disaster.

It is a fine sight to see these natives of Oceanica, the best swimmers
in the world, darting under the water like bronze tritons. They
generally swim beneath the surface, coming up from time to time to
breathe, and shaking the water from their thick curly hair. M. Garnier
followed the natives on the log that had served as a lifeboat, and to
encourage them by example undressed and threw himself into the water.
The work commenced. Twenty or thirty feet is not much of a dive for a
South Sea Islander. Every minute the divers brought up some object with
a shout of triumph. They were in their element, and so spiritedly did
they undertake the task that women, and even the children, dived to the
bottom and constantly brought up some small object. The three guns of
the men, their trappings, the heavy box of zoological specimens, all the
instruments, were brought up in succession. Even the sole cooking-pot of
the expedition and the tin plates were recovered. The work occupied some
six hours. M. Garnier thanked the chief and his brave people, who when
the work was finished returned to their huts as quietly as they came.
And this chief was the man who had sold his daughter for a keg of
brandy!

Another chief, named Bourarte, the head of a great tribe near Hienguène,
deserves a few words. He was a chief of very superior experience and
intelligence. He had studied civilization diligently, enjoyed the
society of Europeans and knew that his people were barbarians. His story
is a most touching one. He said: "I always loved the English. They
treated me as a chief, and paid me honestly for all they received. One
day I consented to go with them to their great city of Sydney. It was
there that I learned the weakness of my people. I was well received
everywhere, but I longed to return. It was with pleasure that I saw