1835.] EXCURSION IN THE MOUNTAINS. 391 



paid mo so adroit an attention, that I wanted him and another 

 man to accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains. 



18th. 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 alter- 

 nately 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 7000 feet. The whole island is so mountainous 

 that the only way to penetrate into the interior is to follow up the 

 valleys. Our road, at first, lay through woods which bordered 

 each side of the river ; and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, 

 seen as through an avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa- 

 nut tree on one side, were extremely picturesque. The valley 

 soon began to narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more pre- 

 cipitous. After having walked between three and four hours, wo 

 found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that of the bed of 

 the stream. On each hand the walls were nearly vertical; yet 

 from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees and a rank 

 vegetation sprung from every projecting ledge. These precipices 

 must have been some thousand feet high; and the whole formed a 

 mountain gorge far more magnificent than anything which I had 

 ever before beheld. Until the midday sun stood vertically over 

 the ravine, the air felt cool and damp, but now it became very 

 sultry. Shaded by a ledge of rock, beneath a fagade of columnar 

 lava, we ate our dinner. My guides had already procured a dish 

 of small fish and fresh-water prawns. They carried with them a 

 small net stretched on a hoop ; and where the water was deep and 

 in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their eyes open followed 

 the fish into holes and corners, and thus caught them. 



The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the 

 water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how nrach they 

 feel at home in this element. When a horse was landing for 

 Pomarre in 1817, the slings broke, and it fell into the water; 



