The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.Cook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
Their weapons are slings, which they use with great dexterity, pikes
headed with the stings of sting-rays, and clubs, of about six or seven
feet long, made of a very hard heavy wood. Thus armed, they are said to
fight with great obstinacy, which is the more likely to be true, as it
is certain that they give no quarter to either man, woman, or child, who
is so unfortunate as to fall into their hands during the battle, or for
some hours afterwards, till their passion, which is always violent,
though not lasting, has subsided.
The Earee rahie of Obereonoo, while we were here, was in perfect amity
with the Earee rahie of Tiarreboo, the other peninsula, though he took
himself the title of king of the whole island: this, however, produced
no more jealousy in the other sovereign, than the title of king of
France, assumed by our sovereign, does in his most Christian Majesty.
In a government so rude, it cannot be expected that distributive justice
should be regularly administered, and indeed, where there is so little
opposition of interest, in consequence of the facility with which every
appetite and passion is gratified, there can be but few crimes. There is
nothing like money, the common medium by which every want and every wish
is supposed to be gratified by those who do not possess it; there is no
apparently permanent good which either fraud or force can unlawfully
obtain; and when all the crimes that are committed by the inhabitants of
civilized countries, to get money, are set out of the account, not many
will remain: add to this, that where the commerce with women is
restrained by no law, men will seldom be under any temptation to commit
adultery, especially as one woman is always less preferred to another,
where they are less distinguished by personal decorations, and the
adventitious circumstances which are produced by the varieties of art,
and the refinements of sentiment. That they are thieves is true; but as
among these people no man can be much injured or benefited by theft, it
is not necessary to restrain it by such punishments, as in other
countries are absolutely necessary to the very existence of civil
society. Tupia, however, tells us, that adultery is sometimes committed
as well as theft. In all cases where an injury has been committed, the
punishment of the offender lies with the sufferer: adultery, if the
parties are caught in the fact, is sometimes punished with death in the
first ardour of resentment; but without circumstances of immediate
provocation, the female sinner seldom suffers more than a beating. As
punishment, however, is enforced by no law, nor taken into the hand of
any magistrate, it is not often inflicted, except the injured party is
the strongest; though the chiefs do sometimes punish their immediate
dependents, for faults committed against each other, and even the
dependents of others, if they are accused of any offence committed in
their district.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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