114 STROLL INTO THE COUNTRY. 



for what purpose it was designed. Pursuing my 

 way, I found a number of trees covered with the 

 names of ships that had visited Balli, with date and 

 country attached : amongst them I noticed that of the 

 Spanish ship before mentioned, and those of several 

 whalers, with the quantity of oil they had aboard 

 specified. I found some one had been here before 

 me and carved our old barque's name in large charac- 

 ters. Beyond this spot I discovered that a verj- popu- 

 lous country existed ; but why w^e had not been told 

 of it at the lower town, I cannot divine. The natives 

 clustered around us in great numbers, and the 

 women, after the first sight, were not afraid to ap- 

 proach us. In the centre of the town was a cock- 

 pit, where fowls, with steel gaifs, were plunging 

 at each other, whilst their owners and backers Avere 

 freely betting as to the result, so intensely bent on 

 the contest, that they had neither eyes nor ears for us. 

 Some of the men here were rather officious, and we 

 scarcely knew what their intentions might be; pro- 

 bably it was only curiosity ; but it induced us to beat 

 as speedy a retreat as we could, without exciting 

 notice. 



These people are very temperate, and I did not see 

 them indulge in any of their intoxicating liquors, 

 which consist of two varieties ; one, a scarlet-colored 

 spirit, which they call "toddie," is made from the 

 fermented juice of the unripe cocoa-nut. At first 

 taste it does not appear strong, but over-indulgence 

 in it produces eitlier stupefaction or a species of 

 insanity, resembling no eflect I have ever seen from 

 any other spirit. In the first case the subject is 

 reduced to perfect helplessness and insensibility, 



