hose sides, say
four against four; and the party who had the most thrown had to
furnish their opponents with a cooked pig, served up with taro, or
supply any other kind of food that might be staked at the outset of
the game. A supply of some kind of food was the usual forfeit in all
their games.

_Clasp and undo_ was another kind of wrestling. One man clasped a
second tightly round the waist, and this second does the same to a
third. The three thus fastened together lay down and challenged any
single man to separate them. If he succeeded, they paid the forfeit;
if not, he did.

_Throwing the spear_ was also common. The young men of one street or
village matched against those of another; and, after fixing a mark in
the distance, threw a small wooden javelin so that it might first
strike the ground, and then spring upwards and onwards in the
direction of the mark. They who threw farthest won the game, and had a
repast of food at the expense of those who lost it. In more direct
spear-throwing they set up the stem of a young cocoa-nut tree, with
the base upwards, which is soft and spongy. One party threw at it, and
filled it with spears. The other party threw, and tried to knock them
down. If any remained after all had thrown they were counted until
they reached the number fixed for the game. In another of these
amusements a man stood in the distance and allowed another to throw
spears at him. He had no shield, but merely a club; and with this he
showed surprising dexterity in hitting off spear after spear as it
approached him.

_Fishing matches_ were in vogue at particular seasons. The party who
took the most fish won, and were treated with cooked pigs and other
viands by those who lost.

_Pigeon-catching_ was another amusement, and one, like our English
falconry of other days, in which the chiefs especially delighted. The
principal season set in about June. Great preparations were made for
it; all the pigs of a settlement were sometimes slaughtered and baked
for the occasion; and, laden with all kinds of food, the whole
population of the place went off to certain pigeon-grounds in the
bush. There they put up huts, and remained sometimes for months at the
sport.

The ground being cleared, the chiefs stationed themselves at distances
all round a large circular space, each concealed under a low shed or
covering of brushwood, having by his side a net attached to a long
bamboo, and in his hand a stick with a tame pigeo