If, during the obscuration, both the wind and the waves should shift (which, within the limits of the trade-wind, seldom happens at any other time), they are then bewildered, frequently miss their intended port, and are never heard of more. The history of Omai's countrymen, who were driven to Wateeoo, leads us to infer, that those not heard of are not always lost.

Of all the harbours and anchoring places I have met with amongst these islands, that of Tongataboo is by far the best; not only on account of its great security, but of its capacity, and of the goodness of its bottom. The risk that we ran in entering it from the north, ought to be a sufficient caution to every future commander not to attempt that passage again with a ship of burden; since the other, by which we left it, is so much more easy and safe. To sail into it by this eastern channel, steer in for the north-east point of the island, and keep along the north shore, with the small isles on your starboard, till you are the length of the east point of the entrance into the lagoon; then edge over for the reef of the small isles; and, on following its direction, it will conduct you through between Makkahaaa and Monooafai, or the fourth and fifth isles, which you will perceive to lie off the west point of the lagoon. Or you may go between the third and fourth islands, that is, between Pangimodoo and Monooafai; but this channel is much narrower than the other. There runs a very strong tide in both. The flood, as I have observed before, comes in from the north-west, and the ebb returns the same way; but I shall speak of the tides in another place. As soon as you are through either of these channels, haul in for the shore of Tongataboo, and anchor between it and Pangimodoo, before a creek leading into the lagoon; into which boats can go at half flood. Although Tongataboo has the best harbour, Annamooka furnishes the best water; and yet it cannot be called good. However, by digging holes near the side of the pond, we can get what may be called tolerable. This island, too, is the best situated for drawing refreshments from all the others, as being nearly in the centre of the whole group. Besides the road in which we anchored, and the harbour within the south-west point, there is a creek in the reef, before the eastern sandy cove on the north side of the island, in which two or three ships may lie very securely, by mooring head and stern, with their anchors or moorings fast to the rocks.

I have already described the IIapaee Islands; and shall only add to that description by mentioning, that they extend south-west by south, and north-east by north, about nineteen miles. The north end lies in the latitude of 19° 39′ S., and 33′ of longitude to the east of Annamooka Between them are a great many small islands, sand-banks, and breakers; so that the safest way to arrive at Hapace is either by the course I held, or round by the north; according to the situation of the ship bound thither. Lefooga, off which we anchored, is the most fertile isle of those that are called Hapace; and, consequently, is the best inhabited. There is anchorage along the north-west side of this island; but it will be necessary to examine the ground well before you moor. For, although the lead may bring up fine sand, there are, nevertheless, some sharp coral rocks that would soon destroy the cables.

•

What has been here omitted, concerning the geography of these islands, will be found in the narrative of my last voyage * To that narrative I must also refer for such particulars concerning the inhabitants, their manners, and arts, as I had observed then, and about which I saw no reason to change my judgment. At present I shall confine myself to such interesting particulars, as either were not mentioned in that narrative, or were imperfectly and incorrectly represented there; and to such as may serve to explain some passages in the foregoing account of our transactions with the natives.

It may, indeed, be expected that, after spending between two and three months amongst them, I should be enabled to clear up every difficulty, and to give a tolerably satisfactory account of their customs, opinions, and institutions, both civil and religious; especially as we had a person on board, who might be supposed qualified to act the part of an interpreter, by understanding their language and ours. But poor Omai was very deficient. For unless the object or thing we wanted to inquire about was actually before us, we found it difficult to gain a tolerable knowledge of it from information only, without falling into a hundred

Vol. I. p. 424.

For, having no

mistakes; and to such mistakes Omai was more liable than we were. curiosity, he never gave himself the trouble to make remarks for himself; and, when he was disposed to explain matters to us, his ideas appeared to be so limited, and, perhaps, so different from ours, that his accounts were often so confused, as to perplex, instead of instructing us. Add to this, that it was very rare that we found, amongst the natives, a person who united the ability and the inclination to give us the information we wanted; and we found that most of them hated to be troubled with what they probably thought idle questions. Our situation at Tongataboo, where we remained the longest, was lik wise unfavourable. It was in a part of the country where there were few inhabitants except fishers. It was always holiday with our visitors, as well as with those we visited; so that we had but few opportunities of observing what was really the domestic way of living of the natives. Under these disadvantages it is not surprising that we should not be able to bring away with us satisfactory accounts of many things; but some of us endeavoured to remedy those disadvantages by diligent observation; and I am indebted to Mr. Anderson for a considerable share of what follows in this and in the following chapter. In other matters I have only expressed, nearly in his words, remarks that coincided with mine; but what relates to the religion and language of these people is entirely his own.

