rs were mere islets
of sand and rock, uninhabited except by sea-fowl and turtle. A great
barrier reef surrounds the group to the eastward, leaving the southern
quarter open. This barrier is broken by numerous passages, between
which navigation is possible, but dangerous, except in fine weather. In
addition to the great barrier, every island has an encircling reef of
its own. The general appearance of these islands is bold and striking.
They are perhaps the mountain tops of some sunken continent. The island
upon which we landed was one of the largest of the group, with a
background of wooded hills, and a fringe of palm trees to the beach,
beyond which a native village stood among green foliage.

We found the inhabitants of this island not nearly so friendly as other
savages we had met with. The men were larger, and bore a ferocious
aspect. The chief wore a necklace of whales' teeth, his hair frizzled
into a mop, which stood out from his head, coloured to a reddish-brown.
His skin was a light brown, with no tattoo marks upon it, but shiny, as
if rubbed with oil. He carried a club and spear of elaborate
workmanship, and wore a cloth petticoat made from the bark of a tree,
and painted with some skill in its design. His followers were
similarly, but not so strikingly, clad, the women wearing feathers in
their hair, and a peculiar leaf from a tree, which looked like white
satin. Altogether this race appeared to be possessed of a far higher
state of civilization than the people in Terra Australis. They were,
however, openly addicted to cannibalism, and made no secret of this
abominable practice.

These natives did not display any hostility at our landing, nor did
they express any surprise at the presents we made them of beads and
bright cloth, although they accepted what we gave them with avidity.
We stayed at this island for nearly two months, during which time we
learnt something of the customs of the people, and I was able, after a
while, to understand some of their language. It seemed that these
savages were continually at war with one another, and the boom of the
great wooden war drums was always sounding somewhere in the group. It
was from prisoners taken in battle that men were provided for cannibal
feasts, hence there was never lacking a cause for quarrel. The
prisoners were kept in a compound, where they were fattened for the pot
and killed when wanted.

These islanders were industrious in their own way. They built