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234

SURGICAL SKILL

remedies twice with very good effect, whichencouraged some others to try; but as thesecircumstances took place only a short time be-fore Mr. Mariner left, and consequently only afew trials had been made, we ought not tospeak of them as constituting the medicalknowledge of the Tonga people; but as thisSandwich island chief was a man of consider-able judgment, and, as Mr. Mariner has everyreason to think, a good observer, we indulgethe hope that no ill success, at an early period,has destroyed confidence in the adoption oftwo such useful remedies.

The ceremonies of invocation in behalf ofsick people have already been described in the ac-count of the sickness of the late kings daughter:the sacrifices adopted on similar occasions aretootoomma and ncmgia ; cutting off fingers andstrangling children : these also have both beendescribed; the latter is only done for verygreat chiefs. We shall now proceed to speakof their operative surgery, and constitutionaldiseases, as far as Mr. Mariners observationcan lead him to speak with accuracy.

No native of Tonga undertakes to practisesurgery unless he has been at the Fiji islands ,where constant wars afford great opportunitiesof becoming skilful; and no native of Tonga would employ a surgeon who had not been