The men are distinguished in a different manner:  their fingers are not mutilated, but most of them, as other voyagers have observed, want the right front tooth in the upper jaw.  Governor Phillip having remarked this, pointed out to them that he had himself lost one of his front teeth, which occasioned a general clamour; and it was thought he derived some merit in their opinion from this circumstance.  The perforation of the cartilage that divides the nostrils, and the strange disfiguring ornament of a long bone or stick thrust through it, was now observed, as described by Captain Cook; and the same appellation of sprit-sail yard, was ludicrously applied to it by the sailors.  But several very old men were seen in this excursion who had not lost the tooth, nor had their noses prepared to receive that grotesque appendage:  probably, therefore, these are marks of distinction:  ambition must have its badges, and where cloaths are not worn, the body itself must be compelled to bear them.

Whether the scars raised upon the skin were of this kind, or as Captain Cook understood by their signs, marks of sorrow for deceased friends, could not now be learnt.  They are of a very singular nature:  sometimes the skin is raised from the flesh for several inches, appearing as if it were filled with wind, and forming a round surface of more than a quarter of an inch diameter.  Their bodies are scarred in various parts, particularly about the breast and arms, and frequently on the instep.  Nor does the head always escape; one man in particular, putting aside the hair on the forepart of his head, showed a scar, and then pointing to one on the foot, and to others on different parts of the body, seemed to intimate that he thought himself much honoured by having these marks upon him from head to foot.  The women did not appear equally forward to produce the mutilated finger; nor was it always possible to ascertain whether they had lost the joints or not.  For though they made no attempt to secrete themselves, nor seemed impressed with any idea that one part of the body more requires concealment than another, yet there was a shyness and timidity among them which frequently kept them at a distance.  They never would approach so readily as the men, and sometimes would not even land from their canoes, but made signs that what was offered should be given to the men.  We are not yet enough acquainted with the manners of the people to decide whether this reserve proceeds from the fears of the women, or from the jealousy of their husbands, by whom they are evidently kept in great subordination.

One of their modes of fishing was now observed:  their hooks are made of the inside of a shell resembling mother of pearl.  When a fish which has taken the bait is supposed to be too strong to be landed with the line, the canoe is paddled to shore, and while one man gently draws the fish along, another stands prepared to strike it with a spear:  in this attempt they seldom fail.  In the plate which represents this action, the engraver has inadvertently left the bodies of the figures rather too white; in other respects it is very accurate.