on board the Spanish ships, and that they took them away with them, I cannot believe this; and should rather suppose, that they had died in the passage from Lima. The next day, I sent the three cows, that I had on board, to this bull; and the bull, which I had brought, the horse and mare, and sheep, I put ashore at Matavai. Having thus disposed of these passengers, I found myself lightened of a very heavy burthen. The trouble and vexation that attended the bringing of this living cargo thus far, is hardly to be conceived. But the satisfaction that I felt, in having been so fortunate as to fulfil his Majesty's humane design, in sending such valuable animals, to supply the wants of two worthy nations, sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious hours I had passed, before this subordinate object of my voyage could be carried into execution.*

As I intended to make some stay here, we set up the two observatories on Matavai Point. Adjoining to them, two tents were pitched for the reception of a guard, and of such people as it might be necessary to leave on shore, in different departments. At this station, I intrusted the command to Mr. King; who, at the same time, attended the observations for ascertaining the going of the time-keeper, and other purposes. During our stay, various necessary operations employed the crews of both ships. The Discovery's main-mast was carried ashore, and made as good as ever. Our sails and water-casks were repaired; the ships were caulked; and the rigging all overhauled. We also inspected all the bread that we had on board in casks; and had the satisfaction to find, that but little of it was damaged.

On the 26th, I had a piece of ground cleared for a garden, and planted it with several articles; very few of which, I believe, the natives will ever look after. Some melons, potatoes, and two pine-apple plants, were in a fair way of succeeding, before we left the place. I had brought from the Friendly Islands several shaddock trees. These I also planted here; and they can hardly fail of success, unless their growth should be checked by the same premature curiosity, which destroyed a vine planted by the Spaniards at Oheitepeha. A number of the natives got together, to taste the first fruit it bore; but, as the grapes were still sour, they considered it as little better than poison, and it was unanimously determined to tread it under foot. In that state, Omai found it by chance, and was overjoyed at the discovery. For he had a full confidence that, if he had but grapes, he could easily make wine. Accordingly, he had several slips cut from off the tree, to carry away with him; and we pruned and put in order the remains of it. Probably, grown wise by Omai's instructions, they may now suffer the fruit to grow to perfection, and not pass so hasty a sentence upon it again.

We had not been eight-and-forty hours at anchor in Matavai Bay, before we were visited by our old friends, whose names are recorded in the account of my last voyage. Not one of them came empty-handed; so that we had more provisions than we knew what to do with. What was still more, we were under no apprehensions of exhausting the island, which presented to our eyes every mark of the most exuberant plenty, in every article of refreshment.

Soon after our arrival here one of the natives, whom the Spaniards had carried with them to Lima, paid us a visit, but in his external appearance he was not distinguishable from the rest of his countrymen. However he had not forgot some Spanish words which he had acquired, though he pronounced them badly: amongst them the most frequent were si Sennor; and when a stranger was introduced to him he did not fail to rise up and accost him as well as he could. We also found here the young man whom we called Oedidee, but whose real name is Heete-heete. I had carried him from Ulietea in 1773, and brought him back in 1774, after he had visited the Friendly Islands, New Zealand, Easter Island and the Marqueses, and been on board my ship, in that extensive navigation, about seven months. He was at least as tenacious of his good-breeding as the man who had been at Lima; and Yes, sir, or If you please, sir, was as frequently repeated by him as si Sennor was by the other. Heete-heete, who is a native of Bolabola, had arrived in Otaheite about three months before, with no other intention, that we could learn, than to gratify his curiosity, or, perhaps, some

*We have before noticed, Vol. II. p. 5, that the cattle here alluded to, with the exception of the goats and pigs, all died. Fresh supplies have been introduced by the exertions of the Missionaries, which have succeeded well.-ED.

other favourite passion, which are very often the only object of the pursuit of other travelling gentlemen. It was evident, however, that he preferred the modes, and even garb, of his countrymen to ours; for, though I gave him some clothes, which our Admiralty Board had been pleased to send for his use (to which I added a chest of tools, and a few other articles, as a present from myself), he declined wearing them after a few days. This instance, and that of the person who had been at Lima, may be urged as a proof of the strong propensity natural to man of returning to habits acquired at an early age, and only interrupted by accident. And perhaps it may be concluded, that even Omai, who had imbibed almost the whole English manners, will, in a very short time after our leaving him, like Oedidee and the visitor of Lima, return to his own native garments.

