THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 341 



people. And, yef, all imaginable care feemed to be taken, 'j;?- 

 that they mould fee as little as poffible ; for the fences had 

 not only been repaired that niorning, but, in many places, 

 raifed higher than common ; fo that the talleft man could 

 not look over them. To remedy this defe6l in our flation, 

 we took the liberty to cut holes in the fence, with our 

 knives; and, by this means, we could fee, pretty diflincfliy, 

 every thing that was tranfac^ing on the other fide. 



On our arrival at our flation, we found two or three 

 hundred people, fitting on the grafs, near the end of the 

 road that opened into the area of the moral-, and the num- 

 ber continually increafed, by others joining them. At length, 

 arrived a few men carrying fome fmall poles, and branches 

 or leaves of the cocoa-nut tree ; and, upon their firft ap- 

 pearance, an old man feated himfelf in the road, and, with 

 his face toward them, pronounced a long oration in a feri- 

 ous tone. He then retired back, and the others advancing 

 to the middle of the area, began to eredl a fmall fhed j em- 

 ploying, for that purpofe, the materials above-mentioned. 

 When they had finifhed their work, they all fquatted down, 

 for a moment, before it, then rofe up, and retired to the refl 

 of the company. Soon after, came Poulaho's fon, preceded 

 by four or five men, and they feated themfelves a little afide 

 from the flied, and rather behind it. After them, appeared 

 twelve or founeen women of the firft rank, walking flowly 

 in pairs, each pair carrying between them, a narrow piece 

 of v^hite cloth extended, about two or three yards in length. 

 Thefe marched up to the prince, fquatted dov/n before him j 

 and, having wrapped fome of the pieces of the cloth they 

 had brought, round his body, they rofe up, and retired in 

 the fame order, to fome diftance on his left, and there feated 

 themfelves. Poulaho himfelf foon made his appearance, 



preceded 



