Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/279

Rh THE TONGA ISLANDS. 213 u foot and a half deep at low water), that ran across the inlet at no great distance from Fel- letoa. Upon this shelf they were accustomed to fish every day, wading through the water. On these occasions,' several men of their own party had frequently alarmed them by rushing out upon them, pretending to be the enemy, and had repeated this so often, that, at length, they only laughed at the joke, and ridiculed the idea of running away. One evening a party of Fi- now's men, who had formed themselves for the express purpose of making an attack upon these women, set out in a canoe, and sailed to a part of the island where they could land unobserved, and proceed to the spot where they were fish- ing, without any danger of discovery, on account of the high bushes that were therein abundance. Being arrived on the spot, at an appointed signal they rushed out upon the women, who i)«mediately set up a hearty laugh, taking them for their old friends, so fond of a joke; but,
 * when they saw two or three knocked down with

clubs, they ran away as fast as their strength and the resistance of the water would let them, amd the men after them in full pursuit. There •were thirty of them, of which number five were killed, and thirteen taken prisoners, the other twelve escaping safe to the opposite shore. In this affair the wife of Finov's son was veij