NOV. 1769 DESCRIPTION OF A HEPPAH 199 



some little time in making presents to their women. In 

 the meanwhile we saw the inhabitants of the other come 

 down from it, men, women and children, about one hundred 

 in number, and march towards us ; as soon as they came 

 near enough they waved, and called haromai, and sat down 

 in the bushes near the beach (a sure mark of their good 

 intentions). 



We went to them, made a few presents, and asked leave 

 to go up to their heppah, which they with joy invited us to 

 do, and immediately accompanied us to it. It was called 

 Wharretoueva, and was situated at the end of a hill where 

 it jutted out into the sea, which washed its two sides : these 

 were sufficiently steep, but not absolutely inaccessible. Up 

 one of the land sides, which was also steep, went the road ; 

 the other side was flat and open. The whole was enclosed 

 by a palisade about ten feet high, made of strong poles 

 bound together with withies : the weak side next the hill 

 had also a ditch, twenty feet in depth nearest the palisade. 

 Besides this, beyond the palisade was built a fighting stage, 

 which they call pordva. It is a flat stage covered with 

 branches of trees upon which they stand to throw darts or 

 stones at their assailants, they themselves being out of 

 danger. Its dimensions were as follows : its height above 

 the ground 20 J feet, breadth 6 feet 6 inches, length 43 feet ; 

 upon it were laid bundles of darts, and heaps of stones, ready 

 in case of an attack. One of the young men at our desire 

 went up to show their method of fighting, and another went 

 to the outside of the ditch to act as assailant ; they both 

 sang their war-song, and danced with the same frightful 

 gesticulations as we have often seen, threatening each other 

 with their weapons. This, I suppose, they do in their attacks, 

 to work themselves into a sufficient fury of courage, for 

 what we call calm resolution is, I believe, found in few un- 

 civilised people. The side next the road was also defended 

 by a similar stage, but much longer ; the other two were by 

 their steepness thought to be sufficiently secure with the 

 palisade. The inside was divided into, I believe, twenty 

 larger and smaller divisions, some of which contained not 



