THE TONGA ISLANDS.

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daring fellow, who often ventured by nightand early in the morning close up to the coloof Neafoo to kill any stragglers they couldmeet with. One morning a party of Finow’smen, twelve or fourteen in number, amongwhom was Mr. Mariner, being out on a littleexcursion, surprised four of the enemy, whowere busily employed digging ma* in a pit;these they immediately laid hold of, and draggedout, to take them hom,e prisoners. Imaginingthey had got Moteita and his followers who hadso often committed depredations upon them,they resolved to make a signal example of theirprisoners. A young chief, however, objectedto this measure, and proposed that it would bebetter to decapitate them at once, and taketheir heads home. This plan was immediatelyassented to, but some one observing that theyhad no knives with them, another casting hiseyes upon the ground, remarked, there wassomething that would do as well; and takingup a shell from a neighbouring spot, wheresome persons had been eating large pearl oysters,he proposed to proceed to work with oyster-shells as substitutes for knives: this was imme-diately approved of, and the four unfortunate

* Ma is a species of prepared food, consisting of bread-fruit, or plantains, or bananas; buried for a considerabletime under ground, in order to ferment.