FEATHER WORK IN EARLY IVVAGES. 



In the voyages of Captains Portlock and Dixon in 1786 we read: 

 "But the most beautiful ornament wore b>- the women is a necklace made from the variegated 

 feathers of the humming bird which are fixed on strings so regular and even as to have a surface equally 

 smooth as velvet; and the rich colours of the feathers give it an appearance equally rich and elegant. 



"The caps and cloaks wore by the men are still superior in beauty and elegance. The cloaks 

 are in general about the size of tliose wore by the Spaniards; the ground is network and the feathers 



are sewed on in alternate squares or triangular forms of red and yellow, 

 _ ,, . . which have a most brilliant appearance. The ground of the caps is 



wicker work, in the form of a helmet; the elevated part from the fore- 

 head to the hind part of the neck, is about a liand's breadth and gen- 

 eralh- covered with yellow feathers, the sides of the cap with red. This 

 cap, together with the cloak, has an appearance equally splendid, if 

 not superior to any .scarlet and gold whatever. 



"The.se truly elegant ornaments are .scarce, and only possessed 

 by Chiefs of the highest rank, who wear them on extraordinary occa- 

 sions. There are cloaks of an inferior kind, which have only a narrow 

 liorder of red and yellow feathers, the rest being covered with feathers 

 of the trojiic and man-of-war bird."'' 



Yanconver retnrning to Kealakekua Bay in 1792 met 

 Kamehameha I. and he describes the dress of the yonng 

 king as follows: 



"The largest canoe was rowed by eighteen paddles on each side; 

 in this was his Hawaiian majesty, dressed in a printed linen gown, 

 that Captain Cook had given to Kalaniopuu; and the mo.st elegant 

 feather cloak I had yet seen, compcsed principally of beautiful bright 

 yellow feathers and reaching from his shoulders to the ground on which 

 it trailed. On his head he wore a very hand.some helmet, and made 

 altogether a very handsome appearance."^ 



Dnring that visit the king presented X'ancoitver with 

 fonr very handsome feathered helmet.s'* (one of these, Fig. 2, is 

 now in the Bishop Mnsenm, No. 322); and later, when coming 

 to see his good friend, — 



"Kamehameha conceiving this might be his last visit, presented 



me with a handsome cloak formed of red and >ellow feathers, with a 



small colledlion of other native curiosities; and at the same time delivered 



into my charge the superb cloak that he had worn on his formal visit on 



our arrival. This cloak was very neatly made of \ellow feathers: after 



he had displayed its beauty and had shewn nie the two holes made in 



different parts of it by the enemy's spears the first day he wore it, in his 



last battle for the sovereignty of this island, he ver>- carefully folded it up, 



''""^ '""■"' and desired that on my arrival in England, I would present it in his name 



FIG. 3. BONE HANDLES OF to H . M. King George;' and as it had never been worn by an^- person but 



kahilis: b. p. b. m. himself, he strictly enjoined me not to permit an>- per.son whatever to 



throw it over their shoulders, saying it was the most valuable in the island of Hawaii, and for that 



reason he had sent it to so great a monarch, and so good a friend, as he considered the King of England. 



'f Cat'tam (u\>!xr l'<i>unit:ri. London. 



^Foyagt' yoiiud the Zi'orld, but more particularly tn tlw .Xorthict'sl 

 coast of America, pei'foimed in I'jSs-SS. Loudon. 1789. 4to, p. 271. 



1A voyage of discoi'cry to the North Pacific Ocean and round the 

 world, undertaken by his Majesty's command, principally with a viezc to 

 ascertain the existence of any navi,^able communication between the 

 North Pacific and North .Atlantic (heans. and perfio mcd in tht- yciir.\ 



/790-95. under the command 

 1798. Vol. II., p. 126. 



^Loc. cil., p. 127. These are now. with the exception mentioned, 

 in the British Museum. 



IL0C. cit.. p. 159. This cloak is supposed to he one of those now 

 at Windsor Castle. It might be identified by the holes made by 



