A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xvii Part 2

It must however be observed, that they fall very short of the other islanders, in that best test of civilization, the respect paid to the women. Here they are not only deprived of the privilege of eating with the men, but the best sorts of food are _tabooed_, or forbidden them. They are not allowed to eat pork, turtle, several kinds of fish, and some species of the plantains; and we were told that a poor girl got a terrible beating for having eaten, on board our ship, one of these interdicted articles. In their domestic life, they appear to live almost entirely by themselves, and though we did not observe any instances of personal ill treatment, yet it was evident they had little regard or attention paid them.

The great hospitality and kindness with which we were received by them, have been already frequently remarked; and indeed they make the princ.i.p.al part of our transactions with them. Whenever we came on sh.o.r.e, there was a constant struggle who should be most forward in making us little presents, bringing refreshments, or shewing some other mark of their respect. The old people never failed of receiving us with tears of joy; seemed highly gratified with being allowed to touch us, and were constantly making comparisons between themselves and us, with the strongest marks of humility. The young women were not less kind and engaging, and till they found, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to prevent it, that they had reason to repent of our acquaintance, attached themselves to us without the least reserve.

In justice however to the s.e.x, it must be observed, that these ladies were probably all of the lower cla.s.s of the people; for I am strongly inclined to believe, that excepting the few whose names are mentioned in the course of our narrative, we did not see any woman of rank during our stay amongst them.

Their natural capacity seems, in no respect, below the common standard of mankind. Their improvements in agriculture, and the perfection of their manufactures, are certainly adequate to the circ.u.mstances of their situation, and the natural advantages they enjoy. The eager curiosity with which they attended the armourer's forge, and the many expedients they had invented, even before we left the islands, for working the iron they had procured from us, into such forms as were best adapted to their purposes, were strong proofs of docility and ingenuity.

Our unfortunate friend, Kaneena, possessed a degree of judicious curiosity, and a quickness of conception, which was rarely met with amongst these people. He was very inquisitive after our customs and manners, asked after our king, the nature of our government, our numbers, the method of building our ships, our houses, the produce of our country, whether we had wars, with whom, and on what occasions, and in what manner they were carried on, who was our G.o.d, and many other questions of the same nature, which indicated an understanding of great comprehension.

We met with two instances of persons disordered in their minds; the one a man at Owhyhee, the other a woman at Oneeheow. It appeared, from the particular attention and respect paid to them, that the opinion of their being inspired by the Divinity, which obtains among most of the nations of the east, is also received here.

Though the custom of eating the bodies of their enemies be not known, by positive evidence, to exist in any of the South Sea islands, except New Zealand, yet it is extremely probable, that it was originally prevalent in them all. The sacrificing human victims, which seems evidently to be a relic of this horrid practice, still obtains universally amongst these islanders; and it is easy to conceive, why the New Zealanders should retain the repast, which was probably the last act of these shocking rites, longer than the rest of their, tribe, who were situated in more mild and fruitful climates. As the inhabitants of the Sandwich islands certainly bear a nearer resemblance to those of New Zealand, both in their persons and disposition, than to any other people of this family, so it was strongly suspected by Mr. Anderson, that, like them, they still continue to feast on human flesh. The evidence on which he founds this opinion, has been stated very fully in the tenth section of the third chapter; but, as I always entertained great doubts of the justice of his conclusions, it may not be improper to take this occasion of mentioning the grounds on which I venture to differ from him. With respect to the information derived from the natives themselves, I shall only observe, that great pains were taken, by almost every officer on board, to come at the knowledge of so curious a circ.u.mstance; and that except in the two instances mentioned by Mr.

Anderson, we found them invariably denying the existence of any such custom amongst them. It must be allowed, that Mr. Anderson's knowledge of their language, which was superior to that of any other person in either ship, ought certainly to give his opinion great weight; at the same time, I must beg leave to remark, that being present when he examined the man who had the small piece of salted flesh wrapped in cloth, it struck me very forcibly, that the signs he made use of meant nothing more, than that it was intended to be eat, and that it was very pleasant or wholesome to the stomach. In this opinion I was confirmed, by a circ.u.mstance which came to our knowledge, after the death of my worthy and ingenious friend, viz. that almost every native of these islands carried about with him, either in his calibash, or wrapped up in a piece of cloth, and tied about his waist, a small piece of raw pork, pork, highly salted, which they considered as a great delicacy, and used now and then to taste of. With respect to the confusion the young lad was in, (for he was not more than sixteen or eighteen years of age,) no one could have been surprised at it, who had seen the eager and earnest manner in which Mr. Anderson questioned him.

