OCT. 1769 NATIVE CUSTOMS 191 



received us ; no one showed the least signs of fear. The 

 women were plain, and made themselves more so by paint- 

 ing their faces with red ochre and oil, which was generally 

 fresh and wet upon their cheeks and foreheads, easily trans- 

 ferable to the noses of any one who should attempt to kiss 

 them, not that they seemed to have any objection to such 

 familiarities, as the noses of several of our people evidently 

 showed. But they were as coquettish as any Europeans 

 could be, and the young ones as skittish as unbroken fillies. 

 One part of their dress I cannot omit to mention: besides 

 their cloth, each one wore round the waist a string made of 

 the leaves of a highly-perfumed grass, 1 to which was fastened 

 a small bunch of the leaves of some fragrant plant. Though 

 the men did not so frequently paint their faces, yet they 

 often did so ; one especially I observed, whose whole body 

 and garments were rubbed over with dry ochre ; of this he 

 constantly kept a piece in his hand, and generally rubbed it 

 on some part or other. 



In the evening, all the boats being employed in carrying 

 on board water, we were likely to be left ashore till after dark. 

 We did not like to lose so much of our time for sorting our 

 specimens and putting them in order, so we applied to our 

 friends the Indians for a passage in one of their canoes. 

 They readily launched one for us ; but we, in number eight, 

 not being used to so ticklish a conveyance, overset her in 

 the surf, and were very well soused. Four of us were 

 obliged to remain, and Dr. Solander, Tupia, Tayeto and 

 myself embarked again, and came without accident to the 

 ship, well pleased with the behaviour of our Indian friends, 

 who would a second time undertake to carry off such clumsy 

 fellows. 



24th. Dr. Solander and I went ashore botanising, and 

 found many new plants. The people behaved perfectly 

 well, not mixing with or at all interrupting our people in 

 what they were about, but on the contrary selling them 

 whatever they had for Otahite cloth and glass bottles, of 

 which they were uncommonly fond. 



1 Hierochloe redolens, Br. 



