 Chapter 14 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Davy Cross, Taos, New Mexico. At Tahiti The Cava feast, the yam, the cocoa's root, which bears at once the cup and milk and fruit, the bread-tree witch without the plowshare yields, the unreapid harvest of unfurrowed fields, these with the luxuries of seas and woods, the airy joys of social solitudes, tamed each rude wanderer. Saturday, December 2nd The anchor was dropped in the harbor of Pepiti at 9 o'clock, and a couple of hours later, by which time the weather had cleared, we went ashore and at once found ourselves in the midst of a fairy-like sea. To describe which is almost impossible, so bewildering is it in the brightness and variety of its coloring. The magnolias and yellow and scarlet hibiscus overshadowing the water, the velvety turf onto which one steps from the boat, the white road running between rows of wooden houses, whose little gardens are a mass of flowers, the men and women clad in the gayest robes and decked with flowers, the piles of unfamiliar fruit lying on the grass waiting to be transported to the coasting vessels in the harbor, the widespread background of hills clad in verger to their summits. These are but a few of the objects which greet the newcomer in his first contact with the shore. We strolled about and left our letters of introduction, but the people to whom they were addressed were at breakfast, and we were deliberating how best to dispose of our time when a gentleman accosted us, and seeing how new it all was to us strangers, offered to show us round the town. The streets of Pepiti, running back at right angles with the beach, seem to have wonderfully grand names, such as the Rue de Rivoli, Rue de Péris, etc. Each street is shaded by an avenue of high trees, whose branches meet and interlace overhead, forming a sort of leafy tunnel through which the sea breeze passes refreshingly. There is also what is called the Chinaman's Quarter, through which we walked and which consists of a collection of regular Chinese-built bamboo houses, whose occupants all wore their national costume, pigtail included. The French commandant lives in a charming residence surrounded by gardens just opposite the palace of Queen Pomeré, who is at present at the island of Bola Bola, taking care of her little grandchild, aged five, the queen of the island. She went down in a French man-a-war, de Lumier, ten days ago, and has been obliged to remain, owing to some disturbances amongst the natives. I am rather disappointed that she is absent, as I should like to see a person of whom I have heard so much. Having completed our tour, we next went to call on the British consul, who received us kindly and entertained us with an interesting account of the island and its inhabitants, its pearl fisheries and trade, the French policy, the missionaries, et cetera, on all of which subjects he is well-informed. He has just completed an exhaustive consular report on the condition of the island, which will no doubt appear in due course in the form of a blue book. On our return to Monsieur Brander's office, where we had left one of our letters of introduction, we found the manager, with whom we had a long chat before returning on board. At 5 p.m., we went for a row in the glance and the flash to the coral reef, now allumed by the rays of the setting sun. Who can describe these wonderful gardens of the deep, on which we now gazed through ten and twenty fathoms of crystal water? Who can enumerate or describe the strange creatures moving about and darting hither and thither amid the masses of coral forming their submarine home? There were shells of rare shape, brighter than if they had been polished by the hand of the most skillful artists, crabs of all sizes, scuttling and sidling along, sea and enemies, spreading their delicate feelers in search of prey, and many other kinds of zoofights, crawling slowly over the reef, and scarlet, blue, yellow, gold, violet, spotted, striped, and winged fish, short, long, pointed, and blunt, of the most varied shapes were darting about like birds among the coral trees. At last, after frequent stoppages to allow time for admiration, we reached the outer reef, hauled the boat up and made her fast, and, in bathing shoes, started on a paddling expedition. Such a paddle it was to, over the coral, the surf breaking far above our heads, and the underflow, though only a few inches deep, nearly carrying me and the children off our legs. There were one or two native fishermen walking along the reef, whipping the water, but they appeared to have caught only a few small rockfish, pretty enough to look at, but not apparently good to eat. The shades of night compelled us to return to the yacht, laden with corals of many different species. After dinner the bay was illuminated by the torches of the native fishermen in canoes on the reef. Tom and I went to look at them, but we did not see them catch anything. Each canoe contained at least three people, one of whom propelled the boat, another stood up waving about a torch dipped in some resinous substance, which threw a strong light on the water, while the third stood in the boughs, armed with a spear made of a bundle of wires tied to a long pole, not at all unlike a gigantic egg whip with all its loops cut into points. This is aimed with great dexterity at the fish, who