162 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
the valley is rich and fertile, well stocked with cocoa- 
nuts and bread-fruit trees. The surrounding hills are 
clothed with shrubs or grass, and the lofty and romantic 
mountains forming the central boundary, are adorned 
with trees or bushes even to their summits. Several 
broad cascades flowed in silvery streams down the sides 
of the mountain, and, broken occasionally by a jutting 
rock, presented their sparkling waters in beautiful con¬ 
trast with the rich and dark foliage of the stately trees, 
and the flowering shrubs that bordered their course. A 
number of streams originating in these water-falls pursued 
their course through the valley, and one, receiving in its 
way the tributary waters of a number of sequestered 
streamlets, swelled at times into what in these islands 
might be called a river, and flowed along the most fertile 
portions of the district into the sea. 
A small bay was formed by an elliptical indentation of 
the coast, an opening in the reef opposite the bay ad¬ 
mitted small vessels to enter, and a picturesque little 
coral island, adorned with two or three clumps of hibis¬ 
cus and cocoa-nut trees, added greatly to the beauty of 
its appearance. There was no swamp or marshy 
land between the shore and the mountains ; the ground 
was high, and the whole district not only remarkably 
beautiful, but apparently dry and healthy. The abun¬ 
dance of natural productions, the apparent salubrity of 
the air, the convenience of the stream of water, the 
facility of the harbour, combined to recommend it as 
an eligible spot for at least the temporary residence of 
a part of the Missionaries. We therefore waited on the 
principal chiefs, one of whom had accompanied us from 
Papetoai, and inquired if it would be agreeable to them* 
for us to come and reside there. They expressed 
