INACTION AND AN EXCURSION 
vegetables, packed on two ponies, and sells them to 
Europeans at Port Moresby. It is said that he is 
accumulating money. He is perfectly independent, 
and quite a character; utterly illiterate, he has the 
dogged opinions which usually accompany lack of 
education. He believes in himself, has no one to help 
him in his work, and tells you quite frankly that he 
thinks he could run New Guinea better than any one. 
On all subjects under the sun the opinion of Weaver 
is absolutely right and that of the world absolutely 
wrong. 
As the days dragged on Harry and I thought we 
would vary the monotony of our life, and obtain a 
change of diet, by taking a small excursion down to 
Hula, the great fishing-place. By the courtesy of a 
trader, who was going down in a whaleboat, we 
obtained a passage. A voyage of a few hours took us 
down, and we found the village fairly large, built like 
Hanuabada, only most of the houses stood in the 
water on piles. The shore is thickly fringed with 
cocoanut plantations. ‘The people, who belong to the 
Motuan tribe, as those of Hanuabada do, live by supply- 
ing the inland natives with fish. They go down to the 
fishing-ground, about two miles from shore, in small 
dug-out canoes, and this industry affords a very de- 
lightful touch of colour to the scenery of this part of 
the Papuan coast. The fishing is done at night, and 
just as the sun sinks the canoes come up past Hula 
in great crowds. In each boat are four or five fisher- 
men, who pole up the shallows and paddle when they 
come to deeper water. As the darkness deepens the 
flotilla suddenly bursts into flame, for their method of 
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