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

RECRUITING FOR NATIVES 57

entirely, and to introduce a conscription for work in
its place, so that each male would have to work for a
term of years on a plantation for adequate wages and
good treatment. This would be of advantage to the
islanders even more than to the planters. It would
create order, and would employ the natives in useful
work for the development of their own country. g

It will appear from all this that recruiting is still
a somewhat dangerous undertaking, especially on the
north-west coast of Malekula, the home of the most
primitive and savage tribes of all the group.

George, our captain, was a strange fellow, about
seventeen years of age: he might just as well have
been forty. Pale, with small grey eyes and a
suspicious look, a long hooked nose, and narrow, yet
hanging lips, he walked with bent back and crooked
knees, always bare-footed, in blue dungaree trousers,
green shirt and an old weather-beaten hat. He
hardly ever spoke; when he did, it was very
suddenly, very fast and very low, so that no one
could understand him except his boys, who evidently
knew instinctively what he meant. The natives
are very clever in these matters. He was brave, an
excellent sailor for his age, and he knew the channels
and all the anchorages. His boat may have been
6 or 7 metres long and 3 metres wide; she was
cutter-rigged, and was probably very suitable for
a trip of a few days, but quite insufficient for a
cruise of several weeks, such as we were planning.
The deck was full of cases of provisions, so that only
a little space was clear for us at the stem. The