OVOLAU. 51 
Judging from the number of places in which these atonements were 
made, many victims have suffered in this way. The path we followed 
over the mountain was the high-road to the interior towns, and the 
inhabitants of these mountains have the character among the cannibal 
population of the coast, of being very savage! Just before noon, we 
reached the top of Andulong, and succeeded in getting the meridian 
altitude. The scene that now presented itself was truly beautiful; the 
picturesque valleys of the island of Ovolau lay in full view beneath us, 
exhibiting here and there spots of cultivated ground, with groves of 
cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit ; the towns perched upon apparently inacces- 
sible spots, overlooking their small domains; the several peaks rising 
around, all cut and broken in the most grotesque forms, only one of 
which, that of Dille-ovolau, overtopped the one on which we were, 
being about two hundred feet higher; around us in the distance, we 
had the various islands of the group, and the fantastic needle-shaped 
peaks of Vanua-levu were distinctly seen, although at the distance of 
sixty miles. The detached reefs could be traced for miles, by the water 
breaking on them, until they were lost in the haze. The squadron lay 
quietly beneath us, and every danger that could in any way affect the 
safety of a vessel was as distinctly marked as though it had been 
already put upon our charts. Each officer was now directed to observe 
a series of angles between all the points, peaks, and islands, and to 
enter the names of them: these were obtained through the interpreters. 
The barometer was set up, and observations made. The signal was 
now given, upon which guns were fired from the vessel, while we noted 
the time that elapsed between seeing the flash and hearing the sound. 
The angles of depression were also taken of all objects. The results 
of these different methods gave the altitude of Andulong two thousand 
and seventy feet. 
We remained on the summit until near sunset, and obtained much 
knowledge relative to the situation of all the islands and reefs that 
lay around us, which I found of much service in the progress of our 
work. 
During our stay on Andulong, a native came up, who appeared to 
be under the influence of great fear; he reported that one of the officers 
had fallen down, and that something was the matter with him. On 
being asked why he left him, he told us that the chief had said G—d 
d—n, and that he was afraid that he would kill him. Lieutenant Em- 
mons went down with him, and after a short descent, he found Mr. 
Eld lying quite exhausted near the path, and it was with difficulty he 
was enabled to reach the town. 
The descent proved more toilsome and dangerous than the ascent; 
