1 Islands and Vavaoo, and look to their own pos sessions, rather than run the risk of losing them and their lives in a dangerous war at the island of Tonga, where the partisans of the late How were particularly strong. They accordingly set sail for the Hapai Islands, and landed at the nearest of them, Namooca, after a slight resistance from a few of the adherents of Toogoo Ahoo. They soon gained entire possession of Namooca, and thence extended their arms to the neighbouring islands, meeting with little opposition, and gathering additional strength, till they arrived at the island of Haano, where a large body of the enemy were assembled, and in waiting ready to engage them. Here they had an obstinate but decisive battle, which terminated in favour of Finow. Thus was the conquest of all the Hapai islands secured, and of which Finow was acknowledged king. In this battle a number of chiefs and matabooles (mi, nisters and attendants of chiefs) were taken prisoners, all of whom, having been in the immediate service of the late king, were, by the orders of Finow, put to death in various ways. Some were sent on board old and useless canoes, which were then scuttled, and immediately sunk; others were taken three or four leagues out to sea, and being put in old leaky ones, and tied hand and foot, were left gradually to meet their fate. Those against whom Finow entertained the greatest inveteracy were taken to the island of Lofanga, and there tied naked to stakes driven in the ground, or to the trunks of trees, and left to starve to death. Notwithstanding their exposure to the raging heat of the sun, and to every indignity, several of them bore their torments with the greatest fortitude, lin gering till the eighth day, while others of weaker constitutions died in three or four days. Ever since that time, the natives of the place supersti→ tiously believe that they can hear their groans frequently during the night. But this may be occa sioned by the roaring of the surf at a distance, or of the sea in subterraneous caverns, which, working upon the imagination, to a certain extent may resemble the groans of dying people. Finow, and his ally Toobó Nuha, after public rejoicings at Haano, embarked for Vavaoo, where they were allowed to land without opposition. The people of this island, however, had heard of the assassination of Toogoo Ahoo by a canoe from the Hapai Islands, and were determined to resist the claims of Finow, not by an open war, but in a mode much more harassing and tedious; and he accordingly found the reduction of Vavaoo exceedingly troublesome and dangerous. The enemy, always avoiding a general engagement, frequently molested him with sudden and violent assaults, either under cover of the darkness of the night, or during the day from their hiding-places; which mode of warfare so exasperated Finow, who was not on such occasions of the mildest tem. per, he gave orders that all prisoners who were chiefs should be reserved for future and exemplary punishment. The contest lasted about fourteen or fifteen days, during which time the two chiefs separated, and scoured the island all over, conquering wherever they met with opposition. At length * The natives do not regard this as any thing awful, or as a memento of the crime of their chief, but as a matter of curiosity, without attempting to assign any reason for it. Voona, the chief of Vavaoo, having fled to Hamoa (the Navigator's Islands) with a canoe full of other chiefs, Finow found himself master of the whole place, and was declared king, giving up the government of it to Toobó Nuha, as a sort of viceroy, to pay him an annual tribute. All affairs being settled at Vavaoo, Finow returned to the Hapai Islands, to meditate future attempts upon the island of Tonga. In the mean time, affairs went on very badly at Tonga. Toogoo Ahoo left neither son nor brother to succeed him; but he had several distant relations, each of whom put in claims for the sove➡ reignty. A violent civil contention ensued, and the island was soon divided into several petty states. In the course of a little time, each party had built a fort for itself, so that there were at least twelve or thirteen different garrisoned places upon the island. Thus, was the Island of Tonga,' to which war had hitherto been a stranger, torn by civil strife, and at times given up a prey to famine, a situation worse, perhaps, than that underthe tyranny of Toogoo Ahoo. Besides their domestic troubles, every year they were disturbed by attacks from Finow, who made it his annual custom to make a descent upon one or other of their fortresses, and sometimes upon several of them in the same season; but they were all so well fortifed and entrenched, that their enemy, however powerful, consisting of Hapai people, under the command of Finow, and the Vavaoo people, under that of Toobó Nuha, had never succeeded, up to the time of Mr Mariner's arrival, in taking or destroying a single fort; that is to say, during the. space of seven or eight years. This piece of history Mr Mariner heard not only from Finow, but from Toobó Nuha, Tooitonga, and a number of other chiefs, as also, though in detached portions, from several of the inhabitants of the Island of Tonga; and he found an uniform consistency in all their accounts. It will therefore appear, that, at the time of Captain Cook's visit, the whole of Tonga (that is to say, the Island of Tonga, the Hapai Islands, and Vavaoo) was under the sole dominion of Toogoo Ahoo, whose seat of government was on the Island of Tonga, and who received tributes from Finow, chief of the Hapai Islands, and from Voona, chief of Vavaoo. That, at the time of Mr Mariner's first arrival, the Island of Tonga was, and had been for several years, divided into various petty states, all at war with one another, whilst Finow was king of the Hapai Islands and Vavaoo, and Toobó Nuha only tributary chief of the latter place. Mr Mariner, and those of his companions who were with him at the Island of Lefooga, (four in number), now received orders from the king to prepare for the annual attack upon the Island of Tonga, and to get ready four twelve-pound carro nades. They immediately set to work, to mount them upon new carriages with high wheels, made by the native carpenters under their directions; which being done, Finow expressed his opinion, that the gun was an instrument not well fitted for their mode of warfare, which consisted in sudden attacks and retreats, according to circumstances, rather than in a steady engagement. He very Voona, it is related, did not pay his tributes regularly as he ought to have done, but, being a powerful chief, and his possessions so far from the seat of government, Toogoo Ahoo had never ventured to take hostile measures. readily entered into an acknowledgment of the advantages of a steady contest, but was apprehensive that his men would not easily be brought to stand it. Mr Mariner and his companions, however, promised that they and their countrymen (who were dispersed upon other islands), would remain in the front of the battle with their four guns, provided the Tonga people would agree to stand fast and support them. The king assented to this on the part of his men, and a few days afterwards, when he reviewed them, he signified his wishes, and they swore to fulfil their duty. In the mean time the Englishmen employed themselves in collecting the shot which the natives had brought from on board, but which they had thrown aside, not being able to shape them for any common purpose. Every preparation was also making by the natives for the approaching war. They repaired the sails of their canoes, collected their arrows, spears, and clubs; and the women employed themselves in packing up bales of gnatoo✶ mats, &c. One day, whilst these preparations were going forward, the king asked Mr Mariner whether he had a mother living; and upon his replying in the affirmative, he appeared much grieved that he should be separated so far from her. It is a custom in the Tonga islands for men (and sometimes women) to adopt or choose a foster-mother, even though they have their own natural mother living, with a view of being better provided with all necessaries and conveniences, as cloth, oil, food, &c. On this occasion the king appointed one of his wives, Mafi Habe, to be Mr Mariner's adopted mother, telling him, that if there was any thing he * Gnatoo, a sort of cloth made of the bark of the Chinese paper mulberry tree. |