412 THE ADMIRALTY ISLANDS. 



a separate chief, and quite independent of each other. The 

 chiefs power seemed to depend on his fighting qualities. The 

 chief of Wild Island had considerable power. He ordered all 

 the canoes away from the ship on the first evening of our 

 arrival, on our anchoring. He took articles away from men 

 to whom they were given, and made arrangements for each 

 man of a party getting a hatchet. He never paddled himself, 

 and he pushed canoes out of the way when approaching the 

 ship. He, however, clamoured with the rest for presents and 

 trade. He had no ceremonious respect paid to him at all. 



The natives seemed friendly enough, but they vrere of course 

 excessively excited at our presence. No doubt they were 

 afraid of us. When a party, which landed with Captain Thom- 

 son on Dentrecasteaux Island, was putting off from shore in a 

 small boat to reach the pinnace, the inhabitants seemed pos- 

 sibly to be meditating an attack, for they suddenly produced 

 their lances and showed intense excitement ; no doubt the 

 sight of a sack full of trade articles in the boat was almost too 

 tempting for them. 



We were usually on very good terms with them. On one 

 occasion Mr. R. Richards, Paymaster of the " Challenger," 

 accompanied a number of natives in the chief's canoe, which 

 was guiding a party to Pigeon Island. He took down the 

 names of the whole crew. 



The natives were very much frightened at some Goats which 

 were offered to them by Captain Thomson, and refused to let 

 them be landed on the inhabited islands. They were very 

 much scared also by a wooden jointed toy Snake which I 

 showed them swaying to and fro; and evidently must be 

 acquainted with poisonous snakes, as they made signs for me 

 to kill the thing or it would injure me. A squeaking Doll, 

 which kicked its legs and arms about, frightened the chief Oto 

 very much, and he and others made signs at once to have the 

 thing put out of their sight. 



With regard to the population of the islands, I estimated 

 that the population of Wild Island was about 400 or 500, and 

 that of Dentrecasteaux Island about 250 or 300. This estimate 

 for these two small northern outliers has unfortunately been 

 mistaken * for an estimate of the population of the entire group, 

 which may, perhaps, be conjectured to amount to about as 

 many natives for the same range of coast line all round the 

 main island. Jacobs describes the entire range of outlying 

 islands and part of the coast of the main island as inhabited, 

 and in places densely so. 



* Behm und Wagner. "Die Bevolkerung der Erde," V. Petermann 

 Mittheilungen, 1878, s. 48. 



