328 
CRUISE OF HM.S. CHALLENGER. 
380 miles from Tahiti. Head winds and calms suc- 
ceeded each other as we passed on through the 
Tropics. 
At length, on the morning of the 18th September, 
we came in sight of Tahiti and the outlying island 
of Morea, and, as we neared, could be seen very 
plainly the singular zigzag outline, precipitous crags 
and crater-like depressions, of every shade of blue, 
grey, and purple, broken into every conceivable 
fantastic shape, with deep, dark, mysterious gorges, 
showing almost black by contrast with the surround- 
ing brightness ; while in the foreground, stretching 
away from the base to the shore, is a forest of tropical 
trees, with the huts and houses of the town peeping 
out between them. 
Some hours were spent outside the reefs in sound- 
ing and dredging, in a depth of 1525 fathoms, but 
not much of interest obtained ; it was near 4 p.m. 
before we entered the lovely harbour of Papeite, 
which is surrounded by coral reefs, forming a most 
safe and pleasant haven of rest after the thirty days 
at sea. Of all the innumerable islands of the vast 
Pacific, there is none which has at various periods 
attracted the attention of the civilised world in the 
same degree as that in whose harbour we are now at 
anchor. At first, it was from the pleasing description 
given by Captain Cook of his stay here ; then the 
events connected with the mutiny of the Bounty ; 
and still later, by occurrences of a political nature, 
