THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
375 
practice is detefted, very much, by thofe of Tongataboo, 
who cultivate the friendfhip of their favage neighbours of 
Feejee, apparently out of fear; though they fometimes ven¬ 
ture to fkirmifh with them, on their own ground; and 
carry off red feathers, as their booty, w'hich are in great 
plenty there, and, as has been frequently mentioned, are 
in great eftimation among!! our Friendly Iflanders. When 
the two iilands are at peace, the intercourfe between them 
feems to be pretty frequent; though they have, doubtlefs, 
been but lately known to each other; or we may fuppofe, 
that Tongataboo, and its adjoining iilands, would have been 
fupplied, before this, with a breed of dogs, which abound 
at Feejee, and had not been introduced at Tongataboo, fo 
late as 1773, when I fir!! vilited it. The natives of Feejee, 
whom we met with here, were of a colour that was a full 
fhade darker, than that of the inhabitants of the Friendly 
Iilands in general. One of them had his left ear flit, and 
the lobe was fo diffended, that it almoft reached his 
fhoulder; which fingularity I had met with at other iilands 
of the South Sea, during my fecond voyage. It appeared 
to me, that the Feejee men, whom we now faw, were much 
refpe£!ed here; not only, perhaps, from the power, and 
cruel manner of their nation’s going to war, but, alfo, from 
their ingenuity. For they feem to excel the inhabitants of 
Tongataboo in that refpebt, if we might judge from feve- 
ral fpecimens of their fkill in workmanfhip, which we faw; 
fuch as clubs and fpears, which were carved in a very 
maflerly manner; cloth beautifully chequered; variegated 
mats; earthen pots; and fome other articles; all which > 
had a call of fuperiority in the execution. 
I have mentioned, that Feejee lies three days fail from 
Tongataboo, becaufe thefe people have no other method of 
meafuring 
* 717 ’ 
July. 
