42 cook's first voyage march, 



the only part of their body which they were solicit- 

 ous to conceal, for they frequently threw oft' all their 

 dress but the belt and string, with the most careless 

 indifference, but showed manifest signs of confusion, 

 when, to gratify our curiosity, they were requested 

 to untie the string, and never consented but with the 

 utmost reluctance and shame. When they have only 

 their upper garment on, and sit upon their hams, 

 they bear some resemblance to a thatched house ; 

 but this covering, though it is ugly, is well adapted 

 to the use of those who frequently sleep in the open 

 air, without any other shelter from the rain. 



But besides this coarse shag or thatch, they have 

 two sorts of cloth, which have an even surface, and 

 are very ingeniously made, in the same manner with 

 that manufactured by the inhabitants of South 

 America, some of which we procured at Rio de 

 Janeiro. One sort is as coarse as our coarsest canvass, 

 and somewhat resembles it in the manner of laying 

 the threads, but it is ten times as strong , the other 

 is formed by many threads lying very close one way, 

 and a few crossing them the other, so as to bind 

 them together ; but these are about half an inch 

 asunder, somewhat like the round pieces of cane 

 matting which are sometimes placed under the dishes 

 upon a table. This is frequently striped, and always 

 had a pretty appearance, for it is composed of the 

 fibres of the same plant, which are prepared so as to 

 shine like silk. It is made in a kind of frame of the 

 size of the cloth, generally about five feet long, and 

 four broad, across which the long threads, which lie 

 close together, or warp, are strained, and the cross 

 threads, or woof, are worked in by hand, which must 

 be a very tedious operation. 



To both these kinds of cloth they work borders of 

 different colours, in stitches, somewhat like carpet- 

 ing, or rather like those used in the samplars which 

 girls work at school. These borders are of various 

 patterns, and wrought with a neatness, and even an 



