1769. ROUND THE WORLD. 21? 



they are to answer, as to the materials of which they 

 are made. One of these, which they call Wittee 

 Witteey is used for towing. The shank is made of 

 mother-of-pearl, the most glossy that can be got : the 

 inside, which is naturally the brightest, is put behind. 

 To these hooks a tuft of white dog's or hog's hair is 

 fixed, so as somewhat to resemble the tail of a fish ; 

 these implements, therefore, are both hook and bait, 

 and are used with a rod of bamboo, and line oi' Erowa, 

 The fisher, to secure his success, watches the flight 

 of the birds which constantly attend the Bonetas 

 when they swim in shoals, by which he directs his 

 canoe, and when he has the advantage of these 

 guides, he seldom returns without a prize. 



The other kind of hook is also made of mother-of- 

 pearl, or some other hard shell : they cannot make 

 them bearded like our hooks ; but to effect the same 

 purpose, they make the point turn inwards. These 

 are made of all sizes, and used to catch various kinds 

 of fish with great success. The manner of making 

 them is very simple, and every fisherman is his own 

 artificer : the shell is first cut into square pieces, by 

 the edge of another shell, and wrought into a form 

 corresponding with the outline of the hook by pieces 

 of coral, which are sufficiently rough to perform the 

 office of a file ; a hole is then bored in the middle ; 

 the drill being no other than the first stone they pick 

 up that has a sharp corner : this they fix into the end 

 of a piece of bamboo, and turn it between the hands 

 like a chocolate-mill ; when the shell is perforated, 

 and the hole sufficiently wide, a small file of coral is 

 introduced, by the application of which the hook is 

 in a short time completed, few costing the artificer 

 more time than a quarter of an hour. 



Of their masonry, carving, and architecture, the 

 reader has already formed some idea from the ac- 

 count that has been given of the Morais, or reposi- 

 tories of the dead : the other most important article 

 of building and carving is their boats ; and perhaps^ 



