*773*
A ugust.
the fexes to fliun each others company at their meals, is-
already mentioned by former voyagers, who have been
equally unfuccefsful with ourfelves in difcovering its
caufe.
We left this hut, and ftrolled' through an odoriferous-
fhrubbery to another, where we found O-Tai, his wife, and-
children, and his filters Maroya and Maroraï. The officer
who had Toff his bed-ffieets was with us, but thought it to-
no puTpofe to enquire for them, and rather tried to ingratiate
himfelf with the fair one. Beads, nails, and various-
trifles were prefented to her, which flie readily accepted)
but remained inexorable to the paffionate follicitations o f
her lover. As flie had in all probability obtained the pof-
feffion of the Iheets, which flie coveted, and for, which'
alone flie could have fübmitted to proftitution, it feems nothing
could afterwards tempt her to; admit the tranfienr
embraces of a ftranger. This is the moft likely conftruc-
tion we could' put upon her conduct, and it became more
probable to us, when we confideredj that flie belonged to a
family of fbme note, and that, during captain Book’s long
flay on the ifland in the Endeavour, there had been few, if
any inftances, that women among the better fort of people
had demeaned themfelves fo far. After a fliort flay with
them, 1 returned to our trading place, but finding all our
boats gone off, ventured to embark in a Angle canoe, without
an outrigger, and was fafely brought on board the Re.-
folution.
folution fox a fingle bead, which was all 1 had left after amu
this excurfion.
At day-break the next morning we went affiore again, Saturday
on another walk to the eaftward. We obferved the plain
to widen, as we advanced beyond the eaft point of Aitepe-
ha harbour, and of eourfe growing richer in bread-fruit
and coco-nut trees, bananas, and other vegetable productions,
on moft of which we faw the buds of a future crop.
The houfes of the natives were likewife found to be more
numerous, and many feemed to us neater and newer than
thofe near our anehoring-place. In one of them, which
was of the clofer fort, -walled in with reeds, we faw a great
many bundles- of cloth, and cafes for targets fufpended
from the roof, all which, as well as the houfe itfelf, we
were informed belonged to Aheatua. We walked about
two miles in the moft delightful groves or plantations of
fruit-trees, where the natives were juft returning to their
various employments.. Among them we eafily noticed
the manufacturers of cloth, by the hollow found of the
mallet. However, it muff not be fuppofed, that the ne-
ceffities of thefe people urgently required their conftant
application to work; for our appearance foon gathered a
eroud of them about us, who followed us all day as-far
as we went, and fometimes even neglected their- meals on.
our account.. It was not without fome interefted motives,.
that they attended upon us. Their general behaviour towards!