inches in length into battle. They were made of very hard wood 

 and inlaid with shell, the blade resembling that of a Japanese sword 

 in shape. These swords were, we are told, of siifHcient weight to 

 break the skull. The natives had also daggers obtained from ray- 

 fish spines which they carried in bamboo sheaths. They were 

 only 13 inches long, including the hilt which often had a 

 characteristic human figure carved on it. 



Captain Wilson brought home with him specimens of these 

 two kinds of weapons, the sword and the dagger, which are now 

 in the British Museum. They are so famous that they are referred 

 to by various authors.^ 



Chapter V. 



Decorative Patterns. 



In the West Caroline Islands, as in the East Caroline group, 

 decorative patterns will be noticed on the various things made by 

 the islanders, such as textiles, bracelets (Fig. 4G), tobacco holders 

 (Fig. 60), bamboo cylinders for lime, wooden bowls, spear-shafts 

 (Fig. 70), also on tattoos (Fig. 39) and on buildings (Pis. XXIX, 

 XXXI). As in the East Caroline group, the patterns are usually 

 geometrical, most of them consisting of triangles, squares, lozenges, 

 zigzags, etc., while some are made up of concentric figures, a 

 design not to be found in the East Caroline Islands. These are 

 skilfully combined so as to produce artistic effects. It seems, 



1 We find an instniment reproduced by F. Batzel at page 211 of 'The History of Man- 

 Idnd," Vol. I, with the explanation " Saw of ray-sjiine, said to be from Pelew (British Museum)." 

 However, there is no room for doi^bt that this represents the dagger obtained by Wilson in 

 Palau, the human face carved on its hilt closely resembling the figure on the club-house in Palau. 