In the morning of the 27th a man came from Oheitepeha, and told us that two Spanish ships had anchored in that bay the night before; and in confirmation of this intelligence he produced a piece of coarse blue cloth, which he said he got out of one of the ships, and which indeed, in appearance, was almost quite new. He added, that Mateema was in one of the ships, and that they were to come down to Matavai in a day or two. Some other circumstances which he mentioned, with the foregoing ones, gave the story so much the air of truth, that I despatched Lieutenant Williamson, in a boat, to look into Oheitepeha bay; and, in the mean time, I put the ships into a proper posture of defence: for, though England and Spain were in peace when I left Europe, for aught I knew a different scene might, by this time, have opened. However, on farther inquiry, we had reason to think that the fellow who brought the intelligence had imposed upon us; and this was put beyond all doubt when Mr. Williamson returned next day, who made his report to me that he had been at Oheitepeha, and found that no ships were there now, and that none had been there since we left it. The people of this part of the island where we now were, indeed, told us from the beginning that it was a fiction invented by those of Tiaraboo: but what view they could have we were at a loss to conceive, unless they supposed that the report would have some effect in making us quit the island, and by that means deprive the people of Otaheite-nooe of the advantages they might reap from our ships continuing there, the inhabitants of the two parts of the island being inveterate enemies to each other.

From the time of our arrival at Matavai the weather had been very unsettled, with more or less rain every day, till the 29th, before which we were not able to get equal altitudes of the sun for ascertaining the going of the time-keeper. The same cause also retarded the caulking, and other necessary repairs of the ships. In the evening of this day the natives made a precipitate retreat, both from on board the ships and from our station on shore: for what reason we could not at first learn; though, in general, we guessed it arose from their knowing that some theft had been committed, and apprehending punishment on that account. At length I understood what had happened. One of the surgeon's mates had been in the country to purchase curiosities, and had taken with him four hatchets for that purpose. Having employed one of the natives to carry them for him, the fellow took an opportunity to run off with so valuable a prize. This was the cause of the sudden flight, in which Otoo himself and his whole family had joined; and it was with difficulty that I stopped them, after following them two or three miles. As I had resolved to take no measures for the recovery of the hatchets, in order to put my people upon their guard against such negligence for the future, I found no difficulty in bringing the natives back, and in restoring everything to its usual tranquillity.

Hitherto the attention of Otoo and his people had been confined to us; but, next morning, a new scene of business opened, by the arrival of some messengers from Eimeo, or (as it is much oftener called by the natives) Morea*, with intelligence that the people in that island were in arms; and that Otoo's partisans there had been worsted, and obliged to retreat to the mountains. The quarrel between the two islands, which commenced in 1774, as mentioned in the account of my last voyage, had, it seems, partly subsisted ever since. The formidable armament which I saw at that time, and described †, had sailed soon after I then left

*Morea, according to Dr. Forster, is a district in Eimeo. See his "Observations," p. 217.

† See Vol. I. page 472.

Otaheite; but the malcontents of Eimeo had made so stout a resistance, that the fleet had returned without effecting much; and now another expedition was necessary.

On the arrival of these messengers all the chiefs, who happened to be at Matavai, assembled at Otoo's house, where I actually was at the time, and had the honour to be admitted into their council. One of the messengers opened the business of the assembly in a speech of considerable length: but I understood little of it, besides its general purport, which was to explain the situation of affairs in Eimeo, and to excite the assembled chiefs of Otaheite to arm on the occasion. This opinion was combated by others, who were against commencing hostilities; and the debate was carried on with great order, no more than one man speaking at a time. At last they became very noisy, and I expected that our meeting would have ended like a Polish diet. But the contending great men cooled as fast as they grew warm, and order was soon restored. At length the party for war prevailed; and it was determined that a strong force should be sent to assist their friends in Eimeo; but this resolution was far from being unanimous. Otoo, during the whole debate, remained silent, except that, now and then, he addressed a word or two to the speakers. Those of the council who were for prosecuting the war applied to me for my assistance; and all of them wanted to know what part I would take. Omai was sent for to be my interpreter; but, as he could not be found, I was obliged to speak for myself, and told them, as well as I could, that as I was not thoroughly acquainted with the dispute, and as the people of Eimeo had never offended me, I could not think myself at liberty to engage in hostilities against them. With this declaration they either were, or seemed satisfied. The assembly then broke up; but before I left them Otoo desired me to come to him in the afternoon, and to bring Omai with me. Accordingly, a party of us waited upon him at the appointed time; and we were conducted by him to his father, in whose presence the dispute with Eimeo was again talked over. Being very desirous of devising some method to bring about an accommodation, I sounded the old chief on that head, but we found him deaf to any such proposal, and fully determined to prosecute the war. He repeated the solicitations which I had already resisted, about giving them my assistance. On our inquiring into the cause of the war, we were told that some years ago a brother of Waheadooa, of Tieraboo, was sent to Eimeo, at the request of Maheine, a popular chief of that island, to be their king; but that he had not been there a week before Maheine, having caused him to be killed, set up for himself, in opposition to Tierataboonooe, his sister's son, who became the lawful heir; or else had been pitched upon by the people of Otaheite, to succeed to the government on the death of the other.

