156 TEE CRUISE OF TEE ' GUliACJOA: ■ 



Louse upon tlie point of an island in the river, and who 

 seemed ashamed or afraid to come near us. We landed in 

 search of the victim of my gun, but could not fmd it, and 

 the shy or sulky fellow would not assist, though it fell close 

 by him. We passed a few native houses, and saw nothing 

 agreeable in the way of scenery, the banks being flat, 

 wooded, and uninteresting. The river grew narrower until 

 we reached the Wai-Levu, or Big Eiver, which was about 

 300 yards across. We saw a great many native houses on 

 tlie banks of the latter which are muddy, a,nd a great many 

 canoes going up and down upon it mostly laden with yams. 

 There are many islands in it, and also many shoal places, on 

 which we often got agroimd. At length, about 10 a.m., we 

 reached Eewa, where we came upon a small schooner, 

 manned by some half whites, and having the King of Eewa, 

 Tui-Drakiti, on board. His Majesty, who has the reputa- 

 tion of loving his glass when he can get it, was sitting, 

 somewhat jolly, in the stern of the boat. He appeared to 

 be about fifty years of age. He was just off to do homage 

 to the memory of a Fiji chieftainess, recently deceased, 

 taking with him a fine turtle as a tribute, which, on this 

 account, he could not divert to another purpose, more 

 agreeable and personal to ourselves. Meade gave him the 

 official lettersfrom the Commodore, addressed to the culprit 

 chiefs in the interior, which the King consented to have 

 forwarded at once by a messenger. The object of them 

 was to rebuke the chiefs for allowing the people to take the 

 law into their own hands, when there was a consul to ap- 



