396 cook's voyage to july, 



out taboo. However I went forward without much 

 regarding them, till I came in sight of the moral, and 

 of the people who were sitting before it. I was now 

 urged very strongly to go back ; and, not knowing 

 what might be the consequence of a refusal, I complied. 

 I had observed that the people who carried the poles 

 passed this moral, or what I may as well call temple ; 

 and guessing, from this circumstance, that something 

 was transacting beyond it which might be worth 

 looking at, I had thoughts of advancing, by making 

 a round for this purpose ; but I was so closely watched 

 by three men that I could not put my design in exe- 

 cution. In order to shake these fellows off, I re- 

 turned to the malaee, where I had left the king, and, 

 from thence made an elopement a second time ; 

 but I instantly met with the same three men ; so that 

 it seemed as if they had been ordered to watch my 

 motions. I paid no regard to what they said or did 

 till I came within sight of the king's prmc'upsdjlatooka 

 or moral, which I have already described *, before 

 which a great number of men were sitting, being the 

 same persons whom I had just before seen pass by the 

 other moral, from which this was but a little distant. 

 Observing that 1 could watch the proceedings of this 

 company from the king's plantation, I repaired 

 thither, very much to the satisfaction of those who 

 attended me. 



As soon as I got in, I acquainted the gentlemen 

 who had come with me from the ships with what I 

 had seen ; and we took a proper station to watch the 

 result. The number of people at the Jiatooha, con- 

 tinued to increase for some time ; and at length we 

 could see them quit their sitting posture, and march 

 off in procession. They walked in pairs, one after 

 another, every pair carrying between them one of 

 the small poles above mentioned on their shoulders. 

 We were told that the small pieces of sticks fastened 



* Seep. 371. 



