158 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
The rowers appeared to labour hard. Their 
paddles, being made of the tough wood of the 
hibiscus, were not heavy; yet, having no pins in 
the sides of the canoe, against which the handles 
of the paddles could bear, but leaning the v/hole 
body over the canoe, first on one side, and then 
on the other, and working the paddle with one 
hand near the blade, and the other at the upper 
end of the handle, and shovelling as it were the 
water, appeared a great waste of strength. They 
often, however, paddle for a time with remarkable 
swiftness, keeping time with the greatest regula¬ 
rity. The steersman stands or sits in the stern, 
with a large paddle; the rowers sit in each canoe 
two or three feet apart; the leader sits next; the 
steersman gives the signal to start, by striking his 
paddle violently against the side of the canoe ; 
every paddle is then put in and taken out of the 
water with every stroke at the same moment; and 
after they have thus continued on one side for five 
or six minutes, the leader strikes his paddle, and 
the rowers instantly and simultaneously turn to the 
other side, and thus alternately working on each 
side of the canoe, they advance at a considerable 
rate. There is generally a good deal of striking 
the paddle when a chief leaves or approaches the 
shore, and the effect resembles that of the smack¬ 
ing of the whip, or sounding of the horn, at the 
starting or arrival of a coach. 
They have also a remarkably neat double canoe, 
called Maihi, or twins, each of which is made out 
of a single tree, and are both exactly alike. The 
stem and stern are usually sharp ; although, occa¬ 
sionally, there is a small board projecting from 
each stem. These are light, safe, and swift, easily 
managed, and seldom used but by the chiefs. The 
