90 Porter's Ventage 



(mmf^ &c. &c. Matter expresses every degree of injury vihxth 

 can happen to a person or thing from the slightest harm to 

 the most cruel death. Thus a prick of the finger is mattee, to 

 have a pain in any part is mattee ; mattee is to be sick ; to be 

 badly wounded is mattee, and mattee is to kill or be kill, to be 

 broke, (when speaking of inanimate objects) to be injured in any 

 way, even to be dirtied or soiled is expressed by the word mattee, 

 MotaJcee, with slight variations of the voice, signifies every degree 

 of good, from a thing merely tolerable, to an object of the 

 greatest excellence ; thus it is, so, so, good, very good, excellent: 

 it signifies the qualities and dispositions of persons ; thus they are 

 tolerable, likely, handsome, or beautiful,— good, hind, benevolent, 

 generous, humane. Keheva, which signifies is as extensive 

 in its use as motaJcee, and, by suitable modulations of the voice, 

 has meanings directly opposite. This is the case with many other 

 words in their language; indeed with all we became acquainted 

 with. Kie-kie signifies to eat, it also signifies a troublesome fel- 

 low ; may it not also have many other significations, with which 

 we are unacquainted ? — it may signify to cut up, to divide, to sacri- 

 jice, to Jceep as trophies ; whether it has these significations I am 

 unable to say, and Wilson could not inform me ; but many cir- 

 cumstances induce me to believe they meant no more, when they 

 informed me they sometimes ate their enemies. That they offer 

 the bodies of their enemies as sacrifices to their gods, I had more 

 than once an opportunity of seeing, while T remained on the 

 island. Unfortunately the wars we were under the necessity of 

 carrying on against the hostile tribes furnished them with too 

 many subjects. Their fondness for their bones as trophies, is 

 evident to every person. Their skulls are carefully preserved 

 and hung up in their houses. Their thigh bones are formed into 

 harpoons, and sometimes are richly ornamented with carvings; 

 their smaller bones are formed into ornaments to be hung round 

 their necks, representing figures of their gods ; they are also con- 

 verted into fan-handles ; form a part of the ornaments of their 

 war conchs, and in fact compose part of every description of 

 ornament where they can possibly be applied. 



I now inquired if they had heard from the Happahs since 

 the battle : they told me one of that tribe had that morning ar- 

 rived. I directed him to be sent for ; he approached, trembling 

 for safety ; but on my offering my hand, which I had taught all 

 the natives was a token of friendship, his fears seemed to subside. 

 I learnt from him that many of the tribe were badly wounded^ 

 and that the whole were in the utmost dismay, and desired no- 

 thing more ardently than peace. I represented to him the folly 

 of opposing their arms to ovirs, and to convince him of the supe- 

 riority of muskets, I fired at a tree some distance off* ; the ball 



