480 



TAHITI. 



Nov. 1835. 



truders are not overwhelmed^ by the all-powerful and never- 

 tiring waves of that great sea, miscalled the Pacific. 



November 15th. — At daylight, Tahiti, an island which 

 must for ever remain as classical to the voyager in the South 

 Sea, was in view. At this distance the appearance was 

 not very inviting. The luxuriant vegetation of the lower 

 parts was not discernible, and as the clouds rolled past, the 

 wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves to- 

 wards the centre of the island. As soon as we came to an 

 anchor in Matavai Bay, we were surrounded by canoes. 

 This was our Sunday, but the Monday of Tahiti: if the 

 case had been reversed, we should not have received a single 

 visit ; for the injunction i;iot to launch a canoe on the sab- 

 bath is rigidly obeyed. After dinner we landed to enjoy all 

 the delights of the first impressions produced by a new 

 country, and that country the charming Tahiti. A crowd of 

 men, women, and children, was collected on the memorable 

 point Venus, ready to receive us with laughing, merry faces. 

 They marshalled us towards the house of Mr. Wilson, the 

 missionary of the district, who met us on the road, and gave 

 us a very friendly reception. After sitting -a short time in 

 his house, we separated to walk about, but returned there in 

 the evening. 



The land capable of cultivation is scarcely in any part 

 more than a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round 

 the base of the mountains, and protected from the waves of 

 the sea by a coral reef, which encircles at a distance the 

 entire line of coast. The reef is broken in several parts so 

 that ships can pass through, and the lake of smooth water 

 within thus affords a safe harbour, as well as a channel for 

 the native canoes. The low land which comes down to the 

 beach of coral sand, is covered by the most beautiful pro- 

 ductions of the intertropical regions. In the midst of 

 bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and breadfruit trees, spots are 

 cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, and pine- 

 apples, are cultivated. Even the brushwood is a fruit-tree, 

 namely, the guava, which from its abundance is as noxious 



