>779- efteemed the ftrongeft pledge o f friendfliip. A proceffion o f'
priefts, w ith a venerable old perfonage at their head, now-
appeared, followed by a lon g train o f men leadin g la rge ,
hogs, and others ca rryin g plantains, Greet potatoes, & c -
By the looks and geftures o f Kaireekeea, I immediately-
k n ew the old man to be the ch ie f o f the priefts before.
omentioned, on whofe bounty w e had fo longYubfifted. He.
had a piece o f red.cloth in h is hands, w h ich , he wrapped,
round Captain Cook’s ffioulders, an d afterward prefented;
h im w ith a fmall pig- in the ufua l-form. A feat was then,
made for him, next t o . the k in g , after w h ich , Kaireekeea.
and his follow er s began their ceremonies, K.aoo a n d a h e .
ch ie fs jo in in g in the refponfes.
I was furprized.to fee, in the perfon o f this k in g the-fame.-
infirm and emaciated old man, that came on board.the R e fo -
lution w hen w e w ere o ff the North.Eaft fide o f.th e ifland.of
M ow e e ; and- w e foon difcovered amongft. h is attendantsr
moft o f th e peribns w h o at that time had remained w ith us,,
a ll n ight.. Of. this number, w ere the two youn ger fons,
o f the k in g , the. e ldelt-of w h om was fixteen years o f age».,
and his nephew Maiha-Maiha, . w h om at firft we had fome.
difficulty in .recollecting,.. h is hair b e in g plaftered over with,
a dirty- brown pafte and powde r,.which was.no mean h e ig h t ,
en in g to the moft fa v a g e face l ever beheld..
A s foon as the formalities .of the me eting w e r e over, Captain
Cook carried Terreeoboo, and as m an y chiefs as the pinn
a c e could-hold,, on board the Refolutiom T h e y were received
w ith eve ry m a rk o f refpeft that could be fhewn th em ;
a n d . Captain Cook, in .return. fo r th e feathered cloak, , put a
linen ffiirt on the k in g , and girt his own hanger round him.
T h e ancient Kaoo, and about h a lf a dozen more old chiefs,
g remained
remained on ffiore, and took u p their abode at the priefts 1779.
houfes. Du rin g all this time, not a canoe was feen in , Ja^_ry-
the bay, and the natives either kept w ith in their huts,
or la y proftrate on the ground. Before the k in g le ft the
Refolution, Captain Cook obtained leave fo r the natives to
come and trade w ith the ihips as u fu a l j but the women
fo r what reafon we could not learn, ftill continued under the
efFefts o f the taboo j that is, were forbidden to ftir from
home, or to have an y communication with us.
C H A P .