Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/90

66 FIJI AND THE FIJIANS. throughout the group ; and not among the men only, for many women are able to discharge the duties of " ordinary seamen." The LeTika and Mbutoni tribes are especially nautical, and, their roving habits m- ducing irregular practices, their character is not very fair : they are in- solent or officious, as self-interest may dictate. As much may be said of the fisherman's caste, to which the others are closely allied. Fijians do not make bold sailors, and none have yet taken their canoes beyond the boundaries of their own group. One old man I knew, who freight- ed his canoe with pots and masi^ sought the help of his god, and sailed away for a land which his fancy, or some equally foolish informant, told him lay to the west of the Exploring Isles, and with which he re- joiced to think he should open a trade. But after an absence of two or three days, Toa-levu (the Great Fowl) returned crest-fallen and dis- appointed, and his failure was pointed out as a warning to all ambi- tious navigators. I never heard of but one Fijian chief who had at- temped to steer his canoe to Tonga, though the people of that group, having the wind in their favour, pay yearly visits to Fiji. Though deficient in boldness, the native sailors display great skill in managing their vessels. When ready for sea, the mast, which is " stepped on deck in a chock," stands erect, except that it is hauled to bend towards the outrigger. It is secured by fore and back-stays, the CAXOE-RIGGING. latter taking the place of shrouds : when the sail is hoisted, the hal- yards also become back-stays : these ropes, as long as the canoe is under sail, may be called her standing rigging, not being lopsed in tacking. The halyards are bent on the yard at less than a third of its