THEREwasnoinstanceinwhichthesocialandkindlydispositionsoftheTypeesweremoreforciblyevincedthaninthemannertheyconductedtheirgreatfishingparties。Fourtimesduringmystayinthevalleytheyoungmenassemblednearthefullofthemoon，andwenttogetherontheseexcursions。Astheyweregenerallyabsentaboutforty-eighthours，Iwasledtobelievethattheywentouttowardstheopensea，somedistancefromthebay。ThePolynesiansseldomuseahookandline，almostalwaysemployinglarge，well-madenets，mostingeniouslyfabricatedfromthetwistedfibresofacertainbark。IexaminedseveralofthemwhichhadbeenspreadtodryuponthebeachatNukuheva。Theyresembleverymuchourownseines，andIshouldthinktheywereverynearlyasdurable。
AlltheSouthSeaislandersarepassionatelyfondoffish；butnoneofthemcanbemoresothantheinhabitantsofTypee。Icouldnotcomprehend，therefore，whytheysoseldomsoughtitintheirwaters；
foritwasonlyatstatedtimesthatthefishingpartieswereformed，andtheseoccasionswerealwayslookedforwardtowithnosmalldegreeofinterest。
Duringtheirabsence，thewholepopulationoftheplacewereinaferment，andnothingwastalkedofbut“pehee，pehee“fish，fish。Towardsthetimewhentheywereexpectedtoreturn，thevocaltelegraphwasputintooperation-theinhabitants，whowerescatteredthroughoutthelengthofthevalley，leapeduponrocksandintotrees，shoutingwithdelightatthethoughtsoftheanticipatedtreat。Assoonastheapproachofthepartywasannounced，therewasageneralrushofthementowardsthebeach；someofthemremaining，however，abouttheTi，inordertogetmattersinreadinessforthereceptionofthefish，whichwerebroughttotheTabooGrovesinimmensepackagesofleaves，eachoneofthembeingsuspendedfromapolecarriedontheshouldersoftwomen。
IwaspresentattheTiononeoftheseoccasions，andthesightwasmostinteresting。Afterallthepackageshadarrived，theywerelaidinarowundertheverandahofthebuilding，andopened。Thefishwereallquitesmall，generallyaboutthesizeofaherring，andofeveryvarietyofcolour。Aboutone-eighthofthewholebeingreservedfortheuseoftheTiitself，theremainderwasdividedintonumeroussmallerpackages，whichwereimmediatelydespatchedineverydirectiontotheremotestpartofthevalley。Arrivedattheirdestination，thesewereinturnportionedout，andequallydistributedamongthevarioushousesofeachparticulardistrict。ThefishwereunderastrictTaboo，untilthedistributionwascompleted，whichseemedtobeeffectedinamostimpartialmanner。Bytheoperationofthissystemeveryman，woman，andchildinthevale，wereatoneandthesametimepartakingofthisfavouritearticleoffood。