206 VOYAGE TO THE 



vn. * to the lagoon there were several rows of stakes driven 

 v- " vW i n to the ground for the purpose of taking fish. But 



1826. what most attracted our attention was a heap of fish 

 bones, six feet by five, neatly cleaned, and piled up 

 very carefully with planks placed upon them to pre- 

 vent their being scattered by the wind. 



We found the island only a mile and a half in 

 length, instead of four miles, as stated by Captain 

 Wallis ; steep all round ; of coral formation ; well 

 wooded, and containing a lagoon. The general 

 height of the soil was six feet above the levei of the 

 sea, of which nearly two feet were coral rock ; from 

 the trees to the surf there was a space of hard rock 

 nearly 150 yards in length, covered with about a foot 

 of water, beyond which it descended rapidly, and at 

 500 yards distance no bottom could be found with 

 1500 feet of line. On the inner side, from the trees to 

 the lake, there was a gentle declivity of muddy sand 

 filled with shells of the cardium, linedo, tridacnae, 

 gigas, and a species of trochus. The trees, which 

 formed a tolerably thick wood round the lagoon, 

 were similar to those at Clermont Tonnere, consist- 

 ing principally of pandanus and cocoa-nut, inter- 

 woven with the tournefortia, sccevola, and lepidium 

 piscidium. 



On the south side of the island there was a very 

 narrow entrance to the lagoon, too shallow for the 

 passage of boats, even had the water been smooth. 

 It was of this opening, I presume, that Captain 

 Wallis observes that the surf was too high upon the 

 rocks for his boats to attempt the passage. 



The lagoon was comparatively shallow ; the edges, 

 for a considerable distance, sloped gradually toward 

 the centre and then deepened suddenly ; the edge 



