ir fantastic dresses, their handsomely woven and twisted grass
skirts, leaf skirts, grass and leaf aprons; they gave away or exchanged
all these, and their ornaments and bows and arrows, besides their less
romantic calico and print dresses more recently acquired. The effusion
and ceremonial of the gifts and exchanges seem to betoken a loving
people; and so they were for the feast--but that laid not aside a single
deadly feud, and streams of blood and cries of hate would soon efface
all traces of this day.

CHAPTER XXV.
CANNIBALS AT WORK.

EARLY one morning, the savage yells of warring Tribes woke me from
sleep. They had broken into a quarrel about a woman, and were fiercely
engaged with their clubs. According to my custom, I rushed in amongst
them, and, not without much difficulty, was blessed in separating them
before deadly wounds had been given or received. On this occasion, the
Chiefs of both Tribes, being very friendly to me, drove their people
back from each other at my earnest appeals. Sitting down at length
within earshot, they had it out in a wild scolding match, a contest of
lung and tongue. Meanwhile I rested on a canoe midway betwixt them, in
the hope of averting a renewal of hostilities. By and by an old Sacred
Man, a Chief, called Sapa, with some touch of savage comedy in his
breast, volunteered an episode which restored good humor to the scene.
Leaping up, he came dancing and singing towards me, and there, to the
amusement of all, reenacted the quarrel, and mimicked rather cleverly my
attempt at separating the combatants. Smashing at the canoe with his
club, he yelled and knocked down imaginary enemies; then, rushing first
at one party and then at the other, he represented me as appealing and
gesticulating and pushing them afar from each other, till he became
quite exhausted. Thereon he came and planted himself in great glee
beside me, and looked around as if to say, "You must laugh, for I have
played." At this very juncture, a loud cry of "Sail O" broke upon our
ears, and all parties leapt to their feet, and prepared for a new
sensation; for in those climes, everything--war itself--is a smaller
interest than a vessel from the Great Unknown Beyond sailing into your
Harbor.

Not many days thereafter, a very horrible transaction occurred. Before
daybreak, I heard shot after shot quickly discharged in the Harbor. One
of my Teachers came running, and cried, "Missi, six or seven men have
been shot dead