58 BLUEFIELDS. 



make no small noise ; and the white teeth were per- 

 petually shining out in the sable faces, as the merry 

 laugh — the negro's own laugh — rose continually. 

 The figures of the women, many of them not ungrace- 

 ful, though plump and muscular, were picturesque, 

 clad in short gowns of showy colours, and wearing 

 the peculiarly set handkerchief for a head-dress, in 

 form of a turban, often also of bright hues, though 

 in most cases white as snow. They moved about 

 amidst the bustle, crowding up to the canoes to stow 

 their ware ; tucking up their frocks still higher as 

 the depth of water increased, regardless of displaying 

 their bronzed legs. At the edge of the water, on 

 whose mirror-like surface the mounting sun began to 

 pour torridly, the little children sat, sucking cane or 

 oranges, while the elder ones played around them, 

 helping to augment the noise. 



As I was in no hurry, I quietly waited, enjoying 

 the novel scene, until, at last, the canoe being loaded, 

 I took my seat in the prow among the garden-stuff, 

 and the men launched her into deep water, climbing 

 in over her gunwales as she floated. They paddled 

 swiftly along ; and as we glided over the reefs and 

 shallows, the bottom of the sea in many places was 

 distinctly visible. On the snowy coral-sand lay 

 hundreds of Echini, very conspicuous, like great 

 black spots ; while here and there a large Star-fish 

 of bright orange hue varied the character of the 

 spotting. The ripple of the canoe's motion pre- 

 vented clear vision, notwithstanding the calmness of 

 the air ; but once or twice I caught sight of other 

 objects still more interesting. On later occasions, 



