208 NARRATIVE OF A JOUBNEY 



suckers (Nectarinia ;) feed chiefly upon flowers, and the sweet 

 juice of the banana, and some species are very abundant. The 

 native boys here have adopted a singular mode of catching the 

 honey sucking birds. They lay themselves, flat upon their backs 

 on the ground, and cover their whole bodies with bushes, and 

 the campanulate flowers of which the birds are in search. One 

 of these flowers is then held by the lower portion of the tube be- 

 tween the finger and thumb; the little bird inserts his long, 

 curved bill to the base of the flower, when it is immediately 

 seized by the fingers of the boy, and the little flutterer disappears 

 beneath the mass of bushes. In this way, dozens of beautiful 

 birds are taken, and they are brought to us living and unin- 

 jured. 



20th. — We expected to have lefi; the island several days ago, 

 but the Avon has not returned, and she would not now be 

 able to come, in consequence of a steady S. W. wind which has 

 prevailed for the last week. Our ammunition, and materials for 

 the preparation of birds, are entirely exhausted, and we cannot 

 here obtain a supply, so we amuse ourselves in collecting shells 

 on the beaches, plants, fish, &c. We are living very comfort- 

 ably in the house furnished us by the king, and we have become 

 completely domesticated in the agreeable family of Mr. Gulick. 

 We sometimes spend whole days wandering along the rocky 

 coast in search of shells, and in these journeys we are always 

 accompanied by a troop of boys and girls, and sometimes men 

 and women, often to the number of twenty or thirty. They are 

 indefatigable shell-hunters, and prove of great service to us, 

 being compensated for each one that they bring us, with pins or 

 needles. In their habits they are perfectly amphibious, diving 

 into the sea, and through the dashing surf without the least hesi- 

 tation, and exploring the bottom for an almost incredible time 

 without risinsf to breathe. 



In the§e sub-marine excursions they frequently find the echinus. 



