Savage Life. 873 



cake, and the refuse nut after the oil has been extracted by 

 boiling, form the chief sustenance of these people ; and the ef- 

 fect of this poor and unwholesome diet is seen in the frequen- 

 cy of eruptions and scurfy skin diseases, and the numerous 

 sores that disfigure the faces of the children. 



The villages are situated on high and rugged coral peaks, 

 only accessible by steep narrow paths, with ladders and bridges 

 over yawning chasms. They are filthy with rotten husks and 

 oil refuse, and the huts are dark, greasy, and dirty in the ex- 

 treme. The people are wretched ugly dirty savages, clothed 

 in unchanged rags, and living in the most miserable manner ; 

 and as every drop of fresh water has to be brought up from 

 the beach, washing is never thought of; yet they are actual- 

 ly wealthy, and have the means of purchasing all the neces- 

 saries and luxuries of life. Fowls are abundant, and eggs 

 were given me whenever I visited the villages, but these are 

 never eaten, being looked upon as pets or as merchandise. 

 Almost all the women wear massive gold earrings, and in 

 every village there are dozens of smaU bronze cannon lying 

 about on the ground, although they have cost on the average 

 perhaps £10 apiece. The chief men of each village came to 

 visit me, clothed in robes of silk and flowei'ed satin, though 

 their houses and their daily fare are no better than those of 

 the other inhabitants. What a contrast between these peo- 

 ple and such savages as the best tribes of Hill Dyaks in Bor- 

 neo, or the Indians of the TJaupes in South America, living 

 on the banks of clear streams, clean in their persons and their 

 houses, with abundance of wholesome food, and exhibiting its 

 effect in healthy skins and beauty of form and feature ! There 

 is in fact almost as much difference between the various races 

 of savage as of civilized peoples, and we may safely aflirm 

 that the better specimens of the former are much superior to 

 the lower examples of the latter class. 



One of the few luxuries of Matabello is the palm-wine, 

 which is the fermented sap from the flower stems of the co- 

 coa-nut. It is really a very nice drink, more like cider than 

 beer, though quite as intoxicating as the latter. Young cocoa- 

 nuts are also very abundant, so that anywhere in the island 

 it is only necessary to go a few yards to find a delicious bev- 

 erage by climbing up a tree for it. It is the water of the 



