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whatever fort, occafionally carry fail. The travelling Ivahah is always double, and furnished with a fmall neat house about five or fix feet broad, and fix or feven feet long, which is fastened upon the fore-part for the convenience of the principal people, who fit in them by day, and fleep in them at night. The fishing Ivahahs are fometimes joined together, and have a house on board; but this is not common.

Those which are fhorter than five and twenty feet, feldom or never carry fail; and, though the stern rifes about four or five feet, have a flat head, and a board that projects forward about four feet.

The Pahie is alfo of different fizes, from fixty to thirty feet long, but, like the Ivahah, is very narrow. One that I meafured was fifty-one feet long, and only one foot and a half wide at the top. In the wideft part it was about three feet, and this is the general proportion. It does not, however, widen by a gradual fwell, but, the fides being straight, and parallel, for a little way below the gunwale, it fwells abruptly, and draws to a ridge at the bottom; fo that a tranfverse section of it has fomewhat the appearance of the mark upon cards, called a Spade, the whole being much wider in proportion to its length. Thefe, like the largest Ivahahs are used for fighting, but principally for long voyages. The fighting Pahie, which is the largest, is fitted with the ftage or platform, which is proportionably larger than thofe of the Ivahab, as their form enables them to fustain a much greater weight. Those that are used for failing are generally double; and the middle fize are faid to be the best fea-boats. They are fometimes out a month together, going from ifland to ifland; and fometimes, as we were credibly informed, they are a fortnight or twenty days at fea, and could keep it longer if they had more ftowage for provifions, and conveniences to hold fresh

water.

When any of these boats carry fail fingle, they make use of a log of wood, which is faftened to the end of two poles that lie across the veffel, and project from fix to ten feet, according to the fize of the veffel, beyond its fide, fomewhat like what is ufed by the flying Proa of the Ladrone Islands, and called, in

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the

1769.

1769. the Account of Lord Anfon's Voyage, an Outrigger. To this outrigger the fhrouds are faftened, and it is effentially neceffary in trimming the boat when it blows fresh.

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Some of them have one mast, and fome two; they are made of a single stick, and when the length of the canoe is thirty feet, that of the maft is fomewhat lefs than five and twenty; it is fixed to a frame that is above the canoe, and receives a fail of matting about one third longer than itfelf; the fail is pointed at the top, fquare at the bottom, and curved at the fide, fomewhat resembling what we call a fhoulder of mutton fail, and ufe for boats belonging to men of war; it is placed in a frame of wood, which furrounds it on every fide, and has no contrivance either for reefing or furling; fo that, if either should become neceffary, it must be cut away, which, however, in thefe equal climates can feldom happen. At the top of the mast are fastened ornaments of feathers, which are placed inclining obliquely forwards; the fhape and pofition of which will be conceived at once, from the figure in one of the

cuts.

The oars or paddles that are used with thefe boats, have a long handle and a flat blade, not unlike a baker's peel. Of these every perfon in the boat has one, except those that fit under the awning; and they push her forward with them at a good rate. These boats, however, admit fo much water at the feams, that one perfon, at least, is continually employed in throwing it out. The only thing in which they excel is landing, and putting off from the fhore in a furf; by their great length and high fterns they land dry, when our boats could scarcely land at all; and have the fame advantages in putting off, by the height of the head.

The Ivahahs are the only boats that are ufed by the inhabitants of Otaheite; but we faw feveral Pahies that came from other iflands. Of one of these I fhall give the exact dimenfions from a careful admeasurement, and then particularly defcribe the manner in which they are built.

Extreme

Extreme length from ftem to ftern, not reck

oning the bending up of either

Breadth in the clear of the top forward
Breadth in the midships

Breadth aft

In the bilge forward

Feet Inch 1769.

