218 A MISSION TO VITI. 
we had previously stayed. Wishing to economize time, 
we left Tavuki at sunset for Ovalau; we had put to 
sea scarcely an hour when the weather became squally 
and very thick, compelling us to take in all canvas ex- 
cept the foresail. We should have fared ill if it had 
not been for the presence of the consular interpreter, 
Mr. Charles Wise, who combines with a perfect know- 
ledge of the Fijian language, customs, and manners, the 
advantage of being one of the best pilots in the group, 
the more appreciated amongst the maze of more than 
two hundred islands, of which as yet no reliable chart 
has been prepared, though the labours of Wilkes, Bel- 
cher, Kellett, and Denham, have already done a great 
deal towards that desirable end. After an anxious night 
amongst reefs and shoals, we found ourselves off Rewa, 
and, as the wind had now become a gale, the rain was 
coming down in torrents, and the sea was very high, we 
took shelter in Laucala(=Lauthala) Bay, anchoring op- 
posite the premises of Mr. Pickering, an old settler in 
Fiji. The occupier was absent, but his people made us 
comfortable. 
A small schooner had just arrived from New Zealand 
with sixteen immigrants on board. The captain called 
on the Consul, and brought a file of colonial newspapers 
containing the latest European news. Vessels often 
making Fiji a week after leaving Auckland, we gene- 
rally had our latest intelligence vié New Zealand. The 
captain was going to return immediately, taking oranges, 
pine-apples, and yams with him, and intending to come 
back with a fresh number of immigrants. Those that 
he had brought this time had found shelter at the 
