OVOLAU. 53 



roots and slippery mud we encountered ; water continually bubbled 

 across our path from numerous rills that were hurrying headlong 

 down the ravines. The last part of the ascent was sharp and steep, 

 having precipices of several hundreds of feet on each side of us. 

 On passing up the path, I saw oiir native guides each pull a leaf 

 when they came to a spot, and throw it down ; on inquiry, Whippy 

 told me it was the place where a man had been clubbed : this was 

 considered as an offering of respect to him, and, if not performed, they 

 have a notion they will soon be killed themselves. Judging from 

 the number of places in which these atonements were made, many 

 victims have suffered in this way. The path we followed over the 

 mountain was the high-road to the interior towns, and the inhabitants 

 of these mountains have the character among the cannibal population 

 of the coast, of being very savage ! Just before noon, we reached the 

 top of Andulong, and succeeded in getting the meridian altitude. 

 The scene that now presented itself was truly beautiful : the pic- 

 turesque valleys of the island of Ovolau lay in full view beneath us, 

 exhibiting here and there spots of cultivated ground, with groves 

 of cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit; the towns perched upon apparently 

 inaccessible spots, overlooking their small domains ; the several peaks 

 rising around, all cut and broken in the most grotesque forms, only 

 one of which, that of Dille-ovolau, overtopped the one on which 

 we were, being about two hundred feet higher; around us in the 

 distance, we had the various islands of the group ; and the fantastic 

 needle-shaped peaks of Vanua-levu were distinctly seen, although at 

 the distance of sixty miles. The detached reefs could be traced for 

 miles, by the water breaking on them, until they were lost in the 

 haze. The squadron lay quietly beneath us, and every danger that 

 could in any way affect the safety of a vessel was as distinctly 

 marked as though it had been already put upon our charts. Each 

 officer was now directed to observe a series of angles between all the 

 points, peaks, and islands, and to enter the names of them : these 

 were obtained through the interpreters. The barometer was set up, 

 and observations made. The signal was now given, upon which 

 guns were fired from the vessel, while we noted the time that elapsed 

 between seeing the flash and hearing the sound. The angles of 

 depression were also taken of all objects. The results of these 

 different methods gave the altitude of Andulong two thousand and 

 seventy feet. 



We remained on the summit until near sunset, and obtained much 



VOL. III. 14 



