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, 
