and
children came out to have a look at us, and we had again to endure the
same sort of scrutiny as before.

After a little time, we made out that the captain of the canoe which had
captured us was the son of the old chief of the village, under whose
protection we were placed, or rather whose property we had become. I
asked the old man his name, mentioning my own, and then pointing to Dick
and pronouncing his. The old man understood me, and replied, "Paowang."
I then asked the son his. He replied, "Whagoo;" on which Dick and I
again shook hands with him, thanking them for the information.

"Well, Mr Paowang, I hope you and we shall be friends," said Dick; "and
we shall be further obliged to you if you will show us a house to live
in, for we should be glad to get out of the heat of the sud, and to take
a quiet snooze; and at supper-time, if you will tell your people to
bring us a dish of fish, and any other articles you may think fit, we
shall be further indebted to you."

Although Paowang could not understand Dick's words, he comprehended his
gestures, and pointing to a hut near his own, signified that we might
take possession of it. It was a simple structure, consisting of
uprights on which matting was stretched for walls, the roof being
thatched with plantain leaves. Some coarse mats were also spread on the
floor. It enabled us to escape from the pressure of the crowd, which
was just what we wanted to do.

The personal appearance of most of the people was not specially
prepossessing, though the chief and his son had good-humoured
countenances. The women wore petticoats of matting; and the men kilts
or cloths round their waists and brought between their legs. They were
naturally brown rather than black; but many of them had covered their
bodies with a pigment mixed with either earth or charcoal, which made
them much darker than they really were. The older men had short bushy
beards, and large heads of almost woolly hair. Besides spears and bows,
they carried large heavy carved clubs in their hands, of various shapes,
some being very formidable-looking weapons. They had also darts with
barbed edges, which they threw from a becket or sort of sling fixed to
the hand. With these darts we saw them kill both birds and fish at a
distance of eight or ten yards. The only tools we saw were composed of
stone or shells. Their hatchets were in form like an axe, the pointed
end being fixed to a hole in a thick hand