The argument drawn from the instrument made with sharks' teeth, and which is nearly of the same form with those used at New Zealand for cutting up the bodies of their enemies, is much more difficult to controvert. I believe it to be an undoubted fact, that this knife, if it may be so called, is never used by them in cutting the flesh of other animals.

However, as the custom of offering human sacrifices, and of burning the bodies of the slain, is still prevalent here, it is not improbable that the use of this instrument is retained in those ceremonies. Upon the whole, I am strongly inclined to think, and particularly from this last circ.u.mstance, that the horrid practice in question, has but lately ceased amongst these and other islands of the South Sea. Omai, when pressed on this subject, confessed that in the rage and fury of revenge, they would sometimes tear the flesh of their enemies that were slain with their teeth; but positively denied that they ever eat it. This was certainly approaching as near the fact as could be; but, on the other hand, the denial is a strong proof that the practice has actually ceased; since in New Zealand, where it still exists, the inhabitants neyer made the smallest scruple of confessing it.[7]

The inhabitants of these islands differ from those of the Friendly Isles, in suffering, almost universally, their beards to grow. There were indeed a few, amongst whom was the old king, that cut it off entirely; and others that wore it only upon the upper lip. The same variety, in the manner of wearing the hair, is also observable here, as among the other islanders of the South Sea; besides which, as far as we know, they have a fashion peculiar to themselves. They cut it close on each side the head, down to the ears, leaving a ridge of about a small hand's breadth, running from the forehead to the neck; which, when the hair is thick and curling, has the form of the crest of the ancient helmet. Others wear large quant.i.ties of false hair, flowing down their backs in long ringlets, like the figure of the inhabitants of Horn Island, as seen in Dalrymple's Voyages; and others, again, tie it into a single round bunch on the top of the head, almost as large as the head itself, and some into five or six distinct bunches. They daub their hair with a grey clay, mixed with powdered sh.e.l.ls, which they keep in b.a.l.l.s, and chew into a kind of soft paste, when they have occasion to make use of it. This keeps the hair smooth, and in time changes it to a pale yellow colour.

Both s.e.xes wear necklaces, made of strings of small variegated sh.e.l.ls; and an ornament, in the form of the handle of a cup, about two inches long, and half an inch broad, made of wood, stone, or ivory, finely polished, which is hung about the neck by fine threads of twisted hair, doubled sometimes an hundred fold. Instead of this ornament, some of them wear on their breast a small human figure made of bone, suspended in the same manner.

The fan, or fly-flap, is also an ornament used by both s.e.xes. The most ordinary kind are made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut, tied loose in bunches to the top of a smooth polished handle. The tail-feathers of the c.o.c.k, and of the tropic-bird, are also used in the same manner; but the most valuable are those which have the handle made of the arm or leg bones of an enemy slain in battle, and which are preserved with great care, and handed down from father to son, as trophies of inestimable value.

The custom of _tattowing_ the body, they have in common with the rest of the natives of the South Sea islands; but it is only at New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands, that they _tattow_ the face. There is also this difference between the two last, that in the former it is done in elegant spiral volutes, and in the latter in straight lines, crossing each, other at right angles. The hands and arms of the women are also very neatly marked, and they have a singular custom amongst them, the meaning of which we could never learn, that of _tallowing_ the tip of the tongues of the females.

