Singular Scene of Barter with the Natives. 615 



battered boxes, in which the islanders stow away their 

 small property. 



A crowd of eager expectants had gathered round the crates 

 of merchandise which our sailors had brought on shore, and 

 the barter began. 



The natives had swine, poultry, a few eggs, papayas, 

 Taro, cocoa-nuts, and bananas to offer, while we had an 

 assortment of knives, hatchets, saws, flints, fish-hooks, calico, 

 linen, blue cloth, ribbons, linen-thread, needles, coarse to- 

 bacco, biscuit, red coral, glass beads, empty bottles, &c. &c. 



This commerce was something higher than a mere barter — 

 it had also a psychological interest of its own. Useful goods 

 and tools found a much less demand than baubles and 

 objects of personal adornment ; and for a string of glass 

 beads only fit to hang round the neck of a wife, or to put 

 as a bracelet upon the arm of some little dusky daughter, 

 provisions enough were given away to have supported an 

 entire family for days. 



Red and green seemed the colours most in demand, and 

 the small beads were in far more request than the larger and 

 heavier descri^^tions, even if these latter were more costly 

 and neat. It seemed the women were not permitted to show 

 themselves at market, which must have been a sore enough 

 disappointment for many ; but the men earnestly requested 

 before closing with an offer to be permitted to carry off the 

 coveted prizes, leaving their own articles of barter in pledge, 

 apparently with the gallant attention of first of all obtaining 



