1777' THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 371 



there happened to be none upon the bank that was 

 inclosed. 



Leaving the prince and his fishing party, we 

 proceeded to the bottom of the bay, and landed 

 where we had done before, on our fruitless errand 

 to see Mareewagee. As soon as we got on shore, 

 the king desired Omai to tell me, that I need be 

 under no apprehensions about the boat, or any 

 thing in her, for not a single article would be 

 touched by any one ; and we afterward found this 

 to be the case. We were immediately conducted 

 to one of Poulaho's houses not far off, and near the 

 public one, or malaee, in which we had been when 

 we first visited Mooa. This, though pretty large, 

 seemed to be his private habitation, and was situated 

 within a plantation. The king took his seat at one 

 end of the house, and the people, who came to 

 visit him, sat down as they arrived, in a semicircle 

 at the other end. The first thing done, was to 

 prepare a bowl of /cava, and to order some yams 

 to be baked for us. While these were getting 

 ready, some of us, accompanied by a few of the 

 king's attendants, and Omai as our interpreter, 

 walked out to take a view of a Jiatooka, or burying- 

 place, which we had observed to be almost close 

 by the house, and was much more extensive, and 

 seemingly of more consequence, than any we had 

 seen at the other islands. We were told, that it 

 belonged to the king. It consisted of three pretty 

 large houses, situated upon a rising ground, or 

 rather just by the brink of it, with a small one at 

 some distance, all ranged longitudinally. The 

 middle house of the three first was by much the 

 largest, and placed in a square, twenty-four paces 

 by twenty-eight, raised about three feet. The 

 other houses were placed on little mounts, 

 raised artificially to the same height. The floors 

 of these houses, as also the tops of the mounts 

 round them, were covered with loose fine pebbles, 



b b 2 



