1845.] VISIT OF A GENERAL CHIEF. 329 



large boats were noticed coming from the main island, 

 but as both wind and tide pressed them southerly, they 

 made but slow progress. The largest boat, which bore 

 the Chief and his party, consisting of his suite and band, 

 the latter producing the most discordant sounds that 

 were ever emitted under the name of music, from brass 

 tubes, at length reached the ship, and the General 

 stepped upon our quarter deck, where he was duly 

 received by the Officers and guard, and saluted with 

 tliree guns, the customary compliment to a Chinese of 

 similar rank. He was a light built, but compact man, 

 about 5ft. 6in., of rather handsome features, inclined to 

 Grecian, with rather sharp forehead, small eyes, but intelli- 

 gent, and with feet very small in proportion to his size. 

 His hair appeared to be dressed much in the fashion of the 

 people of Loo-Choo, but in place of the Cameesashee 

 and Oosisashee pins, it was confined by a delicate net- 

 work bag, composed of brown silk. The hat, which is a 

 light fabric, and most beautiful piece of workmanship, is 

 composed of the fine outer fibres of the bamboo, dyed 

 black, and woven into a gauze, like our finest wire-work.* 

 The rim is about two feet in diameter ; the cone rises to 

 nine inches, having a diameter at the truncated vertex of 

 three inches, where it is slightly convex, and has one or 

 more peacock's feathers attached in a kind of swivel, 



* The hat is also furnished with a fine covering composed of very 

 fibrous paper, so well glazed, at the same time so flexible, that it was 

 generally mistaken for oil silk. This is prepared both by the people 

 of Loo-Choo, as well as the Chinese, by a solution of the gelatinous 

 sea-weed, Agal Agal (one of the Alga?), which will be noticed 

 hereafter. 



