270 MODE OF BARTERING. 



sino'ular habit of directinsf attention to tlieir wares 

 by a loud^ sharp ss, ss^ a kind of hissing* sound^ 

 equivalent to ^^ look at this/' In their barg-aining* 

 the natives have g*enerally been very honesty far 

 more so than our own people whom I have fre- 

 quently seen cheating* them by passing- off scraps of 

 thin worthless iron^ and even tin and copper^ for 

 pieces of hoop^ the imposition not being- found out 

 until the property has chang-ed hands. As at the 

 Louisiade iron hoop is the article most prized by the 

 natives^ and is valued according* to its width and 

 thickness as a substitute for the stone-heads of their 

 axes. They also shewed great eag*erness to obtain 

 our hatchets and hsh-hooks^ but attached little value 

 to calico^ althoug-h a g'audy pattern^ or brig-ht colour^ 

 especially red^ was sure to arrest attention* but in such 

 matters they are very capricious. Even g*lass bottles 

 were prized^ probabl}^ as a substitute for obsidian or 

 volcanic g*lass^ portions of which I saw among* them^ 

 used in shaving*^ as was explained to me^ and pro- 

 bably also for carving* in wood. 



Aug. 2ofh. — Yesterda}' and to-day^ in addition 

 to upwards of a hundred natives alongside bartering*^ 

 we were honom*ed with visits from several parties of 

 the Tassai ladies^ in whose favour the prohibition to 

 come on board was repealed for the time. The young* 

 women were got up with greater attention to dress 

 and finery than when seen on shore^ and some had 

 their face blackened as if to heio-hten their attractions. 

 The outer petticoat^ worn on gala days such as this^ 



