REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 155 



preservation. As in all of tlie low islands, the kernel of tht? cocoanut 

 is eaten, and the oil expressed from the grated meat is used in the 

 compounding of the few "made dishes" affected by the natives. 



The Marshall islanders exhibit much skill in canoe building and 

 navigation. The canoes were formerly made of driftwood, as most 

 of the islands did not furnish trees of sufficient size or suitable 

 structure, but material derived from the whites is now used to some 

 extent. The sailing canoes are often of considerable size, and are 

 made of a number of pieces sewed together with cocoanut fiber sennit 

 and calked with pandanus leaves, cocoanut fiber, and the gum of the 

 breadfruit or jack trees. The hull is skillfully designed, and with 

 the large triangular mat sails trimmed close they point up well and 

 are quite speedy. Like all South Sea canoes, they are provided with 

 outriggers, always kept to windward. These islanders also used a 

 chart made of sticks and small shells, indicating the positions of the 

 islands and the currents. They are said to be quite expert in navi- 

 gating their canoes from island to island by means of these charts, 

 but are sometimes not as successful with the white man's sloop, which 

 is coming more and more into use by the natives, especially the chiefs. 



The women are adepts at mat making and often show considerable 

 taste in the border designs, which are worked in black, brown, and 

 yellow, in contrast to the white body color. The material used is 

 prepared pandanus leaves, with another fiber for some of the stitch- 

 ing, and the dyestuffs are of native production. These mats are worn 

 as clothing, the women using two, held at the waist by a girdle to 

 form a sort of skirt, and the men wearing one as a breechcloth. The 

 men also, with ludicrous effect, occasionally wear a pair of garments 

 made of strips of pandanus leaves, one being thrust beneath the girdle 

 in front and the other behind, so that they hang over like a pair of 

 horsetails, reaching to about the knees. 



At Jaluit and some other islands the natives, especially the chiefs 

 and their families, dress in clothing fashioned after that of the whites, 

 and at one island the men wear calico petticoats in lieu of trousers. 



The Marshall islanders appear to be slightly larger in stature than 

 the Gilbert islanders and with somewhat heavier frames. Their color 

 is also darker, although in this respect our observations do not agree 

 with some of the published statements concerning them. They are 

 less hospitable than the Fijians and Maoris, but everywhere exhibited 

 a friendly disposition. There is much sickness among the islands, 

 usually of a type introduced by the whites, and the German Govern- 

 ment has established a hospital at Jaluit, where the natives receive 

 excellent treatment. 



During both visits of the Albatross to Jaluit, which is the seat of 

 the German government of the Marshall Islands and the headquarters 

 of the several trading companies, the members of the expedition met 

 with the kindest and most hospitable treatment from the Herr Landes- 

 hauptmann, his officers, and the white residents. 



