oftober. that th<T neither want tafte to defign, nor Ikill to execute,
—-v— > whatever they take in hand.
How thefe people amufe themfelves in their leifure hours,
I cannot fay, as we are but little acquainted with their di-
verfions. The women frequently entertained us with fongs,
in a manner which was agreeable enough. They accompany
the mufic by fnapping their fingers, fo as to keep time
to it. Not only their voices, but their mufic was very harmonious,
and they have a confiderable compafs in their
notes. I faw but two mufical inftruments amongft them.
One was a large flute made of a piece of bamboo, which
they fill with their nofes as at Otaheite; but thefe have four
holes or flops, whereas thofe of Otaheite have only two.
The other was compofed of ten or eleven fmall reeds of unequal
lengths, bound together fide by fide, as the Doric pipe
of the ancients is faid to have been; and the open ends of the
reeds into which they blow with their mouths, are of equal
height or in a line. They have alfo a drum which, without
any impropriety, may be compared to an hollow log of
wood. The one I faw was five feet fix inches long, and
thirty inches in girt, and had a flit in it, from the one end
to the other, about three inches wide, by means of which
it had been hollowed out. They beat on the fide of this log
with two drum-flicks, and produce an hollow found, not
quite fo mufical as that of an empty calk.
The common method of faluting one another is by touching
or meeting nofes, as is done in New Zealand; and
their fign of peace to ftrangers, is the difplaying a white
flag or flags; at leaft fuch were difplayed to us, when we
firft drew hear the Ihore. But the people who came firft on
board brought with them fome of the pepper plant, and fent
it
it before them into thelhip; a ftronger fign of friendlhip >773.
than which one could not wifli for. From their unfufpicious
manner of coming on board, and of receiving us at firft on
Ihore, I am of opinion, they are feldom difturbed by either
foreign or domeftic troubles. They are, however, not unprovided
with very formidable weapons; fuch as clubs and
fpears, made of hard wood, alfo bows and arrows. The
clubs are from three to five feet in length, and of various
lhapes, as is reprefented in the plate. Their bows and arrows
are but indifferent; the former being very flight, and
the latter only made of a flender reed pointed with hard
wood. Some of their fpears have many barbs, and mult be
very dangerous weapons where they take eftecft. On the
infide of the bow is a groove, in which is put the arrow;
from which it Ihould feem that they ufe but one.
They have a Angular cuftom of putting every thing you
give them to their heads, by way of thanks as we conjectured.
This manner of paying a compliment, is taught them
from their very infancy; for when we gave things- to little
children, the mother lifted up the child’s hand to its head.
They alfo ufed this cuftom in their exchanges with us;
whatever we gave them for their goods, was always- applied
to the head, juft as if it had been given them for nothing.
Sometimes they would look at our goods, and, if not approved,
return them back; but whenever they applied them;
to the head, the bargain was infallibly ftruck. When I had
made a prefent to the chief of any thing curious, I frequently
faw it handed from one to another; and every one, into
whofe hands it came, put it to the head. Very often the
women would take hold of my hand, kifs it, and lift it to.
their heads. From all this.it Ihould feem, that this cuftom-,
which.