lay the Colour
of Black under the skins of their lips, and both sexes paint their faces
and bodies at times more or less with red Oker, mixed with fish Oil.

[Clothing of New Zealanders.]

Their common Cloathing are very much like square Thrumb'd Matts, that are
made of rope Yarns, to lay at the doors or passages into houses to clean
ones shoes upon. These they tie round their necks, the Thrumb'd side out,
and are generally large enough to cover the body as low as the knee; they
are made with very little Preparation of the broad Grass plant before
mentioned. Beside the Thrumb'd Matts, as I call them, they have other
much finer cloathing, made of the same plant after it is bleached and
prepared in such a Manner that it is as white and almost as soft as flax,
but much stronger. Of this they make pieces of cloth about 5 feet long
and 4 broad; these are wove some pieces close and others very open; the
former are as stout as the strongest sail cloth, and not unlike it, and
yet it is all work'd or made by hand with no other Instrument than a
Needle or Bodkin. To one end of every piece is generally work'd a very
neat border of different colours of 4 or 6 inches broad, and they very
often Trim them with pieces of Dog Skin or birds' feathers. These pieces
of Cloth they wear as they do the other, tying one End round their Necks
with a piece of string, to one end of which is fixed a Needle or Bodkin
made of Bone, by means of which they can easily fasten, or put the string
through any part of the Cloth; they sometimes wear pieces of this kind of
Cloth round their Middles, as well as over their Shoulders. But this is
not common, especially with the Men, who hardly ever wear anything round
their Middles, observing no sort of Decency in that respect; neither is
it at all uncommon for them to go quite Naked without any one thing about
them besides a belt round their waists, to which is generally fastened a
small string, which they tye round the prepuse; in this manner I have
seen hundreds of them come off to and on board the Ship, but they
generally had their proper Cloathing in the boat along with them to put
on if it rain'd, etc. The Women, on the other hand, always wear something
round their Middle; generally a short, thrumbd Matt, which reaches as low
as their Knees. Sometimes, indeed, I have seen them with only a Bunch of
grass or plants before, tyed on with a piece of fine platting made of
sweet-scented grass; they likewise wear