THE MUSEUM. 



85, 



Another girl came in to prepare a 

 paste of lime with which she smeared 

 two men's heads, rubbing it thorough- 

 ly through their hair. This custom is 

 common in many countries, the pur- 

 pose being to bleach the hair to a yel- 

 lowish or reddish brown. 



After drinking the kava I lay down 

 to rest and Misi went off with one of 

 the girls to catch some fish. When 

 they returned and the fish were cooked 

 we had our dinner. 



A man from the village to which we 

 were going, with his wife and child, 

 came to me and offered to escort my 

 party there. The path was choked 

 with weeds; in some places ran through 

 banana patches, and in others 

 followed the dry bed of a stream. It 

 was a constant surprise to me to see 

 how the natives could walk barefooted 

 over the sharp rocks without appar- 

 ently hurting their feet. Towards 

 dusk we arrived at Tapueleele, a vil- 

 lage consisting of but four houses. 



We found that our escort was the 

 "big chief" of the place, and accord- 

 ing to his wish stopped with him for 

 the night. But before it become to 

 dark we hastened to the cave to try tn 

 secure some bats. I had previously 

 tried my best to make sure whether 

 they were bats or swallows which 

 haunted the cavern, but could get but 

 little satisfaction since the natives' 

 ideas did not seem to be very clear on 

 the subject. The entrance to the cav- 

 ern was at the bottom of a deep de- 

 pression, down the sides of which we 

 scrambled, hanging to roots and 

 branches, and sticking our heels in the 

 soil to keep from getting down too 

 50on. The interlocking trees above 

 cut out most of the remaining light of 

 day, and gave the place an air of gloom 

 and awe. I now found the cause of 

 my trouble in learning from the natives 

 whether birds or bats occupied the 

 cavern. There were both, and num- 

 bers of each were fluttering and flitting 

 about the entrance, some coming out 

 and passing away between the tree 

 tops, others returning, would whirl 



back and forth a few times at the 

 mouth of the cave before entering. 

 To my great disappointment I found 

 that it was impracticable to enter, ow- 

 ing to the muddy floor, caused by the 

 recent rains. I had hoped to enter 

 and study the habits of the winged in- 

 habitants of those dark chambers, but 

 now I must content mj'self with stand- 

 ing at the open door and slay them, as 

 they entered or emerged, with branch- 

 ed switches. This was a cruel sport, 

 but it is so often the fate of the natur- 

 alist to be a destroyer of life and pro- 

 ducer of misery. Far better would it 

 have seemed to let them flit on in hap- 

 piness undisturbed, but no, science 

 calls for their cadaverous bodies. We 

 secured in this manner about' 100 bats 

 and a few swallows 



In the evening I was entertained by 

 several of the village folk. A large 

 tin of meat was distributed to those 

 assembled at the evening meal and 

 \\as. I am sure, quite a treat to them, 

 as their customary diet is mostly on 

 fruits and starchy foods. Aside from 

 ii-h they do not often have meat, al- 

 Lhough they have some fowls and pigs. 

 Rectangular palm-leaf mats about 12 

 by 20 inches are lain on the floor, on 

 which to place the food, each mat 

 serving for one or two persons. The 

 food is only cooked in the morning 

 and is kept in palm-leaf baskets hung 

 on pegs on the cross beams of the 

 house. After it is distributed around 

 on the mats, all sit around — on the floor 

 also — with the legs curled up, and eat, 

 using fingers for forks. Bread-fruit, 

 taro, yams, bananas and cocoanuts are 

 the customary food. All are cooked 

 even the banana which are almost al- 

 w^ays used green. 



In the evening, family prayers were 

 said in each house, followed by the 

 singing of a hymn. 



Naturally I was the whole topic of 

 conversation among the natives, but 

 as I could not understand them I 

 amused myself studying their actions 

 and habits. During the evening I 

 (juite surprised one of the young misses 



