Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/376

310 purpose of building smaller canoes, one large canoe making four small ones. They seem to have no inclination to visit distant islands, and never therefore build large canoes for them- selves ; and consequently have no personal knowledge of any country but their own, except a few individuals among them, who have gone away with strangers from motives of curiosity, in large canoes built for the purpose. Cow Mooala described their method of fight- ing, (for it appears they cannot do without civil wars) which is conducted, according to his ac- count, in two different modes, that is to say, with spears and with shark's teeth. When a man pierces his enemy with a pike, he endea- vours to lift him up from the ground on one end of it, or if opportunity will allow, he calls some of his comrades to his assistance, who thrusting their pikes also into him, they lift him high in the air, and carry him in triumph. The mode of fighting with shark's teeth is as follows : the teeth being fixed in three rows on the palm and fingers of a species of glove ittade of the plaited bark of the hedho, and both hands being armed in this manner, every man endeavours to come to a close scufile with his antagonist, and to tear open his bowels with these horrid weapons. The supreme chief in Cow Mooala's time was a man of remarkable