THEPACIFICOCEAN. SOj- 



would be the firft man. Accordingly we came on board. '777- 

 I kept them there till near four o'clock, when I conduded 

 them afhore ; and, foon after, the kid, and one of the 

 turkey-cocks, were brought back. The other, ihey faid, 

 Ihould be reftored the next morning. I believed this would 

 happen, and releafed both them and the canoes. 



Afcer the Chiefs had left us, I walked out with Omai, 

 to obferve how the people about us fared ; for this was the 

 time of their meals. I found that, in general, they were 

 at lliort commons. Nor is this to be wondered at, fince 

 moft of the yams, and other provifions which they brought 

 with them, were fold to us ; and they never thought of re- 

 turning to their own habitations, while they could find 

 any fort of fubliftence in our neighbourhood. Our ftation 

 was upon an uncultivated point of land ; fo that there 

 were none of the iflanders, who, properly, relided within 

 half a mile of us. But, even at this diftance, the multitude 

 of ftrangers being fo great, one might have expected, that 

 every houfe would have been much crowded. It was quite 

 otherwife. The families refiding there were as much left 

 to themfelves, as if there had not been a fupernumerary 

 vifiter near them. All the ftrangers lived in little tempo- 

 rary flieds, or under trees and buflies ; and the cocoa-trees 

 were ilripped of their branches, to eredl habitations for the 

 Chiefs. 



In this walk we met with about half a dozen womx?n, in 

 one place, at fupper. Two of the company, I obfcrved, 

 being fed by the others, on our afking the reafon, they 

 faid taboo tnattee. On farther inquiry we found, that one of 

 them had, two months before, wa(hed the dead corpfe of 

 a Chief; and that, on this account, fhe was not to handle 

 any food for five months. The other liad performed the 



Vol. J. Rr fame 



