44 THE FEMALE SEX. 



of the women as compared with those of St. Cliristoval and its 

 adjacent islands. The unmarried girls are rarely seen ; whilst, on 

 the other hand, in Santa Anna and Santa Catalina there appears to 

 be no restriction placed on their movements. The following incident 

 in the island of Faro will serve to iiUistrate this shyness. Whilst 

 following a path in the interior of the island, unattended by any 

 companion, I suddenly surprised a woman sitting on a log with a 

 child in her lap. She bolted away into the wood leaving the child, 

 a little boy three or four years of age, on the ground in the middle 

 of the path. The little urchin at once set up a terrific yell ; but a 

 present of a gilt necklace softened the tone of his distress, although 

 it did not remove his fears. However, I passed along and soon had 

 the satisfaction of hearing the mother returning to her child. 



This fear of the white man is soon dispelled by kindly treatment. 

 When I first visited Treasury Island my entrance into the village 

 was the signal for everj^ woman to rush into her house, and I could 

 only patch a glimpse of their retreating figures. This shyness soon 

 wore away during the lengthened visits of the " Lark ; " and in a 

 short time when I walked through the village I was surrounded by 

 a troop of young boys shouting out my name of " Dokus " or 

 " Rokasy " at the top of their voices. This was the signal for all 

 who were indoors to turn out to greet me. The old people would 

 iiobble out to the door ; and the married women with their babes in 

 their arms would walk up to me calling me by name and holding 

 up their little ones for me to see, as if only too proud to show me 

 the confidence the visit of the " Lark" had inspired. 



The females in these islands of the Straits perform most of the 

 work in the " patches " or plantations. Towards the evening, they 

 may usually be seen returning in their canoes from the more distant 

 " patches " bringing home a goodly quantity of taro, bananas, and 

 other vegetables. There is generally a man in the stern who steers 

 with a paddle ; whilst the crew of eight or ten women, sitting in 

 pairs, paddle briskly along with their light paddles. 



. The powerful chiefs of the islands of Bougainville Straits usually 

 possess a large number of wives of whom only the few that retain 

 their youth and comeliness enjoy much of the society of their lord. 

 The majority, having been supplanted in the esteem of their commim 

 husband, have sunk into a condition of drudgery, finding their em- 

 ployment and their livelihood in toiling for the master whose 

 affections they once possessed. I learned from Gorai, the Shortland 



