m other
places, there being no trees on it large enough for that purpose; they
are hollowed out with great labor, and are of very clumsy workmanship;
to prevent their oversetting, they are fitted up with outriggers, like
those of the Pelew islanders. A sketch of one is given in the
accompanying engraving.

They kindle their fires, as they informed me, by rubbing two pieces of
wood together, as is common in the islands of the Pacific ocean; and
they cook their turtle or other meat, (when they are so fortunate as to
have any,) as well as their vegetables, by covering them with heated
stones. I should state, however, that during the whole time we staid
among them, fire was always preserved in some part of the island, so
that there was no necessity for kindling it in the manner here
mentioned.

Like other savage people, they reckon time by moons; I could not learn
that they ever reckoned by any other period, except, indeed, when
speaking of two or three days.

They take pride in their hair, and are particularly careful about it,
washing and cleansing it almost every day. They do not color it,
however, as the natives of some islands are said to do; but they moisten
it with the juice pressed out from the cocoa-nut, which gives it a very
glossy appearance; and it is frequently so long as to reach down to
their waist.

Their mode of salutation is, to clasp each other in their arms, and
touch their noses together, as is practised in many other islands.

We found no musical instruments of any kind among them. They sometimes,
on particular occasions, would sing or bawl out something like a rude
tune; but we could not understand it. We frequently tried to teach them
to whistle, and their awkward attempts to do it amused us; but they
never were able to learn how it was done.

In their names, I could not find that they had any thing like a family
name, but only a single one, (corresponding to our christian names,) as
is the case, I believe, throughout the islands of the Pacific. I could
not learn, that the names were significant either of animals or other
objects, as the Indian names of America are, and I never found any two
persons of the same name. The names of the members of the family with
which I lived were as follows:--

Pahrahboo'ah, the father of the family.

Nah'kit, the mother.

Buhwur'timar, the eldest child, a son, ten or twelve years old.

Kobaw'ut, the second, a daughter.

Kobahnoo'uk, the third, a daught