ing pork, we filled all our
empty casks, amounting to sixteen puncheons, in the Resolution only.

Their instruments of war are spears, daggers, called _pahooas_, clubs, and
slings. The spears are of two sorts, and made of a hard solid wood, which
has much the appearance of mahogany. One sort is from six to eight feet in
length, finely polished, and gradually increasing in thickness from the
extremity till within about half a foot of the point, which tapers
suddenly, and is furnished with four or six rows of barbs. It is not
improbable that these might be used in the way of darts. The other sort,
with which we saw the warriors at Owhyhee and Atooi mostly armed, are
twelve or fifteen feet long, and, instead of being barbed, terminate toward
the point like their daggers.

The dagger, or _pahooa_, is made of heavy black wood, resembling ebony. Its
length is from one to two feet, with a string passing through the handle,
for the purpose of suspending it to the arm.

The clubs are made indifferently of several sorts of wood. They are of rude
workmanship, and of a variety of shapes and sizes.

The slings have nothing singular about them; and in no respect differ from
our common slings, except that the stone is lodged on a piece of matting
instead of leather.

[5] The nice and highly interesting subject now adverted to, it is evident,
will require a very extensive and cautious enquiry, and cannot
possibly be discussed in the small compass allotted to notes. See
Forster's Observations. But additional information has been obtained
since the time of that author.--E.

[6] There is good reason to imagine that most of the early voyagers into
the South Sea, have exaggerated the numbers of the inhabitants in the
various groups of islands they met with. The present calculation, most
readers will believe, is beyond the truth. Certain however it is, that
almost all the recent accounts are at variance with such astonishing
estimates as were formerly made. But, on the other hand, Mr.
Pinkerton's assertion, that "it is probable there are not above
300,000 souls in all Australasia and Polynesia," (Geog. 3d ed. 2d vol.
p. 172,) must appear so extraordinary when considered in opposition to
them, as at once to convey the notion of a bold adventure. Yet even
this admits of some degree of probability, from the account formerly
given, of the immense decrease in the population of Ota