Towha, who is a relation of Otoo, and chief of the district of Tettaha, a man of much weight in the island, and who had been commander-in-chief of the armament fitted out against Eimeo in 1774, happened not to be at Matavai at this time, and, consequently, was not present at any of these consultations. It however appeared that he was no stranger to what was transacted, and that he entered with more spirit into the affair than any other chief; for, early in the morning of the first of September, a messenger arrived from him to acquaint Otoo that he had killed a man, to be sacrificed to Eatooa, to implore the assistance of the god against Eimeo. This act of worship was to be performed at the great morai at Attahooroo; and Otoo's presence, it seems, was absolutely necessary on that solemn occasion. That the offering of human sacrifices is part of the religious institutions of this island, had been mentioned by Mons. Bougainville, on the authority of the native whom he carried with him to France. During my last visit to Otaheite, and while I had opportunities of conversing with Omai on the subject, I had satisfied myself that there was too much reason to admit that such a practice, however inconsistent with the general humanity of the people, was here adopted. But as this was one of those extraordinary facts, about which many are apt to retain doubts, unless the relater himself has had ocular proof to confirm what he had heard from others, I thought this a good opportunity of obtaining the highest evidence of its certainty, by being present myself at the solemnity; and accordingly proposed to Otoo that I might be allowed to accompany him. To this he readily consented; and we immediately set out in my boat, with my old friend Potatou, Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Webber, Omai following in a canoe. In our way we landed upon a little island, which lies off Tettaha, where we found Towha and his retinue. After some little conversation between

the two chiefs on the subject of the war, Towha addressed himself to me, asking my assistance. When I excused myself he seemed angry, thinking it strange that I, who had always declared myself to be the friend of their island, would not now go and fight against its enemies. Before we parted he gave to Otoo two or three red feathers, tied up in a tuft; and a lean, half-starved dog was put into a canoe that was to accompany us. We then embarked again, taking on board a priest, who was to assist at the solemnity.

As soon as we landed at Attahooroo, which was about two o'clock in the afternoon, Otoo expressed his desire that the seamen might be ordered to remain in the boat; and that Mr. Anderson, Mr. Webber, and myself might take off our hats as soon as we should come to the morai, to which we immediately proceeded, attended by a great many men and some boys, but not one woman. We found four priests and their attendants, or assistants, waiting for us. The dead body, or sacrifice, was in a small canoe that lay on the beach, and partly in the wash of the sea, fronting the morai. Two of the priests, with some of their attendants, were sitting by the canoe, the others at the morai. Our company stopped about twenty or thirty paces from the priests. Here Otoo placed himself, we and a few others. standing by him, while the bulk of the people remained at a greater distance.

