oct. 1769 NATIVE CUSTOMS IQI 
received us; no one showed the least signs of fear. The 
women were plain, and made themselves more so by paint- 
ing their faces with red ochre and oil, which was generally 
fresh and wet upon their cheeks and foreheads, easily trans- 
ferable to the noses of any one who should attempt to kiss 
them, not that they seemed to have any objection to such 
familiarities, as the noses of several of our people evidently 
showed. But they were as coquettish as any Europeans 
could be, and the young ones as skittish as unbroken fillies. 
One part of their dress I cannot omit to mention: besides 
their cloth, each one wore round the waist a string made of 
the leaves of a highly-perfumed grass,’ to which was fastened 
a small bunch of the leaves of some fragrant plant. Though 
the men did not so frequently paint their faces, yet they 
often did so; one especially I observed, whose whole body 
and garments were rubbed over with dry ochre; of this he 
constantly kept a piece in his hand, and generally rubbed it 
on some part or other. 
In the evening, all the boats being employed in carrying 
on board water, we were likely to be left ashore till after dark. 
We did not like to lose so much of our time for sorting our 
specimens and putting them in order, so we applied to our 
friends the Indians for a passage in one of their canoes. 
They readily launched one for us; but we, in number eight, 
not being used to so ticklish a conveyance, overset her in 
the surf, and were very well soused. Four of us were 
obliged to remain, and Dr. Solander, Tupia, Tayeto and 
myself embarked again, and came without accident to the 
ship, well pleased with the behaviour of our Indian friends, 
who would a second time undertake to carry off such clumsy 
fellows. 
24th. Dr. Solander and I went ashore botanising, and 
found many new plants. The people behaved perfectly 
well, not mixing with or at all interrupting our people in 
what they were about, but on the contrary selling them 
whatever they had for Otahite cloth and glass bottles, of 
which they were uncommonly fond. 
1 Hierochloe redolens, Br. 
