A VISIT FROM TANAMARA 101 



The day before we left we were surprised by the appearance 

 of Tanamara, who arrived with one companion in a small canoe. 

 He had declined to come up in the schooner, on the excuse that 

 fever-devils and other evil spirits were very active in this 

 locality. He was, he assured us, very sorry for us alone up 

 here, and had had a dream which resulted in his setting out. 

 (I am uncharitable enough to think that that dream had some- 

 thing to do with rum !) He did not wish to be seen by the shore 

 people, of whom he seemed afraid, for he stayed aboard all 

 day, and in the evening, when some of them came off to 

 the ship, left for a time in his canoe. Next morning he 

 departed at daybreak, that he might not be observed from the 

 village. 



We ourselves made sail a few hours later, with the intention 

 of visiting Teressa. We took in water at Dring, but the only 

 supplies obtained were coconuts. 



Kamorta is 15 miles long, and of a general width of 4 miles : 

 it attains in the extreme south-west a height of 735 feet, and 

 in the centre rises 435 feet, but the average elevation is about 200 

 feet. It is of the same geological structure as Nankauri, but is 

 covered with far less forest, and its extensive grassy downs 

 are dotted with patches of scrub, bracken, and pandani. The 

 presence of casuarinas high up in the middle of the island is 

 peculiar. This species as a rule is found only on the coasts, 

 but here they were planted by the Settlement authorities at the 

 Government cattle-stations (between 1869-88), as it was found 

 that this tree delights in the polycistina clay. The neighbourhood 

 of Dring Harbour is extremely well watered, as nearly each one 

 of the many gullies has either a stream or pond in it. A 

 stratum of a sandy nature underlies the surface clay of this 

 district, and by washing away, causes the latter to fall in, with 

 the result that a number of curious hollows are formed on the 

 tops of the rolling hills. This tendency leads to parts of the 

 downs becoming terraced as if by artificial agency. Some 

 thirty villages are scattered along its coasts, and the population, 

 according to the census, has increased, principally by immigration 