From some information we received, relative to the custom of _tattowing_, we were inclined to think, that it is frequently intended as a sign of mourning on the death of a chief, or any other calamitous event. For we were often, told, that such a particular mark was in memory of such a chief, and so of the rest. It may be here too observed, that the lowest cla.s.s are often _tattowed_ with a mark, that distinguishes them as the property of the several chiefs to whom they belong.[8]

The dress of the men generally consists only of a piece of thick cloth called the _maro_, about ten or twelve inches broad, which they pa.s.s between the legs, and tie round the waist. This is the common dress of all ranks of people. Their mats, some of which are beautifully manufactured, are of various sizes, but mostly about five feet long and four broad. These they throw over their shoulders, and bring forward before; but they are seldom used, except in time of war, for which purpose they seem better adapted than for ordinary use, being of a thick and c.u.mbersome texture, and capable of breaking the blow of a stone, or any blunt weapon. Their feet are generally bare, except when they have occasion to travel over the burnt stones, when they secure them with a sort of sandal, made of cords, twisted from the fibres of the cocoa-nut. Such is the ordinary dress of these islanders; but they have another, appropriated to their chiefs, and used on ceremonious occasions, consisting of a feathered cloak and helmet, which, in point of beauty and magnificence, is perhaps nearly equal to that of any nation in the world. As this dress has been already described with great accuracy and minuteness, I have only to add, that these cloaks are made of different lengths, in proportion to the rank of the wearer, some of them reaching no lower than the middle, others trailing on the ground. The inferior chiefs have also a short cloak, resembling the former, made of the long tail-feathers of the c.o.c.k, the tropic and man-of-war birds, with a broad border of the small red and yellow feathers, and a collar of the same. Others again are made of feathers entirely white, with variegated borders. The helmet has a strong lining of wicker-work, capable of breaking the blow of any warlike instrument, and seems evidently designed for that purpose.

These feathered dresses seemed to be exceedingly scarce, appropriated to persons of the highest rank, and worn by the men only. During the whole time we lay in Karakakooa Bay, we never saw them used but on three occasions; in the curious ceremony of Terreeoboo's first visit to the ships; by some chiefs, who were seen among the crowd on sh.o.r.e when Captain Cook was killed, and afterward when Eappo brought his bones to us.

The exact resemblance between this habit, and the cloak and helmet formerly worn by the Spaniards, was too striking not to excite our curiosity to enquire, whether there were any probable grounds for supposing it to have been borrowed from them. After exerting every means in our power of obtaining information on this subject, we found that they had no immediate knowledge of any other nation whatever, nor any tradition remaining among them of these islands having been ever visited before by such ships as ours. But, notwithstanding the result of these enquiries, the uncommon form of this habit appears to me a sufficient proof of its European origin, especially when added to another circ.u.mstance, that it is a singular deviation from the general resemblance in dress, which prevails amongst all the branches of this tribe, dispersed through the South Sea. We were driven indeed, by this conclusion, to a supposition of the shipwreck of some Buccaneer, or Spanish ship, in the neighbourhood of these islands. But when it is recollected, that the course of the Spanish trade from Acapulco to the Manillas is but a few degrees to the southward of the Sandwich Islands in their pa.s.sage out, and to the northward on their return, this supposition will not appear in the least improbable.[9]

The common dress of the women bears a close resemblance to that of the men.

They wrap round the waist a piece of cloth, that reaches half way down the thighs; and sometimes in the cool of the evening they appeared with loose pieces of fine cloth, thrown over their shoulders, like the women of Otaheite. The _pau_ is another dress very frequently worn by the younger part of the s.e.x. It is made of the thinnest and finest sort of cloth, wrapt several times round the waist, and descending to the leg, so as to have exactly the appearance of a full short petticoat. The hair is cut short behind, and turned up before, as is the fashion among the Otaheiteans and New Zealanders; all of whom differ, in this respect, from the women of the Friendly Islands, who wear their hair long. We saw, indeed, one woman in Karakakooa Bay, Whose hair was arranged in a very singular manner; it was turned up behind, and brought over the forehead, and then doubled back, so as to form a sort of a shade to the face, like a small bonnet.

Their necklaces are made of sh.e.l.ls, or of a hard shining red berry. Besides which, they wear wreaths of dried flowers of the Indian mallow; and another beautiful ornament called _eraie_, which is generally put about the neck, but is sometimes tied like a garland round the hair, and sometimes worn in both these ways at once. It is a ruff, of the thickness of a finger, made in a curious manner, of exceedingly small feathers, woven so close together as to form a surface as smooth as that of the richest velvet. The ground was generally of a red colour, with alternate circles of green, yellow, and black. Their bracelets, which were also of great variety, and very peculiar kinds, have been already described.

