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New Zealand


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New Zealand (continued)

being generaly a peice of netting spread between two poles which serve for both masts and yards

The houses of these people are better calculated for a cold than a hot climate, they are built low and in form of an oblong square, the framing is of wood or small sticks and the sides and covering of thatch made of long grass. the door is generaly at one end and no biger than to admit a man to creep in and out.   just within the door is the fire place and over the door or on one side is a small hole to let out the smook. these houses are 20 or 30 feet long   others not above half as long   this depends upon the largness of the Family they are to contain for I believe few families are without such a house as these, altho they do not a[l]ways live in them especialy in the summer season when they ^many of them live disperse'd up and down in little temporary hutts that are not sufficient to shelter them from the weather —

The tools with which ^they work in building their Canoes houses &Ca and [are?] adzes or axes, some made of a hard black stone, and others of green Talk   they have chisels made of the same, but these are more commonly made of human bones, in working small work and carving I believe they use mostly peices of Jasper breaking small peices from a large lump they have for that purpose. as soon as the small


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© Transcribed from National Library of Australia Manuscript 1 page 214, 2004
Published by South Seas
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