276 THE SPEARBECKET OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS, 



The TagK. — The tags terminating the returned portions of the 

 cords are whipped, or not, with other material. When so, then 

 in one case by fibre string, in others by the Rousette fur string, 

 but in every case, whether whipped or not, are beautifully and 

 most ingeniously ornamented by longitudinal short lengths of 

 very narrow bright yellow grass, presenting at first sight the 

 appearance of minute beading, and on the whole producing a veiy 

 pleasing effect. 



The Overhand Knot and Grummet. — The outer or distal ends of 

 the cords, the ends that lap round a spear, are invarialjly 

 terminated by an overhand knot (figs. 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10), or a 

 grummet (figs. 4, 5, 7, 9, 11), and in both instances great ingenuity 

 is displayed in their make. In the former case the end of a cord 

 is first whipped with red trade wool or Rousette fur and then 

 passed through a loop of its own part to form the knot, but the 

 actual termination is often ornamented with bright yellow rush- 

 work similar to the tags already described, and is curved upon 

 itself so as to form a crest (figs. 6 and 8). In the two specimens pre- 

 viously referred to as having the free ends of the cord at the eyes: 

 left ragged (fig. 2), the overhand knots are simply tied and devoid 

 of ornament of any kind. 



The grummets seem to be made by covering the overhand 

 knots with a cross-lacing of either Rousette fur string pure and 

 simple, or a string partly of this and partly of fibre. They are 

 hard and compact, and very much resemble the string-coated 

 head of a life preserver (figs. 4, 5, 7 and 11). 



The Collar. — The only other object on the gaskets remaining 

 to be described is what, for the want of a better term, I have 

 called the collar. It occurs on six out of the twelve specimens, 

 and is placed on the main cord of each gasket immediately below 

 the tags of the eye (figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11). It can be best described 

 l)y comparing it to the butt or body of an ordinary window blind 

 tassel. The simplest form consists of Rousette fur string wound 

 round and round (fig. 6), but in other instances (figs. 4, 5, 7, 9, 11) 

 it resembles the butt referred to, and is variously ornamented 

 with bright yellow rush or grass string similar to that on the 



