Next day we warped the ship into, and moored her in, a proper birth, so as to command all the shores around us. In the mean time a party of us went ashore to pay the chief a visit, and to make the customary present. At our first entering his house, we were met by four or five old women, weeping and lamenting, as it were, most bitterly, and at the same cutting their heads, with instruments made of sharks teeth, till the blood ran plentifully down their faces and on their shoulders. What was still worse, we were obliged to submit to the embraces of these old hags, and by that means were all besmeared with blood. This ceremony (for it was merely such) being over, they went out, washed themselves, and immediately after appeared as cheerful as any of the company. Having made some little stay, and given my present to the chief and his friends, he put a hog and some fruit into my boat, and came on board with us to dinner. In the afternoon, we had a vast number of people and canoes about us, from different parts of the island. They all took up their quarters in our neighbourhood, where they remained feasting for some days. We understood the most of them were _Eareoys_. The 26th afforded nothing remarkable, excepting that Mr. Forster, in his botanical excursions, saw a burying-place for dogs, which they called _Marai no te Oore_. But, I think, we ought not to look upon this as one of their customs; because few dogs die a natural death, being generally, if not always, killed and eaten, or else given as an offering to the gods. Probably this might be a _Marai_ or altar, where this sort of offering was made; or it might have been the whim of some person to have buried his favourite dog in this manner. But be it as it will, I cannot think it is a general custom in the nation; and, for my own part, I neither saw nor heard of such a thing before.