AE NEON, 
958 
A TAHITIAN 
would open into view, and down them 
sparkling rivers rushed into the sea. 
It was late in the afternoon when we 
reached ‘Tautira, and a boat at once put 
off from the shore. In it came the chief 
of the village, who piloted us safely 
through the passage in the reef. We 
anchored off the mouth of the small 
river, near the banks of which the village 
of Tautira is built. 
The barrier-reef in this part of the 
island is almost awash at high tide; it is 
nearly semicircular in shape, and so per- 
fectly flat on the top that, as we entered 
‘the passage, we seemed to be steaming 
‘through a gateway in a low wall. 
The shore is a strip of red-colored 
‘sand, with a narrow belt of cocoanut 
palms. Behind the palm trees lies the 
village, and beyond rises a magnificent 
range of hills clothed to the summit with 
GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
Photo by Harrison W. Smith 
FISHERMAN 
almost impenetrable forests. The houses 
are well built, of native pattern; the 
walls are made of upright bamboos, with 
a half-inch space between each to allow 
a free passage of air into the house. 
Rows of mats are so arranged that they 
can be let down to cover the walls in 
case of rain, while at other times they 
are rolled up under the eaves. All the 
houses are thatched with leaves of either 
the cocoanut palm or pandanus. 
The surroundings of Tautira are very 
beautiful. The ground is covered with 
a thick growth of green grass, studded 
with hibiscus and other flowering plants, 
while orange trees grow in great pro- 
fusion. 
In Tahiti, as well as in most of the 
South Sea Islands, great numbers of 
cocoanuts are grown, and, after being 
dried for copra, are shipped in large 
