96 UPOLU — MANONO — SAVAII. 



were attacked by a party of Savaiians. After a valiant defence, Ata was 

 overpowered and slain, while To'o narrowly escaped the same fate. 



Overwhelmed with sorrow at the loss of a brother whom he tenderly 

 loved, To'o retired to a neighbouring mountain, and burying himself in 

 the darkest recesses of its forests, made them resound with his bitter 

 lamentations. At length in his wanderings he came to the summit, 

 where, stooping down, he scooped out with his hands a vast hollow, 

 and, leaning over its brink, suffered his tears to fall in until it was 

 filled. The lake thus formed has ever since borne the appellation of 

 Lauu-to'o. 



The regard of To'o for his brother's memory was further evinced by 

 his adoption of Ata's name, conjoined to his own as his family title, and 

 the appellation of Toomata, a contraction of To'o-ma-ata, is retained 

 by his descendants, who are still chiefs of note in Upolu, and from whom 

 the tradition was derived. 



The lake of Lauto is regarded with superstitious dread by the 

 natives, who believe it to be the abode of the spirits, who, in former 

 times, were regarded with great veneration, and worshipped. These 

 were supposed to inhabit the waters of the lake, in the shape of eels, 

 as thick as a cocoa-nut tree, and two fathoms long. The attempt of 

 our gentlemen to explore it was looked upon as such a profanation that 

 their native guides left them, and regarded them as persons doomed to 

 accident if not to destruction. The eels were represented as so savage 

 and fierce that they would bite a person's leg off. No eels, however, 

 nor any other fish, were seen in the lake. 



In the neighbourhood of the crater no rock was observed in place, 

 nor any light scoria. Only a few fragments of stone were scattered 

 about. 



The cone of the crater of Lauto, is flatter than the others of the 

 same character that were visited, and particularly than that of Mount 

 Tofua. This is the westernmost of them all, and lies behind Fase- 

 tootai. It rises so boldly, that it is seen distinctly from the sea. This, 

 with all the other craters, are situated upon the central ridge, and the 

 most conspicuous of those which remain, are Siusinga, which lies 

 behind Sagana and Faliata. There is also one upon Mount Malata, 

 in the rear of Fangaloa, and another on the southern side of the island, 

 near Salomana. 



The part of the ridge on which Tofua is situated, is much lower 

 than the cone itself, and has gradually declined from its eastern end. 

 The ascent from Fasetootai has, for the first three or four miles, an 

 almost imperceptible rise ; after this, the slope increases rapidly until 

 it becomes quite abrupt. Even in the steepest parts, however, the rock 



