with thefe they make nets for fifhing: of the fibres of the
cocoa-nut they make thread, for fattening together the feve-
ral parts o f their canoes, and belts, either round or flat,
twitted or plaited; and of the bark of the a kind o f
nettle which grows in the mountains, and is therefore rather
fcarce, they make the beft filhing lines in the world; with
thefe they hold the ftrongeft and moft active fifh, fuch as Bo-
netas and Albicores, which would fnap our ftrongeft filk
lines in a minute, though they are twice as thick.
They make alfo a kind of feine, of a coarfe broad grafs, the
blades o f which are like flags ; thefe they twift and tie together
in a loofe manner, till the net, Which is about as wide
as a large fack, is from fixty to eighty fathom long: this
they haul in fhoal fmooth water, and its own weight keeps
it fo clofe to the ground that fcarcely a Angle fifh can
efcape.
In every expedient, indeed, for taking filh, they are exceedingly
ingenious; they make harpoons o f cane, andpointthem
with hard wood, which in their hands ftrike fifti more effectually,
than thofe which are headed with iron can do in
ottrs, fetting afide the advantage of ours being fattened to a
line, fo that the fifh is fecured i f the hook takes place,
though it does not mortally wound him.
Of filh-hooks they have two forts, admirably adapted in
their conftruCtion as well to the purpofe they are to anfwer,
as to the materials of which they are made. One of thefe,
which they call W ittee Witt-ee, is ufed for towing. The fhank is
made of mother of pearl, the moft glofly that can be got: the
infide, which is naturally the brighteft, is put behind. To thefe
hooks a tuft of white dog’s or hog’ s hair is fixed, fo as fome-
what to referable the tail o f a filh , thefe implements, therefore,
fore, are both hook and bait, and are ufed with a rod of ^ 1769-
bamboo, and line of Erowa. The fifher, to fecure his fuc-
cefs, watches the flight of the birds which conftantly attend
the Bonetas when they fwim in flioals, by which he directs
his canoe, and when he has the advantage of thefe guides,
he feldom returns without a prize.
The other kind of hook is alfo made of mother of pearl,
or feme other hard fliell; they cannot make them bearded
like our hooks ; but to ciTeCl the fame purpofe, they make
the point turn inwards, Thefe are made of all fizes, and ufed
to catch various kinds of filh with great fuccefs. The manner
of, making them is very Ample, and every fifherman is
his own artificer: the fhell is firft cut into fquare pieces, by
the edge of another fhell, and wrought into a form corre-
fponding with the outline of the hook by pieces of coral,
which are fufficiently rough to perform the office of a file;
a hole is then bored in the middle ; the drill being no other
than the firft ftone they pick up that has a fharp corner; this
they fix into the end of a piece of bamboo, and turn it between
the hands like a chocolate mill; when the fhell is perforated,
and the hole fufficiently wide, a fmall file of coral is
introduced, by the application of which the hook is in a fhort
time completed, few colling the artificer more time than a
quarter of an hour.
Of their mafonry, carving, and architecture, the Reader
has already formed feme idea from the account that has been
given of the Morais, or repofitories of the dead: the other
moft important article of building and carving is their boats; Boats,
and perhaps, to fabricate one of their principal veflels with
their tools, is as great a work, as to build a Britifh man of
war with ours.
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Vol. II. F f They