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[Page 371]

Ulhietea

July 1769

made of the bones of men generaly the thin bone of the upper arm these they grind very sharp & fix to a handle of wood making the instrument serve the purpose of a gouge by striking it with a mallet made of a hard black wood & with them would do as much work as with Iron tools was it not that the brittle Edge of the tool is very liable to be broke

When they have prepard their planks &c. the keel is layd on blocks & the whole Canoe put together much in the same manner as we do a ship the sides being supported by stantions & all the seams wedg'd together before the last sewing is put on so that they become tolerably tight considering that they are without calking

With these boats they venture themselves out of sight of land we saw several of them at Otahite which had come from Ulhietea & Tupia has told us that they go voyages of twenty days whether true or false I do not affirm They keep them very carefully under such boathouses as are describd p. one of which we measurd today 60 yards by 11.

22. Weather worse than yesterday in the course of last night it blew very fresh this morn rainy walk out but meet little worth observation Saw a double pahie such as that describd yesterday but much larger she had upon her an awning supported

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