[2] "They Were Inferior In Stature To The Natives Of The Society And Friendly Isles, And To Those Of New Zealand, There Being Not A Single Person Amongst Them, Who Might Be Reckoned Tall.

Their body was likewise lean, and their face much thinner than that of any people we had hitherto seen in the South Sea.

Both sexes had thin, but not savage features, though the little shelter which their barren country offers against the sunbeams, had contracted their brows sometimes, and drawn the muscles of their face up towards the eye. Their noses were not very broad, but rather flat between the eyes; their lips strong, though not so thick as those of negroes; and their hair black and curling, but always cut short, so as not to exceed three inches. Their eyes were dark-brown, and rather small, the white being less clear than in other nations of the South Seas." - G.F.

[3] "These were human figures made of narrow pieces of wood about eighteen inches or two feet long, and wrought in a much neater and more proportionate manner than we could have expected, after seeing the rude sculpture of the statues. They were made to represent persons of both sexes; the features were not very pleasing, and the whole figure was much too long to be natural; however, there was something characteristic in them, which shewed a taste for the arts. The wood of which they were made was finely polished, close grained, and of a dark-brown, like that of the casuarina. Mahine was most pleased with these carved human figures, the workmanship of which much excelled those of the e tees in his country, and he purchased several of them, assuring us they would be greatly valued at Otaheite. As he took great pains to collect these curiosities, he once met with a figure of a woman's hand, carved of a yellowish wood, nearly of the natural size. Upon examination, its fingers were all bent upwards, as they are in the action of dancing at Otaheite, and its nails were represented very long, extending at least three-fourths of an inch beyond the fingers end. The wood of which it was made was the rare perfume wood of Otaheite, with the chips of which they communicate fragrance to their oils. We had neither seen this wood growing, nor observed the custom of wearing long nails at this island, and therefore were at a loss to conceive how this piece of well-executed carving could be met with there. Mahine afterwards presented this piece to my father, who in his turn made a present of it to the British Museum." - G.F.

[4] "The most diligent enquiries on our part, have not been sufficient to throw clear light on the surprising objects which struck our eyes in this island. We may, however, attempt to account for these gigantic monuments, of which great numbers exist in every part; for as they are so disproportionate to the present strength of the nation, it is most reasonable to look upon them as the remains of better times.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 261 of 461
Words from 135225 to 135745 of 239428