FOOD. 283 



tain extent also the natives feed upon fish, jud^ng 

 from the nets and fishing'-spears seen among them. 

 The former, although frequently thirty or forty feet 

 in length, did not exceed eighteen inches iu depth, — 

 they have small meshes, thin triangular wooden 

 floats, and shells at the bottom as sinkers. Although 

 we saw many pig-s on shore in the village, only one 

 was obtained by barter, in this one a spear wound 

 behiad the shoulder was made alongside the ship 

 before handing it on board, but for what purpose 

 we could not imderstand, as it did not kill the animal. 

 Dogs also I have reason to believe are occasionally 

 eaten, but whether cannibalism is ever practised by 

 these people is a question which we have not the 

 means of settling, as no evidence bearing upon the 

 point could be obtained. 



August 2^th. — During our stay of thirteen days 

 at this anchorage the wind has usually been strong 

 fi-om East to E. S. E., with duU, gloomy, squally 

 weather, and occasionally showers of drizzHng rain. 

 To-day, however, the rain was so heavy that we 

 caught seven tons in the awning. To this haziness, 

 which by obscuring distant objects was unfavourable 

 for surve3Tng purposes, we owed our long detention 

 here. As our intercourse with the shore was limited 

 to the two brief visits formerly mentioned, I made 

 no addition to the collection, with the exception of a 

 solitary Helix, nor was anything of zoological interest 

 brought off by the natives, except a string of heads 

 of a species of hornbill (Buceros plicatus), and fea- 



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