would attend me to Eooa; but, if I did not wait, that he would follow me thither. I understood at the same time, that if it had not been for the death of this woman most of the chiefs would have accompanied us to that island, where, it seems, all of them have possessions. I would gladly have waited to see this ceremony also, had not the tide been now favourable for the ships to get through the narrows. The wind, besides, which, for several days past had been very boisterous, was now moderate and settled; and to have lost this opportunity might have detained us a fortnight longer. But, what was decisive against my waiting, we understood that the funeral ceremonies would last five days; which was too long a time, as the ships lay in such a situation that I could not get to sea at pleasure. I however, assured the King that if we did not sail I should certainly visit him again the next day. And so we all took leave of him, and set out for the ships, where we arrived about 8 o'clock in the evening.

I had forgot to mention that Omai was present at this second day's ceremony as well as myself; but we were not together, nor did I know that he was there till it was almost over. He afterwards told me that as soon as the King saw that I had stolen out from the plantation, he sent several people one after another to desire me to come back. Probably these messengers were not admitted to the place where I was; for I saw nothing of them. At last intelligence was brought to the chief that I had actually stripped in conformity to their custom; and then he told Omai that he might be present also, if he would comply with all the necessary forms. Omai had no objection, as nothing was required of him but to conform to the custom of his own country. Accordingly he was furnished with a proper dress, and appeared at the ceremony as one of the natives. It is likely that one reason of our being excluded at first was an apprehension that we would not submit to the requisites to qualify us to assist.

While I was attending the "Natche" at Mooa, I ordered the horses, bull and cow, and goats, to be brought thither, thinking that they would be safer there, under the eyes of the chiefs, than at a place that would be in a manner deserted the moment after our departure. Besides the above-mentioned animals, we left with our friends here a young boar and three young sows of the English breed. They were exceedingly desir ous of them, judging, no doubt, that they would greatly improve their own breed, which is rather small. Feenou also got from us two rabbits, a buck, and a doe; and before we sailed we were told that young ones had been already produced. If the cattle succeed, of which I make no doubt, it will be a vast acquisition to these islands; and as Tongataboo is a fine level country, the horses cannot but be useful.

[Weighing anchor on the morning of the 10th, the ships got with some difficulty through the channel, and did not weather the east end of Tongataboo before 10 o'clock next night. On the morning of the 12th they anchored off Middleburg Island, called by the natives Eooa, or English Road-the name Cook had given to his station in 1773.]

We had no sooner anchored than Taoofa the chief1 and several other natives visited us on board, and seemed to rejoice much at our arrival. In a little time I went ashore with him in search of fresh water, the procuring of which was the chief object that brought me to Eooa. I had been told at Tongataboo that there was here a stream running from the hills into the sea, but this was not the case now. I was first conducted to a brackish spring, between low and high water mark amongst rocks in the cove where we landed, and where no one would ever have thought of looking for what we wanted. However, I be

1 In the account of Captain Cook's former voyage, he calls the only chief he then met with at this place Tioony.-Note in Original Edition.

lieve the water of this spring might be good, were it possible to take it up before the tide mixes with it. Finding that we did not like this, our friends took us a little way into the island, where in a deep chasm we found very good water, which, at the expense of some time and trouble, might be conveyed down to the shore by means of spouts or troughs that could be made with plantain leaves and the stem of the tree. But rather than undertake that tedious task I resolved to rest contented with the supply the ships had got at Tongataboo. Before I returned on board I set on foot a trade for hogs and yams. Of the former we could procure but few, but of the latter plenty. I put ashore at this island the ram and two ewes of the Cape of Good Hope breed of sheep, entrusting them to the care of Taoofa, who seemed proud of his charge. It was fortunate, perhaps, that Mareewagee, to whom I had given them, as before mentioned, slighted the present. Eooa, not having as yet got any dogs upon it, seems to be a properer place than Tongataboo for the rearing of sheep. As we lay at anchor, this island bore a very different aspect from any we had lately seen, and formed a most beautiful landscape. It is higher than any we had passed since leaving New Zealand (as Kao may justly be reckoned an immense rock), and from its top, which is almost flat, declines very gently toward the sea. As the other isles of this cluster are level, the eye can discover nothing but the trees that cover them; but here the land, rising gently upward, presents us with an extensive prospect, where groves of trees are only interspersed at irregular distances in beautiful disorder, and the rest covered with grass. Near the shore, again, it is quite shaded with various trees, amongst which are the habitations of the natives; and to the right of our station was one of the most extensive groves of cocoa-palms we had

ever seen.

