368 Essays. 



ends ; in procuring fire by friction, and in mating it to blaze, and in finding 

 out the best tinder ; in making their ingenious snares for bawks, ducks, rats, 

 &c., and tbeir various cleverly made fisb-books, some artificially baited with 

 motber-of-pearl sbell for tbe Jmhawai, and otbers witb a cbip of tawliai 

 {Fagus) wood for tbe barracouta ; in making tbeir quartz-pointed wimble, 

 and tbeir " Spanisb tourniquet," and tbeir delicate tattooing instruments. 

 Tbey were passionately fond of music, but it was peculiarly tbeir own : and 

 of poetry, or of its cbief ingredients, sentiment and rbytbm, altbougb tbey 

 bad not rbyme. Tbey greatly excelled in order and regularity, wbicb tbey 

 carried into almost everything tbey did, as sbown in tbeir parallel 

 carving, regular in its wildness, and in tattooing tbe rigbt and left 

 faces and posteriors witb circles and scrolls almost mathematically exact ; 

 in their building and ornamenting of canoes and houses ; in the laying out 

 of their plantations, and particularly in tbe planting of tbeir crops ; in 

 their measured paddling to " time and stroke ;" and, above all, in their 

 war-dance ; hence tbeir practised eye always detected want of regularity in 

 the stroke of the best-manned man-o'-war's boat, as well as in the most 

 precise military drill. They paid great attention to nature, and profited 

 largely and deservedly by tbe observance. Tbey calculated tbeir years 

 by moons, and their moons by days, or rather by nights — as, indeed, they 

 reckoned all their time — each having a distinct and appropriate name. 

 The names of tbeir moons were particularly appropriate, naturally re- 

 minding one of the French nomenclature of the months introduced at 

 tbe institution of tbe Empire. They divided the year into two great 

 annual seasons of summer and winter, wbicb tbey subdivided into four 

 great agricultural times, of preparation, planting, cessation, and harvest. 

 Tbeir year commenced with spring ; to wbicb, and to tbe proper planting 

 season, they were guided by tbe rising of certain constellations, particu- 

 larly of Pleiades and of Orion ; by tbe flowering of certain trees, especially 

 a red-flowered creeper {Metrosideros sp.) ; by tbe sprouting of ferns, 

 principally of the rauarulie {Pteris esculenta) ; by the mating, moulting and 

 change of note of birds ; by tbe singing of insects ; and by the arrival of the 

 uiigratoTj jpijpiivharau?'oa, or little glossy cuckoo. In planting tbeir precious 

 kumara, they carefully turned its young sprout to tbe sun ; which position 

 they also chose for the entrance of tbeir kumara stores, so as to avoid tbe 

 cold south. Tbey attended to the aj)pearance of the clouds, and the redness 

 of the heavens at sunrise and sunset ; to tbe flight and noise of birds and 

 of insects ; to tbe opening of flowers ; to the apparent nearness of far-off 

 bills ; and tbe distinctness of distant sounds by night, for indications of 

 coming wind and weather. Tbey knew in what weather fish would bite, and 

 what baits to use, and when certain fish were in season, and when crayfish 



