oji.j rVitmal' up winot tf 

 lbs Prejees. 



CUSTOMS OP THE FEEJEE GROUP, 



Persona] (ifipearancc of 

 llM Fcej«*s. 



lost a great pnrt of his crew by sickness and deser- 

 tion, lie desired to procure hands for his ship, 

 which wa*. s'.ill at Sandalwood Hay, ami obtained 

 tliirty-five men, one of whom was Paddy dime!. 

 At the time they were ready to depart, a French 

 privateer, he CUriant, Captain Onbardieu, put 

 into Sydney, when Captain Sartori engaged a 

 passage fur himself and hi* men to the Foejees. 

 On their way they touched at Norfolk Island, where 

 the shin a truck, and damaged her keel »o much 

 that they wore obliged to put into tho Bay of 

 Islands For repairs. I'addy asserts that a difficulty 

 had occurred hero between Captain Sartori and 

 his men about tlnir provisions, whieh was amicably 

 f. ll ltd. The Gloriant finally sailed from New 

 Zealand fur Tungalubon, where they arrived just 

 after tbe capture of a vessel, which he supposed to 

 have Keen the Tort an Prince, as they had obtained 

 m, my av;i«'k-s from the natives, which had evidently 

 belonged to some large vessel. Here they re- 

 inaimd some mouths, and then bailed for Sandal- 

 wood Bay, where the men, on account of their 

 former quarrel with Captain Sartori, refused to go 

 oti board the (b.-in rai \V. M< -.^U y : some of ill. -in 

 ■hipped on board the Gloriant, and other*, with 

 Paddy, determined to remain on shore with the 

 natives. He added, that Captain Sartori was kind 

 to him, and at parting had given him a pistol, cut- 

 lass, and an old good-for-nothing musket; these, 

 with his sea-cln-Ht and a few dollies, were all that 

 he possessed. He had now lived forty years among 

 these savages. After hearing his whole story, I 

 told him I did not believe a word of it ; to winch 

 he answered, that the main part of it was true, but 

 he might have made some mistakes, as he had been 

 so much in the habit of lying to the Feejceans, that 

 he hardly now knew when he told the truth t adding 



that he had no desire to tell any thing but the 



(nth. 



Paddy turned out to be a very amusing fellow, 

 and possessed an accurate knowledge of the Fee- 

 jee rharactcr. Some of the whites told me that he 

 wsh more than half Feejee ; indeed he seemed to 

 delight in showing how marly he was allied to 

 them in fooling an( J proju nsiti<-s ; ami, like them, 

 seemed to fix his attention upon trifles. He gave 

 me a droll account of his daily employments, 

 which it would be inappropriate to give here, Riid 

 finished by telling me the only wish he had then, 

 was to get for his little boy, ou whom he doaU-d, a 

 small hatchet, and the only articles he had to offer 

 for it were a lew old hens. On my asking him if 

 he did not cultivate the ground, he said at nnce no, 

 he found it much easier to get his living by tilling 

 the lYeje-eans stories, which he could always make 

 Rood enough for them ; these, and the care of his 

 two little boys, and his hens, and his pigs, when he 

 bad any, gave h'uu ample employment and plenty 

 of f<>oi|. He had lived much at Rewa, and until 

 lately had been a resident at Levuka, but had, in 

 consequence of his intrigues, been expelled by the 

 white residents, to [he islimd of Ambatiki. Jr ap- 

 peared that they had unanimously com© to the 

 conclusion that if he did not remove, they would 

 he obliged to put him to dealh for their own safety. 

 J could not indureW hippy or Tmn to give me the cir- 

 cumstances that occasioned this determination, and 

 Paddy would not communicate more than that his 

 residence on Ambatiki was a forced one, and that 

 it was as though he was living out of the world, 

 rearing pigs, fowls, and children. Of the last 

 description of live stock he had forty-eight, and 

 hoped that he mij>ht live to see fifly born to him. 

 He luid had one hundred wives. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



CUSTOMS OF THE FEEJEE GROUP. 

 isTnoueeTORv remarks— reuon«L appear axce or mr katites — their expression op covntf.xaxce— their 



CHARACTER— DIVI110* OF TRIBES AMI RAXK— VASl'jt— i'l EJ EK W AH»— (" ERF. MDN I E* IN DEC I. A ni N O ffJOl- 

 ADDRXSIES TO THE V A RX10R1 — F LAOS— FORTS FICATI OSS— 11 E<iK» — HOOK OF 11MIM FOR rKACE' — CEREMONIES 

 OF A CAPITULATlOX— *CBJEt"T TRIBES— RELIGION— TRA DIT1UK OF THE oUli.IS OF II I' I ' ASD OF A DELtG f — 

 CODS— RELIEF IS SPIRITS — NDXNUEI, TUEIX SUPREME COP — II It SQXi— INFBRlUR GODS — OTHER R E 1.1'. K.I J 

 OPINIONS — IDEA OF A SECOND DEATH— M HIRES OR SF1 MTUOCSES— AM RATI OR PRIESTS— THE IX JCOGLERV — 

 THEIR INFLUENCE — ORACLE AT LEVUEA — SACRI PlrEl — RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS -MARRIAGES— IXFIDtLITT AND 

 ITS rcXtSBMEST— BIRTHS— CONSEQUENCES OF THE RELIGIOUS BELIEF— PARENTS PCT TO DEATH— SIM CI I>E — 

 WIVES STRANGLED AT FC SERA LS — DEFOX M ED A XD DISEASED PERSONS FCT TO DEATH — HCM A N SACRIFICES — 

 FUNERAL RITES— MOFRXIXa — C A N Nl S A 1.1 S U — *RJC X OF HUMAN LlFF. — ATTACKS OK FOREIGN VESSELS— CASK Of 

 THE CHARLES HOGG ETT, AX AMERICAN 8E10 — VEXDOVl's PA RTtl'IPATl ON — RESOLUTION IX HEGaSD TO HIM. 



Bkkore proceeding to the narration of tlie opera- 

 tions of the squadron in the Feejee Group, it would 

 ap|vear expedient to give Borne account of the 

 people who inhabit the islands of which it is com- 

 posed. A reader unacquainted with their manners 

 and customs can hardly appreciate the difficulties 

 wiih which the performance of our duties was 

 attended, or the obstacles which impeded our pro- 

 gress. Our information, in relation to the almost 

 unknown race which occupies the Feejee Group, 



was ol iained from persuntJ observation, from the 

 statements of the natives themselves, and from 

 white residents, I also derived much information 

 from the missionaries, who, influenced by motives 

 of religion, have undertaken the arduous, and as 

 yet unprofitable task, of introducing the light of 

 civilization and the illumination of the Gospel into 

 this benighted region. 



Although, ns we shall see, the natives of Feejee 

 have made considerable progress in several of the 



