MANUFACTURE OF BOWS. 1?0 



made to fit over the head, which was used they 

 told me, in their dances. It was very fairly put toge- 

 ther, with hair, beard and whiskers fastened on, 

 projecting ears, and pieces of mother-of-pearl, with a 

 black patch in the centre for the eyes.* A great 

 number of bows and arrows having been bought, they 

 were now busv in making* new bows, but I did not see 

 any new arrows, nor did we ever find on the island 

 the reeds of which they are made. The bows are 

 made of the upper part of a stout bamboo, partly 

 split in half, flattened and bent over the fire. The 

 string is a broad strip of the tough outer rind of a 

 bamboo, and the fastenings are very ingeniously 

 and firmly made. The bows are large, and very 

 powerful, some being more than seven feet long, 

 and in the centre more than three inches wide, 

 and an inch thick. They shoot their light long 

 arrows to great distances, but not, I think, with very 

 accurate aim. Their arrows vary from three to five 

 feet in length, the common ones being pointed only 

 with hard wood, variously jagged and barbed. The 

 war arrows, however, are much larger and heavier, 

 the hard wood part being very thick and square, and 

 elaborately carved, with a sharp bone point and 

 barb made and fitted like the spears of Australia. 

 The shaft is always a light cane or reed, without 

 feathers. In using the bow the men always wear 

 on the left arm a stout armlet or gauntlet, reaching 



* This and all the other native implements and curiosities I 

 collected, are now in the British Museum. 

 N 2 



