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

278 WITH NATIVES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

for this service, that is, to convey the missionaries
and natives from the headquarters on Norfolk Island
to the different islands. Life on board was far from
luxurious; but there was good company and an
interesting library. I had the pleasure of making
some interesting acquaintances, and the missionaries
gave me much valuable information about the natives
and their customs. When the tone of the conver-
sation in the evening threatened to become too
serious, our jovial Captain S. speedily improved
matters by his grotesquely comical sallies. A strenu-
ous life was that of the missionary who was respon-
sible for the organization of the voyage; he had to
visit the native communities, and went ashore at
every anchorage, sometimes through an ugly surf or
dangerous shoals, generally with overcrowded whale—
boats; and this went on for three months. I had
nothing to do, and amused myself by comparing the
boys from the various islands, who were quite
different in looks, speech and character. There were
the short, thick-set, plebeian natives from the New
Hebrides, the well-built men from the Solomons,
with their long faces and open, energetic expression,
the languid, sleepy boys from the Torres Islands
and the savage Santa Cruzians.

The trip of the Soutéern Cross was important as
an experiment, being the first with an exclusively
native crew. Hitherto the Melanesians had been
considered incapable of any work calling for energy,
initiative and conscientiousness. Captain C. was
convinced that this was unjust, and started on this