354 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
generally fastened round the wrist by a braided 
cord of native flax. The patupatu was sometimes 
placed in the girdle, in the same manner as a 
Malay would wear his knife or dagger, or a Turk 
his pistol. The men were generally tall and well- 
formed, altogether such as it might be expect¬ 
ed the warriors of a savage nation would be. 
Several of these fighting-men were not less than 
six feet high; their limbs were muscular and 
firm, and their bodies stout, but not corpulent. 
The dress of the chiefs and warriors consisted, in 
general, of a girdle round the loins, and a short 
cloak or mantle, worn over the shoulders, and tied 
with cords of braided flax in front. The rank of 
the chief appeared to be sometimes indicated by 
the number of his cloaks fastened one upon the 
other; that which was smallest, but generally 
most valuable, being worn on the outside: the 
whole resembled in this respect the capes of a 
travelling-coat. 
Their physiognomy, indicating any thing but 
weakness or cowardice, often exhibited great de¬ 
termination. They wore no helmet, or other 
covering for the head. Their black and shining 
hair sometimes hung in ringlets on their shoulders, 
but was frequently tied up on the crown of their 
heads, and usually ornamented by a tuft of waving 
feathers. Their dark eyes, though not large, were 
often fierce and penetrating; their prominent fea¬ 
tures in general well-formed; but their whole 
countenance was much disfigured by the practice 
of tatauing. Each chief had thus imprinted on 
his face, the marks and involutions peculiar to his 
family or tribe; while the figures tataued on the 
faces of his dependants or retainers, though fewer 
in number, were the same in form as those by 
