ing his ship. The vice and immorality
prevalent in most of the Pacific Islands is carried to a frightful pitch,
doubtless greatly encouraged by the example of the reckless and dissolute
mariners. Any stimulus of that kind was unnecessary to barbarians
originally cruel, treacherous, and licentious in a very high degree.
Cannibalism is prevalent amongst them. At Drummond's Island, one of the
Kingsmill group, the first land where the Hound made any stay after
leaving St Francisco, Dr Coulter had abundant proof of this. Except upon
the coast, where the disgust shown by Europeans had rendered them ashamed
of it, or at least anxious to conceal it, the natives did not deny the
practice. Some of the men wore necklaces composed of the bones of human
feet and hands, which clattered at each motion of the body. And other
human bones were to be seen in their houses. They eat only strangers and
enemies taken in battle; and as the occasional cutting off of a boats'
crew or straggling watering party from a European ship is insufficient to
keep their larders supplied, they get up constant wars with the natives of
other islands. Amongst themselves, too, they are very quarrelsome. Dr
Coulter, when at Drummond's Island, was present at a grand council, where,
after a certain amount of singing, stamping, and speech-making, the
warriors came from words to blows, and one of them was killed by a
spear-thrust. To satisfy the honour and appease the wrath of his followers
and partisans, a peace-offering was necessary. It consisted of six
fighting cocks, with which and with the corpse of their chief the warriors
took their departure, perfectly satisfied. Cock-fighting is a sport to
which most of the Pacific tribes are passionately addicted.

When the Kingsmill savages had got all they could out of Captain Trainer,
and trade was over, and the ship about to depart, they came out in their
true colours. Previously they had been amiable and affable enough,
contenting themselves with small pilferings, and with robbing Dr Coulter,
whose curiosity took him on shore, of his clothes, which they replaced
with a fish-skin cap and a war-mat. They now showed hostile
intentions--attacked a boat, killed one of the crew, and then made an open
attack on the schooner with a whole fleet of armed canoes. A shower of
grape played havoc amongst them, and sank or capsized several of their
craft; but they still persevered in their advance, and clung to the
vessel's sides an