are either transfixed or jammed between the prongs. The fine figures of the natives lighted up by the flickering torches and standing out in bold relief against the dark blue starlit sky would have served as models for the sculptors of ancient Greece. Sunday, December 3rd. At a quarter to five this morning some of us landed to see the market, this being the great day when the natives come in from the country and surrounding villages by sea and by land in boats or on horseback to sell their produce and buy necessaries for the coming week. We walked through the shady streets to the two covered market buildings, partitioned across with great bunches of oranges, plantains, and many colored vegetables hung on strings. The mats, beds, and pillows still lying about suggested the idea that the salesmen and women had passed the night amongst their wares. The gaily and tired, good-looking, flower-decorated crowd of some seven or eight hundred people all chatting and laughing and some staring at us but not rudely looked much more like a chorus of opera singers dressed for their parts in some grand spectacle than ordinary market-going peasants. Whichever way one turned the prospect was an animated and attractive one. Here, beneath the shade of large, smooth, light-green banana leaves was a group of earnest bargainers for mysterious-looking fish, luscious fruit, and vegetables. There, sheltered by a drooping mango, whose rich clusters of purple and orange fruit hung in tempting proximity to lips and hands, another little crowd was similarly engaged. Orange trees were evidently favorite rendezvous and a row of flower sellers had established themselves in front of a hedge of scarlet hibiscus and double-caped jasmine. Every vendor carried his stock and trade, however small the articles composing it might be, on a bamboo pole across his shoulder, occasionally with rather ludicrous effect, as, for instance, when the thick but light pole supported only a tiny fish, six inches long at one end and two mangoes at the other. Everybody seemed to have brought to market just what he or she happened to have on hand, however small the quantity. The women would have one, two, or three new-led eggs in a leaf basket, one crab or lobster, three or four prawns, or one little trout. Under these circumstances, marketing for so large a party as ours was a somewhat lengthy operation, and I was much amused in watching our providor, as he went about collecting things by ones and twos, until he had piled a little cart quite full and had had it pushed off to the shady key. We strolled about until six o'clock, at which hour the purchasers began to disperse, and were just preparing to depart likewise when an old man, carrying half a dozen little fish and followed by a small boy laden with vegetables and fruit, introduced himself to us as the brother-in-law of Queen Pomeri IV and Chief of Papiti, and, after a short talk, invited us to visit him at his house. We consented and, following him, presently reached a break in the hedge and ditch that ran along the side of the road, beyond which was a track bordered by pineapples and draconais, leading to a superior sort of house, built in the native style and surrounded, as usual, by breadfruit, coconut, banana, mango, and guava trees. We were conducted into one large room, which contained two four-post bedsteads and four mattresses laid on the floor, two or three trunks and a table in the corner, on which were writing materials and a few books. The chief himself spoke of very little English, his son an equally small amount of French, so the conversation languished and, after a decent interval, we rose to depart. Our host asked if he might come and see my ship and procured pen, ink, and paper, not of the best quality, for me to write an order for him to do so, in case Lady Nod at home. He also presented me with some pictures of soldiers drawn by his son, about eleven years old of whom he seemed very proud and expressed his regret that we could not prolong our stay at the same time placing at our disposal the whole house and garden, including a fat sow and eleven little pigs. Several other visitors had arrived by this time, one of whom was on horseback and, as I was rather tired, he was asked if he would kindly allow me to ride down to the landing place. He replied that he would lend the horse to a gentleman, but not to me, as the saddle was not suitable. I explained that this made no difference to me and mounted, though I did not attempt to follow the fashion of the native ladies here, who ride like men. Our new friend was quite delighted at this and volunteered himself to show us something of the neighborhood. Accordingly leading my, or rather his, horse, and guiding him carefully over all the rough places, he took us through groves and gardens to the grounds belonging to the royal family. In which were plantations of various kinds of trees and a thick undergrowth of guava. After an enjoyable little expedition, we returned to the yacht at about half past seven, accompanied by the small boy who had been carrying our special purchases from the market all this time and by a little tale of followers. At half past eight we breakfasted, so as to be ready for the service at the native church at ten o'clock. But several visitors arrived in the interval and we had rather a bustle to get off in