AN ATOM. 195 



not destroyed by such ill-disposed natives, and that they 

 should have obligingly left him unmolested during the day. 



Mr. Gordon was on his way to Erainanga to resume the 

 work which had been interrupted by the murder of his 

 brother, Mr. Gordon, who with his wife had been slaughtered 

 recently by the natives of that island. 



An attempt has been made to establish a whale fishery on 

 the little adjacent island, called Whale Island, which, I 

 beheve, has been so far successful. Erskine, when off 

 Anatom in the ' Havannah,' was surprised at the number of 

 whales he saw spouting about, — the man at the mast-head 

 had counted twenty in a few minutes, — and thought, if this 

 occurrence were not an exceptional one, that it would be 

 well worth considering whether, when, during the winter 

 months in high latitudes, whaling cannot be pursued, this 

 island might not be turned to good account in the interim. 



It is fourteen miles long, and eight wide. Its highest 

 mountain is about 2,800 feet above the level of the sea. 



The climate is somewhat humid, in general agreeable, and, 

 to those who are careful, not unhealthy. The thermometer 

 had never fallen below 58°, and seldom below 62° ; it has 

 never risen above 94°, and seldom exceeds 89° in the shade. 

 The island is well watered ; droughts are unknown, and 

 more or less rain falls every month throughout the year. 

 Thunder-storms are of unfrequent occurrence, violent 

 hurricanes, on the contrary, often occur. 



The population of the island is about 2,200. The in- 

 habitants do not live collected in villages, but separately in 



o2 



