40 cook's voyage to sevt. 



trace between the most distant of these islands, 

 makes it not unlikely that some of the most import- 

 ant articles of their religious institutions should 

 agree. And, indeed, we have the most authentic 

 information that human sacrifices continue to be 

 offered at the Friendly Islands. When I described 

 the Natche at To?ige-taboo 9 I mentioned that, on the 

 approaching sequel of that festival, we had been told 

 that ten men were to be sacrificed. This may give 

 us an idea of the extent of this religious massacre in 

 that island. And though we should suppose that 

 never more than one person is sacrificed, on any 

 single occasion at Otaheite, it is more than probable 

 that these occasions happen so frequently, as to make 

 a shocking waste of the human race ; for I counted 

 no less than forty-nine skulls of former victims lying 

 before the moral, where we saw one more added to 

 the number. And as none of those skulls had as yet 

 suffered any considerable change from the weather, 

 it may hence be inferred, that no great length of time 

 had elapsed, since, at least, this considerable number 

 of unhappy wretches had been offered upon this altar 

 of blood. 



The custom, though no consideration can make 

 it cease to be abominable, might be thought less 

 detrimental, in some respects, if it served to impress 

 any awe for the divinity or reverence for religion, upon 

 the minds of the multitude. But this is so far from 

 being the case, that though a great number of people 

 had assembled at the moral on this occasion, they 

 did not seem to show any proper reverence for what 

 was doing or saying during the celebration of the 

 rites. And Omai happening to arrive after they had 

 begun, many of the spectators flocked round him, 

 and were engaged the remainder of the time in 

 making him relate some of his adventures, which 

 they listened to with great attention, regardless of 

 the solemn offices performing by their priests. In- 

 deed, the priests themselves, -except the one who 



