of the cape-jessamine, which were stuck in with much taste, and made a head-dress truly elegant. Their necks, shoulders, and arms were naked, so were the breasts also as low as the parting of the arm; below that, they were covered with black cloth, which set close to the body; at the side of each breast, next the arm, was placed a small plume of black feathers, much in the same manner as our ladies now wear their nosegays or bouquets; upon their hips rested a quantity of cloth plaited very full, which reached up to the breast, and fell down below into long petticoats, which quite concealed their feet, and which they managed with as much dexterity as our opera-dancers could have done : The plaits above the waist were brown and white alternately, the petticoats below were all white.

In this dress they advanced sideways in a measured step, keeping excellent time to the drums, which beat briskly and loud; soon after they began to shake their hips, giving the folds of cloth that lay upon them a very quick motion, which was in some degree continued through the whole dance, though the body was thrown into various postures, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, and sometimes resting on their knees and elbows, the fingers also being moved at the same time with a quickness scarcely to be imagined. Much of the dexterity of the dancers, however, and the entertainment of the spectators, consisted in the wantonness of their attitudes and gestures, which was, indeed, such as exceeds all description.

One of these girls had in her ear three pearls; one of them was very large, but so foul that it was of little value; the other two were as big as a middling pea; these were clear, and of a good colour and shape, though spoiled by the drilling. Mr Banks would fain have purchased them, and offered the owner any thing she would ask for them, but she could not be persuaded to part with them at any price He tempted her with the value of four hogs, and whatever else she should chuse, but without success; and indeed they set a value upon their pearls very nearly equal to what they would fetch among us, except they could be procured before they are drilled.

Between the dances of the women, the men performed a kind of dramatic interlude, in which there was dialogue as well as dancing; but we were not sufficiently acquainted with their language to understand the subject.

On

1

On the 4th, some of our gentlemen saw a much more regular entertainment of the dramatic kind, which was divided into four acts.

Tupia had often told us that he had large possessions in this island, which had been taken away from him by the inhabitants of Bolabola, and he now pointed them out in the very bay where the ship was at anchor. Upon our going on shore, this was confirmed by the inhabitants, who shewed us several districts or Whennuas, which they acknowledged to be his right.

On the 5th, I received a present of three hogs, some fowls, several pieces of cloth, the largest we had seen, being fifty yards long, which they unfolded and displayed so as to make the greatest show possible; and a considerable quantity of plantains, cocoa-nuts, and other refreshments, from Opoony, the formidable king, or, in the language of the country, Earee rahie, of Bolabola, with a message that he was at this time upon the island, and that the next day he intended to pay me a visit.

In the mean time Mr Banks and Dr Solander went upon the hills, accompanied by several of the Indians, who conducted them by excellent paths, to such a height, that they plainly saw the other side of the island, and the passage through which the ship had passed the reef between the little islands of Opururu and Tamou, when we landed upon it the first time. As they were returning, they saw the Indians exercising themselves at what they call Erowhaw, which is nothing more than pitching a kind of light lance, headed with hard wood, at a mark: In this amusement, though they seem very fond of it, they do not excel, for not above one in twelve struck the mark, which was the bole of a plantain tree, at about twenty yards distance.

On the 6th, we all staid at home, expecting the visit of the great king, but we were disappointed; we had, however, much more agreeable company, for he sent three very pretty girls to demand something in return for his present: Perhaps he was unwilling to trust himself on board the ship, or perhaps he thought his messengers would procure a more valuable return for his hogs and poultry than he could himself; be that as it may, we did not regret his absence, nor his messengers their visit.

In the afternoon, as the great king would not come to us, we determined to go to the great king. As he was lord

of

of the Bolabola men, the conquerors of this, and the terror of all the other islands, we expected to see a chief young and vigorous, with an intelligent countenance, and an enterprising spirit: We found, however, a poor feeble wretch, withered and decrepit, half blind with age, and so sluggish and stupid that he appeared scarcely to have understanding enough left to know that it was probable we should be gratified either by hogs or women. He did not receive us sitting, or with any state or formality as the other chiefs had done: We made him our present, which he accepted, and gave a hog in return. We had learnt that his principal residence was at Otaha; and upon our telling him that we intended to go thither in our boats the next morning, and that we should be glad to have him along with us, he promised to be of the party.

