18 A MISSION TO VITI. 



part with any article of barter we happened to have 

 about us, in order to obtain fresh provisions. 



It was a fortunate forethought on the part of our 

 Lakeban friends to provide us in this way, for our 

 voyage to the next station, Wairiki, situated on the 

 north-western shores of Taviuni, was to be rather a long 

 one, a misfortune which we did not fail to attribute to 

 our starting on a Friday, though the captain again pro- 

 tested. We soon made Vuna Point, the southern ex- 

 tremity of Taviuni, but there w r ere so baffled by variable 

 winds and dead calms, that it was deemed prudent to 

 stand off and on, to keep clear of the reefs, which ren- 

 der the navigation of this, as well as most parts of the 

 Fijian group a matter of some caution. It was not until 

 Tuesday, the 22nd of May, more than a week after our 

 departure from Lakeba, that we entered the Strait of 

 Somosomo, and cast anchor off Wairiki, native town 

 and mission-station. In a general map of the world 

 the Viti group looks an insignificant speck, and one 

 might fancy that a boat would quickly pass from is- 

 land to island. But how one is deceived ! The narrow 

 channels widen into broad seas, in which the largest 

 vessels, under proper guidance, have ample sea-room ; 

 the little islands expand into small continents, inha- 

 bited by untold thousands of human beings, covered 

 with mountains often four thousand feet high, and 

 traversed by rivers that may be followed for days with- 

 out reaching their source. 



