788 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
the canoe three-fourths of an inch thick. Outrigger float, 18 feet long 
and 15 inches square, turned upat each end and shaped like the bow of 
a boat. Distance of float from the side of canoe 74 feet. The frame- 
work of the outrigger consisted of 5 crosspieces 34 feet apart and pro- 
jecting out by opposite gunwale 12 inches, fastened to pole running 
parallel with the canoe. The stanchions connecting the outer ends of 
the frame to the float were 15 inches high, and were made of tree 
branches cut to form a fork, the butt ends being inserted in the float, 
the crosspieces seized to the upper ends of the fork. The frame was 
braced with 4 poles. These canoes have no braces, ribs, or thwarts on 
the inside, neither do they carrya sail. In every part they are neatly 
made, much care having been taken to make them smooth. 
In every detail the double canoe displayed fine workmanship, show- 
ing that the old style of canoe-making, at least on this island, is not 
lost. It would be quite difficult to describe a double canoe; there are 
so many parts connected with it and so peculiarly put together that 
almost any description given will convey little meaning unless accom- 
panied by a series of photographs or sketches. Photographs should 
be taken from various points of view under sail. At this late date 
these are hard to obtain, for canoes of this type are seldom seen 
except in remote regions. 
The following measurements may give some idea as to the general 
features of a Fijian double canoe. One canoe is invariably larger than 
the other, and the smaller is to the larger what an outrigger is to a 
single canoe. The larger canoe was 40 feet 9 inches long, 22 inches 
wide at the gunwales and 27 inches at the bilge. The other measured 
37+ feet, 205 inches wide at the gunwales and 23 inches at the turn of 
the bilge; depth of each 2 feet 5 inches. Each canoe was dug from a 
single log. They were 74 feet apart, connected by what may be called 
a platform 16 feet long, 10 feet 10 inches wide, projecting out over 
the opposite gunwale of each canoe and raised up 12% inches, the 
forward and after ends resting on thick pieces of wood neatly fitted in 
thwartships, which form a double bulkhead. Between the bulkheads 
on each side a heavy piece of wood was fitted to the gunwale, the 
whole forming a kind of coaming; similar fittings were on the small 
canoe, 
The platform connecting the canoes was made of stout poles and 
seized to the coamings 15 inches apart. That part of the platform 
covering the large canoe was covered with planks 5 inches wide and 
3 inches thick, and fastened to the poles by cross seizings of heavy 
cocoanut sennit. On the platform in the center of the large canoe 
was a thatched-roof house, one side of which was open. In it was ¢ 
bunk large enough for two people. The house was 6% feet long, 4 
feet wide, and on the front side 3 feet high, the roof sloping to the 
platform in the rear. On each end of the platform near the outside 
