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now began to run, and Mr. Mariner with four of the natives who were engaged with a separate party of the enemy, found it necessary to decamp also in crossing a field of high grass, Mr. Mariner fell into a hole six feet deep; his four faithful friends were resolved to save him, and three defended the place with their spears, while one helped him out: one of the three was killed on the spot. Being extricated from his perilous situation, and finding a large body of the enemy close upon them, they resolved to sell their lives to the utmost advantage. At this moment, their own party looking round and seeing these four bravely make a stand, came up with all speed to their assistance, and a general battle took place, which was obstinately fought for some time, but at length the enemy was completely put to the rout. Whilst this was going forward, a Hapai chief at some distance from this party met a Tonga chief under the same circumstances: they immediately engaged with their clubs; one however being soon disarmed, and the other having broken his club, they fought a long time with their fists; and when they were so weak that they could not strike, they grappled with each other, and both fell to the ground unable to stand any longer: the Tonga chief, inca

pable of injuring his antagonist in any other way, got his fingers into his mouth, and gnawed them dreadfully after having thus laid for a long time looking at each other, they gathered a little fresh strength, and by mutual agreement each crawled home to his respective fort.

The Hapai men, on their way back to Nioocalofa, found several of their party in different parts of the road, who were unable to proceed on account of their wounds. But they were too weak themselves to carry them, and were obliged to leave them to the mercy of the enemy. They at length arrived at the colo, tired and fatigued beyond conception, with about fifteen prisoners.

The following day, some of the younger chiefs, who had contracted the Feejee habits, proposed to kill the prisoners, lest they should make their escape, and then to roast and eat them. This proposal was readily agreed to, by some, because they liked this sort of diet, and by others because they wanted to try it, thinking it a manly and warlike habit: there was also another motive, viz. a great scarcity of provisions; for some canoes which had been sent to the Hapai islands for provisions were unaccountably detained, and the garrison was already threatened with distress. Some of the

prisoners were soon dispatched: their flesh was cut up into small portions, washed with seawater, wrapped up in plantain leaves, and roasted under hot stones: two or three were embowelled and baked whole the same as a pig*. Mr. Mariner was not tempted to partake of this kind of diet, though the smell of it, when cooked, was exceedingly delicious. A few days now elapsed without any signs of the canoes from Hapai, and the distress of those who did not choose to eat human flesh was very great. Mr. Mariner had been two days and a half without eating any thing: when, passing by a house where they were cooking something, he walked in, with the pleasing hope of getting something that his stomach would bear, if it were only a piece of a rat; on enquiry, he was told, they had got some pork, and a man offered him a piece of liver, which he eagerly accepted, and was raising to his mouth, when he saw, by the smile on the countenance of the man, that it was human liver; overcome by disgust, he threw it in the man's face, who only laughed, and asked him if it was not better to eat good meat than die of hunger.

When Captain Cook visited these islands,

* For their different methods of cooking, reference must be made to the second vol. of the work.

cannibalism was scarcely thought of amongst them but the Feejee people soon taught them this, as well as the art of war; and a famine, which happened some time afterwards, rendered the expedient for a time almost necessary. On this occasion they way-laid and murdered one another to supply themselves with food; and they still tell an anecdote of four brothers, who, in this time of scarcity, invited their aunt to come and partake of a large yam, which they said they had secretly procured: the poor woman, glad of the idea of getting something to eat, and pleased with the kindness of her nephews, went to their house, where they soon dispatched her, and she herself formed the materials of a repast. Since that period, there was a great scarcity at one of the fortresses on the island of Tonga, called Nookoo Nookoo: two daughters of a chief of this place agreed to play at the game of lafo* against two young chiefs belonging to the same place, upon the following conditions: if the girls won the game, they were to divide a yam, which they had in their possession, and give half to the young chiefs; but if, on the contrary, these won the game, they were still to have half the yam, but were to go out and kill a man, and

* This game will be described in the second vol. of the work.

give half his body to the girls: the result was, that the latter won the game, and giving half their yam to the two chiefs, waited for the performance of their agreement. The two young men set out, under cover of the darkness of the night, and concealed themselves near an enemy's fortress. Early in the morning, a man came out of the fortress to fetch some salt water from the shore in cocoa-nut shells, which he carried with him for the purpose. When he approached the place where the two lay concealed, they started out upon him, killed him with their clubs, and, at the risk of their lives, brought his body to Nookoo Nookoo, where they divided it in half, and faithfully performed their promise with the young women. It was more than a fortnight before the canoes returned from the Hapai islands with a supply of provisions, owing to the bad state of the weather. Shortly after, the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo sent to request leave to bury the dead bodies of their relations who had fallen during the siege. This being granted, they came and singled out about half a dozen, from the 350 that lay about, whom they knew, from particular circumstances, to be their relations. These they took home to Nookoo Nookoo, leaving all the rest where they found them.

Every day a number of deserters from dif

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