17^9. ROUND THE WORLD. 269 



on board saw the canoe go on shore, and the natives 

 gather eagerly round her to enquire the particulars 

 of what had happened. Soon after, a single man 

 ran along the shore, armed with his lance, and when 

 he came a-breast of the boat, he began to dance, 

 brandish his weapon, and call out in a very shrill tone, 

 which Tupia said was a defiance from the people. 

 The boat continued to row along the shore, and the 

 champion followed it, repeating his defiance by his 

 voice and his gestures ; but no better landing-place 

 being found than that where the canoe had put the 

 natives on shore, the officer turned back with a view 

 to attempt it there, hoping, that if it should not be 

 practicable, the people would come to a conference 

 either on the shoals or in their canoes, and that a 

 treaty of peace might be concluded with them. 



As the boat rowed slowly along the shore back 

 again, another champion came down, shouting de- 

 fiance, and brandishing his lance : his appearance 

 was more formidable than that of the other, for he 

 wore a large cap made of the tail feathers of the 

 tropic bird, and his body was covered with stripes of 

 different coloured cloth, yellow, red, and brown. 

 This gentleman also danced, but with much more 

 nimbleness and dexterity than the first ; our people 

 therefore, considering his agility and his dress, dis- 

 tinguished him by the name of Harlequin. Soon 

 after a more grave and elderly man came down to 

 the beach, and hailing the people in the boat, in- 

 quired who they were, and from whence they came ; 

 Tupia answered in their own language, from Ota- 

 heite : the three natives then walked peaceably along 

 the shore till they came to a shoal, upon which a few 

 people were collected ; here they stopped, and after 

 a short conference, they all began to pray very loud : 

 Tupia made his responses, but continued to tell us 

 that they were not our friends. When their prayer, 

 or, as they call it, their FQorah^ was over, our people 

 entered into a parley with them, telling them, that. 



