226 cook's SECOND VOYAGE OCT. 



beautiful ; being generally composed of different co- 

 lours, and studded with beads made of shells or bones. 

 They have many little nick-nacks amongst them ; 

 which shows that they neither want taste to design, 

 nor skill to execute whatever they take in hand. 



How these people amuse themselves in their leisure 

 hours, I cannot say, as we are but little acquainted 

 with their diversions. The women frequently enter- 

 tained us with songs, in a manner which was agreeable 

 enough. They accompany the music by snapping 

 their fingers, so as to keep time to it. Not only their 

 voices but their music was very harmonious ; and they 

 have a considerable compass in their notes. I saw 

 but two musical instruments amongst them. One was 

 a large flute made of a piece of bamboo, which they 

 fill with their noses as at Otaheite ; but these have 

 four holes or stops, whereas those of Otaheite have 

 only two. The other was composed often or eleven 

 small reeds of unequal lengths, bound together side 

 by side, as the Doric pipe of the ancients is said 

 to have been ; and the open ends of the reeds into 

 which they blow with their mouths are of equal 

 height, or in a line. They have also a drum, which, 

 without any impropriety, may be compared to an 

 hollow log of wood. The one I saw was five feet 

 six inches long, and thirty inches in girt, and had a 

 slit in it, from the one end to the other, about three 

 inches wide, by means of which it had been hollowed 

 out. They beat on the side of this log with two 

 drum-sticks, and produce an hollow sound, not quite 

 so musical as that of an empty cask. 



The common method of saluting one another is by 

 touching or meeting noses, as is done in New Zealand; 

 and their sign of peace to strangers is the displaying 

 a white flag or flags ; at least such were displayed 

 to us, when we first drew near the shore. But the 

 people who came first on board brought with them 

 some of the pepper-plant, and sent it before them into 

 the ship ; a stronger sign of friendship than which 





