NARRATIVE 



THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 



CHAPTER I. 



TAHITI. 

 183 9. 



The beauty of the distant view of Tahiti has been celebrated by 

 all navigators, but I must confess that it disappointed me. The 

 entire outline of the island was visible for too short a time and at too 

 great a distance to permit its boasted features to be distinctly seen. 

 Upon a second and nearer view, its jagged peaks and rugged, inac- 

 cessible mountains were visible, but we looked in vain for the verdant 

 groves which are said by all writers to clothe it. These indeed 

 exist, but are confined to a narrow belt of low land, lying between 

 the mountains and the shore, and being unseen at a distance, the 

 general aspect of the island is that of a land recently thrown up by 

 volcanic action. 



When, however, Tahiti is approached so near as to make separate 

 objects visible, the contrast between it and the barren coast of Peru 

 becomes striking. Even upon the steep surface of its cliffs, vege- 

 tation abounds; the belt of low land is covered with the tropical 

 trees peculiar to Polynesia; while the high peaks and wall-faced 

 mountains in the rear are covered with vines and creeping plants. 

 This verdure is seen to rise from a quiet girdle of water, which is 



