46 Director s Report fo^' fgi^^- 



hematite "artificially made of an oval shape divided longitudinally, 



with a narrow groove in the middle of the convex part it 



weighed a pound" undoubtedly applied to the pohaku In hee, or 

 stone sinker' for the octopus trap. To this stone, he said, "was 

 applied a cord of no great thickness." It is questionable if this 

 cord was a sling as Cook inferred; more than probably it was the 

 cord for fastening to the stone the appliances of the trap.^ 



Rev. Wm. Ellis noted on the island of Hawaii that "... .they 

 employed the sling, and their stones were very destructive. The 

 slings were made of human hair, plaited, or the elastic fibres of the 



cocoa-nut husk " ' Human hair for cord was not uncommon 



in these islands, although its principal use was in ornamentation. 

 Since he made no special mention of the pattern, it is to be assumed 

 that the Hawaiian sling of his description resembled in form those 

 he had seen in Southern Polynesia. Of the latter, he gives the 

 following details, intended to apply to the southern groups in gen- 

 eral : "The most dangerous missile was the uriti or stone, from 

 the ma or sling. The latter was prepared with great care, and 

 made with finely braided fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, or filaments 

 of the native flax, having a loop to fasten it to the hand at one 

 end, and a wide receptacle for the stone in the centre." •♦ The de- 

 scription of the shape would probably answer for the Hawaiian 

 specimen in Fig. 6, if the latter were undamaged. 



A model of a very neat appearing sling (Fig. 7) has been 

 given to the Museum by Mr. Edgar Henriques. It was made to 

 his order by S. W. Kahikina, of Kiilae, Kona, Hawaii, and, ac- 

 cording to the maker, represents the form once used in this group. 

 Its principal characteristic is the replacement of the pocket by two 

 loops, which are well adapted to hold the double conical sling- 

 stone. The material is the Hawaiians' most durable fibre, olona 

 ( Touehardia latifolia ) . It will be noticed that, in this example, as 

 in No. 4812, the technique changes; but from twisted cords to 

 braided loops. One character not present in the older specimen 

 is the arrangement of the handles. The held cord of this sling 

 ends in a running loop for the wrist, while the freed cord termi- 

 nates in a large knot. 



'B. P. B. M. Memoirs, I, 351, 352, Fig. 14, and PI. XXXVI XXXIX. 



^Op. cit.. Fig. 14. 



'Ellis, Tour through Hawaii, London, 1828, p. 141. 



^ Ellis, Polynesian Researches, London, 18^0, II, 490. 



[23«J 



