AT FLAXMAN ISLAND IN SUMMER 



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dance or other kind of amusement. About the loth of June all 

 the natives had come down to the island, and the first thing 

 they did was to give a grand Hula-Hula (native dance) to show 

 the joy they felt now their stomachs were full and the hunt 

 successfully ended. The sun is above the horizon now, both 

 night and day, and the natives have practically turned the warm 



THE MUSICIANS. 



day into night ; they sleep till about 2 P.M., after which time 

 they do a little work. We walked down to the village in the 

 evening, where all the people were congregated round a large 

 umiak which sheltered the musicians. There were four or 

 five men with drums, all working with glowing zeal and energy, 

 and all accompanying the music of the drums with their 

 monotonous songs, until the spirit moved one of the party, 

 and he or she would give us one or other of their queer dances. 

 Their movements are all eagerly watched by the natives, who 

 applaud and laugh if some new and original trick is introduced 

 into an old dance, and the audience likewise look utterly tired 

 and bored whenever a poor dancer succeeds a more ingenious 

 one. A really good dancer is indeed a sight well worth seeing. 

 They dance, as it were, with the whole body, wriggling their 

 arms and legs in a most convulsive manner, and every now and 

 then the dancer sends forth a fearful howl. The men dance 