Early in the morning, therefore, I set out both with the pinnace and long-boat for Otaha, having some of the gentlemen with me; and in our way we called upon Opoony, who was in his canoe, ready to join us. As soon as we landed at Otaha, I made him a present of an axe, which I thought might induce him to encourage his subjects to bring us such provision as we wanted; but in this we found ourselves sadly disappointed; for after staying with him till noon, we left him without being able to procure a single article. I then proceeded to the north point of the island, in the pinnace, having sent the long-boat another way. As I went along I picked up half a dozen hogs, as many fowls, and some plantains and yams. Having viewed and sketched the harbour on this side of the island, I made the best of my way back, with the long-boat, which joined me soon after it was dark; and about ten o'clock at night we got on board the ship.

In this excursion Mr Banks was not with us; he spent the morning on board the ship, trading with the natives, who came off in their canoes, for provisions and curiosities; and in the afternoon he went on shore with his draughtsmen, to sketch the dresses of the dancers which he had seen a day or two before. He found the company exactly the same, except that another woman had been added to it: The dancing also of the women was the same, but

9 He was alive, however, when Cook visited Bolabola in his last voyage and even then was universally esteemed and feared.-E.

but the interludes of the men were somewhat varied; he saw five or six performed, which were different from each other, and very much resembled the drama of our stagedances. The next day, he went ashore again, with Dr Solander, and they directed their course towards the dan cing company, which, from the time of our second landing, had gradually moved about two leagues in their course round the island. They saw more dancing and interludes, the interludes still varying from each other: In one of them the performers, who were all men, were divided into two parties, which were distinguished from each other by the colour of their clothes, one being brown, and the other white. The brown party represented a master and servants, and the white party a company of thieves: The master gave a basket of meat to the rest of his party, with a charge to take care of it: The dance of the white party consisted of several expedients to steal it, and that of the brown party in preventing their success. After some time, those who had charge of the basket placed themselves round it upon the ground, and leaning upon it, appeared to go to sleep; the others, improving this opportunity, came gently upon them, and lifting them up from the basket, carried off their prize; The sleepers soon after awaking, missed their basket, but presently fell a-dancing, without any farther regarding their loss; so that the dramatic action of this dance was, according to the severest laws of criticism, one, and our lovers of simplicity would here have been gratified with an entertainment perfectly suited to the chastity of their taste.

On the 9th, having spent the morning in trading with the canoes, we took the opportunity of a breeze, which sprung up at east, and having stopped our leak, and got the fresh stock which we had purchased on board, we sailed out of the harbour. When we were sailing away, Tupia strongly urged me to fire a shot towards Bolabola, possibly as a mark of his resentment, and to shew the power of his new allies: In this I thought proper to gratify him, though we were seven leagues distant.

While we were about these islands, we expended very little of the ship's provisions, and were very plentifully supplied with hogs, fowls, plantains, and yams, which we hoped would have been of great use to us in our course to the southward; but the hogs would not eat European grain of

any

any kind, pulse, or bread-dust, so that we could not preserve them alive; and the fowls were all very soon seized with a disease that affected the head so, that they continued to hold it down between their legs till they died: Much dependence therefore must not be placed in live-stock taken on board at these places, at least not till a discovery is made of some food that the hogs will eat, and some remedy for the disease of the poultry.

Having been necessarily detained at Ulietea so long, by the carpenters in stopping our leak, we determined to give up our design of going on shore at Bolabola, especially as it appeared to be difficult of access.

To these six islands, Ulietea, Otaha, Bolabola, Huaheine, Tubai, and Maurua, as they lie contiguous to each other, I gave the names of Society Islands, but did not think it proper to distinguish them separately by any other names than those by which they were known to the natives.

They are situated between the latitude of 16° 10' and 16° 55' S. and between the longitude of 150° 57' and 152° W. from the meridian of Greenwich. Ulietea and Otaha lie within about two miles of each other, and are both inclosed within one reef of coral rocks, so that there is no passage for shipping between them. This reef forms several excellent harbours; the entrances into them, indeed, are but narrow, yet when a ship is once in, nothing can hurt her. The harbours on the east side have been described already; and on the west side of Ulietea, which is the largest of the two, there are three. The northermost, in which we lay, is called Ohamaneno: The channel leading into it is about a quarter of a mile wide, and lies between two low sandy islands, which are the northermost on this side; between, or just within the two islands, there is good anchorage in twenty-eight fathom, soft ground. This harbour, though small, is preferable to the others, because it is situated in the most fertile part of the islands, and where fresh water is easily to be got. The other two harbours lie to the southward of this, and not far from the south end of the island : In both of them there is good anchorage, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathom. They are easily known by three small woody.islands at their entrance. The southermost of these two harbours lies within, and to the southward of the southermost of these islands, and the other lies between the two northermost. I was told that there were more harbours: at