6 B RICH AM OX flAW'AlfAX FEATHER WORK. 



feathers, and a collar of the same. Others again are made of feathers entirely white with variegated 

 borders. The helmet has a strong lining of wicker-work, capable of breaking the blow of any war- 

 like instrument and seems evidentl\- designed for that purpose. Fig. 2. 



"These feathered dresses seemed to be exceedingly scarce, appropriated to persons of the 

 highest rank and worn by the men only. During the whole time we la>- in Karakakooa Bay [Keala- 

 keakua], we never saw them used but on three occasions: in the curious ceremony of Terreeoboo's 

 [Kalaniopuu] first visit to the ships; by .some chiefs who were seen among the crowd on shore when 

 Captain Cook was killed: and afterward, when Eappo [?] brought his bones to us. 



"The exact re.semblance between this habit and the cloak and helmet formerly worn by the 

 Spaniards was too striking not to excite our curiositx' to inquire whether there were any probable 

 grounds for supposing it to ha^'e been borrowed from them. After exerting every means in our power 

 of obtaining information on the subject, we found the>' had no immediate knowledge of any other 

 nation whatever; nor any tradition remaining among them of these islands having been ever visited 

 before by such ships as ours. But notwith.standing the result of these inquiries, the uncommon form 

 of this habit appears to me a sufficient proof of its European origin, especially- when added to another 

 circum.stance, 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 neigh- 

 borhood of these islands. But when it is recollected that the course of the .Spanish trade from Aca- 

 pulco to the Manilas is but a few degrees to the Southward of the Sandwich Islands in their passage out, 

 and to the Northward on their return, this sniiposition will not apjjear in the least improbable. "< 



To Captain King's accotmt nut.st be added that of the Surgeon of the fleet, 

 William Ellis, who was both a ready writer and a good draughtsman. His relation of 

 the last voyage of Cook, now a rare book, adds mttch to the information given in the 

 official account. 



"The principal ornaments of the men are the feather caps and cloaks; some of the latter reach 

 dfiwn to their heels, and have a most magnificent appearance. They are made for the most part of 

 red and yellow feathers, which are tied upon fine net work; the caps are composed of the same kind 

 of feathers which are ,sometimes intermixed with black: they are secured upon a kind of basket work 

 made in the form of a helmet. Both caps and cloaks are made of various patterns and sizes. The 

 cloaks are not all composed of the same kind of feathers, but are sometimes varied with the long tail 

 feathers of the cock, with a border of yellow or red, and .sometimes with those of the tropick bird. 

 Both caps and cloaks, however, are only to be seen in the posse,ssion of the principal people. The)' 

 have also a kind of fly-flap, made of a bunch of feathers fixed to the end of a thin piece of smooth and 

 polished wood: they are generally made of the tail feathers of the cock, but the better sort of people 

 have them of the tropick bird's feathers, or those belonging to a black and \ellow bird called mo-ho 

 [Oo] . The handle is \'ery frequentl\' made of one of the bones of the arm or leg of those wliom the)' 

 have killed in battle, curiously inlaid with tortoise shell: these the\' deem very valuable, and will not 

 part with them under a great price. This ornament is common to the superiors of both .sexes. 



"The women too have their share in the ornamental way: that which they value most is the 

 erai \_lci'\. This is a kind of ruff or necklace made of red, green, black, and \ellow feathers, curi- 

 ously put together, and in most elegant patterns, which really do honor to the fancy of the ladies, 

 whose business it is to make them. They never think themselves dressed without one or two of the.se 

 round their necks, and tho.se who can afford it wear many."^ 



■^Journal of Captain King: Cook's I'omfct-s, III., p. i,^S. The sup- Kealiiokaloa. In 1553 Juan Gaetano discovered these islands when 



position that the Spaniards had preceded them was indeed cor- sailing from New Spain to the Moluccas. 



rect. Cook had doubtless read Anson's Voyage, which was pub- ^Aii attthrntic narratiTt' of a X'oyage pi'r/ornird by Ciif>tatn Cuok 



lished the year he .sailed from England, and in which was a copy atid Captain Ctej-ke, in his majesty's ships Resolution and Discovery 



of the Spanish chart captured on the galleon June 20. 1743, on the during the year 1776, 1777, /77S, /77<^ and 17S0; in search of a north- 



voyage from .\capulco to Manila. On this chart are laid down a -'.'est passage between the continents of Asia and America. Including 



group ' I.as Mesas" in nearly the latitude of the Hawaiian Islands, £7 fartlifni account of all their discoveries, and the unfortu?tate deat/t 



though some fifteen degrees out of the correct longitude, not an <>/ Captain Cook. By W. Ellis, assistant surgeon to both vessels, 



unusual error at that time. In November, 1527, shipwrecked Span- London, i7,S2. Vol. II.. p. 155. 

 iards arrived at Keei. near Kealakeakua, Hawaii, in the reign of 



