Chap, xvii.] A DILEMMA. 381 



halted and made signs of refusal ; he then took up one of his 

 arrows, and holding the point to his neck just above the collar 

 bone, made signs of forcing it into his body, and then throw- 

 ing back his arms and head, and turning up his eyes, pretended 

 to fall backwards by a series of jerks, in imitation of death ; 

 then he caught hold of the yam again and proffered it a second 

 time, and on renewed refusal, went through the imaginary 

 killing process again. 



We began to move toward shore, when the man ran to the 

 end of the canoe nearest the boat, and fitting an arrow against 

 the string of his bow, drew the bow with his full strength and 

 pointed the arrow full at me ; I was standing up at the time 

 with a loaded double-barrelled gun in the stern of the boat. 



As he drew the bow he contorted his face into the most 

 hideous expression of rage, with his teeth clenched and ex- 

 posed, and eyes starting. This expression was evidently 

 assumed to terrify us as an habitual part of the fight, and not 

 because the man was in reality in a rage. In Chinese and 

 Japanese battle-scenes, or hunting-scenes in which attacks 

 upon large animals are depicted, the faces of the combatants 

 are usually represented as horribly contorted with rage. No 

 doubt the grimace is assumed as a menace amongst savages 

 on just the same principle as that on which an animal shows 

 its teeth. The native shifted his aim sometimes on to Von 

 Willemoes Suhm, and sometimes on to Mr. Buchanan, who 

 was nearest to him. 



We were in a dilemma ; the man evidently did not under- 

 stand the use of fire-arms, for the whole boat's-crew was fully 

 armed, and we in the stern were all provided with guns. He 

 evidently thought that we were unarmed because we had no 

 bows and arrows ; he might have let slip an arrow five feet 

 long into any one of us in an instant. 



We of course would not shoot the man in cold blood ; if we 

 had fired over his head, he would certainly have let fly one 

 arrow at least, and he was within six yards of the boat. The 

 boys who paddled him were exuberantly delighted at the 

 prowess and success of their warrior. 



The canoe was pushed up to the stern of our boat, and the 

 mn caught hold of our gunwale. Another canoe joined in to 

 share in the spoil, and closed in at the stern also. The two 

 warriors seized a large tin vasculum of mine from the seat, 

 and immediately began struggling between themselves for it, 

 and taking advantage of the struggle we pulled back to the 

 ship. 



The vasculum contained some trade knives and three bottles 

 of soda-water. I expect no savages were ever so thoroughly 



