BOW DITCH ISLAND. 
17 
effective in wearing aw T ay the soft wood, &c. The construction of 
their drill was ingenious: it was pointed with a hard stone, and the 
mode of using it and producing the circular motion can be more 
readily comprehended by reference to the wood-cut. 
The motion is communicated by a vertical movement of the hand, 
and when practised by a native, is 
exceedingly rapid. Their boxes or 
buckets are of various sizes, from the 
capacity of a gill to that of a gallon; 
they are cut out of the solid wood, and 
the top or lid is fitted in a neat manner. 
These are used to keep their fish-hooks 
and other small articles in, to preserve 
them from the wet. Like the natives 
of Oatafu, they do not appear to culti¬ 
vate any thing, but derive their food 
from the cocoa-nut and pandanus, 
which are the only edible vegetable 
articles that grow on the island ; but 
the far greater portion of their food is 
drawn from the sea. That they have sufficient nutriment, is amply 
proved by their robust and healthy looks. 
The population of this island is supposed to be about six hundred 
souls, most of whom dwell in the town. Those that were seen on 
Oatafu are supposed to belong to this island also; and it will be 
remembered that their canoes were there double ones, while all those 
seen at Bowditch Island were single. Throughout all Polynesia the 
double canoe is used in navigating from island to island. This will 
reconcile the fact that Oatafu, or Duke of York Island, when first 
visited, was found uninhabited, as is particularly mentioned by its 
discoverer. 
After a stay of three hours at their town, Captain Hudson yielded 
to the pressing desire of the natives to get rid of him, and ordered all 
the officers and men to the boats. The natives showed their delight 
at this move, and were very assiduous in assisting their visiters to 
embark. The confusion of embarkation was taken advantage of by 
them, and numerous small articles were stolen, which were not missed 
till afterwards. Many of these thefts were committed in the most 
barefaced manner, and it is believed that they would have gone to 
much greater lengths, if they had not been restrained by their fears. 
Along the coral reef were walls of coral, in the form of piers, eight 
or ten feet high, and from twenty-five to thirty feet long. 
VOL. V. B2 3 
