man endeavours to come to a close scuffle with his antagonist, and to tear open his bowels with these horrid weapons. The supreme chief in Cow Mooala's time was a man of remarkable bodily strength, and was always accustomed to fight with this sort of gauntlet in preference to the pike, not however to tear open the bowels of his enemy, but merely to catch a firmer hold of him whilst he threw him on his face; he would then place his foot upon the small of his back, and, seizing fast hold of the hair of his head, so bend his spine as to break it: with little men or boys however he would not take so much trouble, but laying them across his knee, as one would a stick, break their backs without farther ceremony! By way of defence from the pikes of their adversaries, they wear on the left side a species of armour made of the husk of the cocoa-nut plaited thick, and stuffed and quilted on the inside with the loose husk, picked fine: this reaches from the axilla down to the hip. Their wars generally originate in quarrels about hereditary right, or the exaction of tribute.

Some time before Cow Mooala arrived, ah European vessel, according to their description, (or an American) came to an anchor there.

VOL. I.

Y

The natives as usual put off in their canoes, with a view to take possession of her according to the authority with which they were invested by the gods. The crew readily allowed them to come on board, supposing them to be governed by the usual spirit of curiosity; but shewed very strong symptoms of opposition when they began, without ceremony, to plunder, and opened such peals of thunder on them that they were obliged to jump overboard and swim to their canoes with all expedition, sustaining the loss of 40 men. If this account be true, it would argue that they had not seen a ship before, or they certainly would have known her power, and not have made such an attempt. There is no ascertaining the point of time when this happened, for the natives keep no account of years, much less of months.

Mr. Mariner does not know how long Cow Mooala remained at Fotoona, but it must have been at least a twelvemonth, to have afforded him time to build another large canoe fit for his voyage which having at length accomplished, he again set sail, with presents of gnatoo, mats, &c. and a sufficient quantity of provisions for his voyage, and directed his course for the Fiji islands, for the purpose of laying in another cargo of sandal wood. He

had now on board thirty-five of his own people, including fourteen or fifteen Tonga women, besides whom he had four male natives of Fotoona, who begged to go with him that they might visit distant countries. In his way he touched at the island of Lotooma, (about a day's sail from Fotoona) a place noted for the peaceable disposition of the inhabitants, and where he was received with an uncommon degree of respect. As they were little accustomed to the appearance of strangers, they were greatly surprised at the sight of so large a canoe, and considered this chief and his men as hotooas (gods) or superior beings, and would not suffer them to land, till they had spread on the ground a large roll of gnatoo, which extended about fifty yards, reaching from the shore to the house prepared for them. At this island Cow Mooala remained but a short time: during his stay however the natives treated him with very great respect, and took him to see some bones which were supposed to have belonged once to an immense giant; about whom they relate a marvellous account, which is current at Tonga as well as at Lotooma.

"At a period, before men of common stature lived at Tonga, two enormous giants resided there, who happening on some occasion to of

fend their god, he punished them by causing a scarcity on all the Tonga islands, which obliged them to go and seek food elsewhere. As they were vastly above the ordinary size of the sons of men now-a-days, they were able, with the greatest imaginable ease, to stride from one island to another, provided the distance was not more than about a couple of miles; at all events their stature enabled them to wade through the sea without danger, the water in general not coming higher than their knees, and in the deepest places not higher than their hips. Thus situated, no alternative was left them but to splash through the water in search of a more plentiful soil. At length they came in sight of the island of Lotooma, and viewing it at a distance with hungry eyes, one of them bethought himself that if this small island was never so fruitful it could not supply more food than would be sufficient for himself at one meal, he resolved therefore wisely, out of pure consideration for his own stomach, to make an end of his companion: this he accordingly did, but by what means, whether by · drowning him, strangling him, or giving him a blow on the head, tradition does not say. When he arrived at Lotooma he was no doubt very hungry, but at the same time he felt him

self so sleepy that he was resolved to lie down and take a nap, particularly as night was fast approaching, and to satisfy his hunger the next morning and very lucky it was for the poor natives that he did so, (for it appears this island was inhabited at that time). He accordingly made a pillow of the island of Lotooma, and not choosing to lie in the water, he stretched his legs (for so the story goes) over to the island of Fotoona, making a sort of bridge from one place to the other. By and by he snored to such a degree that both islands, particularly Lotooma, were shaken as if by an earthquake, so as greatly to disturb the peaceable inhabitants. The people of the latter island being roused from their slumbers were greatly alarmed, and well they might be, at this unseasonable and extraordinary noise. Having repaired to the place where his head lay, and discovering that it was an immense gigantic being fast asleep, they held a consultation what was best to be done; and came at length to a resolution of killing him, if possible, before he awoke, lest he might eat them all up. With this intention every man armed himself with an axe, and at a signal given they all struck his head at the same moment; up started the giant with a tremendous roar, and recovering his feet he stood aloft on the island of Lotooma, but being