68 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
hensions of evil spirits^ which were supposed to wander 
about at night, and grasp or strangle those who were 
objects of their displeasure, and whom they might find 
alone. Great numbers passing the night under the 
same roof, removed this fear, and inspired a confidence of 
security from the attacks their idolatrous absurdities led 
them to expect. 
The evils necessarily resulting from these habits were 
too palpable to allow us to delay attempting at least 
an alteration. We recommended each family to 
build distinct and comfortable cottages for themselves, 
and the chiefs to partition bed-rooms in their present 
dwellings, in which they must reside while building 
others^ even in these we recommended them to reduce 
the number of their inmates, and to erect distinct sleep¬ 
ing rooms for those they retained. 
We were happy to perceive on their part a willingness 
to follow our advice. The first native improvement was 
made by Mai, the chief of Borabora, residing at that 
time at Fare in Huahine. He directed his servants to 
clear out all the grass from the floor of the house he 
occupied; they then levelled the earth, procured lime, 
and plastered it over nearly an inch thick with mor¬ 
tar ; this hardened, and formed an excellent, solid, dura¬ 
ble, and clean floor. With this material we had made 
the floors of our own temporary dwellings, in which we 
had erected slight partitions of hibiscus poles, covered 
with thick native cloth, to separate the different apart¬ 
ments from each other. In this also we soon per¬ 
ceived the chiefs promptly following our example. At 
the same time we commenced the erection of perma¬ 
nent places of residence for ourselves, and spared no 
pains to induce the people to do the same. Our first 
