28 A VOYAGE TO FEB. 



to be intended as a present for us, till Kaireekeea in- 

 formed me, that it was a gift, or tribute, from the 

 people of that district to the king; and, according- 

 ly, as soon as we were seated, they brought all the 

 bundles, and laid them severally at Terreeoboo's feet; 

 spreading out the cloth, and displaying the feathers 

 and iron-ware before him. The king seemed much 

 pleased with this mark of their duty ; and having se- 

 lected about a third part of the iron-ware, the same 

 proportion of feathers, and a few pieces of cloth, these 

 were set aside by themselves; and the remainder of 

 the cloth, together with all the hogs and vegetables, 

 were afterward presented to Captain Cook, and my- 

 self. We were astonished at the value and magnitude 

 of this present, which far exceeded every thing of the 

 kind we had seen, either at the Friendly or Society 

 Islands. Boats were immediately sent, to carry them 

 on board; the large hogs were picked out, to be 

 salted for sea-store; and upwards of thirty smaller 

 pigs, and the vegetables were divided between the 

 two crews. 



The same day, we quitted the Moral, and got the 

 tents and astronomical instruments on board. The 

 charm of the taboo was now removed; and we had 

 no sooner left the place, than the natives rushed in 

 and searched eagerly about, in expectation of rinding 

 something of value that we might have left behind. 

 As I happened to remain the last on shore, and wait- 

 ed for the return of the boat, several came crowding 

 about me, and having made me sit down by them, be- 

 gan to lament our separation. It was, indeed, not 

 without difficulty I was able to quit them. And 

 here, I hope, I may be permitted to relate a trifling 

 occurrence, in which I was principally concerned. 

 Having had the command of the party on shore, dur- 

 ing the whole time we were in the bay, I had an op- 

 portunity of becoming better acquainted with the 

 natives, and of being better known to them, than 

 those whose duty required them to be generally on 



