196 THE MURRAY ISLANDS. 



lofty and broken, its highest point being 7^0 feet 

 above the sea. This is a bare eminence, forming a 

 narrow ridge, slightly concave towards the interior 

 of the island, where is another and lower hill, of a 

 conical form. From the outside of these the ground 

 slopes steeply towards the sea, especially on the 

 west and south sides. It is almost entirely covered 

 with one thick grove of cocoa-nuts, spreading even 

 over the tops of the lower hills in greater profusion 

 than I ever saw elsewhere. Its size is rather greater 

 than that of Erroob, its greater diameter being from 

 three to four miles. Its native name is Maer. 



On the south-west side of it are two much smaller 

 islands connected together by a sand bank and coral 

 reef, but with a deep channel between them and 

 Maer. Their names are Dowar and Waier. 

 Dowar is the largest, being 67O feet high, and very 

 precipitous. Waier is probably not more than 300 

 feet high, formed of a circle of nearly perpendicular 

 cliffs. 



As soon as we had anchored, several canoes put 

 off, but hesitated to come alongside till we shouted 

 to them words of friendship and invitation, in 

 the Erroob language, which is likewise theirs. 

 At this they seemed highly delighted, and immedi- 

 ately came on board in great numbers, bringing 

 tortoise-shell, bows and arrows, ketai, and cocoa- 

 nuts, to barter for knives and axes. 



On Melville shewing them the sketches he had 

 made of several of the inhabitants of Erroob and 



