and fome other chiefs, in our house, he immediately appointed a guard over them, and intimated to them, that they must continue under restraint, till not only the turkeys and the kid, but the other things of which we had been plundered at various times, were reftored to us. They affured him, that the things in question fhould all be returned; and then fat down to drink kava, with an appearance of unconcern. Soon afterwards, an axe, and an iron wedge, were brought to us. Some armed natives, in the mean time, began to affemble behind the house; but they difperfed when a part of our guard marched against them; and the chiefs, at the inftigation of the Commodore, gave orders that no more fhould appear. When he invited them to dine with him on board, they readily confented. Some of them having afterwards objected to Poulaho's going, he rofe up immediately, and declared that he would be the first man. Accordingly, the chiefs went on board with Captain Cook, and remained in the ship till near four o'clock. He then conducted them ashore; and, not long after, the kid and one of the turkeys were reftored to him. On their promifing that the other turkey fhould be brought back the next morning, he releafed both them and the canoes.

Captain Cook now walked out with Omai, with a view of obferving how the natives in our neighbourhood fared; for this was the ufual time of

their meals. He found that they were, in general, ill fupplied; a circumftance not to be wondered at, fince most of the yams, and other provifions that they brought with them, were difpofed of to us; and they were unwilling to return to their own habitations, while they could procure any fuftenance near our post. That particular part of the island, where our ftation was, being uncultivated, there were none of the natives who had a fixed refidence within half a mile of us. Those therefore who were at our poft, were obliged to live under trees and bushes, or in temporary fheds; and the cocoa-trees were ftripped of their branches, for the purpose of erecting huts for the chiefs.

Omai and the Captain, in the course of their walk, found fix or feven women at fupper together, two of whom were fed by the others. On their asking the reafon of this circumstance, the women replied, taboo mattee. Upon further enquiry it appeared, that one of them, about two months before, had washed the corpfe of a chief, on which account fhe was not allowed to handle any food for five months; and that the other had performed the fame office to the dead body of a person of inferior rank, and was therefore under a fimilar reftriction, though not for fo long a space.

On Saturday the 21ft, early in the morning, PouJaho came on board, to invite Captain Cook to an

*

haiva or entertainment, which he defigned to give the fame day. He had already had his head besmeared with red pigment, in order to communicate a red colour to his hair, which was naturally of a dark brown. The Captain, after breakfast, attended him to the fhore, and found the iflanders very bufy in two places, fixing, in fquare and upright pofition, four very long posts, at the distance of near two feet from each other. They afterwards filled up with yams the space between the posts; and fastened sticks across, from one poft to another, at the distance of every four feet, to prevent the pofts from feparating, by the weight of the inclosed yams, and also to afcend by. As foon as the yams had reached the fummit of the firft pofts, they continued to fasten others to them, till each pile was thirty feet or more in height. They placed, on the top of one of the piles, two baked hogs; and, on the top of the other, a living one; and they tied another by the legs half-way up. The facility and dif patch with which thefe two piles were raised, were remarkable. After they had completed them, they accumulated fome other heaps of yams, and alfo of bread-fruit, on each fide of the area; to which a turtle, and a great quantity of excellent fifh, were added. The whole of this, with fome red feathers, a mat, and a piece of cloth, compofed the king's prefent to Captain Cook. About one o'clock the mai, or dances, were begun.

The

The firft of thefe very nearly resembled the first that was performed at Mareewagee's entertainment. The fecond was conducted by young Toobou; and in this, four or five women were introduced, who equalled the men in the exactnefs and regularity of their motions. Near the end, the performers divided, in order to leave room for two champions, who exercised their clubs. In the third dance, which was the last, two other men, with clubs, exhibited their skill and activity. The dances were fucceeded by boxing and wrestling; and one man entered the lifts with a kind of heavy club, made from the ftem of a cocoa-leaf, but could meet with no opponent to engage him in fo rough a diverfion. Towards the evening, the bomai, or night-dances, began, in which the king himfelf, apparelled in English manufacture, was a performer: but neither thefe, nor the dances in the day-time, were fo capital as thofe of Feenou, or Mareewagee.

The Commodore, in order to be present the whole time, dined on fhore. Poulaho fat down with him, but neither eat nor drank, which was owing to the prefence of a female, who had been admitted, at his requeft, to the dining party, and who, as we were informed in the fequel, was of fuperior rank to himfelf. This lady had no fooner dined, than fhe walked up to Poulaho, who applied his hands to her feet; after which the retired. He immediately dipped his fingers into a glafs

a glafs of wine, and then all her attendants paid him obeifance. At his defire, fome of our fireworks were played off in the evening; but being damaged, they did not answer the expectations of the fpectators.

CHAP. VIII.

Some Officers plundered of their Muskets, and other Articles, by the Natives-Omai complains to the King of this Outrage-Confequences that it was probable might attend it-A Vifit to PoulaboDefcription of a Fiatooka-Country Entertainment at Poulaho's Houfe-His Mourning Ceremony-Beaftly Method of preparing Kava-Account of Onevy-Meffrs. King and Anderson vifit Futtafaibe-Entertained by him-Method of dreffing Hogs, and carving them-Manner of paffing the Night-Obfervations on the CountryPrepare for Departure-Defcription of the Island, its Animals, Vegetables, &c.

N

O more entertainments being expected on either fide, and the curiofity of the populace being in a great degree fatisfied; moft of them deferted us the day after Poulaho's haiva.

Still,