At Atooi, some of the women wore little figures of the turtle, neatly formed of wood or ivory, tied on their fingers in the manner we wear rings.

Why this animal is thus particularly distinguished, I leave to the conjectures of the curious. There is also an ornament, made of sh.e.l.ls, fastened in rows on a ground of strong netting, so as to strike each other when in motion; which both men and women, when they dance, tie either round the arm or the ankle, or below the knee. Instead of sh.e.l.ls, they sometimes make use of dog's teeth, and a hard red berry, resembling that of the holly.

There remains to be mentioned another ornament (if such it may be called), which is a kind of mask, made of a large gourd, with holes cut in it for the eyes and nose. The top was stuck full of small green twigs, which, at a distance, had the appearance of an elegant waving plume; and from the lower part hung narrow stripes of cloth, resembling a beard. We never saw these masks worn but twice, and both times by a number of people together in a canoe, who came to the side of the ship, laughing and drolling, with an air of masquerading. Whether they may not likewise be used as a defence for the head against stones, for which, they seem best designed; or in some of their public games; or be merely intended for the purposes of mummery, we could never inform ourselves.

It has already been remarked, in a few instances, that the natives of the Sandwich Islands approach nearer to the New Zealanders in their manners and customs, than to either of their less distant neighbours of the Society or Friendly Islands. This is in nothing more observable than in their method of living together in small towns or villages, containing from about one hundred to two hundred houses, built pretty close together, without any order, and having a winding path leading through them. They are generally flanked, toward the sea, with loose detached walls, which, probably, are meant both for the purposes of shelter and defence. The figure of their houses has been already described. They are of different sizes, from eighteen feet by twelve, to forty-five by twenty-four. There are some of a larger kind, being fifty feet long and thirty broad, and quite open at one end. These, they told us, were designed for travellers or strangers, who were only making a short stay.

In addition to the furniture of their houses, which has been accurately described by Captain Cook, I have only to add, that at one end are mats on which they sleep, with wooden pillows, or sleeping stools, exactly like those of the Chinese. Some of the better sort of houses have a courtyard before them, neatly railed in, with smaller houses built round it, for their servants. In this _area_ they generally eat, and sit during the day- time. In the sides of the hills, and among the steep rocks, we also observed several holes or caves, which appeared to be inhabited; but as the entrance was defended with wicker-work, and we also found, in the only one that was visited, a stone-fence running across it within, we imagine they are princ.i.p.ally designed for places of retreat, in case of an attack from an enemy.

The food of the lower cla.s.s of people consists princ.i.p.ally of fish and vegetables, such as yams, sweet-potatoes, tarrow, plantains, sugar-canes, and bread-fruit. To these the people of a higher rank add the flesh of hogs and dogs, dressed in the same manner as at the Society Islands. They also eat fowls of the same domestic kind with ours; but they are neither plentiful nor much esteemed by them. It is remarked by Captain Cook, that the bread-fruit and yams appeared scarce amongst them, and were reckoned great rarities. We found this not to be the case on our second visit; and it is therefore most probable, that, as these vegetables were generally planted in the interior parts of the country, the natives had not had time to bring them down to us during the short stay we made at Wymoa Bay. Their fish, they salt, and preserve in gourd-sh.e.l.ls; not, as we at first imagined, for the purpose of providing against any temporary scarcity, but from the preference they give to salted meats. For we also found, that the _Erees_ used to pickle pieces of pork in the same manner, and esteemed it a great delicacy.

