92 A MISSION TO VITI. 
note struck up. I am persuaded that every mosquito, 
from the large sluggish one which annoyed us when 
searching for Sir John Franklin in the Arctic Circle, 
to the little swift one of the Equator, may be known 
as readily by its peculiar note as by any artificial dia- 
gnosis,—the Sydney one pre-eminently by its very deep 
tone. 
On the 2nd of July, about noon, we left Mataisuva, 
and at 7 p.m. reached Naqara (the Cave), in the island 
of Naigani, where Mr. Eggerstrom, a Swedish gentle- 
man, had taken up his abode. He was just recovering 
from a serious illness contracted by incautious contact 
with the Kau karo, or Itchwood, a poisonous tree 
(Oncocarpus Vitiensis, A. Gray = Rhus atrum, Forst.) 
peculiar to Fiji and New Caledonia, the stem of which 
he had been converting into a flag-staff. Mr. Eggerstrom 
received us cordially, and had tea and supper prepared. 
He also wished us to sleep under his hospitable roof; 
but the mosquitoes were so very troublesome that we 
could hardly finish our meal, and were obliged to beat 
a hasty retreat to our boat, though our kind host assured 
us that if we remained a little longer we should get 
quite as much used to their bites as he was, and feel no 
inconvenience. We spread the awning over our gig, 
and made every preparation for sleeping. As it was 
still early, Mr. Pritchard read, and I went again on shore, 
to the native village, which I found, as I had been as- 
sured, quite free from mosquitoes. The natives were very 
friendly ; they showed me their canoes, and brought me 
cocoa-nuts and sugar-cane to eat; I gave them a few 
sticks of tobacco in return, and wanted them to dance; 
