214 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF NEW ZEALAND cu. Ix 
been ashore at a spot where were many deserted Indian 
houses: here he had seen several things tied up to the 
branches of trees, particularly human hair, which he brought 
away with him, enough to have made a sizable wig. This 
induced him to think that the place was consecrated to 
religious purposes; possibly it was, as they certainly have 
such places among them, though I have not yet been lucky 
enough to meet with them. 
24th. Went to-day to the heppah or town, to see our 
friends the Indians, who received us with much confidence 
and civility, and showed us every part of their habitations, 
which were neat enough. The town was situated upon a 
small island or rock separated from the main by a breach in 
the rock, so small that a man might almost jump over it; 
the sides were everywhere so steep as to render fortifications, 
even in their fashion, almost totally unnecessary ; accordingly 
there was nothing but a slight palisade, and one small fight- 
ing stage at one end where the rock was most accessible. 
The people brought us several bones of men, the flesh of 
which they had eaten. These are now become a kind of 
article of trade among our people, who constantly ask for 
and purchase them for whatever trifles they have. In one 
part we observed a kind of wooden cross ornamented with 
feathers, made exactly in the form of a crucifix. This 
engaged our attention, and we were told that it was a 
monument to a dead man; maybe a cenotaph, as the body 
was not there. This much they told us, but would not let 
us know where the body was. 
25th. Dr. Solander and I (who have now nearly ex- 
hausted all the plants in our neighbourhood) went to-day 
to search for mosses and small things, in which we had 
great success, gathering several very remarkable ones. In 
the evening we went out in the pinnace, and fell in with a 
large family of Indians, who have now begun to disperse 
themselves, as is, I believe, their custom, into the different 
creeks and coves where fish are most plentiful. A few only 
remain in the heppah, to which they all fly in times of 
danger. These people came a good way to meet us at a 
