o. 



20 



A NATURALIST'S WAXDEniSGS 



devoid of all feelings of gratitude or pity. To give anything 

 for nothing would be a breach of all their horedit^irj instincts. 



On one occasion, towards t!ie end of 

 our stay, when our larder was empty 

 and our men were away in the northern 

 island of 3Iolu, a bunch of fish, which 



A was sorely in need of after a 



long bout of fever, was brought to us 

 for sale; but the barter demanded was 

 a particular kind of button, of which 

 we had not a single example remain- 

 ing. We offered almost anything thoy 

 might choose from our stock — cloth, 



nothinir, however, but 



knives, beads— 



tJie button would satisfy them. Give 

 us the fishes tho owner would not; 

 instead, he hung them on a peg at our 

 very door, where we dared not have 

 touched them, whcr3 they remained 

 till next day, when I Iia<l to fetch him 

 to relieve us of tlio putrefying odour, 

 which he did by casting them into 

 tlve sea ! Where they think they can 

 escape detection they lie and steal 

 without compunction, though their laws punish the latter with 

 slavery, from which the thief can be ransomed only by a great 

 sum. When sober they are good natured enough and live in 

 harmony with each other, but in their cups they are easily 

 offended. To their enemies they are savagely cruel, executing 

 on those that fall into their hands the most revolting atrocities 

 before affixing their dismembered quarters to their public 



SrSPENSORT COXTRIVAXCE 

 MADE OF PALM-LEAF. 



places. 



Like all untutored races they are very inquisitive 



They 



watched our " manners and customs " as eagerly as we c 



did 



theirs. From morning to night we had constant relays lying 

 in or sitting about our house, Avhoni it was impossible to dis- 

 miss without giving offence. Though it was a very interesting 

 study and there was much to be learned from watching those 

 big children in their various moods, it was not quite pleasant to 

 have them always with us, or to take our food with an infijaitesi- 



