oil that was inside they simply
wallowed for hours at a time, only to emerge in a condition that filled
me with disgust. There was no question of priority or disputing as to
whom the tit-bits of the whale should go. Even the visitors were quite
at liberty to take whatever portion they could secure. For about a
fortnight this cutting-up and gorging went on, but long before this the
stench from the decomposing carcasses was so horrible as to be painfully
noticeable at my camp, over a mile away. Some of the flesh was cooked,
but most of it was eaten absolutely raw. The spectacle witnessed on the
beach would have been intensely comical were it not so revolting. Many
of the savages, both men and women, had gorged themselves to such an
extent as to be absolutely unable to walk; and they rolled about on the
sand, tearing at the ground in agony, their stomachs distended in the
most extraordinary and disgusting manner. It may amuse you to know that
smoke-signals were at once sent up for all the "doctors" in the country,
and these ministering angels could presently be seen with their massage
shells, rubbing the distended stomachs of the sufferers as they lay on
the beach. I saw some men fairly howling with agony, but yet still
devouring enormous quantities of oil and blubber! Besides the massage
treatment (with the thumbs as well as shells), the "doctors" administered
a kind of pill, or pellet, of some green leaf, which they first chewed in
their own mouth and then placed in that of the patient. So magical was
this potent herb in its action, that I feel sure it would make the
fortune of an enterprising syndicate. Other patients, who had obtained
temporary relief through the kind offices of the medicine-men, returned
to the whales again, and had another enormous gorge. In fact, the blacks
behaved more like wild beasts of the lowest order than men, and in a very
short time--considering the enormous bulk of the whales--nothing remained
except the immense bones.

On the other hand, the orgie had its uses from my point of view, because
I took advantage of the arrival of so many strange tribes to make myself
acquainted with their chiefs, their languages, and their manners and
customs, in the hope that these people might be useful to me some day
when I commenced my journey overland to civilisation. For, of course,
all hope of escape by sea had now to be abandoned, since my boat was
destroyed. Several days elapsed, however,