MALOLO. 303 



or misfortune, and that it was quite time, as their intercourse with 

 our countrymen on their adventurous voyages was becoming more 

 frequent, to make the latter more secure. I desired to teach the 

 savages that it was not weakness or fear that had thus far stayed our 

 hands ; and was aware, too, that they had ridiculed and misunder- 

 stood the lenity with which they had heretofore been treated both by 

 the French and English men-of-war. 



During the night I found it would be impossible for the boats to 

 proceed, and I felt little inclined to run the risk of another accident 

 through want of care and necessary precaution in dealing with the 

 natives. I therefore determined on sending them back to the ship 

 by as direct a route as possible, and ordered them to make the best 

 of their way to Muthuata, proceeding first to the Annan Islands, 

 thence across to Mbua Bay and along the north shore of Vanua-levu. 

 They arrived at Muthuata on the 31st day of July, bearing the sad 

 news of the events at Malolo. 



Remaining myself in the tender, I proceeded, with the Porpoise in 

 company, to the Vitilevu shore, intending to pass out of the Malolo 

 Passage; but we found the flood setting so strong, that we were 

 compelled to anchor under the Navula Reef, where we lay until 

 the tide changed, employing ourselves looking over the extensive 

 reef for shells, and observing to fix and prove the survey of the 

 passage. The opening through the great reef here, which I have 

 called the Navula Passage, is very remarkable; it has for portals 

 two small islands of nearly the same size, which I have named 

 Waldron and Spieden, after the pursers of the Expedition, between 

 which the tide rushes with great strength. The great sea-reef 

 appears to have been here broken asunder by some convulsion of 

 nature, and the rushing tide has entirely swept the fragments away, 

 leaving a fine open passage between the two islands of a mile in 

 width. This may be termed the lee reef of these islands. Few 

 things are more remarkable than the extent of these zoophytic for- 

 mations ; and the variety of their shapes, direction, and configuration, 

 seem to put all speculation at defiance. Although I had often, in 

 sailing over them in my boat, been impressed with the beautiful ap- 

 pearances they exhibited, I thought this day they excelled any I had 

 before seen, and had a still closer resemblance to a rich parterre of 

 flowers. I could scarcely realize the fact, that objects so essentially 

 different could, by any means or in any way, be made to resemble 

 each other. At times my gig's crew have called my attention 



