124 
THE PAPUAHS. 
When they had duly examined me, I got out 
of the hut, and passed over the platform to the 
shore, taking care not to fall through the fre- 
quent holes; for though to a Papuan an acci- 
dental plunge iuto the sea is no disagreeable 
diversion, to me it would have been a serious 
discomfiture. Though the shore widens a little 
way to the left, and leads by gentle slopes to 
mountain heights, all that was between the plat- 
form and high perpendicular cliffs was a few 
yards of ledges of rock, covered by a thin soil. 
This seemed the village graveyard ; for all about 
were mounds, railed round with short stakes, 
while some were quite curtained in with red and 
white cloth. 
While we inquired about these mounds through 
the old pilot, the crowd had gathered, and I found 
myself so hedged in that I could not move farther. 
With a certain diffidence, looking first to see if I 
would allow it, they gently pushed back my hat 
to look at my hair, (hew back my sleeves, lifted 
my skirts, and laughed immoderately at my 
boots. Presently, with shrieks of exeitement, 
the crowd parted, and, with no regard for her 
evident shyness, a tall albino woman was dragged 
forward by two others and shown to me as a sis- 
ter ! She was the only one who wore a white 
