Not one of them, however, was able _to throw a spear upwards_, so I scored over even the most redoubtable chiefs.

It may be well to explain, that birds are always to be found hovering about a native camp; they act as scavengers, and their presence in the sky is always an indication that an encampment is somewhere in the vicinity.

These birds are especially on the spot when the blacks set fire to the bush and organise a big battue.

At such times the rats and lizards rush out into the open, and the hawks reap a fine harvest.
My natives are referred to as "blacks," or "black-fellows," but they are not really _black_, their hue being rather a brown, ranging from a very dark brown, indeed, to almost the lightness of a Malay.

I found the coast tribes lightest in hue, while the inland natives were very much darker.