THE SYSTEM OF PURCHASE. 13 being included under the generic name of trade,' and standing as a circulating medium in the place of money, which latter is of course totally valueless in the New Hebrides. I remember a Tanna chief, who had heard of English money, once asking me for some, and on being shown both gold and silver, instantly chose the latter, preferring a new bright shilling to hang in his ear to an old sovereign. All these articles have, in trade with the natives, their separate and distinct value; for instance, they will only sell a pig for an axe or an adze, no amount of tobacco would purchase one. They will exchange their arms as spears, clubs, or poisoned arrows— for knives or muskets, powder and ball, and other little things such as pipes. Bryant and May's matches, figs of tobacco, &c., are only good for purchasing yams, cocoa-nuts, tara, or bananas. The trade, too, varies so much on the different islands, that it is impossible to say what may strike the fancy of the natives; and it is never safe for you to be without what he wants, as in most places the mere fact of having to do without some longed-for article would be quite enough to make an islander fire his musket at you, regardless of consequences. Once as we shoved off from the lee-side of Tanna, with our boats loaded to the water's edge with yams and pigs, a savage suddenly appeared on the beach with a little pig in one hand and his musket in the other, and shouted frantically to us to come back; and on my being rude enough to tell him to eat his pig himself, he immediately dropped it, and, taking careful aim, to my astonishment let drive among us. Fortunately a Tanna man is about the worst shot in the world, so no harm was done, but this little incident showed me that these gentlemen of nature's own making do not understand chaff. Innumerable little superstitions, too, keep constantly cropping up during the progress of every bargain ; of these tobacco, which is sold in the American form of figs, is a fruitful source. Ten cocoa-nuts, when I was there, were worth about one fig of tobacco, but the native will only sell one at a time, and if you break the fig, you must take care that he gets all the different portions himself, as he firmly believes that anyone else getting part of the same fig can exercise a power of witchcraft over him. Just about this time the three years' agreements of about thirty Kanakas expired, and as they took their passages by my vessel I went to see their wages paid at the immigration office. The Act directs that this shall be done in coin of the realm, 181. for the three years, and accordingly each man received his handful of yellow sovereigns, at which they stared with an amusing look of helplessness. I went round the town with them to see that they got their money's worth, and I need scarcely say that these islanders were objects of the utmost interest to many store-keepers who had axes or muskets in stock. A Government agent from the immigration office is very wisely always sent round with coolies under these circumstances, as the men have confidence in him, and his character is a guarantee for fair dealing. A very short time served to remove the diffidence of my new friends, who soon found out that money is power, and could scarcely be restrained from spending all their hard-earned cash in one shop. And a most miscellaneous assortment of goods they managed to secure! First, every man must have a chest, and one of the party having bought a cedar chest, the rest discovered that they must each have a cedar chest too. Next, most of them put inside a tolerable sized grindstone as a sort of ballast, with perhaps a camp-oven or a fish-kettle to keep the balance true, which little articles made the baggage transport through the streets a serious matter, until we chartered a few two-wheeled Melbourne cars for the day, and drove about, filling up the chests with Crimean shirts, handkerchiefs, jews' harps, pounds of beads, gunpowder, &c., much to the amusement of the worthy Brisbanites; and I had for many days after good reason for cursing those same chests, as the owners kept up a constant state of disturbance, never being able to decide, when their money was running short, what desirable article they would purchase next, and, when at sea, always fetching their whole property on deck every morning and bartering among themselves, both sides being always dissatisfied with the result, and insisting on bringing me into the squabble as arbitrator. Of course such two inflammatory things as a native and his gunpowder must be always kept separate, and all arms were stowed carefully away in my private store till we should arrive at the Islands, the fortunate possessors being allowed to feast their eyes on them every morning through the doorway, any intrusion into that sanctum being always stopped at once with a stern, 'S'pose you stop outside, very good, my boy!' Finally, however, not seeing any other way of getting rid of their last pound or two, and not appreciating the good old Australian custom which their betters have of drinking it, they invested in a silk umbrella each, and held them gleefully over their heads, rain or no rain. By this time I fancy most |