burden at the fame time, but not often. I know not on
what account this was done, nor that an armed troop was
neceffary. At firft, we thought they were moving put of the
neighbourhood with their effects; but we afterwards faw
them both carry out, and bring in, every day.
I cannot fay the women are beauties; but I think them
handfome enough for the men, and too handfome for the
ufe that is made of them. Both fexes are of a very dark
colour, but not black ; nor have they the leaft charadteriftic
of the negro about them. They make themfelves blacker
than they really are, by painting their faces with a pigment
of the colour of black lead. They alfo ufe another fort
which is red, and a third fort brown, or a colour between
red and black. All thefe, but efpecially the firft, they lay
on, with a liberal hand, not only on the face, but on the
neck, fhoulders, and breaft. The men wear nothing but a
belt, and the wrapping leaf as at Mallicollo*. The women
have a kind of petticoat made of the filaments of the plantain
tree, flags, or fome fuch thing, which reaches below the
knee. Both fexes wear ornaments,-fuch as bracelets, earrings,
necklaces, and amulets. The bracelets are chiefly
worn by the men; fome made of fea-fhells, and others of
thofe of the cocoa-nut. The men alfo wear amulets ; and
thofe of moft value being made o f a greenifh ftone, the green
ftone of New Zealand is valued by them for this purpofe.
Necklaces are chiefly ufed by the women, and made moftly
of fhells. Ear-rings are common to both fexes, and thofe
valued moft are made of tortoife-fhell., Some of our people
having got’ fome at the Friendly Iflands, brought it to a good
market here, where it was of more value than any thing we
had belides; from which I conclude that thefe people catch
but few turtle, though I faw one in the harbour, juft as we 1
were getting under fail. I obferved that, towards the latter
end of our flay, they began to alk for hatchets, and large
nails; fo that it is likely they had found that iron is more fer-
viceable than ftone, bone, or fhells, of which all their tools I
have feen are made. Their ftone hatchets, at leaft all thofe
I faw, are not in the fhape of adzes, as at t__he_ o th.er iflands,
but more like an ax, in this form y T . In the
helve, which is pretty thick, is made a hole into which the
ftone is fixed.
Thefe people, befides the cultivation of ground, have few
other arts worth mentioning. They know how to make a
coarfe kind of matting, and a coarfe cloth of the bark of a tree,
which is ufed chiefly for belts. The workmanfhip of their
canoes, I have before obferved, is very rude; and their arms,
with which they take the moft pains in point of neatnefs, come
far fhort of fome others we had feen. Their weapons are
clubs, fpears or darts, bows and arrows, and ftones. The
clubs are of three or four kinds, and from three to five
feet long. They feem to place moft dependence on the darts,
which are pointed with three bearded edges. In throwing
them they make ufe of a becket, that is a piece of ftiff
plaited cord about fix inches long, with an eye in one end
and a knot at the other. The eye is fixed on the fore finger
of the right hand, and the other end is hitched round the
dart, where it is nearly on an equipoife. They hold the
dart between the thumb and remaining fingers, which
ferve only to give it direction, thé velocity being communicated
by the. becket and fore-finger. ■ The • former flies off
Vos.. It. M ; from
1774-
Auguft.