NATITO CUSTOMS. 
165 
one of their gangr, who is generally the oldest among 
thenij to the water^a edge, to endeavour by friendly signs 
to alltufe the strangers ou shore. Should the crew ven- 
ture to land without arms, they instantly lush out of 
their lurking-places, and attack them, 
" In these skirmishes they display much resolution, and 
will sometimes pkmge into the water to seize the boat ; 
and they have been known even to discharge their arrows 
while in the act of swimming. Their mode of life is 
degrading to human nature, and like the brutes, their 
whole time is spent in search of food. They have yet 
made no attempts to cultivate their lands, hut live 
entirely upon what they can pick up, or kill. In the 
morning they mb their skins with mud, or wallow in it 
like buffaloes, to prevent the annoyance of insects, and 
daub their woolly heads with red ochre or cinnabar^ 
Thus attired they walk forth to their different occupations. 
The women bear the greatest part of the - drudgery in 
collecting food, repairing to the reefs at tbe recess of the 
tide, to pick up shell-fish ; while the- men are hunting in 
the woods, or wading in the water to shoot fish with their 
bows and aiTows. They are very dexterous at thia ex- 
traordinary' mode of fishing, which they practise also at 
night, by the light of a torch. In their excursions 
through the woods, a wild hog sometimes rewards their 
toil, and affords them a more ample repast. They broil 
their meat or fish over a kind of grid, made of bamboos ; 
but use no salt or other seasoning, 
"The Audamaners display at times much colloquial 
vivaeitjr^ and are fond of singing and dancing, in which 
amusements the women also participate. Their language 
