/O Russhm Expcdilion to Japan. 



vkcM proportioned limbs. Thoua;h tbey do not exhibit pro- 

 minent and athletic n)uscles, and their arms are rather like 

 those of a well made woman, they gave prool^s of very great 

 siren<rth. Tbey ornament thcn^scivcs ni the most romantic 

 manner. Many ot them have a circle of feathers around 

 their head, or of swine's teeth strung on a eoid, on their 

 toes and iiugcrt;; feathers, or small buneiies of human hair, 

 and other kinds of ornaments, around their neck. Most of 

 tl>€n! are more or lesg talooed. The figures are regular, and 

 have each a determinate name : bome of them are attended 

 with particular privileges; thus, for example, the Englishman 

 had a rigureon his brcagt which gave him a right, on certain 

 festivals, to form part of Ketenue's suite. Thouc who have 

 net this niark arc not entitled to receive any pork. Some 

 of the olHccrs and most of the sailors on board our ship 

 caused themselves to be tatooed. The natives, for the most 

 part, go entirely naked. 



Their chief hjod is the bread-fruit, which to me did not 

 appear to be very savoury ; but if w as then unripe, and not 

 in season. The tree has a good deal of simiiariiy to the 

 v.ild chesnut tree. They eat also bananas, coco-nuts, yams, 

 pork, fish, aivl even hmnan riesh. However incredulous 

 I was in regard to the last point, it is certain that thes« 

 people, who according to every appearance are so friendly 

 and so mild, are real cannibahs. Tlie Englishman, and 

 afterwards the Frenchman, who .certainly had not entered 

 into an agreement to deceive us, concurred fully in their ac* 

 counts of this circumstance. We have several sculls, two 

 of which I purchased, which were those of enemies whout 

 t\icy liad defeated in battle and afterwards eaten. Some 

 years, when the bread-fruit is scarce, a famine takes place: 

 And on such occasions manv of them kill their wives or 

 children, and eat them : others undertake a warlike cxpedi- 

 litm against the enemy ; that is to say, several of them 

 creep imperceptibly in the night-time to the neighbourhood 

 of the houses of the cjicmy, or conceal themselves behind 

 trees or among the grass, and as soon as they discover any 

 nf the enemy, whether men, women, or children, they 

 immediately attack thenij carry them off", and devour them. 

 Even when there is no scarciiv, their expeditions against 

 the enemy arc continued, partly because they delight in 

 them, and parth' becau*^ they consider human flesh as a 

 great delicacy, and prefer it to that of their hogs. They 

 iight also battles in which one parly is regularly pitched 

 aiiainst another. Their weapons are slings, lances, an4 

 cfubs. The two last are made of casuariao wood ; one of 



thc5;e 



