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from Tonga; and although the captain wished him. to come on board, he had determined to remain at Vavaoo until some British ship should arrive.With feelings that almost choked his utterance, he now ordered them to return to Ofoo. Every body wondered to see him return: his story, however, was readily believed; but it seemed strange that he had brought them no presents from on board. "What a number of axes he has got for us!" said one ironically: "And what a heap of lookingglasses!" said another. "Beads will now become quite common," said a third; "for Togi is going to give necklaces to all the girls in Vavaoo.' These jokes were exceedingly mortifying, and nothing could be worse timed. He endeavoured to laugh at their humour; and by way of apology for his neglect, he told them that he was so disappointed at not finding the ship bound for his own country, that he had forgotten to ask for some presents and besides, that he knew she had very few of those things on board, as she came from a country where they were scarce. Finow endeavoured to console him for his disappointment, assuring him in the kindest manner that he should go by the next ship bound to his own country. Another month now elapsed without any important circumstance occurring, when there arrived from the Fiji Islands four canoes, bringing a Tonga mataboole, named Cow Mooala and his retinue, who had been absent from Tonga many years: But a narrative of this person's adventures in foreign islands will best form a chapter of itself.

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CHAPTER X.

Cow MOOALA went out to the Fiji Islands with a number of young men, for the sake of an excursion, and to mingle in the wars of those people; sometimes at one island, sometimes at another, from the same motives probably as actuated Tooi Hala Fatai: (see p. 78). After having been absent about two years, he set sail on his return home, and having arrived within sight of Vavaoo, the wind became unfavourable to land, and the sea running very high, he was obliged to change his course, and make for Hamoa, (the Navigator's Islands); but the wind soon increasing to a heavy gale, drifted him to the Island of Fotoona, situated to the north-west of Hamoa. As soon as the natives of this place observed his approach, a number of small canoes (for they were not in possession of sailing canoes) came from the shore to meet him; and, consistently with the laws and customs of the island, took possession of his canoe, and all his property. It forms an important part of the religion of this island to consider every thing that arrives there, whether of great or little value, as the property of their gods; no matter whether it be a large canoe, or a log of wood. It is first

offered to the gods by the priest, with an appropriate address, * and is afterwards shared out among the chiefs. This spoliation is believed to be necessary for the welfare of the country; lest the gods should send a sickness among them, and cut them off, for infringing upon the great doctrine of their religion. This seems a very arbitrary law, and likely to have been invented for the purpose of plundering strangers, under the mask of religion. But although they strip all strangers, without distinction, that come within their power, in return they fit them out with other canoes, (entirely at the expense of the chiefs who shared the plunder; and supply them with so much of the produce of the island as may be necessary to support them in their way home; together with presents of their gnatoo, mats, tortoise-shell, &c.; and withal behave very kindly: but not one single article that has been taken from them, however small the value, is again returned, even with the most earnest entreaty. Cow Mooala's canoe was laden with sandal-wood, † esteemed a very rich commodity at Tonga, but not one splinter of it was ever returned to him; although the natives of Fotoona could make no use of it, not having adopted

* This is the method of making offerings to the gods in Tonga; and, as Cow Mooala made no mention of any thing particular in this ceremony among the people of Fotoona, it is presumed to be conducted in the same way.

+ Sandal-wood is of the growth of one of the Fiji Islands, called Pau, and of only one spot upon this island, called Vooía. It has, indeed, been planted upon other of the Fiji Islands, but without coming to any state of perfection. It has also been transplanted to the Tonga Islands, but with as little success; for the wood thus produced possesses little or no scent, and consequently is unfit for their purpose.

the practice of oiling themselves. His canoe was dragged on shore, broken to pieces, and offered up to the gods; afterwards the planks were shared out among the chiefs, who devoted them to the purpose of building smaller canoes, one large canoe making four small ones. They seem to have no inclination to visit distant islands, and never therefore build large canoes for themselves. They consequently have no personal knowledge of any country but their own, except a few individuals among them, who have gone away with strangers from motives of curiosity.

Cow Mooala described their method of fighting (for it appears they cannot do without civil wars) which is conducted in two different modes, that is to say, with spears and with sharks' teeth. When a man pierces his enemy with a pike, he endeavours to lift him up from the ground on one end of it, or, if opportunity will allow, he calls some of his comrades to his assistance, who, thrusting their pikes also into him, they lift him high in the air, and carry him in triumph. The mode of fighting with sharks' teeth is as follows:-The teeth being fixed in three rows on the palm and fingers of a species of glove, made of the plaited bark of the heábo, and both hands being armed in this manner, every man endeavours to come to a close scuffle with his antagonist, and to tear open his bowels with these horrid weapons. The supreme chief, in Cow Mooala's time, was a man of remarkable bodily strength, and was always accustomed to fight with this sort of gauntlet in preference to the pike, not, however, to tear open the bowels of his enemy, but merely to catch a firmer hold of him whilst he threw him

on his face. He would then place his foot upon the small of his back, and, seizing fast hold of the hair of his head, so bend his spine as to break it. With little men or boys, however, he would not take so much trouble, but laying them across his knee, as one would a stick, break their backs without farther ceremony ! By way of defence from the pikes of their adversaries, they wear on the left side a species of armour made of the husk of the cocoa-nut plaited thick, and stuffed and quilted on the inside with the loose husk, picked fine. This reaches from the axilla down to the hip. Their wars generally originate in quarrels about hereditary right, or the exaction of tribute.

Some time before Cow Mooala arrived, an European vessel, according to their description (or an American), came to an anchor there. The natives, as usual, put off in their canoes, with a view to take possession of her according to the authority with which they were invested by the gods. The crew readily allowed them to come on board, supposing them to be governed by the usual spirit of curiosity; but showed very strong symptoms of opposition when they began, without ceremony, to plunder, and opened such peals of thunder on them that they were obliged to jump overboard, and swim to their canoes with all expedition, sustaining the loss of forty men. If this account be true, it would argue that they had not seen a ship before, or they certainly would have known her power, and not have made such an attempt. There is no ascertaining when this happened, for the natives keep no account of time.

Mr Mariner does not know how long Cow Mooala remained at Fotoona, but it must have

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