"Why don't they put two boats together, and make a double one?" inquired one of the boys. [Illustration: DOUBLE CANOE, FRIENDLY ISLANDS.] "As to that," answered Doctor Bronson, "I can only say, because they don't. Double canoes are in use in some of the South Pacific Islands, and have been found very successful; they sail finely, and have a great carrying capacity, and when used in sheltered bays, or in parts of the ocean where the waves are not likely to rack them too much, a deck or platform is built to cover both boats. This is the case in the Society and Friendly Islands, where the double canoe has long been used, and is famous for its high speed; in the Ladrone Islands the outrigger is more popular, and is made on the same principle as that of Ceylon; but the boat is neither so sharp nor so long in proportion to its length. [Illustration: DOUBLE CANOE, SOCIETY ISLANDS.] "These outrigger boats sail in either direction; the sail is attached to two poles, which are raised and lowered with it; the mast is in the centre, and the ends of the craft are exactly alike. The change of direction is made by raising one pole and lowering the other; when this is done the boat immediately reverses her movements, and the outrigger is always kept to windward. The same is the case with the double canoes of the Friendly Islands, which sail either way, but the canoes of the Society Islands are pointed at the bow and flat at the stern, and consequently can only go in one direction. [Illustration: FEEJEE ISLAND CANOE.] "The people of the Feejee Islands make their boats on a combination of the two systems. They have the outrigger principle in place of that of the double canoe, but they make the outrigger hollow, and use it for stowing cargo; and in large canoes it is the home of a part of the crew. Then they have the platform, as in the case of the double canoe, and sometimes they have a sort of upper deck, or pilot-house, on the platform, where the captain stands to direct the movements of the craft. All these forms of boats are steered by means of paddles, and not with a rudder." "I wonder somebody in the civilized world does not take something from these savages in the way of boat-building," said Frank, as soon as the Doctor paused. "Seems to me there is a good deal in these ideas of the double canoe, and the way they manage them."