A VOYAGE TO 
208 
1778. ikins, though moift, had neither a tafte nor fmell that 
^Tanuary^ g[ yQ room to fufpe<ft the ufe of antijmtrefcent fub- 
ftances 
Thurfday 22. In the night, and all the morning, on the 22 d, it rained 
almoli continually. The wind was at South Eaft, South 
South Eaft, and South; which brought in a flrort, chopping 
fea; and as there were breakers little more than two cables 
length from the ftern of our ftiip, her fttuation was none of 
the fafeft. The furf broke fo high againft the fliore, that 
we could not land in our boats; but the day was not wholly 
loft; for the natives ventured in their canoes, to bring off to 
the ftiips hogs and roots, which they bartered as before. 
One of our vifiters, on this occafton, who offered fome fhli- 
hooks to fale, was obferved to have a very fmall parcel, tied 
* It is matter of real curiofity to obferve, how very extenfively the predilection for red 
feathers is fpread throughout all the iflands of the Pacific Ocean: and the additional cir- 
cumftance, mentioned in this paragraph, will, probably, be looked upon, by thofe who 
amufe themfelves in tracing the wonderful migrations of the fame family, or tribe, as a con¬ 
firmation of that hypothefis (built indeed on other inftances of refemblance), which con- 
fiders New Guinea, and its neighbouring Eaft India iflands, from whence the Dutch bring 
their birds of paradife, as originally peopled by the fame race, which Captain Cook found 
at every ifland from New Zealand to this new group, to which Atooi belongs. 
What Mr. Sonnerat tells us, about the bird of paradife, agrees perfectly with the ac¬ 
count here given of the preferved red-birds. Speaking of the Papous , he proceeds thus : 
K Ils nous prefenterent plufieurs efpeces d’oifeaux, aufil elegants par leur forme, que 
“ brillants par 1’eclat de leur couleurs. La depouille des oifeaux fert a la parure des 
<c Chefs, qui la portent attachee a leurs bonnets en forme d’aigrettes. Mats en preparant 
u lespeaux , ils coupent les pieds. Les Hollandois, qui trafiquent fur ces cotes, y achetent 
“ de ces peaux ainfi preparees, les tranfportent en Perfe, a Surate, dans les Indes, ou ils 
u les vendent fort chere aux habitans riches, qui en font des aigrettes pour leurs turbans, 
w et pour le cafque des guerriers, et qui en parent leur chevaux. C’eft de la qu’eft ve- 
a nue. Popinion, qu’une de ces efpeces d’oifeaux (l’oifeau de paradis) n'a point de pattes, 
u Les Hollandois ont accredite ces fables, qui, en jetant du merveilleux fur 1’objet dont 
ils traffiquoient, etoient propres a le rendre plus precieux, et a en rechauflerla valeur.” 
Voyage a la Nouvelle Gurnee, p. 154. 
to 
