ELLICE’S AND KINGS MILL GROUP. 
53 
An old man soon made his appearance, whose deportment, and that 
of the crowd, pointed him out as the chief. He had, apparently, little 
actual authority, for his presence seemed to have no effect in silencing 
the natives. He pointed to the palisade around the town, whither he 
invited them at once to go, and conducted them to his house. Very 
few of the natives followed. On entering the palisade of slender 
stakes, the village was found to be divided into lots, containing ten or 
twelve houses, and enclosed by fences. Each of these enclosures, it was 
supposed, belonged to a separate family. 
The chief led the way to his house, and invited them to enter, which 
they did, and found its construction altogether different from any before 
seen in the South Seas. There was nothing remarkable in its exterior ; 
it was of oblong shape, and about sixteen feet wide by twenty feet long. 
The interior consisted of two stories, of which the lower was not more 
than three feet high, under the floor of the upper story. It was entered 
by a square hole at one side. The apartment above was rather a loft 
or garret, which was high, and contained, apparently, all the valuables 
and goods of the occupant. The floor was made of small pieces of 
pandanus-boards, laid on slender beams of cocoanut-wood. It was 
afterwards understood that this arrangement of apartments was to 
guard against the inroad of the rats. The lower apartment is used for 
sleeping, while the upper is entirely for storing their goods and chattels. 
The wall-plates rest on four beams of cocoanut-wood, which are sup¬ 
ported by four posts, one at each corner. These posts are round, and 
perfectly smooth, so that the rats cannot climb them. The rafters and 
cross-pieces are mere poles, only an inch or two thick; the thatch is 
of pandanus-leaf, doubled over a slender stick, and tied down with 
sennit. 
After they were seated, cocoa-nuts, with treacle and water, were 
brought them to drink. They then requested the chief, whose name 
was Tama, to show them the fresh-water wells and taro-beds. Under 
his guidance, they passed through the village, which was situated on 
a narrow strip of the island, very close to the beach. Beyond it, 
towards the interior (if the term may be used of that which is but half 
a mile w ide) of the island, was a cocoa-nut grove, extending to the sea. 
The tall cocoa-nut trees scattered about, with here and there small 
clumps of pandanus, gave it a cool and refreshing shade, and produced 
an agreeable impression. Paths wound in every direction, and were 
quite visible, in consequence of the absence of underbrush. The sandy 
soil offered only a scanty growth of dry grass (a Sida). Around the 
houses of the natives were found Gordias, Hibiscus, and Ficus; but 
they were all of small growth. The Dracsena, of which the Samoans 
E2 
