THIRD VOYAGE 287 



belonging to Potatou, where we were entertained and lodged 

 for the night. Some other religious rites were performed 

 next day, but on this subject we think we have said enough 

 to satisfy our readers perhaps to disgust them. 



" The unhappy victim offered to the object of their 

 worship upon this occasion seemed to be a middle-aged man, 

 and as we were told was a towtow that is, one of the 

 lowest class of the people. But after all my inquiries, 

 I could not learn that he had been pitched upon on 

 account of any particular crime committed by him meriting 

 death. Having had an opportunity of examining the 

 appearance of the body of the poor sufferer now offered 

 up, I could observe that it was bloody about the head 

 and face, and a good deal bruised upon the right temple, 

 which marked the manner of his being killed. And we 

 were told that he had been privately knocked on the head 

 with a stone. 



" Whenever any one of the great chiefs thinks a human 

 sacrifice necessary on any particular emergency, he pitches 

 upon the victim. Some of his trusty servants are then sent, 

 who fall upon him suddenly and put him to death with a 

 club or by stoning him. The king is next acquainted with 

 it, whose presence at the solemn rites that follow is, as I 

 was told, absolutely necessary ; and indeed, on the present 

 occasion, we could observe that Otoo bore a principal part. 



" It is much to be regretted that a practice so horrid in its 

 own nature, and so destructive of that inviolable right of 

 self-preservation which every one is born with, should 

 be found still existing. Though we should suppose that 

 never more than one person is sacrificed on any single 

 occasion at Otaheite, it is more than probable that these 

 occasions happen so frequently as to make a shocking waste 

 of the human race ; for I counted no less than forty-nine 

 skulls of former victims lying before the morai, where we saw 

 one more added to the number. And as none of those 

 skulls had as yet suffered any considerable change from the 

 weather, it may hence be inferred that no great length 

 of time had elapsed since at least this considerable number 

 of unhappy wretches had been offered upon this altar of 

 blood. 



" Human sacrifices, however, are not the only barbarous 

 custom we find still prevailing amongst this benevolent, 

 humane people. For besides cutting out the jawbones 

 of their enemies slain in battle, which they carry about 

 as trophies, they in some measure offer their bodies as 

 a sacrifice to the Eatooa. Soon after a battle in which they 

 have been victors, they collect all the dead that have fallen 

 into their hands and bring them to the morai, where, with 



