4 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
tiful and large bell-flowering convolvolus, was often 
hung in wild luxuriant wreaths. 
The walk from Fare to the head of the lake was 
delightful; for more than a mile, it was actually 
under what the natives call the maru uru, bread¬ 
fruit shade, large groves of this useful tree growing 
on each side of the path. A number of small 
plantations give variety to the wild scenery, and 
many of the raatiras , or inferior chiefs, have 
erected their dwellings near the path. Hautia 
had, when we first arrived, a noble house standing 
at the southern end of the lake. Along the 
eastern shore, small villages were seen amidst a 
grove of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees. A suc¬ 
cession of agreeable sensations has arisen in my 
mind on a Saturday afternoon, when, passing 
along the lake in my canoe, which was paddled by 
two native attendants, I have seen the columns 
of smoke curling up among the bread-fruit trees, 
where the inhabitants were dressing their food for 
the following day. Sometimes I have received 
their salutations from the shore ; and, in contrast 
with their peaceful dwellings, and their present 
occupation, I have often been struck with the ap¬ 
pearance of the villages, the dilapidated family 
maraes, or idol-temples, mouldering in ruins on 
almost every projecting point. 
The western side of this extensive lake is bor¬ 
dered by a low flat tract of land, in many places a 
mile wide, extending from south to north. At 
the northern extremity of this beautiful piece of 
water, there is a narrow channel, by which it com¬ 
municates with the sea. The western side, though 
very different from the opposite shore, adds to the 
variety of the scenery; it is thickly wooded, and. 
among the trees that reach the highest perfection, 
