1767. July. CHA P. VIII. A more particular Account of the Inhabitants H AVING lain off this ifland from the 24th of June to the 27th of July, I fhall now Monday 27. give the best account of its inhabitants, with their manners and arts, that I can; but having been in a very bad ftate of health the whole time, and for great part of it confined to my bed, it will of neceffity be much lefs accurate and particular than I might otherwife have made it. The inhabitants of this ifland are a ftout wellmade, active, and comely people. The ftature of the men, in general, is from five feet feven to five feet ten inches, though a few individuals are taller, and a few fhorter; that of the women from five feet to five feet fix. The complexion of the men is tawney, but thofe that go upon the water are much redder than thofe who live on fhore. Their hair in general is black, but in fome it is brown, in fome red, and in others flaxen, which is remarkable, because the hair of all other natives of Afia, Africa, and America, is black, without a fingle exception. It is generally tied up, either in one bunch, in the middle of the head, or in two, one on each fide, but fome wear it loofe, and it then then curls very ftrongly in the children of both fexes it is generally flaxen. They have no combs, yet their hair is very neatly dreffed, and those who had combs from us, made good ufe of them, It is a univerfal cuftom to anoint the head with cocoanut oil, in which a root has been scraped that fmells fomething like rofes. The women are all handsome, and fome of them extremely beautiful. Chastity does not feem to be confidered as a virtue among them, for they not only readily and openly trafficked with our people for perfonal favours, but were brought down by their fathers and brothers for that purpose: they were, however, conscious of the value of beauty, and the fize of the nail that was demanded for the enjoyment of the lady, was always in proportion to her charms. The men who came down to the fide of the river, at the fame time that they prefented the girl, fhewed a stick of the fize of the nail that was to be her price, and if our people agreed, fhe was fent over to them, for the men were not permitted to cross the river. This commerce was carried on a confiderable time before the officers discovered it, for while some straggled a little way to receive the lady, the others kept a look-out. When I was acquainted with it, I no longer wondered that the ship was in danger of being pulled to pieces for the nails and iron that held her together, which I had before puzzled myself to account for in vain, the whole fhip's company having daily as much fresh provifion and fruit as they could eat. Both men and women are not only decently but gracefully clothed, 1767. July. 314 CAPTAIN WALLIS's VOYAGE 1757. clothed, in a kind of white cloth, that is made of July. the bark of a fhrub, and very much resembles coarse China paper. Their dress consists of two pieces of this cloth: one of them, a hole having been made in the middle to put the head through, hangs down from the fhoulders to the mid-leg before and behind; another piece, which is between four and five yards long, and about one yard broad, they wrap round the body in a very easy manner. This cloth is not woven, but is made, like paper, of the macerated fibres of an inner bark, spread out and beaten together. Their ornaments are feathers, flowers, pieces of fhells, and pearls: the pearls are worn chiefly by the women, from whom I purchased about two dozen of a fmall fize: they were of a good colour, but were all spoiled by boring. Mr. Furneaux faw feveral in his excurfion to the west, but he could purchase none with any thing he had to offer. I obferved, that it was here a univerfal custom both for men and women to have the hinder part of their thighs and loins marked very thick with black lines in various forms. These marks were made by ftriking the teeth of an inftrument, somewhat like a comb, juft through the fkin, and rubbing into the punctures a kind of paste made of foot and oil, which leaves an indelible ftain. The boys and girls under twelve years of age are not marked; but we observed a few of the men whose legs were marked in chequers by the same method, and they appeared to be perfons of fuperior rank and authority. One of the principal attendants upon upon the queen, appeared much more difpofed to imitate our manners than the reft; and our people, with whom he foon became a favourite, diftinguished him by the name of Jonathan. This man, Mr. Furneaux clothed completely in an English drefs, and it fat very easy upon him. Our officers were always carried on fhore, it being fhoal water where we landed, and Jonathan, affuming new state with his new finery, made fome of his people carry him on shore in the fame manner. He very foon attempted to use a knife and fork at his meals, but at first, when he had stuck a morfel upon his fork, and tried to feed himself with that inftrument, he could not guide it, but by the mere force of habit his hand came to his mouth, and the victuals at the end of the fork went away to his ear. Their food confifts of pork, poultry, dog's flesh, and fifh, bread-fruit, bananas, plantains, yams, apples, and a four fruit, which, though not pleasant by itself, gives an agreeable relifh to roafted bread-fruit, with which it is frequently beaten up. They have abundance of rats, but, as far as I could discover, these make no part of their food. The river affords them good mullet, but they are neither large nor in plenty. They find conchs, muffels, and other fhell-fish on the reef, which they gather at low-water, and eat raw with bread-fruit before they come on fhore. They have also very fine cray-fifh, and they catch with lines, and hooks of mother of pearl, at a little distance from the fhore, parrot-fish, groopers, and many 1767 July. many other forts, of which they are so fond that we could feldom prevail upon them to fell us a few at any price. They have alfo nets of an enormous fize, with very fmall meshes, and with these they catch abundance of fsmall fish about the fize of fardines; but while they were ufing both nets and lines with great fuccefs, we could not catch a fingle fish with either. We procured fome of their hooks and lines, but for want of their art we were ftill difappointed. The manner in which they drefs their food is this: they kindle a fire by rubbing the end of one piece of dry wood upon the fide of another, in the fame manner as our carpenters whet a chiffel; then they dig a pit about half a foot deep, and two or three yards in circumference: they pave the bottom with large pebble ftones, which they lay down very smooth and even, and then kindle a fire in it with dry wood, leaves, and the husks of the cocoa-nut. When the ftones are fufficiently heated, they take out the embers, and rake up the afhes on every fide; then they cover the ftones with a layer of green cocoa-nut tree leaves, and wrap up the animal that is to be dreffed in the leaves of the plantain; if it is a small hog they wrap it up whole, if a large one they split it. When it is placed in the pit, they cover it with the hot embers, and lay upon them bread-fruit and yams, which are alfo wrapped up in the leaves of the plantain; over these they spread the remainder of the embers, mixing among them some of the hot ftones, with more cocoa-nut tree leaves upon them, |