SAN CmaSTOVAL. 



267 



his head, like a quaint style of European hat. Some of the 

 houses were raised two or three feet from the a:round. 

 There were a great many women about, some not bad 

 looking, some perfectly naked, 

 others with a lavalava which 

 imperfectly covered their naked- 

 ness. They did not appear to 

 have any shyness, or mind being 

 looked at. The men seemed 

 here and elsewhere never to go 

 about without clubs or spears. 



There was a large canoe liouse supported by wooden 

 pillars, on which strange figures were sculptured of men and 

 sharks, many of the latter in the act of swallowing men. 

 Just under the roof, in front, there were about twenty-five 

 skulls hanging up of inifoi'tunate bushnien who had been 

 ea.ten by these people, and all I saw showed the effects of 

 the club or tomahawk ; and at the side under the roof were 

 a number of the under jaws of boars' heads, mostly with the 

 tusks taken out, and witli tliein luunan jaws without teeth, 

 which probably belonged to the skidls of tlie bushmen ; 

 from these jaws, too, leg and arm bones were suspended. In 

 contrast with this strange exhibition, implying a very rude 

 state of society, was tlie villnge I'c^ad, wliich seemed as care- 

 fully swept and attended to as in the most civilised village. 

 On my way back I again passed througli the same village, 

 and a little way farther on came to another tolerably large 

 one, where I saw the same sort of shed oniamented with 



