The shore
rang with the shrill laughter of the throngs. In vain the chiefs of
authority interposed. The commands to help the white men were answered
by showers of stones directly inside the _taboo_. Ledyard was ordered
out with a guard of sailors to protect the white men loading the
_Resolution_. The guard was pelted black and blue. "There was nothing
to do," relates Ledyard, "but move to new lands where our vices {201}
were not known." At last all was in readiness to sail--one thing alone
lacking--wood; and the white men dare not go inland for the needed wood.
So far the entire blame rested on the sailors. Now Cook committed his
cardinal error. With that very dare and quickness to utilize every
available means to an end--whether the end justified the means--Cook
ordered his men ashore to seize the rail fence round the top of the
stone burying-ground--the sacred Morai--as fuel for his ships. Out
rushed the priests from the enclosure in dire distress. Was this their
reward for protecting Cook with the wand of the sacred _taboo_? Two
hatchets were offered the leading priest as pay.
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