AND CANNIBALISM. 289 would do so no more; and the Taua added, that he would interdict the sacrifice of human victims at his death, so that there need be no occasion then for the inhuman crime of man-stealing.. Ascertaining that there was a meae or temple in the immediate vicinity, after finishing the conversation we walked to it. The principal building was empty, but strewn with the fragments of different vegetable offerings; while in a smaller house adjoining, there were three rudely carved idols similar to all we had before seen, except that one was a Janus Bifrons: the the first double faced god I have met. The thick and heavy groves of bread-fruit, overtopped by the more lofty cocoa-nut, and the 'rankness of all the undergrowth, entirely intercepted the air from the sea-side; and finding the walking wet and unpleasant, and the heat very oppressive, we soon prepared to rejoin our boats. On emerging from the thickets, we found the change, from the damp and heated atmosphere within, to the freshness of a delightful sea breeze on the beach, so grateful that we stopped half an hour under the shade of a clump of the hybiscus, the better to enjoy it; and soon had a subject for contemplation in the crowds of both sexes and of every age, which gathered round in all their rudeness, to gaze and admire, and express their good will in noisy exclamations and merriment. The variety in admirably modeled figure, in costume and savage ornaments, thus presented, would have made a desirable study for a master. I busied myself, in seizing the outlines of some of the most striking objects, till our boats were called in from beyond the surf. Our departure afforded another interesting sketch. 25 290 SCENE ON THE BEACH. As we lay upon our oars, after gaining the smooth water, waiting the safe embarkation of the whole suite, we had a full and beautiful view of the semicircular beach sweeping round the bottom of the bay, with its richly topped groves and overhanging mountains. Many hundreds of the islanders covered the shore; some entirely naked, many nearly so, while others appeared in war-caps of feathers playing gaily in the breeze, and in tufted turbans and other fanciful head-dresses, below which their mantles of various hues floated gracefully about their limbs: all mingled in one living mass, from children still in their mothers' arms, to withered dames of threescore years and ten, and veteran warriors with snowy locks and fleecy beard, seeming to need the spears they held, for staves, to support the decrepitude of their tottering frames, rather than as weapons of defence against an enemy. Among them, might here and there be discerned the glittering buttons, epaulets, and laced hat of an officer thickly thronged, or the less expensive but gayer uniform of a marine, affording a strong contrast to the wild islander, with his tataued skin, savage ornaments, unlanced spear, and war club tufted with the hair of enemies, slain by him in battle. It was one of the most characteristic and novel scenes we had witnessed at the island; and fixed our gaze till we had nearly reached the ship. In the afternoon I went on shore again, intending to spend an hour in sketching; but a friendly native, whom I had seen in the train of a chief in the morning, urged me to go with him up the valley, to see, as he expressed it, "the country of the young king Moana;" and notwithstanding the terrific character given us of the Taipiis, I committed myself to his guidance, and walked a mile and a half or two miles inland. The valley is watered in its whole length, by a pure and lively stream; and every where exhibits the same richness of soil, and heavy growth seen on the beach. Judging from the number of dwellings, it must contain a large population; though from the ship it appears very contracted in its boundaries. I saw two houses only that seemed of a religious character, one a burial place with the shrines and bier of the dead, adjoining a building containing, as usual, three idols, and the other a tabu house of some person of distinction, on an elevated platform, at the corners of which were two images of stone, green with the moss which time had spread over them. The Tahua, or dancing ground, about a mile from the shore, is as regular and well built as that in the upper valley of the Hapas; and one of the dwelling houses near, is larger, more neatly built and ornamented, than any seen, either at Taiohae or Taioa. I stopped to take a drawing of it, much to the amazement of the people around; and to their seeming admiration, when, on showing it to them, they recognized the sketch, and probably understood, in some degree, the design in taking it. 66 An old woman was lying sick in one corner. I attempted to sympathize with her, and ascertain the nature of her illness; but she seemed rather surly, and the most I could get from her was "mai iau" I am sick." It is the first instance I have met of confinement by sickness; and from all I can learn, their diseases are few and not very frequent. Besides pulmonary affections and diseases of the liver, they have the dropsy, which they ascribe to having eaten fruit that has been tabued with more than ordinary ceremony. They are also subject to the rheumatism, which, in some instances, is so severe as to contract the fingers and toes, so as to cause them to be perfectly double. This effect is also attributed by them to a superstitious cause. A species of leprosy too, is said .to exist here, covering the skin with a scurf, affecting the use of the limbs, and drawing the fingers backward. Diseases of the eye are not unfrequent; and sometimes produce entire blindness: in which case they are called "mate kaha," "the sickness of a spell or charm," which some few persons are supposed to have the power of inflicting. These enchanters, in order to produce this effect, are said to procure the saliva of their intended victim; and folding it in a parcel of leaves, wrought together in a peculiar manner, bury it under the ground. As this decays, it is believed the object of their malice will gradually lose his sight, or pine away and die. The only remedy in such cases, is thought to be the discovery of the hidden kaha. Boils, abscesses, and cutaneous diseases are common; among others, one, of which little urchins at school, and sometimes older fellows, in our own country, occasionally feel the inconvenience. The people, notwithstanding, are altogether a more smooth skinned race than the Sandwich Islanders; and few, here, exhibit the disgusting deformity, so common among our old friends, attending such affections. After having crossed the mountain torrent several times, on the back of my kind and attentive guide, and gone the distance mentioned, a native overtook us walking rapidly and talking loudly and angrily with my companion, without noticing any thing said by me. The latter immediately manifested some uneasiness, EXPRESSIONS OF ILL WILL. and said, “let us return.” 293 On asking way? the only answer I could get, was "let us go to the sea side"and taking me by the hand he hurried on. Though many we met, exchanged my friendly "aloha" on passing, with as much kindness as usual, I perceived from the sour and angry looks of others, that all was not right; and was confirmed in the belief, as a large fierce looking fellow, seated between the stone images at the tabu-house mentioned, scowled on me like a demon, without taking the least notice of my salutation. All the explanation I could get from the guide was, kakino!" It is bad!" as he hastened me forward, in evident apprehension till we came in sight of the ship, and to the beach, where the boat had already arrived, and those on shore were beginning to assemble. I have not yet learned the cause of anxiety expressed by my conductor, or of the manifest ill will exhibited by many met on our return. LETTER XXXII. TRIP TO THE VALLEY OF HAKAPAA. Bay of Oomi, at Nukuhiva, } August 8th, 1829. OOMI is the most eastern of three deep indentures in the coast, separated from one another, by two beautifully verdant, but unwooded promontories, projecting into a common inlet of the sea. That in the centre, is the largest and deepest; running two miles farther inland than either of the others. It is called Hakahaa; and fronts the neutral ground between the Hapas and |