INQUIRIES AFTER THE BONES OF COOK. 137 
though without success, whether they were still in 
existence, and where they were kept. All those 
of whom inquiry has been made, have uniformly 
asserted, that they were formerly kept by the 
priests of Rono, and worshipped, but have never 
given any satisfactory information as to where 
they are now. Whenever we have asked the 
king, or Hevaheva the chief priest, or any of the 
chiefs, they have either told us they were under 
the care of those who had themselves said they 
knew nothing about them, or that they were now 
lost. 
The best conclusion we may form is, that part 
of Captain Cook’s bones were preserved by the 
priests, and were considered sacred by the people, 
probably till the abolition of idolatry in 1819} 
that, at that period they were committed to the 
secret care of some chief, or deposited by the priests 
who had charge of them, in a cave, unknown to 
all besides themselves. The manner in which 
they were then disposed of, will, it is presumed, 
remain a secret, till the knowledge of it is entirely 
lost. The priests and chiefs always appear un¬ 
willing to enter into conversation on the subject, 
and desirous to avoid the recollection of the un¬ 
happy circumstance. 
From the above account, as well as every other 
statement given by the natives, it is evident that 
the death of Captain Cook was unpremeditated, 
and resulted from their dread of his anger; a sense 
of danger, or the momentary impulse of passion, 
exciting them to revenge the death of the chief 
who had been shot. 
Few- intelligent visitors leave Hawaii without 
making a pilgrimage to the spot where he fell. 
We have often visited it, and, though several 
