them to risk their and their crews'
lives--for the shore nearly everywhere presented a line of dense
unbroken forest, with but scanty groves of coco-palms at long intervals,
and even had there been many such groves, no communication could be had
with the people. In the wild days of the "seventies" the practice of
cutting up and drying the coconut into what is known as "copra" had
scarcely made any headway in those parts of New Britain, New Ireland,
and the Solomon and New Hebrides Groups which were visited by trading
vessels--the nuts were turned into oil by a crude and wasteful process
known as "rotting."

The captain of our little vessel was one of the oldest and most
experienced trading skippers in the Western Pacific, grim, resolute, and
daring, but yet cautious of his men's lives, if not of his own; so when
he decided to anchor under the lee of the South Cape, he chose a part
of the coast which seemed to be but scantily inhabited. The dense forest
which came down to the water's edge concealed from view any village that
might have been near us; but the presence of smoke arising from various
spots denoted that there were some natives living in the vicinity,
though we could not see any canoes.

We brought to about half a mile from the shore. Two boats were at once
lowered, manned, and armed, and under the captain's guidance, set out to
search for water, which we knew we should have but little difficulty in
finding, even on the south coast of New Britain, which is not nearly so
well watered as the northern shore of the island. In the captain's boat
were six men besides himself; I was in charge of the covering boat,
manned by six native seamen and carrying three water-casks--all we could
stow.

Pulling in together, close to the shore, the captain then went ahead,
my boat following at the regulation distance of fifty yards, only four
hands rowing in each, leaving four men to keep a look-out for natives.

Presently the skipper turned to me, and pointed shoreward.

"That's the place for us, Drake--between those two spurs--just round
this point. There's bound to be water there."

The place which he indicated was about two miles distant to the
eastward, and the crews gave way with good will, for the prospect of
having a drink of pure water after the brackish and ill-smelling stuff
we had been drinking for a fortnight, was very pleasing. Although but a
little past nine o'clock in the morning the day was intensely hot,