ed, innocent as well as guilty. How canst
thou be merciless? Have regard for Finow and spare the life of his
daughter." When despite of prayers and the sacrifices of pigs, the girl
grew daily worse instead of better, she was removed to many other
consecrated enclosures of other gods, one after the other, where the
like fond prayers and fruitless offerings were presented in the vain
hope of staving off the approach of death.[77]

[76] W. Mariner, _op. cit._ ii. 224.

[77] W. Mariner, _Tonga Islands_, i. 350-360.

But more precious sacrifices than the blood of hogs were often laid at
the feet of the angry gods. When a relation of a superior rank was ill,
it was a very common practice for one or more of his or her inferior
kinsfolk to have a little finger, or a joint of a finger, cut off as a
sacrifice to induce the offended deity to spare the sick man or woman.
So common was the custom in the old days that there was scarcely a
person living in the Tonga islands who had not thus lost one or both of
his little fingers, or a considerable portion of both. It does not
appear that the operation was very painful. Mariner witnessed more than
once little children quarrelling for the honour of having it performed
on them. The finger was laid flat upon a block of wood: a knife, axe, or
sharp stone was placed with the edge on the joint to be severed, and a
powerful blow with a hammer or heavy stone effected the amputation.
Sometimes an affectionate relative would perform the operation on his or
her own hand. John Williams questioned a girl of eighteen who had hacked
off her own little finger with a sharp shell to induce the gods to spare
her sick mother. Generally a joint was taken off at a time; but some
persons had smaller portions amputated to admit of the operation being
often repeated in case they had many superior relations, who might be
sick and require the sacrifice. When they had no more joints which they
could conveniently spare, they rubbed the stumps of the mutilated
fingers till the blood streamed from the wounds; then they would hold up
the bleeding hands in hope of softening the heart of the angry god.[78]
Captain Cook understood that the operation was performed for the benefit
of the sufferers themselves to heal them in sickness,[79] and the same
view was apparently taken by the French navigator Labillardiere,[80] but
in this they were probably mistaken; neither of them had an accurate
knowledge of the langu