Several natives from the Island of Rotumah were residing on Strong’s Island at this time. We attended one of their dances, given by them in honor of our ship’s company. Their singing and dancing excelled any thing of the kind we had yet witnessed. They moved in exact time with the music, and went through the exercises with great precision. During all their dances they use the musket, which they handle with the greatest expertness. The war-dance, in particular, was one of wild and thrilling movements; their hair long, and standing in all directions from their head, even to the perpendicular; their bodies tattooed and besmeared with cocoanut oil, with nothing but a tappa about the loins and a musket by the side, they looked really frightful and war-like. The dance is performed by forming in two lines, and as they sing they perform their evolutions of advancing, discovering and attacking the enemy, wheeling to load their pieces, fronting again, the front rank dropping upon one knee to allow those in the rear to fire over them, while both lines fire in the direction of the supposed enemy, and retreat to reload. After performing these evolutions several times, they appear to come off victorious, and start off into a noisy song and dance. We remained until quite a late hour witnessing their performances, and, after all hands had given them three hearty cheers, the assemblage dispersed very peaceably. We returned to our quarters very much pleased with our evening’s entertainment, wishing it were in our power to place the band in Barnum’s hands. We also attended, a few days after this, a feast and dance given by King George, at which a large wild hog was served up, and every thing “got up” in grand style. To this feast the Rotumah Kanakers were invited, and in the evening they again entertained us with their dances. The king and chiefs appeared highly pleased with their performances, continually exclaiming “very good fashion, that dance.” Our second officer, Mr. L., had been sick for a number of months, yet he possessed such remarkable energy and perseverance that he would not succumb to it, but did his duty regularly up to the time of our arriving in port; and even then he appeared to feel that when we once more got to sea he should recover; but we all felt and thought differently. We could see that he was wasting away, little by little, and we felt that his days were numbered—that he would never see his home again.