Soon after we weighed, and with a light breeze at SE. stood out to sea;

621

and then Taoofa and a few other natives that were in the ship left us. On heaving up the anchor, we found that the cable had suffered considerably by the rocks, so that the bottom in this road is not to be depended upon. Besides this, we experienced that a prodigious swell rolls in there from the SW. We had not been long under sail before we observed a sailing canoe coming from Tongataboo, and entering the creek before which we had anchored. Some hours after, a small canoe, conducted by four men, came off to us, for as we had but little wind, we were still at no great distance from the land. These men told us that the sailing canoe which we had seen arrive from Tongataboo had brought orders to the people of Eooa to furnish us with a certain number of hogs, and that in two days the King and other chiefs would be with us. They therefore desired we would return to our former station. There was no reason to doubt the truth of what these men told us. Two of them had actually come from Tongataboo in the sailing canoe, and they had no view in coming off to us but to give this intelligence. However, as we were now clear of the land, it was not a sufficient inducement to bring me back, especially as we had already on board a stock of fresh provisions sufficient in all probability to last during our passage to Otaheite. Besides Taoofa's present, we had got a good quantity of yams at Eooa in exchange chiefly for small nails. Our supply of hogs was also considerably increased there, though doubtless we should have got many more if the chiefs of Tongataboo had been with us, whose property they mostly were. At the approach of night these men, finding that we would not return, left us, as also some others who had come off in two canoes with a few cocoanuts and shaddocks to exchange them for what they could get; the eagerness of these people to get into their possession more of our commodities inducing them to follow the ships out to sea, and to continue their intercourse with us to the last moment.

CHAPTER X.1

THUS we took leave of the Friendly Islands and their inhabitants, after a stay of between two and three months, during which time we lived together in the most cordial friendship. Some accidental differences, it is true, now and then happened, owing to their great propensity to thieving, but too often encouraged by the negligence of our own people. But these differences were never attended with any fatal consequences, to prevent which all my measures were directed; and I believe few on board our ships left our friends here without some regret. The time employed amongst them was not thrown away. We expended very little of our sea provisions, subsisting in general upon the produce of the islands while we stayed, and carrying away with us a quantity of refreshments sufficient to last till our arrival at another station, where we could depend upon a fresh supply. I was not sorry, besides, to have had an opportunity of bettering the condition of these good people, by leaving the useful animals before mentioned among them; and at the same time those designed for Otaheite received fresh strength in the pastures of Tongataboo. Upon the whole, therefore, the advantages we received by touching here were very great; and I had the additional satisfaction to reflect that they were received without retarding one moment the prosecution of the great object of our voyage; the season for proceeding to the north being, as

1 This, and the subsequent Chapter of Book II., devoted to an account of the Friendly Isles and their inhabitants, although obstructing not a little the course of Cook's narrative, have been retained with some unimportant or desirable omissions, condensations, and as giving, mainly from his own pen and his own observation, a lively picture of one of the great Australasian communities which he first unveiled to the knowledge of the world.

has been already observed, lost before I took the resolution of bearing away for these islands. But besides the immediate advantages which both the natives of the Friendly Islands and ourselves received by this visit, future navigators from Europe, if any such should ever tread our steps, will profit by the knowledge I acquired of the geography of this part of the Pacific Ocean; and the more philosophical reader, who loves to view human nature in new situations, and to speculate on singular but faithful representations of the persons, the customs, the arts, the religion, the government, and the language of uncultivated man in remote and fresh discovered quarters of the globe, will perhaps find matter of amusement, if not of instruction, in the information which I have been enabled to convey to him concerning the inhabitants of this archipelago. I shall suspend my narrative of the progress of the voy age, while I faithfully relate what I had opportunities of collecting on these several topics.

