478 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. OHALLENGKI!. 



German vessel, belonging to the firm of Godeffroy Brothers, the famous collectors of 

 South Sea Island productions, was also at anchor in the harbour. 



The sky was dull, covered with grey clouds, and the air even somewhat chilly as 

 the islands were approached, and they did not look bright and sunny, as might have 

 been expected of the first South Sea Islands met with on the voyage. As the small 

 island of Eooa was passed, the surf in places raised jets of spray at its base, looking 

 from a distance like thin white smoke. 



Tongatabu was seen 7 miles distant from Eooa, stretching along the horizon as 

 a long narrow neutral tint band, with an indented upper margin ; towards the northern 

 end the band thinned out into isolated rows and groups of palm trees, which looked like 

 dots on the watery horizon. As the vessel approached nearer, the forms of the cocoanut 

 trees became more and more distinct. At length sail was shortened and the Challenger 

 steamed through the reefs with a long stretch of palm-covered land on the one hand, 

 and numerous islets on the other, some bearing many cocoanut palms, others few. 



The main island is exceedingly flat and low, its highest point being only 60 feet 

 above the sea level. It thus stretched itself before the view as a green horizontal streak 

 of uniform width, the width being due merely to the height of the vegetation ; here 

 and there at the water's edge were seen small inlets and stretches of white sandy 

 beach, or low honeycombed and weathered clifflets of coral rock. Above these 

 appeared a band of dark foliaged shrubs, and shrubby trees with shore-loving plants 

 growing in the sand at their feet ; and as a background behind, rose a mass of cocoanut 

 trees of various heights, but densely packed together, and thus forming with their 

 crowns a tolerably even line ; no palms other than cocoanuts were to be seen in the 

 mass. On the small scattered islets which were near at hand, Screw Pines (Pandanus) 

 were conspicuous, their stems surrounded with prop-like aerial roots, whilst on the main 

 island these trees, which are numerous along the shore, were almost lost to view against 

 the general background of dark foliage. 



As the vessel steamed on, there came into view beneath the cocoanut trees on the 

 shores, the villages of the islanders, composed of small houses of palm mats and grass 

 thatch, and as the news spread, the villagers assembled on the beach in their conspicuous 

 white or red clothing, to gaze at the ship. Not until the ship had passed the most 

 difficult twist in the passage into the harbour, did the pilot come out, in a small 

 English-built whale-boat belonging to the king, manned by four sturdy Tongans. These 

 were naked, except that they had a cloth round the waist, and one of them a further 

 girdle of green Screw Pine leaves ; they had all, however, linen shirts with them, which 

 they put on as they became cool ; and the coxswain, formerly a Mataboolo, or lord 

 amongst the Tongans, had on a pea jacket also. As is always the case, the men being 

 so little clothed, appeared bigger than they really were. They were, however, remarkably 

 finely made men, with all their muscles well developed, and all of them were extremely 



