604

CAPTAIN COOK’S SECOND VOYAGE.

In general, the people of this ifle are a (lender race. They did not fee a man thatwould meafure fix feet; fo far are they from being giants, as one of the authors ofRoggewein’s voyage afferts. They are briik and a&ive, have good features, and notdifagreeable countenances, are friendly and hofpitable to ftrangers, but as muchaddi&ed to pilfering as any of their neighbours.

The women’s clothing is a piece or two of quilted cloth about fix feet by four, ora mat. One piece wrapped round their loins, another over their ihoulders, make acomplete drefs. But the men, for the mod part, are in a manner naked, wearingnothing but a flip of cloth betwixt their legs, each end of which is fattened to a cordor belt they wear round the waift. The Otaheitean cloth, or indeed any fort, wasmuch valued by them.

As harmlefs and friendly as thefe people feem to be, they are not without offenfiveweapons, fuch as fhort wooden clubs and fpears.

Their houfes are low miferable huts, conftru&ed by fetting flicks upright in theground, at fix or eight feet diftance, then bending them towards each other, and tyingthem together at the top, forming thereby a kind of Gothic arch. The longefl flicksare placed in the middle, and Ihorter ones each way, and at Iefs diftance afunder;by which means the building is higheft and broadeft in the middle, and lower and nar-rower towards each end. To thefe are tied others horizontally, and the whole isthatched over with leaves of fugar-cane. The door-way is in the middle of one fide,formed like a porch, and fo low and narrow, as juft to admit a man to enter upon allfours.

The gigantic ftatues are not, in Captain Cook ’s opinion, looked upon as idols by theprefent inhabitants, whatever they might have been in the days of the Dutch ; at leaft,he faw nothing that could induce him to think fo. On the contrary, he rather flip"pofes that they are buryiijg-places for certain tribes or families.

The workmanfliip is rude, but not bad ; nor are the features of the face ill formed*the nofe and chin in particular ; but the ears are long beyond proportion ; and as tothe bodies, there is hardly any thing like a human figure about them.

The working-tools of thefe people are but very mean, and like thofe of all the otheriflanders they had vifited in this ocean, made of ftone, bone, (hells, See.

After leaving Eafter Ifland, they fleered north-weft-by-north and north-north-weft*with a fine eafterly gale.

Having now a fteady fettled trade-wind, and pleafant weather, the forge was orderedto be fet up, to repair and make various neceffary articles in the iron way; and thecaulkers had already been fome time at work, caulking the decks, weather-works, &c.

On the 7th of April they faw an ifle, which, as it was a new difcovery, they namedHood’s Ifland, after the young gentleman who firft faw it; the fecond was that mSt. Pedro; the third, La Dominica ; and the fourth, St. Chriftina. They ranged thefouth-eaft coaft of La Dominica, without feeing the leaft figns of anchorage. Somecanoes'put off from thefe places, and followed them down the coaft.

At length having come before the port they were in fearch of, they anchored mthirty-four fathoms water, and a fine fandy bottom. This was no fooner done, thanabout thirty or forty of the natives came off in ten or twelve canoes; but it requiredfome addrefs to get them alongfide. At laft, a hatchet and fome fpike-nails inducedthe people in one canoe to come under the quarter-gallery ; after which all the othersput alongfide, and having exchanged fome bread-fruit and fi(h for fmall nails, & c *retired on fhore, the fun being already fet. They obferved a heap of ftones on tnebow of each canoe, and every man to have a fling tied round his hand*