The men are fine specimens of the Polynesian race, well-built,
and with frank, open countenances ; but the women are much inferior
to them, both in good looks, and, as it seemed to me, in manners.
A great number of both sexes were affected with a rather
unsightly skin-disease, evidently of a parasitic character, which
they call “ pccter.” It begins on the chest and shoulders in
small circular patches somewhat resembling “ ringworm,” and
eventually extends over the entire cutaneous surface, causing
desquamation of the cuticle, and giving rise to a very distressing
itching. When the disease has become well established, the skin
exhibits grooves of the “ snail-track” pattern, which intersect each
other in various directions ; so that on examining at a few yards
distance a man who is extensively diseased, he seems at first sight
as if covered with artificial cicatrices, arranged so as to represent
some hieroglyphic device. They possess no remedy for this
disease, and w.ere therefore extremely anxious to obtain from us
some treatment for it. In other respects they seem to be a very
healthy people.
We crossed the narrow strip of land— only a few hundred yards
wide— on which lies the settlement, and then found ourselves on
the margin of an extensive lagoon, on the smooth sandy beach
of which outrigger canoes in great numbers were hauled up. The
island is an irregular atoll, that portion on which we were being
continuous for about three-fifths of the circle, while the remaining
portion was made up by a straggling chain of islets.
During our subsequent stroll through the settlement, I obtained
some information from an intelligent native who spoke a little
English, and seemed to be one of the principal people. He
seemed to be very proud of his small stock of knowledge concerning
“ Britannia,” as he called Great Britain, and was very
particular in explaining that he was a Protestant, and disapproved
strongly of Catholicism, which he looked on as the height of
infamy. He was therefore surprised and much crestfallen at
hearing that all Englishmen were not Protestants.
Mi;