160 ETHNOGRAPHY. 



drawing. Their ornaments were necklaces of bone and shell, ear- 

 rings of the same, and, what was peculiar, false curls tied on a string 

 to be bound around the head. Perhaps this ornament owes its origin 

 to the circumstance that these natives have thinner hair than those of 

 other islands, and appear to be inclined to baldness. This, and the 

 curling of their hair, may result from their being so much exposed, 

 while fishing, to alternations of sun and rain. 



" The only edible fruits which the island produces are those of the 

 cocoa-nut and the pandanus; and the fact that the hard and dis- 

 tasteful nuts of the latter are eaten, may lead us to believe that the 

 natives are sometimes sufferers from want of food. The rest of their 

 sustenance is drawn from the sea, on which we may suppose that they 

 spend a good part of their time. Their fine athletic forms and hearty 

 looks certainly did not give an idea of famine ; and it would be an 

 interesting subject of inquiry to discover the causes which prevent the 

 population from increasing so as to press too closely upon the means 

 of subsistence. 



"Judging from what we saw, we are inclined to rate the inhabitants 

 at between five and six hundred. The number of men who met us 

 on the beach was not far from one hundred and fifty, which, by fair 

 estimate, would give the above total. This little spot of ground may 

 therefore be considered, in proportion to its extent, very well peopled, 

 as the whole superficies of dry land in all the islets cannot exceed two 

 square miles. We are, moreover, inclined to believe that the natives 

 whom we saw at the first island (Oatafu) belonged properly to this, 

 and were merely temporary residents at the other. This impression 

 proceeds partly from their own declaration that they had no chief 

 with them, and partly from the circumstance that they had none but 

 double canoes, which are best adapted for a sea- voyage. The scanti- 

 ness of their numbers would also favor this supposition, and from it 

 we may understand how the occasional absence of the people, on 

 their return to Fakaafo, might have caused the island to be reported 

 as uninhabited. 



" At length, after a stay of about three hours, it was determined to 

 gratify the increasing impatience of the natives to be rid of us. We 

 thereupon moved towards the boats, which were moored just outside 

 the coral shelf, in the surf. As this was at times pretty heavy, we 

 were obliged to wait for a lull, and watch our opportunity to spring 

 on board. The natives who accompanied us were assiduous in ren- 

 dering assistance, which was not perfectly disinterested, for they took 



