A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

desirous of those we had on board. My friend Attago was complimented with a dog and a bitch, the onefrom New Zealand, the other from Ulietea. The name of a dog with them is kooree orgooree, the same as at New Zealand, which shews that they are not wholly strangers to them. We saw norats in these isles, nor any other wild quadrupeds, except small lizards. The land birds are pigeons, turtledoves,parrots, parroquets, owls, bald couts with a blue plumage, a variety of small birds, and large bats inabundance. The produce of the sea we know but little of; it is reasonable to suppose, that the same sorts offish are found here as at the other isles.[4] Their fishing instruments are the same; that is, hooks made ofmother-of-pearl, gigs with two, three, or more prongs, and nets made of a very fine thread, with the mesheswrought exactly like ours. But nothing can be a more demonstrative evidence of their ingenuity than theconstruction and make of their canoes, which, in point of neatness and workmanship, exceed every thing ofthis kind we saw in this sea. They are built of several pieces sewed together with bandage, in so neat amanner, that on the outside it is difficult to see the joints. All the fastenings are on the inside, and passthrough kants or ridges, which are wrought on the edges and ends of the several boards which compose thevessel, for that purpose. They are of two kinds, viz. double and single. The single ones are from twenty tothirty feet long, and about twenty or twenty-two inches broad in the middle; the stern terminates in a point,and the head something like the point of a wedge. At each end is a kind of deck, for about one-third part ofthe whole length, and open in the middle. In some the middle of the deck is decorated with a row of whiteshells, stuck on little pegs wrought out of the same piece which composes it. These single canoes have allout-riggers, and are sometimes navigated with sails, but more generally with paddles, the blades of whichare short, and broadest in the middle. The two vessels which compose the double canoe are each aboutsixty or seventy feet long, and four or five broad in the middle, and each end terminates nearly in a point;so that the body or hull differs a little in construction from the single canoe, but is put together exactly inthe same manner; these having a rising in the middle round the open part, in the form of a long trough,which is made of boards, closely fitted together, and well secured to the body of the vessel. Two suchvessels are fastened to, and parallel to each other, about six or seven feet asunder, by strong cross beams,secured by bandages to the upper part of the risings above mentioned. Over these beams, and others whichare supported by stanchions fixed on the bodies of the canoes, is laid a boarded platform. All the partswhich compose the double canoe, are made as strong and light as the nature of the work will admit, andmay be immerged in water to the very platform, without being in danger of filling. Nor is it possible, underany circumstance whatever, for them to sink, so long as they hold together. Thus they are not only vesselsof burden, but fit for distant navigation. They are rigged with one mast, which steps upon the platform, andcan easily be raised or taken down; and are sailed with a latteen-sail, or triangular one, extended by a longyard, which is a little bent or crooked. The sail is made of mats; the rope they make use of is exactly likeours, and some of it is four or five inch. On the platform is built a little shed or hut, which screens the crewfrom the sun and weather, and serves for other purposes. They also carry a moveable fire- hearth, which isa square, but shallow trough of wood, filled with stones. The way into the hold of the canoe is from off theplatform, down a sort of uncovered hatchway, in which they stand to bale out the water. I think thesevessels are navigated either end foremost, and that, in changing tacks, they have only occasion to shift orjib round the sail; but of this I was not certain, as I had not then seen any under sail, or with the mast andsail an end, but what were a considerable distance from us.[4] The following remarks, collected from Mr F.'s work, may prove useful to the reader:--"In thetropical isles they have but four species of quadrupeds, two of which are domestic; and theremaining ones are the vampyre and the common rat. This last inhabits the Marquesas, Society Isles,Friendly Isles, and the New Hebrides. They are in incredible numbers at the Society Isles, muchscarcer at the Marquesas and Friendly Isles, and seldom seen at the New Hebrides. The vampyre isonly seen in the more western isles. At the Friendly Isles they live gregarious by several hundreds,and some of them are seen flying about the whole day. The Society Isles alone are fortunate enough