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. A pr il . ant line, refembling that glory of light with which our
painters commonly ornament the heads of angels and faints.
A large turban of cloth was required for this huge un-
weildy machine to reft upon; but as it is intended merely
to ftrike the' beholder with admiration, and can be of no
fervice, the warriors foon took it off, and placed it on the
platform near them. The principal commanders were
moreover diftinguiftred by long round tails, made of green
and yellow feathers, which hung down on the back, and
put us in mind of the Turkifli baflias. Towhah, their admiral,
wore five of them, to the ends of which feveral
firings of coco-nut core were added, with a few red feathers
affixed to them. He had no helmet on, but wore .a
fine turban, which fat very gracefully upon his head. He
was a man feemingly near fixty years of age, but extremely
vigorous, tall, and of a very engaging noble countenance.
Having reached our boat again, we rowed along under
the fterns of the canoes to the end of the file. "In each canoe
wetook notice of vail bundles of fpears, and long clubs
or battle-axes, placed upright againft the platform ; and
every warrior had either a club or fpear in his hand. Vaft
heaps of large ftones were likewife piled up in every canoe,
being their only miffile weapons. Befides the veflels of
war, which we found to ’confift of one hundred and fifty-
nine double canoes, we counted feventy fmaller canoes without
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out the ranks, moll of which were double likewife, with a Arlii,
roof on the ftern, intended for the reception of the chiefs at
night, and as victuallers to the fleet. A few of them were
feen, on which banana-leaves were very confpicuous ; and
thefe the natives told us were to receive the killed, and they
called them e-vaa no t’Eatua, ‘‘ the canoes of the Divinity.’'
The immenfe number of people thus afiembled together was,
in faCt, more .furprifing than the fplendor of the whole
fliew. Upon a very moderate calculation, there could not
be lefs than fifteen hundred warriors, and four thoufand
paddlers, befides thofe who were in the provifion-boats, and
the prodigious crouds on the fhore.
We were at a lofs to know the meaning of this armament,
nor could we obtain any. information till we came back
to our fliip. The king haying left O-Parre, and gone into
the diftriCl of Matavai, we returned on board about noon.
There we found many chiefs, and among the reft Potatow,
who dined with us, and informed us, that the whole armament
was intended againft the ifland of Eimeo, of which
the chief, a vaflal of O-Too, had revolted. We learnt at the
fame time, to our greater furprize, that the fleet which we
had feen was only the naval force of the fingle diftriift of
Atahooroo, and that all the other diftrifts could furnilh
their quota of veflels in proportion to their fize. This account
opened our eyes, in regard to the population of the
ifland, and convinced us in a few moments, that it was
y ° L- H- K ' much