Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/194

 their manner reminding us of Jews chanting in their synagogues:



The chief of this bay had twenty wives. He lived at the foot of a hill, in a house surrounded by those of his  wives, each of whom had a separate house. He spent the most of his time lounging in these, one after another. Mrs. Tandi Muthuata, the head wife, was over six feet in height and very stout. She fully understood her posision [sic], and kept all the others in subjection, ruling them as with a rod of iron. His seventeenth wife was called Henrietta. She was a young Tahitian with whom the chief had become smitten. In order to secure her he had killed and eaten her husband, and then compelled  her to become one of his wives. She was of fair complexion, and very good looking. Her hair was naturally black and straight, but, by twitching, twisting, frizzing,  and coloring, it had become very bushy.

Having finished our surveys here we weighed anchor and stood for Waialaithake, or Waia Island, Bay of Waialailai, or Porpoise Bay. This island was the most hilly, broken, and romantic of any in the group. On landing we saw no natives, and thought the island uninhabited,  but while ascending a hill we fell in with several who  were skulking in the groves, and keeping close upon us. The constant fear of being surprised by these savages was very far from pleasant. The more knowledge we