24th June 1898

7.30am Captain with all boats fully armed with Officers & men went on shore but could  find out nothing regarding the two females, but after searching round about the front of the bush we came across and old man that had been wounded the day before, after the Doctor had dressed his wound he told the Captain through the interpreter that they had save the two females for a feast  that was close at hand or as the call it a Great Kiki gathering, but they would not have it till we had sailed, as they knew very well their chief would not come back, it is their custom that when they launch a Big War Canoe they go head hunting to the neighbouring islands

and capture as many women as they possibly can they then cut their heads off and decorate their canoe and have a great gathering and a feast with the bodies, the chief we captured very well on it indeed he stands 5 ft 11 inches and an has a very decent corparation of him, he takes this very coolly and seems to think that there is nothing in dying, they have no thought on fear of death, they put less value on their lives than we we do a flys. When we found that it was no good wasting time there, we returned on board, Mr Mahephy preferring to stay behind with the trader, we then shaped our course for Port Marsley in New Guinea and from there we was to proceed to Thursday Island, which is North of Australia in the Torres Straits , and as we had got over a thousand miles to go with only just enough coal to do it with, and besides the Captain was very anxious to get to the mainland, as he had reported nothing about us going on shore to the Admiral. The curse of the Northern Solomon Islands is head hunting the more savage tribes make collections of

heads which they adorn their huts, and are very eager in the hunt for them they are not satisfied with the heads they get by fighting one another, but they organise expeditions sweeping down on the weaker tribes and carrying off all the victims that they can possibly seize, the Southern end of of the Island of          is a favourite hunting ground for them more Northern Tribes, who come down in great force bringing large canoes full of Warriors from the Island of Chaiseul and New Georgia, the more peaceful Southerners make no attempt to forcibly resist them, but they build themselves strongholds into which they retire and if possible defy

their enemies, these places of refuge are of two kinds, tree houses and hill fortifications,  the tree houses posses the greatest interest, and in some parts of the island are quite numerous the people attain the nimbleness of monkeys by continually climbing up and down these trees, and walking along their branches, at a village which we passed their was tree house close to the waters edge, and as as we was steaming dead slow and close in shore we had the opportunnity of having a good look at it, the tree in which it was built was a magnificent one growing upon the cliff by the shore all the lower branches where cleared away and its peculiar appearance made it most conspicuous amongst the surrounding palms and smaller trees, there was a clear space found the foot of the tree and from the branches hung a slender rattan cane ladder, the ladder seemed of the weakest and swung abount unpleasantly, the rounds are merley bits of stick slashed on to a single cane rope which would be impossible for an booted whiteman to get a foot hold on, the house was built well in amaongst the branches and seemed to be very large they estimated size of it, about 26ft long 18 wide and about ten feet from the branches in height at each end of the house are balocnies oe of which looked over the sea, the height of the house form the ground I should say was between seventy and eighty feet, along the side of the balconies was piled up small heaps of

stones which they used for defensive purposes, when they get news onf an expected raid to be made on them by the head

hunters, the people all retire to these sort of places for safety drawing the thin ladder up after them if the head hunter

come near for th epurpose of cutting down the trees, which is a very hard job for them as they have not got any proper tools

and the trunk is as hard as iron, they would be pelted with stones from above and unless the enemy was armed with rif

rifles it would be impossible to dislodge them, the other kind of stronghold is less curious, the build house s on the rock-

iest peaks they can find, then cut of the all approaches by constructing dykes and allkinds of obstructions which must have caused

them a exceptional lot of hard work, the money used in the Solomon island sis very interesting, the general currency consisting of strings of shell beads about the size of Shirt Buttons, strung on native cord in 6ft lengths there are two kinds red & white money, above this comes from a dog jaws are used and there value is very considerable a hole is made in each tooth and when a man has sufficient number, he sets them on a band and wears them as a collar Popoise teeth are used but only one fifth the value of Dogs Teeth, there is another coinin the shape of a marble Ring it is worn upon the chest and looked upon as a charm as well as a oin, I managed to get  a scale which varies but little through out the Group ( it seems as follows)



Scale of Solomon Island Coinage



10 Coca Nus = 1 string White Money or Stick of Tobacco

10 Strings of W. Money = 1 String red Money or 1 Dogs Tooth

10 Strings Red Money = 1 Isa or Porpoise teeth

10 Isas = 1 Good Quality Wife

1 Bakika or Marble ring = 1 very god pig

1 Bakika = 1 medium Young man



By this table a wife cost 10,0000 Coca nuts which they have to pay to the father of the bride, the girls are short but well made with pretty hands & feet their faces are covered with tattoeing, they wear a loin cloth of native gass, the generral articlles fof table which the traders get from the natives are Copra, Beche de mer, Yams Vegetable ????, Shells, coca Nuts, the climate is very bad indeed full of fever which rises from the ground, through decayed vegetation everytime we landed we had to be dosed with Quinins directly we arrived on board.