NATIVES AND CATAMARANS. 855 



wooded hills along the coast in front of a more 

 distant and nearly continuous range of high moun- 

 tains covered with trees up to their very summits. 



Next morning we were visited by a party of 

 natives from the neighbouring island, consisting of 

 six men in a canoe, and one on a catamaran or raft. 

 They were perfectly unarmed and came boldly 

 alongside with a quantity of yams and cocoa-nuts 

 for barter ; when their stock was exhausted, they 

 returned for more, and, accompanied by others, 

 repeated the visit several times during the day. 

 Although there was no obvious difference between 

 these natives and those of the southern portion of 

 the Louisiade, yet the catamaran was quite new to 

 us, and the canoe differed considerably from any 

 which we had seen before. 



The first catamaran was only nine feet long, — it 

 consisted of three thick planks lashed together, 

 forming a sort of raft, which one man sitting a 

 little behind the middle, with his legs doubled under 

 him, managed very dexterously with his paddle. 

 We afterwards saw others of a larger size, some of 

 them capable of carrying a dozen people with their 

 effects. One of this description is made of three 

 logs— rarely two or four — laid side by side, and 

 firmly secured to each other with strips of rattan at 

 each end, and in two or three other places. The 

 upper surface is smoothed down flat, and the central 

 piece projects a little way at each end m hich usually 

 shews some rude carving touched up with red and 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



