Joseph Banks - Endeavour Journal, 25 August 1768 - 12 July 1771 - No. 0354
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[Page 354]
Otahite
I have very little Doubt of the former especialy coming to perfection as I have given away large quantities among the natives & planted also in the woods they now continualy ask me for seeds & have already shewd me melon plants of their raising which look perfectly well The seeds that Captn Cooke sewd have provd so bad that no one has come up except mustard even the Cucumbers & melons have faild owing probably to the method of their being packd which was in small bottles seald down with rosin
5. This morn I saw the operation of Tattowing the buttocks performd upon a girl of about 12 years old it provd as I have always suspected a most painfull one it was done with a large instrument about 2 inches long containing about 30 teeth every stroke of this hundreds of which were made in a minute drew blood the patient bore this for about ½ of an hour with most stoical resolution by that time however the pain began to operate too stronly to be peacably endurd she began to complain & soon burst out into loud lamentations & would fain have persuaded the operator to cease she was however held down by two women who sometimes scolded sometimes beat & at others coaxd her I was setting in the adjacent house with Tomio for an hour all which time it lasted & was not finishd when I went away tho very near this was one side only of her buttocks for the other had been done some time before The arches upon the loins upon which they value themselves much were not yet done the doing of which they told causd more pain than what I had seen - about dinner time many of our freinds came Oamo Otheothea Tuarua &c.