Ixxviii | A ppendia. 
with a thin covering of greasy soil ; this fort may reasonably be considered as 
impregnable, in fact ten men might defend it against ten thousand. Nothing 
here so much convinced me of the cowardice of the Tahitians as seeing this 
place, and knowing that when the French marched to attack it, they not only 
advanced to within two hundred yards of it, but that when they got there the 
natives who were in the fort ran away after firing one or two muskets ; 
fortunately, or unfortunately, the French received orders to return just at thesame 
time, and never knew that the defence was abandoned. As I had this account 
from the natives themselves at the spot, there can hardly be any doubt of its 
truth. When I asked them why they did not stay in the fort and kill every 
Frenchman who attempted to cross the narrow path, they said that there were 
very few men in the fort, and they were so astonished at the hardihood of the 
soldiers in coming so far that they never thought of fighting, but threw away 
their muskets and ran up the mountains as fast as they could. The cowardice 
and imbecility of the defenders (111) of this valley can hardly be understood 
by a person who does not know the country, but you may have some idea of 
it when I tell you that the valley must be as narrow and more difficult than 
the Kyber Pass, with the additional advantage to the defenders of the sides of 
the mountains being covered with trees, which would effectually shelter them 
from the fire of the attacking party, and that of 800 soldiers who marched up 
it, only about forty altogether were killed and wounded. Who can feel any 
interest in such a pack of cowards? Had they been any other people in the 
world than Tahitians there can be no doubt that not a Frenchman would have 
returned alive to tell the tale. 
On the road to the pa I found a tree in flower, with handsome leaves 
growing at the ends of the branches, like a Terminalia, and with a vast 
profusion of flowers growing out of the trunk and root as well as the branches; 
these flowers were hexandrous, and appeared to resemble those of Laurine, 
but the fruit was just like that of 4Ejiurus ; the leaves of this were lanceolate 
and simple, but M. Vesco tells me that he found, at Borabora, another tree 
with the same flowers and mode of inflorescence, of which the leaves were 
digitate, like Carolinie. 
Before I had left the stream I saw some way up the mountain what appeared 
to be a tree with red flowers, but as I had never heard of such a thing in the 
island I was obliged to content myself (as I could not approach it) with 
thinking that it might only be the stipules of Nauclea. However, just before 
I came to the foot I saw, almost ten feet below me, another plant, which 
I immediately recognized to be the same, and to be an Erythrina, which I take it 
