"of a very heavy burden; the trouble and vexation that attended the bringing these animals thus far is hardly to be conceived. But the satisfaction I felt in having been so fortunate as to fulfil His Majesty's design in sending such useful animals to two worthy nations sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious hours I had on their account."
Whilst here, the two ships were thoroughly overhauled and everywhere put into as good a state of repair as the appliances available would permit. The stores were found to be in a better state than had been expected, and very little of the bread was damaged. Gardens were laid out and planted with potatoes, melons, pineapples, etc.; but Cook was not very sanguine of their success, for he had seen how a vine planted by the Spaniards had been spitefully trampled down, as the natives, tasting the grapes before they were ripe, had concluded it was poisonous. It was carefully pruned into proper shape again, and Omai was instructed to set forth its merits and how it should be cultivated.
Towards the end of the month a man reported that the two Spanish ships had returned, and showed a piece of cloth he said he had obtained from them, so Cook, not knowing if England and Spain were on friendly terms, prepared for the worst, and the two ships made ready for defence if necessary. Lieutenant Williamson was despatched in a boat for news, but could see no ships, nor signs of any having been on the coast since the English left their last port of call.
A HUMAN SACRIFICE.
At their last visit an expedition was being prepared against the revolted island of Eimeo, but it did not seem to have been very successful in its object, for there were still disturbances going on between the two nations, and on 30th August news came that the Otaheitans had been driven up into the hills. A grand meeting was held to discuss matters, and great efforts were made to enlist the services of Cook; but he would not assist in any way, as he did not understand the cause of the quarrel, and he had always found the inhabitants of Eimeo friendly towards him. Having heard that a chief named Towha had killed a man as a sacrifice to their God, Cook obtained permission to witness the remaining ceremonies as he thought it offered an opportunity to learn something of the religion of this people. He therefore started with Dr. Anderson, Mr. Webber, and the chief Potatow in a boat, accompanied by Omai in a canoe, for the scene of action. On their arrival the sailors were instructed to remain in the boat, and the gentlemen were requested to remove their hats as soon as they reached the Morai where the ceremonial was to take place. When they got there the body of the victim was seen in a small canoe in front of the Morai and just in the wash of the sea, in charge of four priests and their attendants, the king and his party some twenty or thirty paces away, and the rest of the spectators a little further still. Two priests came forward to Otoo, one placing a young plantain tree in front of him, and the other touching his foot with a bunch of red feathers, and then rejoining the others, who immediately went off to a smaller Morai near, and, seating themselves facing the sea, one commenced reciting a long prayer, occasionally sending one of his attendants to place a young plantain on the body. Whilst this recitation was going on an attendant stood near holding two small bundles "seemingly of cloth; in one, as we afterwards found, was the Royal Maro, and the other, if I may be allowed the expression, was the ark of the Eatua" [God].
This prayer being ended, the priests returned to the beach, and more prayers were said, the plantains being moved, one by one, from the body and placed in front of the priests. Then the body, wrapped in leaves, was put on the beach, with the feet to the sea, and the priests gathered round, some sitting, some standing, the prayers still going on. The leaves were then stripped off the body, and it was turned sideways on to the sea, and one priest standing at the feet repeated another long prayer in which he was occasionally joined by the others. Each priest at this time held in his hand a bunch of the red feathers. Some hair was now pulled from the head of the corpse, and an eye taken out, wrapped in leaves and presented to Otoo, who did not touch them, but sent them back with a bunch of feathers, soon after sending a second bunch he had asked Cook to put in his pocket for him when starting. At this time a king-fisher made a noise in some trees near, and Otoo remarked, "That is the Eatua," evidently looking on it as a good omen.
The body was now moved away to the foot of one of the small Morais, the two bundles of cloth being placed on the Morai at its head and the tufts of feathers at its feet, the priests surrounding the body and the people gathering in closer. More speeches were made, and a second lock of hair plucked from the head and placed on the Morai. Then the red feathers were placed on the cloth bundles, which were carried over to the great Morai and laid against a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought, and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the priests continued their recitations. The body was then buried, and a dog Towha had sent over (a very poor one, says Cook) was partially cooked and presented to the priests, who called on Eatua to come and see what was prepared for him, at the same time putting it on a small altar on which were the remains of two dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the white men were compelled to move further away than they wished. This ended the ceremony for the day.
THE KING'S MARO.
Next morning they all returned to the Morai; a pig was sacrificed and placed on the same altar, and about eight o'clock the priests, Otoo, and a great number of people assembled. The two bundles were still in the same place as on the previous night, but two drums were now standing in front of them between which Otoo and Cook seated themselves. The priests, placing a plantain tree in front of the king, resumed their praying, each having his bunch of feathers in his hand. They then moved off to a place between the Morai and the king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on the bundles, the prayers still going on. Four pigs were then produced, one immediately killed, and the others put in a sty for future use. The bundle containing the king's Maro was now untied and spread carefully on the ground before the priests. The Maro was about five yards long by fifteen inches broad, composed of red and yellow feathers, chiefly yellow. At one end was a border of eight pieces about the size and shape of horse-shoes fringed with black pigeon's feathers; the other end was forked, the ends being of unequal length. The feathers were arranged in two rows and had a very good effect. They were fastened on a piece of native cloth, and then sewn to the English pendant which Wallis left flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay. After the priests had repeated another prayer, the emblem of royalty was carefully folded up and replaced on the Morai, and then one end of what Cook called the Ark of the Eatua was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to see what it contained. The entrails of the pig were then prayed over, and one of the priests stirred them gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a favourable omen from their movements. They were then thrown on the fire, the partly-cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and when the bunches of feathers that had been used had been placed in the Ark, the ceremony was over.
The meanings of all this could not be discovered, but it was found that when a victim was wanted, a chief picked him out and sent his servants to kill him. This was done without any warning to the man who was to suffer, usually by a blow with a stone on the head, and it appeared that at the subsequent ceremony the presence of the king was absolutely indispensable. Chiefs of an enemy's tribe who were killed in battle were buried with some state in the Morais, the common men at the foot.