Kotzebue’s Expedition 1815-1818
Kotzebue’s description of the appearance of the men of the islands corresponds with the portrait of Rarick as well as the men appearing in the interior scene: "They rub their long black hair with cocoa oil, tie it together above the forehead, and adorn it with flowers and wreaths made of shells; round their necks they wear ornaments of red shells… We were most struck by their ear-holes, which measure more than three inches in diameter, in which they wore green leaves rolled together…" Kotzebue also wrote of another man on the island whom he befriended: "One of my companions, an elderly man, who seemed to possess much natural understanding, pleased me very much by his behavior. Lagediack was the name of my friend and teacher, for I really learnt more words from him in a few hours, than from others in several days…; he told me, for example, that this island is called Otdia, and the whole group is named after it."	Rarick, Chief of the Island of Otdia [in Radack chain, Marshall Islands] from Entdeckungs-Reise in de Süd See und Nach der Berings-Strasse zur Erforschung Einer Nordöstlichen Durchfahrt: Weimar: Hoffmann, 1821.
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