434 TAHITI chap. 



7000 feet. The whole island is so mountainous that the only 

 way to penetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. 

 Our road, at first, lay through woods which bordered each side 

 of the river ; and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen 

 as through an avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut 

 tree on one side, were extremely picturesque. The valley 

 soon began to narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more 

 precipitous. After having walked between three and four 

 hours, we found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that 

 of the bed of the stream. On each hand the walls were nearly 

 vertical ; yet, from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees 

 and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting ledge. 

 These precipices must have been some thousand feet high ; 

 and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnificent 

 than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until the 

 mid-day sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool 

 and damp, but now it became very sultry. Shaded by a ledge 

 of rock, beneath a fagade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. 

 My guides had already procured a dish of small fish and fresh- 

 water prawns. They carried with them a small net stretched 

 on a hoop ; and where the water was deep and in eddies, they 

 dived, and like otters, with their eyes open followed the fish 

 into holes and corners, and thus caught them. 



The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals 

 in the water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how 

 much they feel at home in this element When a horse was 

 landing for Pomarre in 1 8 1 7, the slings broke, and it fell into 

 the water ; immediately the natives jumped overboard, and by 

 their cries and vain efforts at assistance almost drowned it. 

 As soon, however, as it reached the shore, the whole population 

 took to flight, and tried to hide themselves from the man- 

 carrying pig, as they christened the horse. 



A little higher up, the river divided itself into three little 

 streams. The two northern ones were impracticable, owing to 

 a succession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged 

 summit of the highest mountain ; the other to all appearance 

 was equally inaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a 

 most extraordinary road. The sides of the valley were here 

 nearly precipitous ; but, as frequently happens with stratified 

 rocks, small ledges projected, which were thickly covered by 



