Both in flavour and for keeping. They are carefully preserved upon platforms, supported by a single post about ten feet from the ground, in order that, on the arrival of a vessel, they may be exchanged for iron, the article most of all wanted by those people, and for which they have only a wretched substitute, in a species of semitransparent green talc, used for making their tools as well as ornaments, before their intercourse with Europeans, but now chiefly confined to the latter employment. Next to the fern root, and as much of the potato as they can afford to consume, their chief resource is in fishing, at which, like all the Southern Islanders, they are extremely skilful. Their hooks are formed of the car-shell, unless when they procure iron ones from Europeans. Their nets and lines are admirably well made of the native flax; so much so, indeed, that our author recommends all ships which touch there to lay in some of their lines for fishing on the voyage. A mode of dressing fish in use among them, is rather curious, as proving their want of one of our simplest operations, and a certain ingenuity in supplying it. When a fish is to be boiled, it is wrapt up in a quantity of cabbage leaves, which are tied about it with tendrils. It is then laid on a heated stone, and turned repeatedly, The steam completely boils it, and the cabbage is eaten along with it. Our author assures us that this dish is excellent. They sometimes dress their potatoes in the same manner. The dog is almost their only animal food. Thus, from the abundance, especially of fish and fern, they are seldom in want of subsistence. Their canoes are well made of the trunk of the fir-tree, which grows to an enormous size. Sometimes they fix two together, when engaged in warlike operations; and the double canoe will contain thirty fighting men. Their huts are wattled, and exceedingly well thatched. They have separate sheds at some distance, for the purposes of cookery. In all these particulars, they are greatly superior, as will easily be perceived, to the natives of New Holland. The character of the New-Zealanders is much more favourably spoken of by Mr Savage than by any of his predecessors. He admits, that, like all barbarians, they are liable to the sudden impulses of violent passions, over which they can exercise no controul. But he asserts, that they are, upon the whole, of a friendly and affectionate disposition, and gives the following anecdote as a proof of it. • We had conftantly a number of natives on board the fhip; many remained two or three days without vifiting the fhore, and others vifited it daily. One day, it blowing very ftrong, a canoe, in which were women and children only, attempting to approach the fhip, upfet; the lamentations of thofe on board the ship were explefed in a most affe&tVOL. X. NO. 20. Hh ing ing manner; but we were too much engaged in lowering down a boat to fave the lives of the or creatures, to attend to thofe who were expreffing fo much apprehen for their fafety. Happily the boat faved every life the women clung to the canoe with one hand, and in almost every inftance fupported a child with the other, their own fafety appearing evidently to be a fecondary confideration. Their fituation for fome time was extremely perilous, and that of the natives on board the fhip truly pitiable, till they found that the boat arrived in time to rescue the women and children from a watery grave. Then their distress gave way to the most tumultuous joy: and when the poor half-drowned fhivering females and their children were brought on board, the congratulations on their escape, and their kind and foothing attentions, were fuch as would by no means have difgraced the moral character of the most refined European; those who had remained on board immediately stripping themselves of their mats to cover their friends or relatives, who had a much greater occafion for them. It was upon this occurrence only that the natives received any strong liquor; I prevailed upon them to take a little wine, which their confidence in me induced them to receive as a medicine to prevent the effects of cold; fhewing, however, the greateft folicitude for the health 'of their children, by helping them before they took any themfelves.' P. 3 -38. Their character for cannibalism is well known; but our author here also attempts to vindicate them. They acknowledge, he says, that in times of great scarcity, they have been driven to eat human flesh; but since the introduction of potatoes, the practice has become much less prevalent, as they give that root a decided preference.' He states, however, that in war, as a token of victory and for the gratification of revenge,' they devour some of their prisoners;-not the whole, Mr Savage observes, but only the chief, whose body they divide among them and eat. Of the proneness to suicide mentioned by Mr Collins, nothing whatever is said, It is indeed an exceeding unlikely story; and we believe that respectable author must have been misled by the two natives from whom he received his information. They are exceedingly strong and well made; their expression of countenance good and open; their females far from ugly; the men, without any appearance of brutal ferocity, are full of courage as well as of activity. But the most singular circumstance which our author records of them, is their aversion to spiritous or other strong liquors; nor have they any method of intoxication, or stimulus, among them. They are fond of dancing and music; their instruments do not materially differ from those used in the other South Sea islands; but from Mr Savage's description of their airs, we conceive that they are much liker music. Their gestures in dancing are frequently indelicate, like those of the other islanders; but we believe they are are peculiar in sometimes extending the same quality to the fashion of their instruments. The country is divided into various principalities; and there are chiefs over considerable districts, having other dependent or delegated chieftains under them. At the Bay of Islands, our author conceives, that only a subordinate chief resides; for the people described their leader as a person of inferior rank and splendour to others who lived in the interior, and who, instead of walking on foot, were always carried on the shoulders of men in a sort of hand-barrow.' The elders are consulted by the chief upon all matters of public concern, and have even an authority paramount to his during the short intervals of peace. But war is the general lot of these tribes. While our author was there, he had no opportunity of seeing any military operations; but this, he thinks, was merely owing to the rival powers having no point where, at that moment, their forces could meet. They had been fighting for years, and had, as it were, nothing now to fight about, or were perhaps preparing invasions and expeditions against each other; for the tribe with whom he held intercourse, bore a natural enmity (as we term it) towards the tribe of a chief residing on the opposite side of the Bay, about twenty-five miles distant, to whom,' says Mr Savage, they had vowed eternal enmity. They take the field resolved either to conquer or to die: all their honours are reserved for successful warriors. The spirit of inveterate hostility is so unceasing between individuals of