PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
16 
considered by them criminal; but on the contrary, attaches to them 
respect and consideration. Whether the two females, of which I 
am now speaking, would have carried their complaisance so far, 
I had not an opportunity at that time of knowing, but circumstan¬ 
ces afterwards, which gave me a further knowledge of the females 
of the Group, gave me no reason to doubt a willingness on their 
part to gratify every wish: but if there was any crime, the offence 
was ours, not theirs: they acted in compliance with the customs 
of their ancestors; we departed from those principles of virtue 
and morality which are so highly esteemed in civilization. For 
the honour of every person under my command, from whom a 
correct deportment might be expected, I feel happy in the as¬ 
surance that none indulged in that indiscriminate intercourse, 
every facility to which was offered them; each confined himself to 
one object, and she of the best family and rank- This was as much 
perhaps, as the most zealous celibiate would have required from 
men all healthy, youthful and amorous, who had scarcely seen a 
female for more than a year. But I am anticipating events; I am 
apologizing before there seems cause for apology. I shall resume 
the thread of my narrative, and let every one judge for himself. 
The canoes of these people are not so perfect in their construc¬ 
tion as I had expected to find; yet they have much labour and no 
doubt time expended in their formation, considering the tools with 
which they were for the most part constructed. Iron they know 
the use of; but from their desire to possess a few pieces of old 
iron hoop, its scarcity was evident. It is therefore highly probable 
that they were formed with tools made of stones or of such as could 
be made with the scraps of iron which it is possible they may have 
received from transient visitors: for as it does not appear that they 
are furnished with any articles of trade it is not likely that tools 
of more value have been furnished them. These vessels are 
generally about forty feet in length, thirteen inches wide, and eigh¬ 
teen inches deep: they are formed of many pieces of the bread¬ 
fruit tree cut into the form of planks and sewed together by a sin- 
net made of the fibres of the outside shell of the cocoa-nut, and the 
seams are covered inside and out with strips of bamboo sewed to 
the edge of each plank to keep in a stuffing of oakum made of the 
same material as the sinnet, which does not prevent them, from 