The natives of the Friendly Islands seldom exceed the common stature (though we have measured some who were above six feet); but are very strong and well made, especially as to their limbs. They are generally broad about the shoulders; and though the muscular disposition of the men, which seems a consequence of much action, rather conveys the appearance of strength than of beauty, there are several to be seen who are really handsome. Their features are very various; insomuch, that it is scarcely possible to fix on any general likeness by which to characterise them, unless it be a fulness at the point of the nose, which is very common. But on the other hand, we met with hundreds of truly European faces, and many genuine Roman noses amongst them. Their eyes and teeth are good; but the last neither so remarkably white, nor so well set, as is often found amongst Indian nations; though, to balance that, few of them have any uncommon thickness about the lips, a defect as frequent as the other perfection. The women are not so much distinguished from the men by their features as by their general form, which is, for the most part, destitute of that strong fleshy firmness that appears in the latter. Though the features of some are so delicate as not only to be a true index of their sex, but to lay claim to a considerable share of beauty and expression, the rule is by no means so general as in many other countries. But, at the same time, this is frequently the most exceptionable part; for the bodies and limbs of most of the females are well proportioned; and some absolutely perfect models of a beautiful figure. But the most remarkable distinction in the women, is the uncommon smallness and delicacy of their fingers, which may be put in competition with the finest in Europe.

The general colour is a cast deeper than the copper brown; but several of the men and women have a true olive complexion; and some of the last are even a great deal fairer; which is probably the effect of being less exposed to the sun; as a tendency to corpulence, in a few of the principal people, seems to be the consequence of a more indolent life. It is also amongst the last, that a soft clear skin is most frequently observed. Amongst the bulk of the people, the skin is more commonly of a dull hue, with some degree of roughness, especially the parts that are not covered; which, perhaps, may be occasioned by some cutaneous disease. We saw a man and boy at Hapaee, and a child at Annamooka, perfectly white. Such have been found amongst all black nations; but I apprehend that their colour is rather a disease than a natural phenomenon. There are, nevertheless, upon the whole, few natural defects or deformities to be found amongst them; though we saw two or three with their feet bent inward; and some afflicted with a sort of blindness, occasioned by a disease of the cornea. Neither are they exempt from some other diseases; the most common of which is the tetter, or ring-worm, that seems to affect almost one-half of them, and leaves whitish serpentine marks everywhere behind it. But this is of less consequence than another disease which is very frequent, and appears on every part of the body, in large broad ulcers, with thick white edges, discharging a thin clear matter; some of which had a very virulent appearance, particularly those on the face, which were shocking

*

to look at; and yet we met with some who seemed to be cured of it, and others in a fair way of being cured; but this was not effected without the loss of the nose, or of the best part of it. As we know for a certainty (and the fact is acknowledged by themselves), that the people of these islands were subject to this loathsome disease before the English first visited them, notwithstanding the similarity of symptoms, it cannot be the effect of the venereal contagion; unless we adopt a supposition, which I could wish had sufficient foundation in truth, that the venereal disorder was not introduced here from Europe by our ships in 1773. It assuredly was now found to exist amongst them; for we had not been long there before some of our people received the infection; and I had the mortification to learn from thence, that all the care I took, when I first visited these islands, to prevent this dreadful disease from being communicated to their inhabitants, had proved ineffectual. What is extraordinary, they do not seem to regard it much; and as we saw few signs of its destroying effects, probably the climate, and the way of living of these people, greatly abate its virulence. There are two other diseases frequent amongst them; one of which is an indolent firm swelling, which affects the legs and arms, and increases them to an extraordinary size in their whole length. The other is a tumour of the same sort in the testicles, which sometimes exceed the size of the two fists. But, in other respects, they may be considered as uncommonly healthy; not a single person having been seen, during our stay, confined to the house by sickness of any kind. On the contrary, their strength and activity are every way answerable to their muscular appearance; and they exert both, in their usual employment, and in their diversions, in such a manner, that there can be no doubt of their being as yet little debilitated by the numerous diseases that are the consequence of indolence, and an unnatural method of life. The graceful air and firm step with which these people walk, are not the least obvious proof of their personal accomplishments. They consider this as a thing so natural or so necessary to be acquired, that nothing used to excite their laughter sooner than to see us frequently stumbling upon the roots of trees, or other inequalities of the ground."

