1777- THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 4-9 



round the bearers. The next day, I had a present 

 of five hogs, and some fruit, from Otoo ; and one 

 hog, and some fruit, from each of his sisters. Nor 

 were other provisions wanting. For two or three days, 

 great quantities of mackerel had been caught by the 

 natives, within the reef, in seines ; some of which 

 they brought to the ships and tents, and sold. 



Otoo was not more attentive to supply our wants, 

 by a succession of presents, than he was to contri- 

 bute to our amusement, by a succession of diversions. 

 A party of us having gone down to Oparre, on the 

 10th, he treated us with what may be called a play. 

 His three sisters were the actresses ; and the dresses 

 they appeared in were new and elegant ; that is, 

 more so than we had usually met with at any of these 

 islands. But the principal object I had in view, this 

 day, in going to Oparre, was to take a view of an 

 embalmed corpse, which some of our gentlemen had 

 happened to meet with at that place, near the resi- 

 dence of Otoo. On enquiry, I found it to be the re- 

 mains of Tee, a chief well known to me, when I was 

 at this island, during my last voyage. It was lying 

 in a toopapaoo, more elegantly constructed than their 

 common ones, and in all respects similar to that lately 

 seen by us at Oheitepeha, in which the remains of 

 Waheadooa are deposited, embalmed in the same 

 manner. When we arrived at the place, the body 

 was under cover, and wrapped up in cloth, within 

 the toopapaoo ; but, at my desire, the man who had 

 the care of it brought it out, and laid it upon a kind 

 of bier, in such a manner, that we had as full a view of 

 it as we could wish ; but we were not allowed to go 

 within the pales that inclosed the toopapaoo. After 

 he had thus exhibited the corpse, he hung the place 

 with mats and cloth, so disposed as to produce a very 

 pretty effect. We found the body not only entire in 

 every part ; but, what surprized us much more, was, 

 that putrefaction seemed scarcely to be begun, as 

 there was not the least disagreeable smell proceeding 



VOL. VI. E 



