THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 297 
a pleasant hour was spent in watching the rising of 
those luminaries of heaven, which we had been 
accustomed to behold in our native land, but which 
for many years had been invisible. When the polar 
star rose above the horizon, and Ursa Major, with 
other familiar constellations, appeared, we hailed 
them as long-absent friends; and could not but 
feel that we were nearer England than when we 
left Tahiti, simply from beholding the stars that 
had enlivened our evening excursions at home.”* 
A stranger is forcibly struck with the remark- 
able fearlessness which the natives of these islands 
have of the sea. They appear almost as amphi- 
bious as seals, sporting about in the deep sea for 
many hours, sometimes for nearly a whole day 
together. No sooner does a ship approach a 
large island, than the inhabitants swim off to wel- 
come her; and long before she begins to take in 
sail, she is surrounded by human beings of both 
sexes, apparently as much at home in the Ocean 
as the fishes themselves. The children are taken 
to the water when -but a day or two old, and many 
are able to swim as soon as they are able to walk. 
In coasting along the shore, it is a rare thing to 
pass a group of cottages, at any hour of the day, 
without seeing one or more bands of children joy- 
ously playing in the sea. They have several dis- 
tinct games which are played in the water, and 
which are followed with exceeding avidity, not only 
by children, but by the adult population. One of 
these is the fastening of a long board or pole on 
* Poly. Res. iii. 164. 
