And so, in everything floatable, the whole male population of
that part of the coast came to visit us. We were speedily the
centre of a great crowd of canoes, some of which were continually
capsizing and spilling their occupants, who took no more notice
of such incidents than one would of a sneeze. Underneath a
canoe, or on top, made but little difference to these amphibious
creatures. They brought nothing with them to trade; in fact, few
of their vessels were capable of carrying anything that could not
swim and take care of itself. As they came on board, each crossed
himself more or less devoutly, revealing the teaching of a Roman
Catholic mission; and as they called to one another, it was not
hard to recognize, even in their native garb, such names as
Erreneo (Irenaeus), Al'seo (Aloysius), and other favourite
cognomens of saints.
A laughing chattering good-tempered crowd they were--just like a
bevy of children breaking up, and apparently destitute of the
slightest sense of responsibility. They spoke a totally different
dialect, or maybe language, to that of Vau Vau, for it was only
an isolated word here and there that Samuela could make out. But
presently, going forward through the crowd that thronged every
part of the deck, I saw a man leaning nonchalantly against the
rail by the fore-rigging, who struck me at once as being an
American negro.
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