174 VOYAGE TO THE 



CHAP 

 VI. 



Jan. 



cloth I had given him. 1 made him in addition a 

 similar present, and distributed others of smaller 

 1826. value to several natives around us, in the hope of 

 quieting their solicitations ; but I soon perceived 

 that this generosity had the opposite effect. 



The young chief was handsomely tattooed; he 

 had a turban of white cloth, and a girdle of banana- 

 leaf as his only covering. He was more anxious to 

 communicate with us than the old man ; pointed to 

 the road leading over the hill to a village on the 

 opposite side, and made many signs, which we in- 

 terpreted as promising us the restoration of the 

 articles that had been stolen, and also some supplies ; 

 at the same time he intimated that a person of supe- 

 rior dignity resided on the other side of the hill. 

 But if this were true, the distance was only half a 

 mile, and we remained long enough in the village 

 for a person to have traversed it five or six times. 

 We were next introduced, by the chief, to several 

 women, who saluted us in the usual manner, and 

 thankfully accepted our presents. The chief wished 

 me particularly to notice one of them, a fine tall 

 woman about thirty -five years of age, with sharp 

 black eyes, long black hair, rather sunburnt, white 

 and even teeth, a complexion lighter than the gene- 

 rality of her country-women, and with a good-na- 

 tured countenance which the coarseness of feature 

 only prevented being pretty. She had an armlet 

 tattooed on each arm, and was without any other 

 ornament whatever ; her ears even were not pierced 

 for the reception of rings. Her dress consisted 

 of a piece of white cloth wrapped round the hips, 

 and another round the waist below the breast, 

 which was exposed. There was something com- 



