56 E L L I C E ' S AND KINGSMILL GROUP. 



any before seen in the South Seas. There was nothing remarkable 

 in its exterior ; it was of oblong shape, and about sixteen feet wide by 

 twenty feet long. The interior consisted of two stories, of which the 

 lower was not more than three feet high, under the floor of the upper 

 story. It was entered by a square hole at one side. The apartment 

 above was rather a loft or garret, which was high, and contained, 

 apparently, all the valuables and goods of the occupant. The floor 

 was made of small pieces of pand anus-boards, laid on slender beams 

 of cocoanut-wood. It was afterwards understood that this arrange- 

 ment of apartments was to guard against the inroad of the rats. The 

 lower apartment is used for sleeping, while the upper is entirely for 

 storing their goods and chattels. The wall-plates rest on four beams 

 of cocoanut-wood, which are supported by four posts, one at each 

 corner. These posts are round, and perfectly smooth, so that the rats 

 cannot climb them. The rafters and cross-pieces are mere poles, only 

 an inch or two thick; the thatch is of pandanus-leaf, doubled over 

 a slender stick, and tied down with sennit. 



After they were seated, cocoa-nuts, with treacle and water, were 

 brought them to drink. They then requested the chief, whose name 

 was Tama, to show them the fresh-water wells and taro-beds. Under 

 his guidance, they passed through the village, which was situated on 

 a narrow strip of the island, very close to the beach. Beyond it, 

 towards the interior (if the term may be used of that which is but half 

 a mile wide) of the island, was a cocoa-nut grove, extending to the 

 sea. The tall cocoa-nut trees scattered about, with here and there 

 small clumps of pandanus, gave it a cool and refreshing shade, and 

 produced an agreeable impression. Paths wound in every direction, 

 and were quite visible, in consequence of the absence of underbrush. 

 The sandy soil offered only a scanty growth of dry grass (a Sida). 

 Around the houses of the natives were found Cordias, Hibiscus, and 

 Ficus ; but they were all of small growth. The Dracaena, of which 

 the Samoans make the titi, was also seen. The taro-pits were dug to 

 the depth of eight or ten feet, and were fifty feet long by thirty 

 broad ; they were planted with taro and api, in rows : in the centre 

 were a few 7 inches of water, and the whole earth was moist. The 

 taro, however, w r as small, although the natives gave an account of its 

 growing to the length of two feet. The wells were fifteen feet deep ; 

 the water in them was brackish. These excavations have been made 

 at much cost of time and labour. 



All the party on shore were much incommoded with the rudeness 



