THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN. 315 



prettily shaded, where some twenty-five women were beating 

 out tapa. This substance forms the principal clothing, of 

 the natives. It is of the consistence of a thick, soft paper, 

 and is made of the inner bark of the paper-mulberry-tree. 

 The borders are prettily ornamented with simple figures, 

 printed in colors, red and black predominating. All the 

 women engaged in this work were young, and some of them 

 were good-looking. Gentleness and good humor are the 

 pi-evailing expressions of all the women of the island. They 

 welcomed the advent of the three white men with smiles, 

 and what we took for compliments. One invited me to seat 

 myself beside her, and without hesitancy I squatted on the 

 ground and watched with interest the curious process of 

 spreading the closely interlaced fibres of the bark into thin 

 sheets of a uniform thickness, about eight to ten inches 

 square. After this had been done, the edges wei'e united 

 by whittling and beating with a light wooden tool with a 

 notched face, and the small pieces were felted together, un- 

 til sheets of twelve feet square were made. The broad sheet 

 is folded very prettily about the body, and is sufficient pro- 

 tection for this climate. The pleasant - eyed "nut-brown 

 maid" explained as best she could the processes going on, 

 and I gravely nodded approval. 



She then placed her hand on the head of her white com- 

 panion, and took delight in running her taper fingers through 

 the long curling locks which I took special pride in cultiva- 

 ting. But as she lifted and arranged the curls she murmur- 

 ed, "Miti, miti" — good, very good — and gently drew my 

 head into her lap, thrusting her fingers deep down about the 

 roots. It gradually occurred to me that this beauty was on 

 a hunt for very objectionable ideas which she would not be 

 likely to find, and she pushed the empty head from her lap, 

 now exclaiming " Oury miU " — no good. I was quite ready 

 to tear myself away after this, and start on my fishing trip. 



We were now on the north side of the bay, near the spot 



