the ground, and was fully thirty feet
in length, though considerably narrower. The back of the house was
fourteen feet in height, the roof sloping down towards the front, which
was scarcely more than five feet high, but the walls were of a uniform
height all round, thus the farther part of the house between them and
the roof was entirely open. The front part, into which we first entered
by a very small door, had a floor composed of the rough stones of the
platform, but the inner part, separated from it by a partition, was
covered with fine mats. At one end was the bed-place, which consisted
of two horizontal poles, about a foot from the ground, with matting
stretched between them. On this the chief and his family reclined,
resting their heads on one of the poles, which served as a pillow, while
their feet extended towards the other. Around the walls, which were
also composed of matting, were hung numerous weapons, spears, clubs,
axes, slings, and stilts, on which I found that the people were very
fond of walking.

These stilts are elaborately carved poles, with carved figures towards
the lower end, on the heads of which the feet rest. The chief took down
a pair, and, to amuse me, mounted on them, and ran over the ground with
great rapidity, now standing on one leg, now on the other, and twirling
round and performing all sorts of extraordinary feats. He having set
the example, others followed it, till nearly all the men and the boys in
the village turned out on stilts, and began chasing each other over the
rough ground, as much at home as if they were treading it with their
feet, instead of being mounted high above it.

The sports being over, Motakee led me to the farther end of the village,
where there was a sort of temple. In front of the temple were a number
of little buildings a couple of feet high, on each of which stood a
carved figure, surrounded with shells, and feathers, and whales' teeth.
He and his people sat down before them, and bowed, and uttered certain
words, and then bowed again, leading me to suppose that they were
performing some religious ceremony.

Having finished his prayers, if such all this bowing and muttering words
could be intended for, the chief conducted me back to his house. Here
he introduced me to his wife, pretty-looking young woman, of a bright
brown colour, clothed in somewhat scanty garments, composed of cloth,
manufactured from the paper-mulberry tree. She received me ver