CHANGES AND STRANGE SCENES 
be entirely covered in with mats to afford a shelter 
in stormy weather or inrain. The roofs as well as the 
sides are formed of mats. Wooden masts are now 
stepped amidships and held in place with stout stays 
of fibre, and then the lakatoz is ready to receive its 
sails. These resemble vast kites, and were formerly 
made of native matting stretched upon an _ outer 
frame of bamboo, but are now made of calico. It is 
difficult to describe their form, and they can best 
be understood by a study of the accompanying 
illustration. 
Why the strange segment should be cut out of 
the upper part, leaving two great wings, I have never 
been able to discover. The sails of the lakatoz are of 
themselves—things apart. Being stretched on a frame 
they cannot bulge, but swing like boards. Their 
points rest on the deck and work freely in a socket. 
The sails are hung lightly to the masts by braces, 
and there is no clewing up. In spite of their 
comparative rigidity they are quite manageable, and 
in case of sudden squalls can easily be let go. 
The Jakatoc is now ready for use—perhaps the most 
remarkable-looking craft that ever went to sea— 
and has only to be tested. From the rigging and 
the sails float long streamers of Papuan grass deco- 
rations, and the fleet of eight or ten lakatois now 
lying off Hanuabada affords, as the sun strikes the 
brown sails, a really charming spectacle. 
Before they proceed to sea the careful people 
institute a trial trip, and celebrate a regatta with 
several days of extraordinary festivity. The fleet is 
sometimes augmented by some lakatows from other 
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