ed a little
tobacco, then retired to a distance from the hut which had been prepared
for our reception, and left us to take our supper uninterrupted; after
which they placed all our baggage in the hut, that we might be assured of
its safety.

It proved a rainy, miserable night; and we were a large party, crowded
into a small, smoky hut, with a fire lighted in the middle; as, after
our supper, the natives, in order to have as much of our company as
possible, crowded it till it was literally crammed. However annoying this
might be, still I was recompensed by the novelty and picturesque
appearance of the scene. Salvator Rosa could not have conceived a finer
study of the horrible. A dozen men, of the largest and most athletic
forms, their cakahoos (or mat-dresses) laid aside, and their huge limbs
exposed to the red glare of the fire; their faces rendered hideous by
being tattooed all over, showing by the firelight quite a bright blue;
their eyes, which are remarkable for their fierce expression, all fixed
upon us, but with a look of good temper, co-mingled with intense
curiosity. All my fears had by this time subsided, and, being master of
myself, I had leisure to study and enjoy the scene; we smoked a social
pipe with them (for they are all immoderately fond of tobacco), and I
then stretched myself down to sleep amidst all their chattering and
smoke.

But all my attempts at slumber were fruitless. I underwent a simultaneous
attack of vermin of all descriptions; fleas, mosquitoes, and sand-flies,
which, beside their depredations on my person, made such a buzzing noise,
that even the chattering of the natives could not drown it, or the smoke
from the fire or pipes drive them away.

CHAPTER VIII.

TOILSOME JOURNEY THROUGH THE FOREST.

Next morning, at daybreak, we took leave of our hosts, and proceeded on
our journey; we had eight miles more of this thick forest to scramble
through, and this part we found considerably worse than that we had
traversed yesterday. The roots of trees covered the path in all
directions, rendering it necessary to watch every step we took, in order
to prevent being thrown down; the supple-jacks, suspended and twining
from tree to tree, making in many places a complete net-work; and while
we were toiling with the greatest difficulty through this miserable road,
our natives were jogging on as comfortably as possible: use had so
completely accustomed them to it, that they sprung over the