channel after the second; the river was called Huon, after Captain Huon Kermandée, second in command. A second visit was paid by the expedition in the following year.
The Natives, of whom they had heard something from the voyages of Captain Cook and Captain Marion, were great objects of curiosity to the prying Frenchmen. They had considerable amusement with the looking-glass, and great fun with an ape, the tricks of which produced roars of laughter. The introduction of a goat excited much astonishment. A burning-glass, after setting a piece of bark on fire, was made to give practical evidence of its powers on the thigh of a stalwart savage. If the loud laugh "bespeak the vacant mind," our dark friends illustrated their ignorance. M. Labillardière thus records his interview with one company:—
"We got ready a few cartridges as fast as we could, and set out towards the place where we had seen the Natives. It was now only nine o'clock. We had gone only a few steps before we met them. The men and youths were ranged in front, nearly in a semicircle; the women, children, and girls were a few paces behind. As their manner did not appear to indicate any hostile design, I hesitated not to go up to the oldest, who accepted, with a very good grace, a piece of biscuit I offered him, of which he had seen me eat. I then held out my hand to him, as a sign of friendship, and had the pleasure to perceive that he comprehended my meaning very well. He gave me his, inclining himself a little, and raising at the same time the left foot, which he carried backward in proportion as he bent his body forward. These motions were accompanied by a pleasing smile. (Worthy of a polished Parisian!)
"My companions also advanced up to the others, and immediately the best understanding prevailed among us. They received with great joy the neckcloths which we offered them. The young people approached nearer to us; and one of them had the generosity to give me a few small shells of the whelk kind, pierced near the middle, and strung like a necklace. This ornament, which he called Canlaride, was the only one he possessed, and he wore it round his head. A handkerchief supplied the place of this present, gratifying the utmost wishes of my savage, who advanced towards me that I might tie it round his head for him, and who expressed the greatest joy as he lifted his
