194 
A VOYAGE TO 
1777. worthy of our notice, was the number of people; which muft 
A ^ nl ’_, have been, at leaft, two thoufand. For thofe who welcomed 
us on the fhore, bore no proportion to the multitude we 
found amongft the trees, on proceeding a little way up. 
We could alfo obferve, that, except a few, thofe we had 
hitherto feen on hoard, were of the lower clafs. For a great 
number of thofe we now met with, had a fuperior dignity 
in their air, and were of a much whiter caft. In general, 
they had the hair tied on the crown of the head, long, 
black, and of a moft luxuriant growth. Many of the 
young men were perfect models in drape, of a complexion 
as delicate as that of the women, and, to appearance, of a 
diipofition as amiable. Others, who were more advanced 
in years, were corpulent; and all had a remarkable fmooth- 
nefs of the fkin. Their general drefs was a piece of cloth, 
or mat, wrapped about the waift, and covering the parts 
which modefty conceals. But fome had pieces of mats, 
moft curioully varied with black and white, made into a fort 
of jacket without lleeves; and others rvore conical caps of 
cocoa-nut core, neatly interwoven with fmall heads, made 
of a fhelly fbbftance. Their ears were pierced; and in them 
they hung bits of the membraneous part of fome plant, or 
ftuck there an odoriferous Hoover, which feemed to be a 
fpecies of gardenia. Some, who were of a fuperior clafs, and 
alfo the Chiefs, had two little balls, with a common bafe, 
made from the bone of fome animal, which was hung 
round the neck, v r ith a great many folds of fmall cord. 
And after the ceremony of introduction to the Chiefs was 
over, they then appeared without their red feathers ; which 
are certainly confidered here as a particular mark of dif- 
finCtion; for none but themfelves, and the young women 
who danced, alfumed them. 
1 
Some 
