THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 2'J9 



mit, and paddling with his hands, is borne on the 

 crest of the advancing wave, amidst the foam and 

 spray, till within a yard or two of the shore or 

 rocks. Then, when a stranger expects to see him 

 the next moment dashed to death, he slides off his 

 board, and catching it by the middle, dives sea- 

 ward under the wave, and comes up behind, laugh- 

 ing and whooping, again to swim out as before. 

 The utmost skill is required, in coming in, to keep 

 the position on the top of the wave ; for, if the 

 board get too forward, the swimmer will be over- 

 turned and thrown upon the beach; and, if it fall 

 behind, he will be buried beneath the succeeding 

 wave ; yet some of the natives are so expert as to 

 sit, and even to stand upright upon their board, 

 while it is thus riding in the foam. 



Their sport is, however, not unfrequently disturbed 

 by the appearance of a shark. This terrific animal is 

 particularly abundant among the South Sea Islands, 

 and remarkably bold and ferocious. The cry of 

 "A Shark!" among the surf swimmers will instantly 

 set them in the utmost terror, and generally they fly 

 with precipitation to the shore ; though sometimes 

 they unite and endeavour to frighten him away with 

 their shouting and splashing. Often, however, the 

 animal is too determined lightly to give up his prey, 

 as was the case in the following instance recorded by 

 Mr. Richards of the Sandwich Islands: — 



"At nine o'clock in the morning of June 14th, 

 1826, while sitting at my writing-desk, I heard 

 a simultaneous scream from multitudes of people, 

 ' Pan i ka mano !' (Destroyed by the shark !) The 



