicitation of the more immediate presence of the Deity. In the front

of the area was a kind of stile, where the relations of the deceased

stood, to pay the tribute of their sorrow; and under the awning were

innumerable small pieces of cloth, on which the tears and blood of the

mourners had been shed; for in their paroxysms of grief it is a

universal custom to wound themselves with the shark’s tooth. Within a

few yards two occasional houses were set up, in one of which some

relations of the deceased constantly resided, and in the other the chief

mourner, who is always a man, and who keeps there a very singular dress

in which a ceremony is performed that will be described in its turn.

Near the place where the dead are thus set up to rot the bones are

afterwards buried.

What can have introduced among these people the custom of exposing their

dead above ground till the flesh is consumed by putrefaction, and then

burying the bones, it is, perhaps, impossible to guess; but it is

remarkable, that Ælian and Apollonius Rhodius impute a similar practice

to the ancient inhabitants of Colchis, a country near Pontus, in Asia,

now called Mingrelia; except that among them this manner of disposing of

the dead did not extend to both sexes: the women they buried; but the

men they wrapped in a hide, and hung up in the air by a chain. This

practice among the Colchians is referred to a religious cause. The

principal objects of their worship were the earth and the air; and it is

supposed that, in consequence of some superstitious notion, they devoted

their dead to both. Whether the natives of Otaheite had any notion of

the same kind, we were never able certainly to determine; but we soon

discovered, that the repositories of their dead were also places of

worship. Upon this occasion it may be observed, that nothing can be more

absurd than the notion that the happiness or misery of a future life

depends, in any degree, upon the disposition of the body when the state

of probation is past; yet that nothing is more general than a solicitude

about it. However cheap we may hold any funeral rites which custom has

not familiarized, or superstition rendered sacred, most men gravely

deliberate how to prevent their body from being broken by the mattock

and devoured by the worm, when it is no longer capable of sensation; and

purchase a place for it in holy ground, when they believe the lot of its

future existence to be irrevocably determined. So strong is the

association of pleasing or painful ideas with certain opinions and

actions which affect us while we live, that we involuntarily act as if

it was equally certain that they would affect us in the same manner when

we are dead, though this is an opinion that nobody will maintain. Thus

it happens, that the desire of preserving from reproach even the name

that we leave behind us, or of procuring it honour, is one of the most

powerful principles of action, among the inhabitants of the most

speculative and enlightened nations. Posthumous reputation, upon every

principle, must be acknowledged to have no influence upon the dead; yet

the desire of obtaining and securing it, no force of reason, no habits

of thinking, can subdue, except in those whom habitual baseness and

guilt have rendered indifferent to honour and shame while they lived.

This, indeed, seems to be among the happy imperfections of our nature,

upon which the general good of society in a certain measure depends; for

as some crimes are supposed to be prevented by hanging the body of the

criminal in chains after he is dead, so in consequence of the same

association of ideas, much good is procured to society, and much evil

prevented, by a desire of preventing disgrace or procuring honour to a

name, when nothing but a name remains.

Perhaps no better use can be made of reading an account of manners

altogether new, by which the follies and absurdities of mankind are

taken out of that particular connection in which habit has reconciled

them to us, than to consider in how many instances they are essentially

the same. When an honest devotee of the church of Rome reads, that there

are Indians on the banks of the Ganges who believe that they shall

secure the happiness of a future state by dying with a cow’s tail in

their hands, he laughs at their folly and superstition; and if these

Indians were to be told, that there are people upon the continent of

Europe, who imagine that they shall derive the same advantage from dying

with the slipper of St. Francis upon their foot, they would laugh in

their turn. But if, when the Indian heard the account of the Catholic,

and the Catholic that of the Indian, each was to reflect, that there was

no difference between the absurdity of the slipper and of the tail; but

that the veil of prejudice and custom, which covered it in their own

case, was withdrawn in the other, they would turn their knowledge to a

profitable purpose.

Having observed that bread-fruit had for some days been brought in less

quantities than usual, we enquired the reason; and were told, that there

being a great show of fruit upon the trees, they had been thinned all at

once, in order to make a kind of sour paste, which the natives call

_Mahie_, and which, in consequence of having undergone a fermentation,

will keep a considerable time, and supply them with food when no ripe

fruit is to be had.

On the 10th the ceremony was to be performed, in honour of the old woman

whose sepulchral tabernacle has just been described, by the chief

mourner; and Mr. Banks had so great a curiosity to see all the mysteries

of the solemnity, that he determined to take a part in it, being told,

that he could be present upon no other condition. In the evening,

therefore, he repaired to the place where the body lay, and was received

by the daughter of the deceased, and several other persons, among whom

was a boy about fourteen years old, who were to assist in the ceremony.

