FIND NATIVES APPARENTLY FRIENDLY. 191 



the front teeth^ but the septum of the nose was 

 perforated to admit an ornament of polished shell, 

 pointed and slightly turned up at each end. The 

 lobe of the ear was slit, the hole being- either kept 

 distended by a larg'e plug- of rolled up leaf, appa- 

 rently of the banana, or hung with thin circular 

 earrings made of the groimd down end of a cone- 

 shell {Corms millepunctatus) one and a half inches 

 in diameter, with a central hole and a slit leading* to 

 the edge. A piece of cloth-like substance, the dried 

 leaf of the Pandanus or some palm was used by all 

 as a breech cloth, — it passes between the legs and 

 is secured in front and behind to a narrow waist- 

 band. 



June 11th. — I formed one of the party in the 

 second cutter, sent in command of Lieut. Simpson, 

 on a similar mission to that of yesterday. As we 

 passed along the north side of Pig Island we saw 

 small groups of natives upon the grassy ridges 

 Avatching the boat, and, upon our closely approach- 

 ing the north-west point of the island, one of them, 

 whom we recognised as our light-coloured acquaint- 

 ance of yesterday, came running down to the top of 

 a bank inviting us by gestures to land. 



Fom* of om' party g'ot on shore with difficulty 

 after a long wade upon the reef, up to the waist in 

 water, but, on ascending the bank, the " red man," 

 as we provisionally named him, retired to a small 

 group of natives who were coming up. Following 

 them as they gradually fell back in the direction of 



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