of Lord North’s Island. 227 
They kindled their fires, as they informed the Americans, by 
rubbing two pieces of wood together, as is practised in other 
islands of the Pacific Ocean; but the Americans had no opportu- 
nity of observing this process, as fire was always preserved in some 
part of the island, and there was no occasion for kindling it anew. 
They cooked their turtle or other meat (when they were so for- 
tunate as to have any) and their vegetables also, by covering them 
with heated stones, 
They take pride in their hair, and are particularly careful to 
wash and cleanse it almost every day; but they do not color it, 
as the natives of some of the islands are said to do; they mois- 
ten it, however, with the juice pressed out from the cocoa-nut, 
which gives it a very glossy appearance, and it is frequently so 
long as to reach down to the waist. 
Their mode of salutation is, to clasp each other in their arms 
and touch their noses together, as is practised in many other 
islands. 
No musical instruments of any kind were found among them ; 
but on particular occasions they would sing, or rather howl out 
something like a rude tune or song, which was unintelligible. The 
Americans tried to teach them to whistle, but they never could 
learn to do it, and their awkward attempts were amusing. 
In their names of persons, it could not be ascertained that they 
had any thing like a family name, but only a single one, corre- 
sponding to our Christian names, as in other islands. The Amer- 
icans could not learn, that those names were significant either of 
animals or other objects, as the Indian proper names are in Amer- 
ica; but no two persons were ever found of the same name. 
Children do not address their parents by any word correspond- 
ing to father or mother, papa or mamma, but by their proper names. 
