192 FIND NATIVES APPAKENTLY FRIENDLY. 



the villa g*e^ in a short time the two foremost^ Messrs. 

 Huxley and Brierly^* the latter having- laid down 

 his rifle_, were allowed to approach and parley. 

 Meanwliile^ Lieut. Simpson and I remained behind 

 watching' the natives A^*ho quickly sui^rounded the 

 tAvo others^ offering* tortoise-shelly gTeen plantains, 

 and other thing's for barter^ and hustling* them in no 

 very ceremonious way while intent upon sketch- 

 ing*^ and having* to keep their subjects in g*ood 

 humour by treating* them to sundry scraps of 

 extempore melo-dramatic performance. New comers 

 were continually making- their appearance^ and all 

 the party were noAV suddenl}^ observed to have fur- 

 nished themselves with spears^ none of which had 

 been seen at first^ and which had probably been 

 concealed among* the long* g*rass at the spot to which 

 they had led us. These weapons are made of 

 polished cocoa-nut wood^ eig'ht to ten feet long*, 

 sharp at each end, and beautifully balanced, the 

 thickest jiart being* two-fifths of the distance fi^om 

 the point ; one end w^as usually ornamented with a 

 narrow strip of palm leaf, fluttering* in the breeze 

 like a pennon as usually carried. One man was 

 furnished with a two-edg'ed carved and painted in- 

 strument like a sword. Most of these people had 

 their face daubed over with broad streaks of char- 

 coal down the centre and round the e3'es, occasionally 

 varieg-ated vvith white, g-i^dng* them a most forbid- 



* A talented marine artist who accompanied us upon this and 

 the preceding cruize, as Captain Stanley's guest. 



