GENERAL APPEARANCE. 15 
we slowly sailed along its shore, all the diversity 
of hill and valley, broken or stupendous moun¬ 
tains, and rocky precipices, clothed with every 
variety of verdure, from the moss of the jutting 
promontories on the shore, to the deep and rich 
foliage of the bread-fruit tree, the Oriental luxu¬ 
riance of the tropical pandanus, or the waving 
plumes of the lofty and graceful cocoa-nut grove. 
The scene was enlivened by the waterfall on the 
mountain’s side, the cataract that chafed along its 
rocky bed in the recesses of the ravine, or the 
stream that slowly wound its way through the 
fertile and cultivated valleys, and the whole was 
surrounded by the white-crested waters of the 
Pacific, rolling their waves of foam in splendid 
majesty upon the coral reefs, or dashing in spray 
against its broken shore. 
Cataracts and waterfalls, though occasionally 
seen, are not so numerous on any part of the 
Tahitian coast, as in the north-eastern shores of 
Hawaii. The mountains of Tahiti are less grand 
and stupendous than those of the northern group 
—but there is a greater richness of verdure and 
variety of landscape; the mountains are much 
broken in the interior, and deep and frequent 
ravines intersect their declivity from the centre to 
the shore. As we advanced towards the anchor¬ 
age, I had time to observe, not only the diversified 
scenery, but the general structure and form, of the 
island. Tahiti, excepting the border of low alluvial 
land, by which it is nearly surrounded, is alto¬ 
gether mountainous, and highest in the centre. 
The mountains frequently diverge in short ranges 
from the interior towards the shore, though some 
rise like pyramids with pointed summits, and others 
present a conical, or sugar-loaf form, while the 
