150 A MISSION TO VITI. 



the rope, had swept away the canoe, dashed it with great 

 force against a steep rock on the opposite side, smashing 

 the outrigger, swamping the little vessel, and leaving 

 all the luggage and provisions swimming in the water. 

 All the natives plunged in the river, and succeeded in 

 saving the property. Of course the clothes were satu- 

 rated, the tea had been made, the sugar was dissolved, 

 and the biscuit looked like so much bread and butter 

 pudding. To me, who often got a wetting in crossing 

 rivers, it was quite amusing to see Colonel Smythe and 

 Mr. Waterhouse busy in wringing and hanging up their 

 clothes, and I could not resist the temptation of asking 

 them whether any mangling was done there. 



Fortunately, the stores which Mr. Pritchard and I had 

 brought were quite safe, and so we could supply most 

 of their deficiencies. The mishap being repaired as 

 much as possible, we pushed on, and soon arrived at Na 

 Mato, a place where the river was entirely blocked 

 up by huge rocks, said to have fallen from the top of 

 the mountain on the right-hand bank, during an earth- 

 quake some forty years ago. The natives assured us 

 that when this catastrophe first took place, the stoppage 

 of the river was complete ; and the water rose so high 

 that for a long time it inundated their fields, and they 

 had to dive for their provisions. They did obtain cocoa- 

 nuts, but could not get at the taro, and there was a 

 famine in consequence. 



We left our large canoes at Na Mato, and in smaller 

 ones, which Kuruduadua had in readiness, passed a 

 steep rocky shore, where the people of Nagadi bury 

 their dead. Excavations are made into the rock, and the 



