348 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
Their invention and perseverance at length over¬ 
came the difficulty, and they constructed their 
doors by fastening together three upright boards, 
about six feet long, by means of three narrow 
pieces across, one at each end, the other in the 
middle. These latter were fastened to the long 
boards by strong wooden pegs. What the pegs 
wanted in strength, they determined to supply by 
numbers, and I think I have seen upwards of fifty 
or sixty hard pegs driven through one of these 
cross-pieces into the boards forming the door. In 
order to prevent their dropping out when the wood 
shrunk by the heat, they drove small wedges into 
the ends of the pegs, which frequently kept them 
secure. In the same manner they fastened most 
of their floors to the sleepers underneath, using, 
however, large pegs resembling the treenails in 
a ship’s plank, more than the nails in a house- 
floor. 
When the door was made, it was necessary to 
hang it; but only a few of the chiefs were, 
for many years, able to procure iron hinges. 
Some substituted tough pieces of fish-skin, pieces 
of the skin of other animals, or leather procured 
from the ships; but these soon broke, and many 
of the natives set to work to make wooden hinges. 
They were generally large, and, when attached to 
a light thin door, looked remarkably clumsy : but 
they were made with great industry and care, and 
the joints very neatly fitted. A man would some¬ 
times be a fortnight in making a single pair of 
hinges. After all, they were easily broken, and 
made a most unpleasant noise every time the door 
was opened or shut. 
In our walks through the native settlements, we 
were often amused at the state in which we found 
