396 VOYAGE TO THE 



body from side to side. The poor little thing was 

 so abashed that she did not even lift her head or 

 1826. ' open her eyes during the whole of her performance, 

 and seemed glad when it was over, though she was 

 not unmindful of the praise bestowed upon her 

 exertions. 



The violent action of the male performers required 

 that they should occasionally take breath, during 

 which time the music was lowered ; but as soon as 

 the ring was re-furnished it again became loud and 

 animated. A grown-up female now formed one of 

 the party, and appeared to be the prize of contention 

 among several young men, who repeatedly endea- 

 voured to ingratiate themselves with her, but she 

 as often rejected their offers and waved them away. 

 At last an old man, all but naked, jumped into 

 the ring, and was beginning some indecent gesticu- 

 lations, when his appearance not meeting with 

 our approbation, he withdrew, and the performance 

 having been wrought to its highest pitch of noise 

 and animation, ceased. 



Such is the rude dance of these people, in which, 

 as may be seen from the above description, there 

 was neither elegance nor grace ; but on the con- 

 trary it was noisy, violent, and as barbarous as them- 

 selves. The dancers were dressed for the occasion in 

 their best clothes, which they considered indispen- 

 sable, as they would not sell them to us until the 

 performance was over. In addition to their usual 

 costume, some had a kind of tippet of ermine and 

 sable skins thrown over their shoulders, and others 

 wore a band on their heads, with strips of skin sus- 

 pended to it at every two inches, to the end of which 

 were attached the nails of seals. 



