136 WHAT MR. DARWIN SAW. 



SOUTH PACIFIC. 



its details, is somewhat like the crown of a palm-tree. It 

 springs from the central line of the back, and gracefully curls 

 round both sides. Many of the elder people had their feet 

 covered with small figures, so placed as to resemble a sock. 

 This fashion, however, is partly gone by. The women are 

 tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly 



NATIVE BAMBOO HOUSE, TAHITI, SOCIETY ISLANDS. 



on their fingers. They are far inferior, in every respect, to 

 the men. 



On a short excursion into the mountains our line of march 

 was the valley of Tia-auru, down which a river flows into 

 the sea by Point Venus. We bivouacked for the night on 

 a flat little spot on the bank of one of the streams into which 

 the river divided itself at its head. The Tahitians, in a few 

 minutes, built us an excellent house, and then proceeded to 

 make a fire and cook our evening meal. A light was pro- 



