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us plenty of cocoa-nuts, and about twenty bread fruit. The bread-fruit we bought at a very dear rate, but his excellency fold us a pig for a glass bottle, which he preferred to every thing else that we could give him. We found in his poffeffion a goofe and a turkey-cock, which, we were informed, had been left upon the ifland by the Dolphin: they were both enormously fat, and fo tame that they followed the Indians, who were fond of them to excefs, wherever they went.

In a long house, in this neighbourhood, we faw what was altogether new to us. At one end of it, fastened to a semi-circular board, hung fifteen human jawbones; they appeared to be fresh, and there was not one of them that wanted a single tooth. A fight fo extraordinary strongly excited our curiofity, 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, defired 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 fhoals. In the evening, we opened the bay on the northweft fide of the island, which answered to that on the fouth-east, so as at the ifthmus, or carrying place, almost to interfect the island, as I have obferved before; and when we had coafted about two-thirds of it, we determined to go on fhore for the night. We faw a large house at fome distance, which, Mathiabo informed us, belonged to one of his friends; and foon after feveral canoes came off to meet us, having on board fome very handsome women, who, by their behaviour, seemed to have been fent to entice us on fhore. As we had before refolved to take up our refidence here for the night, little invitation was neceffary. 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 affift us in dreffing our provifion, of which we had now got a tolerable stock. When our fupper was ready, we were conducted into that part of the house where Wiverou was fitting, in order to eat it: Mathiabo fupped with us; and Wiverou, calling for his VOL. II.

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fupper

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1769. fupper at the fame time, we eat our meal very soJuneciably, and with great good humour. When it was

over, we began to enquire where we were to fleep, and a part of the house was fhewn us, of which we were told we might take poffeffion for that purpose. We then fent for our cloaks, and Mr. Banks began to undres, as his cuftom was, and, with a precaution which he had been taught by the loss of the jackets at Atahourou, fent his clothes aboard the boat, propofing 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 fome fervice, a cloak was ordered for him. We lay down, and obferved that Mathiabo was not with us; but we supposed that he was gone to bathe, as the Indians always do before they fleep. We had not waited long, however, when an Indian, who was a ftranger to us, came and told Mr. Banks, that the cloak and Mathiabo had disappeared together. This man had fo far gained our confidence, that we did not at firft believe the report; but it being foon after confirmed by Tuahow, our own Indian, we knew no time was to be loft. As it was impoffible for us to purfue the thief with any hope of fuccefs, without the affiftance of the people about us, Mr. Banks started up, and telling our cafe, required them to recover the cloak, and, to enforce his requifition,. fhewed one of his pocket piftols, which he always kept about him. Upon fight of the piftol, the whole company took the alarm, and, instead of affifting to catch the thief, or recover what had been ftolen, began with great precipitation to leave the place; one of them, however, was feized, upon which he immedi ately offered to direct the chace: I fet 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 efcape. When we returned, we found the house, in which there had been between two and three hundred people, entirely deferted. It being, however, foon known that we had no refentment against any body

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but Mathiabo, the Chief Wiverou, our hoft, with his
wife, and many others, returned, and took up their
lodging with us for the night. In this place, how-
ever, we were deftined to more confufion and trouble,
for about five o'clock in the morning our centry alarm-
ed us with an account that the boat was miffing: he
had seen her, he said, about half an hour before, at
her grappling, which was not above fifty yards from
the fhore; but upon hearing the found of oars, he had
looked out again, and could fee nothing of her. At
this account we started up greatly alarmed, and ran to
the water fide; the morning was clear and ftar light,
fo that we could fee to a confiderable diftance, but
there was no appearance of the boat. Our fituation.
was now such as might justify the most terrifying ap-
prehenfions; as it was a dead calm, and we could not
therefore fuppofe her to have broken from her grap-
pling, we had great reason to fear that the Indians had
attacked her, and finding the people asleep, had fuc-
ceeded in their enterprize. We were but four, with
only one musquet and two pocket piftols, without a
fpare ball or charge of powder for either. In this ftate
of anxiety and diftrefs we remained a confiderable time,
expecting the Indians every moment to improve their
advantage, when, to our unfpeakable fatisfaction, we
faw the boat return, which had been driven from her
grappling by the tide; a circumftance to which, in our
confufion and furprise, we did not advert.

1769. June.

As foon as the boat returned, we got our breakfast, Thurf. 29. and were impatient to leave the place, left fome other vexatious accident fhould befal us. It is fituated on the north fide of Tiarrabou, the fouth-east peninfula, or divifion, of the island, and at the diftance of about five miles fouth-eaft from the ifthmus, having a large and commodious harbour, inferior to none in the ifland, about which the land is very rich in produce. Notwithstanding we had had little communication with this divifion, 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 flourifhing ftate than Opoureonu, though it is not above one fourth part as large.

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The next diftri&t in which we landed was the last in Tiarrabou, and governed by a Chief, whofe name we understood to be OмOE. Omoe was building a house, and being herefore very defirous of procuring a hatchet, he would have been glad to have purchased one with any thing that he had in his poffeffion; 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 fomething from us that would be of use to him, embarked in a canoe, with his wife WHANNO-OUDA, and followed us. After fome time we took them into the boat, and when we had rowed about a league, they defired we would put afhore: we immediately complied with his request, and found some of his people, who brought down a very large hog. We were as unwilling to lose the hog, as the Chief was to part with us, and indeed it was worth the best axe we had in the fhip; 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 fhould have a large axe, and a nail into the bargain, for his trouble. To this propofal, after having confulted 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 faw a very fingular curiofity: it was the figure of a man conftructed of basket work, rudely made, but not ill defigned; it was fomething more than feven 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 ftain, and upon the head, where there was to be a representation of hair; upon the head alfo 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

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called MANIOE, and was faid to be the only one of the kind in Otaheite. They attempted to give us an explanation of its use and defign, but we had not then acquired enough of their language to understand them. We learned, however, afterwards, that it was a reprefentation of Mauwe, one of their Eatuas, or gods of the second class.

After having fettled our affairs with Omoe, we proceeded on our return, and foon reached Opoureonu, the north-west peninsula. After rowing a few miles, we went on fhore again, but the only thing we faw worth notice was a repofitory for the dead, uncommonly de corated; the pavement was extremely neat, and upon it was raised a pyramid, about five feet high, which was intirely covered with the fruits of two plants peculiar to the country. Near the pyramid was a small image of ftone, of very rude workmanship, and the first inftance of carving in ftone that we had seen among these people. They appeared to fet a high value upon it, for it was covered from the weather by a fhed, that had been erected on purpose.

We proceeded in the boat, and paffed through the only harbour, on the fouth fide of Opoureonu, that is fit for fhipping. It is fituated about five miles to the weftward of the isthmus, between two small islands that lie near the fhore, 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 propofed to fleep. We went on fhore about an hour before night, and found that they were both abfent, having left their habitations to pay us a vifit at Matavai: this, however, did not alter our purpofe; we took up our quarters at the houfe of Oberea, which, though fmall, was very neat, and at this time had no inhabitant but her father, who received us with looks that bid us welcome. Having taken poffeffion, we were willing to improve the little day-light that was left us, and therefore walked out to a point, upon which we had feen, at a distance, trees that are here called Etoa, which generally distinguish the places where thefe people bury the bones of their dead; their name for fuch burying-grounds, which are

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