ii4 OTAHITE TO OHETEROA CHAP, vi 



which they seemed much pleased. Tupia, who has always 

 expressed much fear of the men of Bola-Bola, says that they 

 have conquered this island, and will to-morrow come down 

 and fight with us ; we therefore lose no time in going 

 ashore, as we are to have to-day to ourselves. 



On landing Tupia repeated the ceremony of praying, as 

 at Huahine, after which an English Jack was set up on 

 shore, and Captain Cook took possession of this and the other 

 three islands in sight, viz. Huahine, Otahah, and Bola- 

 Bola, for the use of His Britannic Majesty. After this we 

 walked together to a great marai, called Tapodeboatea, 

 whatever that may signify. It is different from those of 

 Otahite, consisting merely of walls of coral stones (some of 

 an immense size) about eight feet high, filled up with 

 smaller ones, and the whole ornamented with many planks 

 set up on end, and carved throughout their entire length. 

 In the neighbourhood of this we found the altar or Ewhatta, 

 upon which lay the last sacrifice, a hog of about eighty 

 pounds weight, which had been put up there whole, and 

 very nicely roasted. Here were also four or five Ewharre 

 no JEatua, or god-houses, which were made to be carried on 

 poles ; one of these I examined by putting my head into it. 

 Within was a parcel about five feet long and one thick, 

 wrapped up in mats. These I tore with my fingers till I 

 came to a covering of mat made of plaited cocoanut fibres, 

 which it was impossible to get through, so I was obliged to 

 desist, especially as what I had already done gave much 

 offence to our new friends. In an adjoining long house, 

 among several other things such as rolls of cloth, etc., was 

 standing a model of a canoe about three feet long, upon 

 which were tied eight human lower jaw-bones. Tupia told 

 us that it was the custom of these islanders to cut off the 

 jaw-bones of those whom they had killed in war. These 

 were, he said, the jaw-bones of Ulhietea people, but how 

 they came here, or why tied thus to a canoe, we could not 

 understand ; we therefore contented ourselves with conjectur- 

 ing that they were placed there as a trophy won back from 

 the men of Bola-Bola, their mortal enemies. Night now 



