Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/257

Rh some little time in making presents to their women. In the meanwhile we saw the inhabitants of the other come down from it, men, women and children, about one hundred in number, and march towards us; as soon as they came near enough they waved, and called haromai, and sat down in the bushes near the beach (a sure mark of their good intentions).

We went to them, made a few presents, and asked leave to go up to their heppah, which they with joy invited us to do, and immediately accompanied us to it. It was called Wharretoueva, and was situated at the end of a hill where it jutted out into the sea, which washed its two sides: these were sufficiently steep, but not absolutely inaccessible. Up one of the land sides, which was also steep, went the road; the other side was flat and open. The whole was enclosed by a palisade about ten feet high, made of strong poles bound together with withies: the weak side next the hill had also a ditch, twenty feet in depth nearest the palisade. Besides this, beyond the palisade was built a fighting stage, which they call porāvā. It is a flat stage covered with branches of trees upon which they stand to throw darts or stones at their assailants, they themselves being out of danger. Its dimensions were as follows: its height above the ground 20½ feet, breadth 6 feet 6 inches, length 43 feet; upon it were laid bundles of darts, and heaps of stones, ready in case of an attack. One of the young men at our desire went up to show their method of fighting, and another went to the outside of the ditch to act as assailant; they both sang their war-song, and danced with the same frightful gesticulations as we have often seen, threatening each other with their weapons. This, I suppose, they do in their attacks, to work themselves into a sufficient fury of courage, for what we call calm resolution is, I believe, found in few uncivilised people. The side next the road was also defended by a similar stage, but much longer; the other two were by their steepness thought to be sufficiently secure with the palisade. The inside was divided into, I believe, twenty larger and smaller divisions, some of which contained not