f 



46 



Mai and Basket Weaving. 



Mat Sails.— In the Diredlor's Report for 1899 (p. 25) is an essay on the Mat 



Sails of the Pacific, i 



by Mr. John F. G. 

 Stokes, now Curator 

 of Polynesian Eth- 

 nology in the Mu- 

 seum. This is a very 

 complete and accu- 

 rate compendium of 

 ^vhat is known of the 

 ancient sails, and as 

 these were generally 

 made of paudanus 

 mat by a method of 

 weaving differing 

 from that used in 

 the construction of 

 the broad sleeping 

 mats, we may quote 

 here that portion re- 

 lating to this work: 

 "The sails through- 

 out Micronesia were 

 alwaj'S made in strips 

 var3nng in width 

 from four inches to 

 three feet, the Micro- 

 nesians being par- 

 ticularl}- apt in this 

 form of mat-making. 

 The Marshall Isl- 

 anders, who are 

 among the most ex- 

 pert canoe builders 

 and sailors in the 

 Pacific, use a lap- fig. 50. i.aphoard and strip of mat sail. 



board, cut from breadfruit wood, on which the mat is woven (Fig. 50). The board is 

 arched and sets very comfortably in the lap of a person sitting on the ground. The 



