Tuesday 14th June 1898 HMS Mohawk The local village and inhabitants

Coaling again finished by 8.30pm on receiving 46 ton
in all, the steam cutter coming off at 8pm with one of the
traders boats in tow grounded on a reef, the boat being full of coal
sank, but was picked up on the beach in the morning the coal
having shot out of her when she heeled over, went on shore during the
day, to traders house to get some chickens for wardroom we landed
upon some sharp coral rocks and was met by about 100 Naked
savages in a high state of pleasurable excitement, we was taken
into the village which was a long straggling place built in a
clearing in the forest, having the appearance of an enormous
avenue with Henry? Joy? Cottages scattered about here and there at
the foot of the trees for about a mile, everything here was much
different to the Santa Cruz Islands, the natives are much darker
both men and women are splendidly formed and in many cases
very handsome,they wear no clothes even the women not getting
beyond a loin cloth, their ornaments were more than usually
various, they had armlets & anklets formed of very prettily arranged
native beads which was made from shells and dyed blue, red, & yellow
Some of the young girls wore a little mother of pearl ornaments some-
what resembling a bird fixed in a hole at the extreme tip of the
nose, which gave them the most curious appearance, the canoes
of these Islands are very beautiful to look at, they are built

of burnt plank of wood held together with strong thwarts and cemented
with some kind of stuff obtained form a tree, the stern is carried up
to a considerable height like the bow of a Gondola they are
narrow and have no outrigger but sit on the water like a duck
there is a large amount of inlaying work the design being quaint
 but not without credit, in some case there being many thousands
of pieces of pearl shell all carefully shaped and let into the wood, the
paddles are short and thin and are used indifferently on either side two
or three strokes on ones side and then the same on the other and so on
after getting a few curios some Yams and Chickens we went on board.