Their cookery is exactly of the same sort with that already described in the accounts that have been published of the other South Sea islands; and though Captain Cook complains of the sourness of their tarrow puddings, yet, in justice to the many excellent meals they afforded us in Karakakooa Bay, I must be permitted to rescue them from this general censure, and to declare, that I never eat better even in the Friendly Islands. It is however remarkable, that they had not got the art of preserving the bread- fruit, and making the sour paste of it called _Maihee_, as at the Society Islands; and it was some satisfaction to as, in return for their great kindness and hospitality, to have it in our power to teach them this useful secret. They are exceedingly cleanly at their meals; and their mode of dressing both their animal and vegetable food was universally allowed to be greatly superior to ours. The chiefs constantly begin their meal with a dose of the extract of pepper-root, brewed after the usual manner. The women eat apart from the men, and are _tabooed_, or forbidden, as has been already mentioned, the use of pork, turtle, and particular kinds of plantains. However, they would eat pork with us in private; but we could never prevail upon them to touch the two last articles.

The way of spending their time appears to be very simple, and to admit of little variety. They rise with the sun; and, after enjoying the cool of the evening, retire to rest a few hours after sun-set. The making of canoes and mats forms the occupations of the _Erees_; the women are employed in manufacturing cloth; and the _Towtows_ are princ.i.p.ally engaged in the plantations and fishing. Their idle hours are filled up with various amus.e.m.e.nts. Their young men and women are fond of dancing; and on more solemn occasions, they have boxing and wrestling matches, after the manner of the Friendly Islands; though, in all these respects, they are much inferior to the latter.

Their dances have a much nearer resemblance to those of the New Zealanders than of the Otaheiteans or Friendly Islanders. They are prefaced with a slow, solemn song, in which all the party join, moving their legs, and gently striking their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, in a manner, and with att.i.tudes, that are perfectly easy and graceful; and so far they are the same with the dancers of the other Society Islands. When this has lasted about ten minutes, both the tune and motions gradually quicken, and end only by their inability to support the fatigue; which part of the performance is the exact counterpart of that of the New Zealanders; and (as it is among them) the person who uses the most violent action, and holds out the longest, is applauded as the best dancer. It is to be observed, that, in this dance, the women only take a part; and that the dancing of the men is nearly of the same kind with what we saw of the small parties at the Friendly Islands; and which may, perhaps, with more propriety, be called the accompaniment of songs, with corresponding and graceful motions of the whole body. Yet, as we were spectators of boxing exhibitions, of the same kind with those we were entertained with at the Friendly Islands, it is probable that they had likewise their grand ceremonious dances, in which numbers of both s.e.xes a.s.sisted.

Their music is also of a ruder kind, having neither flutes nor reeds, nor instruments of any other sort, that we saw, except drums of various sizes.

But their songs, which they sung in parts,[10] and accompany with a gentle motion of the arms, in the same manner as the Friendly Islanders, had a very pleasing effect.

It is very remarkable that the people of these islands are great gamblers.

They have a game very much like our draughts; but if one may judge from the number of squares, it is much more intricate. The board is about two feet long, and is divided into two hundred and thirty-eight squares, of which there are fourteen in a row; and they make use of black and white pebbles, which they move from square to square.

There is another game, which consists in hiding a stone under a piece of cloth, which one of the parties spreads out, and rumples in such a manner that the place where the stone lies is difficult to be distinguished. The antagonist, with a stick, then strikes the part of the cloth where he imagines the stone to be; and as the chances are, upon the whole, considerably against his. .h.i.tting it, odds, of all degrees, varying with the opinion of the skill of the parties, are laid on the side of him who hides.

Besides these games, they frequently amuse themselves with racing matches between the boys and girls; and here, again, they wager with great spirit.

I saw a man in a most violent rage, tearing his hair, and beating his breast, after losing three hatchets at one of these races, which he had just before purchased from us with half his substance.

Swimming is not only a necessary art, in which both their men and women are more expert than any people we had hitherto seen, but a favourite diversion amongst them. One particular mode, in which they sometimes amused themselves with this exercise, in Karakakooa Bay, appeared to us most perilous and extraordinary, and well deserving a distinct relation.

