The Ivahahs are the only boats that are used by the inhabitants of Otaheite; but we saw several Pahies that came from other islands. Of one of these I shall give the exact dimensions from a careful admeasurement, and then particularly describe the manner in which they are built.
| Feet. | Inches. | |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme length from stem to stern, not reckoning the bending up of either | 51 | 0 |
| Breadth in the clear of the top forward | 1 | 2 |
| Breadth in the midships | 1 | 6 |
| Breadth aft | 1 | 3 |
| In the bilge forward | 2 | 8 |
| In the midships | 2 | 11 |
| Aft | 2 | 9 |
| Depth in the midships | 3 | 4 |
| Height from the ground on which she stood | 3 | 6 |
| Height of her head from the ground, without the figure | 4 | 4 |
| Height of the figure | 0 | 11 |
| Height of the stern from the ground | 8 | 9 |
| Height of the figure | 2 | 0 |
To illustrate my description of the manner in which these vessels are built, it will be necessary to refer to the figure; in which a a is the first seam, b b the second, and c c the third.
The first stage or keel, under a a, is made of a tree hollowed out like a trough; for which the longest trees are chosen that can be got, so that there are never more than three in the whole length: the next stage, under b b, is formed of straight plank, about four feet long, fifteen inches broad, and two inches thick: the third stage, under c c, is, like the bottom, made of trunks, hollowed into its bilging form; the last is also cut out of trunks, so that the moulding is of one piece with the upright. To form these parts separately, without saw, plane, chissel, or any other iron tool, may well be thought no easy task; but the great difficulty is to join them together.
When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and the planks being supported by stanchions, are sewed or clamped together with strong thongs of plaiting, which are passed several times through holes that are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been described already; and the nicety with which this is done, may be inferred from their being sufficiently water-tight for use without caulking. As the platting soon rots in the water, it is renewed at least once a-year; in order to which, the vessel is taken entirely to pieces. The head and stern are rude with respect to the design; but very neatly finished, and polished to the highest degree.
These Pahies are kept with great care in a kind of house built on purpose for their reception; the houses are formed of poles set upright in the ground, the tops of which are drawn towards each other, and fastened together with their strongest cord, so as to form a kind of Gothic arch, which is completely thatched quite to the ground, being open only at the ends; they are sometimes fifty or sixty paces long.
As connected with the navigation of these people, I shall mention their wonderful sagacity in foretelling the weather, at least the quarter from which the wind shall blow at a future time; they have several ways of doing this, of which however I know but one. They say, that the Milky-way is always curved laterally; but sometimes in one direction, and sometimes in another: and that this curvature is the effect of its being already acted upon by the wind, and its hollow part therefore towards it; so that, if the same curvature continues a night, a corresponding wind certainly blows the next day. Of their rules, I shall not pretend to judge; but I know that, by whatever means, they can predict the weather, at least the wind, with much greater certainty than we can.
In their longer voyages, they steer by the sun in the day, and in the night by the stars; all of which they distinguish separately by names, and know in what part of the heavens they will appear in any of the months during which they are visible in their horizon; they also know the time of their annual appearing and disappearing with more precision than will easily be believed by an European astronomer.