58 



NATIVE WOMEN. 



on a piece of a rock, and set fire to it, at which 

 they were greatly surprised and delighted, and made 

 signs to do it again. Their expression of surprise 

 was a sound like " phut! phut!" but when pleasure 

 or satisfaction is mingled with it, it was " wurrah ! 

 wurrah!" or rather, " wur-r-r-r." vibrating the 

 tongue continually. We sent for some brown sugar, 

 with the taste of which they were highly pleased, 

 and swallowed large mouth fuls with great satisfac- 

 tion. We then invited them to come to the boat, 

 and though at first rather reluctant, when we got in 

 and sat down, and threw some biscuit ashore, they 

 came and sat opposite us, one or two young ones 

 coming down the slope of a projecting rock to the 

 bow of the boat. Presently an old woman made 

 her appearance, of rather a skinny figure, but a 

 sharp, good-natured countenance : she had a grass 

 basket over her shoulder, and a grass necklace 

 round her neck, being her only apparel. She 

 waded out to us with the greatest confidence and 

 good humour, and we filled her two hands with 

 sugar, with which, as soon as she had tasted it, she 

 crammed her mouth as full as it could hold ; then 

 giving us her basket and necklace she held out her 

 hands for more. Two or three young girls and two 

 boys now came down. The elder of the other 

 women came clown near the boat, but would not 

 come out to us for sugar, on which the old dame 

 offered to take her some. As soon, however, as she 

 got it in her hands she began on it herself, and 

 would have finished it had we not cried out, on 



