TE PITO TE HENUA, OR EASIER ISLAND. 4H5 



To reach the landing-place the boats had to pass a small isolated rock 

 upon which many persons had congregated, and who sang a song of wel- 

 come, accompanied by gestures showing thai, the visit was acceptable. On 

 shore the party was surrounded by a crowd clamorous to obtain some- 

 thing from the strangers, the few presents ottered were accepted, and 

 then everything that came handy appropriated in the most opeu man 

 ner. This led to a scuffle, in which slicks and stones were freely used, 

 resulting in a fight in which the native chief was shot and killed. The 

 punishment of the natives, according to European ideas, was both cruel, 

 and unnecessary. La Perouse judged the same crimes more leniently, 

 and did not feel justified in committing murder to avenge petty thefts. 

 The outrages perpetrated upon the defenseless people by Captain Rugg, 

 of the Friend, and other freebooters, including the Peruvian slavers, 

 require no comment. 



THIEVING. 



The natives did not attach any moral delinquency to the practice of 

 thieving. They had a god of thieving, and successful operations were 

 believed to be accomplished under his patronage, and only detected 

 when not sanctioned by that spiiit. The detected thief was made to 

 suffer for his crime by an established system of retaliation peculiar to 

 themselves, but the individual never lost caste or the respect of his 

 friends. Thieves caught in tne act might be bea' en, knocked about, 

 and the aggressor was permitted to otter no resistance in the efforts to 

 escape, although he might be the largest and most powerful. Before 

 the retaliation could be enforced, the theft had to be proven and tixed 

 beyond question, then the plundered individual was at liberty to recover 

 the value of the loss from any property available belonging to the robber, 

 and in the event of the value not being recovered, articles of value 

 could be destroyed to equalize the amount. Retaliation for theft could 

 be enforced by the weak and feeble against the strong and powerful, 

 and any resistance would call to their aid the entire community. 



The rite of circumcision, so common throughout Polynesians unknown 

 here, and their language contains no equivalent word for it. At the 

 presenttime, all the natives have professed Christianity, and the ancient 

 customs have been replaced by the ceremonies of the church to a great 

 extent, but since the departure of the missionaries there has been a 

 tendency to return to the old ideas, and many superstitions and practices 

 are mingled with their religion. The marriage ceremony is performed 

 by the acting priest in the church, but the practice is permitted with 

 children who have not reached the age of puberty, and the betrothal is 

 conducted by parents, the relations of the female paying a stipulated 

 amount, generally in food to be consumed by the friends at the least 

 given to celebrate the event. It is not certain that polygamy ever 

 existed, but an ancient custom permitted the husband to sell or lease 

 his wife to another for a stated term. On account of the disproportion 

 in the number of the sexes, celibacy was a matter of necessity, and 

 11. Mis. L'L'I, pt. l' 30 



