This lasted about two hours; during all which time the man who had made a 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 enquiry we learnt that he was an officer belonging to Tootahah, acting as 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 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 sun-rise 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, Obadee, 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 resin; 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 learned 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, Torario; and Mr Banks, Tapane; Mr Green, Eteree; Mr Parkinson, Patini; Mr Sporing, Poliui; 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.

SECTION 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 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 hasted 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 around 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 19th, 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 incovenience 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 tears 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 centinel, 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.

In the evening of this day, an exhibition of the grossest lewdness was made by a young couple, in presence of Oberea and several women of superior rank, who indeed seemed to assist in it, by their advice to the female, a girl about eleven or twelve years of age. This was quite in conformity to the custom of the place, and did not appear to excite the least feeling of shame in either performers or spectators.[91]

[Footnote 91: The relation of this incident is purposely varied from the copy. It is but justice to the Otabeitans to apprize the reader, that in the account of the missionary voyage, published in 1799, and hereafter to be noticed, this conduct as to immodesty is in no small degree explained, and they are acknowledged even to excel in some parts, of delicacy of sentiment and behaviour. The testimony of that account, it may be remarked, is deserving the more credit, because the mission itself was avowedly founded on the conviction of the total depravity of these islanders, and was purposed as an attempt at reformation on religious principles. Still, however, it is most certain that the Otabeitans were much addicted to sensual indulgences, and that Oberea, as we have already seen, was noted for libidinous propensities. How far their peculiar circumstances may either account for or palliate their apparent immorality in this respect, is quite another question; one too, it is probable, which the prejudiced and erring mind of man is, of itself, incompetent to solve. One thing, however, is most certain: The Judge of all the earth will do what is right with his creatures, whether he take vengeance for transgression, or pardon in mercy, or reward in approbation.—E.]

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 Tabourai 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 centry 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.

SECTION 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 safe guard, 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 amissing. 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 musquet 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 musquet 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, nevertheless, 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 musquet; 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 emersion, 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 deg. 29' 15"; and the longitude 149 deg. 32' 30" 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. p. 397 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.



SECTION XIII.

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 supposed 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 AElian 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.[92] 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 or 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.

[Footnote 92: If the Colchians, according to the assertion of Herodotus, Euter. 104, are to be considered as derived from the Egyptians, which some circumstances of resemblance render probable, it seems not irrational to imagine, that they had acquired from that people an abhorrence to the thought of becoming food for worms. This, Herodotus says, in Thal. 16. was the reason why they (the Egyptians) embalmed the bodies of the dead; for which the practice adopted by the Colchians, of wrapping them in hides of oxen for the purpose of preservation, was judged an adequate substitute. But though this be admitted as satisfactory with respect to the origin of the usage, it affords no explanation as to the difference observable in the treatment of the sexes after death, which must be looked for in some other circumstance, common to these two people, or peculiar to one, of them. It can scarcely be imputed to the different estimation in which the sexes were held whilst living; for if any thing, at least in the opinion of Diodorus Siculus, the women were in higher authority in Egypt than the men, in so far as civil and political rights were concerned. On the other hand, it is certain from Herodotus, that men alone could officiate in the service of their gods, whether male or female, and that there were no priestesses in Egypt. No reason can be discovered for this exclusion. It is merely credible, that the Egyptians, though ascribing great excellence to the female sex in various particulars, nevertheless judged them to be destitute of that principle which constituted the essence of the gods; and therefore unfit for their society. Possibly they might in consequence imagine them to be incapable of immortality and transmigration, a belief which they so firmly maintained, as to be led to specify the various changes which the soul underwent for the space of three thousand years, when it re-assumed the human body. Now, if the Colchians credited this doctrine of the immortality and transmigration of the soul, and at the same time depreciated for any reasons whatever the dignity of women, one may easily conceive why they should think of a difference in the mode of disposing of male and female corpses. After all, however, such reasoning as this is very far from satisfactory; nevertheless, in the mind of the judicious reader, accustomed to contemplate the minute circumstances, which, though much modified, prove a connection betwixt different people, it cannot but have some weight,—E.]

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 shew 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 was extremely fantastical, though not unbecoming. 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 an 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 imitata, 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 shew 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 centinel'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 centinels were by no means fit to be entrusted 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 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 tire, 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 enquired 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 Outon, 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 fathers 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.

SECTION XIV.

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 shewed 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 in land. 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 a-breast 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 southermost 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 route 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 eat 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 shewn us, of which we were told we might take possession for that purpose. We then sent for our clokes, 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 cloke 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 cloke 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, shewed 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 musquet 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 everywhere received us in a friendly manner; we found the whole of it fertile and populous, and to all appearance, in a more flourishing stale 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 re-embarked, 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 Whanno-ouda, 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.[93] 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 straight, 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 seashore 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 a 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 Ewattus, 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.[94]