on board; but told Omai, who understood them pretty well, that their countrymen on shore had given them, this caution, at the same time directing them to enquire, from whence our ship came, and to learn the name of the captain.  On our part, we enquired the name of the island, which they called Mangya or Mangeea; and sometimes added to it Nooe, nai, naiwa.  The name of their chief, they said, was Orooaeeka.

Mourooa was lusty and well-made, but not very tall.  His features were agreeable, and his disposition seemingly no less so; for he made several droll gesticulations, which indicated both good-nature and a share of humour.  He also made others which seemed of a serious kind, and repeated some words with a devout air, before he ventured to lay hold of the rope at the ship’s stern; which was probably to recommend himself to the protection of some Divinity.  His colour was nearly of the same cast with that common to the most southern Europeans.  The other man was not so handsome.  Both of them had strong, straight hair, of a jet colour, tied together on the crown of the head with a bit of cloth.  They wore such girdles as we had perceived about those on shore, and we found they were a substance made from the Morus papyrifera, in the same manner as at the other islands of this ocean.  It was glazed like the sort used by the natives of the Friendly Islands; but the cloth, on their heads was white, like that which is found at Otaheite.  They had on a kind of sandals, made of a grassy substance interwoven, which we also observed were worn by those who stood upon the beach; and, as we supposed, intended to defend their feet against the rough coral rock.  Their beards were long; and the inside of their arms, from the shoulder to the elbow, and some other parts, were punctured or tatooed, after the manner of the inhabitants of almost all the other islands in the South Sea.  The lobe of their ears was pierced, or rather slit, and to such a length, that one of them stuck there a knife and some beads, which he had received from us; and the same person had two polished pearl-shells, and a bunch of human hair, loosely twisted, hanging about his neck, which was the only ornament we observed.  The canoe they came in (which was the only one we saw), was not above ten feet long, and very narrow; but both strong and neatly made.  The fore part had a flat board fastened over it, and projecting out, to prevent the sea getting in on plunging, like the small Evaas at Otaheite; but it had an upright stern, about five feet high, like some in New Zealand; and the upper end of this stern-post was forked.  The lower part of the canoe was of white wood, but the upper was black, and their paddles, made of wood of the same colour, not above three feet long, broad at one end, and blunted.  They paddled either end of the canoe forward indifferently; and only turned about their faces to paddle the contrary way.