XVIII EXCURSION IN THE MOUNTAINS 433 



sovereign with Tahiti. On the lofty and broken pinnacles 

 white massive clouds were piled up, which formed an island in 

 the blue sky, as Eimeo itself did in the blue ocean. The 

 island, with the exception of one small gateway, is completely 

 encircled by a reef. At this distance, a narrow but well- 

 defined brilliantly white line was alone visible, where the waves 

 first encountered the wall of coral. The mountains rose 

 abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included 

 within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving 

 waters of the ocean were dark-coloured. The view was strik- 

 ing : it may aptly be compared to a framed engraving, where 

 the frame represents the breakers, the marginal paper the 

 smooth lagoon, and the drawing the island itself When in 

 the evening I descended from the mountain, a man, whom I 

 had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with him hot 

 roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. After walking 

 under a burning sun, I do not know anything more delicious 

 than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. Pine-apples are here so 

 abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful 

 manner as we might turnips. They are of an excellent 

 flavour — perhaps even better than those cultivated in England ; 

 and this I believe is the highest compliment which can be paid 

 to any fruit. Before going on board, Mr. Wilson interpreted 

 for me to the Tahitian who had paid me so adroit an attention, 

 that I wanted him and another man to accompany me on a 

 short excursion into the mountains. 



1 8//'. — In the morning I came on shore early, bringing 



with me some provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself 



and servant. These were lashed to each end of a long pole, 



which was alternately carried by my Tahitian companions on 



their shoulders. These men are accustomed thus to carry, for 



a whole day, as much as fifty pounds at each end of their 



poles. I told my guides to provide themselves with food and 



clothing ; but they said that there was plenty of food in the 



mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were sufficient. 



Our line of march was the valley of Tia-auru, down which a 



river flows into the sea by Point Venus. This is one of the 



principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base 



of the loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about 

 29 



