228 COOK'S VOYAGE TO FEB. 



had never seen before, and not mentioned by any 

 navigator, as used by the natives of the South Sea. 

 It is somewhat like a dagger, in general about a foot 

 and a half long, sharpened at one or both ends, 

 and secured to the hand by a string. Its use is to 

 stab at close fight, and it seems well adapted to the 

 purpose. Some of these may be called double dag- 

 gers, having a handle in the middle, with which 

 they are better enabled to strike different ways. They 

 have also bows and arrows ; but, both from their 

 apparent scarcity and their slender make, it may 

 almost be presumed that they never use them in 

 battle. The knife or saw formerly mentioned, with 

 which they dissect the dead bodies, may also be 

 ranked amongst their weapons, as they both strike 

 and cut with it when closely engaged. It is a small 

 flat wooden instrument of an oblong shape, about a 

 foot long, rounded at the corners with a handle, 

 almost like one sort of the patoos of New Zealand ; 

 but its edges are entirely surrounded with sharks' 

 teeth strongly fixed to it and pointing outward, 

 having commonly a hole in the handle through which 

 passes a long string which is wrapped several times 

 round the wrist. We also suspected that they use 

 slings on some occasions, for we got some pieces of 

 the haematites, or blood-stone, artificially made of an 

 oval shape, divided longitudinally, with a narrow 

 groove in the middle of the convex part. To this 

 the person who had one of them applied a cord of no 

 great thickness, but would not part with it, though 

 he had no objection to part with the stone, which 

 must prove fatal when thrown with any force, as it 

 weighed a pound. We likewise saw some oval 

 pieces of whetstone well polished, but somewhat 

 pointed toward each end, nearly resembling in 

 shape some stones which we had seen at New Cale- 

 donia in 17^-j and used therein their slings. 



What we could learn of their religious institutions, 

 and the manner of disposing of their dead, which 