The ceremonies now began. One of the priest's attendants brought a young plantain-tree and laid it down before Otoo. Another approached with a small tuft of red feathers, twisted on some fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, with which he touched one of the king's feet, and then retired with it to his companions. One of the priests, seated at the morai, facing those who were upon the beach, now began a long prayer; and, at certain times, sent down young plantain-trees, which were laid upon the sacrifice. During this prayer a man, who stood by the officiating priest, held in his hands two bundles, seemingly of cloth. In one of them, as we afterwards found, was the royal maro; and the other, if I may be allowed the expression, was the ark of the Eatooa. As soon as the prayer was ended, the priests at the morai, with their attendants, went and sat down by those upon the beach, carrying with them the two bundles. Here they renewed their prayers; during which the plantain-trees were taken, one by one, at different times, from off the sacrifice, which was partly wrapped up in cocoa leaves and small branches. It was now taken out of the canoe and laid upon the beach, with the feet to the sea. The priests placed themselves around it, some sitting and others standing; and one or more of them repeated sentences for about ten minutes. The dead body was now uncovered by removing the leaves and branches, and laid in a parallel direction with the sea shore. One of the priests then, standing at the feet of it, pronounced a long prayer, in which he was at times joined by the others, each holding in his hand a tuft of red feathers. In the course of this prayer some hair was pulled off the head of the sacrifice, and the left eye taken out, both of which were presented to Otoo wrapped up in a green leaf. He did not, however, touch it; but gave to the man who presented it the tuft of feathers which he had received from Towha: this, with the hair and eye, was carried back to the priests. Soon after Otoo sent to them another piece of feathers, which he had given me in the morning to keep in my pocket. During some part of this last ceremony a kingfisher making a noise in the trees, Otoo turned to me, saying, "That is the Eatooa," and seemed to look upon it to be a good omen.

The body was then carried a little way with its head towards the morai, and laid under a tree, near which were fixed three broad thin pieces of wood, differently but rudely carved. The bundles of cloth were laid on a part of the morai, and the tufts of red feathers were placed at the feet of the sacrifice, round which the priests took their stations; and we were now allowed to go as near as we pleased. He who seemed to be the chief priest sat at a small distance, and spoke for a quarter of an hour, but with different tones and gestures, so that he seemed often to expostulate with the dead person, to whom he constantly addressed himself; and sometimes asked several questions, seemingly with respect to the propriety of his having been killed. At other times he made several demands, as if the deceased either now had power himself, or interest with the divinity, to engage him to comply with such requests. Amongst which, we understood, he asked him to deliver Eimeo, Maheine its chief, the hogs, women, and other things of the island, into their hands; which was, indeed, the express intention of the sacrifice. He then chanted a prayer, which lasted half an hour, in a whin

ing, melancholy tone, accompanied by two other priests, and in which Potatou and some others joined. In the course of this prayer some more hair was plucked by a priest from the head of the corpse, and put upon one of the bundles. After this the chief priest prayed alone, holding in his hand the feathers which came from Towha. When he had finished he gave them to another, who prayed in like manner. Then all the tufts of feathers were laid upon the bundles of cloth, which closed the ceremony at this place.

The corpse was then carried up to the most conspicuous part of the morai, with the feathers, the two bundles of cloth, and the drums; the last of which beat slowly. The feathers and bundles were laid against the pile of stones, and the corpse at the foot of them. The priests having again seated themselves round it, renewed their prayers; while some of the attendants dug a hole about two feet deep, into which they threw the unhappy victim, and covered it with earth and stones. While they were putting him into the grave, a boy squeaked aloud, and Omai said to me, that it was the Eatooa. During this time, a fire having been made, the dog before mentioned was produced and killed, by twisting his neck and suffocating him. The hair was singed off, and the entrails taken out and thrown into the fire, where they were left to consume. But the heart, liver, and kidneys were only roasted, by being laid on the stones for a few minutes; and the body of the dog, after being besmeared with the blood which had been collected in a cocoa-nut shell, and dried over the fire, was, with the liver, &c., carried and laid down before the priests, who sat praying round the grave. They continued their ejaculations over the dog for some time, while two men, at intervals, beat on two drums very loud; and a boy screamed as before, in a loud shrill voice, three different times. This, as we were told, was to invite the Eatooa to feast on the banquet that they had prepared for him. As soon as the priests had ended their prayers, the carcase of the dog, with what belonged to it, were laid on a whatta, or scaffold, about six feet high, that stood close by, on which lay the remains of two other dogs, and of two pigs which had lately been sacrificed, and at this time emitted an intolerable stench. This kept us at a greater distance than would otherwise have been required of us. after the victim was removed from the sea-side toward the morai, we were allowed to approach as near as we pleased. Indeed, after that, neither seriousness nor attention were much observed by the spectators. When the dog was put upon the whatta, the priests and attendants gave a kind of shout, which closed the ceremonies for the present. The day being now also closed, we were conducted to a house belonging to Potatou, where we were entertained and lodged for the night. We had been told that the religious rites were tol

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