THE MOON-STONE. 53 



I availed myself of our return to this island, 

 to visit the Ofai mamma (moon-stone) of the 

 natives ; a natural curiosity, second only to the 

 lake of Vaihiria. It is situated on a spot named 

 Puna-ru, about two miles and a half inland from 

 the west coast. The road to it, as pursued by 

 my native guide, penetrated the country imme- 

 diately behind the village of Bunaauia, and tra- 

 versed a valley, covered with luxuriant herbage, 

 and enlivened by a broad stream, winding 

 through its centre ; whilst oxen and horses, 

 grazing on the rich pasturage, and occasional 

 groupes of native huts, helped to form a very 

 pretty rural landscape. At the head of this 

 valley, in a narrow rocky defile, bounded on 

 either side by precipices, we found the object 

 of our curiosity a prostrate basaltic column, 

 half-imbedded in the soil, and lying in a cave, 

 excavated as it were for its reception, at the 

 base of a mural cliff of considerable height. Its 

 position is horizontal, and nearly parallel to 

 the sides of the cave ; its length about seven 

 feet, its height three and a half, and its breadth 

 nearly six feet ; its surface is dark and polished, 

 and marked with a few vertical fissures, so 

 regularly disposed as to convey an impression 

 that the column is composed of several blocks, 

 united by human ingenuity. It is connected in 



