94 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
in of air between the upper teeth and tongue, their expression of 
astonishment. I asked Ratu Popé if the men believed the stories 
of seemingly miraculous things that we told, and he said, ‘‘ Every 
word of it, and they will stay up all night to talk it over.’’ It is 
really quite a novel sensation to address ani audience in full con- 
fidence that one will be implicitly believed, a sensation not common 
among speakers in the United States. 
The chief invited Mr. Welch and me to sleep at his home and 
we retired at a late hour, nearly midnight in fact. We had cots 
with a covering of fine matting and a light blanket. When we 
had retired, the chief left, bidding me ‘‘sleep the sleep of the 
just,’’ another unusual experience. We were then the only occu- 
pants of the house. A soft breeze came through the windows and 
there were no mosquitoes. An almost absolute quiet prevailed, 
so we had a very refreshing sleep. 
We were awakened early in the morning by the beating of the 
native drum or “‘lali,’’ about the only musical instrument we saw 
in Fiji; it is simply a hollowed out log, which gives off a loud 
resonant note when struck with a club. We afterward found that 
it was used to eall the congregation to church in the evening. 
Mrs. Welch came from the women’s house to join us at breakfast 
and Ratu Popé presided with fine courtesy. We had excellent fish 
and the chief claimed that the head was the choicest part. There 
was also very good coffee and the best bread-fruit I have ever 
tasted, raised on the island and baked in hot ashes. It was per- 
feetly white, very light and mealy, resembling mashed potatoes, 
but drier and more flaky. 
We then made a tour of the island under the guidance of our 
host, taking our cameras with us, although the day was overcast 
with alternating brief periods of sunshine and light showers. 
Wylie had my tripod, so time exposures were impossible; but the 
results were fairly good and the place the most interesting that I 
visited in Fiji. The little island is divided into three parts; the 
chief’s compound with several houses for his immediate family 
and retainers; the native village on three sides of a park-like 
square, containing the cricket ground and some very large and 
handsome shade trees; and the missionaries’ compound on an 
eminence beyond the church. This latter was a well built strue- 
ture and we attended part of the service which was of the Wes- 
leyan order. The people were dressed in their Sunday best and 
the singing was good; some of the songs were the same as are 
