village and
burying-ground and priests' houses nestling under the cocoanut grove at
one end of the semicircular bay, the village where Terreeoboo, king of
the island, dwelt on the long sand beach at the other end; and swimming
through the water like shoals of fish, climbing over the ships' rigging
like monkeys, crowding the decks of the _Discovery_ {198} so that the
ship heeled over till young chief Pareea began tossing the intruders by
the scuff of the neck back into the sea--hundreds, thousands, of
half-naked, tawny-skinned savages welcoming the white men back to the
islands discovered by them. Chief among the visitors to the ship was
Koah, a little, old, emaciated, shifty-eyed priest with a wry neck and
a scaly, leprous skin, who at once led the small boats ashore, driving
the throngs back with a magic wand and drawing a mystic circle with his
wizard stick round a piece of ground near the Morai, or burying-place,
where the white men could erect their tents beside the cocoanut groves.
The magic line was called a _taboo_. Past the tabooed line of the
magic wand not a native would dare to go. Here Captain King, assisted
by the young midshipman, Vancouver, landed with a guard of eight or ten
mariners to overhaul the ships' masts, while the rest of the two crews
obtained provisions by trade.

Cook was carried off to the very centre of the Morai--a circular
enclosure of solid stone with images and priests' houses at one end,
the skulls of slain captives at the other. Here priests and people did
the white explorer homage as to a god, sacrificing to him their most
sacred animal--a strangled pig.

All went well for the first few days. A white gunner, who died, was
buried within the sacred enclosure of the Morai. The natives loaded
the white men's boats with provisions. In ten days the wan, gaunt
{199} sailors were so sleek and fat that even the generous entertainers
had to laugh at the transformation. Old King Terreeoboo came clothed
in a cloak of gaudy feathers with spears and daggers at his belt and a
train of priestly retainers at his heels to pay a visit of state to
Cook; and a guard of mariners was drawn up at arms under the cocoanut
grove to receive the visitor with fitting honor. When the king learned
that Cook was to leave the bay early in February, a royal proclamation
gathered presents for the ships; and Cook responded by a public display
of fireworks.

Now it is a sad fact that when a highly civilized