The view we had today from the Pariwara Islands was not so interesting as I had expected.  The shores of the bay stretching to the northward of Redscar Head for many miles are low and covered with tall trees behind a strip of sandy beach.  At the back of the point in the corner of the bay, we saw an opening two hundred yards wide, with tall mangroves on the northern bank, apparently one of the mouths of a river traversing the great extent of low wooded country behind.  A very large fire two or three miles behind the beach, sending up great volumes of smoke, might have been intended for a signal, but neither canoes nor natives were seen during our absence from the ship.

NATIVES COME OFF.

September 24th.

A canoe with twelve young men and lads came off from the shore, and approached within two hundred yards of the ship, but although tempted by the exhibition of a large piece of red cloth, they would come no closer.  Their visit was apparently prompted by mere curiosity as they had nothing to barter with.  These natives closely resembled the other Papuans seen to the eastward, but were smaller in stature, and wore the hair frizzled up into a mop projecting backwards, nor had I before seen in one canoe so many handsome faces.  As a breech-cloth they wore a narrow strip of white cloth passing between the legs and secured to a string round the waist, but this was too narrow to serve as a fig-leaf.  Among their ornaments we saw necklaces of small white cowries, and round flat pieces of shell two inches in diameter worn on the breast, also black, tightly fitting, woven armlets, in which they had stuck bunches of apparently the same purple odoriferous amaranth seen elsewhere, while other tufts of this plant were attached to the ankles and elbows.

CANOE DESCRIBED.

The canoe was nearly of the same description as those commonly seen at the Brumer and Dufaure Islands, but the outrigger float was rather shorter, having only five poles to support it instead of seven or eight, and the bow and stern, especially the former, much sharper and more raking.  On the side opposite to the outrigger there was a small slightly projecting stage of two planks only.  The paddles were six and a half feet in length, much clumsier than those seen in other parts of New Guinea, and without the carving on the handle, the blade also differed slightly in shape, being more elliptical.  After paddling inshore a short distance they made sail and landed near the point.  The sail resembled the common one of the Louisiade, being long, narrow, square at the ends, and stretched between two yards or masts, and in setting was merely stuck upon end and supported by guys fore and aft.

During our stay at this anchorage we had fine weather, with light variable winds of short duration, generally from the westward, but sometimes from the northward, and the thermometer ranged between 77 and 84 degrees.

September 25th.