We had no fooner difpatched our friends than we faw a
number of war canoes coming round the point of Oparree.
Being defirous of having a nearer view of them, accompanied
by fome of the officers and gentlemen, I haftened down
to Oparree, which we reached before all the canoes were
landed, and had an opportunity of feeing in what manner
they approached the fhore. When they got before the place
where they intended to land, they formed themfelves into
divifions, confiding of three or four, or perhaps more, lafhed
fquare and clofe along-fide of each other; and then each
divifion, one after the other, paddled in for the fhore with
all their might, and conduced in fo judicious a manner that
they formed, and clofed a line, along the fhore, to an inch.
The rowers were encouraged to exert their ftrength by their
leaders on the ftages, and direfted by a man who flood with
a wand in his hand in the fore-part of the middlemofl veffel.
This man, by words and adlions, diredled the paddlers
when all ffiould paddle, when either the one fide or the other
fliould ceafe,-&c.; for the fleering paddles alone .were not
fufficient to direCt them. All thefe motions they obferved
with fuch quicknefs as clearly ffiewed them to be expert in
their buiinefs. After Mr. Hodges had made a drawing of
them, as they lay ranged along the fhore, we landed, and
took a nearer view of them by going on board feveral. This
fleet confided of forty fail, equipped in the fame manner
as thofe we had feen before, belonged to the little diflricT of
Tettaha, and were come to Oparree to be reviewed before the
king, as the former fleet had been. There were attending
on this fleet fome fmall double canoes, which they called
Marais, having on their fore-part a kind of double bed-
place laid over with green leaves, each juft fufficient to hold
-o.n.e man. Thefe they told us, were to lay their dead upon ;
their
their chiefs, I fuppofe the'y meant, btherwife their flain muff >m-
be few. Otoo, who was prefent, caufed, at my requefl, fome t— v—_»•
of their troops to go through their exercife on fhore. Two Sat“,day
parties fird began with clubs, but this was over almod as>
foon as begun; fo that I had no time to make my obferva-
tions upon it. They then went to fingle combat, and exhibited
the various methods of fighting with great alertnefs ;-
parrying off the blows and pufhes,’ which each combatant
aimed at the other, with great dexterity. Their arms were
clubs and fpears; the latter they alfo ufe as darts. In fighting
with the club, all blows intended to be given the legs,
were evaded by leaping over it; and thofe intended for the
head, by couching a little and leaping on one fide; thus
the blow would fall to the ground. The fpear or dart was
parried, by fixing the point of a fpear in the ground right
before them, holding it in an inclined pofition, more or lefs •
elevated according to the part of the body they faw their
antagonift intending to make a pufh, or throw his dart at,
and by moving the hand a little to the right or left, either
the one or the other was turned off with great eafe. I
thought that when one combatant had parried off the
blows, &c. of the other, he did not ufe the advantage which
feemed to me to accrue. As,, for inflance; after he had
parried off a dart, he flill flood on the defenfive, and fuffered
his antagonift to take up another, when I thought there was
time to run him through the body. Thefe combatants had
no fuperfluous drefs upon them; an unneceffary piece of
cloth or two, which they had on when they began, were
prefently torn off by the by-ftanders, and given to fome of
our gentlemen prefent. This being over, the fleet departed;
not in any order, but as faft as they could be got afloat; and
we went with Otoo to one of his dock-yards, where the two
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