I was struck by the great number of women and the very small number of men in this place; after a while I found out the reason, which was that ten of the men had been kidnapped by a Frenchman while on their way to a plantation on the Segond Channel, where they meant to work a few days. The women are now deprived of their husbands for at least three years, unless they find men in some other village. If five of the ten ever return, it will be a good average, and it is more than likely that they will find a deserted and ruined village if they do come back. This is one of many illustrations of how the present recruiting system and the laxity of the French authorities combine to ruin the native population. (I have since heard that by request of the British authorities these men were brought back, but only after about nine months had passed, and without receiving any compensation. Most kidnapping cases never come to the ears of the authorities at all.) As our expedition was nearly at an end, and I had no reason to economize my provisions, I gave some to the villagers, and the women especially who had hardly ever tasted rice or tinned meat, were delighted. One old hag actually made me a declaration of love, which, unfortunately, I could not respond to in the same spirit. Night crept across the wide sea, and a golden sunset was followed by a long afterglow. Far away on the softly shining silver we saw a sail, small as a fly, that drifted slowly seaward and was swallowed up by the darkness, from which the stars emerged one by one. The women had disappeared in the huts; the men were sitting outside, around the fires, and, thinking I was asleep, talked about me in biche la mar. First they wondered why a man should care to climb up a mountain simply to come down again; and my boys told them of all my doings, about my collecting curios and skulls, of my former wanderings and the experiences we had had, and how often the others had tried to shoot me, etc. In short, I found out a great many things I had never known, and I shivered a little at hearing what I had escaped, if all the boys said was true. At last, when I had been sufficiently discussed, which was long after midnight, they lay down, each beside a small fire, and snored into the cool, clear night.