RETURN TO THE BOATS. 266 



others of the party it appears that there is a second 

 partial floor above the principal one ; they saw larg'e 

 bundles of spears stowed along- the sides of the hut 

 which they looked into^ and some human skulls sus- 

 pended near the entrance.* 



After a very short stay of a quarter of an hour 

 only we returned by the path formerly taken^ accom- 

 panied by about fifty men, women, and children, 

 and went on board the boats. During' oiu* visit we 

 had met with the most fi"iendly reception ; no weapon 

 of any kind was seen in the hands of the natives 

 who at the same time probably thought us perfectly 

 unarmed, as they at first supposed our g-uns to be 

 instruments for carrying- water in, and we had no 

 opportunity of shewing the effects of fire-arms with- 

 out involving the risk of causing a tumult. The 

 anchor of one of the boats having caught the coral, 

 some delay was caused, during which an old man 

 from the beach swam off to her, as if he perfectly 

 understood what had happened, and, after diving 

 several times, cleared the anchor, for which he was 

 rewarded with an axe. His skiU in diving was re- 

 markable, — he went down feet foremost, apparently 

 without an effort, and after remaining below about 

 half a minute, came up shewing no signs of exhaus- 



* These huts resemble in form some found on the Duke of 

 York and Bowditch Islands, in the western part of the Pacific, 

 300 miles to the northward of the Samoan group. — See Narrative 

 of the United States' Exploring Expedition, vol. V. p. 7 ; also 

 plate opposite p. 3.^ 



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