time after all. We landed close to the church under the shade of Unhubiscus, whose yellow and orange flowers dropped off into the sea and floated away amongst the coral rocks peeping out of the water here and there. The building appeared to be full to overflowing. The windows and doors were all wide open and many members of the congregation were seated on the steps, on the lawn, and on the grassy slope beyond, listening to a discourse in the native language. Most of the people wore the native costume, which, especially when made of black stuff and surmounted by a little sailor's hat, decorated with a bandana handkerchief or a wreath of flowers was very becoming. Sailor's hats are universally worn and are generally made by the natives themselves from plantain or palm leaves or from the inside fiber of the arrow root. Some rather elderly men and women in the front rows were taking notes of the sermon. I found afterwards that they belonged to the Bible class and that their great pride was to meet after the service and repeat by heart nearly all they had heard. This seems to show at least a desire to profit by the minister's efforts. After the usual service there were two Christenings. The babies were held at the font by the men who looked extremely sheepish. One baby was grandly attired in a book muslin dress with flounces, a tail at least six feet long dragging on the ground and a lace cap with cherry colored bows. The other was nearly as smart in a white worked long frock and cap trimmed with blue bows. The Christenings over there was a hymn, somewhat monotonous as to time and tune but sung with much fervor, followed by the administration of the sacrament in which coconut milk took the place of wine and breadfruit that of bread. The proper elements were originally used but experience proved that although the bread went round pretty well the cup was almost invariably emptied by the first two or three communicans, sometimes with unfortunate results. After service we drove through the shady avenues of the town into the open country, past trim little villas and sugarcane plantations until we turned off the main road and entered an avenue of mangoes. Once a rough road cut through a guava thicket leads to the main gate of Phuatua, footnote Phutua or Phuatua to make friends and footnote. A regular square Indian bungalow with thatched roofs, brandas covered with creepers, windows opening to the ground and steps leading to the gardens on every side, ample accommodation for stables, kitchens, servants being provided in numerous outbuildings. Soon after breakfast, Mrs. Brander dressed me in one of her own native costumes and we drove to the outskirts of a dense forest through which a footpath leads to the waterfall and fort of Phuatua. Here we found horses waiting for us on which we rode accompanied by the gentlemen on foot through a thick growth of palms, orange trees, guavas and other tropical trees, some of which were overhung and almost choked by luxuriant creepers, especially noticeable among the latter was a gorgeous purple passion flower with orange colored fruit as big as pumpkins that covered everything with its vigorous growth. The path was always narrow and sometimes steep and we had frequently almost to creep under the overhanging boughs or to turn aside to avoid a more than usually dense mass of creepers. We crossed several small rivers and at last reached a spot that commanded a view of the waterfall on the other side of a deep ravine. Just below the fort that crowns the height are river issues from a narrow cleft in the rock and falls at a single bound from the edge of an almost perpendicular cliff 600 feet high into the valley beneath. First one sees the rush of blue water gradually changing in its descent to a cloud of white spray which in its turn is lost in a rainbow of mist. Imagine that from beneath the shade of feathery palms and broad-leaved bananas through a network of ferns and creepers you are looking upon the Stabach in Switzerland magnified in height and with a background of verge-or-clad mountains and you will have some idea of the fall of Fa'a to Aua as we beheld it. After resting a little while on taking some sketches we climbed up to the fort itself a place of considerable interest where the natives held out to the very last against the French. Opposite the fort the last islander killed during the struggle for independence was shot while trying to escape. Situated in the center of a group of mountains with valleys branching off in all directions the fort could hold communication with every part of the coast and there can be little doubt that it would have held out much longer than it did but for the treachery of one of the garrison who led the invaders under cover of the night and by devious paths to the top of a hill commanding the position. Now the ramparts and earthworks are overrun and almost hidden by roses originally planted I suppose by the newcomers they have spread rapidly in all directions till the hillsides and summits are quite a blush with the fragrant bloom. Having enjoyed some strawberries and some icy cold water from a spring and heard a long account of the war from the guardian we found it was time to commence our return journey as it was now getting late. We descended much more quickly than we had come up but daylight had faded into the brief tropical