Among Them Were A
Considerable Number Of Women, Who Wantoned In The Water Like
Amphibious Creatures, And Were Easily Persuaded To Come On Board,
Perfectly Naked, Without Professing Greater Chastity Than The Common
Women At Otaheite And The Society Isles," &C. - G.F.
[4] "He was drest in mats, one of which, on account of the coolness of
the morning, he had drawn over his shoulders.
He resembled all other
uncivilized people in the circumstance that his attention could not be
fixed to one object for any space of time, and it was difficult to
prevail on him to sit still whilst Mr Hodges drew his portrait. After
breakfast, the captains and my father prepared to return to the shore
with him; but just as he was going out of the cabin, he happened to
see an Otaheitean dog running about the deck; at this sight he could
not conceal his joy, but clapped his hands on his breast, and, turning
to the captain, repeated the word goorree near twenty times. We were
much surprised to hear that he knew the name of an animal which did
not exist in his country, and made him a present of one of each sex,
with which he went on shore in an extacy of joy." - G.F.
[5] "I remained on board all this day to arrange the collection of
plants and birds which we had made on our first excursion, and which
was far from despicable, considering the small size of the island. The
natives continued to crowd about our vessels in a number of canoes,
whilst many were swimming to and from the shore, who were probably not
rich enough to possess a canoe. Among the great numbers who surrounded
us, we observed several whose hair seemed to be burnt at the ends, and
were strewed with a white powder. Upon examination we found that this
powder was nothing else than lime, made of shells or coral, which had
corroded or burnt the hair. The taste of powdering was at its height
in this island. We observed a man who had employed a blue powder, and
many persons of both sexes who wore an orange powder made of
turmerick. St Jerom, who preached against the vanities of the age,
very seriously reprehends a similar custom in the Roman ladies: 'Ne
irrufet crines, et anticipet sibi ignes Gehennae!' Thus, by an
admirable similarity of follies, the modes of the former inhabitants
of Europe are in full force among the modern antipodes; and our
insipid beaux, whose only pride is the invention of a new fashion, are
forced to share that slender honour with the uncivilized natives of an
isle in the South Seas," - G.F.
[6] "Upon enquiry, some of the sportsmen who had met with this man
near Maria Bay, had been repeatedly told, that he was the chief of the
whole island, in the same manner as Cookee (Captain Cook) was chief of
our ships, and that they called him Ko-Haghee-too-Fallango.
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