34 SLAVERY. 



There are in Treasury several men and women \vl)0, originally 

 bought as slaves from the people of Bouka and Bougainville, now 

 enjoy apparently the same privileges and freedom of action as then- 

 fellow islanders. It is sometimes not a matter of much difficulty to 

 single out the slaves amongst a crowd of natives. On one occasion 

 I engaged a canoe of Faro men to take me to a distant part of their 

 island r and very soon after we started I became aware from the 

 cowed and sullen condition of one of the crew that he was a slave. 

 On inquiry I learned that this man had been captured when a boy 

 in the island of Bougainville, and I was informed that if he was to 

 return to his native place— a bush village named Kiata— he would 

 undoubtedly be killed. Although in fact a slave, I concluded from 

 the bearing of the other men towards him that his bondage was not 

 a very hard one ; and he evidently appeared to enjoy most 6f the 

 rio-hts of a native of the common class. Sukai, however, for such 

 was his name, had to make himself generally useful in the course of 

 the day ; and when at the close of the excursion we were seated 

 insids the house of a man who provided us with a meal of boiled 

 taro, sweet potatoes, and bananas, he was served with his repast on 

 the beach outside. 



Mule, the Treasury chief, had adopted a little Bougainville bush- 

 boy, named Sapeku, who was purchased when very young from his 

 friends. In 1883 he was six or seven years old, and was the con- 

 stant companion of the sons of the chief He was a fat chubby little 

 urchin, with woolly hair, and was known on board under the name 

 of " Tubby." His wild excitable disposition full of suspicion showed 

 to wreat contrast with the calmer and more confident demeanour of 

 his companions. He was, however, a general favourite with us, 

 although I should add he did not possess half the pluck of his asso- 

 ciates. Mule also possessed, at the time of our visit, a young girl, 

 twelve or thirteen years old, who had been not long before pur- 

 chased from the Bougainville natives. 



I have previou.sly referred to the existence of bushmen on some 

 of. the smaller islands. In the interior of Treasury there are a few 

 hamlets containing each two or three families of bushmen, who live 

 finite apart from the other natives of the island. On more than one 

 occasion I experienced the hospitality of these bush families, who in 

 matters of dress are even less observant than the harbour natives. 

 They are probably the remnants of the original bushmen who occu- 

 pied this island. Over our pipes, I used freauentlv to converse with 