twilight and that again into the shades of night ere we reached the carriage. Dinner and evening service brought the day to its inclusion and I retired not unwillingly to bed to dream of the charms of Tahiti. Sometimes I think that all I have seen must be only a long vision and that too soon I shall awaken to the cold reality. The flowers, the fruit, worn by everyone, the whole scene in its surroundings seem almost too fairy-like to have an actual existence. I am in despair when I attempt to describe all these things. I feel that I cannot do anything like justice to their merits and yet I fear all the time that what I say may be looked upon as an exaggeration. Long dreamy lawns and birds on happy wings keeping their homes in never rifled bowers filling with their murmurings. The sunny silence twixed the chiming hours. At daybreak next morning when I went on deck it was a dead calm. The sea breeze had not yet come in and there was not a ripple on the surface of the harbor. Outside two little white trading schooners lay becombed. Inside the harbor tug was getting up steam. Onshore a few gaily dressed natives were hurrying home with their early market produce and others were stretched lazily on the grass at the water's edge or on the benches under the trees. Our stores for the day a picturesque looking heap of fish, fruit, vegetables and flowers were on the steps waiting to be brought off and guarded in the meantime by natives in costumes of pink, blue, orange and a delicate pale green they specially effect. The light mists rolled gradually away from the mountaintops and there was every prospect of a fine day for a projected excursion. I went ashore to fetch some of the fresh gathered fruit and soon we had a feast of luscious pineapples, juicy mangoes, bananas and oranges with the dew still upon them. The mango is certainly the king of fruit. Its flavor is a combination of apricot and pineapple with the slightest possible suspicion of turpentine thrown in to give a pecancy to the whole. I dare say it sounds a strange mixture but I can only say that the result is delicious. To enjoy mangoes thoroughly you ought not to eat them in company but leaning over the side of the ship. In the early morning with your sleeves tucked up to your elbows using no knife and fork but tearing off the skin with your teeth and sucking the abundant juice we breakfasted at half past six and at a little before eight when ashore where we were met by a sort of moth or American wagon with three seats one behind the other all facing the horses and roomy and comfortable enough for two persons. Our transatlantic cousins certainly understand thoroughly and do their best to improve everything connected with the locomotion they love so well. A Chinese coachman and a thin but active pair of little horses completed the turnout. Maybell set beside the coachman and we four packed into two seats with all our belongings. Sun was certainly very powerful when we emerged from the shady groves of papiti but there was a nice breeze and sometimes we got under the shade of coconut trees. We reached Punawea at about half past nine and changed horses there. While waiting hot and thirsty under the shelter of some trees we asked for a coconut where upon a man standing by immediately tied a witty of banana leaves on his feet and proceeded to climb or rather hop up the nearest tree raising himself with his two hands and his feet alternately with an exactly similar action to that of our old friend the monkey on the stick. People who have tasted the coconut only in England can have no idea what a delicious fruit it really is when nearly ripe and freshly plucked. The natives removed the outer husk just leaving a little piece to serve as a foot for the pale brown cup to rest on. They then smooth off the top and you have an elegant base something like a mounted ostrich egg in appearance lined with the snowiest ivory and containing about three pints of cool sweet water. Why it is called milk I cannot understand for it is as clear as crystal and is always cool and refreshing though the nut in which it is contained has generally been exposed to the fiercest sun. In many of the coral islands there is brackish the natives drink scarcely anything but coconut milk and even here if you are thirsty and ask for a glass of water you are almost always presented with a coconut instead. From Punawaya onwards the scenery increased in beauty and the foliage was if possible more luxuriant than ever. The road ran through extensive coffee sugarcane in the corn, orange coconut and cotton plantations and vanilla carefully trained bamboos growing in the thick shade. Near Atamano we passed the house of a great cotton planter and shortly afterwards the curious huts raised on platforms built by some islanders he has imported from the king's mill group to work his plantations. They are a wild savage looking set very inferior to the Tahitians in appearance. The cotton mills which formerly belonged to a company are now all falling to ruin and in many other parts of the island we passed cotton plantations uncleaned and neglected and fast running to seed and waste. So long as the American war lasted a slight profit could be made upon Tahitian cotton but now it is hopeless to attempt to cultivate it with any prospect of adequate return. The sun was now at its height and we