Tubourai Tamaide was to be the principal mourner; and his dress, which

was extremely fantastical, though not unbecoming, is represented by a

figure in one of the plates. Mr. Banks was stripped of his European

clothes, and a small piece of cloth being tied round his middle, his

body was smeared with charcoal and water, as low as the shoulders, till

it was as black as that of a negro: the same operation was performed

upon several others, among whom were some women, who were reduced to a

state as near to nakedness as himself; the boy was blacked all over, and

then the procession set forward. Tubourai Tamaide uttered something,

which was supposed to be a prayer, near the body; and did the same when

he came up to his own house: when this was done, the procession was

continued towards the fort, permission having been obtained to approach

it upon this occasion. It is the custom of the Indians to fly from these

processions with the utmost precipitation, so that as soon as those who

were about the fort saw it at a distance they hid themselves in the

woods. It proceeded from the fort along the shore, and put to flight

another body of Indians, consisting of more than a hundred, every one

hiding himself under the first shelter that he could find: it then

crossed the river, and entered the woods, passing several houses, all

which were deserted, and not a single Indian could be seen during the

rest of the procession, which continued more than half an hour. The

office that Mr. Banks performed, was called that of the _Nineveh_, of

which there were two besides himself; and the natives having all

disappeared, they came to the chief mourner, and said, _Imatata_, there

are no people; after which the company was dismissed to wash themselves

in the river, and put on their customary apparel.

On the 12th, complaint being made to me, by some of the natives, that

two of the seamen had taken from them several bows and arrows, and some

strings of plaited hair, I examined the matter, and finding the charge

well supported, I punished each of the criminals with two-dozen lashes.

Their bows and arrows have not been mentioned before, nor were they

often brought down to the fort. This day, however, Tubourai Tamaide

brought down his, in consequence of a challenge which he had received

from Mr. Gore. The chief supposed it was to try who could send the arrow

farthest; Mr. Gore, who best could hit a mark; and as Mr. Gore did not

value himself upon shooting to a great distance, nor the chief upon

hitting a mark, there was no trial of skill between them. Tubourai

Tamaide, however, to show us what he could do, drew his bow, and sent an

arrow, none of which are feathered, two hundred and seventy-four yards,

which is something more than a seventh, and something less than a sixth

part of a mile. Their manner of shooting is somewhat singular; they

kneel down, and the moment the arrow is discharged drop the bow.

Mr. Banks, in his morning walk this day, met a number of the natives,

whom, upon enquiry, he found to be travelling musicians; and having

learnt where they were to be at night, we all repaired to the place. The

band consisted of two flutes and three drums, and we found a great

number of people assembled upon the occasion. The drummers accompanied

the music with their voices, and, to our great surprise, we discovered

that we were generally the subject of the song. We did not expect to

have found among the uncivilized inhabitants of this sequestered spot a

character, which has been the subject of such praise and veneration

where genius and knowledge have been most conspicuous; yet these were

the bards or minstrels of Otaheite. Their song was unpremeditated, and

accompanied with music; they were continually going about from place to

place, and they were rewarded by the master of the house, and the

audience, with such things as one wanted and the other could spare.

On the 14th, we were brought into new difficulties and inconvenience by

another robbery at the fort. In the middle of the night, one of the

natives contrived to steal an iron coal-rake, that was made use of for

the oven. It happened to be set up against the inside of the wall, so

that the top of the handle was visible from without; and we were

informed that the thief, who had been seen lurking there in the evening,

came secretly about three o’clock in the morning, and, watching his

opportunity when the sentinel’s back was turned, very dexterously laid

hold of it with a long crooked stick, and drew it over the wall. I

thought it of some consequence, if possible, to put an end to these

practices at once, by doing something that should make it the common

interest of the natives themselves to prevent them. I had given strict

orders that they should not be fired upon, even when detected in these

attempts, for which I had many reasons: the common sentinels were by no

means fit to be intrusted with a power of life and death, to be exerted

whenever they should think fit, and I had already experienced that they

were ready to take away the lives that were in their power upon the

slightest occasion; neither, indeed, did I think that the thefts which

these people committed against us were, in them, crimes worthy of death:

