Linton — The Marquesas Islands 299 



indicates the speed with which new appHances of obvious vahie are accepted by the natives. 

 The new outrigger is indirect, and consists of three elements, the float, the uprights, and the 

 crosspieces. The float consists of a peeled log of fau wood four to five inches in diameter, 

 slightly shorter than the canoe. Tnis is usually sharpened at the forward end only, the cutting 

 being done entirely from the lower side, but a few specimens were seen which had been sharp- 

 ened at both ends, apparent!}- with the idea of making the canoe completely reversible. The 

 uprights, about two leet long, are usually made of small barrel staves. A triangular notch 

 about two inches deep is cut in the upper end. Eight inches below this notch the uprights 

 are pierced by a rectangular hole an inch and a half to two inches square. These uprights are 

 permanently attached to the float. The unnotched ends of the staves are wedged into 

 longitudinal slits near either end of the upper surface of the float. The crosspieces are peeled 

 poles of fau or hard wood about eight feet long and three inches in diameter at the butt. 

 Their outer ends are sharpened so that they will readily pass through the rectangular holes in 

 the uprights. 



The outrigger is assembled and attached as follows : The squared ends of the cross 

 poles are fitted into the holes of the uprights, their points projecting about two inches on the 

 outer side. The whole outrigger is then placed on the right side of the canoe, the crosspieces 

 extending across it on the line of the hard wood plugs, with their butts projectmg a few inches 

 beyond the left gunwale. One end of a light rope is then fastened to the projectmg end of the 

 front crosspiece, outside the upright. The rope is then carried over the top of the upright, 

 through the notch, and along the crosspiece to the inner side of the right gunwale. It is 

 then passed back and forth diagonally over the crosspiece and around the inside and outside 

 ends of the plug until the crosspiece is held rigidly. The rope then runs along the crosspiece 

 to the left gunwale, where the same lashing is repeated. Some slack is then lett in the canoe, 

 and the lett end of the rear crosspiece is lashed, the rope passing from there to the right 

 gunwale lashing the crosspiece there, and out along the crosspiece and over the end of the up- 

 right to the outer end of the crosspiece, where it is tied. Any rope left over is carried back 

 along the crosspiece and coiled in the canoe. 



An outrigger of this sort can be attached or removed in a few moments, and the single 

 rope used to lash it is available for other purposes when not in use on the canoe. When a 

 canoe is beached the owner usually removes the outrigger at once and stores it in a safe place, 

 thus making the canoe useless and safeguarding it from theft. 



Small fishing canoes of the type described are rarely used for trips of any 



length. They are not sailed but are commonly paddled by two men. One man 



sits on the stern crosspiece of the outrigger where it crosses the boat, while the 



other wedges himself between the thwarts amidships. Most of these canoes are 



completely reversible, and they are sometimes paddled with the outrigger on the 



left instead of the right. The narrowness of these craft, and their high 



center of gravity (for the paddlers sit practically on top of the canoe) make them 



very unstable, and in spite of the outrigger they frequently capsize. The natives 



right them by getting on the outrigger and forcing it down under the canoe and 



up the other side. 



VAKA POTI 



The vaka poti — a craft that appears to be a local development — is an inter- 

 esting example of the native adaptation of European ideas. It may be described 

 as follows : 



[39] 



