up by it upon the strand. Animals are still more scarce. A few sea-swallows and insects form the whole Fauna of the group. The sea furnishes the only supply of animal food, in the shape of fish, crabs, and shell-fish. One may well ask, what degree of moral or spiritual development can be attained by a race of men whose sphere of action is confined to a solitary coral reef! Yet the mode of existence of the inhabitants of Stewart's Islands is by no means of the most primitive or simple nature; through the occasional visits of ships they have obtained much, by which they have sensibly improved their condition. They now possess swine, poultry, and various tubers, which seem greatly to thrive on the island, and which they can now exchange for other articles of prime necessity.
Sikayana is the only member of the group which is permanently inhabited, and that by a sincerely hospitable, most friendly race. Their origin is variously accounted for.
Among the natives themselves there is a dim tradition that Captain Cook transported hither the first settlers. Another version is, that the first inhabitants came from South Island, 130 miles W. of Stewart's Islands, and that they were brought hither by whalers, which latter, when they no longer needed the services of these poor people, sought how most easily to get rid of them. At the same time several English and American sailors, who at various times have been left in these islands in consequence of sickness, want of further employment, love of adventure, or quarrels with
their captains, must have largely contributed to the present quite peculiar mixture. The practice of leaving upon any suitable island such natives of the South Sea groups as may take service with English or American whalers, is very common, and sufficiently explains the mode of first settling many of these islands of Oceania.
When Captain Cheyne, who has greatly contributed to our more intimate knowledge of the islands of the West Pacific, visited Sikayana in September, 1847, the population amounted to 48 men, 73 women, and 50 children, who inhabited a small village lying on the lagoon at the eastern end of the island. Although eleven years had elapsed ere we visited this simple community, their numbers did not appear materially to have increased.
Considering the powerful, healthy appearance of the natives, it should seem that we must ascribe this stagnation in amount of population less to the influence of climate, than to the ravages of the various diseases which are from time to time introduced by foreign ships. Thus we saw one woman whose whole body was deeply marked with small-pox, and presented a living example that the fell scourge of all uncivilized races is no longer unknown in Sikayana.
At the landing-place we were received by the king of the island, a very aged man with grey hair and silver beard. He sat on the grass close to the shore under the shade of cocoa-nut palms, driving away with his hand the flies which were stinging his naked body. After a brief welcome he
invited us to be seated beside him on Nature's own soft green carpet.
The natives whom we met here were all tall handsome men, with good features, decidedly of a European cast. The hair was black, very crisp, but not the slightest appearance of being woolly. Many had shaved it till there only remained a long tail; most of them had their arms and legs tattooed, but wore no ear or nose ornaments like the Solomon Islanders. Round the loins they wore a sort of girdle, four or five inches wide, of strips of plants plaited by the women. In addition to this, most of them wore some piece of European clothing; drawers, old caps, but most commonly a sort of jacket without sleeves made of calico, which only covered the back and chest. Like the natives of the Nicobars, they showed great curiosity to learn our names, and kept repeating them over and over, apparently to impress them upon their memory. They had beyond a doubt taken their own names from sailors and ship captains, with whom they had once been in communication.
Close to the shore, among some scattered palm-trees, stood a few wretched huts, compared with which the bee-hive huts of the Nicobar Islanders appear like palaces. They consisted of a roofing woven of cocoa-nut palm-leaves, planted upon the naked soil which serves as a floor, and closed in front and rear with mats of similar texture. The interior was no less poverty-stricken than the exterior. We could see no articles of furniture beyond a few baskets and