longed to stop and bathe in one of the many freshwater streams we crossed and afterwards to eat our lunch aside but our Chinese coachman always pointed onwards and said, eaty much presently horses eaty too. At last we arrived at a little house shaded by coconut trees and built in an enclosure near the seashore with restaurant written up over the door. We drove in and were met by the proprietor with what must have been rather an embarrassing multiplicity of women and children about his heels. The cloth was not laid but the rooms looked clean and there was a heap of tempting looking fish and fruit in a corner. We assured him we were starving and begged for lunch in as soon as possible and in the meantime went for a dip in the sea. But the water was shallow and the sun made the temperature at least 90 degrees so that our bath was not very refreshing. On our return we found the table most enticingly laid out with little scarlet crayfish embedded in cool green lettuce leaves fruit of various kinds good wine and fair bread all arranged on a clean though course tablecloth. There was also a savory omelette so good that Tom asked for a second when to our astonishment there appeared a plump roast fowl with most artistic gravy and fried potatoes. Then came a biftec en champignon and some excellent coffee to wind up with. On making the host our compliments I made the cuisine moi-même madame. In the course of our repast we again tasted the breadfruit but did not much appreciate it though it was this time cooked in the native fashion roasted underground by means of hot stones. Our coachman was becoming impatient so we bade for well to our host and resumed our journey. We crossed innumerable streams on our way generally full not only of water but also of bathers are very fond of water and always bathed once or twice a day in the fresh streams even after having been in the sea. In many places along the road people were making hay from short grass and in others they were weighing at preparatory to sending it into town but they say the grass grown here is not at all nourishing for horses and some people import it from Valparaiso. The road round the island is called the broom road convicts were employed in its original formation and now it is the punishment for anyone getting drunk in any part of the island to be set to work to sweep repair and keep in order a piece of the road in the neighborhood of his dwelling. It is the one good road of Tahiti encircling the larger of the two peninsulas close to the seashore and surmounting the low mountain range in the center of the isthmus. Before long we found ourselves close to Taravau the narrow strip of land connecting the two peninsulas into which Tahiti is divided and commenced to ascend the hills that form the backbone of the island. We climbed up and up reaching the summit at last to behold a magnificent prospect on all sides. Then a short sharp descent a long drive over grass roads through a rich forest and again a brief ascent brought us to our sleeping quarters for the night the Hotel de Isme situated in a valley in the midst of a dense grove of coconuts and bananas kept by two retired French sailors who came out to meet us and conducted us up a flight of steps on the side of the mud bank to the four rooms forming the hotel. These were two sleeping apartments a salon and a sale à manger the walls of which consisted of flat pieces of wood their own width apart something like Venetian shutters We walked about 400 yards along a grassy road to the sea where Maybell and I paddled about in shallow water and amused ourselves by picking up coral shells and bish to mare and watching the blue and yellow fish darting in and out among the rocks until at last we found a place in the coral which made a capital deep water bath. Dressing again was not such a pleasant affair owing to the mosquitoes biting us in the most provoking manner afterwards we strolled along the shore which was covered with coconuts and driftwood washed thither I suppose from some of the adjacent islands and on our way back to the hotel we gathered a handful of choice exotics and graceful ferns with which to decorate the table. The dinner itself really deserves a detailed description if only to show that one may make the tour of Tahiti without necessarily having to rough it in the matter of food. We had crayfish and salad as a preliminary and next an excellent soup followed by delicious little oysters that cling to the boughs and roots of the guava and mangrove trees overhanging the sea. Then came a large fish named unknown. The inevitable bouillie and cabbage codlets a palm, biftec or champignon succeeded by crabs and other shellfish including warali a delicate flavored kind of lobster an omelette or abricot and dessert of tropical fruits we were also supplied with good wine both red and white and bottled beer. I ought in truth to add that the cockroaches were rather lively and plentiful but they did not form a serious drawback to our enjoyment. After dinner however when I went to see Maybell to bed hundreds of these creatures about three inches long and broad in proportion scuttled away as I lighted the candle and while we were sitting outside we could see troops of them marching up and down in rows between the crevices and the walls. Then there were the mosquitoes who hummed and buzzed about us and