THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. 451 



through openings in the reef to the vessel, though a stiff 

 breeze was blowing, and the natives were evidently in great 

 excitement and eager to reach the ship. Paddles were waved 

 to show friendship, and various articles of barter exhibited to 

 tempt us. The constant cry was " laban, laban ! " which sounded 

 to us at first like " tabac tabac," but which we afterwards found 

 out to be, like the Humboldt Bay " sigor," the word for iron. 

 Iron was the wealth they coveted. 



Having seen the ship securely anchored, the chief ordered 

 all the canoes away, and we were left alone till the morning. 

 In the morning trade went on briskly, the canoes crowding 

 round the ship, and the natives handing their weapons and 

 ornaments through the main deck ports. The barter we gave 

 in exchange principally was ordinary hoop iron broken up into 

 pieces about six inches in length; but we also disposed of a 

 great quantity of so-called " trade gear." 



Trade gear is regularly manufactured for Polynesian trading, 

 and sold by merchants in Sydney and elsewhere, We had 

 bought a stock of about £300 worth for the ship's use. It 

 consisted of a cask of small axes, worthless articles, with soft 

 iron blades, butchers' knives of all sizes, some of them with the 

 blade 12 or 14 inches in length ; cotton cloth, Turkey red and 

 navy blue, beads, and other similar articles. 



'The islanders had possibly traded with Europeans before our 

 visit within tolerably recent time* They brought off their 

 tortoiseshell ready done up in bundles, and they knew the 

 relative value of various qualities. The chief had a large 

 European axe, which I believe was not procured from the 

 ship, and many natives had hoop iron adzes. Nevertheless 

 they must have had very little experience indeed, otherwise 

 they would not have taken old German newspapers freely as 

 trade as they did at the first, thinking them to be fine cloth, 

 until rain had fallen. They soon took to making trade goods, 



* There were specimens of Admiralty Island lances and gourds in Gen. 

 Lane Fox's Collection, and in the Christy and British Museum Collections, 

 procured before the " Challenger " visit. These have probably been ob- 

 tained from Cape York, and no doubt were taken there by tortoiseshell and 

 pearl-shell traders who had visited the Admiralty Group. 

 1 G G2 