Their countenances very remarkably express the abundant mildness or good-nature which they possess; and are entirely free from that savage keenness which marks nations in a barbarous state. One would, indeed, be apt to fancy, that they had been bred up under the severest restrictions, to acquire an aspect so settled, and such a command of their passions as well as steadiness in conduct. But they are, at the same time, frank, cheerful, and goodhumoured; though sometimes, in the presence of their chiefs, they put on a degree of gravity, and such a serious air as becomes stiff and awkward, and has an appearance of reserve. Their peaceable disposition is sufficiently evinced from the friendly reception all strangers have met with who have visited them. Instead of offering to attack them openly or clandestinely, as has been the case with most of the inhabitants of these seas, they have never appeared in the smallest degree hostile; but, on the contrary, like the most civilised people, have courted an intercourse with their visitors by bartering, which is the only medium that unites all nations in a sort of friendship. They understand barter (which they call fukkatou) so perfectly, that at first we imagined they might have acquired this knowledge of it by commercial intercourse with the neighbouring islands; but we were afterward assured that they had little or no traffic, except with Feejee, from which they get the red feathers, and the few other articles mentioned before. Perhaps, no nation in the world traffic with more honesty and less distrust. We could always safely permit them to examine our goods, and to hand them about, one to another; and they put the same confidence in us. If either party repented of the bargain, the goods were re-exchanged with mutual consent and goodhumour. Upon the whole, they seem possessed of many of the most excellent qualities that adorn the human mind; such as industry, ingenuity, perseverance, affability, and, perhaps, other virtues which our short stay with them might prevent our observing.

The only defect sullying their character, that we knew of, is a propensity to thieving; to which we found those of all ages and both sexes addicted, and to an uncommon degree. It should, however, be considered that this exceptionable part of their conduct seemed to exist

*See Vol. I. p. 494, where Captain Cook gives a particular account of meeting with a person afflicted with this disease, at Annamooka, on his landing there in 1773.

merely with respect to us; for in their general intercourse with one another, I had reason to be of opinion that thefts do not happen more frequently (perhaps less so) than in other countries, the dishonest practices of whose worthless individuals are not supposed to authorise any indiscriminate censure on the whole body of the people. Great allowances should be made for the foibles of these poor natives of the Pacific Ocean, whose minds we overpowered with the glare of objects equally new to them as they were captivating. Stealing, amongst the civilised and enlightened nations of the world, may well be considered as denoting a character deeply stained with moral turpitude, with avarice unrestrained by the known rules of right, and with profligacy producing extreme indigence, and neglecting the means of relieving it. But at the Friendly and other Islands which we visited, the thefts so frequently committed by the natives, of what we had brought along with us, may be fairly traced to less culpable motives. They seemed to arise solely from an intense curiosity or desire to possess something which they had not been accustomed to before, and belonging to a sort of people so different from themselves. And, perhaps, if it were possible, that a set of beings seemingly as superior in our judgment as we are in theirs, should appear amongst us, it might be doubted whether our natural regard to justice would be able to restrain many from falling into the same error. That I have assigned the true motive for their propensity to this practice, appears from their stealing everything indiscriminately at first sight, before they could have the least conception of converting their prize to any one useful purpose. But, I believe, with us, no person would forfeit his reputation, or expose himself to punishment, without knowing beforehand how to employ the stolen goods. Upon the whole, the pilfering disposition of these islanders, though certainly disagreeable and troublesome to strangers, was the means of affording us some information as to the quickness of their intellects. For their small thefts were committed with much dexterity; and those of greater consequence with a plan or scheme suited to the importance of the objects. An extraordinary instance of the last sort, their attempts to carry away one of the Discovery's anchors at mid-day, has been already related.

Their hair is in general straight, thick, and strong, though a few have it bushy or frizzled. The natural colour, I believe, almost without exception, is black; but the greatest part of the men, and some of the women, have it stained of a brown or purple colour, and a few of an orange cast. The first colour is produced by applying a sort of plaster of burnt coral, mixed with water; the second by the raspings of a reddish wood, which is made up with water into a poultice, and laid over the hair; and the third is, I believe, the effect of turmeric root. When I first visited these islands, I thought it had been an universal custom for both men and women to wear the hair short; but, during our present longer stay, we saw a great many exceptions. Indeed they are so whimsical in their fashions of wearing it, that it is hard to tell which is most in vogue. Some have it cut off one side of the head, while that on the other side remains long; some have only a portion of it cut short, or perhaps shaved; others have it entirely cut off, except a single lock, which is left commonly on one side, or it is suffered to grow to its full length without any of these mutilations. The women in general wear it short. The men have their beards cut short; and both men and women strip the hair from their armpits: the operation by which this is performed has been already described. The men are stained from about the middle of the belly, to about half-way down the thighs, with a deep blue colour. This is done with a flat bone instrument cut full of fine teeth, which being dipped in the staining mixture, prepared from the juice of the dooe-dooe, is struck into the skin with a bit of stick, and by that means indelible marks are made. In this manner they trace lines and figures, which in some are very elegant, both from the variety and from the arrangement. The women have only a few small lines or spots thus imprinted on the inside of their hands. Their kings, as a mark of distinction, are exempted from this custom, as also from inflicting on themselves any of those bloody marks of mourning which shall be mentioned in another place. The men are all circumcised, or rather supercised, as the operation consists in cutting off only a small piece of the foreskin at the upper part, which by that means is rendered incapable, ever after, of covering the glans. This is all they aim at; as they say the operation is practised from a notion of cleanliness.

