408 THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. 



that he had five wives. 1 do not imagine that the aged are 

 killed. I saw several aged miserably lean hags, one especially 

 emaciated and disgusting to look upon, and also old men. 

 On one occasion amongst a party of 42 natives in nine canoes 

 there were two old men, one with grey hair, the other some- 

 what infirm. Children are carried by the women generally on 

 the back, but sometimes on the hip astride. 



The chief Oto pointed out one youth as his son, and took 

 away presents which were given to him. 



The village at Dentrecasteaux Island is fortified. A palisade 

 about ten feet high stretches right across the corner of the 

 island, where the village lies, shutting this off from the landing- 

 place. The path to the village led through a gate-like open- 

 ing in the palisade, which seemed in not very good repair. 

 The palisade was without ditch or embankment. The village 

 itself was surrounded by a second wall, low, and crossed by 

 stiles ; at Wild Island there was no fortification. The natives 

 inhabit the small outlying islands, probably for protection from 

 attack. Very few natives were seen living on the main land, 

 and these few at one spot only. Former places of dwelling 

 on the main land appear to have been abandoned. We saw 

 no actual fighting, but in a quarrel about some barter along- 

 side the ship, Oto, the chief, attempted to strike a native in 

 another canoe from a distant small island. He was prevented 

 by his own men, who held him back. The opposite party at 

 once got their spears ready, and threatened him with them. 



I saw no traces of Cannibalism, although an anonymous 

 correspondent of the Times newspaper, writing from the 

 ship, appears to have thought that he saw evidence of it, and 

 Jacobs relates an instance of the occurrence of what he supposes 

 was a Cannibal Feast. 



There are several Temples in Wild Island ; they have 

 already been partially described. One such had as door-posts 

 a male and female figure roughly carved in wood, but 

 elaborately ornamented with incised patterns and colour. 

 Between the legs of the female figure was represented a fish. 

 There are in the same figure black patches with white spots, 

 which appear to mark out the breasts. The hair in both 

 figures is represented as cut short, and thus the mop of hair 

 of the warrior is not represented in the male figure. No 

 clothes, i.e., T-bandage of bark-cloth, bulla shell, nor ornaments, 

 such as ear-rings, nose ornaments, and breast-plates, are 

 indicated on the figures, and the male figure has no weapons. 

 The ears of both figures are, however, slit for ear-rings, and it 

 is possible that a zone of diagonal ornament passing round the 

 body of the male figure represents the plaited waistbelt com- 



