lit, and
stretched to a great length, as had before been observed in a native of
the _Fejee Islands_. They had no kind of clothing; but wore necklaces of
cowrie shells, fastened to a braid of fibres; and some of their
companions had pearl-oyster shells hung round their necks. In speaking to
each other, their words seemed to be distinctly pronounced.

[* The name for iron at Taheity, is _eure-euree_, or _ooree_, orj,
according to Bougainville, _aouri_.]

[** See _a Voyage to New Guinea_, by Captain Thomas Forrest.]

Their arms were bows, arrows, and clubs, which they bartered for every
kind of iron work with eagerness; but appeared to set little value on any
thing else. The bows are made of split bamboo; and so strong, that no man
in the ship could bend one of them. The string is a broad slip of cane,
fixed to one end of the bow; and fitted with a noose, to go over the
other end, when strung. The arrow is a cane of about four feet long, into
which a pointed piece of the hard, heavy, _casuarina_ wood, is firmly and
neatly fitted; and some of them were barbed. Their clubs are made of the
_casuarina_, and are powerful weapons. The hand part is indented, and has
a small knob, by which the firmness of the grasp is much assisted; and
the heavy end is usually carved with some device: One had the form of a
parrot's head, with a ruff round the neck; and was not ill done.

Their canoes are about fifty feet in length, and appear to have been
hollowed out of a single tree; but the pieces which form the gunwales,
are planks sewed on with the fibres of the cocoa nut, and secured with
pegs. These vessels are low, forward, but rise abaft; and, being narrow,
are fitted with an outrigger on each side, to keep them steady. A raft,
of greater breadth than the canoe, extends over about half the length;
and upon this is fixed a shed or hut, thatched with palm leaves. These
people, in short, appeared to be dextrous sailors and formidable
warriors; and to be as much at ease in the water, as in their canoes.

Sept. 7. The boats having found deep water round the north end of the
three low islands, the vessels followed them; but anchored again, soon
after noon, in latitude 9 deg. 31', and longitude 143 deg. 31'; being sheltered
by the two western islands, named _Stephens'_ and _Campbell's_, and the
reefs which surround them. There were then no less than eight islands in
sight, at different distances; though none further to the westward than
W.