258 NATIVES ON BOARD. 



drum^ keeping* very good time and causing' roars of 

 laug-hter by his strang-e g-rimaces and antics. The 

 effect of this pantomime was heightened by the style 

 of painting' adopted b}^ the actor whose face had 

 been blackened with charcoal, varieo*ated bv a white 

 streak alono- the evebrows turned down at the ends, 

 and another along the cheeks passing round the chin. 

 Aug, IStJi. — The boisterous state of the weather 

 did not prevent the natives from repeatedly coming* 

 off to us with various articles of barter 3 and we were 

 even visited by a party of seven men from Tissot 

 Island^ who paddled up on a catamaran ^ye or six 

 miles to windAvard ao'ainst a strong- breeze and cur- 

 rent. After some little persuasion^ several of them 

 were induced to come on board and were shewn round 

 the ship, presented with various articles^ and dressed 

 out with scraps of clothing' of every description. At 

 iirst they shewed symptoms of uneasiness^ and made 

 frequent protestations of friendships as if the circum- 

 stance of our repeating' them g-ave increased confi- 

 dence. Their mode of salutation or expression of 

 friendship consists in first touching the nose with the 

 forefinger and thumb of one hand^ and then pinching 

 the skin on each side of the navel Avith the other^ 

 calling out at the same time^ magdsuga I This habit 

 resembles on one hand that of rubbino- noses, so 

 general in Polynesia^ — and on the other^ the custom 

 of pinching the navel and repeating the name for that 

 part, practised b}^ the islanders of Torres Strait. At 

 length our visitors AvithdreAV^ Avell pleased with their 



