FIND NATIVES APPARENTLY FRIENDLY. 191 



the front teeth^ but the septum of the nose was 

 perforated to admit an ornament of polished shelly 

 pointed and shg-htly turned up at each end. The 

 lobe of the ear was slit^ the hole being- either kept 

 distended by a larg-e plug- of rolled up leaf;, appa- 

 rentl}^ of the banana^ or hung' with thin circular 

 earring's made of the g'round down end of a cone- 

 shell ( Comis millepunctatus) one and a half inches 

 in diameter^ a\ ith a central hole and a sUt leading' to 

 the edg-e. A piece of cloth-like substance^ the dried 

 leaf of the Pandanus or some palm was used by all 

 as a breech cloth^ — it passes between the leg-s and 

 is secured in front and behind to a narrow waist- 

 band. 



June 17th, — I formed one of the party in the 

 second cutter^ sent in command of Lieut. Simpson^ 

 on a similar mission to that of yesterday. As we 

 passed along- the north side of Pig' Island we saw 

 small groups of natives upon the g-rassy ridg-es 

 watching- the boat; and^ upon our closely approach- 

 ing- the north-west point of the island^ one of them^ 

 whom we recognised as our light- coloured acquaint- 

 ance of yesterday^ came running down to the top of 

 a bank inviting us by gestures to land. 



Four of our party got on shore with difficulty 

 after a long- wade upon the reef, up to the waist in 

 water^ but^ on ascending the bank^ the " red man/' 

 as we provisionally named him^ retired to a small 

 group of natives who were coming up. Following- 

 them as they o-raduallv fell back in the direction of 



