T H E P A C I F I C O C E A N. 209 



to the ftrins: of one of them, which he fcparated with s'cat '"^s- 



care, and referved for hirafelf, when he parted with the ' .—— ' 



hook. Being afked, what it was ? He pointed to his belly, 

 and fpokc fomething of its being dead ; at the fame time 

 faying, it was bad ; as if he did not wifh to anfwer any 

 more queftions about it. On feeing him fo anxious to con- 

 ceal the contents of this parcel, he was requcfted to open ir, 

 ■which he did with great relucflancc, and feme difficulty, as 

 it was wrapped up in many folds of cloth. We found, that 

 it contained a thin bit of flefli, about two inclics long, 

 which, to appearance, had been dried, but was now wet 

 with fait water. It ftruck us, that it might be human flefli, 

 and that thcfc people might, perhaps, eat their enemies ; as 

 we knew, that this was the practice of fome of the natives 

 of the South Sea iilartds. The queftion being put to the 

 perfon who produced it, he anfwered, that the flefli was 

 part of a man. Another of his countrymen, who flood by 

 him, was then afked, whether it was their cuftom to eat 

 thofe killed in battle? and he immediately anfwered in the 

 affirmative. 



There were fome intervals of fair weather in the after- 

 noon ; and the wind then incHned to the Eafl and North 

 Eaft ; but, in the evening, it veered back again to South 

 South Eafl, and the rain alfo returned, and continued all 

 night. Very luckily, it was not attended with much wind. 

 We had, however, prepared for the worft, by dropping the 

 fmall bower anchor ; and flriking our top-gallant-yards. 



At fcven o'clock, the next morning, a breeze of wind Friday 23.' 

 fpringing up at North Eaft, I took up the anchors, with a^ 

 view of removing the fliip farther our. The moment that 

 the lad anchor was up, the wind veered to the Eaft, which 



Vol. II. E e made 



