Excerpt from: Pigafetta's Voyage Round The World

Effected in the Years 1519, 1520, 1521, and 1522
By the Chevalier Pigafetta, on board the Squadron of Magellan

When we had run seventy leagues in this direction and were in latitude twelve degrees north, longitude one hundred and forty-six degrees, on Wednesday the 6th of March, we discovered in the north-west a small island, and afterwards two others in the south-west. The first was more lofty and larger than the other two. The captain-general meant to stop at the largest to victual and refresh; but this was rendered impossible, as the islanders came on board our ships, and stole, first one thing and then another, without our being able to prevent them. They invited us to take in our sails and come on shore, and even had the address to steal the skiff which hung astern of our vessel. Exasperated at length, our captain landed with forty men, burnt forty or fifty of their houses, and several of their boats, and killed seven of the people. By acting thus he recovered his skiff; but he did not deem it prudent to stop any longer after such acts of hostility. We therefore continued our course in the same direction as before.

On our entering the boats to land and punish the islanders, or sick people besought us, if any of them should chance to be killed, to bring them their intestines, persuaded that they would soon effect their cure.

When our people wounded any of the islanders with their arrows, (of which weapons they had on conception,) and chanced to pierce them through, the unfortunate sufferers endeavoured to draw out these arrows from their bodies, now by one end, now by another; after which they looked at them with astonishment, and sometimes died of their wounds, a circumstance that did not fail to excite our pity. Still, when they saw us about to depart, they followed us with more than a hundred canoes, and showed us fish as if disposed to sell it; but when near us they pelted us with stones, and took to flight. We sailed through the midst of them under full sail, but they avoided our vessels with much dexterity. We likewise saw in their boats, crying and tearing their hair, some women, whose husbands probably had been killed.

These people are ignorant of any law, and are guided merely by their inclinations. They have no king, nor any chief; adore no Being or image, and go naked. Some among them have a long beard, and black hair, tied over the forehead and hanging down to the girdle. They likewise wear small hats made of palms. They are of good size and well built. Their complexion is an olive brown, but we were told they are born fair, and become dark as they increase in years. They possess the art of staining their teeth red and black, which with them is a mark of beauty. The women are pretty, of handsome shape, and less dark than the men. Their hair is very black, sleek, and hangs to the ground. They go naked like the men, except their privities, which they cover with a very narrow strip of cloth, or rather of the inner bark of the palm tree. Their whole employment is in their houses, in making mats and baskets of the leaves of the palm-tree, and in other similiar works. Both men and women anoint their hair, and the whole of the body, with the oil of the cocoa-nut and seseli.

These people live on birds, flying-fish, potatoes, a sort of figs half a foot long, sugar-canes and other similiar productions. Their houses are of wood covered with planks, over which leaves of the fig-trees four feet in length are spread. They have tolerably decent rooms, with rafters and window frames; and their beds are pretty soft, being made of very fine matting of the palm-tree laid upon straw. Their only arms are a lance tipped with pointed fish-bone. The inhabitants of these islands are poor, but very dextrous, and above all at thieving; for this reason we gave the name De los Ladrones to the islands.

Their chief amusement consists in sailing about with their wives in canoes similiar to the gondolas of Fusine near Venice, but they are still more narrow; all of them are painted, either black, white, or red. The sail is made of the leaves of the palm-tree sewed together, and has the shape of a latine sail. It is always placed on one side; and on the opposite side, to form an equipoise to the sail, they fasten a large wooden log, pointed at one end, with poles laid across and fixed in it, which keeps the boat steady and admits of their sailing without apprehension; their rudder resenbles a baker's shovel, that is to say, it consists of a pole fastened into a plank. They make no difference between head and stern, as they have a rudder at each end. They are excellent swimmers, and have as little fear of the sea as dolphins.

They were so much astonished at the sight of us, that we had reason to believe they had never seen any other than the inhabitants of their own island.