50 OVOLAU. 
I understood that about forty whites had taken up their residence 
here; but we only found twelve, who were all married to native 
women, and generally had large families. 
We found lying at anchor here a small sloop, about the size of a 
long-boat, called “Who’d have thought it!” a tender to the ship 
Leonidas, Captain Eagleston, who was at another island curing the 
biche de mar; she was in charge of his first officer, Mr. Winn, who 
had been about trading for tortoise-shell at the different islands. He 
reported to me that one of his men had been enticed from the boat, and 
had been murdered, and probably eaten: this was said to have occurred 
near Muthuata, on the north side of Vanua-levu. It appeared that Mr. 
Winn, with only four or five men, had been trading in this small boat, 
for vessel she could not be called, around the group; they had with 
them a small skiff or punt, capable of holding only one man. In this 
one of the crew had been sent on shore, for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing whether the natives had any thing to dispose of. On his landing, 
he was led up from the beach, and never returned. This incident 
claimed our attention afterwards, and our proceedings in relation to it 
will be spoken of in their proper place. 
On the morning of the 9th, the weather proved fine, and at half-past 
seven we all went on shore with our instruments. Orders were left 
with the ship to fire guns, on a signal being given from the top of Andu- 
long. I put up both of the barometers, and made several comparisons, 
and then left one under charge of an officer to make half-hourly obser- 
vations. We set off for the peak of Andulong, apparently but a short 
hour’s walk. Our party consisted of about twenty-five officers and the 
naturalists, all intent upon their different branches of duty. Being 
entirely unused to so fatiguing a climb, some gave out, and were obliged 
to return; the strongest of us found no little exertion necessary to over- 
come the difficulties which beset our path: every now and then a per- 
pendicular rise of fifteen or twenty feet was to be ascended, then a 
narrow ridge to be crossed, and again a descent into a deep ravine ; 
the whole was clothed with vines at intervals, and the walking was 
very precarious, from the numbers of roots and slippery mud we encoun- 
tered; 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 our 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. 