that thieves are hanged in England, I thought no reason why they should

be shot in Otaheite; because, with respect to the natives, it would have

been an execution by a law _ex post facto_. They had no such law among

themselves, and it did not appear to me that we had any right to make

such a law for them. That they should abstain from theft, or be punished

with death, was not one of the conditions under which they claimed the

advantages of civil society, as it is among us; and as I was not willing

to expose them to fire-arms, loaded with shot, neither could I perfectly

approve of firing only with powder. At first, indeed, the noise and the

smoke would alarm them, but when they found that no mischief followed,

they would be led to despise the weapons themselves, and proceed to

insults, which would make it necessary to put them to the test, and from

which they would be deterred by the very sight of a gun, if it was never

used but with effect. At this time an accident furnished me with what I

thought a happy expedient. It happened that above twenty of their

sailing canoes were just come in with a supply of fish: upon these I

immediately seized, and bringing them into the river behind the fort,

gave public notice, that except the rake, and all the rest of the things

which from time to time had been stolen, were returned, the canoes

should be burnt. This menace I ventured to publish, though I had no

design to put it into execution, making no doubt but that it was well

known in whose possession the stolen goods were, and that as restitution

was thus made a common cause, they would all of them in a short time be

brought back. A list of the things was made out, consisting principally

of the rake, the musket which had been taken from the marine when the

Indian was shot; the pistols which Mr. Banks lost with his clothes at

Atahourou; a sword belonging to one of the petty officers, and the

water-cask. About noon, the rake was restored, and great solicitation

was made for the release of the canoes; but I still insisted upon my

original condition. The next day came, and nothing farther was restored,

at which I was much surprised, for the people were in the utmost

distress for the fish, which in a short time would be spoilt; I was,

therefore, reduced to a disagreeable situation, either of releasing the

canoes, contrary to what I had solemnly and publicly declared, or to

detain them, to the great injury of those who were innocent, without

answering any good purpose to ourselves: as a temporary expedient, I

permitted them to take the fish; but still detained the canoes. This

very licence, however, was productive of new confusion and injury; for,

it not being easy at once to distinguish to what particular persons the

several lots of fish belonged, the canoes were plundered, under favour

of this circumstance, by those who had no right to any part of their

cargo. Most pressing instances were still made that the canoes might be

restored; and I having now the greatest reason to believe, either that

the things for which I detained them were not in the island, or that

those who suffered by their detention had not sufficient influence over

the thieves to prevail upon them to relinquish their booty, determined

at length to give them up, not a little mortified at the bad success of

my project.

Another accident also about this time was, notwithstanding all our

caution, very near embroiling us with the Indians. I sent the boat on

shore with an officer to get ballast for the ship, and not immediately

finding stones convenient for the purpose, he began to pull down some

part of an enclosure where they deposited the bones of their dead. This

the Indians violently opposed, and a messenger came down to the tents to

acquaint the officers that they would not suffer it. Mr. Banks

immediately repaired to the place, and an amicable end was soon put to

the dispute by sending the boat’s crew to the river, where stones enough

were to be gathered without a possibility of giving offence. It is very

remarkable, that these Indians appeared to be much more jealous of what

was done to the dead than the living. This was the only measure in which

they ventured to oppose us, and the only insult that was offered to any

individual among us was upon a similar occasion. Mr. Monkhouse,

happening one day to pull a flower from a tree which grew in one of

their sepulchral enclosures, an Indian, whose jealousy had probably been

upon the watch, came suddenly behind him, and struck him. Mr. Monkhouse

laid hold of him, but he was instantly rescued by two more, who took

hold of Mr. Monkhouse’s hair, and forced him to quit his hold of their

companion, and then ran away without offering him any farther violence.

In the evening of the 19th, while the canoes were still detained, we

received a visit from Oberea, which surprised us not a little, as she

brought with her none of the things that had been stolen, and knew that

she was suspected of having some of them in her custody. She said,

indeed, that her favourite Obadee, whom she had beaten and dismissed,

had taken them away; but she seemed conscious, that she had no right to

be believed. She discovered the strongest signs of fear, yet she

surmounted it with astonishing resolution; and was very pressing to

sleep with her attendants in Mr. Banks’s tent. In this, however, she was

not gratified; the affair of the jacket was too recent, and the tent was

besides filled with other people. Nobody else seemed willing to

entertain her, and she, therefore, with great appearance of

mortification and disappointment, spent the night in her canoe.

The next morning early, she returned to the fort with her canoe, and

every thing that it contained, putting herself wholly into our power,

with something like greatness of mind, which excited our wonder and

admiration. As the most effectual means to bring about a reconciliation,

she presented us with a hog, and several other things, among which was a

dog. We had lately learnt, that these animals were esteemed by the

Indians as more delicate food than their pork; and upon this occasion we

determined to try the experiment. The dog, which was very fat, we

consigned over to Tupia, who undertook to perform the double office of

butcher and cook. He killed him by holding his hands close over his

mouth and nose, an operation which continued above a quarter of an hour.

While this was doing, a hole was made in the ground about a foot deep,

in which a fire was kindled, and some small stones placed in layers

alternately with the wood to heat; the dog was then singed, by holding

him over the fire, and, by scraping him with a shell, the hair taken off

as clean as if he had been scalded in hot water: he was then cut up with

the same instrument, and his entrails, being taken out, were sent to the

sea, where, being carefully washed, they were put into cocoa-nut shells,

with what blood had come from the body. When the hole was sufficiently

heated, the fire was taken out, and some of the stones, which were not

so hot as to discolour any thing that they touched, being placed at the

bottom, were covered with green leaves. The dog, with the entrails, was

then placed upon the leaves, and other leaves being laid upon them, the

whole was covered with the rest of the hot stones, and the mouth of the

hole close stopped with mould. In somewhat less than four hours it was

again opened, and the dog taken out excellently baked, and we all agreed

that he made a very good dish. The dogs which are here bred to be eaten

taste no animal food, but are kept wholly upon bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts,

yams, and other vegetables of the like kind: all the flesh and fish

eaten by the inhabitants is dressed in the same way.

