NEW ZEALAND 69 



had eaten the flesh, and made him understand, 

 by licking the bone, that it had made him an 

 excellent meal. 



In the course of their numerous visits to the 

 shore the travellers were able to make interesting 

 observations of the inhabitants. The extraordi- 

 nary healthiness of the people and the great age 

 which they seemed to attain had struck Cook, 

 who never remarked a single case of illness 

 among them. Their wounds healed with amaz- 

 ing rapidity. He found them infinitely more 

 prudish than the Tahitians, among whom the 

 conception of decency seemed totally lacking. 

 The bodies of both sexes were covered with 

 black spots, a sort of horrible tattooing. The 

 men wore their beards short, and their hair, 

 knotted on the top of their heads, formed a tuft 

 in which they placed birds' feathers. The 

 women painted their faces with red ochre and 

 oil, and they transferred some of their com- 

 plexions to those who wished to enjoy the sweet- 

 ness of their kisses. "The noses of several of 

 our people," wrote Cook in his Journal, "proved 

 beyond doubt that they had no objection to this 

 familiarity." And he added: "They are as 

 coquettish as our most fashionable European 

 ladies, and the young girls are as playful as un- 

 broken colts." As at Tahiti, most of them wore 

 their hair short. 



