hostilities. What they were prior to the first visits of foreigners, we have not the means of correctly ascertaining, but since that time, the only period during which correct dates can be affixed to events in their history, the short and simple annals of Tahiti are principally filled with notices of destructive wars; and the effects of desolation still visible, prove that they have not been less frequent in the other islands. The occasions of hostility were also at times remarkably trivial, though not so their consequences. The removal of a boundary mark; the pulling down of the king's flag; the refusing to acknowledge the king's son as their future sovereign; speaking disrespectfully of the gods, the king, or the chiefs; the slightest insult to the king, chiefs, or any in alliance or friendship with them; with a variety of other more insignificant causes-were sufficient to justify an appeal to arms, or an invasion of the offender's territory with fire and spear. Although there were no standing armies or regular troops in the South Sea Islands, nor any class of men exclusively trained and kept for military purposes, war was followed as a profession as much as any other, and considered by many as one to which every other should be rendered subservient. Provision for war was attended to when every other consideration was disregarded. In the perpetration of the unnatural crime of infanticide, boys were more frequently spared than female children, solely with a view to their becoming warriors. In all our schools, we were surprised at the disproportion between the boys and the girls that attended, and at the small number of women in the adult population; and on inquiring the cause, were invariably told that more girls than boys were destroyed, because they would, if spared, be comparatively useless in war. War therefore, being esteemed by the majority as the most important end of life, every kind of training for battle was held in the highest repute. In times of war, all capable of bearing arms, were called upon to join the forces of the chieftain to whom they belonged, and the farmers, who held their land partly by feudal tenure, were obliged to render military service whenever their landlord required it. There were, besides these, a number of men celebrated for their valour, strength, or address in war, who were called aito, fighting-men or warriors. This title was the result of achievements in battle; it was highly respected, and proportionably sought by the courageous and ambitious. It was not, like the chieftainship and other prevailing distinctions, confined to any class, but open to all; and many from the lower ranks have risen, as warriors, to a high station in the community. Originally their weapons were simple, and formed of wood; they consisted of the spear, which the natives called patia or tao, made with the wood of the cocoa-nut tree, or of the aito, iron-wood, or casuarina. It was twelve or eighteen feet long, and about an inch or an inch and a half in diameter at the middle or the lower end, but tapering off to a point at the other. The spears of the inhabitants of Rurutu, and other of the Austral Islands, are remarkable for their great length, and elegant shape, as well as for the high polish with which they are finished. The omore, or club, was another weapon used by them; it was always made of the aito, or iron-wood, and was principally of two kinds, either short and heavy like a bludgeon, for the purpose of close combat, or long, and furnished with a broad lozenge-shaped blade. The Tahitians did not often carve or ornament their weapons, but by the inhabitants of the Southern Islands they were frequently very neatly, though partially, carved. The inhabitants of the Marquesas carve their spears, and ornament them with human hair;* and the natives of the Harvey Islands, with the Friendly and Figiian islanders, construct their weapons with taste, and carve them with remarkable ingenuity. The pacho was a terrific sort of weapon, although it was principally used at the heva, or seasons of mourning. It resembled, in some degree, a club; but having the inner side armed with large shark's teeth, it was more frequently drawn across the body, where it acted like a saw, than used for striking a blow. Another weapon of the same kind resembled a short sword, but, instead of one blade it had three, four, or five. It was usually made of a forked aito branch; the central and exterior branches, after having been pointed and polished, were armed along the outside with a thick line of sharks' teeth, very firmly fixed in the wood. This was only used in close combat, and, when applied to the naked bodies of the combatants, must have been a terrific weapon. The bowels or lower parts of the body were attacked with it, not as a dagger is used, but drawn across like a saw. They do not use the patia, or dagger, of the Sandwich Islands, but substitute an equally fatal weapon, the aero fai, or back-bone of the stinging ray, which being ser * This practice corresponds with that of the Malayans, among whom Dr. Buchanan saw a chief, the top of whose spear was ornamented with a tuft of hair, which he had taken from a vanquished foe, as he lay dying or dead at his feet. rated on the edges, and barbed towards the point, is very destructive in a dexterous hand. Some of the natives of the Palliser Islands used the ihi, javelin or short spear, while fighting at a distance. The dress and ornaments of the warriors of Tahiti, and the adjacent islands, were singular, and unlike those of savage nations, being often remarkably cumbersome. Their helmets, though less elegant and imposing than the fine Grecian- formed helmet of the Hawaiians, were adapted to produce considerable effect. Some of the Tahitians wore only a fillet or bandage round the temples, but many had a quantity of cloth bound round in the form of a high turban, which not only tended to increase their apparent stature, but broke the force of a blow from a club, or a thrust from a spear. The most elegant head-dresses, however, were those worn by the inhabitants of the Austral Islands, Tubuai, Rurutu, &c. Their helmets were considerably diversified in form, some resembling a tight round cap, fitted closely to the head, with a light plume waving on the summit. Those used by the natives of Tubuai, and High Island, resembled an officer's cocked hat, worn with the ends projecting over each shoulder, the front beautifully ornamented with the green and red wing and tail feathers of a species of paroquet. The Rurutuan helmet* is graceful in appearance, and useful in the protection it affords to the head of the wearer. It was a cap fitted to the head, and reaching to the ears, made with thick stiff native cloth, or a cane frame-work. The lower part of the front is ornamented with bunches of beautiful red and green * A Rurutuan helmet, a number of spears, a paeho, and many of the implements of war here described, have been deposited in the Missionary Museum, Austin Friars, London. feathers, tastefully arranged, and above these a line of the long slender tail-feathers of the tropic, or man-ofwar bird, is fixed on a wicker frame; the hinder part of the cap is covered with long flowing human hair, of a light brown or tawny colour, said to be human beard; this is fastened to a slight net-work attached to the crown of the helmet, and, being detached from any other part, often floats wildly in the wind, and increases the agitated appearance of the wearer On each side, immediately above the ears, numerous : pieces of mother-of-pearl, and other shells, are fastened, not as plates, or scales, but depending in a bunch, and attached to the helmet by a small strong cord, similar to those passing under the chin, by which the helmet is fastened to the head. These shells, when shaken by the movements of the wearer's head, produce a rattling noise, which heightens the din of savage warfare. The Rurutuan helmet, though more complete and ușeful, was far less imposing than the fau worn by the Georgian and Society Islanders. This was also a cap fitted closely to the head, surrounded by a cylindrical structure of cane-work, ornamented with the dark glossy feathers of aquatic birds. The hollow crown frequently towered two or three feet above the head, and, being curved at the top, appeared to nod or bend with every movement of the wearer. This was a head-dress in high esteem, and worn only by distinguished men, who were generally sought out by the warriors in the opposing army. To subdue or kill a man who wore a fau, was one of the greatest feats. I have been often told, by a gigantic man who resided some time in my house, and was one of the warriors of Eimeo, that when the army of the enemy has come in |