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him not only his wife and family, but the roof of a house and several materials for fetting it up, with furniture and implements of various kinds, intending, as we understood him, to take up his refidence in our neighbourhood: this inftance of his confidence and good-will gave us great pleasure, and we determined to ftrengthen his attachment to us by every means in our power. Soon after his arrival, he took Mr. Banks by the hand, and leading him out of the line, fignified that he fhould accompany him into the woods. Mr. Banks readily confented, and having walked with him about a quarter of a mile, they arrived at a kind of awning which he had already fet up, and which feemed to be his occafional habitation. Here he unfolded a bundle of his country cloth, and taking out two garments, one of red cloth, and the other of very neat matting, he clothed Mr. Banks in them, and without any other ceremony, immediately conducted him back to the tent. His attendants foon after brought him fome pork and bread-fruit, which he eat, dipping his meat into falt-water instead of fauce: after his meal he retired to Mr. Banks's bed, and flept about an hour. In the afternoon, his wife Tomio brought to the tent a young man, about two and twenty years of age, of a very comely appearance, whom they both feemed to acknowledge as their fon, tho' we afterwards difcovered that he was not fo. In the evening, this young man and another Chief, who had alfo paid us a vifit, went away to the westward, but Tubourai Tamaide and his wife returned to the awning in the skirts of the wood.

Our Surgeon, Mr. Monkhouse, having walked out this evening, reported, that he had feen the body of the man who had been fhot at the tents, which he said was wrapped in cloth, and placed on a kind of bier, supported by stakes, under a roof that seemed to have been set up for the purpose: that near it were depofited fome inftruments of war, and other things, which he would particularly have examined, but for the stench of the body, which was intolerable. He faid, that he faw also two more sheds of the fame kind, in one of which were the bones of a human body that had lain till they were quite dry. We discovered afterwards, that this was the way in which they ufually difpofed of their dead.

1769.

April.

1769. April.

A kind of market now began to be kept just without the lines, and was plentifully fupplied with every thing but pork. Tubourai Tamaide was our conftant guest, imitating our manners, even to the using of a knife and fork, which he did very handily.

As my curiofity was excited by Mr. Monkhouse's account of the fituation of the man who had been shot, I took an opportunity to go with fome others to fee it. I found the fhed under which his body lay, close by the house in which he refided when he was alive, some others being not more than ten yards distant; it was about fifteen feet long, and eleven broad, and of a proportionable height; one end was wholly open, and the other end, and the two fides, were partly enclosed with a kind of wicker work. The bier on which the corps was depofited, was a frame of wood like that in which the fea-beds, called cotts, are placed, with a matted bottom, and fupported by four posts, at the height of about five feet from the ground. The body was covered first with a matt, and then with a white cloth; by the fide of it lay a wooden mace, one of their weapons of war, and near the head of it, which lay next to the clofe end of the shed, lay two cocoa-nut fhells, fuch as are sometimes used to carry water in; at the other end a bunch of green leaves, with fome dried twigs, all tied together, were stuck in the ground, by which lay a ftone about as big as a cocoa-nut: near these lay one of the young plaintain trees, which are used for emblems of peace, and close by it a stone axe. At the open end of the shed also hung, in several strings, a great number of palm-nuts, and without the shed, was stuck upright in the ground, the stem of a plaintain tree, about five feet high, upon the top of which was placed a cocoanut fhell full of fresh-water: against the fide of one of the posts hung a fmall bag, containing a few pieces of bread-fruit ready roasted, which were not all put in at the fame time, for fome of them were fresh, and others ffale. I took notice that several of the natives obferved us with a mixture of folicitude and jealoufy in their countenances, and by their geftures expreffed uneafiness when we went near the body, ftanding themfelves at a little diftance while we were making our examination,

examination, and appearing to be pleased when we came away.

Our refidence on fhore would by no means have been difagreeable, if we had not been inceffantly tormented by the flies, which, among other mifchiefs, made it almost impoffible for Mr. Parkinfon, Mr. Banks's natural history painter, to work; for they not only covered his fubject, fo as that no part of its furface could be feen, but even eat the colour off the paper as fast as he could lay it on. We had recourse to musquito nets and fly-traps, which, though they made the inconvenience tolerable, were very far from removing it.

1769.

April.

On the 22d, Tootahah gave us a fpecimen of the Satur. 22. mufic of this country; four perfons performed upon flutes which had only two ftops, and therefore could not send more than four notes, by half tones: they were founded like our German flutes, except that the performer, instead of applying it to his mouth, blew into it with one noftril, while he stopped the other with his thumb: to this inftrument four other perfons fung, and kept very good time; but only one tune was played during the whole concert.

