THE 



POPULAR SOIENCE 



MONTHLY. 



FEBRUARY, 1915 



A HISTORY OF TAHITI 



By Dr. ALFRED GOLDSBOROUGH MAYER 



CAKNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON 



LYING far to the southward of the paths of trade and exploration. 

 Tahiti remained unknown until in 1767 Wallis saw its splendid 

 peaks in the course of his voyage around the world in the English frigate 

 Dolphin. It is true that Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, a Portuguese cap- 

 tain in the service of Spain, was credited with having discovered Tahiti 

 on February 10, 1606, but the narrative of his voyage convinces one that 

 the low-lying atoll upon which he landed, vainly seeking water, was 

 probably Anaa, or possibly some other island of the Paumotos, for, like 

 his predecessors, he sought the full favors of the tropic breeze and was 

 borne to the northward of the most beautiful island groups of the 

 Pacific.^ 



Even to-day, sad as she lies while her native race is dying, Tahiti 

 epitomizes the charm of Polynesia. The missionary Ellis gives us a 

 vivid picture of his impressions as in 1817 he gazed for the first time 



upon the varied picturesque and beautiful scenery of this most enchanting is- 

 land.2 We had beheld successively as we sailed along its shore, all the diversity 

 of hill and valley, broken or stupendous mountains and rocky precipices, clothed 

 with every variety of verdure, from the moss of the jutting promontories on the 

 shore, to the deep and rich foliage of the breadfruit tree, the Oriental luxuriance 

 of the tropical pandanus, or the waving plumes of the lofty and graceful cocoa- 

 nut grove. The scene was enlivened by the waterfall on the mountain's side, 

 the cataract which chafed along its rocky bed in the recesses of the ravine, or 

 the stream that slowly wound its way through the fertile and cultivated valleys, 

 the whole surrounded by the white-crested waters of the Pacific, rolling their 



1 See "The Voyages of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros," 1595 to 1606, trans- 

 lated and edited by Sir Clements Markham, Hakluyt Society Publications, Lon- 

 don. 1904. 



2 See, "The Voyages of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros" 1595 to 1606, trans- 

 lated and edited by Sir Clements Markham, London, 1904. Hakluyt Society 

 Publications. 



VOL. LXXXVI. — 8. 



