THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 341 



where they sometimes take advantage of the out- 

 ward coral reefs, and draw from them to the shore 

 a wall of coral stone, which makes, even in the 

 sea, good reservoirs for fish. Such a reservoir costs 

 much labour, but not so much skill as the taro 

 fields, where both are united. I have seen whole 

 mountains covered with such fields, through which 

 the water gradually flowed ; each sluice formed a 

 small cascade, which ran through avenues of sugar- 

 cane, or banana, into the next pond, and afforded 

 an extremely picturesque prospect. Sugar planta- 

 tions and taro fields alternately varied our way, 

 with scattered habitations, and w^e had gone un- 

 awares five miles to the large village of Mouna 

 Roa, which lies in a pleasant valley on the declivity 

 of a mountain. A rapid stream of the same name, 

 which is seen in the distant landscape picturesquely 

 meandering between the rocks and mountains, falls 

 here into the sea. Before the village, which con- 

 sists of pretty, small houses, built of rushes, lie two 

 groves of cocoa and bread-fruit trees, through 

 which we passed to repose ourselves on the oppo- 

 site hill. We had here an extended view of the 

 harbour ; the compass was set up, and I took some 

 angles with my sextants, at which the inhabitants 

 were thrown into great alarm, because, as Beckly 

 informed us, they now expected to see some work 

 of conjuration. As these islanders seldom see an 

 European, they viewed us with the greater curio- 

 sity ; they were otherwise a very obliging people, 



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