natives, being dependent
on the water of the cocoa-nut as a beverage, had planted these trees
very extensively. This is not quite exact, although it is a fact that
in these islands the natives hardly ever taste any other water than
that of the cocoa-nut.

In sun and shower, the natives work in the plantations in long rows,
the women together with their husbands or with other women at some
lighter task. The men dislike to be separated from their wives, for
they are very jealous; neither do they approve of the women discussing
their husbands among themselves. For light work the women are more
useful, as they are more accustomed to regular work from their youth
up than the men, who are used to spending their days in easy laziness.

Towards sunset, the "Bubu" announces the end of work, and the natives
stroll towards their quarters, simple huts of straw, where each man has
his couch, with a trunk underneath containing his belongings. Meals
are prepared by a cook, and the men go to fetch their rations, rice,
yam, or taro. Sometimes there is meat, but not often, except in
places where wild pig is plentiful. In that case, it is simplest for
the master to send his boys shooting every Sunday, when it depends
on themselves if they are to have meat during the coming week
or not. After the meal, the natives sit round the fires chatting,
gossiping and telling fairy-tales. They know stories of all sorts of
monsters and demons, and excite each other by tales of these horrors
to such a degree, that bad dreams or even a general panic are often
the consequence, and the whole crowd turns out in the middle of the
night, declaring that the place is haunted, and that they have seen
a devil, who looked thus and so. If someone suddenly dies in a hut,
it is worst of all. Death is invariably caused, so they all believe,
by poison or witchcraft, and the natives will build another house
of their own accord rather than go on living in one they consider
haunted. If a planter loses many hands by death, his plantation gets
a bad reputation, and the natives refuse to work there; so that it is
to the planter's advantage to take some care of their labourers, and
they do so to a certain extent, whereas in former years the mortality
on French plantations was very high, as much as 44 per cent. per annum.

Sometimes, especially on moonlight nights, the boys wish to dance,
and they all go to the beach and spend the whole night singing and
dancing. Another