22 A V O Y A G E T O
jaouery. the clc'ticrcy and difintereilednefs o f his condudl, even thfe
C 7l9' • people he employed could not be prevailed on to accept the
fmalleft prefent. Afte r remainin g out fix days, our Officers
.returned, with ou t h a v in g been a b le to penetrate above
twenty miles into the iflan d | partly from wan t o f proper
guides, and partly from the impracticability o f the country.
Wednef.« . T h e head o f the Refolution’s rudder be in g found exce
edin gly fhaken, and moil o f the pintles either loofe or
broken, it was u n h u n g , and fent on ihore, on the 27th
in.the morning, to undergo a thorough repair. At the fame
time, the carpenters were fent into the country, under
con d u it o f fome o f Kacxi’ s people, to cut planks fo r the
the head rail work, w h ich was alfo entirely decayed and
rotten.
Thurfdayzs. Gn the 28th, Captain Clerke, whofe ill health confined
him , for the moil part, on board, paid Terreeoboo his firft
vifit, at his hut on ihore. He was received w ith the fame
formalities as were obferved w ith Captain C o o k ; and, on
h is com in g awa y , th o u gh the vifit w a s quite unexpected,
h e received a prefent o f thirty large 'h o g s , and as m u ch
fru it androots as his crew could coniume in a w eek.
As w e had not y e t feen any th in g o f their fports or athletic
exercifes, the natives, at the requeft o f fome o f our
Officers, entertained us this evenin g w ith a boxing-match.
T h o u g h thefe games were much inferior, as w e ll in point
o f folemnity and magnificence, as in the ik ill and powers
o f the combatants, to what w e had feen exhibited at the
Friendly Iflands; yet, as they differed in fome particulars, it
may not be improper to g iv e a fh o r t account o f them. We
found a vail concourfe o f people afiembled on a level fpot
o f ground, at a little diftance from our tents. A lo n g fpace
was
was left vacant in the midft o f them, at the upper end o f January.
n r I7.79*'
w h ich fat the ju d g e s , under three ftandards, from w h ich 1---- s— _>
h u n g flips o f cloth o f various colours, the fkins o f two
w ild geefe, a few fmall birds, and bunches o f feathers.
When the fports were ready to begin, the fignal was g iv en
b y the ju d g e s , and immediately two combatants appeared.'
T h e y came forward flowly, lif tin g up their feet ve ry h ig h
behind; and d raw in g their hands along the foies. As the y
approached, they frequ en tly eyed each other from head to
foot, in a contemptuous manner, cafting feveral arch looks;
at the fpedlators, llra ip in g their mufcle s, and ufing a va rie
ty o f affedted geflures. Being advanced with in reach o f
each other, they flood with both arms held out flraight before
their faces, at w h ich part all their blows were aimed.
T h e y ftruck, in what appeared to our eyes an aw kw a rd
manner, with a fu ll fw in g o f the a rm ; made no attempt
to parry, but eluded their adverfary’s attack by an in clination
o f the body, or b y retreating. T he battle was q u ic k ly
decided j fo r i f either o f them was kn o cked down, or even
f e ll by accident, h e was confidered as vanquifhed, and th e
v if lo r expreffed his triumph by a variety o f geflures,- w h ich
u fu a lly excited, as was intended, a lo u d T a u g h among the
fpeclators. He then waited fo r a fecond antagonift ; and i f
a gain victorious, - fo r a third,: till he was, at laft, in his turn
defeated. A fing-ular rule obferved in thefe combats i s , .
that w h ilfl any two are- preparing to fight, a third p e r fo n .
ma y Itep in, and choofe either o f them , for his antagonift,
when the other is obliged to withdraw. Sometimes three or
fo u r fo llow ed each other in this manner, before the match
w as fettled. When the combat proved long er than u fu a l,
or appeared too unequal, one.of the chiefs gen erally ftepped
in, and ended it b y pu ttin g a flick between the combatants.
T h e •