THEIR VILLAGE. 223 



the first time — they were wretched half-starved 

 objects of various colours^ but ag'reed in being- 

 long'-bodied^ short-leg'g'ed^ and prick-eared^ with 

 sharp snout and lon^ tail^ slightly bushy^ but 

 tapering* to a point. They do not bark^ but have 

 the long* melancholy howl of the ding-o or Avild dog" 

 of Australia. 



At leng'th some of us found our way to the huts 

 of the natives which were close at hand^ and had 

 thus an opportunity of examining* one of them 

 minutely^ besides verifying* what we had before seen 

 only from a distance^ and with the aid of the 

 telescope. The distinctive characters of these huts 

 consist in their being long* and tunnel-like^ drooping* 

 and overhanging* at each end^ raised from the g*round 

 upon posts^ and thatched over. The four huts 

 composing* the villag*e were placed in two adjacent 

 clearing-s^ fifty or sixty yards in leng-th^ screened 

 from the beach by a belt of small trees and brush- 

 wood. Behind is the usual jung*le of the wooded 

 islands of the Archipelag'o^ with a path leading* 

 throuo-h it towards the centre of the island. A 

 solitary hut stood perched upon the ridg'e near the 

 summit shaded by cocoa-palms_, and partially hid 

 amono' the bushes and tall o-rass. It differed from 

 those of the villag*e in having* the posts projecting* 

 throug'h the roof; but whether used as a dwelling* or 

 not; is a matter of conjecture. It may possibly 

 have been used for the reception of the dead. In 

 the villa g-e an approximate measurement gave 



