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 haromat, 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 pordvé. 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 204 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 
