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. 

 They seemed perfectly familiar with white men, and when the guns 

 were fired for a base by sound, they showed no kind of alarm. 



