TAHITI. 519 



The second camp was made at an elevation of about 1,800 

 feet, at a native hut in the upper part of Punaru Valley. The 

 natives have not forgotten their religion since the time of 

 Darwin's visit* Our guides said their prayers every evening 

 before sleeping, even when huddled together out of the rain, all 

 repeating the words together, and the native family at the hut 

 did the same. The temperature at this hut sank at daybreak 

 to 59° F. We suffered much from cold in the night, and still 

 more from Mosquitos. We had an old piece of canvas lent us 

 to spread on the ground to sleep on, but we crept together under 

 it for warmth. 



In the morning we attempted to cross over a high ridge at 

 the head of Punaru Valley, and so reach our destination, the 

 Papeno Valley, but the attempt failed, the guides, after an eleva- 

 tion of about 3,000 feet had been toiled up to, proving not to 

 know the way at all. One of the guides had been over the pass 

 many years before, but all he seemed to know was that he had 

 been up a stream, so we spent the day in wading through pools 

 and clambering over slippery boulders in the stream beds, creep- 

 ing along under the overhanging branches. We kept making 

 attempts in various impracticable places, and at last made a 

 hurried descent in the evening into the valley, and had to 

 prepare a camp almost entirely in the dark, and in heavy rain, 

 at a height of 2,500 feet. 



This was above the limit of the growth of the wild Banana 

 in any abundance, so the shelter for the night was made of the 

 fronds of the Birds-nest Fern {Asplenium nidus). These are 

 tougher and more durable than the leaves of the Banana, and 

 hence are used for permanent thatching, but from their smaller 

 size require much more time in arrangement. 



We had to put up with a very small hut, which sheltered 

 our bodies as we lay down, but would not cover our legs, and 

 had to feel in our baggage in the pitch darkness for our food, 

 and eat it by the help of the sense of touch alone. The unfor- 

 tunate guides who had constructed our hut first, could find 



tion of Tahiti is referred to by Mr. Wallace from my MS. "Tropical 

 Nature," p. 269. 



* C. Darwin's "Journal of Researches," p. 411. 



