116 OTAHITE TO OHETEROA CHAP. VI 
describe everything of this kind from the commonest size). 
The next stage, under bb, is formed of straight planks about 
4 feet long, 15 inches broad, and 2 inches thick. The 
third stage, under cc, is made, like the bottom, of trunks 
of trees hollowed out into its bilging form. The last stage, 
above ec, is formed also out of the trunks of trees, so that 
the moulding is of one piece with the plank. This work, 
difficult as it would be to an European with his iron tools, 
they perform without iron and with amazing dexterity. 
They hollow out with their stone axes as fast, at least, as 
our carpenters could do, and dubb, though slowly, with pro- 
digious nicety. I have seen them take off the skin of an 
angular plank without missing a stroke, the skin itself scarce 
one-sixteenth part of an inch in thickness. Boring the holes 
through which their sewing is to pass seems to be their 
greatest difficulty. Their tools are made of the bones of men, 
generally the thin bone of the upper arm; these they grind 
very sharp and fix to a handle of wood, making the instru- 
ment serve the purpose of a gouge, by striking it with a 
mallet made of hard black wood. With them they would 
do as much work as with iron, were it not that the brittle 
edge of the tool is very liable to be broken. When they 
have prepared their planks, etc., the keel is laid on blocks 
and the whole canoe put together much in the same manner 
as we do a ship, the sides being supported by stanchions and 
all the seams wedged together before the last sewing is put 
on, so that they become tolerably tight, considering that they 
are without caulking. 
With these boats they venture themselves out of sight 
of land: we saw several of them at Otahite which had come 
from Ulhietea; and Tupia has told us that they undertake 
voyages of twenty days; whether this is true or false I do 
not affirm. They keep the boats very carefully under such 
boat-houses as are described on p. 111. 
22nd. We saw a double pahie such as that described 
yesterday, but much longer. She had upon her an awning 
supported by pillars, which held the floor at least four feet 
above the deck or upper surface of the boats. We saw 
