of the rowers glistened in their black faces
as they strained every muscle of their naked bodies; nor did they relax
their efforts till the canoe struck the beach with a violent shock; then,
with a shout of defiance, the whole party sprang, as if by magic, from
the canoe to the shore. Three women, two of whom carried infants in
their arms, rushed into the woods; and the men crowded to the water's
edge, with stones in their hands, spears levelled, and clubs brandished,
to resist the landing of their enemies.

The distance between the two canoes had been about half a mile, and, at
the great speed they were going, this was soon passed. As the pursuers
neared the shore, no sign of fear or hesitation was noticeable. On they
came like a wild charger,--received but recked not of a shower of stones.
The canoe struck, and, with a yell that seemed to issue from the throats
of incarnate fiends, they leaped into the water, and drove their enemies
up the beach.

The battle that immediately ensued was frightful to behold. Most of the
men wielded clubs of enormous size and curious shapes, with which they
dashed out each other's brains. As they were almost entirely naked, and
had to bound, stoop, leap, and run, in their terrible hand-to-hand
encounters, they looked more like demons than human beings. I felt my
heart grow sick at the sight of this bloody battle, and would fain have
turned away, but a species of fascination seemed to hold me down and glue
my eyes upon the combatants. I observed that the attacking party was led
by a most extraordinary being, who, from his size and peculiarity, I
concluded was a chief. His hair was frizzed out to an enormous extent,
so that it resembled a large turban. It was of a light-yellow hue, which
surprised me much, for the man's body was as black as coal, and I felt
convinced that the hair must have been dyed. He was tattooed from head
to foot; and his face, besides being tattooed, was besmeared with red
paint, and streaked with white. Altogether, with his yellow turban-like
hair, his Herculean black frame, his glittering eyes and white teeth, he
seemed the most terrible monster I ever beheld. He was very active in
the fight, and had already killed four men.

Suddenly the yellow-haired chief was attacked by a man quite as strong
and large as himself. He flourished a heavy club something like an
eagle's beak at the point. For a second or two these giants eyed each
other warily, movi