190 
MATCHING WITH WACAXDA. 
seen in travelling ; this they, for some reason, refused 
to do, and persisted in carrying me head first, instead 
of feet. If a grove of plantain was by the side of the 
path, it could not be resisted ; off all would dash at 
the fruit, eat, and carry away as much as they were 
able, sometimes politely offering me a share, or more 
frequently remaining so long away, as I lay on the 
stretcher, that it became irritating. The best way 
was to join as much as possible with them in their 
frolics ; my men did so, and enjoyed the march ex- 
tremely. 
At these groves, a single bunch or cluster of as 
many as 150 ripe plantains could be got in April, and 
their juice drunk from them al fresco. The large 
leaves of the tree, green, and soft as satin, were spread 
on the ground as a table-cloth ; a wisp of grass, well 
softened by rubbing, enclosed a quantity of luscious 
ripe fruit, and what the men seemed most to enjoy 
was to bite and suck the fruit through the grass. 
During the march they all carried some small load 
on their heads, never more than 20 or 30 lb., rolled in 
the form of a web of cloth, neatly bound round, and 
having pipes and flutes stuck into it. Each man had 
a spear and shield over his back ; the latter served as 
an umbrella when rain fell ; and thus, with their 
bark-cloths kilted up, their dress was secure from rain 
or boggy ground. On arrival in camp, the march 
costume was changed for a clean suit of bark-cloth as 
stiff as silk, or for a set of many-coloured goat-skins, 
with scalloped, pierced edges, in which they made 
themselves smart, and strutted about like gentlemen. 
Those who had been able to find dogs led them with 
strings tied to their waists or wrists as they ran along. 
