ese were placed on sale at the
store. It was thus possible for each family to acquire several articles
of this kind, which heretofore had been considered the most valuable of
all treasures.

Such a thing as a chair or a table was unknown on the island. The beds
were made of the native grasses, strewn on the floor. It will be
understood, therefore, that the manner of furnishing the houses occupied
by the whites was a marvel; and when the families of the various workers
moved into their new possessions, it naturally dawned on them that
chairs and tables, as well as properly arranged beds, should accompany
such luxury.

The Professor was at the homes of these people daily, suggesting ideas
for comfort and convenience. One of the things which interested him most
was the subject of cleanliness. People living in the manner to which
they were accustomed, made the sanitary part of the domestic arrangement
an exceedingly difficult problem.

The necessity of cleanliness was impressed on them very forcibly when,
later on, he was called to administer to many of the children, who were
attacked by diseases, brought on directly by carelessness in thoroughly
removing all dirt and decaying matter.

To a certain degree the natives understood this, and the subject has
been referred to previously, where they had the habit of anointing their
bodies and those of the infants with various oils, which were obnoxious
to insects and germs.

That knowledge made the task of using disinfectants much easier to
instill in their minds. It was impressed on them that properly caring
for the home was a daily task, and must not be neglected.

The women used combs made from the fins of fish. These were constructed
in the following manner: The entire fin was removed, and the bony
structure at the base of the teeth was bound between two strips of
bamboo, and tied around by fibers, as shown. The whole was then placed
in a vessel containing boiling water. The result was that when taken out
the meat of the fish, being glue-like, would act as a cement to hold the
teeth in place.

[Illustration: _Fig. 15. Comb from fin of Fish._]

Such combs are anything but sanitary, as might be surmised, and the
inhabitants were subject to pests arising from articles so made. Their
only salvation was, in fact, the daily habit of using oil, and, from a
sanitary point of view, there was nothing objectionable to this
excepting the odor which naturally followed, due to the