A 27 6 V O Y A G E ROUND THE WORLD.
August day before. Captain Cook, who perceived the trade to have
flackened in confequence of that feizure, none of the inhabitants
coming to the fhip, and few to the watering-
place, returned the canoes, as the belt means to reconcile
us to the confidence of the natives ; and though the effe&s.
of his indulgence were not inftantaneous, yet in a day or
two our trade was perfectly re-eftabliflhed.
After this peaceful prelude we went on fhore, in purfuit
of botanical difcoveries. A fmart fhower of rain which
had fallen over night, had cooled the air confiderably, and
made our walk extremely pleafant-, before the fun could'
become troublefome. The whole country had profited by
this rain, for every plant and tree feemed revived by it, and
the groves exhaled a fweet refrefhing fmell. Whether it
was owing to the early hour of our excurfion, or to the'
beauty of the morning, our ear was fainted by the fong
of many fmall birds, which enlivened this delightful country.
We had not walked far, when we heard a loud noife
in the wood, which refembled the ftrokes of a carpenter s
hammer. We followed the found, and at laft came to a
fmall fhed, where five or fix women were fitting on both
fides of a long fquare piece of timber, and beat the fibrous*
bark of the mulberry-tree here, in order to manufacture it
into cloth. The inftrument they ufed for this purpofe was
a fquare wooden club, with longitudinal and parallel
furrows, which run fmaller and clofer together on the
different
A VOYAGE ROUND T H E WORLD. 2 - 7 7
different fides *, They ceafed a little while to give us M f e f
time to examine the bark, the mallet, and the timber on
which they performed their operations. They alfo fhewed
us a kind of glutinous water in a coco-nut fhell, which
was made ufe of from time to time, to make the pieces of
bark cohere together. This glue,, which, as we underftood,
was made of the hibifcus efculentusr. is indifpenfibly neceffary
in the manufacture of thofe immenfe pieces of cloth, fome-
times two or three yards "wide, and fifty yards long, which
are compofed of little bits of bark, taken, from trees never
fo thick as the wrift. We carefully examined their plantations
of mulberry-trees, but never found a fingle old one
among them ; as foon as they are of two ye&rs growth
they are cut down, and new ones fpring up from the root,,
for fortunately this tree is one of the moll prolific in nature,
and if fuffered to grow till it flowered and could bear,
fruits, might perhaps totally over-run the country. The
bark mull always be taken from young, trees ; and thefe
are carefully drawn into long Hems, without any branches,,
except juft at the top, fo that the bark is as entire as pof-
fible. The method of preparing it before it comes under
the mallet, we were not yet acquainted with at this time.
The. women employed in this manner, were dreffed in old
and dirty rags of their cloth, and had very hard and callous.
* See Dr. Bawkefworth’s compilation, vol. II. p. 2 12 ,-and plate No. 9.
hands.