ELLICE'S AND KINGS MILL GROUP. 67 



173° 39' 20" E. This island is six and a half miles long, east and 

 west, and five and a half miles wide at the east end, diminishing to 

 two miles at the west end : it is of coral formation. There are two 

 towns on the west end, and several on the east and southeast parts, 

 and it is thickly inhabited. The natives who came on board said 

 that the two ends of the island were at war with each other. They 

 are very much the same in appearance as the natives of Drummond's 

 Island ; were naked, and spoke the same dialect. These natives knew 

 of the islands in their immediate vicinity, as well as the direction of 

 Taputeouea, or Drummond's Island, and gave them the name of being 

 inhabited by a savage and hostile people. This island affords neither 

 wood, water, nor refreshments : from appearances, its inhabitants 

 must be at times much stinted for food. They brought off nothing 

 except a few cocoa-nuts ; but the object of their errand was not to be 

 misunderstood, for in each canoe there was a woman, which I think 

 does not speak much in the praise of the whalers or other ships that 

 frequent this cruising-ground. While on board, one of the natives 

 gave them an exhibition of a dance, which was different from those 

 before seen, inasmuch as it consisted of a variety of motions and 

 moving from one place to another, in quick steps, and in throwing 

 about the arms, with many contortions of the body, and vehement 

 gesticulations. The dance was accompanied with a kind of song or 

 chaunt, consisting of the monotonous repetition of words, uttered in 

 a short, quick, and distinct tone ; each dance was finished with an 

 outstretched hand, and an earnest cry of te-ba-ke. 



It was next determined to survey Hall's Island, called by the 

 natives Maiana, as the fair wind and the night would enable Captain 

 Hudson to accomplish it and return to complete that of Woodle Island, 

 or Kuria. Maiana is of coral formation ; the northeast and southeast 

 parts are continuous land, whilst to the southwest and northwest it 

 consists of a reef and bank, in some places awash, with a sand- 

 spit in its lagoon. The western sides of the island are therefore 

 very dangerous, and should be approached with caution, as the sea 

 seldom breaks on them, and the discoloration of the water is not 

 at all times to be observed. The natives of this island have the same 

 appearance as those already spoken of, and use the same dialect : 

 only one canoe came off, and held a short communication with the 

 ship. The island appears to be thickly inhabited, but its natives 

 have had little intercourse with the whites. It affords neither re- 

 freshments, wood, nor water. The survey makes this island nine 

 miles long, in a northeast and southwest direction, and six miles in 



