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

RECRUITING FOR NATIVES 69

as not to irritate the people. Shortly afterwards
another crowd of natives came along the beach
carrying yam. They approached with extreme care,
ready to fight or fly, but they were less afraid of us
than of the natives, for whom that part of the beach
was reserved, and with whom we had been trading.
They were enemies of the newcomers, who knew
that they were outside their own territory and might
expect an attack any moment. Squatting down near
us, they anxiously watched the forest, ever ready to
jump up. One of them, who spoke a little biche la
mar, came up to me and asked me to anchor that
night near their beach, and buy yams from them,
which we promised to do. At a sound in the forest
they jumped up and ran away. George, wishing to
talk more with them, took his rifle and ran after
them, but they had already retreated behind some
boulders, and were waving their rifles and signalling
him to stay where he was. They thought we were
in a plot with other natives, and had ambushed them.
To such a degree do these people live in constant fear,
and thus arise misunderstandings which end in death,
unless the Whites are very prudent and quiet. Many
a recruiter in our case would have welcomed this
apparent provocation to shoot at the natives from a
safe distance with his superior rifle.

All day it rained in heavy squalls, coming from
Over the hills; everything was damp, the night was
dark and'still and we sighed in our narrow cell of a
Cabin. Next morning Bourbaki came back with a
new crowd of natives, who again felt and investigated,