The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the sh.o.r.e, within which s.p.a.ce the surges of the sea, acc.u.mulating from the shallowness of the water, are dashed against the beach with prodigious violence. Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost height, they choose that time for this amus.e.m.e.nt, which is performed in the following manner: Twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the sh.o.r.e. The first wave they meet they plunge under, and, suffering it to roll over them, rise again beyond it, and make the best of their way, by swimming out into the sea. The second wave is encountered in the same manner with the first; the great difficulty consisting in seizing the proper moment of diving under it, which, if missed, the person is caught by the surf, and driven back again with great violence; and all his dexterity is then required to prevent himself from being dashed against the rocks. As soon as they have gained, by these repeated efforts, the smooth water beyond the surf, they lay themselves at length on their board, and prepare themselves for their return. As the surf consists of a number of waves, of which every third is remarked to be always much larger than the others, and to flow higher on the sh.o.r.e, the rest breaking in the intermediate s.p.a.ce, their first object is to place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with amazing rapidity toward the sh.o.r.e. If, by mistake, they should place themselves on one of the smaller waves, which breaks before they reach the land, or should not be able to keep their plank in a proper direction on the top of the swell, they are left exposed to the fury of the next, and, to avoid it, are obliged again to dive, and regain the place from which they set out. Those who succeed in their object of reaching the sh.o.r.e, have still the greatest danger to encounter. The coast being guarded by a chain of rocks, with here and there a small opening between them, they are obliged to steer their board through one of these, or, in case of failure, to quit it before they reach the rocks, and, plunging under the wave, make the best of their way back again. This is reckoned very disgraceful, and is also attended with the loss of the board, which I have often seen, with great terror, dashed to pieces, at the very moment the islander quitted it. The boldness and address with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, were altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.[11]

An accident, of which I was a near spectator, shews at how early a period they are so far familiarized to the water, as both to lose all fears of it, and to set its dangers at defiance. A canoe being overset, in which was a woman with her children, one of them an infant, who, I am convinced, was not more than four years old, seemed highly delighted with what had happened, swimming about at its ease, and playing a hundred tricks, till the canoe was put to rights again.

Besides the amus.e.m.e.nts I have already mentioned, the young children have one, which was much played at, and shewed no small degree of dexterity.

They take a short stick, with a peg sharpened at both ends, running through one extremity of it, and extending about an inch on each side; and throwing up a ball, made of green leaves, moulded together, and secured with twine, they catch it on the point of the peg; and immediately throwing it up again from the peg, they turn the stick round, and thus keep catching it on each peg alternately, without missing it, for a considerable time. They are not less expert at another game of the same nature, tossing up in the air, and catching, in their turns, a number of these b.a.l.l.s; so that we frequently saw little children thus keep in motion five at a time. With this latter play the young people likewise divert themselves at the Friendly Islands.

The great resemblance which prevails in the mode of agriculture and navigation, amongst all the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, leaves me very little to add on those heads. Captain Cook has already described the figure of the canoes we saw at Atooi. Those of the other islands were precisely the same; and the largest we saw was a double canoe, belonging to Terreeoboo, which measured seventy feet in length, three and a half in depth, and twelve in breadth; and each was hollowed out of one tree.

The progress they have made in sculpture, their skill in painting cloth, and their manufacturing of mats, have been all particularly described. The most curious specimens of the former, which we saw during our second visit, are the bowls in which the chiefs drink _ava_. These are usually about eight or ten inches in diameter, perfectly round, and beautifully polished.

They are supported by three, and sometimes four small human figures, in various att.i.tudes. Some of them rest on the hands of their supporters, extended over the head; others on the head and hands; and some on the shoulders. The figures, I am told, are accurately proportioned, and neatly finished, and even the anatomy of the muscles, in supporting the weight, well expressed.

Their cloth is made of the same materials, and in the same manner, as at the Friendly and Society Islands. That which is designed to be painted, is of a thick and strong texture, several folds being beat and incorporated together; after which it is cut in breadths, about two or three feet wide, and is painted in a variety of patterns, with a comprehensiveness and regularity of design that bespeaks infinite taste and fancy. The exactness with which the most intricate patterns are continued is the more surprising, when we consider that they have no stamps, and that the whole is done by the eye, with pieces of bamboo-cane dipped in paint; the hand being supported by another piece of the cane, in the manner practised by our painters. Their colours are extracted from the same berries, and other vegetable substances, as at Otaheite, which have been already described by former voyagers.

