1770. ROUND THE WORLD. 49 



CHAP. X. 



OF THE CANOES AND NAVIGATION OF THE INHABITANTS OF 

 NEW ZEALAND: THEIR TILLAGE, WEAPONS, AND MUSIC: 

 GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND LANGUAGE : WITH SOME 

 REASONS AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF A SOUTHERN CON- 

 TINENT. 



1 he ingenuity of these people appears in nothing 

 more than in their canoes : they are long and nar- 

 row, and in shape very much resemble a New 

 England whale-boat : the larger sort seem to be 

 built chiefly for war, and will carry from forty to 

 eighty, or an hundred armed men. We measured 

 one which lay ashore at Tolaga : she was sixty-eight 

 feet and a half long, five feet broad, and three feet 

 and a half deep ; the bottom was sharp, with straight 

 sides like a wedge, and consisted of three lengths, 

 hollowed out to about two inches, or an inch and a 

 half thick, and well fastened together with strong 

 plaiting : each side consisted of one entire plank, 

 sixty-three feet long, ten or twelve inches broad, 

 and about an inch and quarter thick, and these were 

 fitted and lashed to the bottom part with great dex- 

 terity and strength. A considerable number of 

 thwarts were laid from gunwale to gunwale, to 

 which they were securely lashed on each side, as a 

 strengthening to the boat. The ornament at the 

 head projected five or six feet beyond the body, and 

 was about four feet and a half high ; the ornament 

 at the stern was fixed upon that end, as the stern- 

 post of a ship is upon her keel, and was about four- 

 teen feet high, two feet broad, and an inch and a 

 half thick. They both consisted of boards of carved 

 work, of which the design was much better than the 

 execution. All their canoes, except a few at 



VOL. II. E 



