114 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 Hwhatta, 
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 EHwharre 
no Hatua, 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 
