394 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
but is destitute of any harbour, and there is only 
one place at which even a boat can land. A narrow 
border of low land extends from the shore, and the 
interior is mountainous and broken. Rurutu, con¬ 
sidering its size, presents natural scenery equal in 
beauty to any of the adjacent islands, and a 
greater variety in its geology than any other. 
Many of the rocks are basaltic; others appear 
formed of a vesicular kind of ancient lava; besides 
which, fibrous limestone is occasionally met with, 
and a beautiful and singular stalactites. Garnets 
are also found in several parts. The soil is fertile : 
most of the productions, used as articles of food in 
the Society Islands, flourish here ; while the dra- 
cana, the casuarina, and the barringtonia are not 
only abundant, but attain an unusual size—the 
trunk of the latter frequently exceeding four feet 
in diameter. 
The inhabitants, though not more numerous than 
those of Rimatara, are darker in their complexion, 
more enterprising in their character, and active in 
their habits. Their temples were numerous, and 
their idols, especially their great god, Taaroa, were 
among the most singular we have met with in the 
Pacific. Their priests, who were their physicians, 
maintained great influence over the people, though 
their system of worship appears less sanguinary 
than that of their more civilized neighbours. They 
were addicted to war. Their helmets were among 
the most imposing in the South Sea Islands, 
and their spears, which were made of the hard 
dark wood of the casuarina, were often from 
twelve to eighteen feet long. Vessels traversing 
this part of the Pacific, occasionally hove-to oft 
this island, for the purpose of allowing the natives 
to bring off their hogs, fowls, and vegetables, for 
