WARFARE OF THE ABORIGINES. 107 
which readily broke off. They were supposed by the Spaniards to be 
deadly poisonous. The wounds inflicted by them often caused death; 
but, as in the case of the weapons of natives of other Pacific islands 
reputed to be poisonous, it is probable that their virtue was attributed 
by the natives to some supernatural influence of the dead man from 
whose body the bones were taken, and the frequent deaths were due 
to lockjaw or blood poisoning from natural causes. The sling stones 
were of oval shape, fashioned out of stone or made of some sort of 
clay and baked. (Pl. XVII.) These were thrown with remarkable 
force and precision, as far, states one observer, as an arquebus can 
shoot, and with such swiftness as to embed themselves in the trunks 
of trees, The natives practiced with these weapons from their earliest 
childhood and consequently became very skillful in their use. 
They carried on a primitive kind of warfare, ‘S being easily roused 
and easily quieted, slow to attack and quick to flee.” A village 
would prepare for war with another village with great bustle but 
without a leader or any sort of organization or discipline. After war 
had been declared the two parties would often be two or three days in 
the field without making an attack, each watching the movements of 
the other. After engaging they very soon made peace; for a party 
considered itself vanquished if one or two or three of its men were 
killed, and ambassadors were sent to the other with offerings of 
tortoise shell, which was the sign of surrender, The victors would 
then celebrate their victory with satirical songs, vaunting their valor 
and scofting at the vanquished. In their fights with the Spaniards 
they sometimes resorted to fire, burning the vegetation adjacent to 
the fort of the enemy and hurling flaming darts upon the thatched 
roofs of their buildings. They often selected inaccessible places for 
their villages for the sake of security, and in wars with the Spaniards 
constructed trenches in which they protected themselves, arrying 
with them the sacred skulls of their ancestors to counteract the power 
of the crucifixes of their opponents. They also strewed the roads and 
passes with sharp spines (puis) to serve as caltrops. ‘The use of these 
and the manner of constructing intrenchments they may have learned 
from the Spaniards themselves. 
Sports.__One of their favorite sports was sailing in their wonder- 
ful canoes, wives accompanying their husbands and vying with them 
in swimming and diving. As already noted, they were fond of gayety 
and festivities and took great delight in jokes and butfoonery. The 
men united together to dance and had contests of spear throwing, run- 
ning, jumping, wrestling, and exercising their strength in various 
ways. In the midst of their sports they would recount with great 
peals of laughter their myths and fables and refresh themselves and 
their guests with cakes made of rice, fish, fruits, and a kind of gruel 
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