168 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



Hardly a crew touches here without leaving some trace in the 

 population, for every family seems anxious to boast a white child. 

 Voyagers of the eighteenth century, whalers of the nineteenth, 

 shipwrecked sailors, traders, expeditioners, and Peruvian black- 

 birders, all contributed their quota. 



The first afternoon was spent ashore poking about the village. 

 We mounted the tough little horses which were offered everywhere 

 for our use in exchange for a smoke. Young girls lined the fences 

 along the road, making fun of us, and flying precipitately behind 

 the house when we rode too close. Good horsewomen themselves, 

 they laughed uproariously when we lost control of our mounts 

 in trying to pursue them. 



Toward evening we saw a revolting meat-market scene. An 

 old woman had slaughtered a sheep near the center of the village, 

 and a crowd began to gather, along with the flies. They brought 

 sweet potatoes, bananas, and taro with which to barter for meat. 

 The carcass lay in the dirt, positively black with flies. As many as 

 could reach it proceeded to pinch the meat, jabbering away with 

 the old woman who was going around in her turn rolling over the 

 vegetables. From time to time, someone having found what he 

 considered a tender cut, would yell for a knife and hack off a 

 piece, only to have it knocked out of his hands by the old lady, 

 as too large for his offering of yams. While it rolled in the 

 dirt and the flies were having their turn, they argued to a bargain. 



But all was not squalor among them. Some of the houses had 

 flourishing flower-gardens. On the day after our arrival the 

 villagers appeared dressed in dazzling white, thanks to our contri- 

 butions of soap and linens. They love to look clean themselves. 

 We had taken ashore a formidable accumulation of dirty linen 

 to be laundered by the native women; and paid for the work by 

 presenting the laundresses with twice the amount of soap neces- 

 sary to do the washing. Nothing is so much appreciated as this 

 present. On a previous visit Captain Ault had taken great pains 

 to teach the women how to make soap out of grease and potash, 

 but it was characteristic of these folk that they would rather go 

 without than take the trouble to make it. 



No one on the ship was allowed ashore after sundown because of 



