perfectly naked, and arranged side by side in even order. They were so dreadfully bruised and battered about the head, that only two or three of them could be recognized. At this time a man had just counted them, and was reporting the number to the chief, who sat in the hammock-nettings; immediately after which they began to throw them overboard. Mr. Mariner and the cooper were now brought into the presence of the chief, who looked at them awhile and smiled, probably on account of their dirty appearance. Mr. Mariner was then given in charge to a petty chief to be taken on shore, but the cooper was detained on board. In his way to the shore the chief took his shirt from his back. The circumstance of his having just escaped death was by no means a consolation to him: reserved for he knew not what hardships, he felt his mind hardened by a sort of careless indifference as to what might happen; if he had any consoling hope at all, it was that he might be going on shore to fall by the club of some sanguinary chief not sated with that day's slaughter. His companions, for ought he knew, were all killed; at least, he was morally certain that himself and the cooper* were the only persons living of all who were on board at the time this most bloody massacre was perpetrated and as to those, who, from bad or injudicious motives, had left the ship the day before, they were probably, by this time at least, secured, and waiting, like himself, with anxious desire to know whether speedy death or degrading slavery was to be their portion. In a little while he was landed, and led to the most northern part of the island, a place called Cc-oolo, where he saw, without being much affected at the sight, the cause of all that day's disasters, Mr. Brown, the whaling-inaster, lying dead upon the beach : the body was naked, and much bruised about the head and chest. They asked Mr. Mariner, by words and signs, if they had done right in killing him ;- —as he returned them no answer, one of them lifted up his club to knock out his brains, but was prevented by a superior chief, who ordered them to take their prisoner on board a large sailing canoe. Whilst here, he observed upon the beach an old man, whose countenance did not speak much in his favour, pa * There were two others, the boatswain, and one of the crew, who were on board at the time, and also escaped; but they were taken on shore before Mr. Mariner and the cooper made their appearance upon deck. This circumstance he did not know till some time afterwards. rading up and down with a large club in his hand. At this time a boy, who had just come into the canoe, pointed to a fire at a little distance, and addressing himself to Mr. Mariner, pronounced the word máte* (meaning to kill,) and made such signs that could give him to understand nothing less than that he was to be killed and roasted this idea roused him from his state of mental torpor, and gave him some alarm, which was not lessened by the sight of the old man just mentioned, who appeared in no other light than that of an executioner waiting for his victim. About half an hour af terwards a number of people came to the canoe, landed him, and led him towards the fire, near which he saw, lying dead, James Kelly, William Baker, and James Hoay, three of those who had first mutinied. Some hogs were now brought to be cooked; and Mr. Mariner was pretty well undeceived respecting what he had understood from the gestures of the boy in the canoe, who, it was now sufficiently evident, merely meant to imply that some of Mr. Mariner's countrymen lay dead where he pointed, and that they were going to roast or bake some hogs there. From this place he was led towards the island of Foa. On the way they stopped at a hut, where they stripped him of his trowsers, notwithstanding his earnest solicitations to retain them; for he already felt the effect of the sun upon his back, and dreaded a total exposure to its heat. He was now led about bare-footed, and without any thing to cover him, the heat blistering his skin in a most shocking manner. Every now and then some or other of the natives came up to him from motives of curiosity, felt his skin to compare it with their own, or likened it rather (as he afterwards understood) to the skin of a scraped hog, from its whiteness: from malice or rather wantonness they spat upon him, pushed him about, and threw sticks and cocoa-nut shells at him, so that his head was cut in several places. After having thus tantalized and led him about for a considerable length of time, as fast as the -soreness of his feet would permit him to walk, a woman happening to pass near at hand, from motives of compassion gave him an apron made of the leaves of the chee-tree, with which he was permitted to cover himself. Coming at length to a hut, they entered * The word máte (pronounced something like mártay) is the common word throughout the South Sea Islands for "to kill ;" and Mr. M. had learnt it at the Sandwich Islands. and sat down to drink cava,* putting him in a corner, and desiring him by signs to sit down, it being considered very disrespectful to stand up before a superior; the principle of which point of etiquette will be explained in another place. Whilst his persecutors were thus regaling themselves, a man entered the hut in great haste; and having said something to the company, took Mr. Mariner away with him. As they were going along they met one of the Sandwich islanders, whom the Port au Prince had brought from Anahooroo Bay, who gave Mr. Mariner to understand that Finow, the king of the islands, had sent for him. When he arrived in the king's presence, the king beckoned to him, and made