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

PENTECOSTE 225

consequence of drinking, alone and at one sitting,
a bottle of pure absinthe.

The house of Mr. D. was typical of the dwellings
built by the colonists.‘ In a circumference of about
50 metres, the bush had been cleared, on a level
spot somewhat off the shore and slightly elevated.
Here stood a simple grass hut, 3 metres wide and
6 long; the floor was covered with gravel, and the
interior divided into a store-room and a living-room.
On the roof lay a few sheets of corrugated iron, the
rain from which was collected in a tank to provide
water. A few paces off was another hut, where the
coprah was smoked and the boys slept, and on the
beach was a shed for storing the coprah.

The actual work a coprah trader has to do is very
small, amounting to little besides waiting for the
natives who bring the coprah or the fresh nuts, to
weigh them and sell his goods. Occasionally he may
visit a distant village by boat to buy coprah there;
but there is plenty of unoccupied time, and it is not
surprising that many of the settlers take to drink from
pure boredom. Not so Mr. D., who tried to educate
- the neighbouring natives, but with small success.

I did not see much of interest here, or learn any—
thing new about the natives, but I was able to obtain
some interesting objects, and my collection of skulls
was nicely started, until some one told the natives
not to bring me any more skulls, as on the day of
resurrection the former owners would not be able
to find their heads. The same person created all

sorts of difficulties when I attempted some excava-
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