396 TAHITI. [< HAP. xVill. 



be sold in St. Helena, their use was banished from Tahiti by the 

 free will of the people. 



After breakfast we proceeded on our journey. As my object was 

 merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by another 

 track, which descended into the main valley lower down. For 

 some distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side 

 of the mountain which formed the valley. In the less precipitous 

 parts we passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. 

 The Tahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads 

 ornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these 

 groves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some 

 primeval land. In our descent we followed the line of ridges ; 

 these were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep 

 as a ladder ; but all clothed with vegetation. The extreme care 

 necessary in poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. I did 

 not cease to wonder at these ravines and precipices : when viewing 

 the country from one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support 

 was so small, that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from 

 a balloon. In this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only 

 once, at the point where we entered the main valley. We slept 

 under the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before : 

 the night was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the 

 gorge, profoundly dark. 



Before actually seeing this country, I found it difficult to 

 understand two facts mentioned by Ellis ; namely, that after the 

 rrmrderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered 

 side retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could 

 resist a multitude. Certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where 

 the Tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed 

 thousands. Secondly, that after the introduction of Christianity, 

 there were Avild men who lived in the mountains, and whose 

 retreats were unknown to the more civilized inhabitants. 



November 20^. In the morning AVC started early, and reached 

 Matavai at noon. On the road we met a large party of noble 

 athletic men, going for wild bananas. I found that the ship, on 

 account of the difficulty in watering, had moved to the harbour of 

 Papawa, to which place I immediately walked. This is a very pretty 

 spot. The cove is surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as 

 in a lake. The cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, 

 interspersed with cottages, conies close down to the water's edge. 



