THE TROPICAL PACIFIC 355 



the phonograph, and you should have seen the astonish- 

 ment of the crowd — it was comical to see their amaze- 

 ment. 



The following morning, while we were waiting for 

 heef and provisions to come on board before weighing 

 anchor, the whole lot of dancers came on board to see 

 the ship. We showed them round the ship, cabin and 

 ward room. They were most happy, — the mirrors, elec- 

 tric lights and fans and the machinery and propeller, 

 which they had learned to know from looking at the 

 steam launch when she was going to and from the shore. 

 They wound up by giving us a dance and a song, such 

 as they had given us the day before. The song is quite 

 melancholy, very different from the usual Pacific mel- 

 odies I have heard before, and always ends rather 

 abruptly, much like the last sounding note of an organ ; 

 then we weighed anchor and off they set for shore, giv- 

 ing us a hurrah in reply to our steam whistles. 



Two days ago we struck the islands of Manihi and 

 Abe. As it did not look very profitable to tackle them, 

 we made for this place, Rangiroa, one of the largest, if 

 not the largest atoll of the group, forty-five miles by 

 sixteen ! We lay off the entrance called Avatoru Pass 

 for an hour or so early day before yesterday, where the 

 chief and two men came out in a small boat and told us 

 we were all right, and in we steamed with their sanction 

 through a narrow pass, out of which the current was 

 rushing at the rate of four to five knots an hour, and 

 got safely to anchor a little way inside of a most unin- 

 teresting village consisting principally of broken-down 

 European houses inhabited by natives, who since they 

 have become Christians live like very low-down Chris- 

 tians. The men are a fine lot, tall, intelligent, living on 



