i »4 Wild Life in Southern Seas. 
It had been raining a few days previously, and 
the middle of the road was somewhat muddy, 
but the side-paths were fairly dry for the 
ladies, who declined the offer of our natives 
to be carried till we reached the first resting- 
place. The soil here was a rich, red loam ; and 
from the beach for nearly two miles inland the 
road lay through banana and taro plantations, 
with here and there small villages inhabited 
by the adherents of Malietoa. Every now and 
then natives would pass us—generally women— 
with loads of taro, yams, or fruit ; and it was 
pleasant to note the courteous manner in which 
they left the dry side-walk and stood in the 
boggy centre of the road while we passed. By 
nearly every one we were greeted with a smile 
and offer of fruit for the ladies, or a coconut 
to drink. 
About two hours after crossing the Vaisigago 
and proceeding in a south-easterly direction, we 
heard the sound of a cataract, and presently 
we again got a sight of the river through the 
trees. We turned off at this spot to look 
at the favourite bathing place of the white 
residents, a deep pool of some fifty yards 
in length, surrounded by a thick, tropical 
