102 Letter IV. 
can hardly blame the natives, when one knows of the treatment 
that they have received at white men’s hands, although, even 
making every allowance for them, I cannot help fancying that 
a good broadside or two occasionally would help to convince 
them that white men’s lives are not to be sacrificed with im- 
punity. 
Before taking up the tale again, I must say a few words 
about the general characteristics of the island, and its ap 
pearance. 
In point of size it is about equal to Tana, but is more 
massed together in the form of a square. It is not so moun- 
tainous as that island, nor so beautiful in appearance. The 
southern and eastern were the only sides of it that I saw, and 
they had rather a rugged and barren appearance. In_the 
north, mountains rise to a considerable height, while the centre 
of the island is apparently a sort of table-land, intersected by 
valleys and ravines. Dillon’s Bay is the principal anchorage 
that the island possesses ; it cannot be called a harbour, for it is 
merely a wide open bay, protected from the prevailing S.E. 
winds. Cook’s Bay and Portinia Bay are upon the other side ; 
but as they are quite exposed to the trade winds, they are use- 
less as places of shelter for vessels. 
The exact number of inhabitants upon this island is not 
known, but from one to two thousand is the usual estimate—a 
small population for an island of its size. What I have already 
said will be sufficient to show that they are not of a very peace- 
ful or trustworthy disposition. They have certainly a very bad 
name, for they bear the character of being equal to the Tanese, 
if not worse, in all that is bad, and of lacking any redeeming 
qualities that the latter may possess, such as straightforwardness 
and boldness. 
On the morning of Sunday, the 12th of May, the vessel 
