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 river, or nearly so, now became higher, and at intervals native landing-places began to show. Then we noticed groves of Areca nut palms, those bearing ripe fruit having one of their long fronds tied up in a peculiar manner as a sign of ownership and taboo. Some four miles up Akibaka Creek we came to the head of its navigation, where to our great satisfaction we found our dingy minus its rudder, proving that our friends had been lucky enough to cross the bar, and arrive thus far, at any rate, in safety. Near the Mission boat-house we saw a few natives engaged in extracting the sago from the trunk of the Rabia palm. The process, which is very primitive, consists in cutting into shreds the fibrous pith of the palm, cut into lengths of about six feet by means of a peculiar kind of adze, made of hard cane, attached to a handle at an angle of 45°, the light brown substance containing the farina being carried away by women to the edge of the creek, and there deposited in a primitive gutter made out of the butt end of an immense palm leaf. Water is then poured upon it which dissolves and, in a rude manner, extracts the farina from the pulp. News of our advent soon spread, and joined by a string of natives we passed through a straggling village situated in a grove of tall cocoa nut trees, till we came to a house of a better description, and were introduced to Timoteo, the teacher located in this village, which is called Yanuabada by the natives. Here we found Mr. Romilly and Mr. Askwith, who had been made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. After being refreshed with the delicious drink obtained from young cocoa-nuts, I sallied into the village and succeeded in getting several very successful views. The natives generally sleep in hammocks suspended underneath their huts, which are built on piles about eight feet from the ground. We counted as many as fifteen hammocks under one building, but the bulk of the adult male population was absent in the plantations. Our stay at Vanuabada was but short, as part of our programme was to cross overland and visit another village on the main stream, and also inspect the intervening territory. Our road lay through flats of blade-grass country, interspersed with groves of cocoa-nut palms and thickets of tropical scrub. Although the soil appeared friable and easy to cultivate, yet the shallow, dangerous