IN TIMOB-LAUT. 321 



maliy clad savage sitting at the tal)le,ruI>Ling las lu|).s against 

 our -plates. Happily, I observed one day that they had a 

 mighty horror of snakes, wliich supplied me witli an I'lTertiml 

 means of ridding: ourselves when over-burdened witli \\\v\x com- 



pany. I would cauHonsly proccfnl to insert my liand without 

 any apparent reference to our visitors, into tia' hngr tin in 

 which my spirit specimens were Ivcpt, an operation they pressed 

 closely and intently round me to watcli. A vigorous splutt<r 

 inside made them draw Lack somewhat ; but on withdraw ing my 

 liaud with a writhing snake, the crowd Wi>uld tumldr^ over each 

 other out at the door scrcannng and shouting. As thuy n(»ver 

 waited to see the end of the operation, they never came to know 

 that I had not a mania for keeping live snakes. 



In tlie treatment of their children, both parents wure inva- 

 riably kind and affectionate. To see the fatliers carrying about 

 their children in the evenings, with kindly care, one could 

 scarcely believe in the savage ferocity of their natures, as we 

 had seen it exhibited more tlian once. Like motliers nvorv- 



where else, the women seemed pleased at the notice A^ would 



take of their infants, who, like those with white skins, dorived 

 amusement from little dolls— stuffed with rice grains instead of 

 sawdust ; and the little packets of sugar she often gave them 

 were inviolately kept though tempting enough to the motliers 

 aUo, and driven to them little bv little. All their children were 

 profusely adorned with beads and necklets, and thnir little 

 limbs were encased in perfect bucklers of shell armh'ts. 



The youths and boys used to play in the evenings in tho 

 most lively manner, often in company w itli llie younger fathers, 

 while a crowd of interested villagers looked on. One of their 

 groat amusements was the sailing of miniature boats elegantly 

 made out o^ g aha- gala, or sago palm stems, which they entered 

 for championship in spirited regattas. Tlu-y would build also 

 forts of sand, and defend them against their comra*1e fo^s with 

 balls of wet mud. The laughter which hailed a good hit told 

 of the enjoyment and interest of the on-looking crowd of 

 villagers of all ages. Their chi<f game, however, one more of 

 skill and precision than the others, Avas played witli discs cut 

 off from the top oi conns shells, of which each player had two 

 One of these rpioits he deposited in a little depression in the 

 ground, and the other he played from a crease a fe\v yards 



