acticable, without bloodshed, I determined not to attempt it, having
no motive that could justify the risk of life.

The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island; the
bottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainly
be seen at the depth of five-and-twenty fathom, which is one hundred and
fifty feet.

This island is situated in the latitude of 22 deg. 27' S. and in the
longitude of 150 deg. 47' W. from the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteen
miles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous nor
fertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in these
seas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make their
weapons, called in their language _etoa_; many plantations of it were
seen along the shore, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouring
islands, by a reef.

The people seemed to be lusty and well-made, rather browner than those
we had left: Under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad as
the hand, the edges of which formed not a straight but an indented line:
They had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round their
arms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body.

Their dress was very different from any that we had seen before, as well
as the cloth of which it was made. The cloth was of the same materials
as that which is worn in the other islands, and most of that which was
seen by our people was dyed of a bright but deep yellow, and covered on
the outside with a composition like varnish, which was either red, or of
a dark lead-colour; over this ground it was again painted in stripes of
many different patterns, with wonderful regularity, in the manner of Our
striped silks in England; the cloth that was painted red was striped
with black, and that which was painted lead-colour with white. Their
habit was a short jacket of this cloth, which reached about as low as
their knees; it was of one piece, and had no other making than a hole in
the middle of it, stitched round with long stitches, in which it
differed from all that we had seen before: Through this hole the head
was put, and what hung down was confined to their bodies by a piece of
yellow cloth or sash, which, passing round the neck behind, was crossed
upon the breast, and then collected round the waist like a belt, which
passed over another belt of red cloth, so that they made a very gay and
warlike appearance; some had caps of