1779. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 127 



islands having been ever visited before by such ships 

 as ours. But notwithstanding the result of these in- 

 quiries, the uncommon form of this habit appears to 

 me a sufficient proof of its European origin ; espe- 

 cially when added to another circumstance, that it is 

 a singular deviation from the general resemblance in 

 dress which prevails amongst all the branches of this 

 tribe, dispersed through the South Sea. We were 

 driven indeed, by this conclusion, to a supposition of 

 the shipwreck of some Buccaneer, or Spanish ship 

 in the neighbourhood of these islands. But when it 

 is recollected, that the course of the Spanish trade 

 from Acapulco to the Manillas is but a few degrees 

 to the southward of the Sandwich Islands, in their 

 passage out, and to the northward, on their return, 

 this supposition will not appear in the least im- 

 probable. 



The common dress of the women bears a close re- 

 semblance to that of the men. They wrap round the 

 waist a piece of cloth, that reaches half way down 

 the thighs ; and sometimes, in the cool of the even- 

 ing, they appeared with loose pieces of fine cloth 

 thrown over their shoulders, like the women of Ota- 

 heite. The pau is another dress very frequently 

 worn by the younger part of the sex. It is made of 

 the thinnest and finest sort of cloth, wrapt several 

 times round the waist, and descending to the leg ; 

 so as to have exactly the appearance of a full short 

 petticoat. Their hair is cut short behind, and turned 

 up before, as is the fashion among the Otaheiteans 

 and New Zealanders ; all of whom differ, in this re- 

 spect, from the women of the Friendly Islands, who 

 wear their hair long. We saw, indeed, one woman 

 in Karakakooa Bay, whose hair was arranged in a 

 very singular manner ; it was turned up behind, and 

 brought over the forehead, and then doubled back, 

 so as to form a sort of shade to the face, like a small 

 bonnet. 



Their necklaces are made of shells, or of a hard, 



