ous, in some cases it was the figure of a man with a face as
ugly as can well be conceived, with a monstrous tongue thrust out of the
mouth, and white shells stuck in for eyes.

In such canoes they went forth to war upon the water, and their
sea-fights were not less sanguinary than those of the land. In one
battle that was fought between the people of Huahine and those of
Raiatea immense slaughter took place. The fleet of one side consisted
of ninety war-canoes, each about a hundred feet long, and filled with
men. They met near a place called Hooroto, when a most obstinate and
bloody engagement ensued. Both parties lost so many men that, when
piled up on the day after the battle, the dead bodies formed a heap "as
high as the young cocoa-nut trees."

The captives taken in these wars are usually murdered on the spot,
unless reserved for slaves to their conquerors.

One of the results of these sanguinary fights is the existence of a
number of what may be called wild men in the mountains of the islands.
Ellis, in his _Polynesian Researches_, tells us that he once saw one of
these men who had been caught in the mountains and was at that time
comparatively tame, yet his appearance was very remarkable. He was
about the middle size, large boned, but not fleshy. His features and
countenance were strongly marked. His complexion was dark, and his
aspect agitated and wild. His beard was long, and the hair of his head
upwards of a foot and a half in length. It was parted on his forehead,
but was matted and dishevelled. The colour of his hair was singular.
At the roots it was black, six inches from his head it was light brown,
and the extremities were light yellow. He was quite naked, with the
exception of a _maro_ or girdle round the loins. This poor creature had
been driven to the mountains in time of war, and had remained in
solitude for many years. Probably extreme terror had affected his mind,
for he was gloomy, and seemed to take no interest in anything going on
around him. Evidently those "wild men" were poor creatures whose
misfortunes had driven them mad.

One of them was captured on another occasion by a party which had gone
into the mountains to collect the bark of a certain tree which is used
for dyeing cloth. On their way they perceived a man lying asleep on the
ground. They surrounded him with as little noise as possible, but when
they approached he awoke. Leaping up, he flung his wild locks over his