Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

1835. PKAKL KISHING STEERING. 555 been ransacked, and the furniture of the hull torn to pieces. They afterwards allowed the pilot to take the vessel to Otaheite, where she was sold by auction for the benefit of those who had insured her. Obtaining the pearl oyster-shell is well known to be a difficult and dangerous employment : though the divers at the Paamu- to Islands seldom go down deeper than four or five fathoms, they remain at the bottom from one to three minutes, some- times bringinsc ten shells at one time to the surface ; and during four or five hours they continue this extreme labour. After a long dive, blood gushes from the ears and nose ; and the poor diver is quite blind during ten or twenty minutes. He may then be seen squatting on the reef, his head between his knees, and his hands spread over his face — a pitiable object yet for the small monthly pay of ten or twelve yards of calico, or coarse linen, do those hard-woi'king natives endure such straining exertions ! At some of the islands, a good hatchet or axe will purchase as many shells as would fill a small canoe. In making their voyages from one island to another, the natives steer by the stars, by the direction of the wind, and the flight of birds ; but their ideas of distance are extremely vague. Those who have seen a compass used in a boat esteem it highly. Middleton, who had made many voyages among the Low Islands, in whale-boats manned solely by natives, said that they always expressed astonishment at his predicting the time at which they would arrive at their destination. Some- times they asked if he could see the land in the compass ; more than once they exclaimed, " Ah, you white men ! you know every thing ! What simpletons we are, notwithstanding all our canoes !" The canoe occupies so much time and labour in constructing, and is so essential to their every purpose, that a fine one is to the natives of any of these islands what a three- decker is to us. The queen's letter being finished, and sent to me by her messenger, I will give the translation made for me on the spot by Mr. Pritchard.