part of the island to the other in every
direction. There were no towns or villages, but most of the houses
stood in the midst of plantations. They were neatly constructed, but
not much superior to those of the Society Islands. The floor, however,
was slightly raised, and covered with thick mats; the same sort of
matting serving to enclose them on the weather side, while on the
opposite they were left open.

The ingenuity of this people was more especially exhibited in the
construction of their canoes, which were superior to any that had been
seen in the Pacific, though their tools were made of stone, bone, or
shells, like those of the other islanders. The canoes are built of
several pieces, sewed together in so neat a manner that on the outside
no join could be seen. They were of two kinds, double and single. The
single were from twenty to thirty feet long, and twenty-two inches broad
in the middle, with wedge-shaped heads and sterns, and decked over at
both ends, leaving only a third part open. They had outriggers, and
some few carried sails, but were generally impelled by short paddles,
the blades of which were broadest in the middle. The double canoes were
composed of two vessels, each from sixty to seventy feet long, and four
or five broad in the middle, and sharp at each end. They were fastened
together by strong beams placed across their gunwales, which were raised
for that purpose, and they were kept about seven feet apart. A platform
of boards was placed on these beams, and served as a deck. They were
very strongly built, and as the canoes themselves were also decked over,
they might be immersed to the very platform without sinking. On the
platform was a hut, serving as a cabin for the crew, and there was a
hatchway through the platform into the hulls by which the water was
baled out. The canoes also carried, as a movable fire-hearth, a square,
shallow trough of wood, filled with stones. They were rigged with one
mast, which could be easily lowered, and had a lateen sail of matting,
stretched on a long, slightly-bent yard, which could be quickly shifted
round when beating to windward. These vessels were capable of making
long voyages, and the Tonga islanders were in the habit of going to
Fejee, where they built canoes for the natives, and had probably
extended their voyages to the Navigators' Group, and possibly to New
Zealand itself. Indeed, when these vessels are seen, there is no
difficulty i