noon
The next phase of our arrival was that `` smokes '' were ascending in all directions on the mainland , evidently calling the tribes from far and near . How these smoke-signals gave an idea of the white man and his wonders I am utterly at a loss to imagine . In the meantime Yamba had prepared a great feast for the visitors , the principal dish being our remaining big turtle , of which the blacks ate a prodigious quantity . I afterwards told them that I was in need of a prolonged rest , my long journey having wearied me , and after this explanation I retired , and slung my hammock in a shady nook , where I slept undisturbed from shortly before noon until late in the day , when my ever-faithful Yamba , who had been keeping a careful watch , woke me and said that the festivities prior to our departure were about to take place . Much refreshed , I rejoined the blacks , and , to their unbounded delight and amazement , entertained them for a few minutes with some of my acrobatic tricks and contortions . Some of the more emulous among them tried to imitate my feats of agility , but always came dismally to grief -- a performance that created even more frantic merriment than my own . After a little while the blacks disappeared , only to come forth a few minutes later with their bodies gorgeously decorated with stripes of yellow ochre and red and white pigments .