I have never
enjoyed a swim more. Vic also took a wash, and to my great surprise
one of the Negritos proceeded to copy him, and as Vic soaped himself
the Negrito tried to do the same thing with a stone, with which he
succeeded in getting rid of a great deal of dirt. It surprised and
amused the other Negritos, both men and women, who jeered and roared
with laughter at the unusual spectacle of a Negrito washing himself.
I signed to them to give our boy carrier a wash, as he seemed the
noisiest of the party, and two men got hold of him to duck him, but
he seemed so terrified that I stopped them. The youngster evidently
hated me for the fright he had received, as later on when I made him
a present of a silver ten-cent piece to make up for his fright --
this is a very handsome present for a Negrito -- he threw it on the
ground and stamped his foot in anger. The Negritos shot several fish
and large prawns with a special kind of long pointed arrow; these
we ate with our rice by the river side before returning. The night
I stayed with my old friend, the comic chief, I found him actually
in tears and much cut up at the idea of his two sons having to take
part in the fight. I suppose it was compulsory for them to fight, but
it appeared rather odd to me that a chief should object to his sons
taking part in a fight, as the Negritos are considered very plucky
fighters.
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