GUADALCANAR. 275 



About one o'clock p.m. we came to anchor on the coast 

 of Guadalcanal-, at a point which we named Ciu'a(^oa Har- 

 bour, in honour of our ship, which probably was the first 

 man of- war that ever entered Marau Sound. The ' Southern 

 Cross ' anchoi'cd at the same time. The boat in which we 

 hastened lo land not being able to get near enough to the 

 beach, we were obliged to make use of the shoulders of the 

 sailors. The only person I saw on landing was a native, quite 

 willing to accompany me, but who refused to carry my 

 game-bag, which I had to take care of mj'self. A small river 

 I'an through a swani[), along whicli I tramped, in the midst 

 of great pauclanus trees, which cannot be called screw-pines, 

 inasmuch as the leaves are not arranged in spirals on the 

 branches, but have at the end of each branch a tuft of long 

 leaves. There were in the marsh, and on tlie highlands, 

 various species of large trees, but I was astonished neither 

 to see nor hear a single bird. The groimd was full of holes 

 sunk by tlie hermit-crab, whose big claw was of a very pale 

 purple with a pink hue. On the cocoa-nut trees I saw 

 something which I took at first for a globe-shaped bulb, but 

 which turned out afterwards to be a nest of small harmless 

 ants. A curious form of red mushroom was growing about. 

 I also saw a pretty orchid with white fiowers, sweetly 

 perfumed. Of land-shells I saw l)ut two species. On such a 

 soil it Avas next to impossible to go far, and so I retraced my 

 steps without having got over much groinid ; and crossed 

 the river on a tree which was thrown over it at a spot 

 Avhere it might be one foot deep. At the entrance to a 



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