PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 
109 
Dec. 
1 82 . 5 . 
excited intense curiosity, and the great desire of these people to possess CHAP, 
themselves of it is not to be wondered at. Had there been a female ^ ’ 
dog on board, they certainly should have had them both ; but one would 
have been of no use, except, probably, to furnish a meal, which is the 
fate of all the rats they can catch. 
One of the rafts that came olf to the ship, a smaller one than any 
of the others, brought a person of superior appearance ; his complexion 
'''as much fairer than that of his countrymen, and his skin beautifully 
tattooed ; his features were of the true Asiatic character : he had long 
black mustaches and hair, and wore a light turban, which gave him 
altogether the appearance of a descendant of Ishmael. It was natural 
to infer that this was a person of some authority ; for as yet we had 
seen no distinction whatever between our visiters, except that some 
Were more unruly than others ; but we found we were mistaken : he 
Riingled indiscriminately with his companions, and was deficient in 
those little points which are inseparable from a person accustomed to 
command. Indeed, by the total disregard they paid to each other, 
3s also to every person in the ship, we might have concluded that our 
visiters were ignorant of any distinctions in society. 
Among the many katamarans that came olf, not one of them 
brought any articles to give or sell, which did not argue much in favour 
of the supplies of the place, or the good will of the islanders. A green 
banana, lying upon one of the rafts, was the only eatable thing among 
them, excepting some boiled tee-root, and bundles of that execrable 
paste, which they had provided for their own breakfast. Almost all our 
visiters were naked, with the exception of a girdle made of a banana 
^caf, cut into strips, which by no means answered our idea of the 
intended purpose. Maros were worn only by the aged, and instead of 
tbem ligatures of straw were applied in the manner described at St. 
Christina and Hukahiwa*. The average height of the islanders was 
five feet nine ; they were, generally speaking, well made, their limbs 
I’ound, without being muscular, and their figure upright and flexible. 
Tattooing was very extensively practised, in which respect, as also in the 
arrangement of the lines, they again reminded us of the Marquesans. 
* Krusenst era’s Embassy to Japan, 4to. 
