Page:Captain Cook's Journal during His First Voyage Round the World.djvu/166

94 hide. Besides the dress I have mentioned some of the better sort, such as can afford it, but more especially the Women, will one way or other wrap round them several pieces of Cloth, each 8 or 10 Yards long and 2 or 3 broad, so much that I have often wondered how they could bear it in so hot a climate. Again, on the other hand, many of the inferior sort during the heat of the Day, go almost naked, the women wearing nothing but the Petticoat aforementioned, and sometimes hardly that. The men wear a piece of Cloth like a Sack, which goes between their thighs, and brought up before and behind, and then wrapped round their waist. This every man wears always without exception, and it is no uncommon thing to see many of the better sort have nothing else on, as it is reckoned no shame for any part of the body to be exposed to View, except those which all mankind hide.

Both sexes sometimes shade their faces from the Sun with little Bonnets made of Cocoa-Nut leaves. Some have them of fine Matting, but this is less common. They sometimes wear Turbands, but their Chief Headdress is what they call Tomou, which is human Hair plaited scarce thicker than common thread. Of this I can safely affirm that I have seen pieces near a mile in length worked upon one end without a Knott. These are made and worn only by the women, 5 or 6 such pieces of which they will sometimes wind round their Heads, the effect of which, if done with taste, is very becoming. They have Earings by way of Ornament, but wear them only at one Ear. These are made of Shells, Stones, Berries, red pease, and some small pearls which they wear 3 tied together; but our Beads, Buttons, etc. very soon supply'd their places.

After their meals in the Heat of the day they often Sleep, middle Aged people especially, the better sort of whom seem to spend most of their time in eating and Sleeping. Diversions they have but few, shooting with the Bow and Wrestling are the Chief; the first of which is confin'd almost wholy to the Chiefs; they shoot for distance only, kneeling upon one knee and dropping the Bow the instant of the Arrows parting from it. I have seen one of them shoot an Arrow 274 yards, yet he looked upon it as no Great Shotte.

Musick is little known to them, yet they are very fond of it; they have only 2 Instruments—the flute and the Drum. The former is made of hollow Bamboo about 15 inches long, in which are 3 Holes; into one of them they blow with one Nostril, stopping the other with the thumb of the left hand, the other 2 Holes they