The business of painting belongs entirely to the women, and is called _kipparee_; and it is remarkable that they always gave the same name to our writing. The young women would often take the pen out of our hands, and shew us that they knew the use of it as well as we did; at the same time telling us that our pens were not so good as theirs. They looked upon a sheet of written paper as a piece of cloth striped after the fashion of our country; and it was not without the utmost difficulty that we could make them understand that our figures had a meaning in them which theirs had not.

Their mats are made of the leaves of the _panda.n.u.s_; and, as well as their cloths, are beautifully worked in a variety of patterns, and stained of different colours. Some have a ground of pale green, spotted with squares or rhomboids of red; others are of a straw colour, spotted with green; and others are worked with beautiful stripes, either in straight or waving lines of red and brown. In this article of manufacture, whether we regard the strength, fineness, or beauty, they certainly excel the whole world.

Their fishing-hooks are made of mother-of-pearl, bone, or wood, pointed and barbed with small bones or tortoise-sh.e.l.l. They are of various sizes and forms, but the most common are about two or three inches long, and made in the shape of a small fish, which serves as a bait, having a bunch of feathers tied to the head or tail. Those with which they fish for sharks are of a very large size, being generally six or eight inches long.

Considering the materials of which these hooks were made, their strength and neatness are really astonishing; and, in fact, we found them, upon trial, much superior to our own.

The line which they use for fishing, for making nets, and for other domestic purposes is of different degrees of fineness, and is made of the bark of the _touta_, or cloth-tree; neatly and evenly twisted, in the same manner as our common twine; and may be continued to any length. They have a finer sort, made of the bark of a small shrub, called _areemah_; and the finest is made of human hair; but this last is chiefly used for things of ornament. They also make cordage of a stronger kind, for the rigging of their canoes, from the fibrous coatings of the cocoa-nuts. Some of this we purchased for our own use, and found it well adapted to the smaller kinds of the running rigging. They likewise make another sort of cordage, which is flat, and exceedingly strong, and used princ.i.p.ally in lashing the roofing of their houses, or whatever they wish to fasten tight together.

This last is not twisted like the former sorts, but is made of the fibrous strings of the cocoa-nut's coat, plaited with the fingers, in the manner our sailors make their points for the reefing of sails.

The gourds, which grow to so enormous a size, that some of them are capable of containing from ten to twelve gallons, are applied to all manner of domestic purposes; and in order to fit them the better to their respective uses, they have the ingenuity to give them different forms, by tying bandages round them during their growth. Thus some of them are of a long cylindrical form, as best adapted to contain their fishing-tackle; others are of a dish form, and these serve to hold their salt and salted provisions, their puddings, vegetables, &c. which two sorts have neat close covers, made likewise of the gourd; others, again, are exactly in the shape of a bottle with a long neck, and in these they keep their water. They have likewise a method of scoring them with a heated instrument, so as to give them the appearance of being painted in a variety of neat and elegant designs.

Amongst their arts, we must not forget that of making salt, with which we were amply supplied during our stay at these islands, and which was perfectly good of its kind. Their salt-pans are made of earth, lined with clay; being generally six or eight feet square, and about eight inches deep. They are raised upon a bank of stones near to high-water mark, from whence the salt-water is conducted to the foot of them in small trenches, out of which they are filled, and the sun quickly performs the necessary process of evaporation. The salt we procured at Atooi and Oneeheow, on our first visit, was of a brown and dirty sort; but that which we afterward got in Karakakooa Bay was white, and of a most excellent quality, and in great abundance. Besides the quant.i.ty we used in salting pork, we filled all our empty casks, amounting to sixteen puncheons, in the Resolution only.

Their instruments of war are spears, daggers, called _pahooas_, clubs, and slings. The spears are of two sorts, and made of a hard solid wood, which has much the appearance of mahogany. One sort is from six to eight feet in length, finely polished, and gradually increasing in thickness from the extremity till within about half a foot of the point, which tapers suddenly, and is furnished with four or six rows of barbs. It is not improbable that these might be used in the way of darts. The other sort, with which we saw the warriors at Owhyhee and Atooi mostly armed, are twelve or fifteen feet long, and, instead of being barbed, terminate toward the point like their daggers.