-the reef where it ftands. It is elevated about ten or twelve
feet above the furface of the fea that furrounds it. The
bafe it refts upon, is not above one-third of the circumference
of its projecting fummit, which I judged to be about
one hundred feet, and is covered with etaa and p&ndanus
trees.
'' When we got on board the fhip, I found that every th'ing
had been quiet during my abfence, not a theft having been
committed; of which Feenou, and Futtafaihe, the king’s
brother, who had undertaken the management of his
countrymen, boafted not a little. This ihews what power
the Chiefs have, when they have the will to execute it;
which we were feldom to expecT, fince, whatever was
ftolen- from us, generally, if not always, was conveyed to
them.
The good conduit of the natives was of fhort duration;
for, the next day, fix or eight of them affaulted fome of our
people, who were fa wing planks. They were fired upon
by the fentry ; and one was fuppofed to be wounded, and
three others taken. Thefe I kept confined till night; and
did not difmifs them without punifhment. After this, they
behaved with a little more circumfpecftion, and gave us
much lefs trouble. This change of behaviour, was certainly
occafioned by the man being wounded; for, before,
they had only been told of the efteft of fire-arms, but now
they had felt it. The repeated infolence of the natives, had
induced me to order the muikets of the fentries to be
loaded with fmall ihor, and to authorize them to fire on particular
occafions„. I took it for granted, therefore, that this
man had only been wounded with fmall fliot. But Mr.
King and Mr. Anderfon, in an ejxcurfion into the country,
met with him, and found indubitable marks o f his having
■ 4 ’ been
been wounded, but not dangeroufly, with a muiket ball. I >777-
never could find out how this muiket happened to be charged '
with ball; and there were people enough ready to fwear,
that its contents were only fmall ihot.
Mr. Anderfon’s account of the excurfion, juft mentioned,
will fill up an interval of two days, during ivhich nothing,
of note happened, at the fhips: “ Mr. King-and I went, on the
30th, along with Futtafaihe as vifiters to his houfe, which Monday 30.'
is at Mooa, very near that of his brother Poulaho. A ihort
time after we arrived, a pretty large hog was killed ; which
is done by repeated ftrokes on the head. The hair was then
fcraped off, very dextroufly, with the fiiarp edge of pieces
of fplit bambootaking the entrails out at a large oval hole
cut in t'he belly, by the fame fimple inftrument. Before
this, they had prepared an oven ; which is a large hole dug
in the earth, filled at the bottom with itones, about the fize
of the fill, over which a fire is made till they are red hot.
They took fome of thefe ftones, wrapt up in leaves of the
bread-fruit tree, and filled the hog’s belly, fluffing in a
quantity of leaves, to prevent their falling out, and putting
a plug of the fame kind in the anus. The carcafe was then
placed on fome flicks laid acrofs the ftones, in a Handing
pofture, and covered with, a great quantity of plantain
leaves. After which, they dug up the earth-, all round;
and having thus effectually clofed the oven, the operation
of baking required no farther interference.
In the mean time, we walked about the country, btit met
with nothing remarkable, except a jiatooka of one houfe,
ftanding on an artificial mount, at leaf! thirty feet high. A
little on one fide of it, was a pretty large open area ; and,
not far ofF, was a good deal of uncultivated ground ; which,
on inquiring, why it lay wade; our guides feemed to fay,
V o l . I. T t belonged