On the 21st we were visited at the fort by a chief, called OAMO, whom we

had never seen before, and who was treated by the natives with uncommon

respect; he brought with him a boy about seven years old, and a young

woman about sixteen: the boy was carried upon a man’s back, which we

considered as a piece of state, for he was as well able to walk as any

present. As soon as they were in sight, Oberea, and several other

natives who were in the fort, went out to meet them, having first

uncovered their heads and bodies as low as the waist: as they came on,

the same ceremony was performed by all the natives who were without the

fort. Uncovering the body, therefore, is in this country probably a mark

of respect; and as all parts are here exposed with equal indifference,

the ceremony of uncovering it from the waist downwards, which was

performed by Oorattooa, might be nothing more than a different mode of

compliment, adapted to persons of a different rank. The chief came into

the tent, but no entreaty could prevail upon the young woman to follow

him, though she seemed to refuse contrary to her inclination. The

natives without were, indeed, all very solicitous to prevent her,

sometimes, when her resolution seemed to fail, almost using force: the

boy also they restrained in the same manner; but Dr. Solander, happening

to meet him at the gate, took him by the hand, and led him in before the

people were aware of it. As soon, however, as those that were within saw

him, they took care to have him sent out.

These circumstances having strongly excited our curiosity, we inquired

who they were, and were informed, that Oamo was the husband of Oberea,

though they had been a long time separated by mutual consent; and that

the young woman and the boy were their children. We learnt also, that

the boy, whose name was TERRIDIRI, was heir-apparent to the sovereignty

of the island, and that his sister was intended for his wife, the

marriage being deferred only till he should arrive at a proper age. The

sovereign at this time was a son of WHAPPAI, whose name was OUTOU, and

who, as before has been observed, was a minor. Whappai, Oamo, and

Tootahah, were brothers: Whappai was the eldest, and Oamo the second; so

that, Whappai having no child but Outou, Terridiri, the son of his next

brother Oamo, was heir to the sovereignty. It will, perhaps, seem

strange that a boy should be sovereign during the life of his father;

but, according to the custom of the country, a child succeeds to a

father’s title and authority as soon as it is born: a regent is then

elected, and the father of the new sovereign is generally continued in

his authority, under that title, till his child is of age; but, at this

time, the choice had fallen upon Tootahah, the uncle, in consequence of

his having distinguished himself in a war. Oamo asked many questions

concerning England and its inhabitants, by which he appeared to have

great shrewdness and understanding.

CHAP. XV.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE ISLAND, AND VARIOUS INCIDENTS

THAT HAPPENED DURING THE EXPEDITION; WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A

BURYING-PLACE AND PLACE OF WORSHIP, CALLED A MORAI.

ON Monday, the 26th, about three o’clock in the morning, I set out in

the pinnace, accompanied by Mr. Banks, to make the circuit of the

island, with a view to sketch out the coast and harbours. We took our

route to the eastward, and about eight in the forenoon we went on shore,

in a district called OAHOUNUE, which is governed by AHIO, a young chief,

whom we had often seen at the tents, and who favoured us with his

company to breakfast. Here also we found two other natives of our old

acquaintance, TITUBOALO and HOONA, who carried us to their houses, near

which we saw the body of the old woman, at whose funeral rites Mr. Banks

had assisted, and which had been removed hither from the spot where it

was first deposited, this place having descended from her by inheritance

to Hoona, and it being necessary on that account that it should lie

here. We then proceeded on foot, the boat attending within call, to the

harbour in which Mr. Bougainville lay, called OHIDEA, where the natives

showed us the ground upon which his people pitched their tent, and the

brook at which they watered, though no trace of them remained, except

the holes where the poles of the tent had been fixed, and a small piece

of potsheard, which Mr. Banks found in looking narrowly about the spot.

We met, however, with ORETTE, a chief who was their principal friend,

and whose brother, OUTORROU, went away with them.

This harbour lies on the west side of a great bay, under shelter of a

small island called Boourou, near which is another called TAAWIRRII; the

breach in the reefs is here very large, but the shelter for the ships is

not the best.

Soon after we had examined this place, we took boat, and asked Tituboalo

to go with us to the other side of the bay; but he refused, and advised

us not to go, for he said the country there was inhabited by people who

were not subject to Tootahah, and who would kill both him and us. Upon

receiving this intelligence, we did not, as may be imagined, relinquish

our enterprise; but we immediately loaded our pieces with ball: this was

so well understood by Tituboalo as a precaution which rendered us

formidable, that he now consented to be of our party.

