him and of his increasing authority with the people. Bastin
was naturally triumphant, and even exclaimed exultingly that within a
year he would have half of the population baptised.

"Within a year, my dear fellow," said Bickley, "you will have your
throat cut as a sacrifice, and probably ours also. It is a pity, too,
as within that time I should have stamped out ophthalmia and some other
diseases in the island."

Here, leaving Bastin and his good work aside for a while, I will say
a little about the country. From information which I gathered on some
journeys that I made and by inquiries from the chief Marama, who had
become devoted to us, I found that Orofena was quite a large place. In
shape the island was circular, a broad band of territory surrounding the
great lake of which I have spoken, that in its turn surrounded a smaller
island from which rose the mountain top. No other land was known to
be near the shores of Orofena, which had never been visited by anyone
except the strangers a hundred years ago or so, who were sacrificed and
eaten. Most of the island was covered with forest which the inhabitants
lacked the energy, and indeed had no tools, to fell. They were an
extremely lazy people and would only cultivate enough bananas and other
food to satisfy their immediate needs. In truth they lived mostly upon
breadfruit and other products of the wild trees.

Thus it came about that in years of scarcity through drought or climatic
causes, which prevented the forest trees from bearing, they suffered
very much from hunger. In such years hundreds of them would perish
and the remainder resorted to the dreadful expedient of cannibalism.
Sometimes, too, the shoals of fish avoided their shores, reducing them
to great misery. Their only domestic animal was the pig which roamed
about half wild and in no great numbers, for they had never taken the
trouble to breed it in captivity. Their resources, therefore,
were limited, which accounted for the comparative smallness of the
population, further reduced as it was by a wicked habit of infanticide
practised in order to lighten the burden of bringing up children.

They had no traditions as to how they reached this land, their belief
being that they had always been there but that their forefathers were
much greater than they. They were poetical, and sang songs in a language
which themselves they could not understand; they said that it was the
tongue their forefathers had spoken. A