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like immense mustaches, giving them a very formidable appearance. The worst feature of their barbarism is the horrible practice of eating human flesh, which they carry to a greater extent than any of the other Fiji people. The chief of the island was reported to have a remarkable appetite in this way, we must not take him therefore as a sample for the rest; for he was not in the habit of sacrificing his prisoners immediately, (finding them perhaps too tough for his delicate stomach,) but of actually ordering them to be operated on, and put such a state as to get both fat and tender, afterwards to be killed as he might want them. The hands and feet, particularly the latter, are considered the choicest parts.

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It may here be remarked, that cannibalism is more or less practised on all the Fiji islands, and has its origin, no doubt, in the constant wars in which the people are engaged: not that war among savage nations universally gives occasion to so horrid a custom, (for indeed we have many instances to the contrary ;) but in those uncultivated nations, where a spirit of national hatred and thirst of revenge, on some extraordinary occasions run very high, it appears to be an instinct of uncultivated nature, to crown the catastrophe by a feast at which

civilized humanity revolts, particularly where a scarcity of provisions exists at the same time. At the Fiji islands war and devastation are much more frequent than at the Tonga islands, consequently scarcity is also much more frequent, and cannibalism accordingly much more practised. The island of Navihi Levoo is more troubled by intestine war than the other Fiji islands, and the people are greater cannibals. At the Tonga islands in particular, it may be remarked, that the island of Tonga (properly so called) is constantly in a state of war, and scarcity consequently is much more common there than at the other Tonga islands, and cannibalism, therefore, much less shuddered at. At the island of Tonga, indeed, this inhuman ha

* Mr. Mariner had from good authority a circumstance that may be mentioned here as illustrative of the point in question. A certain man at Tonga had a violent hatred to another, whom he sought an opportunity of killing in battle; at length he succeeded; and, cutting open the body, dissected off the liver, and took it home to his house. He tied the liver up in a piece of gnatoo, and whenever he wanted to drink water or cocoa-nut milk, he would dip it in, and then squeezing out some of the juice into his beverage, drink it off to satisfy his revenge: this fact was universally known and spoken of, but with much disgust. The cause of his enmity was the ill usage which his wife had received on being taken prisoner by the other. Mr. Mariner knew the man.

bit is by no means so general as at the Fiji islands, but then it has not been the scene of warfare for more than about twenty years, whereas the Fiji islands have been familiar, more or less, with this scourge of the human race, from time immemorial.

Now we are upon this subject, we may mention, that at Tonga, the natives report that some time before Mr. Mariner's arrival among them, an European ship touched there, the boat of which, on landing near Mafanga, had a quarrel with some of the natives, in consequence of which, three of her crew were killed and dragged up the country. These the

natives embowelled and dressed the same as pork, and several ate heartily of them; but shortly afterwards they were all taken very ill, being attacked with nausea and vomiting to a violent degree, and three of them actually died. Some of the natives attributed this circumstance to an unwholsome quality in white man's flesh, others to the superior power of the gods of England, in the way of revenge for killing white men. They were strongly corroborated in their opinion of the superiority of the gods of England, by the circumstance that every man who had been actively concerned in the conspiracy against the Port au Prince,

happened either to be killed in battle or to die of disease, during the time Mr. Mariner remained at these islands; and they would often question him whether it were not owing to the interference of the English gods as a punishment; to which he always answered them in the affirmative, with a view to his own safety, and to inspire them with respect for the invisible powers, which, according to their notions, presided over the welfare of England and of Englishmen. Some of the natives, in joke, used to say, that they would kill Mr. Mariner, to see if the hotooas (gods) of England would revenge his death, alleging their disbelief in the unsolicited agency of the English hotooas, and their opinion rather that Mr. Mariner himself had been the cause of their death by his prayers, soliciting his gods to revenge the death of his countrymen. This, however, was a notion chiefly of the lower orders: the higher classes were of opinion, that the hotooas of England operated of their own accord, without any intervention or prayer. Finow was strongly of this opinion, observing that it was but fair to suppose that, in the same proportion as the white men were superior to them in knowledge, so were the hotooas of white men superior to

their hotooas in divine power. But to return from this digression.

Cow Mooala, after remaining a considerable time at Navihi Leyoo, sailed with his people for Tacownove, which is a district on the western side of Pau, the largest of the Fiji islands. Pau is much resorted to by American vessels, and vessels from Port Jackson, for sandalwood, which grows to perfection only at a certain part of the island, called Vooi'a. The principal market for this article is China; and the demand for it is so great, in proportion to the smallness of the place which produces it, that it is now growing scarce, and, consequently, dearer. Formerly they would give a considerable quantity for a few nails, but now they demand axes and chisels, and those, too, of the best quality, for they have gradually become judges of such things: whales' teeth are also given in exchange for it. The chiefs of the Fiji islands very seldom oil themselves, and, consequently, require very little of this wood, the principal use of it being to scent the oil. The natives of the Tonga islands, however, who require a considerable quantity of it for the above purpose, complain heavily of its scarcity; and what renders the matter still worse for them, is, that the Fiji people, demanding a

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