understood as including the stout,
able-bodied, tattooed part of the population, the strength of the
tribe--the warriors, in fact, many of whom counted themselves to be
very much about as good as the chief. They were his nearest relations,
without whose support he could do nothing, and were entirely beyond his
control.

I found afterwards that it was only during actual war that this chief
was perfectly absolute, which arose from the confidence the tribe had
in him, both as a general and a fighting man, and the obvious necessity
that in war implicit obedience be given to one head. I have, however,
observed in other tribes, that in war they would elect a chief for the
occasion, a war chief, and have been surprised to see the obedience
they gave him, even when his conduct was very open to criticism. I say
with surprise, for the natives are so self-possessed, opinionated, and
republican, that the chiefs have at ordinary times but little control
over them; except in very rare cases, where the chief happens to
possess a singular vigour of character, or some other unusual
advantage, to enable him to keep them under.

I will mention here that my first antagonist, "The Eater of Melons,"
became a great friend of mine. He was my right-hand man and manager
when I set up house on my own account, and did me many friendly
services in the course of my acquaintance with him. He came to an
unfortunate end some years later. The tribe were getting ready for a
war expedition; poor Melons was filling cartridges from a fifty pound
barrel of gunpowder, pouring the gunpowder into the cartridges with his
hand, and smoking his pipe at the time, as I have seen the natives
doing fifty times since: a spark fell into the cask, and it is scarcely
necessary to say that my poor friend was roasted alive in a second. I
have known three other accidents of the same kind, from smoking whilst
filling cartridges. In one of these accidents three lives were lost,
and many injured; and I really do believe that the certainty of death
will not prevent some of the natives from smoking for more than a given
time. I have often seen infants refuse the mother's breast, and cry for
the pipe till it was given to them; and dying natives often ask for a
pipe, and die smoking. I can clearly perceive that the young men of the
present day are neither so tall, or stout, or strong, as men of the
same age were when I first came to the country; and I believe that this
smoking,