250 CAPTAIN COOK'S VOYAGES 



market. We experienced the good effects of his eloquence 

 in the plentiful supply of provisions which next day we 

 received. 



" On the 6th, we were visited by a great chief from 

 Tongataboo, whose name was Feenou, and whom Taipa 

 was pleased to introduce to us as king of all the Friendly 

 Isles. All the natives paid their obeisance to him, by 

 bowing their heads as low as his feet, the soles of which 

 they also touched with each hand, first with the palm 

 and then with the back part. There could be little room 

 to suspect that a person received with so much respect, 

 could be anything less. than the king. 



" In the afternoon I went to pay this great man a 

 visit, having first received a present of two fish from 

 him, brought on board by one of his servants. As soon 

 as I landed, he came up to me. He appeared to be 

 about thirty years of age, tall, but thin, and had more 

 of the European features than any I had yet seen here. 

 After a short stay, our new visitor and five or six of his 

 attendants, accompanied me on board. I gave suitable 

 presents to them all, and entertained them in such a 

 manner as I thought would be most agreeable. 



" In the evening I attended them on shore in my boat, 

 into which the chief ordered three hogs to be put, as a 

 return for the presents he had received from me. 



" The first day of our arrival at Annamooka, one of 

 the natives had stolen, out of the ship, a large junk axe. 

 I now applied to Feenou, who was my guest on the 8th, 

 to exert his authority to get it restored to me ; and so 

 implicitly was he obeyed, that it was brought on board 

 while we were at dinner. These people gave us very 

 frequent opportunities of remarking what expert thieves 

 they were. Even some of the chiefs did not think this 

 profession beneath them. On the lower class a flogging 

 seemed to make no greater impression than it would 

 have done upon the mainmast. When any of them 

 happened to be caught in the act, their superiors, far 

 from interceding for them, would often advise us to kill 

 them. As this was a punishment we did not choose 

 to inflict, they generally escaped without any punishment 

 at all. Captain Clerke at last hit upon a mode of treat- 

 ment, which we thought had some effect. He put them 

 under the hands of the barber, and completely shaved 

 their heads, thus pointing them out as objects of ridicule 

 to their countrymen, and enabling our people to deprive 

 them of future opportunities for a repetition of their 

 rogueries, by keeping them at a distance. 



" Feenou, understanding that I meant to proceed 



