50 THE SEA. 



'' Monday morning breaks fine and clear, and our slumbers are early disturbed by the 

 (battering of a hundred natives, a whole squadron of whose fruit-laden canoes are alongside 

 the steamer. Queer crank-looking craft are these, roughly dug out of the trunk of a tree, 

 and kept steady on the water by an outrigger consisting of a log half the length of the canoe, 

 attached to it amidships by a few light poles projecting some four or five feet from its side. 

 They are usually propelled by means of a long oar worked between the poles, after the fashion 

 of sculling a boat from the stern ; but sometimes we see the ordinary short paddle being plied 

 at bow and stern. Some of the larger craft hoist a large long sail, but they do not seem very 

 weatherly under canvas, which they use but little compared with the Society Islanders. 



" The scene on deck is amusing enough. Forward, fifty natives, their olive skins blackened 

 and begrimed with dust, are hard at work replenishing the coal bunkers from the hold, and 

 thoroughly earning their shilling a day ; on the poop as many more, laden with lemons, huge 

 bunches of bananas, cocoa-nuts, shells, coral, matting, tappa a soft, white fabric, called by 

 the natives ' marse' and a few clubs and other weapons, are driving a brisk trade with the 

 passengers. Everything is to be had for a shilling. ' Shillin' is the only English word 

 that all the natives understand; in fact, this useful coin seems to be the ' almighty dollar' of 

 Kandavu. You take a lemon, and ask, ' How much ? ' ' Shillin ' is the reply ; but you can 

 obtain the man's whole stock of sixty, basket and all, for the same money ! " 



Our next stopping place is one of particular interest to the British colonist. New 

 Zealand, albeit one of the youngest, is now among the most promising of England's outposts. 

 Auckland, in the North Island, is the port at which the steamers touch. The harbour is very 

 fine, and residents compare it to the Bay of Naples. 



Every schoolboy knows that New Zealand includes two large and one small island, 

 respectively known as North, Middle, and Stewart's Island. One great feature of the 

 coast line consists of its indentations; the colony is rich in fine natural harbours and ports. 

 The area of the islands is nearly as great as that of Britain and Ireland combined, 

 and about half of that area consists of excellent soil. The climate is that of England, with a 

 difference : there are many more fine days, while winter is not so cold by half. The islands are 

 volcanic ; on the North Island, Mount Ruapahu, a perpetually snow-capped peak, rises to a 

 height of 9,000 feet, while in the same range, the Tongariro mountain, an active volcano, rises 

 to a height of 6,000 feet. The highest mountain range is on the Middle Island, where Mount 

 Cook rises to a height of 14,000 feet. One can understand that in such a country there should 

 be an abundance of evergreen forests of luxuriant growth. These are interspersed with charm- 

 ing fern-clad slopes and treeless grassy plains. Water is everywhere found; but none of the 

 rivers are navigable by large vessels for more than fifty miles or so. One great advantage 

 found in the country is the absence of noxious reptiles or insects : of the latter there is not one 

 as offensive as an English wasp. The pigs, introduced by Captain Cook, run wild over the 

 island, and there is plenty of large and small game : the red and fallow deer, the pheasant, 

 partridge, and quail. Everything that grows in England will thrive there, while the 

 vine, maize, taro, and sweet potato grow in many districts. A traveller * says of the 

 (Thames) gold fields : " Mines here, like everywhere else, are now dull. At one time there 



* E. K. Laird : " The Rambles of a Globe Trotter." 