with whom alas we were doomed to make a closer acquaintance. Our bed was fitted with the very thickest calico mosquito curtains impervious to the air but not to the venomous little insects who found their way in through every tiny opening in spite of all our efforts to exclude them. Tuesday December 5th the heat in the night was suffocating we both woke up feeling half stifled. There was a dim light shining into the room and Tom said thank goodness it's getting daylight but on striking my repeater we found to our regret that this was a mistake. In the moonlight I could see columns of nasty brown cockroaches ascending the bed posts crawling along the top of the curtains dropping with a thud onto the bed and then descending over the side to the ground. At last I could stand it no longer and opening the curtains cautiously I seized my slippers knocked half a dozen brown beasts out of each wrapped myself in a poncho previously well shaken gathered my garments around me surmounted a barricade I had constructed overnight to keep the pigs and chickens out of our doorless room and fled to the garden all was still the only sign of life being a light in a neighboring hut and I sat out in the open air in comparative comfort and even indoors again by torrents of rain at about half past two o'clock I plunged into bed again taking several mosquitoes with me which hummed and buzzed and devoured us to their hearts content till dawn then I got up and walked down to the beach to bathe and returned to breakfast at six o'clock refreshed but still disfigured it is now the depth of winter and the middle of the rainy season in Tahiti but luckily for us it is nearly always the last time in the daytime at night however there is often a perfect deluge which floods the houses and gardens turns the streams into torrents but washes and refreshes the vegetation and leaves the landscape brighter and greener than before at half past seven the horses were put to and we were just ready for a start when down came the rain again more heavily than before it was some little time before it ceased enough to allow us to start along grassy roads and through forests but progressing rather slowly owing to the soaked condition of the ground if you can imagine the Ku hot houses magnified and multiplied to an indefinite extent and laid out as a gentleman's park traversed by numerous grassy roads fringed with coconut palms and commanding occasional glimpses of sea and beach and coral reefs you will have some faint idea of the scene through which our road lay many rivers we crossed and many we stuck in the gentleman having more than once to take off their shoes and stockings tuck up their trousers jump into the water and literally put their shoulders to the wheel sometimes we drove out into the shallow sea till it seemed doubtful when and where we should make the land again sometimes we climbed up a solid road blasted out of the face of the black cliffs or crept along the shore of the tranquil lagoon and grabbed into their holes as they felt the shake of the approaching carriage palms and paciflora abounded the latter being specially magnificent it seems wonderful how their thin stems can support at a height of 30 or 40 feet from the ground the masses of huge orange colored fruit which depend in strings from their summits at the third river not far from where it fell into the sea we thought it was time to lunch so we stopped the carriage gave the horses their provinder and sat down to enjoy ourselves after a long drive it was early in the afternoon before we started again and soon after this we were met by fresh horses sent out from Pape New footnote from Pape Water and New Abundance and footnote so it was not long before we found ourselves near Point Venus where we once more came upon a good piece of road which we rattled to the plains outside Pepiti we reached the key at about 7 o'clock and our arrival having been observed several friends came to see us and to inquire how we had fared before we started on our excursion instructions had been given that the sunbeam should be painted white for the sake of coolness and we were all very curious to see how she would look in her new dress but unfortunately the wet weather has delayed the work and there is still a good deal to do Wednesday December 6th it was raining fast at half past four this morning which was rather provoking as I wanted to take some photographs from the yacht's deck before the sea breeze sprang up but the weather cleared while I was choosing my position and fixing my camera and I was enabled to take what I hoped may prove to be some successful photographs Monsieur Brander's Mailship a sailing vessel of about 600 tons was still leave for San Francisco at 8 o'clock and at 7 Tom started in the flash to take our letters on board the passage to San Francisco occupies 25 days on an average and is performed with great regularity once a month each way the vessels employed on this line 3 in number are well built and have good accommodation for passengers and they generally carry a full cargo in the present instance it consists of fungus pang for china oranges for San Francisco a good many packages of sundries and a large consignment of pearls entrusted to the captain at the last moment so brisk is the trade carried on between Tahiti and the United States that the cost of this