21st June 1898

Tuesday
Stopped off Rubiana Mahaphy the commissioner with armed party went on shore for th epurpose of collecting protection dues from traders, we notice a great number of natives collected together on the shore, and on the boats getting nearer the found the Natives were all men and all armed with unusual long spears, bows and arrows, they did not shout or make any sign of what they was going

to do, they merely drew themselves up in aline along the shore their long spears standing up far above their heads, and having a most formidable appearance, we pulled on till the boats grounded we then jumped into the water and waded on shore with our rifles at the ready and the machine gun trained amongst the natives, Mahaphy went forward with a Palm Leaf in one hand his revolver ready inthe other, he kept on repeating the Chiefs name and the name of the traders but they did not take any notice, they did not make any show of attacking us, but holding themselves aloft seemed to ready for anything that might turn up, there were no women or children near

and the men seemed more elaborately dress than is usual when they are bent on fighting, there ornaments in some cases were most beautiful some of them wearing wide sashes of native bead work fringed with human teeth, they were worn over the right shoulder and under the left arm, the colours were evenly arranged which gave them a very pretty appearance after a delay of about half hour during which time we was trying to make them understand that we was on a peaceful mission an Old man arrived on the scene he came forward spoke a few hurried words to the crowd evidently assuring them that he knew who we were, we found out afterwards that the assembling of these armed savages was on account of a feast to be given that night at the village, The Chief from the neighbouring had been invited and was coming in all day, the custom of these feasts are very curious, no part of the food provided is eaten at the entertainments, each guest on the contrary bring all they require for their own use and take his share of the fest away with him when he goes, Our motto of eat all you can and Pocket none is exactly the reverse, in the Solomon Islands it is Pocket all you can and eat none. The spears which these fellows was armed and are used by all the natives of the Solomon Islands are certainly the finest weapons in the Southern Seas, they are about 10 feet long a single black shaft highly polished and ornamented near the point

which is of human bone, there are ten or a dozen barbs very much like the tip of the spear which are fastened to the shaft by a binding of coloured cane work the whole being held together and strengthened with the same stuff as they use for their canoes. Mahaphy proceeded along to the village with the Chief, but returned soon after as he found out that the trader had gone away on a trading expedition, returned on board the ship, then preceded on our course 8.30pm we dropped a target for the purpose of Night Firing, we had 2 Electric search Light playing on the target and fired at it out of our 3 pndrs quick firing & machine guns