Several of the natives brought us axes, which they had received from on board the Dolphin, to grind and repair; but among others there was one which became the fubject of much fpeculation, as it appeared to be French after much inquiry, we learned that a ship had been here between our arrival and the departure of the Dolphin, which we then conjectured to have been a Spaniard, but now know it to have been the Boudeufe, commanded by M. Bougainville.

CHA P. X.

An excurfion to the Eastward, an Account of feveral Incidents that happened both on board and on fhore, and of the first Interview with Oberea, the Perfon who, when the Dolphin was here, was fuppofed to be the Queen of the Ifland, with a Defcription of the Fort.

Ο

N the 24th, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander examin- Monday 24. ed the country for feveral miles along the shore

to the eastward: for about two miles it was flat and

fertile ;

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fertile; after that the hills stretched quite to the water's. edge, and a little farther ran out into the fea, so that they were obliged to climb over them. Thefe hills, which were barren, continued for about three miles more, and then terminated in a large plain, which was full of good houses, and people who appeared to live in great affluence. In this place there was a river, much more confiderable than that at our fort, which issued from a deep and beautiful valley, and, where our travellers croffed it, though at some distance from the sea, was near one hundred yards wide. About a mile beyond this river the country became again barren, the rocks every where projecting into the fea, for which reafon they refolved to return. Juft as they had formed this refolution, one of the natives offered them refreshment, which they accepted. They found this man to be of a kind that has been described by various authors, as mixed with many nations, but diftin&t from them all. His fkin was of a dead white, without the leaft appearance of what is called complexion, though fome parts of his body were in a small degree less white than others his hair, eye-brows, and beard were as white as his fkin; his eyes appeared as if they were bloodfhot, and he seemed to be very short-fighted.

At their return they were met by Tubourai Tamaide, and his women, who, at seeing them, felt a joy, which not being able to exprefs, they burst into tears, and wept fome time before their paffion could be restrained.

This evening Dr. Solander lent his knife to one of thefe women, who neglected to return it, and the next morning Mr. Banks's also was miffing; upon this occafion I must bear my teftimony, that the people of this country, of all ranks, men and women, are the errantest thieves upon the face of the earth: the very day after we arrived here, when they came on board us, the Chiefs were employed in stealing what they could in the cabin, and their dependants were no lefs industrious in other parts of the fhip; they fnatched up every thing that was poffible for them to fecrete till they got on fhore, even to the glafs ports, two of which they carried off undetected. Tubourai Tamaide was the

only

only one, except Tootahah, who had not been found guilty, and the prefumption, arifing from this circumstance, that he was exempt from a vice, of which the whole nation befides were guilty, cannot be supposed to outweigh strong appearances to the contrary. Mr. Banks therefore, though not without fome reluctance, accufed him of having stolen his knife: he folemnly and steadily denied that he knew any thing of it; upon which Mr. Banks made him understand, that whoever had taken it, he was determined to have it returned: upon this refolute declaration, one of the natives who was prefent, produced a rag, in which three knives were very carefully tied up. One was that which Dr. Solander had lent to the woman, another was a table knife belonging to me, and the owner of the third was not known. With these the Chief immediately fet out, in order to make reftitution of them to their owners at the tents. Mr. Banks remained with the women, who expreffed great apprehenfions that fome mischief was defigned against their lord. When he came to the tents he restored one of the knives to Dr. Solander and another to me, the third not being owned, and then began to fearch for Mr. Banks's in all the places where he had ever feen it. After fome time, one of Mr. Banks's fervants, understanding what he was about, immediately fetched his mafter's knife, which it seems he had laid by the day before, and till now knew nothing of its having been miffed. Tubou-rai Tamaide, upon this demonstration of his innocence, expreffed the strongest emotions of mind, both in his looks and gestures; the tears started from his eyes, and he made figns, with the knife, that, if he was ever guilty of fuch an action as had been imputed to him, he would fubmit to have his throat cut. He then rushed out of the lines, and returned haftily to Mr. Banks, with a countenance that feverely reproached him with his fufpicions. Mr. Banks foon understood that the knife had been received from his fervant, and was fcarcely less affected at what had happened than the Chief; he felt himself to be the guilty perfon, and was very defirous to atone for his fault. The poor Indian, however violent his paffions, was a ftranger to fullen refentment; and upon Mr. Banks's

1769.

April.

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