vessel was more than covered by the Frates the first year after she was built in addition to these ships there are those which run backwards and forwards to Valparaiso and the little island trading schooners so that the Tahitians can boast of quite a respectable fleet of vessels not imposing perhaps in point of tonnage but as smart and serviceable looking as could be desired the trading schooners are really beautiful little craft and I am sure that if well kept and properly manned they would show to no discredit among our smart yachts at cows not a day passes without one or more entering or leaving the harbor returning from or bound to the lonely isles with which the southwest portion of the Pacific is studded they are provided with a patent log but their captains who are intelligent men do not care much about a chronometer as the distances to be run are comparatively short and are easily judged Mr. Godefroy gave us rather an amusing account of the manner in which their negotiations with the natives are conducted the more civilized islanders are not beyond barter and prefer hard cash in American dollars for their pearls, shells, coconuts sandalwood, etc when they have received the money they remain on deck for some time discussing their bargains among themselves then they peep down through the open skylights into the cabin below where the most attractive prints and the gaudiest articles of apparel are temptingly displayed alongside a few bottles of rum and brandy and a supply of tobacco long before the bait is swallowed down go the natives the goods are sold and the dollars have once more found their way back into the captains hands I had a long talk with one of the natives who arrived today from Flint Island a most picturesque looking individual dressed in scarlet and orange colored flannel and a mass of black shiny curly hair Flint Island is a place whose existence has been disputed it having been more than once searched for by ships in vain therefore particularly interesting to meet someone who had actually visited and had just returned from the spot in question that islands do occasionally disappear entirely in these parts there can be little doubt the Tahitian schooners were formally in the habit of trading with a small island close to Rarotonga whose name I forget but about four years ago when preceding thither with the usual three monthly cargo of provisions prints, etc we find the island of which no trace has since been seen two missionaries from Rarotonga are believed to have been on it at the time of its disappearance and to have shared its mysterious fate Thursday December 7th at 8 o'clock I took Maybell and Muriel for a drive in a pony carriage which had been kindly lent me but with a hint that the horse was rather méchant sometimes he behaved well on the present occasion however we had a pleasant drive in the outskirts of the town for a couple of hours just as we returned a gentleman came and asked me if I should like to see some remarkably fine pearls and on my gladly consenting he took me to his house where I saw some pearls certainly worth going to look at but too expensive for me one pear-shaped gem alone having been valued at one thousand pounds I was told they came from a neighboring island and I was given two shells containing pearls in various stages of formation it was now time to go on board to receive some friends whom we had invited to breakfast and who arrived at about half past eleven after breakfast and a chat and an examination of the photograph books etc. we all landed and went to see Monsieur Brander's stores where all sorts of requisites for fitting out ships and their crews can be procured it is surprising to find how plentiful are the supplies of the series and even the luxuries of civilized life in this far away corner of the globe you can even get ice here for the manufacture of which a retired English infantry officer has set up an establishment with great success but what interested me most were the products of this and the neighboring islands there were tons of exquisitely tented pearl shells six or eight inches in diameter formerly a valuable article of commerce but now worth comparatively little the pearls that came out of them had unfortunately been sent away to Liverpool one thousand pounds worth by this mornings and five thousand pounds by the last mail ship then there was vanilla a most precarious crop which needs to be carefully watered and shaded from the first moment it is planted and which must be gathered before it is ripe and dried and matured in a moist heat between blankets and feather beds in order that the pods may not crack and allow the essence to escape we saw also edible fungus exported to San Francisco and then to Hong Kong solely for the use of the Chinese Trapang or Bish Demer a sort of sea slug or holothria which either living or dead fresh or dried looks equally untempting but is highly esteemed by the celestials copra or dried coconut kernels broken into small pieces in order that they may stow better and exported to England and other parts where the oil is expressed and oil cake formed and various other articles of commerce the trade of the island is fast increasing the average invoice value of the exports having reason from 8400 pounds in 1845 to 98000 pounds in 1874 these totals are exclusive of the value of the pearls which