ardy outdoor life in the
mountains. In their country one cannot walk three steps on a level,
and the whole population is expert in climbing, very sure-footed,
thinking nothing of jumping with a heavy load from one rock to another,
or racing at full speed down the steep and uneven slopes.

In character, too, they differ from the tribes near the water. They
seem less malicious and more confiding, and show less of the distrust
and shy reserve of the average Melanesian. They will laugh and chat
in the presence of strangers, and are very hospitable. I do not know
if these are accidental impressions, but I can only say that I always
felt safer and more comfortable in a village where the majority of
the inhabitants belonged to the small race.

With all this the pygmies are by no means helpless or even inferior,
compared to their tall neighbours. Possibly, in former days, they
may have been driven from their homes in the plains back into the
mountains, but at present they are quite equal to the tall race,
and the "salt-water men" are even a little afraid of their small
neighbours inland. What they lack in size and strength they make
up in speed and suppleness and temperament. The barrier between the
races has disappeared, and the mixing process is hastened by the fact
that the small race frequently sells its women to the tall one. It is
rare for a woman from the coast to settle in the mountains, still, it
occurs frequently enough to alloy the purity of the pygmy race, and in
no village have I found more than about 70 per cent. of real pygmies.

In the afternoon we came to the chief's dwelling. The old man lived
there alone with his wife, quietly and happily, venerated by all the
other people. It was touching to see the little couple, delicate as
two dolls, who seemed to love each other sincerely, a most uncommon
occurrence in Melanesia. I really had too much respect for the old
people to trouble them with my measuring instruments, but I could
not resist taking their pictures. After consulting her husband with
a look of the greatest confidence, the old lady consented shyly,
while he stood beside her as if it was an everyday event to him,
and a sort of tribute I was paying to his age and position and the
beauty of his wife.

From this point I had a fine view of the cascade that fell down in a
wide silver ribbon through the forest. Some months later all that wild
scenery was destroyed by an earthquake, which caused many land-s