CANOES. 149 



wales with carvings of fish and sea-birds, and inlay the sides with 

 ])earl-shell. The stems and sterns of the large canoes of Faro and of 

 (.'hoiseul Bay are continued up in the form of high beaks, which 

 rise 12 to 15 feet above the water. I was at first at a loss to find 

 the explanation of these high beaks, which give the canoes of 

 Bougainville Straits such a singular appearance. In the narratives 

 of the voyages of Bougainville and Surville who observed those 

 high-beaked canoes, the former at Choiseul Bay in 1768,^ and the 

 latter at Port Praslin, in Isabel, in 1769,2 we find the explanation 

 required, which is, that these high ])rows, when the canoe is turned 

 end on to tho enemy, afford shelter against arrows and other 

 missiles. 



For sea-passages, greater stability is sometimes given to the large 

 canoes of the Straits, by temporarij}^ fitting them with an outrigger 

 on each side, in the form of a bundle of stout bamboos lashed to the 

 projecting ends of three bamboo poles placed across the gunwales of 

 the canoe. The large canoes, in crossing from one island to the other 

 in the Straits, employ often a couple of small lug-sails which are 

 made from calico or light canvas obtained from the traders. I never 

 saw any sails of native material : but it was worthy of remark that 

 in 179:2, when Dentrecasteaux approached close to the west coast of 

 the Shortland Islands, he noticed " large canoes under sail,' 

 which, to quote directly fi'om the narrative, " annongoient uue 

 navigation active dans cet archipel d'iles extremement petites."" 

 Why the natives of these Straits no longer employ sails of their own 

 manufacture, it is difficult to say. The ver}^ recent introduction of 

 trade calico cannot have caused them to be set aside for those of the 

 new material, since when a native wants to have a sail, and has no 

 calico, he has no recourse to sails of his own manufacture. Bather 

 it would appear, that the canoes under sail, which navigated these 

 Straits a century ago, belonged to a people more enterprising than 

 the present inhabitants of these islands. 



To the stem of the canoe, just above the water-line, is sometimes 

 attached a small misshapen wooden figure, which is the little tutelar 

 deity that sees the hidden rock, and gives warning of an approaching 

 foe. One of these figures is shown in the accompan3'ing illustration. 



^ " Voyage autour du Monde : " 2nd edit, aiigment. Taris, 1772 ; Vol. II., p. 187. In 

 this work there is an engraA-ing of one of these canoes. 



2 "Discoveries of the French to the South-East of New Guinea,'' by M. F eurieu. 

 London, 1791 (p. 139). 



3 "Voyage de Dentrecasteaux," redige par. M. de Rossel, I'arjs, ISOS : torn. 1, p. 117. 