The dress of both men and women is the same; and consists of a piece of cloth or matting (but mostly the former), about two yards wide, and two and a half long; at least, so long as to go once and a half round the waist, to which it is confined by a girdle or cord. It is double before, and hangs down like a petticoat, as low as the middle of the leg. The upper part of the garment above the girdle is plaited into several folds; so that when unfolded, there is cloth sufficient to draw up and wrap round the shoulders, which is very seldom done. This, as to form, is the general dress; but large pieces of cloth and fine matting are worn only by the superior people. The inferior sort are satisfied with small pieces, and very often wear nothing but a covering made of leaves of plants, or the maro, which is a narrow piece of cloth or matting, like a sash. This they pass between the thighs, and wrap round the waist; but the use of it is chiefly confined to the men. In their great haivas, or entertainments, they have various dresses made for the purpose; but the form is always the same; and the richest dresses are covered, more or less, with red feathers. On what particular occasion their chiefs wear their large red feather-caps, I could not learn. Both men and women sometimes shade their faces from the sun with little bonnets, made of various materials.

As the clothing, so are the ornaments worn by those of both sexes, the same. The most common of these are necklaces made of the fruit of the pandanus, and various sweet-smelling flowers, which go under the general name of kahulla. Others are composed of small shells, the wing and leg bones of birds, shark's teeth, and other things; all which hang loose upon the breast. In the same manner, they often wear a mother-of-pearl shell neatly polished, or a ring of the same substance carved on the upper part of the arm; rings of tortoise-shell on the fingers, and a number of these joined together as bracelets on the wrists. The lobes of the ears (though, most frequently, only one), are perforated with two holes, in which they wear cylindrical bits of ivory, about three inches long, introduced at one hole, and brought out of the other; or bits of reed of the same size, filled with a yellow pigment. This seems to be a fine powder of turmeric, with which the women rub themselves all over, in the same manner as our ladies use their dry rouge upon the cheeks.

Nothing appears to give them greater pleasure than personal cleanliness; to produce which they frequently bathe in the ponds, which seem to serve no other purpose. Though the water in most of them stinks intolerably, they prefer them to the sea; and they are so sensible that salt water hurts their skin, that when necessity obliges them to bathe in the sea, they commonly have some cocoa-nut shells filled with fresh water poured over them to wash it off. They are immoderately fond of cocoa-nut oil for the same reason; a great quantity of which they not only pour upon their head and shoulders, but rub the body all over, briskly, with a smaller quantity. And none but those who have seen this practice can easily conceive how the appearance of the skin is improved by it. This oil, however, is not to be procured by every one; and the inferior sort of people, doubtless, appear less smooth for want of it.

AGRICULTURE.

CHAPTER XI.-EMPLOYMENTS OF THE WOMEN AT THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS-OF THE MEN.— CONSTRUCTION OF THEIR HOUSES.THEIR WORKING TOOLS- - CORDAGE, AND FISHING IMPLEMENTS.-MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.-WEAPONS.-FOOD AND COOKERY.— AMUSEMENTS.-MARRIAGE.-MOURNING CEREMONIES FOR THE DEAD. THEIR DIVINITIES. NOTIONS ABOUT THE SOUL AND A FUTURE STATE. THEIR PLACES OF WORSHIP. GOVERNMENT.-MANNER OF PAYING OBEISANCE TO THE KING.-ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. REMARKS ON THeir language, AND A SPECIMEN OF IT.-NAUTICAL AND OTHER

OBSERVATIONS.

THEIR domestic life is of that middle kind, neither so laborious as to be disagreeable, nor so vacant as to suffer them to degenerate into indolence. Nature has done so much for their country, that the first can hardly occur, and their disposition seems to be a pretty good bar to the last. By this happy combination of circumstances, their necessary labour seems to yield in its turn to their recreations, in such a manner, that the latter are never