the ship; and when the Captain told him at parting, that he should see him no more, the affectionate old chief wept, and said, "Let your sons come; we will treat them well."
Next day, the Resolution entered a harbour in the south end of Ulietea; and while the ship was warping in and mooring, which owing to adverse winds and the straitness of the entrance occupied some time, the chief Oreo, with several others, came on board to welcome their British visitors. When the Captain and his friends went on shore the day following, they were greeted with the most cordial salutations; for, on entering the chief's house, they were met by four or five old women, weeping bitterly, and cutting their heads with shark's teeth, till the blood ran down plentifully on their faces. and shoulders. "What was still worse," says the Captain in his narrative, "we were obliged to submit to the embraces of these old hags, and by that means we were all besmeared with blood. This ceremony (for it was merely such) being over, they went out, washed themselves, and immediately after appeared as cheerful as any of the company." After this affectionate reception at the house of the chief, they were welcomed by all the inhabitants of the place; while multitudes crowded to see them from all parts of the island, and took up their quarters in the neighbourhood, where they remained feasting for several days.
The facts now stated, with others of the like kind, illustrate the uncertainty of computing the population of any of these islands, from the numbers seen at any one point. Exempted from agricultural labours, and from the toil and confinement of any regular trade or business, these islanders
