More subtle still was his dealing when he had been sent to engage women for grass-cutting or similar employment. Ow-bow was a married man who had permission for his wife to stay in camp with him, and this lady proved his great advocate with her own sex. While Ow-bow waxed eloquent and persuasive with the men, Mrs. Ow-bow would display to the womenkind what wealth had also come to her, and as she reasoned, her sisters were persuaded, and took service with the white man. But Ow-bow’s flourishes with the gun were no mere vainglorious show. In two months’ time he had become a really good shot, and after a morning’s sport would often return to camp with five or six birds. He invariably accounted for his empty cartridges, while other boys would return with spent cases and never a feather to show for them. He grasped the method of aiming at once and never showed any amateurish disposition to squint along the barrel, but got his sights on the bird neatly and quickly and fired without hesitation. He seldom missed. During the morning, while the boys were out at work, Harry and I would also be engaged with our nets; or, as our collections increased, we would be busy putting specimens together, tending them and seeing that they were not suffering from damp. Sometimes, taking a couple of the laziest boys with me, I descended to the Aculama and followed the stream up its course, collecting as we went. As the boys’ skill increased, it became possible to send them two by two so that several localities could be worked simultaneously. Work, still further afield, fell to Sam, who often went away with five or six carriers on collecting expeditions that lasted a week or a fortnight. The best time of day for butterflies is from 8 A.M. till noon. The boys returned to camp at times varying according to their luck or their laziness, and in any case, we had all returned by three o’clock. Then Doboi or Weiyah cooked a meal which varied in excellence according to the state of the stores or our luck with the gun, and afterwards we took our siesta. The late afternoon or early evening found us at work again on the collections or putting the camp straight. Darkness descended quickly, and when there was no moon we went to the verandah and began collecting moths. On favourable nights we often continued at work till daybreak.