midnight
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 . These startling preparations preceded a great _ corroboree _ in honour of my arrival , and in this embarrassing function I was , of course , expected to join . The ceremony was kept up with extraordinary vigour the whole night long , but all I was required to do was to sit beating sticks together , and join in the general uproar . This was all very well for a little while , but the monotony of the affair was terrible , and I withdrew to my hammock before midnight . In the morning I saw a great fleet of catamarans putting off from the mainland , and in a very short time between fifty and sixty natives joined our party on the island . Then followed the usual greetings and comical expressions of amazement -- of course , at the sight of me , my boat , and everything in it . A few hours later the whole crowd left the island , led by me in the big boat -- which , by the way , attracted as much interest as I did myself .