Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/390

324 few days elapsed, during which the prodigy was no where to be found, and they supposed it was gone away altogether,, imagining it to have been a visitation from a god for some crime they had committed. One evening, however, while a woman Wa& washing some talo root in a salt water lake, about a quarter of a mile from the beach, surrounded by thick rushes, the monster suddenly made his appearance, and, seizing the unfortunate woman, plunged with her into the lake. The people of the neighbouring houses having given the alarm, all the inhabitants of the island were soon up in arms, and, running to the spot, uttered loud exclamations, and threw stones and various things into the lake ; in consequence of which, the animal, being dis- turbed, rushed out, and made towards the sea, pursued by a number of men, who threw spears at Jiim ; but these were of no avail, his hard scales proved impenetrable to such weapons, and this circumstance, filling them with increased alarm and wonder, made them dreadfully afraid of him, and confirmed them in the opinion that it mustb^ a god, for they saw him escape unhurt into the sea. In this way he had destroyed nine people at different places, partly on this island, and partly on another small island, clo'se in the neighbourhood, when an old man, who had ob- served that he came on shore every morning at