FEEJEE GROUP, 347 
sometimes two men to be constantly baling out the water. Notwith- 
standing all this, they make very long voyages,—to Tonga, Rotuma, 
and the Samoan Islands. The canoes are generally built of the vas 
wood. 
The planks are brought into and kept in shape by small ribs, almost 
exactly as in our mode of boat-building. 
The following are the dimensions of a double canoe of the most 
common size: 
Length of the larger canoe, . . . 0 70 feet. 
Length of the smaller canoe, 6 . ° “ 4 55 
Distance of the canoes apart, a . . ‘ 7 7 
Length of the platform, . o . ° . 30 
Breadth of the platform, . : . 5 5 4 15 
Length of the cuddy, . 0 . . . 5 15 
Breadth of the cuddy, ; : : . . 0 6 
Height above water, 9 0 : . 0 0 10 
Draught of water, . c . . . . 2to3 
Length of yards, . . : : - 15, 35, and 60 
Length of mast, . : . . 0 : é 35 
Such a canoe will carry conveniently forty or fifty men. 
When a chief requires a house or a canoe to be built, he applies to 
the head carpenter, whose title is rokola, and whose office is here- 
ditary. He is a person of great consequence, and the workmen con- 
stitute a caste, in which the trade is hereditary also. The chief gives 
the rokola a whale’s tooth as a fee, and pays him for the work, not 
even feeding the workmen, who are paid by the rokola, and provide 
themselves with food. With great exertion, a canoe may be built in 
three or four months, but it usually takes as many years. 
The principal tool of the carpenters is an adze, which, since the 
introduction of foreign tools, they make by lashing a plane-iron to a 
crooked handle, with sennit. ‘They also now use the chisel and knife. 
For boring holes, they use the long spines of the echina, bones, and, of 
late, nails. Carving is performed by the teeth of small animals (rats 
and mice) set in hard wood, much as diamonds are set for glaziers’ 
purposes. ‘Their patience, industry, and perseverance in their occupa- 
tion are great, and the workmanship excellent, when the imperfection 
of their tools is considered. They are aware of the superior qualities 
of our tools, and anxious to possess them. That which they prize 
most is the American hatchet, which comes nearer in shape to their 
own instrument than any other. Their knives are made of the outside 
of a piece of bamboo, which is cut down for the purpose and put into 
the proper form while green. After it has dried for a time it is charred, 
which makes it very hard and sharp. It may be fitted for surgical 
