ELLICE’S AND KINGSMILL GROUP. 
39 
leaf, a foot long, dyed red, by way of ornament, which at a distance 
had the appearance of ribands. 
One of the men was a petty chief, and was held in respect by his 
companions. There was another, whose costume was very peculiar: 
around the head and waist he had a strip of pandanus-leaves, which 
was so arranged as to form a series of points. The attitudes of these 
natives were equally singular: one of these is represented in the 
wood-cut. 
costume, ellice’s group. 
They had no other weapons but spears and knives, and seemed to 
be equipped for a fishing party, from the implements they had with 
them. Some rolls of sennit were bought, and large wooden shark- 
hooks. Their spears were only poles of cocoanut-wood, pointed at one 
end ; and their knives made of small shark’s teeth, inserted into a stick 
with gum and fine sennit, and are about a foot long. 
It was soon found that they understood the Samoan language, and 
spoke a purely Polynesian dialect. The Samoan native easily con¬ 
versed with them. They gave the name of the island as Fanafute. 
Thev seemed perfectly familiar with white men, and when the guns 
were fired for a base by sound, they showed no kind of alarm. 
