THIRD VOYAGE 263 



soon as he got on board he put it off and presented it to me. 

 Every one of my visitors received from me such presents 

 as, I had reason to believe, they were highly satisfied with. 

 When dinner came upon table, not one of them would sit 

 down, or eat a bit of any thing that was served up. On 

 expressing my surprise at this, they were all taboo, as they 

 said ; which word has a very comprehensive meaning, but 

 in general signifies that a thing is forbidden. Dinner being 

 over, and having gratified their curiosity by showing to 

 them every part of the shipf, I then conducted them ashore. 



" As soon as the boat reached the beach, Feenou and some 

 others instantly stepped out. Young Fattafaihe following 

 them, was called back by Mareewagee, who now paid the 

 heir-apparent the same obeisance, and in the same manner 

 that I had seen it paid to the king. 



" By this time I had acquired some certain information 

 about'the relative situations of the several great men whose 

 names have been so often mentioned. I now knew that 

 Mareewagee and Toobou were brothers. Feenou was one 

 of Mareewagee' s sons ; and Tooboueitoa was another. 



" On the 16th, in the morning, Mr. Gore and I took a 

 walk into the country ; in the course of which nothing 

 remarkable appeared, but our having opportunities of seeing 

 the whole process of making cloth, which is the principal 

 manufacture of these islands, as well as of many others in 

 this pcean. 



" This is performed in the following manner : The 

 manufacturers, who are females, take the slender stalks or 

 trunks of the paper-mulberry, which they cultivateTor that 

 purpose, and which seldom grows more than six or seven 

 feet in height, and about four fingers in thickness. From 

 these they strip the bark, and scrape off the outer rind with 

 a mussel-shell. The bark is then rolled up to destroy the 

 convexity which it had round the stalk, and macerated in 

 water for some time. After this it is laid across the trunk 

 of a small tree, squared, and beaten with a squared wooden 

 instrument about a foot long, full of coarse grooves on all 

 sides, but sometimes with one that is plain. According to 

 the size of the bark a piece is soon produced, but the 

 operation is often repeated by another hand, or it is folded 

 several times and beat longer, which seems rather intended 

 to close than to divide its texture. When this is sufficiently 

 effected it is spread out to dry, the pieces being from four 

 to six or more feet in length, and half as broad. They are 

 then given to another person, who joins the pieces, by 

 smearing part of them over with the viscous juice of a 

 berry, called tooo, which serves as a glue. Having been 

 thus lengthened, they are laid over a large piece of wood 