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In the midships

Aft

Depth in the midships

Height from the ground on which he stood

Height of her head from the ground, without

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Height of the figure

Height of the ftern from the ground

Height of the figure

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The first stage or keel, under a a, is made of a tree hollowed out like a trough; for which the longest trees are chofen that can be got, fo that there are never more than three in the whole length; the next ftage under bb, is formed of strait plank, about four feet long, fifteen inches broad, and two inches thick: the third stage, under cc, is, like the bottom, made of trunks, hollowed into its bilging form; the laft is alfo cut out of trunks, fo that the moulding is of one piece with the upright. To form thefe parts feparately, without faw, plane, chiffel, or any other iron tool, may well be thought no eafy task, but the great difficulty is to join them together.

When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and the planks being fupported by ftanchions, are fewed or clamped together with ftrong thongs of plaiting, which are paffed feveral times through holes that are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been described already; and the nicety with which this is done, may be inferred from their being fufficiently

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1769.

water-tight for ufe without calking. As the plaiting foon rots in the water, it is renewed at least once a year; in order to which, the vessel is taken entirely to pieces. The head and ftern are rude with refpect to the defign; but very neatly finished, and polished to the highest degree.

These Pahies are kept with great care, in a kind of houfe built on purpose for their reception; the houses are formed of poles fet upright in the ground, the tops of which are drawn towards each other, and fastened together with their strongest cord, fo as to form a kind of Gothic arch, which is completely thatched quite to the ground, being open only at the ends; they are fometimes fifty or fixty paces long.

As connected with the navigation of thefe people, I shall mention their wonderful fagacity in foretelling the weather, at least the quarter from which the wind fhall blow at a future time; they have feveral ways of doing this, of which, however, I know but one.

They fay, that the Milky-way is always curved laterally; but fometimes in one direction, and fometimes in another: and that this curvature is the effect of its being already acted upon by the wind, and its hollow part therefore towards it; fo that, if the fame curvature continues a night, a correfponding wind certainly blows the next day. Of their rules, I fhall not pretend to judge; but I know that, by whatever means, they can predict the weather, at leaft the wind, with much greater certainty than we can.

In their longer voyages, they fleer by the fun in the day, and in the night by the ftars; all of which they diftinguish feparately by names, and know in what part of the heavens they will appear in any of the months during which they are vifible in their horizon; they alfo know the time of their annual appearing and disappearing with more precision than will eafily be believed by an European aftronomer.

CHAP.

CHAP. VI.

Of the Divifion of Time in Otaheite; Numeration, Computation of Distance, Language, Difeafes, Difpofal of the Dead, Religion, War, Weapons, and Government; with fome general Obfervations for the Use of future Navigators.

WE

1769.

E were not able to acquire a perfect idea of Time. their method of dividing time; but observed, that in fpeaking of it, either paft or to come, they never ufed any term but Malama, which fignifies Moon. Of these moons they count thirteen, and then begin again; which is a demonftration that they have a notion of the folar year: but how they compute their months fo that thirteen of them shall be commenfurate with the year, we could not difcover; for they say that each month has twenty-nine days, including one in which the moon is not visible. They have names for them separately, and have frequently told us the fruits that would be in the feafon, and the weather that would prevail, in each of them; and they have indeed a name for them collectively, though they use it only when they speak of the mysteries of their religion.

Every day is fubdivided into twelve parts, each of two hours, of which fix belong to the day, and fix to the night. At thefe divifions they guefs pretty nearly by the height of the fun while he is above the horizon; but there are few of them who can guess at them, when he is below it, by the stars.

In numeration they proceed from one to ten, the Numbers. number of fingers on both hands; and though they have for each number a different name, they generally take hold of their fingers one by one, fhifting from one hand to the other till they come to the number they want to exprefs. And in other inftances, we obferved that, when they were converfing with each other, they joined figns to their words, which were so expreffive that a ftranger might eafily apprehend their meaning.

In counting from ten they repeat the name of that number, and add the word more; ten, and one more,

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