208 cook's second voyage oct. 



know that, at our first coming among these people, 

 we hardly could understand a word they said : even 

 my Otaheitean youth, and the man on board the 

 Adventure, were equally at a loss : but more of this 

 bye and by. Before we quitted the house, we thought 

 it necessary to make an offering at the altar. Ac- 

 cordingly we laid down upon the blue pebbles, some 

 medals, nails, and several other things ; which we 

 had no sooner done than my friend Attago took 

 them up, and put them in his pocket. The stones 

 with which the walls were made that enclosed this 

 mount, were some of them nine or ten feet by four, 

 and about six inches thick. It is difficult to conceive 

 how they can cut such stones out of the coral rocks. 



This mount stood in a kind of grove open only on 

 the side which fronted the high road, and the green 

 on which the people were seated. At this green or 

 open place, was a junction of rive roads, two or three 

 of which appeared to be very public ones. The 

 groves were composed of several sorts of trees. 

 Among others was the Etoa tree, as it is called at 

 Otaheite, of which are made clubs, &c, and a kind 

 of low palm, which is very common in the northern 

 parts of New Holland. 



After we had done examining this place of wor- 

 ship, which in their language is called A-Jia-toaca, we 

 desired to return ; but, instead of conducting us to 

 the water-side, as we expected, they struck into a 

 road leading into the country. This road which was 

 about sixteen feet broad, and as level as a bowling- 

 green, seemed to be a very public one ; there being 

 many other roads from different parts, leading into 

 it, all enclosed on each side, with neat fences made 

 of reeds, and shaded from the scorching sun by fruit 

 trees. I thought I w r as transported into the most 

 fertile plains in Europe. There was not an inch of 

 waste ground ; the roads occupied no more space 

 than was absolutely necessary ; the fences did not 

 take up above four inches each ; and even this was 



