tremely curious in the eyes of
a stranger. Neither wore shoes or stockings--these things we did not
possess, and could not procure; we wore leggings and sandals of
seal-skin to protect us from the thorns and plants of the cacti tribe,
among which we were obliged to force our way. My companion wore a
conical cap of seal-skin, and protected her complexion from the sun by a
rude attempt at an umbrella I had made for her.

She had on, on these occasions, a pair of coarse cloth trousers, as her
own dress would have been torn to pieces before she had got half a mile
through the bush; these were surmounted by a tight spencer she had
herself manufactured out of a man's waistcoat, and a dimity petticoat,
which buttoned up to her throat, and was fastened in the same way at the
wrists.

My head was covered with a broad-brimmed hat, made of dry grass, which I
had myself plaited. I wore a sailor's jacket, much the worse for wear,
patched with seal-skin, over a pair of duck trousers, similarly
repaired.

Although our expeditions were perfectly harmless, we did not go without
weapons. At the instigation of my companion, I had made myself a good
stout bow and plenty of arrows, and had exercised myself so frequently
at aiming at a mark, as to have acquired very considerable skill in the
use of them. I had now several arrows of hard wood tipped with sharp
fish-bones, and some with iron nails, in a kind of pouch behind me; in
its sheath before me was my American knife, which I used for taking the
plants from the ground. I had a basket made of the long grass of the
island, slung around me, which served to contain our treasures; and I
carried my bow in my hand.

My companion, in addition to her umbrella, bore only a long staff, and a
small basket tied round her waist, that usually contained a little
refreshment; for she would say there was no knowing what might occur to
delay our return, and therefore it was better to take our meal with us.
And not the least agreeable portion of the day's labour was our repast;
for we would seat ourselves in some quiet corner, surrounded by flowers,
and shaded by the brushwood from the sun, and there eat our dried fish
or pick our birds, and roast our potatoes by means of a fire of dried
sticks, and wash down our simple dinner with a flask of pure water--the
most refreshing portion of our banquet.

I had, as I have just stated, attained a singular degree of skill in the
use of the bow and arrow,