98 MARAMIA. 



look like spikes stuck into the head. Others had a 

 regular helmet of beads, which were closely interwo- 

 ven with the hair, while many had the whole head 

 shaved clean. Generally speaking, the heads of the 

 women were shaved bare, or their hair was kept closely 

 cut, in many cases in a fashion having the appearance 

 of crescents. Not a few permitted it to grow long and 

 strung it with beads of all colours, while several suf- 

 fered it to grow naturally. Anything like the amaze- 

 ment depicted on the countenances of these people, 

 who had, as they told us, never seen a white man be- 

 fore, could scarcely be imagined. 



Twenty minutes had passed, but Maramia had not 

 turned up, so Mr. Young gave a man some cloth and 

 beads as a present for the chief, with a message that 

 we could not wait longer, and stepped into the boat, 

 giving the order to make sail. But the natives would 

 not hear of our going without seeing their chief, and 

 commenced yelling. They said he was coming, and 

 would be with us in a minute. So we landed again, 

 and in another five minutes several men came clearino; 

 the way through the crowd, while close behind them 

 Maramia and his counsellors followed. After walk- 

 ing up to us and shaking hands, they stood staring in 

 silence for several minutes. The chief had evidently 

 spent much time dressing himself He wore a large 

 Indian dressing-gown of blue cloth, richly embroidered 

 with gold. Heavy necklaces of rupees and other 

 foreign silver coins, as well as beads, decorated his 

 neck, while heavy ivory rings covered his arms up to 

 the elbows. In his right hand he carried a silk 

 (Indian) pocket-handkerchief, and a pistol, while a 



