DRESS OF THE NATIVES.

Their dress consisted of a cloth round the waist reaching to the knee, which in some instances was neatly ornamented with small white shells; their arms and ankles were loaded with rings formed of ebony, ivory, and coloured glass, some of the former bore evident marks of having been turned in a lathe.  The lobes of their ears were perforated with large holes, from which enormous earrings of ivory and ebony, in the shape of padlocks, were suspended, sometimes as many as three from one ear.  A few of the natives had gold earrings of considerable size but rude workmanship.  The boys and younger men had their hair cut short, and their heads smeared over with a preparation of lime, which bleaches the naturally black hair to a flaxen colour; as soon as this is effected, the hair is allowed to grow to a considerable length, and in due time presents a piebald appearance, the ends retaining the flaxen colour while the roots are black.  When grown to a sufficient length it is wound gracefully round the head and fastened by a comb of sandalwood or tortoise-shell; some specimens of which were very large, and of such superior manufacture as to indicate an intercourse with much more civilized nations.

LEPROSY.

The natives appeared to be healthy with the exception of a sort of leprosy, from which many of them were suffering.  It gave them a most disgusting appearance, but did not appear to cause any inconvenience, nor were they avoided by the rest of their companions, as if the disease had been contagious.  On our first landing, very few of the natives had any arms, but they afterwards brought down some bows and arrows, some of which were four or five feet long, neatly headed with iron.  We also saw a few iron-headed spears, a few cresses, and some hatchets of a very rude construction.

CANOES.

Their canoes, about thirty of which were hauled upon the beach, were from twenty-five to thirty feet long, and very narrow, with outriggers projecting ten or twelve feet from each side, and supporting a piece of buoyant wood to give stability.  They carried one large mat-sail, but did not appear to sail fast.

As soon as we had satisfied our curiosity on the beach, old Lomba led the way to the village on the crest of the hill.  The ascent commenced close to the landing place by a flight of steps rudely formed by logs of wood laid across a narrow path cut in the hillside, which brought us to within forty or fifty feet of the summit.  After which we had to climb two ladders, made of hard red wood richly carved, placed almost perpendicularly against the cliff.  In a recess under the upper step we noticed four small idols that bore a strong resemblance to those of the South Sea islanders.

VILLAGE OF OLILIET.

After reaching the top of the ladder we passed through a gateway, evidently intended for defence, and then found ourselves in the village of Oliliet, built on a level space of considerable extent, accessible only from seaward by the path we had ascended, which the removal of the ladders would render impracticable, and on the land side protected by a wall, beyond which the jungle appeared to be very dense.