The next phase of our arrival was that "smokes" were ascending in all directions on the mainland, evidently calling the tribes from far and near.How these smoke-signals gave an idea of the white man and his wonders I am utterly at a loss to imagine.In the meantime Yamba had prepared a great feast for the visitors, the principal dish being our remaining big turtle, of which the blacks ate a prodigious quantity.I afterwards told them that I was in need of a prolonged rest, my long journey having wearied me, and after this explanation I retired, and slung my hammock in a shady nook, where I slept undisturbed from shortly before noon until late in the day, when my ever-faithful Yamba, who had been keeping a careful watch, woke me and said that the festivities prior to our departure were about to take place.
Much refreshed, I rejoined the blacks, and, to their unbounded delight and amazement, entertained them for a few minutes with some of my acrobatic tricks and contortions.Some of the more emulous among them tried to imitate my feats of agility, but always came dismally to grief--a performance that created even more frantic merriment than my own.After a little while the blacks disappeared, only to come forth a few minutes later with their bodies gorgeously decorated with stripes of yellow ochre and red and white pigments.These startling preparations preceded a great CORROBOREE in honour of my arrival, and in this embarrassing function I was, of course, expected to join.The ceremony was kept up with extraordinary vigour the whole night long, but all I was required to do was to sit beating sticks together, and join in the general uproar.This was all very well for a little while, but the monotony of the affair was terrible, and I withdrew to my hammock before midnight.
In the morning I saw a great fleet of catamarans putting off from the mainland, and in a very short time between fifty and sixty natives joined our party on the island.Then followed the usual greetings and comical expressions of amazement--of course, at the sight of me, my boat, and everything in it.A few hours later the whole crowd left the island, led by me in the big boat--which, by the way, attracted as much interest as I did myself.The natives forced their catamarans through the water at great speed, using only one paddle, which was dipped first on one side and then on the other in rapid succession, without, however, causing the apparently frail craft to swerve in the slightest degree.
As we approached the new country, I beheld a vast surging crowd of excited blacks--men, women, and children, all perfectly naked--standing on the beach.The moment we landed there was a most extraordinary rush for my boat, and everything on board her was there and then subjected to the closest scrutiny.
The people seemed to be divided into clans, and when one clan was busy inspecting my implements and utensils, another was patiently waiting its turn to examine the white man's wonders.I sat in the boat for some time, fairly bewildered and deafened by the uproarious jabberings and shrill, excited cries of amazement and wonder that filled the air all round me.At last, however, the blacks who had come out to meet us on the island came to my rescue, and escorted me through the crowd, with visible pride, to an eminence overlooking the native camping-ground.I then learnt that the news of my coming had been smoke-signalled in every direction for many miles; hence the enormous gathering of clans on the beach.
The camping-ground I now found myself upon consisted of about thirty primitive shelters, built of boughs in the most flimsy manner, and only intended to break the force of the wind.These shelters, or "break-winds," were crescent-shaped, had ho roof, and were not in any way closed in in front.There were, however, two or three grass huts of beehive shape, about seven feet high and ten feet in diameter, with a queer little hole at the base through which the occupier had to crawl.The inside was perfectly dark.
I was told I could have either a break-wind of boughs or a beehive hut, and on consideration I chose the latter.It would, Ireflected, ensure something approaching privacy.My indefatigable Yamba and a few of her women friends set to work then and there, and positively in less than an hour the grass hut was ready for occupation! I did not, however, stay to witness the completion of the building operations, but went off with some self-appointed cicerones to see the different camps; everywhere I was received with the greatest enthusiasm and manifestations of respect and friendship.My simple loin-cloth of crimson Japanese silk occasioned much astonishment among the blacks, but curiously enough the men were far more astonished at my FOOTPRINTS than any other attribute I possessed.It seems that when they themselves walk they turn their feet sideways, so that they only make a half impression, so to speak, instead of a full footprint.On the other hand, I of course planted my feet squarely down, and this imprint in the sand was followed by a crowd of blacks, who gravely peered at every footprint, slapping themselves and clicking in amazement at the wonderful thing!
