THIRD VOYAGE 259 



" Poulaho, the king, as I shall now call him, came on 

 board betimes next morning, and brought as a present to 

 me one of their caps, made or at least covered with red 

 feathers. These caps, or rather bonnets, are composed of 

 the tail feathers of the tropic bird, with the red feathers 

 of the paroquets wrought upon them, or jointly with them. 

 They are made so as to tie upon the forehead without any 

 crown, and have the form of a semicircle, whose radius is 

 eighteen or twenty inches. 



" At daybreak the next morning I weighed with a fine 

 breeze, and stood to the westward with a view to return to 

 Annamooka. We were followed by several sailing canoes, 

 in one of which was the king. He quitted us in a short time, 

 but left his brother and five of his attendants on board. We 

 had also the company of a chief just then arrived from 

 Tongataboo, whose name was Tooboueitoa. The moment 

 he arrived he sent his canoe away, and declared that he, and 

 five more who came with him, would sleep on board ; so 

 that I had now my cabin filled with visitors. They brought 

 plenty of provisions with them, for which they always had 

 suitable returns. 



" In our course the ship was very near running full upon 

 a low, sandy isle, called Pootoo. It happened very for- 

 tunately that the people had just before been ordered upon 

 deck to put the ship about, so that the necessary movements 

 were executed with judgment and alertness ; and this alone 

 saved us from destruction. The Discovery, being astern, 

 was out of danger. Such hazardous situations are the 

 unavoidable companions of the man who goes upon a 

 voyage of discovery. 



" This circumstance frightened our passengers so much 

 that they expressed a strong desire to get ashore. Accord- 

 ingly, as soon as daylight returned, I hoisted out a boat, and 

 ordered the officer who commanded her, after landing 

 them at Kotoo, to sound along the reef for anchorage. 



" Having met with a convenient station, we lay here until 

 the 4th, when we weighed and stood away for Annamooka, 

 where we anchored next morning. 



" I went on shore soon after, and found the inhabitants 

 very busy in digging up yams to bring to market. These 

 were now in the greatest perfection ; and we procured a 

 good quantity in exchange for pieces of iron. 



" About noon next day, Feenou arrived from Vavaoo. 

 He told us that several canoes laden with hogs and other 

 provisions, which had sailed with him from that island, had 

 been lost, owing to the late blowing weather, and that every- 

 body on board them had perished. This melancholy tale 

 did not seem to affect any of his countrymen who heard it ; 



