150 A MISSION 'TO VITI. 
the rope, had swept away the canoe, dashed it with great 
force against a steep rock on the opposite side, smashing 
the outrigger, swamping the little vessel, and leaving 
all the luggage and provisions swimming in the water. 
All the natives plunged in the river, and succeeded in 
saving the property. Of course the clothes were satu- 
rated, the tea had been made, the sugar was dissolved, 
and the biscuit looked like so much bread and butter 
pudding. To me, who often got a wetting in crossing 
rivers, it was quite amusing to see Colonel Smythe and 
Mr. Waterhouse busy in wringing and hanging up their 
clothes, and I could not resist the temptation of asking 
them whether any mangling was done there. 
Fortunately, the stores which Mr. Pritchard and I had 
brought were quite safe, and so we could supply most 
of their deficiencies. The mishap being repaired as 
much as possible, we pushed on, and soon arrived at Na 
Mato,—a place where the river was entirely blocked 
up by huge rocks, said to have fallen from the top of 
the mountain on the right-hand bank, during an earth- 
quake some forty years ago. The natives assured us 
that when this catastrophe first.took place, the stoppage 
of the river was complete; and the water rose so high 
that for a long time it inundated their fields, and they 
had to dive for their provisions. They did obtain cocoa- 
nuts, but could not get at the taro, and there was a 
famine in consequence. 
We left our large canoes at Na Mato, and in smaller 
ones, which Kuruduadua had in readiness, passed a 
steep rocky shore, where the people of Nagadi bury 
their dead. Excavations are made into the rock, and the 
