T U T U I L A. 



83 



examination into it ; and finding the man was reported to be a runaway 

 convict, I had no right to interfere in the affair, and therefore, took no 

 steps to inquire into it. 



On the 7th of November, 1837, this harbour exhibited one of those 

 remarkable phenomena of the oscillation of the tidal wave. The obser- 

 vations made on it are extracted from the letter of a missionary 

 resident at Pago-pago, to the Rev. Mr. Mills, of Upolu, who obligingly 

 gave me permission to copy them. They will be found in Appendix 

 VIII. 



The weather during the preceding evening was boisterous, with fre- 

 quent squalls from the east, which continued till 7 a. m., from which 

 time the day was cloudy, with frequent light showers. After 5 p. m., it 

 continued to rain until ten o'clock at night. On the 8th, the tide con- 

 tinued to ebb and flow in an irregular manner. The day was fine and 

 very warm. This phenomenon does not appear to have been observed 

 at any other place in the Samoan Group, but was experienced, as will 

 be noticed hereafter, at the Group Hawaii. 



The peculiar formation of the harbour of Pago-pago, would make it 

 more likely to be observed there than elsewhere. The ordinary rise 

 of the tide is no more than four and a half feet, and neither before, 

 during the continuance, nor after this phenomenon, were any shocks 

 of earthquakes observed in any part of the group where missionaries 

 are settled. 



NAVIGATOR CLUDS, ETC. 



