RADACK AND OTHER ISLANDS. 157 



sometimes pursued. They are collected together 

 by means of baits, which are half surrounded by 

 fire-pits, and driven into the fire, which has been 

 lighted for tliem. The rat is eaten by the women 

 in Udirick, and our sailors also saw women eating 

 them in Otdia. 



Fowls are found in Radack in a wild state j they 

 are not used for food, except in Udirick : in the 

 the other groups they are caught singly, and 

 tamed for pleasure, without deriving any adv^an- 

 tage from them. Here and there you find a fowl 

 round the habitations, which, fastened by his foot 

 to a string, and tied to a pole, reminds us of the 

 Tagalese fighting-cock. A small white heron is 

 likewise tamed. Besides the fowl and the pigeon 

 of the South Sea, (Columba australiSy) there are only 

 wood and water birds, and these are not in great 

 numbers, in the inhabited groups. The Sterna 

 stoUda is tlie most frequent, and fond of being in 

 the neighbourhood of the surf. 



The sea-turtle is caught at Bygar j of the class 

 of Amphibia^ there arc, besides, four small kinds 

 of lizards at Radack. 



The Lagunasin the interior of the island-groups, 

 are poor in fish. Outside, about the reefs, and at 

 the entrances, there are swarms of sharks ; but they 

 seldom penetrate into the inner sea: it is said that 

 these animals do not attack men at Bygar. We 

 caught bouetos at the entrance of Eilu. The fly- 

 ing-fish is the most frequent in the neighbourhood 



