82 A V O Y A G E T O 



'777- fifty years old." He is bald-headed; which is rather an 

 ■l -^- _y uncommon appearance m thcle illands, at that age. He 

 wore a kind of turban, and feemed afliamcd to fliew his 

 head. But, whether they themfelves confidered this defi- 

 ciency of hair as a mark of difgrace, or whether they en- 

 tertained a notion of our confidering it as fuch, I cannot fay. 

 We judged that the latter fuppofition was the truth, from 

 this circumftance, that they had feen us {have the head of 

 one of their people, whom we had caught dealing. They, 

 therefore, concluded, that this was the punifliment ufually 

 infli(5tcd by us upon all thieves; and one or two of our 

 G:entlemcn, whofc heads were not over-burthened with 

 hair, we could obfcrve, lay under violent fufpicions of 

 being tdcs. 



In the evening, Omai and I mounted on horfeback, and 

 took a ride along the fliorc to the Eaflward. Our train was 

 not very numerous, as Omai had forbid the natives to fol- 

 low us ; and many complied ; the fear of giving oflence, 

 getting the better of their curiofity. Towha had flationed 

 his fleet in this harbour ; and though the war lafted but a 

 few days, the marks of its devaluation were every where 

 to be feen. The trees were ftripped of their fruit ; and all 

 the houfes in the neighbourhood, had been pulled down or 

 burnt. 



Having employed two or three days in getting up all our 

 fpirit cafks, to tar their heads, which we found necelTary, to 

 fave them from the efforts of a fmall infeiSt to deflroy them, 

 MonJa) 6. we havilcd the fliip off into the llream, on the 6ih in the 

 morning, intending to put to fea the next day ; but an acci- 

 dent happened tiiat prevented it, and gave me a good deal 

 of trouble. VVc had fcut our goats afliore, in the day time, 

 to graze, with two men to look after them ; notwithflanding 



which 



