THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



173 



glazed like the fort ufed by the natives of the Friendly '777- 

 Iflands ; but the cloth on their heads was white, like that \, , 1 

 which is found at Otaheite. They had on, a kind of fan- 

 dais, made of a grafTy.fubftance interwoven, which we alfo 

 obferved were worn by thofe who flood upon the beach ; 

 and, as we fuppofed, intended to defend their feet againft 

 the rough coral rock. Their beards were long ; and the in- 

 fide of their arms, from the fhouldcr to the elbow, and fome 

 other parts, were pundured or tatooed, after the manner of 

 the inhabitants of almofl: all the other iflands in the South 

 Sea. The lobe of their ears was pierced, or rather flit, and 

 to fuch a length, that one of them fluck there a knife and 

 fome beads, which he had received from us ; and the 

 fame perfon had two polifhed pearl-fhells, and a bunch of 

 human hair, loofely twifted, hanging about his neck, which 

 was the only ornament we obferved. The canoe they came 

 in (which was the only one we faw), was not above ten 

 feet long, and very narrow ; but both ftrong and neatly 

 made* The forepart had a flat board fattened over it, and 

 projedling out, to prevent the fea getting in on plunging, 

 like the fmall Evaas at Otaheite; but it had an upright 

 ftern, about five feet high, like fome in New Zealand ; and 

 the upper end of this ftern-poft was forked. The lower 

 part of the canoe was of white wood ; but the upper was 

 black, and their paddles, made of wood of the fame co- 

 lour, not above three feet long, broad at one end, and 

 blunted. They paddled either end of the canoe forward 

 indifferently ; and only turned about their faces to paddle 

 the contrary way. 



We now flood off and on ; and as foon as the fliips were 

 in a proper ftation, about ten o'clock I ordered two boats, 

 one of them from the Difcovery, to found the coaft, and to 



endeavour 



