170 REMARKS AND OPINIONS. 



our gifts liom the more powerful. They appear 

 to be subordinate to each otlier in several degrees, 

 without our being able rightly to understand theii* 

 respective relations. Rarick was the most con- 

 siderable in Otdia; his father Saur-aur, perhaps the 

 real chief of the group, lived at Aur. Rarick and 

 Jiis son, a boy about ten years old, alone wore 

 several stripes of pandanus leaves, in which knots 

 were made, round the neck ; and it seems to be a 

 privilege. We have seen similar strips hanging in 

 the houses of the chiefs, which, with dried fish- 

 heads, unripe cocoa, and stones, have the appear- 

 ance of consecrated objects. The succession is 

 not direct from father to son, but from the elder 

 brother to the younger, till after the decease of all, 

 the first born son of the elder brother succeeds. 

 Women are excluded, When a chief approaches 

 an island a signal is given from his boat, and his 

 wants are immediately supplied with the best that 

 is to be procured. This signal is given by the 

 person who is in the fore part of the ship, by 

 raising his right arm, and calling. This was also 

 observed when the officers of the expedition sailed 

 in the boats of the natives. The chiefs are dis- 

 tinguished by freer motion in their gait, which the 

 common man is not allowed to imitate. 



The princes call their people together for war. 

 The chief of each group joins the squadron with 

 his boats. They undertake to surjirise an enemy's 



