1841.] CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS. 405 



a midwife, by external pressure upon the womb. This prac- 

 tice is not looked upon with the least abhorrence, and unmar- 

 ried women always avoid having children in this way. In- 

 fanticide, however, is never known to occur. Indeed, parents 

 are very fond of their children, and indulge them in every 

 whim and caprice. 



The inhabitants of Makin, or Pitt's Island, which lies 

 furthest to the north, differ in some respects from the natives 

 of the other islands, in their personal appearance. Instances of 

 corpulence are not rare among the latter, but the former look 

 much like over-fed porkers. Both men and women are ex- 

 ceedingly gross ; but they are as good-natured and inoffensive 

 as they are fat, and vessels stopping at the island are likely 

 to meet with much better treatment than among the southern 

 islands. Their faces are more oval, and they are somewhat 

 lighter and fairer in complexion than the inhabitants of the 

 other members of the group. 



With the exception of the natives residing on Pitt's Island, 

 the Kingsmill Islanders are all fierce and warlike in disposi- 

 tion. There are frequent bloody encounters between the 

 inhabitants of rival towns, and the different islands. They 

 are naturally intelligent, cheerful and sociable, and fond of 

 mirth and merriment, though they sometimes give way to 

 fits of sulkiness and despondency, and commit suicide by hang- 

 ing themselves on trees. Among their own people they are 

 both hospitable and generous, but treacherous and deceitful 

 in their intercourse with the whites. They are also dishonest 

 and thievish, inclined to be jealous, and very passionate. 

 They are cruel and reckless of human life, but pay unusual 

 respect to the dead, — washing their bodies and anointing them 

 with cocoa-nut oil, and then burying them in the ground under 

 their houses, with the head to the east, or wrapping them in 

 mats, till the flesh decays, when the remains are exhumed, and 

 the skulls preserved with great care. When they kill an 

 enemy they dig out his teeth and string them in necklaces ; 

 the hair is also clipped off and twisted into wreaths, cords, and 

 bands ; and of the bones various instruments are made. 



