and sober cast.

They were found to be great mimics, both in gesture and sound, and would
repeat any word of our language, with great correctness of
pronunciation. Their imitations of sounds were truly astonishing.

Their mimicry became at length annoying, and precluded our getting at
any of their words or ideas. It not only extended to words or sounds,
but actions also, and was at times truly ridiculous. The usual manner of
interrogating for names was quite unsuccessful. On pointing to the nose,
for instance, they did the same. Anything they saw done they would
mimic, and with an extraordinary degree of accuracy. On these canoes
approaching the ship, the principal one of the family, or chief,
standing up in his canoe, made a harangue. Although they have been
heard to shout quite loud, yet they cannot endure a noise; and when the
drum beat, or a gun was fired, they invariably stopped their ears. They
always speak to each other in a whisper.

The women were never suffered to come on board. They appeared modest in
the presence of strangers. They never move from a sitting posture, or
rather a squat, with their knees close together, reaching to their chin,
their feet in contact, and touching the lower part of the body. They are
extremely ugly. Their hands and feet were small and well shaped; and,
from appearance, they are not accustomed to do any hard work. They
appear very fond and seem careful of their young children, though on
several occasions they offered them for sale for a trifle. They have
their faces smutted all over, and it was thought, from the hideous
appearance of the females, produced in part by their being painted and
smutted, that they had been disfigured by the men previous to coming
alongside. It was remarked, that when one of them saw herself in a