I saw no household utensils among them, except gourds, and of these but very few.  They were extravagantly fond of cocoa-nut shells, more so than of any thing we could give them.  They dress their victuals in the same manner as at Otaheite; that is, with hot stones in an oven or hole in the ground.  The straw or tops of sugar-cane, plantain heads, &c. serve them for fuel to heat the stones.  Plantains, which require but little dressing, they roast under fires of straw, dried grass, &c. and whole races of them are ripened or roasted in this manner.  We frequently saw ten or a dozen, or more, such fires in one place, and most commonly in the mornings and evenings.

Not more than three or four canoes were seen on the whole island, and these very mean, and built of many pieces sewed together with small line.  They are about eighteen or twenty feet long, head and stem carved or raised a little, are very narrow, and fitted with out-riggers.  They do not seem capable of carrying above four persons, and are by no means fit for any distant navigation.  As small and mean as these canoes were, it was a matter of wonder to us, where they got the wood to build them with; for in one of them was a board six or eight feet long, fourteen inches broad at one end, and eight at the other; whereas we did not see a stick on the island that would have made a board half this size, nor, indeed, was there another piece in the whole canoe half so big.

There are two ways by which it is possible they may have got this large wood; it might have been left here by the Spaniards, or it might have been driven on the shore of the island from some distant land.  It is even possible that there may be some land in the neighbourhood, from whence they might have got it.  We, however, saw no signs of any, nor could we get the least information on this head from the natives, although we tried every method we could think of to obtain it.  We were almost as unfortunate in our enquiries for the proper or native name of the island; for, on comparing notes, I found we had got three different names for it, viz.  Tamareki, Whyhu, and Teapy.  Without pretending to say which, or whether any of them is right, I shall only observe, that the last was obtained by Oedidee, who understood their language much better than any of us, though even he understood it but very imperfectly.

It appears by the account of Roggewein’s voyage, that these people had no better vessels than when he first visited them.  The want of materials, and not of genius, seems to be the reason why they have made no improvement in this art.  Some pieces of carving were found amongst them, both well designed and executed.[3] Their plantations are prettily laid out by line, but not inclosed by any fence; indeed they have nothing for this purpose but stones.

I have no doubt that all these plantations are private property, and that there are here, as at Otaheite, chiefs (which they call Areekes) to whom these plantations belong.  But of the power or authority of these chiefs, or of the government of these people, I confess myself quite ignorant.