»779- the other w o rk in g parties that were to be on ihore. As
■h]*“ary,.l w e were v iew in g a fpot conveniently fituated fo r this pur-
pofe, in the middle o f the villa g e , Pareea, who was a lways
ready to ih ew both his power and his good w ill, offered to
p u ll down fome houfes that w ou ld have obftructed our ob-
fervations. However, w e thou ght it proper to decline this
offer, and fixed on a field o f fweet potatoes adjoining to the
Marai, w h ich was readily granted us ; and the priefts, to
prevent the intrufion o f the natives, immediately confe-
crated the place, b y fixing the ir wands round the w a ll by
w h ich it was inclofed.
T h is fort o f religious interdiction the y call taboo; a word-
w e heard often repeated, d uring our flay amongft thefe
iflanders, and found to be o f ve ry powe rfu l and extenfive
operation. A more particular explanation o f it will- be
giv en in the general account o f thefe iflands, under the
article o f re lig io n ; at prefent it is only neCefiary to obferve,
that it procured us even more privacy than w e defired. No
canoes ever prefumed to land near u s ; the natives fat on.
the wall, but none offered to come w ith in the tabooed fpace*
till he had obtained our permiHioo: But though the men,
at our requeft, wou ld come acrofs the field with provifions,
yet not all our endeavours could prevail on the women to;
approach us. Prefents were tried, but without e ffe c t; Pareea
and Koah were tempted to b rin g them, but in vain ; w e
were invariably anfwered, that the Eatooa and Terreeoboo'
(w h ich was the name o f their k in g ) would k ill them. This-
circumftance afforded no fmall matter o f amufement to our
friends on board, where the crowds o f people, and particu
la rly o f women, that continued to flock thither, obliged
them almoft every hour to clear the veffel, in order to h a v e
room
room to do the neceffary duties o f the fliip. On thefe oc-
cafions, two or three hundred women were frequ en tly made
to jum p into the water at once, where they continued fwirn-
m in g and p la y in g about, till they could a ga in procure admittance.
From the 19th to the 24th, w hen Pareea and Koah le ft us T
to attend Terreeoboo, w ho had landed on fome other part
o f the ifland, n oth ing v e ry material happened on board.
T h e caulkers were fet to w ork on the fides o f the fhips, and
the r ig g in g was c a re fu lly overhauled and repaired. ’ T h e
fa llin g o f hogs fo r fea-flore was alfo a conftant, and one o f
th e principal objects o f Captain Cook’s attention. As the
fuccefs we met w ith in this experiment, d u r in g our prefent
vo yage , was m u ch more complete than it had been in any
fo rm e r attempt o f the fame kind, it m a y not be improper
to g iv e an account o f the detail o f the operation.
It has gen e ra lly been thought impracticable to cure the
fleih o f animals b y fa llin g , in tropical climates ; the pro-
g r e f s o f putrefadlion b e in g fo rapid, as not to a llow time
fo r the fait to take (as th e y exprefs it) before the meat o-eEs
a taint, which prevents the effect o f the pickle. - We do not
find that experiments relative to this fubject have been made
by the navigators o f any nation before Captain Cook. In
his firft trials, w h ich were made in 1774, d u r in g his fecond •
voyage to the Pacific Ocean, the fuccefs he met with, though
Very imperfect, was yet fufficient to convince h im o f th e en o r
o f the received opinion. As the voyage, in w h ich he was
n ow engaged, was lik e ly to be protracted a year beyond the
» = fo r . h . c h ,h e fo lp , ,u d b m y
, h ' o f ! $ H j S b y f o „ e f u c h m e i n s ,
^ 2 . fubfiftence