1769. April. name we found to be MATAHAH, fixed upon Mr. Banks, and the other upon me: this ceremony consisted in taking off great part of their Friday 14.. clothes and putting them upon us. In return for this, we prefented each of them with a hatchet and fome beads. Soon after they made figns for us to go with them to the places where they lived, pointing to the S. W.; and as I was defirous of finding a more commodious harbour, and making farther trial of the difpofition of the people, I confented. I ordered out two boats, and with Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, the other gentlemen, and our two Indian friends, we embarked for our expedition. After rowing about a league, they made figns that we should go on fhore, and gave us to understand that this was the place of their refidence. We accordingly landed, among feveral hundreds of the natives, who conducted us into a house of much greater length than any we had feen. When we entered, we faw a middle-aged man, whofe name was afterwards difcovered to be TooтAHAH; mats were immediately spread, and we were defired to fit down over against him. Soon after we were seated, he ordered a cock and hen to be brought out, which he presented to Mr. Banks and me; we accepted the prefent, and in a short time each. of us received a piece of cloth, perfumed after their manner, by no means difagreeably, which they 1769. they took great pains to make us remark. The April. piece presented to Mr. Banks was eleven yards Friday 14. long and two wide; in return for which, he gave a laced filk neckcloth, which he happened to have on, and a linen pocket handkerchief: Tootahah immediately dreffed himself in this new finery, with an air of perfect complacency and fatisfaction. But it is now time that I fhould take fome notice of the ladies. Soon after the interchanging of our prefents with Tootahah, they attended us to several large houses, in which we walked about with great freedom: they fhewed us all the civility of which, in our fituation, we could accept; and, on their part, feemed to have no fcruple that would have prevented its being carried farther. The houses, which as I have observed before, are all open, except a roof, afforded no place of retirement; but the ladies, by frequently pointing to the mats upon the ground, and fometimes feating themselves and drawing us down upon them, left us no room to doubt of their being much less jealous of obfervation than we were. We now took leave of our friendly Chief, and directed our courfe along the fhore; when we had walked about a mile, we met, at the head of a great number of people, another Chief, whofe name was TouBOURAI TAMAIDE, with whom we were also to ratify a treaty of peace, April. peace, with the ceremony of which we were now 1769. become better acquainted. Having received the branch which he prefented to us, and given Friday 14. another in return, we laid our hands upon our left breasts, and pronounced the word Taio, which we supposed to signify friend; the Chief then gave us to understand, that if we chofe to eat, he had victuals ready for us. We accepted his offer, and dined very heartily upon fish, bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts and plantains, dreffed after their manner; they eat fome of their fish raw, and raw fish was offered to us, but we declined that part of the entertainment. During this vifit a wife of our noble hoft, whose name was TOмIO, did Mr. Banks the honour to place herself upon the fame matt, close by him. Tomio was not in the first bloom of her youth, nor did she appear to have been ever remarkable for her beauty: he did not therefore, I believe, pay her the most flattering attention: it happened too, as a farther mortification to this lady, that seeing a very pretty girl among the croud, he, not adverting to the dignity of his companion, beckoned her to come to him: the girl, after fome entreaty, complied, and fat down on the other fide of him; he loaded her with beads, and every fhowy trifle that would please her: his princess, though she was fomewhat mortified at the preference that was given to her rival, did not difcontinue her civilities, but 1769, April. Friday 14. but ftill affiduously supplied him with the milk of the cocoa-nut, and fuch other dainties as were in her reach. This fcene might poffibly have become more curious and interefting, if it had not been fuddenly interrupted by an interlude of a more ferious kind. Juft at this time, Dr. Solander and Mr. Monkhouse complained that their pockets had been picked. Dr. Solander had loft an opera glafs in a fhagreen cafe, and Mr. Monkhoufe his fnuff box. This incident unfortunately put an end to the goodhumour of the company. Complaint of the injury was made to the Chief; and, to give it weight, Mr. Banks started up, and hastily ftruck the but end of his firelock upon the ground: this action, and the noise that accompanied it, ftruck the whole affembly with a panic, and every one of the natives ran out of the house with the utmost precipitation, except the Chief, three women, and two or three others, who appeared by their dress to be of a fuperior rank. The Chief, with a mixture of confufion and concern, took Mr. Banks by the hand, and led him to a large quantity of cloth, which lay at the other end of the houfe: this he offered to him piece by piece, intimating by figns, that if that would atone for the wrong which had been done, he might take any part of it, or, if he pleafed, the whole. Mr. Banks put it by, and gave him to understand, that he wanted no 1769. April. thing but what had been difhoneftly taken away. Toubourai Tamaide then went haftily out, leaving Mr. Banks with his wife Tomio, who Friday 14. during the whole scene of terror and confusion had kept conftantly at his fide, and intimating his defire that he fhould wait there till his return. Mr. Banks according fat down, and converfed with her, as well as he could by figns, about half an hour. The chief then came back with the fnuff-box and the cafe of the opera glass in his hand, and, with a joy in his countenance that was painted with a strength of expreffion which diftinguishes these people from all others, delivered them to the owners. The cafe of the opera glass, however, upon being opened, was found to be empty; upon this discovery, his countenance changed in a moment; and catching Mr. Banks again by the hand, he rushed out of the house, without uttering any found, and led him along the fhore, walking with great rapidity when they had got about a mile from the house, a woman met him and gave him a piece of cloth, which he haftily took from her, and continued to prefs forward with it in his hand. Dr. Solander and Mr. Monkhouse had followed them, and they came at length to a house where they were received by a woman, to whom he gave the cloth, and intimated to the gentlemen that they should give her fome beads. They immediately complied; and the beads and |