THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



291 



The canoe in process of transference. Note its 

 beautiful lines and sound construction. Seats 

 rest upon the bearers attached to the ribs. 



[Plioto. — A. Musgrave. 



of inlaid sections of pearl or Xautilus 

 shell, each piece of which is carefully 

 and accurately carved into various 

 patterns, which harmonise with those 

 adjacent to it. These sections are 

 embedded in the same putty utilised 

 in making the various seams and joints 

 watertight. 



The process of inlaying is a wearying 

 task. Each fragment has to be either 

 rubbed or filed into shape and placed 

 into putty whilst that is yet workable. 

 The workmen who do this shaping are 

 not necessarily skilled. A chief calls 

 upon his dependants to supply these 

 pieces, about one or two thousand per 

 village, which the artist fashions into 

 designs upon the canoe. The Solomon 

 Islanders seem to be the only natives 

 of Melanesia Avho favour this form of 

 decoration. One will find inlay work 

 on many of their productions, and 

 this is an almost infallible guide in 

 locaHzing native handiwork. Clubs, 



bowls, combs, staves, etc., are treated 

 in this manner ; moreover, the pearl 

 shell is largely used for personal orna- 

 ments such as breast ])endants, the 

 favourite design being the frigate- 

 bird and the bonito. 



Canoes are generally believed to be 

 '■ dug-outs " or more or less shaped 

 logs from which the centre has been 

 hollowed out. This vessel, however, is 

 a much more elaborate attempt at 

 shi])building, and its lightness and 

 slender lines conduce towards both 

 speed and seaworthiness. In build- 

 ing a ■■ tomako "" a V-shaped keel is 

 first laid down accurately, and the 

 sides are built upon it in .sections. 

 The planks forming the latter are 

 carefully fitted t o one another, their 

 edges being bevelled and having holes 

 di-illed through them so that they 

 can be sewn tightly together with 

 split cane or the stem of a climbing 

 fern {Lygonia). The seams are caulked 

 with a compound of red ochreous 

 earth and tita resin, made from the 

 fruit of a tree {Farinarium laurinum) 

 which grows abundantly in the island 

 jungles. Ribs, carefully selected and 

 shaped, and to which the ])lanks are 

 lashed, keep the sides rigid and give 

 them the correct curve. Seating 

 accomodation is provided for twenty- 

 two rowers, the seats being loose slabs 

 which rest on a bearer or stringer 

 much the same as those of our boats. 

 Nineteen oval-bladed paddles were pre- 

 sented by Mr. Wickham with the canoe, 

 and the whole is a wonderful example 

 of the work of native artisans A\iio, 

 with a simple equipment of stone and 

 shell implements, fashioned these won- 

 derful vessels for their head-hunting 

 exj)editions. 



Years ago, Mhen the " blackbirder" 

 and the " beachcomber " made the South 

 Pacific their happy hunting ground, 

 these canoes played a ghastly part in 

 head-hunting and slave-raiding expedi- 

 tions. Head - hunting was a strong 

 feature of the fife of the Solomon 

 Islander, and numbers of these great 

 canoes, with their occupants armed to 

 the teeth, set off at intervals on these 

 missions. They would glide along the 

 coast in such a way as to be inchs- 



