Nov. 1835. 



TAHITI. 



183 



together with signs^ a lame sort of conversation could be 

 carried on. In returning in the evening to the boat, we 

 stopped to witness a very pretty scene ; numbers of children 

 were playing on the beach, and had lighted bonfires, which 

 illuminated the placid sea and surrounding trees. Others, 

 in circles, were singing Tahitian verses. We seated our- 

 selves on the sand, and joined their party. The songs 

 were impromptu, and I believe related to our arrival : one 

 little girl sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, 

 forming a very pretty chorus. The whole scene made us 

 unequivocally aware that we were seated on the shores of an 

 island in the South Sea. 



November 17th. — This day is reckoned in the log-book 

 as Tuesday the l7th instead of Monday the 1 6th, owing to 

 our, so far successful, chase of the sun. Before breakfast 

 the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of canoes, and when 

 the natives were allowed to come on board, I suppose their 

 numbers could not have been under two hundred. It was 

 the opinion of every one, that it would have been difficult 

 to have picked out an equal number from any other nation, 

 who would have given so little trouble. Every body 

 brought something for sale : shells were the main article of 

 trade. The Tahitian s now fully understand the value of 

 money, and prefer it to old clothes or other articles. The 

 various coins, however, of English and Spanish denomination 

 puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small 

 silver quite secure until changed into dollars. Some of 

 the chiefs have accumulated considerable sums of money. 

 One not long since offered eight hundred dollars (about 

 160 pounds sterling) for a small vessel; and frequently they 

 purchase whale-boats and horses, at the rate of from fifty 

 to a hundred dollars. 



After breakfast I went on shore, and ascended the slope 

 of the nearest part of the mountain, to an elevation between 

 two and three thousand feet. The form of the land is 

 rather singular, and may be understood by explaining its 

 hypothetical origin. I believe the interior mountains once 



