1770. ROUND THE WORLD. 215 



seems to be a proof that they have a mild season 

 here, during which the sea is calm, and that the same 

 weather which enables them to visit the islands 

 makes the air welcome even while they sleep. 



The only furniture belonging to these houses that 

 fell under our observation is a kind of oblong vessel 

 made of bark, by the simple contrivance of tying up 

 the two ends with a withy, which not being cut off 

 serves for a handle ; these we imagined were used 

 as buckets to fetch water from the spring, which 

 may be supposed sometimes to be at a considerable 

 distance. They have, however, a small bag, about 

 the size of a moderate cabbage-net, which is made 

 by laying threads loop within loop, somewhat in the 

 manner of knitting used by our ladies to make 

 purses. This bag the man carries loose upon his 

 back by a small string which passes over his head ; 

 it generally contains a lump or two of paint and 

 resin, some fish-hooks and lines, a shell or two, out 

 of which their hooks are made, a few points of darts, 

 and their usual ornaments, which includes the whole 

 worldly treasure of the richest man among them. 



Their fish-hooks are very neatly made, and some 

 of them are exceedingly small. For striking turtle 

 they have a peg of wood which is about a foot long, 

 and very well bearded ; this fits into a socket at the 

 end of a staff of light wood, about as thick as a man's 

 wrist, and about seven or eight feet long : to the 

 staff is tied one end of a loose line about three or 

 four fathom long, the other end of which is fastened 

 to the peg. To strike the turtle, the peg is fixed 

 into the socket, and when it has entered his body, 

 and is retained there by the barb, the staff flies off, 

 and serves for a float to trace their victim in the 

 water ; it assists also to tire him, till they can over- 

 take him with their canoes, and haul him ashore. 

 One of these pegs, as I have mentioned already, we 

 found buried in the body of a turtle, which had 

 Sealed up over it. Their lines are from the thick- 



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