a
village, its white lime walls shining invitingly through the green
of the cocoa-nut palms. There was a large kitchen, a storehouse, a
tool-shed, a bakery, a dwelling-house and a light, open summer-house,
a delightful spot, where we dined in the cool sea-breeze and sipped
whisky in the moonlight, while the palm-leaves waved dreamily. Then
there was a large poultry yard, pigsty and paddocks, and along the
beach were the boat-houses, drying-sheds and storehouses, shaded by
old trees. The boys' quarters were roomy, eight sleeping together in
an airy hut, while the married couples had houses of their own. The
boys slept on high beds, each with his "bocase" underneath, to hold his
possessions, while all sorts of common property hung in the roof--nets,
fish-spears, bows, guns, etc.

Such plantations, where the natives lack neither food nor good
treatment, can only have a favourable influence on the race, and it is
not quite clear why the Presbyterian missionaries do not like their
young men to go in for plantation work. Owing to the good treatment
of their hands the Messrs. Th. have always had enough labourers, and
have been able to develop their plantation wonderfully. It consists
almost exclusively of cocoa-nut palms, planted on ground wrested from
the forest in a hard fight. When I was there the trees were not yet in
full bearing, but the proprietors had every reason to expect a very
considerable income in a few years. The cultivation of the cocoa-nut
is extremely simple; the only hard work is the first clearing of the
ground, and keeping the young trees free from lianas. Once they are
grown up, they are able to keep down the bush themselves to a certain
extent, and then the work consists in picking up the ripe nuts from
the ground, husking and drying them. The net profit from one tree
is estimated at one shilling per annum. Besides the cultivation of
their plantation the Messrs. Th. plied a flourishing trade in coprah
and sandalwood all along the west coast of Santo, which they visited
frequently in their cutter. This same cutter was often a great help to
me, and, indeed, her owners always befriended me in the most generous
way, and many are the pleasant hours I spent in their company.

After dinner that first day we went to the village where the
"sing-sing" was to take place. There was no moon, and the night was
pitch dark. The boys had made torches of palm-leaves, which they
kept burning by means of constant swinging