Having rowed till it was dark, we reached a low neck of land, or

isthmus, at the bottom of the bay, that divides the island into two

peninsulas, each of which is a district or government wholly independent

of the other. From Port-Royal, where the ship was at anchor, the coast

trends E. by S. and E. S. E. ten miles, then S. by E. and S. eleven

miles to the isthmus. In the first direction, the shore is in general

open to the sea; but in the last it is covered by reefs of rocks, which

form several good harbours, with safe anchorage, in 16, 18, 20, and 24

fathom of water, with other conveniences. As we had not yet got into our

enemy’s country, we determined to sleep on shore. We landed, and though

we found but few houses, we saw several double canoes, whose owners were

well known to us, and who provided us with supper and lodging; of which

Mr. Banks was indebted for his share to Ooratooa, the lady who had paid

him her compliments in so singular a manner at the fort.

In the morning we looked about the country, and found it to be a marshy

flat, about two miles over, across which the natives haul their canoes

to the corresponding bay on the other side. We then prepared to continue

our route for what Tituboalo called the other kingdom; he said that the

name of it was TIARRABOU, or OTAHEITE ETE; and that of the chief who

governed it WAHEATUA. Upon this occasion, also, we learnt that the name

of the peninsula where we had taken our station was OPOUREONU, or

OTAHEITE NUE. Our new associate seemed to be now in better spirits than

he had been the day before: the people in Tiarrabou would not kill us,

he said; but he assured us that we should be able to procure no victuals

among them; and, indeed, we had seen no bread-fruit since we set out.

After rowing a few miles, we landed in a district, which was the

dominion of a chief called MARAITATA, the burying-place of men, whose

father’s name was PAHAIREDO, the stealer of boats. Though these names

seemed to favour the account that had been given by Tituboalo, we soon

found that it was not true. Both the father and the son received us with

the greatest civility, gave us provisions, and, after some delay, sold

us a very large hog for a hatchet. A crowd soon gathered round us, but

we saw only two people that we knew; neither did we observe a single

bead or ornament among them that had come from our ship, though we saw

several things which had been brought from Europe. In one of the houses

lay two twelve-pound shot, one of which was marked with the broad arrow

of England, though the people said they had them from the ships that lay

in Bougainville’s harbour.

We proceeded on foot till we came to the district which was immediately

under the government of the principal chief, or king of the peninsula,

Waheatua. Waheatua had a son, but whether, according to the custom of

Opoureonu, he administered the government as regent, or in his own

right, is uncertain. This district consists of a large and fertile

plain, watered by a river so wide, that we were obliged to ferry over it

in a canoe: our Indian train, however, chose to swim, and took to the

water with the same facility as a pack of hounds. In this place we saw

no house that appeared to be inhabited, but the ruins of many that had

been very large. We proceeded along the shore, which forms a bay, called

OAITIPEHA, and at last we found the chief sitting near some pretty canoe

awnings, under which, we supposed, he and his attendants slept. He was a

thin old man, with a very white head and beard, and had with him a

comely woman, about five-and-twenty years old, whose name was TOUDIDDE.

We had often heard the name of this woman, and, from report and

observation, we had reason to think that she was the OBEREA of this

peninsula. From this place, between which and the isthmus there are

other harbours, formed by the reefs that lie along the shore, where

shipping may lie in perfect security, and from whence the land trends S.

S. E. and S. to the S. E. part of the island, we were accompanied by

TEAREE, the son of Waheatua, of whom we had purchased a hog, and the

country we passed through appeared to be more cultivated than any we had

seen in other parts of the island: the brooks were every where banked

into narrow channels with stone, and the shore had also a facing of

stone, where it was washed by the sea. The houses were neither large nor

numerous, but the canoes that were hauled up along the shore were almost

innumerable, and superior to any that we had seen before, both in size

and make; they were longer, the sterns were higher, and the awnings were

supported by pillars. At almost every point there was a sepulchral

building, and there were many of them also inland. They were of the same

figure as those in Opoureonu, but they were cleaner and better kept, and

decorated with many carved boards, which were set upright, and on the

top of which were various figures of birds and men. On one in

particular, there was the representation of a cock, which was painted

red and yellow, to imitate the feathers of that animal, and rude images

of men were, in some of them, placed one upon the head of another. But

in this part of the country, however fertile and cultivated, we did not

see a single bread-fruit: the trees were entirely bare; and the

inhabitants seemed to subsist principally upon nuts, which are not

unlike a chesnut, and which they call _Ahee_.

When we had walked till we were weary, we called up the boat, but both

our Indians, Tituboalo and Tuahow, were missing: they had, it seems,

stayed behind at Waheatua’s, expecting us to return thither, in

consequence of a promise which had been extorted from us, and which we

had it not in our power to fulfil.

Tearee, however, and another, embarked with us, and we proceeded till we

came abreast of a small island called OTOOAREITE; it being then dark, we

determined to land, and our Indians conducted us to a place where they

said we might sleep: it was a deserted house, and near it was a little

cove, in which the boat might lie with great safety and convenience. We

were, however, in want of provisions, having been very sparingly

supplied since we set out; and Mr. Banks immediately went into the woods

to see whether any could be procured. As it was dark, he met with no

people, and could find but one house that was inhabited: a bread-fruit

and a half, a few ahees, and some fire, were all that it afforded; upon

which, with a duck or two, and a few curlieus, we made our supper,

which, if not scanty, was disagreeable, by the want of bread, with which

we had neglected to furnish ourselves, as we depended upon meeting with

bread-fruit, and took up our lodging under the awning of a canoe

belonging to Tearee, which followed us.

