this accurfed fociety, that they belonged to it at that time, and that several of their children had been put to death.

But I must not conclude my account of the domestic life of these people without mentioning their personal cleanliness. If that which leffens the good of life and increases the evil is vice, furely cleanliness is a virtue: the want of it tends to destroy both beauty and health, and mingles disgust with our best pleasures. The natives of Otaheite, both men and women, conftantly wash their whole bodies in running water three times every day; once as foon as they rise in the morning, once at noon, and again before they sleep at night, whether the fea or river is near them or at a diftance. I have already obferved, that they wash not only the mouth, but the hands at their meals, almost between every morfel; and their clothes, as well as their persons, are kept without spot or stain; so that in a large company of these people, nothing is fuffered but heat, which, perhaps, is more than can be said of the politeft affembly in Europe.

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VOL. II.

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Manufactures.

С НА Р. XVIII.

Of the Manufactures, Boats, and Navigation of Otaheite.

IF

F neceffity is the mother of invention, it cannot be supposed to have been much exerted where the liberality of Nature has rendered the diligence of Art almost fuperfluous; yet there are many inftances both of ingenuity and labour among these people, which, confidering the want of metal for tools, do honour to both.

Their principal manufacture is their cloth, in the making and dying of which I think there are fome particulars which may inftruct even the artificers of Great Britain, and for that reason my description will be more minute.

Their cloth is of three kinds; and it is made of the bark of three different trees, the Chinese paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and the tree which resembles the wild figtree of the West Indies.

The finest and whiteft is made of the paper mulberry, Aouta; this is worn chiefly by the principal people, and when it is dyed red takes a better colour. A fecond fort, inferior in whiteness and softness, is made of the bread-fruit tree, Ooroo, and worn chiefly by the inferior people; and a third of the tree that resembles the fig, which is coarse and harsh, and of the colour of the darkest brown paper: this, though it is lefs pleasing both to the eye and the touch, is the most valuable, because it refifts water, which the other two forts will not. Of this, which is the most rare as well as the most

ufeful,

ufeful, the greater part is perfumed, and worn by the Chiefs as a morning drefs.

All these trees are propagated with great care, particularly the mulberry, which covers the largest part of the cultivated land, and is not fit for ufe after two or three year's growth, when it is about fix or eight feet high, and somewhat thicker than a man's thumb; its excellence is to be thin, ftrait, tall, and without branches: the lower leaves, therefore, are carefully plucked off, with their germs, as often as there is any appearance of their producing a branch.

But though the cloth made of these three trees is different, it is all manufactured in the fame manner; I fhall, therefore, describe the process only in the fine fort, that is made of the mulberry. When the trees are of a proper size, they are drawn up, and ftripped of their branches, after which the roots and tops are cut off; the bark of these rods being then flit up longitudinally is easily drawn off, and, when a proper quantity has been procured, it is carried down to some running water, in which it is deposited to soak, and fecured from floating away by heavy ftones: when it is fuppofed to be fufficiently foftened, the women fervants go down to the brook, and ftripping themselves, fit down in the water, to separate the inner bark from the green part on the outside; to do this they place the under fide upon a flat smooth board, and with the fhell which our dealers call Tyger's tongue, Tellina gargadia, fcrape it very carefully, dipping it continually in the water till nothing remains but the fine fibres of the inner coat. Being thus prepared in the afternoon, they are spread out upon plantain leaves in the evening; and in this part of the work there appears to be some difficulty, as the mistress of the family always fuperintends the doing

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of it: they are placed in lengths of about eleven or twelve yards, one by the fide of another, till they are about a foot broad, and two or three layers are also laid one upon the other care is taken that the cloth shall be in all parts of an equal thickness, fo that if the bark happens to be thinner in any particular part of one layer than the reft, a piece that is fomewhat thicker is picked out to be laid over it in the next. In this ftate it remains till the morning, when great part of the water which it contained when it was laid out, is either drained off or evaporated, and the several fibres adhere together, fo as that the whole may be raised from the ground in one piece.

It is then taken away, and laid upon the smooth side of a long piece of wood, prepared for the purpose, and beaten by the women fervants, with inftruments about a foot long and three inches thick, made of a hard wood which they call Etoa. The fhape of this inftrument is not unlike a fquare razor ftrop, only that the handle is longer, and each of its four fides or faces is marked, lengthways, with fmall grooves, or furrows, of different degrees of fineness; those on one fide being of a width and depth sufficient to receive a small packthread, and the others finer in a regular gradation, fo that the last are not more than equal to fewing filk.

They beat it first with the coarseft side of this mallet, keeping time like our smiths; it spreads very fast under the ftrokes, chiefly however in the breadth, and the grooves in the mallet mark it with the appearance of threads; it is fucceffively beaten with the other sides, last with the finest, and is then fit for ufe. Sometimes, however, it is made ftill thinner, by beating it with the finest side of the mallet, after it has been several times doubled: it is then called Hoboo, and is almost as thin as a muflin; it becomes very white by being bleached

bleached in the air, but is made ftill whiter and fofter by being washed and beaten again after it has been worn.

Of this cloth there are several forts, of different degrees of fineness, in proportion as it is more or lefs beaten without being doubled: the other cloth alfo differs in proportion as it is beaten; but they differ from each other in confequence of the different materials of which they are made. The bark of the bread-fruit is not taken till the trees are considerably longer and thicker than those of the fig; the process afterwards is the fame.

When cloth is to be washed after it has been worn, it is taken down to the brook, and left to foak, being kept fast to the bottom, as at first, by a stone; it is then gently wrung or fqueezed; and fometimes several pieces of it are laid one upon another, and beaten together with the coarseft side of the mallet, and they are then equal in thickness to broadcloth, and much more soft and agreeable to the touch, after they have been a little while in ufe, though, when they come immediately from the mallet, they feel as if they had been ftarched. This cloth fometimes breaks in the beating, but is eafily repaired by pasting on a patch with a gluten that is prepared from the root of the Pea, which is done fo nicely. that it cannot be discovered. The women also employ themfelves in removing blemishes of every kind, as our ladies do in needle-work or knotting; sometimes when their work is intended to be very fine, they will paste an entire covering of hoboo over the whole. The principal excellencies of this cloth are its coolnefs and foftnefs; and its imperfections, its being pervious to water like paper, and almost as easily torn.

The colours with which they die this cloth are principally red and yellow. The red is exceedingly beautiful, and I may venture to say, a brighter and more delicate colour than 7 any

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