1840.J occupations. 317 



baskets of the same material, or of reeds or cane, with the 

 performance of the necessary household duties, are the chief 

 occupations of the women. All the out-door work is performed 

 by the men. They cultivate the yam and sweet potato 

 patches, gather the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut, build houses 

 and canoes, weave sails of pandanus leaves, and hunt and 

 fish. They also display a great deal of ingenuity in making 

 boxes of their beautiful woods, baskets of cane and reeds, and 

 miniature canoes. Rat-catching was once a favorite amuse- 

 ment, and when the animals were captured they were often 

 eaten uncooked. But the natives now subsist mainly on the 

 produce raised by themselves, and the fruit of the. cocoa and 

 bread-fruit. Hogs and poultry are reared among them, and 

 are gradually becoming quite plenty. Fish are abundant, 

 especially the edible kinds, though sharks and whales are like- 

 wise numerous. Birds of different species, abound along the 

 coasts, and in the groves and forests of the interior, — the 

 most conspicuous among them being the tropic bird, wood- 

 pecker, turtle dove, and parroquet (trichoclossus), — but 

 though often hunted, and killed or snared, they are not much 

 eaten. The mode of preparing their food is similar to that 

 practiced in the Samoan Group. 



Among the heathen, m smoking tobacco is a common 

 practice. The leaf of the plaift is cut, and rolled up inside 

 of one of the finest and most delicate pandanus leaves, like a 

 cigar. They are also fond of foreign liquors, and often drink 

 to excess. These indulgences are forbidden to the christians ; 

 they do not smoke, yet they occasionally give way to their 

 love for ardent spirits. The fondness for ava is universal, 

 it being drank alike by christian and heathen. It is pre- 

 pared from the piper mythisticum, and the natives frequently 

 meet together in small parties, to drown their sorrows, or 

 heighten their joys, in the flowing ava-bowl. 



Singing is a favorite diversion with all classes. The voices 

 of the females are very musical, and all take great delight in 

 displaying their powers. Both men and women have their 

 tunes, appropriate to the employment or occupation in which 



