ophthalmia and some other diseases in the island."

Here, leaving Bastin and his good work aside for a while, I
will say a little about the country. From information which I
gathered on some journeys that I made and by inquiries from the
chief Marama, who had become devoted to us, I found that Orofena
was quite a large place. In shape the island was circular, a
broad band of territory surrounding the great lake of which I
have spoken, that in its turn surrounded a smaller island from
which rose the mountain top. No other land was known to be near
the shores of Orofena, which had never been visited by anyone
except the strangers a hundred years ago or so, who were
sacrificed and eaten. Most of the island was covered with forest
which the inhabitants lacked the energy, and indeed had no tools,
to fell. They were an extremely lazy people and would only
cultivate enough bananas and other food to satisfy their
immediate needs. In truth they lived mostly upon breadfruit and
other products of the wild trees.

Thus it came about that in years of scarcity through drought or
climatic causes, which prevented the forest trees from bearing,
they suffered very much from hunger. In such years hundreds of
them would perish and the remainder resorted to the dreadful
expedient of cannibalism. Sometimes, too, the shoals of fish
avoided their shores, reducing them to great misery. Their only
domestic animal was the pig which roamed about half wild and in
no great numbers, for they had never taken the trouble to breed
it in captivity. Their resources, therefore, were limited, which
accounted for the comparative smallness of the population,
further reduced as it was by a wicked habit of infanticide