232 THE LAST CRUISE OF THE CARNEGIE 



The cemetery of Amanu was a village in itself. The graves 

 are thoughtfully enclosed in small coral huts, or are covered by 

 iron roofing, as though to protect the dead from the scorching 

 sun and tropical showers. 



Before we returned to our ship, we were assembled in the vil- 

 lage school, a fine white-plastered building decorated with mural 

 paintings of poilus and with mottoes, such as "Vive la France." 

 A great heap of coconuts was stacked on the floor which had been 

 collected for us to take back to the ship. At this convocation 

 we observed the love of oratory found among the islanders through- 

 out the Pacific. Captain Ault had discovered a native who spoke 

 English, and with him as an interpreter, he returned the courteous 

 remarks of the old native chief. 



We were gaily escorted back to the ship by a motley assort- 

 ment of canoes, row-boats, and barges, laden deep with our good 

 natured friends-of-a-moment. On the quarter-deck we put on a 

 dance with the help of our victrola. At four o'clock orders were 

 given to get under way and our guests departed. The old chief 

 was the last to leave, in a dugout manned by two strong boys. 



Since entering the Tuamotu Group we had encountered a 

 steady succession of calms, light breezes, and violent rain-squalls. 

 Our little engine was having its innings. We passed many islands 

 during the week following our call at Amanu. Hao, the largest 

 of the lot, was sighted from the rigging; while Tekokota, Marokau, 

 Hikueru, and Mehetia were visible from the deck. The moonless 

 nights prevented a view of Reitoru and Anaa, although we passed 

 quite close. 



With calm water and with the engine running it was possible 

 to use the boom- walk frequently. With dip-nets we scooped up 

 many interesting forms of surface-life. The most diiEcult crea- 

 ture to capture was the little marine insect, holobates, which darted 

 here and there over the surface. It is the only insect that lives 

 its life at sea. 



On the afternoon of March 12, we found it very hard to stay 

 below deck. Everyone was anxious to get the first sight of 

 Tahiti. However, the clouds concealed the peaks of the Island 

 all day. While running in toward land that night, we experienced 



