314 Memoirs Bcniicc P. Bishop Museum 



the arrangement of the stays. A slack Hne is shown running from the outer end 

 of the boom to the stern seat to control the sheet. In the drawing the lower end 

 of the boom is concealed, but it seems probable that, as in the modern sail, it 

 was not attached to the mast. In the background of the picture there are two 

 small distant canoes one of which is shown under way with the sheet paid out. 

 The side stays are fastened to the bow instead of to the stern outrigger crosspiece, 

 while the bow stay is replaced by a single stern stay. The second canoe is shown 

 with the sail furled, api)arently by bringing the boom uj) against the mast. The 

 method of stepping the masts of the ancient canoes was not ascertained. Ac- 

 cording to information ol)tained by Handy, a square rail was used, with a spar at 

 the top and bottom. 



PADDLES 



Porter's mention of "paddles more resembling an oar" (49, p. 152) would 

 imply that more than one type of paddle was in use in the Marquesas, but all the 

 specimens seen or described by informants belong to a single well defined type. 



The paddles were made of rose wood, and were often decorated with carv- 

 ing. The manufacture of small highly ornamented paddles of somewhat degener- 

 ate form intended for sale as curios has continued until the present time, but the 

 natives have lost the skill necessary for the manufacture of the large genuine 

 specimens ; the only ones seen in actual use were old. 



The peculiar sliape of Marquesan paddles makes them easily recognizable in any collec- 

 tion. (See PL xi.iii, B.) In length they range from 4 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches, although 

 the steering paddles used on war canoes were probably still longer. The average length is slightly 

 over 5 feet. For convenience in description they niay be divided into three parts, the shaft, 

 the blade, and the terminal knob, a projection below the blade. 



The shaft is approximately circular in cross section and tapers very slightly toward the 

 upper and lower ends. In some old specimens the central part is somewhat flattened laterally, 

 hut this may be due to long use. The upper end terminates in a cylindrical knob, slightly 

 thicker than the shaft, or in a flat expanded transverse grip with a concave upper surface. 

 Only one specimen of this sort was seen, the grip in this having been originally two inches in 

 width. At the lower end the shaft passes imperceptibly into the blade. 



The total length of the blade, exclusive of the terminal knob, is one foot to 15 niches, with 

 a maximum width of 6 to 7 inches. The wings of the blade curve outward gradually from 

 the shaft to the point of maximum width, which in a blade one foot long is slightly less than 11 

 inches from the upper end. From this point they curve inward sharply toward the base of the 

 terminal knob. The thickness of the wings at the edges is about 34 inch, this thickness re- 

 maining uniform for the entire length of the blade. The center of the blade has a thickness 

 of 54 to Yi inch, gradually increasing toward the ends. The outer surface of the blade is con- 

 vex, either smoothly rounded or with a slight longitudinal ridge along the center. The inner 

 surface is concave, the center, at the point of greatest depth, being sometimes as nuich as ^ 

 irich below the level of the wing edges. 



The form of the terminal knob may be seen from Plate xi.in, /?. The knob is connected 

 with the blade by a short neck which curves upward and backward. The inner side of this 

 neck bears a rather sharp longitudinal ridge which continues for a short distance up the blade. 

 The outer surface is flat or bears a nutch lower longitudinal ridge which continues for a short 



[54] 



