332 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
coast, and from one to three miles distant from 
the sea. Though the shore is generally a gra¬ 
dual and waving ascent from the water’s edge to 
the mountain, it is frequently rocky and broken. 
At Mahapoto, about half way between Opoa, the 
site of their principal temple, the ancient residence 
of the reigning family, and Utumaoro at the north¬ 
east angle of the island, there is a deep inden¬ 
tation in the coast. The rocks rise nearly per¬ 
pendicular in some places on both sides, and the 
smooth surface of the ocean extends a mile and a 
half, or two miles, towards the mountains. The 
shores of this sequestered bay are covered with 
sand, shells, and broken coral. At the openings 
of several of the little glens which surround 
it, the cottages of the natives are seen through 
the luxuriant foliage of the pandanus, or the 
purau ; while the cultivated plantations in various 
parts extend from the margin of the sea to the 
foot of the mountains. The rivers that flow along 
their rocky courses from the head of the ravines 
to the ocean below—and the distant mountains, 
that rise in the interior — combine to form, 
though on a limited scale, rich, romantic, and 
beautiful landscapes. The islands in general are 
well supplied with water. The mountains are 
sufficiently elevated to intercept the clouds that 
are wafted by the trade-winds over the Pa¬ 
cific ; being clothed with verdure to their 
very summits, while they attract the moisture, 
they also prevent its evaporation. Most of the 
rivers or streams rise in the mountainous parts, 
and though, from the peculiar structure of these 
parts, and the circumscribed extent of the islands, 
the distance from their source to their union with 
the sea is short; yet the body of water is often 
