»779«
F e b ru a r y .
image, I have mentioned before, w h ich he carried into one
o f the prieft’s houfes.
Terreeoboo, and his Chiefs, had, for fome days pail, been
ve ry inquifitive about the time o f our departure. This cir-
cumftancehad excited in me a great curiofity to kn ow , w hat
opinion this people had formed o f us, and what were their
ideas re fpe& in g the caufe and objeits o f our voyage . I took
fome pains to fatisfy m y fe lf on thefe po in ts; but could
never learn any thin g farther, than that the y imagined w e
came from fome country where provifions had failed ; and
that our vifit to them was me re ly fo r the purpofe o f filling
our bellies. Indeed, the meagre appearance o f fome o f our
crew, the hearty appetites w ith w hich we fat down to their
fre fh provifions, and our great anxiety to purchafe, and carry
off, as m u ch as w e were able, led them, natu rally enough,
to fu ch a copclufion. T o thefe m a y be added, a circum-
fiance w h ich p u z z led them exceedingly, our h a vin g no w o men
w ith us -, together w ith our quiet condu&, and unwa rlik
e appearance. It was ridiculous enough to fee them
ilro k in g the fides, and patting the bellies, o f the. failors
(¿who were certainly much improved in the ileeknefs o f
their looks, d uring our ihort flay in the ifland), and te llin g
them, partly b y fign s, and partly by words, that it was time
fo r them to g o ; but i f they wou ld come again the next
bread-fruit feafon, they ihould be better able to fupply their
wants. We had now been fixteen days in the b a y ; and i f
our enormous confumption o f hogs and vegetables be con-
fidered, it need not be wondered, that they ihould w iih to
fee us take our leave. It is v e ry probable, however, that
Terreeoboo had no other view , in his inquiries, at prefent,
than a defire o f m a k in g fufficient preparation for difmifling
us
us with prefents, fuitable to the refpedt and kindnefs w ith 1779.
w h ich he had received us. For, on our te llin g him w e / ebmry'
ihould leave the ifland on the next day but one, w e obferved,
that a fort o f proclamation was immediate ly made, throu gh
the villages, to require the people to b r in g in their hogs,
and vegetables, fo r the k in g to prefent to the Orono, on hia
departure.
We were this day m u ch diverted, at the beach, b y the
buffooneries o f one o f the natives. He held in his hand
an inilrument, o f the fort defcribed in the laft vo lum e* .;
fome bits o f fea-weed were tied round his n e c k ; and
round each le g , a piece o f ftrong n etting , about nine
inches deep, on w h ich a great number o f dogs’ teeth were
lo ofe ly fattened, in rows. His ftyle o f dancing was entire
ly burlefque, and accompanied w ith ftrange grimaces,
and pantomimical diftortions o f the face ; w hich though
at times inexpreffibly ridiculous, yet, on the whole, was
without much meaning, or expreflion. Mr. Webber thought'
it worth his w h ile to make a d raw in g o f this perfon, as exhibitin
g a tolerable fpecimen o f the natives ; the manner in
which the maro is t ie d ; the figure o f the inilrument before
mentioned, and o f the ornaments round the legs, which, at
other times, we alfo faw ufed by their dancers.
In the evening, we were a gain entertained with wreftling
and boxing matches ; and we difplayed, in return, the few
fireworks we had left. Nothing could be better calculated
to excite the admiration o f thefe iflanders, and to imprefs
them with an idea o f our grea t fuperiority, than an exhib ition
o f this kind. Captain C o o k has already defcribed the
extraordinary effedls o f that w h ich was made at Hapaee;
* See V o l. ii. p, 236.