[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

210 WITH NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

be struck by the politeness they show a stranger, and
by the kind and obliging way in which they treat each
other. It must be admitted that this is often enough
only a veneer, under which all sorts of hatred, malice,
and all uncharitableness are hidden, just as among
civilized people; still, the manners of the crudest
savages are far superior to those of most of the whites
they meet.

One sign of this sensitiveness is their reluctance
to express any desire, for fear of a refusal. I saw a
daily illustration of this, when my boys wanted the
tin of meat for dinner which was their due. Although
they might have taken it themselves, a different boy
came each day to the room where I was writing, and
waited patiently for some time, then began coughing
with increasing violence, until I asked what he
wanted. Then he would shyly stammer out his
request. Never would they accost me or otherwise
disturb me while I was writing or reading; yet at
other times they could be positively impertinent,
especially if excited. The islander is very nervous;
when he is quiet, he is shy and reticent, but once he
is aroused, all his bad instincts run riot, and incredible
savageness and cruelty appear. The secret of suc-
cessful treatment of the natives seems to be to keep
them very quiet, and never to let any excitement
arise, a point in which so many whites fail.

They are very critical and observantnand let no
weakness pass without sarcastic comment; yet their
jokes are rarely offensive, and in the end the victim
usually joins in the general laughter. On the whole,