'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎221] (330/496)

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disposition was evidently good, and, had they been civilized, we should
have derived great advantage from our intercourse. The women were
small in stature, and in no respect so fair as the other sex : neither were
they so well proportioned, their features being far less agreeable. They
wore a kind of petticoat, made of dried grass twisted together, which
was tied round the loins , 1 and reached nearly to the knees: this had a
ludicrous effect, and at a distance they resembled walking bundles of
straw: the upper part of the body was left quite bare. Their hair was de
corated the same as the men, but they had no lime : the body was not
cicatrised, neither was the cartilege of the nose or ears bored. They were
however very good humoured, and as fond of a joke as their lords and
masters. Many of them came on board, and were quite at home with
all hands: they were delighted with the presents they received, but
more especially with the clothes, which they insisted on wearing: they
seemed to be quite independent, and did just what they chose—the men
apparently possessing very little influence or authority over them. Wish
ing to see a little more of the manners and customs of these interesting
savages, the Purser and myself accompanied about twenty of them on
shore in one of their large canoes; and they were quite pleased with
this act, as it showed we placed every confidence in them, for we w r ent
entirely unarmed. No sooner had we stepped on board than they made
us signs to sit down, which we did; and all began laughing and talking
so fast that it was morally impossible to catch a word they uttered. We
became very shortly great friends, and exchanged our names and rubbed
noses again with all our sable companions,—not a very pleasing operation,
for long before we reached the shore our faces were nearly as black as
their own. One native, who sat near me, was so elated, that he took a
large string of pearly-colored beads off his neck and presented them to
me : in return, I gave him a gaudy-colored cotton handkerchief, which
was much admired. On reaching the beach we were taken out nolens
volens, carried through the surf by two huge savages, and safely
landed near their village close to the beach : they then threw their arms
around our necks in the most affectionate manner possible, and in this
way conducted us to their huts (much to the amusement of all parties),
where they seated us under the shade of some plantain and cocoanut trees,
their women bringing us some fruit, which we partook of very heartily.
A pipe, of a simple but curious construction, was then brought round,
and each native, after inhaling the smoke once or twice, handed it over
to us. We found the tobacco rather strong and pungent, and the flavor
not at all agreeable: where they obtained it, it is impossible to say, but we