these tribes, that on purchasing a bill-hook in the Strand, the native whom our author brought over, brandished it with infinite exultation, swearing at his return that he would kill Oorootookee. with it,' meaning the chief of the enemy. In short, had these poor people been born on the Seine or the Thames, and had every thing to lose by war, as we have, they could not possibly be more heartily, though they might be more disinterestedly, attached to that generous and useful pursuit. The religion of the New Zealanders our author could not learn much about; probably because there was but little to learn. They believe that a man came from the moon a long while ago, and went back again, but continues to be anxious for their wel fare. To such of our readers as are curious in foreign gods, we recommend the specimen at p. 21, being the figure of this man of the moon, which they fashion of green talc, and wear for a sort of protection in seasons of difficulty. They sing a song of cheerful adoration at sunrise, and a more melancholy strain at sunset; they likewise have a mournful hymn to the moon. They have some strange superstitions, as not feeding themselves for some days after they have either cut or combed their hair; and removing their heads, with great marks of horror, from below a place where food of any sort is put. They have some idea of future rewards and punishments. We must probably refer to religious rites also, their singular custom of mourning upon the return of absent friends: If the absence has been protracted, the female relations never fail to disfigure themselves by cutting their faces violently with pieces of broken shell. The scene upon parting, is, nevertheless, nearly the same; consisting of tears and lamentations in great abundance. For further details respecting all these points, we must refer to the work of Mr Savage itself; and likewise for an amusing account of the native whom he brought to England,-his behaviour on the voyage, and after he landed here. We trust, that his example will be followed by other voyagers, and are sure, that, at any rate, he has laid the public under considerable obligations, both by the light which he has thrown on the character and habits of these islanders, and the intelligence which he has communicated respecting them and their coast, to such as may hereafter visit that part of the world. We know not very well how to apologize for concluding this article by introducing several curious particulars with which we have been favoured, with respect to the progress of civilization among another class of savages to whom we some time ago called the attention of our readers. This information, however, well deserves to be known, and we possess at present no other occasion upon which to communicate it. It is the last intelligence relating to the success of the Quaker experiment for civilizing the North American Indians, which we described at length in our sixteenth Number; and requires no further introduction. • Agreeably to thy requeft,' says our informer, I fhall attempt to furnifh fome account from my notes, kept on a late vifit to the Seneca Indians, refiding near the Alleganey and Cattaragues Rivers. In the 7th Month, 1806, three of the Committee having charge of Indian concerns, were appointed to pay the faid Indians a vifit, in order to see what improvement they had made fince our laft in 1803, as well as to promote the object of the concern generally, by having friendly conferences with them, and pointing out fuch things as would conduce to their happiness. We fet out the aft of the 9th Month; arrived about the middle of the fame; and found the Indians moftly at home, employed in ufeful labour. Two of us being known to most of them, our meeting was cause of much gladnefs. In paffing along to the fettlement formed by the Committee at Tuneffaffa, I was aftonifhed at the improvements made by the Indians within the last three years; for, notwithstanding my very fanguine expectations, they had confiderably exceeded, in labour and attention, any opinion I had formed. The afpect of things was truly pleafing, indicating increafing induftry and economy, and very encouraging to us, as proofs proofs that our labours have not been in vain. Even the roads opened by them are remarkably well made, being much fuperior to thofe we obferved among the frontier white inhabitants. They had erected nearly one hundred new houses fince my laft vifit, moft of them two ftories high, and well put up with hewn logs, very perpendicular at the corner, and nicely fitted together. Some have pannelled doors and ftone chimneys; and a great many of them glafs windows. Their farms are enclosed under good fence, from seven to ten rails high; and there is a much greater proportion of corn planted this season than has been known before, and it generally looked well. Diverse of them have raised wheat, oats, buckwheat, potatoes, turnips, beans, fquafhes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and melons of various kinds. They have a number of horses, and a good flock of cattle and hogs. The buildings are, with very little exception, their own work; their ingenuity in fome of the mechanic arts being equal to their industry in agricultural purfuits. The above statement exhibits the progrefs making by one tribe of the Senecas towards civilization, and furnishes thofe interested in their welfare with great, encouragement in the profecution of a work fo well calculated to increase the comforts of human life and it is a peculiar fatisfaction to find, that one effect of Friends' endeavours with thefe people, is a diminution of labour on the part of the females, in the cornfields, &c.; for in their former favage ftate, the women appear to have been configned to flavery in the field, the procuring of wood, and many other hardships; the men feldom, if ever, affifting them therein. But notwithstanding they labour lefs in the field, they are not idle. Some of them have been taught the att of making foap, in order to promote cleanliness. Some have alfo learned to fpin and knit ; and, in all probability, their habits will, ere long, be as much changed as the men's. Both men and women were much more cleanly in their persons, clothes, and houses, than at the time of our laft vifit. There are a number of other tribes whofe advances are very confiderable, and quite equal to what might be reasonably expected. We were as much encouraged at Cattaragues as at Alleganey, although the improvements were not fo great; they being more remotely fituated, and of later date. It is very remarkable, that the Indians among whom we have endeavoured to promote the arts of civil life, have very generally abandoned the use of ardent fpirits: except two or three of those on or near the Alleganey, the whole tribe has relinquished it for about feven years. We are told that the Cattarague Senecas had all quitted it (except one) for about four years; and many others. Our grift and faw mills at Alleganey are very ufeful. Population is evidently increafing with them, from this change in their way of life; and they appeared to enjoy good health. ' • The Committee, which for several years has devoted much attention to the important fubject, in a written report to the Yearly Meeting, dated the 17th of the 4th Month, 1807, mentions the receipt of infor Hh3 mation |