NATIVES AND CATAMARANS. 255 



wooded hills alono- the coast in front of a more 

 distant and nearly continuous rang-e of hig'h moun- 

 tains covered with trees up to their very summits. 



Next morning* we were visited by a party of 

 natives from the neio'hbourino' island, consistino* of 



OOP D 



six men in a canoe^ and one on a catamaran or raft. 

 They were perfectly unarmed and came boldly 

 along'side with a quantity of yams and cocoa-nuts 

 for barter 3 when their stock Avas exhausted^ they 

 returned for more^ and_, accompanied by others^ 

 repeated the visit several times during* the day. 

 Althouo'h there was no obvious difference between 

 these natives and those of the southern portion of 

 the Louisiade^ 3^et the catamaran was quite new to 

 us^ and the canoe differed considerabl}^ from any 

 which we had seen before. 



The first catamaran was only nine feet long*^ — it 

 consisted of three thick planks lashed tog-ether^ 

 formino- a sort of raft, which one man sittino- a 

 little behind the middle^ with his leg's doubled under 

 him^ manag-ed ver}^ dexterously with his paddle. 

 AVe afterwards saw others of a larg-er size^ some of 

 them capable of carrying* a dozen people with their 

 effects. One of this description is made of three 

 loo's — rarely two or four — laid side by side^ and 

 firmlv secured to each other Avith strips of rattan at 

 each end^ and in two or three other places. The 

 upper surface is smoothed down flat; and the central 

 piece projects a little way at each end which usually 

 sheAvs some rude carving* touched up with red and 