The next morning, after having spent some time in another fruitless

attempt to procure a supply of provisions, we proceeded round the

south-east point, part of which is not covered by any reef, but lies

open to the sea; and here the hill rises directly from the shore. At the

southernmost part of the island, the shore is again covered by a reef,

which forms a good harbour; and the land about it is very fertile. We

made this rout partly on foot, and partly in the boat: when we had

walked about three miles, we arrived at a place where we saw several

large canoes, and a number of people with them, whom we were agreeably

surprised to find were of our intimate acquaintance. Here, with much

difficulty, we procured some cocoa-nuts, and then embarked, taking with

us Tuahow, one of the Indians who had waited for us at Waheatua’s, and

had returned the night before, long after it was dark.

When we came abreast of the south-east end of the island, we went

ashore, by the advice of our Indian guide, who told us that the country

was rich and good. The chief, whose name was MATHIABO, soon came down to

us, but seemed to be a total stranger both to us and to our trade: his

subjects, however, brought us plenty of cocoa-nuts, and about twenty

bread-fruit. The bread-fruit we bought at a very dear rate, but his

excellency sold us a pig for a glass-bottle, which he preferred to every

thing else that we could give him. We found in his possession a goose

and a turkey-cock, which, we were informed, had been left upon the

island by the Dolphin: they were both enormously fat, and so tame that

they followed the Indians, who were fond of them to excess, wherever

they went.

In a long house in this neighbourhood, we saw what was altogether new to

us. At one end of it, fastened to a semicircular board, hung fifteen

human jaw-bones: they appeared to be fresh; and there was not one of

them that wanted a single tooth. A sight so extraordinary, strongly

excited our curiosity, and we made many enquiries about it; but at this

time could get no information, for the people either could not, or would

not, understand us.

When we left this place, the chief, Mathiabo, desired leave to accompany

us, which was readily granted. He continued with us the remainder of the

day, and proved very useful, by piloting us over the shoals. In the

evening, we opened the bay on the north-west side of the island, which

answered to that on the south-east, so as at the isthmus, or carrying

place, almost to intersect the island, as I have observed before; and

when we had coasted about two-thirds of it, we determined to go on shore

for the night. We saw a large house at some distance, which Mathiabo

informed us belonged to one of his friends; and soon after several

canoes came off to meet us, having on board some very handsome women,

who, by their behaviour, seemed to have been sent to entice us on shore.

As we had before resolved to take up our residence here for the night,

little invitation was necessary. We found that the house belonged to the

chief of the district, whose name was WIVEROU: he received us in a very

friendly manner, and ordered his people to assist us in dressing our

provision, of which we had now got a tolerable stock. When our supper

was ready, we were conducted into that part of the house where Wiverou

was sitting, in order to eat it: Mathiabo supped with us; and Wiverou

calling for his supper at the same time, we ate our meal very sociably,

and with great good humour. When it was over, we began to enquire where

we were to sleep, and a part of the house was shown us, of which we were

told we might take possession for that purpose. We then sent for our

cloaks, and Mr. Banks began to undress, as his custom was, and, with a

precaution which he had been taught by the loss of the jackets at

Atahourou, sent his clothes aboard the boat, proposing to cover himself

with a piece of Indian cloth. When Mathiabo perceived what was doing, he

also pretended to want a cloak; and, as he had behaved very well, and

done us some service, a cloak was ordered for him. We lay down, and

observed that Mathiabo was not with us; but we supposed that he was gone

to bathe, as the Indians always do before they sleep. We had not waited

long, however, when an Indian, who was a stranger to us, came and told

Mr. Banks, that the cloak and Mathiabo had disappeared together. This

man had so far gained our confidence, that we did not at first believe

the report; but it being soon after confirmed by Tuahow, our own Indian,

we knew no time was to be lost. As it was impossible for us to pursue

the thief with any hope of success, without the assistance of the people

about us, Mr. Banks started up, and telling our case, required them to

recover the cloak; and to enforce this requisition, showed one of his

pocket-pistols, which he always kept about him. Upon the sight of the

pistol, the whole company took the alarm, and, instead of assisting to

catch the thief, or recover what had been stolen, began with great

precipitation to leave the place: one of them, however, was seized; upon

which he immediately offered to direct the chase: I set out, therefore,

with Mr. Banks; and though we ran all the way, the alarm had got before

us; for in about ten minutes we met a man bringing back the cloak, which

the thief had relinquished in great terror; and as we did not then think

fit to continue the pursuit, he made his escape. When we returned, we

found the house, in which there had been between two and three hundred

people, entirely deserted. It being, however, soon known that we had no

resentment against any body but Mathiabo, the chief, Wiverou, our host,

with his wife, and many others, returned, and took up their lodgings

with us for the night. In this place, however, we were destined to more

confusion and trouble; for about five o’clock in the morning our sentry

alarmed us, with an account that the boat was missing: he had seen her,

he said, about half an hour before, at her grappling, which was not

above fifty yards from the shore; but, upon hearing the sound of oars,

he had looked out again, and could see nothing of her. At this account

we started up greatly alarmed, and ran to the water-side: the morning

was clear and star light, so that we could see to a considerable

distance, but there was no appearance of the boat. Our situation was now

such as might justify the most terrifying apprehensions: as it was a

dead calm, and we could not therefore suppose her to have broken from

her grappling, we had great reason to fear that the Indians had attacked

her, and finding the people asleep, had succeeded in their enterprise:

