238 VOYAGE TO THE 



C vm P ' about fifty in number, had erected temporary huts 

 ^n^ during the stay of the Dart, their permanent resi- 

 1826. dences being at the opposite end of the island. 

 They were in appearance the most indolent ill-look- 

 ing race we had yet seen ; broad flat noses, dull 

 sunken eyes, thick lips, mouths turned down at the 

 corners, strongly wrinkled countenances, and long 

 bushy hair matted with dirt and vermin. Their 

 stature was above the middle size, but generally 

 crooked ; their limbs bony, their muscles flaccid, and 

 their only covering a maro. But hideous as the 

 men were, their revolting appearance was surpassed 

 by the opposite sex of the same age. The males 

 were all lolling against the cocoa-nut trees, with 

 their arms round each other's necks, enjoying the 

 refreshing shade of a thick foliage of palm-trees ; 

 while the women, old and young, were labouring 

 hard in the sun, in the service of their masters, for 

 they did not merit the name of husbands. The 

 children, quite naked, were placed upon mats, cry- 

 ing and rolling to and fro, to displace some of the 

 myriads of house-flies, which so speckled their bo- 

 dies that their real colour was scarcely discernible. 



Amidst this scene I was introduced to the chief, 

 who was distinguished from his subjects by his su- 

 perior height and strength, and probably maintained 

 his authority solely by those qualities. He gave me 

 a friendly reception, and suffered us to cut down 

 what wood we wanted, confining us only to those 

 trees which produced no edible fruits. In return 

 for some presents made him, he drew from his canoe 

 several pearl fishing hooks and bundles of turtle-shell, 

 and begged my acceptance of them ; but his extreme 

 poverty was such, that I could not bring myself to 



