.Marquesas* a ll fucceed: fo well as the firft ' in getting c lo th ed ; nor did our mif-
’chievous goats even fuffer them to keep their green leaves, but as they
-turned to avoid them, they were attacked on each fide alternately, and
completely ftripped naked.”
~ The religious ceremonies refemble thofe of O taheite; and. they have
a Moral in each diftrid, where the dead are buried under a pavement
of laroe ftones. Their deities are numerous, and the chiefs] feem to
have little power, cuftom alone beipg, followed, inftead of laws; Like
jnoft uncivilized nations they have no regular, meals, but eat five or, fix
times a day, or oftener. The women feem more fubjedted to the men,
than at Otaheite. Polygamy is chiefly praftifed by the chiefs. The
fore-lkin is flit--before the age of puberty. The canqps^ are. made of
“wood, and .the bark o f a foft tree, being commonly frdrp-Tmteen to
twenty feet in length, - the prow carved in rude r.efemblance .of a
hum an face.
'No quadrupeds were difcovered r_except hogs, b u t th e re .a r ^ am e
p o u ltry ; and the woods are filled with many beautiful b ird s |ij lupins
o f thefe ifles. an Engliflb. miflionary was left,, in tljeubenevq|ent intention
o f difeouraging mutual Daughter, a n d -h um a n facrifices. B at if^the
chriftian dodfrine o f mony g am y b e ftrialy-q^fprced,.xt-;i|. imp^qbable
th a t the other do&rines will be received; and we. are taughjt, by many
e x am p le s ,-th a t' mahometanifm is more fuccefeful. in, th^?. R e n ta l
regions, |g ju| iia i i l l 4f,. p W j
The largeft ifle of the Marquefas, Noabeva, is not above half the
fize of Otaheite : and in general the multitude of. fmall iflands in thefe
feas« prefents a wonderful variety, in the I works of nature, the. larged
. ifland yet difeovered in- Polyncfia being Owhyhe.e, which is about &
B." miles in length.
V I . T h e S o c i e t y I s l e s .
This group has attracted more attention than a n y other in P o ly n e f ia ,
and our. admiration of Otaheite has exc-it.ed fome degree ... of ridicule , on
the continent. The unfortunate La Peroufe obfery.es, in one of Ins
8 -
l e t t e / « I f la tte r -m y f e lf y tew li fee with pleafure that, In thé courfe
° 1 f f f ng a 'V d y a g d /fff ia l^ a v e nb/lpebfmn in at thofe evhrlafting
f B B B B B S B u «han* 'concerning
Ibveffl k in g d o r* BI dm^èfs*fk f | o i |S a t I C o t f l L t e
H H H 9 iboift Otaheite, o ï Queen
^ ^ u a,”a But xt 'iifpeteddfcariddi^, thalMFaicópip'lilhéd
f *% ';a è ^ s h f o - t i* d i f a e l^ I o f i f f öf' thé; B n g lid r% f |h ^ è r s ;< and is led
to g g ^ 1 A c f « n c l P g r o u p ^ l k c r t h e I f l a n d 3 i q ^ ^ | |^ |^ ; which per-
h^p's;fiS fiz e ^ d lp S p u la tio fi t e s t e d ,‘4 '
Bnfuch a wide expaüfefof 0 te n ;i|fe e rU s p r e f u t e /o k rnM rt the fame
iippd&tioir to* v e iy te te n% e t§ ro u p s , o f w hi#i;tièl?#fe a fiifficient an d
allowed inftan'ce in th f% M n $ s .? f AlPtlfe-ifl&mte therefore f f o'm-long.
*Srdenwieh, e te rn te ifte p a k ^
b§ includ'edmndei; tthej general name ‘MSsJaéty Iflands.* Borne ,may pro- •
b^hj^iinejud'e in Polynefia the detached ;and:remarkablekfpnt' called
w^tich feems tte g p e tep ied l^lhe*iiun&ra-ée} if intervening
if le s /d ^ o h r a th e rm p n ite it w ith South Arnerioa,.', Bu^this'ifle fhall be
briefl^^efcribed-af the * e n d 'o f the pEefenCartidte. - „
The, range o f Society Iflands may thus evemexeteed the- daroliries in
number, amounting to fixty o r, feVenty, O f thefe,(^aheite is ftill by
fa„|fehe moft cpüfidêrable in fize, being about- i so^m'i!qs|tekcf.inference.
It confifts o f twopenjinfuks, ja in ed by. a nepkj.pf landjS aheuLthree:miles
% breadth, th e fmalfeft peninfula tq the-iS. E. beifcg^ahout. fifeeft-
^ ^ g s f e n g t h , b y ten in breadth, while the large... peninfula- to .th e '
H,;W. i&ahnüfticirèular,. and about tyventyifive-miles -in-'diamfeter u t h e 7
■whdlfiJength being thus 'abomt/fórty g . miles, or /o rty -fi* Britiflr. »From
the map drakm b y Captain Gook, and rèpubliflied., with fomeimprove*'
toèntsfn the Miflionary, Voyage,-this, ifland appears tq.qqnfift óftyyo*'
Fountains, a larger apd a Appller, joined^by the -narrow ridgeiahpvè*
mentioned; and the habitations are entirely co n fin ed ^ , th-eflevel coafts.
Lftis circumftance feems l-niverfal in Polynefia, as the natives crowd to
% - fe.ores for fifh, their chief aliment; and it is probable that the
original cblonies having fettled on the coafts, indoleiice has prevented
them from vifiting the inland heights. Nor is it improbable that even
| Vuyagé,^4-Be4.
I I 3 T
Society
I sles.
Otaheite.
VOL. II, in