we were but four, with only one musket and two pocket pistols, without a

spare ball or charge of powder for either. In this state of anxiety and

distress we remained a considerable time, expecting the Indians every

moment to improve their advantage, when, to our unspeakable

satisfaction, we saw the boat return, which had been driven from her

grappling by the tide; a circumstance to which, in our confusion and

surprise, we did not advert.

As soon as the boat returned, we got our breakfast, and were impatient

to leave the place, lest some other vexatious accident should befall us.

It is situated on the north side of Tiarrabou, the south-east peninsula,

or division, of the island, and at the distance of about five miles

south-east from the isthmus, having a large and commodious harbour,

inferior to none in the island, about which the land is very rich in

produce.

Notwithstanding we had had little communication with this division, the

inhabitants every where received us in a friendly manner: we found the

whole of it fertile and populous, and, to all appearance, in a more

flourishing state than Opoureonu, though it is not above one-fourth part

as large.

The next district in which we landed was the last in Tiarrabou, and

governed by a chief, whose name we understood to be OMOE. Omoe was

building a house, and being therefore very desirous of procuring a

hatchet, he would have been glad to have purchased one with any thing

that he had in his possession; it happened, however, rather

unfortunately for him and us, that we had not one hatchet left in the

boat. We offered to trade with nails, but he would not part with any

thing in exchange for them; we therefore reimbarked, and put off our

boat, but the chief being unwilling to relinquish all hope of obtaining

something from us that would be of use to him, embarked in a canoe, with

his wife WHANNOOUDA, and followed us. After some time, we took them into

the boat, and when we had rowed about a league, they desired we would

put ashore: we immediately complied with his request, and found some of

his people, who had brought down a very large hog. We were as unwilling

to lose the hog, as the chief was to part with us, and it was indeed

worth the best axe we had in the ship; we therefore hit upon an

expedient, and told him, that if he would bring his hog to the fort at

MATAVAI, the Indian name for Port Royal bay, he should have a large axe,

and a nail into the bargain for his trouble. To this proposal, after

having consulted with his wife, he agreed, and gave us a large piece of

his country cloth as a pledge that he would perform his agreement,

which, however, he never did.

At this place we saw a very singular curiosity: it was the figure of a

man, constructed of basket-work, rudely made, but not ill designed; it

was something more than seven feet high, and rather too bulky in

proportion to its height. The wicker skeleton was completely covered

with feathers, which were white where the skin was to appear, and black

in the parts which it is their custom to paint or stain, and upon the

head, where there was to be a representation of hair: upon the head also

were four protuberances, three in front and one behind, which we should

have called horns, but which the Indians dignified with the name of TATE

ETE, little men. The image was called MANIOE, and was said to be the

only one of the kind in Otaheite. They attempted to give us an

explanation of its use and design, but we had not then acquired enough

of their language to understand them. We learnt, however, afterwards,

that it was a representation of Mauwe, one of their Eatuas, or gods of

the second class.

After having settled our affairs with Omoe, we proceeded on our return,

and soon reached Opoureonu, the north-west peninsula. After rowing a few

miles, we went on shore again, but the only thing we saw worth notice

was a repository for the dead, uncommonly decorated: the pavement was

extremely neat, and upon it was raised a pyramid, about five feet high,

which was entirely covered with the fruits of two plants, peculiar to

the country. Near the pyramid was a small image of stone, of very rude

workmanship, and the first instance of carving in stone that we had seen

among these people. They appeared to set a high value upon it, for it

was covered from the weather by a shed, that had been erected on

purpose.

We proceeded in the boat, and passed through the only harbour, on the

south side of Opoureonu, that is fit for shipping. It is situated about

five miles to the westward of the isthmus, between two small islands

that lie near the shore, and about a mile distant from each other, and

affords good anchorage in eleven and twelve fathom water. We were now

not far from the district called PAPARRA, which belonged to our friends

Oamo and Oberea, where we proposed to sleep. We went on shore about an

hour before night, and found that they were both absent, having left

their habitations to pay us a visit at Matavai: this, however, did not

alter our purpose, we took up our quarters at the house of Oberea,

which, though small, was very neat, and at this time had no inhabitant

but her father, who received us with looks that bid us welcome. Having

taken possession, we were willing to improve the little day-light that

was left us, and therefore walked out to a point, upon which we had

seen, at a distance, trees that are here called _Etoa_, which generally

distinguish the places where these people bury the bones of their dead:

