Wild Life in Southern Seas. 
198 
A lovely sunrise greeted us when we awoke, 
and after eating a hurried breakfast of roast 
fowl and taro, we started, accompanied by 
Gafalua, his two children, and one or two Safata 
natives. We were to fish along the edges of 
the reef at a spot where it formed a miniature 
lagoon, and where, we were assured by Vaitupu, 
who knew the place well, we should have plenty 
of sport. 
The sweet-scented masoi and cedar trees that 
fringed the forest, extending from the foot of 
the mountain to the beach, gave shelter from 
the rays of the sun to hundreds of the great 
blue-plumaged, scarlet-crested pigeons, and our 
progress was somewhat retarded in picking up 
the prizes that fell to the doctor’s breech-loader. 
Within an hour or so of leaving the village we 
had secured enough to satisfy us all, and the boy 
fairly staggered under a load of fat, juicy birds. 
On reaching the beach we found a small native 
house, built under a giant bread-fruit tree, and 
untenanted. Into this we bundled our belong¬ 
ings, and set about rigging up our fishing- 
tackle. The doctor, taking his cue from me, 
elected to fish with a hand line, looking aghast 
at the gigantic proportions of the rod offered 
