NATIVES GET TIRED OF US. 229 



in her hand, and sprang up into one of the huts 

 like a harlequin, shewing- at the same time more of 

 her long shrivelled shanks than was strictly decorous. 

 Besides the usual petticoat reaching to the knee, 

 made of a grass or some leaf— perhaps of the pan- 

 danus, — cut into long shreds, this dame wore a 

 somewhat similar article round the neck, hanging 

 over the breast and shoulders, leaving the arms free. 

 An axe was offered to one of the men, who had pre- 

 viously sat for his portrait, to induce him to bring 

 the woman to Mr. Huxley, who was anxious to get 

 a sketch of a female, but in spite of the strong in- 

 ducement we did not succeed, and any further 

 notice taken of the woman seemed to give offence. 

 While wandering about the place we came upon a 

 path leading in to the adjacent brush, but blocked up 

 by some cocoa-nut leaves recently thrown across. 

 This led past an enclosure of about three-quarters of 

 an acre, neatly and strongly fenced in, probably 

 used as a pen for keeping pigs in, judging from the 

 absence of anything like cultivation, and the 

 trodden-down appearance, apparently made by these 

 animals, a jaw bone of one of which was picked up 

 close by. 



At length the natives appeared anxious to get 

 rid of us, after obtaining about seventeen axes and a 

 few knives, in return for 868 pounds of yams, 

 which cost us little more than a halfpenny per pound. 

 After wading out to the boat, the natives assisted in 

 shoving her off, and when we had got well clear of 



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