I had forgot to mention, that Omai was present at this second day’s ceremony as well as myself, but we were not together, nor did I know that he was there, till it was almost over.  He afterward told me, that, as soon as the king saw that I had stolen out from the plantation, he sent several people, one after another, to desire me to come back.  Probably, these messengers were not admitted to the place where I was, for I saw nothing of them.  At last, intelligence was brought to the chief, that I had actually stripped, in conformity to their custom; and then he told Omai, that he might be present also, if he would comply with all necessary forms.  Omai had no objection, as nothing was required of him, but to conform to the custom of his own country.  Accordingly, he was furnished with a proper dress, and appeared at the ceremony as one of the natives.  It is likely, that one reason of our being excluded at first, was an apprehension, that we would not submit to the requisites to qualify us to assist.

While I was attending the Natche at Mooa, I ordered the horses, bull and cow, and goats, to be brought thither, thinking that they would be safer there, under the eyes of the chiefs, than at a place that would be, in a manner, deserted, the moment after our departure.  Besides the above-mentioned animals, we left with our friends here, a young boar, and three young sows, of the English breed.  They were exceedingly desirous of them, judging, no doubt, that they would greatly improve their own breed, which is rather small.  Feenou also got from us two rabbits, a buck and a doe; and, before we sailed, we were told that young ones had been already produced.  If the cattle succeed, of which I make no doubt, it will be a vast acquisition to these islands; and as Tongataboo is a fine level country, the horses cannot but be useful.

On the 10th, at eight o’clock in the morning, we weighed anchor, and, with a steady gale at S.E., turned through the channel, between the small isles called Makkahaa and Monooafai, it being much wider than the channel between the last-mentioned island and Pangimodoo.  The flood set strong in our favour, till we were the length of the channel leading up to the lagoon, where the flood from the eastward meets that from the west.  This, together with the indraught of the lagoon, and of the shoals before it, causeth strong ripplings and whirlpools.  To add to these dangers, the depth of water in the channel exceeds the length of a cable; so that there is no anchorage, except close to the rocks, where we meet with forty and forty-five fathoms, over a bottom of dark sand.  But then, here, a ship would be exposed to the whirlpools.  This frustrated the design which I had formed, of coming to an anchor as soon as we were through the narrows, and of making an excursion to see the funeral.  I chose rather to lose that ceremony, than to leave the ships in a situation in which I did not think them safe.