the ariki, or chief, of this portion of the island. On an axe, as well
as other presents, being laid before him, he (as is usual among the
chiefs of the Polynesian Islands on a ceremonial occasion) did not show
any expression of gratification or dislike at the presents but in a
grave manner made a few inquiries about the ship. Near the ariki sat a
female, whose blooming days had passed; she was introduced as his wife;
her head was decorated with a fillet of white feathers; the upper part
of her body was exposed, but she wore a mat round the waist which
descended to the ankles; the chief was apparently a man of middle age.

"The native habitations were low, of a tent form, and thatched with
cocoa-nut leaves; these habitations were not regular, but scattered
among the dense vegetation which surrounded them on all sides. The tacca
pinnatifida, or Polynesian arrow-root plant, called massoa by the
natives, was abundant, as also the fittou, or calophyllum inophyllum,
and a species of fan palm, growing to the height of fifteen and twenty
feet, called tarapurau by the natives; the areka palm was also seen, and
the piper betel was also cultivated among them. They had adopted the
oriental custom of chewing the betel; in using this masticatory they
were not particular about the maturity of the nuts, some eating them
very young as well as when quite ripe; they carried them about enclosed
in the husk, which was taken off when used.[3] At a short distance from
the beech, inland, was a lake of some extent, nearly surrounded by
lofty, densely-wooded hills. Some wild ducks were seen, and a gun being
fired at them, the report raised numbers of the 'plumy tribe,' filling
the air with their screams, alarmed at a noise to which they had been
unaccustomed. Several native graves were observed, which were very neat;
a stone was placed at the head and the grave neatly covered over by
plaited sections of the cocoa-nut frond; no particular enclosures for
the burial of the dead were observed. When rambling about, the 'timid