1773*
A ugust.
Friday *o.
fliirts, and other goods of value to the Tabeitians, but M i
without fuccefs, their conftant anfwer being, that thefe animals
were the king’s fa ff’s) property. Inftead of acquief-
cing in this refufal, and acknowledging the'kind difpofi-
tion of the natives, who furniffied us at- leaft with the-
means of recovering our ftrength, and reftoring our fick,
a propofal was made to the captains, by feme perfons m
the ffiips, to fweep away by force a fefficient number of
hogs for our ufe, and afterwards to return fuch a quantity,
of our goods in exchange to the natives,, as we fliould think
adequate to the fpoil we had taken. This propofal, which*
nothing but the moft tyrannical principles,' and.the meaneft
felfifhnefs could have dictated, was received with the contempt
and indignation which it juftly deferved.
Our acquifitions in natural hiftory being; hitherto fo m-
cohfiderable, we had leifure every day to ramble in the;
country in fearch of others, -as well as to pick up various ,
circumftances, which might ferve to throw a light on the;
character, manners, and prefent Rate of the inhabitants.
On the 20th towards noon, ? directed my walk, in;
company with foveral officers, to the eaftern point of the
harbour. We foon came to a rivulet, which was wide and
deep enough to admit a canoe upon it, by means of which
we ferried over to the oppofite ffiore, where we perceived a
houfe of fome extent, among the buffies. Before it we faw
a quantity of the finer forts of Taheitee cloth fpread out on
1 the
the grafs, which the natives told us, had been waffied in Au=”
the river -, and clofe to the houfe, fufpended on a pole, we
obferved a target of a femicircular form, made of wickei
work, and plaited firings (of the coco-nut fibres,) covered
with the gloffy bluifh-green feathers of akind of pigeon, and
ornamented with many fhark’s teeth, difplayed in three
•co-centric femicircles; I enquired whether it was to be pur-
chafed, but was anfwered in the negative, and concluded
that it was only expofed to the air, in the fame-manner as
we are ufed to do from time to time, with things which
we preferve in clofe boxes. A middle-aged man, 'who
lay ftretched at his eafe in the hut, invited us to fit
down by him, and curiouily examined my drefs; he had
long nails'on his fingers, upon which he valued him-
felf not a little, and which I found were a mark of diftinc-
•tion, fince only fuch perfons, as had no occafion to work,
•could fuffer them to grow to that length, The Chinefe
have the fame cuftom, and pride themfelves as much in it ;
hut whether the Taheitians derive it from them, or whether
-chance has led them both to the fame idea, without any
communication with each other, is poffibly beyond the art
of Needham and Des Guignes to determine. In different
corners of the hut we faw fome women and fome men,
feparately eating their dinner of bread-fruit and bananas,
and both parties, as we approached them, defired us to partake
of their provifions. The Angular cuftom, which forces
O o 2 ^e