The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
“Soon after you left me, a second messenger came from Towha, to Otoo,
with a plantain-tree. It was sunset when we embarked in a canoe and left
Oparre: about nine o’clock we landed at Tettaha, at that extremity which
joins to Attahooroo. Before we landed, the people called to us from the
shore, probably to tell us that Towha was there. The meeting of Otoo and
this chief I expected would afford some incident worthy of observation.
Otoo and his attendants went and seated themselves on the bench, close
to the canoe in which Towha was. He was then asleep; but his servants
having awaked him, and mentioning Otoo’s name, immediately a
plantain-tree and a dog were laid at Otoo’s feet; and many of Towha’s
people came and talked with him, as I conceived, about their expedition
to Eimeo. After I had, for some time, remained seated close to Otoo,
Towha neither stirring from his canoe, nor holding any conversation with
us, I went to him. He asked me if _Toote_ was angry with him. I
answered, No: that he was his _taio_; and that he had ordered me to go
to Attahooroo to tell him so. Omai now had a long conversation with this
chief; but I could gather no information of any kind from him. On my
returning to Otoo, he seemed desirous that I should go to eat, and then
to sleep. Accordingly, Omai and I left him. On questioning Omai, he
said, the reason of Towha’s not stirring from his canoe was his being
lame; but that, presently, Otoo and he would converse together in
private. This seemed true; for, in a little time, those we left with
Otoo came to us; and, about ten minutes after, Otoo himself arrived, and
we all went to sleep in his canoe.
“The next morning, the _ava_ was in great plenty. One man drank so much
that he lost his senses. I should have supposed him to be in a fit, from
the convulsions that agitated him. Two men held him, and kept plucking
off his hair by the roots. I left this spectacle to see another more
affecting. This was the meeting of Towha and his wife, and a young girl,
whom I understood to be his daughter. After the ceremony of cutting
their heads, and discharging a tolerable quantity of blood and tears,
they washed, embraced the chief, and seemed unconcerned. But the young
girl’s sufferings were not yet come to an end. Terridiri[7] arrived; and
she went, with great composure, to repeat the same ceremonies to him,
which he had just performed on meeting her father. Towha had brought a
large war-canoe from Eimeo. I enquired if he had killed the people
belonging to her; and was told, that there was no man in her when she
was captured.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account