Stopped off Rubiana Mahaphy the commissioner
with armed party went on shore for th epurpose of collecting protec-
tion dues from traders, we notice a great number of natives collected
together on the shore, and on the boats getting nearer the found the
Natives were all men and all armed with unusual long spears, bows
and arrows, they did not shout or make any sign of what they was going
to do, they merely drew themselves up in aline along the shore their long
spears standing up far above their heads, and having a most formidable
appearance, we pulled on till the boats grounded we then jumped into
the water and waded on shore with our rifles at the ready and the
machine gun trained amongst the natives, Mahaphy went forward
with a Palm Leaf in one hand his revolver ready inthe other, he
kept on repeating the Chiefs name and the name of the traders
but they did not take any notice, they did not make any show of
attacking us, but holding themselves aloft seemed to ready for
anything that might turn up, there were no women or children near
and the men seemed more elaborately dress than is usual when they
are bent on fighting,there ornaments in some cases were most beautiful
some of them wearing wide sashes of native bead work fringed
with human teeth, they were worn over the right shoulder and
under the left arm, the colours were evenly arranged which gave them
a very pretty appearance after a delay of about half hour during which time
we was trying to make them understand that we was on a peaceful mis-
sion an Old man arrived on the scene he came forward spoke a few
hurried words to the crowd evidently assuring them that he knew who
we were, we found out afterwards that the assembling of these arm-
ed savages was on account of a feast to be given that night at the
village, The Chief from the neighbouring had been invited and was
coming in all day, the custom of these feasts are very curious, no part
of the food provided is eaten at the entertainments, each guest
on the contrary bring all they require for their own use and take
his share of the fest away with him when he goes, Our motto of
eat all you can and Pocket none is exactly the reverse, in
the Solomon Islands it is Pocket all you can and eat none.
The spears which these fellows was armed and are used by all
the natives of the Solomon Islands are certainly the finest weapons
in the Southern Seas, they are about 10 feet long a single
black shaft highly polished and ornamented near the point
which is of human bone, there are ten or a dozen barbs very
much like the tip of the spear which are fastened to the shaft
by a binding of coloured cane work the whole being held together
and strengthened with the same stuff as they use for their canoes.
Mahaphy proceeded along to the village with the Chief, but returned soon
after as he found out that the trader had gone away on a trad-
ing expedition, returned on board the ship, then preceded
on our course 8.30pm we dropped a target for the purpose of Night
Firing, we had 2 Electric search Light playing on the target and fired
at it out of our 3 pndrs quick firing & machine guns
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