side of these heroes. He carried in one
hand a musket, from the barrel of which was suspended a small canvas pouch
of powder, and in the other he grasped a short javelin, which he held
before him and regarded with fierce exultation. This javelin he had
wrested from a celebrated champion of the Happars, who had ignominiously
fled, and was pursued by his foes beyond the summit of the mountain.

When within a short distance of the Ti, the warrior with the wounded head,
who proved to be Narmonee, tottered forward two or three steps, and fell
helplessly to the ground; but not before another had caught the end of the
pole from his shoulder, and placed it upon his own.

The excited throng of islanders, who surrounded the person of the king and
the dead bodies of the enemy, approached the spot where I stood,
brandishing their rude implements of warfare, many of which were bruised
and broken, and uttering continual shouts of triumph. When the crowd drew
up opposite the Ti, I set myself to watch their proceedings most
attentively; but scarcely had they halted when my servitor, who had left
my side for an instant, touched my arm, and proposed our returning to
Marheyo's house. To this I objected; but, to my surprise, Kory-Kory
reiterated his request, and with an unusual vehemence of manner. Still,
however, I refused to comply, and was retreating before him, as in his
importunity he pressed upon me, when I felt a heavy hand laid upon my
shoulder, and turning round, encountered the bulky form of Mow-Mow, a
one-eyed chief, who had just detached himself from the crowd below, and
had mounted the rear of the pi-pi upon which we stood. His cheek had been
pierced by the point of a spear, and the wound imparted a still more
frightful expression to his hideously tattooed face, already deformed by
the loss of an eye. The warrior, without uttering a syllable, pointed
fiercely in the direction of Marheyo's house, while Kory-Kory, at the same
time presenting his back, desired me to mount.

I declined this offer, but intimated my willingness to withdraw, and moved
slowly along the piazza, wondering what could be the cause of this unusual
treatment. A few minutes' consideration convinced me that the savages were
about to celebrate some hideous rite in connexion with their peculiar
customs, and at which they were determined I should not be present. I
descended from the pi-pi, and attended by Kory-Kory, who on this occasion
did not show his usual c