[Best articles for traffic at Friendly Islands: iron, tools, and nails of all kinds, red cloth, linen, lookingglasses, and beads-useful and ornamental commodities not always swaying the market with equal power, though the useful have generally the preference. In exchange may be procured hogs, fowl, fish, yams, bread-fruit, plantains, cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane, and everything that can be got at the Society Islands, though not all of equally good quality. Good water is scarce, but indifferent may be had on all the islands.]

Under the denomination of Friendly Islands we must include not only the group at Hapaee which I visited, but also all those islands that have been discovered nearly under the same meridian to the north, as well as some others that have never been seen hitherto by any European navigators, but are under the dominion of Tongataboo, which, though not the largest, is the capital and seat of government. According to the information that we received there, this

the Dolphin; the only single ship | from Europe, as far as we have ever learned, that had touched of late years at any island in this part of the Pacific Ocean prior to my former visit to the Friendly Islands. I

But the most considerable islands in this neighbourhood that we now heard of (and we heard a great deal about them) are Hamoa, Vavaoo, and Feejee. Each of these was represented to us as larger than Tongataboo. No European that we know of has as yet seen any one of them. Tasman, indeed, lays down in his chart an island nearly in the situation where I suppose Vavaoo to be; that is, about the Latitude of 19°. But then that island is there marked as a very small one; whereas Vavaoo, according to the united testimony of all our friends at Tongataboo, exceeds the size of their own island, and has high mountains. I should certainly have visited it, and have accompanied Feenou from Hapaee, if he had not then discouraged me by representing it to be very inconsiderable and without any harbour. But Poulaho, the King, afterwards assured me that it was a large island, and that it not only produced everything in common with Tongataboo, but had the peculiar advantage of possessing several streams of fresh water, with as good a harbour as that which we found at his capital island. He offered to attend me if I would visit it; adding that if I did not find everything agreeing with his representation, I might kill him. I had not the least doubt of the truth of his

1 See Captain Wallis's voyage, in Hawkesworth's Collection. Captain Wallis there calls both these islands high ones. But the superior height of one of them may be inferred from his saying that it appears like a sugarloaf. This strongly marks its resemblance to Kao. From comparing Poulaho's intelligence to Captain Cook, with Captain Wallis's account, it seems to be past all doubt that Boscawen's Island is our Kootahee, and Keppel's Island our Neeootabootaboo.-Note in Original Edition.

intelligence; and was satisfied that Feenou, from some interested view, attempted to deceive me.

Hamoa, which is also under the dominion of Tongataboo, lies two days' sail NW. from Vavaoo. It was described to me as the largest of all their islands, as affording harbours and good water, and as producing in abundance every article of refreshment found at the places we visited. Poulaho himself frequently resides there. It should seem that the people of this island are in high estimation at Tongataboo, for we were told that some of the songs and dances with which we were entertained had been copied from theirs, and we saw some houses said to be built after their fashion.

They

Feejee, as we were told, lies three days' sail from Tongataboo in the direction of NW. by W. It was described to us as a high but very fruitful island, abounding with hogs, dogs, fowls, and all kinds of fruit and roots that are found in any of the others, and as much larger than Tongataboo, to the dominion of which, as was represented to us, it is not subject, as the other islands of this archipelago are. On the contrary, Feejee and Tongataboo frequently make war upon each other; and it appeared from several circumstances that the inhabitants of the latter are much afraid of this enemy. used to express their sense of their own inferiority to the Feejee men by bending their body forward, and covering the face with their hands. And it is no wonder that they should be under this dread, for those of Feejee are formidable on account of the dexterity with which they use their bows and slings, but much more so on account of the savage practice to which they are addicted, like those of New Zealand, of eating their enemies whom they kill in battle. We were satisfied that this was not a misrepresentation; for we met with seve ral Feejee people at Tongataboo, and on inquiring of them they did not deny the charge.

Now that I am again led to speak