UPOLU. 27 



about their heads, a fine white bird, and a beautiful bird 

 with a short beak and brilliant variegated plumage, &c. 

 I got a good many beautiful little crabs with a single claw, 

 in some red, in others yellow, and the backs beautifully 

 spotted with bright blue. A pecuhar feature of the place 

 was the great number of holes, from two to five inches 

 in diameter, burrowed deep in the earth by the large land 

 crab. Crabs of this description, they say, five in the moun- 

 tains, from which they descend once a year in great num- 

 bers for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the sea, 

 and having done this return to their mountain quarters. It 

 is stated that, when on these expeditions, they will go over 

 everything that comes in their way. At one place I came 

 upon some muddy stagnant water, in which I saw some 

 curious looking things with pointed tails, rather large 

 heads resembling somewhat those of the iguana, and two 

 . feet ; they were very shy and jumped about so nimbly that 

 I could not catch one ; in fact, I had not even time to 

 examine them closely. Centipedes are to be found here, 

 scorpions and cockroaches also. There is a great variety 

 of fish, and many sharks which, I was informed, are not 

 dangerous. 



