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

244 WITH NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

As I mentioned elsewhere, a man’s rise in caste is
marked on every occasion by the receipt of new fire,
rubbed on a special stick ornamented with flowers.
Fire is lighted here, as in all Melanesia, by “ plough-
ing,” a small stick being rubbed lengthwise in a
larger one. If the wood is not damp, it will burn in
less than two minutes : it is not necessary, as is often
stated, to use two different kinds of wood. To—day
matches are used nearly everywhere, and the natives
hardly ever “ plough ” their fire, except for ceremonial
purposes ; but they are still very clever about keeping
the fire burning, and often take along a smouldering
log on their walks.

Wood-carving and sculpture are wanting, except
in the shape of drums, which are placed in a
horizontal position, and often reach considerable
dimensions.

Not far from Albert’s lived a man of the highest
caste, my friend Agelan. He was planning to kill
one hundred tusked pigs in the near future, which
would raise him to the highest caste far and wide,
but would also impoverish him for the rest of his life.
He lived quietly and comfortably, like a country
squire, surrounded by his relatives and descendants.
He seemed fond of good living, and his wife was an
excellent housekeeper. In the midst of a somewhat
colourless Christian population, wearing trousers and
slovenly dresses, using enamel pots and petrol-lamps,
Agelan and his household were a genuine relic of the
good old times, and no one could have pretended
that his home was less pleasant than those around