the far-off islands of the Southern Seas. I purposely made my letters
home as concise as possible, so that they could be easily read, and in
consequence have left out much that might have been interesting. It is
almost unnecessary to mention that when I wrote these letters I had
no thought whatever of writing a book. If I had thought of doing so,
I might have mentioned more about the customs, ornaments and weapons of
the natives and have written about several other subjects in greater
detail. As it is, a cursory glance will show that this book has not
the slightest pretence of being "scientific." Far from its being
so, I have simply related a few of the more interesting incidents,
such as would give a GENERAL IMPRESSION of my life among savages,
during my wanderings in many parts of the world, extending over
nearly a score of years. I should like to have written more about
my wanderings in North Borneo, as well as in Samoa and Celebes and
various other countries, but the size of the book precludes this. My
excuse for publishing this book is that certain of my relatives
have begged me to do so. Though I was for the greater part of the
time adding to my own collections of birds and butterflies, I have
refrained as much as possible from writing on these subjects for
fear that they might prove tedious to the general reader. I have
also touched but lightly on the general customs of the people, as
this book is not for the naturalist or ethnologist, nor have I made
any special study of the languages concerned, but have simply jotted
down the native words here used exactly as I heard them. As regards
the photographs, some of them were taken by myself while others were
given me by friends whom I cannot now trace. In a few cases I have
no note from whom they were got, though I feel sure they were not
from anyone who would object to their publication. In particular,
I may mention Messrs. G. R. Lambert, Singapore; John Waters, Suva,
Fiji; Kerry & Co., Sydney; and G. O. Manning, New Guinea. To these