cord, made with the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk. On the front end of the keel, a solid piece, cut out of the trunk of a tree, so contrived as to constitute the forepart of the canoe; was fixed with the same lashing; and on the upper part of it, a thick board or plank projected horizontally, in a line parallel with the surface of the water. This front piece, usually five or six feet long, and twelve or eighteen inches wide, was called the ihu vaa, nose of the canoe, and without any joining, comprised the stem, bows, and bowsprit of the vessel.

The sides of the canoe were composed of two lines of short plank, an inch and a half or two inches thick. The lowest line was convex on the outside, and nine or twelve inches broad; the upper one straight. The stern was considerably elevated, the keel was inclined upwards, and the lower part of the stern was pointed, while the upper part was flat, and nine or ten feet above the level of the sides. The whole was fastened together with cinet, not continued along the seams, but by two, or, at most, three holes made in each board, within an inch of each other, and corresponding holes made in the opposite piece, and the lacing passed through from one to the other. A space of nine inches or a foot was left, and then a similar set of holes made. The joints or seams were not grooved together, but the edge of one simply laid on that of the other, and fitted wich remarkable exactness by the adze of the workman, guided only by his eye: they never used line or rule. The edges of their planks were usually covered with a kind of pitch or gum from the bread-fruit tree, and a thin layer of cocoa-nut husk spread between them. The husk of the cocoa-nut swelling when in contact with water,

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fills any apertures that may exist, and, considering the manner in which they are put together, the canoes are often remarkably dry. The two canoes

were fastened together by strong curved pieces of wood, placed horizontally across the upper edges of the canoes, to which they were fixed by strong lashings of thick coiar cordage.

The

space between the two bowsprits, or broad planks projecting from the front of our canoe, was covered with boards, and furnished a platform of considerable extent; over this a kind of temporary awning of platted cocoa-nut leaves was spread, and under it the passengers sat during the voyage. The upper part of each of the canoes was not above twelve or fifteen inches wide; little projections were formed on the inner part of the sides, on which small moveable thwarts or seats were fixed, whereon the men sat who wrought with the paddle, while the luggage was placed in the bottom, piled up against the stern, or laid on the elevated stage between the two canoes. The heat of the sun was extreme, and the awning afforded a grateful shade.

The rowers appeared to labour hard. Their paddles, being made of the tough wood of the hibiscus, were not heavy; yet, having no pins in the sides of the canoe, against which the handles of the paddles could bear, but leaning the whole body over the canoe, first on one side, and then on the other, and working the paddle with one hand near the blade, and the other at the upper end of the handle, and shovelling as it were the water, appeared a great waste of strength. They often, however, paddle for a time with remarkable swiftness, keeping time with the greatest regularity. The steersman stands or sits in the stern, with a large paddle; the rowers sit in each canoe two or three feet apart; the leader sits next; the steersman gives the signal to start, by striking his paddle violently against the side of the canoe; every paddle is then put in and taken out of the water with every stroke at the same moment; and after they have thus continued on one side for five or six minutes, the leader strikes his paddle, and the rowers instantly and simultaneously turn to the other side, and thus alternately working on each side of the canoe, they advance at a considerable rate. There is generally a good deal of striking the paddle when a chief leaves or approaches the shore, and the effect resembles that of the smacking of the whip, or sounding of the horn, at the starting or arrival of a coach.

They have also a remarkably neat double canoe, called Maihi, or twins, each of which is made out of a single tree, and are both exactly alike. The stem and stern are usually sharp; although, occasionally, there is a small board projecting from each stem. These are light, safe, and swift, easily managed, and seldom used but by the chiefs. The

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late king Pomare was fond of this kind of con

veyance.

The single canoes are built in the same manner, and with the same materials, as the double ones. Their usual name is tipaihoe, and they are more various in their kind than the others. The small buhoe, the literal name of which is single shell, is generally a trunk of a tree, seldom more than twenty feet in length, rounded on the outside, and hollow within; sometimes sharp at both ends, though generally only at the stem. It is used by fishermen among the reefs, and also along the shore, and in shallow water, seldom carrying more than two persons. The single maihi is only a neater kind of buhoe.

CHAP. VII.

Description of the vaa motu, or island-canoe-Methods of navigating native vessels-Danger from sharks-Affecting wreck-Accident in a single canoe-Tahitian architecture-Materials employed in building-Description of the various kinds of native houses-Dress of the Tahitians-Manufacture of native cloth-Variety of kindsDurability and appearance-Methods of dyeing-Matting of Society and Paumotu islanders-Native pillow, seat, dishes, and other articles of household furniture.

THE vaa motu, island-canoe, is generally a large, strong, single vessel, built for sailing, and principally used in distant voyages. In addition to the ordinary edge, or gunwale, of the canoe, planks, twelve or fifteen inches wide, are fastened along their sides, after the manner of wash-boards in a European boat. The same are also added to double canoes, when employed on long voyages. A single vaa is never used without an outrigger, varying in size with the vessel; it is usually formed with a light spar of the hibiscus, or of the erythrina, which was highly prized as an ama, or outrigger, on account of its being both light and strong. This is always placed on the left side, and fastened to the canoe by two horizontal poles, from five to eight feet long; the front one is straight and firm, the other curved and elastic; it is so fixed, that the canoe, when empty, does not float upright, being rather inclined to the left; but, when sunk into the water, on being laden, it is generally erect, while the outrigger, which