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me a fuitable prelent, and you mull then come and deep with us on flhore, for day-lightmuft by no means be a witnefs of what paffes between you.”
Thefe Indians anoint their hair with oil melted from the fat of fifh or birds. Bothfexes, but the men more than the women, mark their bodies with black drains, calledamoco. Exclufive of the amoco, they mark themfelves with furrows. Thefe furrowsmake a hideous appearance, the edges being indented, and the whole quite black. Thepaintings on their bodies refemble fillagree work, and the foliage in old chafed orna-ments; but no two are painted exactly after the fame model. The people of NewZealand frequently left the breech free from thefe marks, which the inhabitants ofOtaheite adorned beyond any other.
Their drefs is formed of the leaves of the flag fplit into flips, which are interwoven,and made into a kind of matting, the ends, which are feven or eight inches in length,hanging out on the upper fide. One piece of this matting being tied over the fhouldersreaches to the knees; the other piece being wrapped round the waift, falls almoft tothe ground.
The women never tie their hair on the top of their head, nor adorn it with feathers;and are lefs anxious about drefs than the men. Their lower garment is bound tightround them, except when they go a fifhing, and then they are careful that the menfhall not fee them.
The ears of both fexes are bored, and the holes ftretched fo as to admit a man’sfinger. The ornaments of their ears are feathers, cloth, bones, and fometimes bits ofwood. They likewife hung to their ears, by firings, chiffels, bodkins, the teeth ofdogs, and the teeth and nails of their deceafed friends. The men wear a piece of greentalc, or whalebone, with the refemblance of a man carved on it, hanging to a firinground the neck. They faw one man who had the griftle of his nofe perforated, anda feather being paffed through it, proje&ed over each cheek.
Thefe people fhew lefs ingenuity in the ftrufture of their houfes, than in any thingelfe belonging to them ; they are from fixteen to twenty-four feet long, ten or twelvewide, and fix or eight in height. The frame is of flight fticks of wood, and the wallsand roof are made of dry grafs pretty firmly compared. Some of them are linedwith the bark of trees, and the ridge of the houfe is formed by a pole, which runsfrom one end to the other. The door is only high enough to admit a perfon crawlingon hands and knees, and the roof is Hoping. There is a fquare hole near the door,ferving both for window and chimney, near which is the fire-place.
Some who can afford it, and whofe families are large, have three or four houlesinclofed within a court-yard. Their clothes, arms, feathers, fome ill made tools, ana cheft, in which all thefe are depofited, form all the furniture of the infide ofhoufe. Their hammers to beat fern-root, gourds to hold water, and balkets to containprovifions, are placed without the houfe.
The canoes of this country are not unlike the whale-boats of New England , beinglong and narrow. The larger fort feetn to be built for war, and will hold from thirtyto one hundred men. One of thefe, at Tolaga, meafured near feventy feet in length, n xin width, and four in depth. It was fliarp at the bottom, and confided of three lengthyabout two or three inches thick, and tied firmly together with ftrong plaiting; f aC ,fide was formed of one entire plank, about twelve inches broad, and about an incand a half thick, which were fitted to the bottom part with equal ftrength and mgf'nuity. Several thwarts were laid from one fide to the other, to which they were 1curely faftened, in order to ftrengthen the whole. ’ . h
Thefe veffels are rowed with a kind of paddles, between five and fix feet in