but this made no impreffion on either; for when The returned the next morning, to take her last farewell of him, all the time the was on board the remained quite cheerful, and went away wholly unconcerned. Another youth, about ten years of age, accompanied him as a fervant, named Kokoa; he was prefented to me by his own father, who ftripped him, and left him naked as he was born; indeed, he seemed to part with him with perfect indifference.

From my own obfervations, and from the information of Taweiharooa and others, it appears to me that the New Zealanders must live under perpetual apprehenfions of being, deftroyed by each other; there being few of their tribes that have not, as they think, fuftained wrongs from fome other tribe, which they are continually upon the watch to revenge. And, perhaps, the defire of a good meal may be no fmall incitement. One hardly ever finds a New Zealander off his guard, either by night or by day; indeed, no other man can have fuch powerful motives to be vigilant, as the prefervation both of body and of foul depends upon it. For, according to their fyftem of belief, the foul of the man whofe flesh is devoured by the enemy, is doomed to a perpetual fire; whilft the foul of the man whofe body has been refcued from those who killed him, as well as the fouls of all who die a natural death, afcend to the habitations of the gods.

Polygamy is allowed amongst these people; and it is not uncommon for a man to have two or three wives. The women are marriageable at a very early age; and it thould feem, that one who is unmarried, is but in a forlorn state.

Their public contentions are frequent, or rather perpetual; for it appears, from their number of weapons, and dexterity in ufing them, that war is their principal profeffion. Before they begin the onset, they join in a war-song, to which they all keep the exactest time, and foon raise their paffions to a degree of frantic fury, attended with the most horrid distortion of their eyes, mouths, and tongues, to ftrike terror into their enemies; which to thofe who have not been accustomed to fuch a practice, makes them appear more like demons than men, and would almost chill the boldeft with fear. To this fucceeds a circumstance, almost foretold in their fierce demeanour, horrid, cruel, and difgraceful to human nature; which is, cutting in pieces, even before being perfectly dead, the bodies of their enemies, and, after dreffing them on a fire, devouring the flesh, not only without reluctance, but with peculiar fatisfaction.

On the 25th of February we failed from New Zealand, and had no fooner loft fight of the land, than our two young adventurers repented heartily of the ftep they had taken. All the foothing encouragement we could think of, availed but little. They wept both in public and private, and made their lamentations in a kind of fong, which was expreflive of their praises of their country. Thus they continued for many days; but at length their native country and their friends were forgot, and they appeared to be as firmly attached to us, as if they had been born amongst us.

On the 29th of March, as we were standing to the north-east, the Discovery made the fignal of VOL. VII.

D

feeing

feeing land, which we foon difcovered to be an fland of no great extent.

On approaching the fhore, we could perceive with our glaffes that feveral of the natives were armed with long fpears and clubs, which they brandifhed in the air with figns of threatening; or, as fome on board interpreted their attitudes, with invitations to land. Most of them appeared naked, except having a fort of girdle, which, being brought up between the thighs, covered that part of the body. But fome of them had pieces of cloth of different colours, white, ftriped, or chequered, which they wore as a garment thrown about their shoulders; and almost all of them had a white wrapper about their heads, not much unlike a turban. They were of a tawny colour, and of a middling ftature.

At this time a fmall canoe was launched in a great hurry from the further end of the beach, and putting off with two men, paddled towards us, when I brought to. They ftopped fhort, however, as if afraid to approach, until Omai, who addreffed them in the Otaheitean language, in fome measure quieted their apprehenfions. They then came near enough to take fome beads and nails, which were tied to a piece of wood, and thrown into the canoe. Omai, perhaps improperly, put the question to them, whether they ever eat human flesh? which they answered in the negative, with a mixture of indignation and abhorrence. One of them, whofe name was Mourooa, being asked how he came by a fear on his forehead, told us that it was the confequence of a wound he had got in fighting with the people of an ifland, which lies to the north eastward, ho fometinics came to invade them. They af

terward

terward took hold of a rope. they would not venture on board.

Still, however

Mourooa was lufty and well made, but not very tall. His features were agreeable, and his difpofition feemingly no lefs fo; for he made several droll gefticulations, which indicated both goodnature and a fhare of humour. His colour was nearly of the fame caft with that common to the moft fouthern Europeans. The other man was not fo handsome. Both of them had strong ftraight hair, of a jet colour, tied together on the crown of the head with a bit of cloth. They wore girdles of a substance made from the morus papyrifera, in the fame manner as at the other inlands of this ocean. They had on a kind of fandals, made of a graffy fubftance interwoven; and, as we fuppofed, intended to defend their feet againft the rough coral rock. Their beards were long, and the infide of their arms, from the fhoulder to the elbow, and fome other parts, were punctured or tatooed, after the manner of the inhabitants of almost all the other islands in the South Sea. The lobe of their ears was flit to fuch a length, that one of them ftuck there a knife and fome beads, which he had received from us; and the fame perfon had two polished pearl fhells, and a bunch of human hair, loosely twifted, hanging about his neck, which was the only ornament we obferved. The canoe they came in was not above ten feet long, and very narrow; but both strong and neatly made. They paddled either end of it forward indifferently.

We now ftood off and on; and as foon as the thips were in a proper ftation, I ordered two boats to found the coaft, and to endeavour to find a landing place. With this view, I went in one

of them myself, taking with me fuch articles to give the natives, as I thought might ferve to gain their good-will. I had no fooner put off from the fhip, than the canoe, with the two men, which had not left us long before, paddled towards my boat; and, having come along-fide, Mourooa ftepped into her, without being asked, and without a moment's hesitation.

Omai, who was with me, was ordered to enquire of him where we could land; and he directed us to two different places. But I faw, with regret, that the attempt could not be made at either place, unless at the risk of having our boats filled with water, or even flaved to pieces. Nor were we more fortunate in our fearch for anchorage; for we could find no bottom till within a cable's length of the breakers.

While we were thus employed in reconnoitring the shore, great numbers of the natives thronged down upon the reef, all armed. Mourooa, who was now in my boat, probably thinking that this warlike appearance hindered us from landing, ordered them to retire back. As many of them complied, I judged he must be a person of fome confequence among them. Indeed, if we underftood him right, he was the king's brother. So great was the curiofity of several of them, that they took to the water, and fwimming off to the boats, came on board them without referve. Nay, we found it difficult to keep them out; and ftill more difficult to prevent them carrying off every thing they could lay their hands upon. At length, when they perceived that we were returning to the fhips, they all left us, except our original vifiter Mourooa. He, though not without evi

dent