188 COMMUNICATE WITH 



fancied he spoke some Malay dialect fi^om the simi- 

 larity in sound and intonation of his words^ nor was 

 it until I had used some of the commonest and least 

 chang-eable Malay words — as those meaning- iire^ 

 water^ &;c. — without being' understood^ that I was 

 convinced of my mistake. Two others of our party 

 were allowed to come up one by one^ and some 

 triflinof articles were exchano-ed for various orna- 

 ments. Still they would not suffer any one with a 

 g'un to approach^ althoug*h anxious to entice us 

 singly and unarmed to their village towards which 

 they were gradually leading us^ and Avhere they 

 could be reinforced by another party^ whom we saw 

 w^atching- us on the edge of the mangroves. 



But it was not considered expedient to waste more 

 time upon the natives^ so we turned back and 

 walked along- the eastern side of the island one and a 

 half miles^ Avith the boat in company outside. A 

 small stream of fi^esh water was found^ not sufficient^ 

 however^ for om* wantS; nor was the place suitable 

 for the approach of boats. The rock on Pig- Island^ 

 where exposed at some of the points^ is mica slate^ 

 soft and splintery in many places^ with frequent 

 veins of quartz. The hills^* although often running* 

 in ridges^ have a rounded outline^ and the soil on the 

 smooth grassy places — comprising three-fourths of 

 the island — is composed of disintegrated rock mixed 

 with pieces of undecomposed quartz_, any considerable 



* The highest part of the island; measured up to the tops of 

 the trees, is 479 feet. 



