282 A NATURALIST OX THE "CHALLENGER." 



Islands was arranged. Further information concerning the flora 

 of the islands is very much wanted, and it seemed hard to be 

 dredsfino- off the islands and not to be able to land. 



Tongatabu, July 19th to July 22nd, 1814. — Our approach to 



the Friendly Islands group was heralded by the appearance of 

 a Tropic Bird, which was seen flying behind the ship, although we 

 were 150 miles as yet distant from Tongatabu. 



We sighted the island of Eua in early morning, and passed 

 to the north of it. The island is elevated in its highest point 

 600 feet above the sea, and is volcanic, with coral rock at its 

 base. An ancient, now upraised sea-cliff of the coral rock, is 

 conspicuous from the distance, forming a line above the present 

 coast-cliff, as described by Dana.* 



The island appears covered with bushes, with very few trees, 

 and isolated palms on the summits of the high ground. The 

 bushes on the higher land appear to be all bent over in the 

 direction of the trade wind. 



The sky was dull, covered with grey clouds, and the air even 

 somewhat chilly, and the islands did not look bright and sun- 

 shiny, as I had expected these, the first South Sea Islands I had 

 seen, to look. At the base of the Eua, the surf in places raised 

 jets of spray, looking from a distance like thin white smoke. 



Tongatabu was seen seven miles distant from the small Eua, 

 stretched along the horizon as a long narrow neutral tint band, 

 with an indented upper margin : towards the northern end the 

 band thinned out into isolated rows and groups of palm-trees, 

 which looked like dots on the watery horizon. As we ap- 

 proached nearer, the forms of the cocoanut-trees became more 

 and more distinct. At length we shortened sail and steamed 

 through the reefs with a long stretch of palm-covered land on 

 the one hand, and numerous islets on the other, some bearing 

 many cocoanut palms, others with few. 



The main island is exceedingly flat and low, its highest 

 point being only 60 feet above sea level. It thus stretched 

 itself before our view as a horizontal streak of green of uniform 

 width, the width being due merely to the height of the vegetation ; 

 here and there at the water's edge, were seen small inlets and 

 * J. I). Dana, " Coral Reefs and Islands," p. 30. 



