Before describing the events of the journey it is necessary to make a digression, so that we may be able to recount some things which had a bearing on the adventures and experiences of the two boys after they returned.
The natives on Wonder Island, as well as on the island where they now were, wore the most primitive kinds of clothing. The men had the simplest clothing, merely a breech clout, worn about the loins, and the Chiefs usually wore some distinguishing clothing about their shoulders, and usually on their arms.
The women, however, had short skirts, and like their white sisters, abounded in ornaments. Some of them had jackets, to which the trinkets were attached. All delighted in bracelets. These were usually formed like bands around their arms and limbs, and the wealth and importance of the dame was judged from the number so employed.
As a result, when they became great and wealthy,[p. 144] more and more clothing had to be used, to enable them to attach the ornaments. It might be said, that clothing was worn, not for the purpose of covering the body, or for comfort, but in order to serve as a vehicle to attach the much desired trinkets, and the dangling character of these articles seemed to be the great attraction.
For this reason bright and sparkling bits of jewelry were the most sought. It mattered not what they were made of, but the glistening surface had its value to them. Singularly enough, the women on the new island strove to decorate themselves in like manner, and presumably, for the same purpose.
When the savages in Wonder Island were brought out of their crude state, the Professor and George knew that they could not change that fundamental law of nature, nor did they attempt to work a revolution in the minds and characters of the people in this respect.
Within certain limitations such a desire to ornament and render themselves attractive is most laudable. They knew that among the few peoples in the world, where that quality is entirely lacking, they are of the lowest type, and possessed of the least intellect, and that all such are the hardest to cultivate.
Here, as on Wonder Island, the natives understood weaving, the fabrics being of the coarsest character, both in the matter of quality and appearance. The work was necessarily slow and tedious, and the principal work of the women was to weave these articles of wear with the simple tools they had.
When the boys built the looms, and the natives saw the wonderful goods produced, and the dyes prepared to give the fabrics the different hues, the women became most expert weavers, and the natural result was that they vied with each other to make the best articles, and to form them into the most fashionable garments.