ALTHOUGH I had been unable during the late festival to obtain
information on many interesting subjects which had much excited
my curiosity, still that important event had not passed by
without adding materially to my general knowledge of the
islanders.
I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which
they displayed, by their great superiority in these respects over
the inhabitants of the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the
singular contrasts they presented among themselves in their
various shades of complexion.
In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a
single instance of natural deformity was observable in all the
throng attending the revels. Occasionally I noticed among the
men the scars of wounds they had received in battle; and