signs that he should sit near him. As he entered the place, the king's women, who sat at the other end of the room, at the sight of him in the deplorable condition in which he was, with one voice uttered a cry of pity, beating their breasts, and exclaiming, O yaoo! chiodofa! Alas! poor young man! Fortunately for Mr. Mariner, Finow had taken an extraordinary liking to him from the first moment he had seen him on board; he thought he was the captain's son, or at least a young chief of some consequence in his own country; and he accordingly had given orders, that if they found it necessary to kill the white men, they should, at any rate, preserve Mr. Mariner's life. The king put his nose to his forehead (a mark of friendly salutation ;) and soon after observing that he was very dirty, and much wounded, he desired one of his women attendants to take him to a pond within the fencing of the house, where he might wash himself. Here he made himself as clean as mere water could make him; but finding the dirt did not come readily off his feet, she brought some sand, and began to scrub them with it when he complained that this hurt him, she said something, which, at that time, he did not clearly understand, implying, that such was the Tonga mode of washing. Being now pretty well washed, he again came in presence of the king, and was sent to the other end of the house, where he was oiled all over with sandal-wood oil, which felt very agreeable, alleviating the smart of his wounds, and greatly refreshing him. He now received a mat to lie down on, where, overcome by fatigue, both of mind and body, he soon fell fast asleep. During the night he was awaken * An infusion of the root of a species of the pepper plant, the mode of preparing which, and ceremony of drinking it will be described hereafter in a more proper place, ed by one of the women, who brought him some baked pork and some yam; but being somehow prejudiced against the pork, lest it should be human flesh, he did not taste it, but ate heartily of the yam, not having tasted any thing since breakfast the preceding day. On getting up the next morning, he was much surprised at perceiving every body with their heads shaved: a practice which is always adopted at the burial of Tooitonga, a great personage hereafter to be described, whose funeral was performed that day. In the course of the morning Finow took him on board the ship, where he was much gratified in meeting several of the crew, who had been ordered on board to bring the ship close in shore. The king's orders being understood, they cut the cables and worked her in shore, through a very narrow passage, so full of rocks and shoals, that, untried, it would have been considered unnavigable. Through the medium of Tooi Tooi the king had been previously informed, that unless his men (which were about 400 in number) were to sit down, and remain perfectly quiet, it would be impossible to work the ship, the Englishmen being only about fourteen in number. The moment Finow had given orders to his men, he was most implicitly obeyed; they sat down, and not a word was spoken, nor the least perceptible noise made by them during the whole time, no more than if none of them were on board. The ship was brought within half a cable's length of the shore, through the narrow passage just mentioned, and run aground according to Finow's orders. CHAPTER III. The ship plundered by Finow's orders-Accidents on board-The ship burned-Guns hauled on shore-Visit to the island of Whiha-Surprise of the natives at the sight of a watch-Mr. Mariner deprived of his books and papers, as being considered instruments of witchcraft-Anecdote of the missionaries-Remarks on the present state of the islands, compared with that when Captain Cook visited them-Political history of the istands during the foregoing twelve or fifteen years, viz. Expedition to the Fiji Islands-Insurrection at Tonga-Assassination of the king-Civil war-Return of the expedition to the Fiji Islands, which joins the insurgents-Finow conquers the Hapai Islands-His cruelty towards his prisoners——Annual invasion of the Island of Tonga—Mr. Mariner and his companions receive orders to join an expedition against the Island of Tonga, and to employ the guns-Anecdote of an insane woman-Finow's fleet sails for Namooca-The fleet arrives off a consecrated place at TongaDescription of a ceremony called Toogi-Preparations for battle-Description of the fortification of Nioocalofa. AFTER the ship was run aground, the following two or three days were employed in striking the masts, and conveying on shore two of the carronades and eight barrels of gunpowder; all that remained was too much damaged for use. Many of the natives, in the mean while, were busily engaged in stripping the upper works of their iron, and knocking the hoops off the casks in the hold; iron being a most valuable commodity to them. During these operations the ground tier of oil, the hoops being knocked off the casks, burst out, and suffocated eight of the natives. In consequence of this great discharge of oil, the water in the hold was covered with it to the depth of two feet. Two men, who had struggled out of this body of water and oil, strongly expressed their amazement (as they afterwards explained themselves to Mr. Mariner, when he understood their language) at the difficulty they experienced in rising through the oil: they could swim in the water below easily enough, but as soon as they emerged from the water into the stratum of oil above, the less specific gravity of the latter rendered their ascent difficult. They comprehended the reason, however, very well, as soon as he had learned the language suffi |