their name for such burying-grounds, which are also places of worship,

is MORAI. We were soon struck with the sight of an enormous pile, which,

we were told, was the morai of Oamo and Oberea, and the principal piece

of Indian architecture in the island. It was a pile of stone work,

raised pyramidically, upon an oblong base, or square, two hundred and

sixty-seven feet long, and eighty-seven wide. It was built like the

small pyramidal mounts upon which we sometimes fix the pillar of a

sun-dial, where each side is a flight of steps; the steps, however, at

the sides, were broader than those at the ends, so that it terminated,

not in a square of the same figure with the base but in a ridge, like

the roof of a house: there were eleven of these steps, each of which was

four feet high, so that the height of the pile was forty-four feet; each

step was formed of one course of white coral stone, which was neatly

squared and polished; the rest of the mass, for there was no hollow

within, consisted of round pebbles, which, from the regularity of their

figure, seemed to have been wrought. Some of the coral stones were very

large; we measured one of them, and found it three feet and a half by

two feet and a half. The foundation was of rock stones, which were also

squared; and one of them measured four feet seven inches by two feet

four. Such a structure, raised without the assistance of iron tools to

shape the stones, or mortar to join them, struck us with astonishment:

it seemed to be as compact and firm as it could have been made by any

workman in Europe, except that the steps, which range along its greatest

length, are not perfectly strait, but sink in a kind of hollow in the

middle, so that the whole surface, from end to end, is not a right line,

but a curve. The quarry stones, as we saw no quarry in the

neighbourhood, must have been brought from a considerable distance; and

there is no method of conveyance here but by hand: the coral must also

have been fished from under the water, where, though it may be found in

plenty, it lies at a considerable depth, never less than three feet.

Both the rock stone and the coral could be squared only by tools made of

the same substance, which must have been a work of incredible labour;

but the polishing was more easily effected by means of the sharp coral

sand, which is found every where upon the sea-shore in great abundance.

In the middle of the top stood the image of a bird, carved in wood; and

near it lay the broken one of a fish, carved in stone. The whole of this

pyramid made part of one side of a spacious area or square, nearly of

equal sides, being three hundred and sixty feet by three hundred and

fifty-four, which was walled in with stone, and paved with flat stones

in its whole extent; though there were growing in it, notwithstanding

the pavement, several of the trees which they call _Etoa_, and

plantains. About an hundred yards to the west of this building was

another paved area or court, in which were several small stages raised

on wooden pillars, about seven feet high, which are called by the

Indians _Ewattas_, and seem to be a kind of altars, as upon these are

placed provisions of all kinds as offerings to their gods: we have since

seen whole hogs placed upon them, and we found here the skulls of above

fifty, besides the skulls of a great number of dogs.

The principal object of ambition among these people is to have a

magnificent morai, and this was a striking memorial of the rank and

power of Oberea. It has been remarked, that we did not find her invested

with the same authority that she exercised when the Dolphin was at this

place, and we now learnt the reason of it. Our way from her house to the

morai lay along the sea-side, and we observed every where under our feet

a great number of human bones, chiefly ribs and vertebræ. Upon enquiring

into the cause of so singular an appearance, we were told, that in the

then last month of _Owarahew_, which answered to our December, 1768,

about four or five months before our arrival, the people of Tiarrabou,

the S. E. peninsula which we had just visited, made a descent at this

place, and killed a great number of people, whose bones were those that

we saw upon the shore: that, upon this occasion, Oberea, and Oamo, who

then administered the government for his son, had fled to the mountains;

and that the conquerors burnt all the houses, which were very large, and

carried away the hogs, and what other animals they found. We learnt

also, that the turkey and goose, which we had seen when we were with

Mathiabo, the stealer of cloaks, were among the spoils: this accounted

for their being found among people with whom the Dolphin had little or

no communication; and upon mentioning the jaw-bones, which we had seen

hanging from a board in a long house, we were told, that they also had

been carried away as trophies, the people here carrying away the

jaw-bones of their enemies, as the Indians of North America do the

scalps.

After having thus gratified our curiosity, we returned to our quarters,

where we passed the night in perfect security and quiet. By the next

evening we arrived at Atahourou, the residence of our friend Tootahah,

where, the last time we passed the night under his protection, we had

been obliged to leave the best part of our clothes behind us. This

adventure, however, seemed now to be forgotten on both sides. Our

friends received us with great pleasure, and gave us a good supper and a

good lodging, where we suffered neither loss nor disturbance.

The next day, Saturday, July the 1st, we got back to our fort at

Matavai, having found the circuit of the island, including both

peninsulas, to be about thirty leagues. Upon our complaining of the want

of bread-fruit, we were told, that the produce of the last season was

nearly exhausted; and that what was seen sprouting upon the trees, would

not be fit to use in less than three months: this accounted for our

having been able to procure so little of it in our route.