days, to supply them with more provisions. A small canoe came off to them with the message; but as the ships had got clear of the land, and were furnished with abundant supplies, Captain Cook resolved to proceed on his voyage. The natives came off and traded with our people, as long as the ships were within reach.
The land at Eooa is, for the most part, the property of the great chiefs of Tongataboo; the inhabitants being their tenants or vassals. Feenou offered to make Omai the chief of this island, if he would stay there; but Capt. Cook disapproved of the measure.—During the stay of our people here, they witnessed the infliction of a severe punishment on a native who had been detected in criminal intercourse with the wife of a person of higher rank. His head was dreadfully cut, and his thigh broken, with a club; and he was carried into a house, almost lifeless.
During his stay at the friendly Isles, which lasted between two and three months, our navigator, assisted by Mr. Anderson and other officers, collected much important information, concerning the islands and their inhabitants; the persons, character, dress, and manners of the people; their manufactures and employments, their amusements and ceremonies, their religion and language. His estimate of their character is far too high: he witnessed but little of their treachery and cruelty, and his own kind and open disposition led him to view their actions in the most favourable light. In stating the number of islands dependant on Tongataboo at 150, or more, he does not exaggerate: it is now known, that the Vavaoo group alone, consists of about 100, the largest of which, bearing the