would increase it by at least 8000 pounds or 4000 pounds I speak from personal experience when I say that every necessary of life on board ship and many luxuries can be procured at Tahiti American tinned fruits and vegetables beat English ones hollow preserved milk is uncertain sometimes better sometimes worse than what one buys at home tinned salmon is much better Australian mutton, New Zealand beef and South Sea pork leave nothing to be desired in the way of preserved meat fresh beef, mutton and butter are hardly procurable and the latter when preserved is unedible I can never understand why they don't take to potting and salting down for export the best butter at some large Irish or Devonshire farm instead of reserving that process for butter which is just on the turn and is already almost unfit to eat the result being that long before it has reached a hot climate it is only fit to grease carriage wheels with butter it could be done and I feel sure it would pay as good butter would fetch almost any price in many places some Devonshire butter which we brought with us from England is as good now after 10,000 miles in the tropics as it was when first put on board but a considerable proportion is very bad and was evidently not in proper condition in the first instance we had intended going afterwards to the coral reef with the children to have a picnic there and had accordingly given the servants leave to go ashore for the evening but it came on to rain heavily and we were obliged to return to the yacht instead the servants had however already availed themselves of the permission they had received and there was therefore no one on board in their department so we had to unpack our basket and have our picnic on deck under the awning instead of on the reef which I think was almost as great a treat to the children we have I am sorry to say had a good deal of trouble with some of our men here one disappeared directly we arrived and has never been seen since another came off suffering from delirium tremens and epileptic fits brought on by drink his cries and struggles were horrible to hear and witness it took four strong men to hold him and the doctor was up with him all last night nearly all the ships that come here have been at sea for a long time and the men are simply wild when they get ashore some of the people take advantage of this state of things and the consequence is that it is hardly safe for a sailor to drink a glass of grog for fear that it should be drug no doubt there are respectable places to which the men could resort but it is not easy for a stranger to find them out and our men seem to have been particularly unfortunate in this respect Tom talks of leaving two of them behind and shipping four fresh hands as our number is already rather short Friday December 8th I persuaded Tom to make another excursion to the coral reef this morning and at five o'clock he and Maybel and I set off in the flash just as the sun was rising we had a delightful row past the quarantine island footnote the native name is moktuiti i.e. little island and footnote to the portion of the reef on the other side of the harbor where we had not yet been and where I think the coral plants and flowers and bushes showed to greater advantage than ever as they were less crowded and the occasional patches of sandy bottom enabled one to see them better we were so engrossed in our examination of these marvels of the deep and of the fish with which the water abounded that we found ourselves at ground several times and our return to the yacht was consequently delayed after breakfast I had another visit from a man with war cloaks shell belts, tapa and rava rava which he brought on board for my inspection it was a difficult task to make him understand what I meant but at last I thought I had succeeded in impressing on his mind the fact that I wished to buy them and that they would be paid for at the store the sequel unfortunately proved that I was mistaken at nine o'clock we set out for the shore and after landing drove along the same road by which we had returned from our excursion round the island footnote we paid a brief visit to Point Venus whence Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus on November 9th 1769 and we saw the lighthouse and tamarind tree which now marked the spot the ladder from which we brought away some seed was undoubtedly planted by Captain Cook with his own hand and footnote after seeing as much of the places our limited time would allow we drove over to Fattuua where we found the children and maids the grand piano every table on the drawing room floor were spread with the presence we were expected to take away with us there were bunches of scarlet feathers two or three hundred in number from the tail of the tropic bird which are only allowed to be possessed and worn by chiefs and which are of great value as each bird produces only two feathers pearl shells with corals growing on them red coral from the islands on the equator curious sponges and seaweed cloth and rava rava fringe arrow root and palm leaf hats coconut drinking vessels fine mats plated in many patterns and other specimens of the products of the island all the members of the royal family at present in Tahiti had been invited to meet us and arrived in due course including the heir apparent and his brother and sister all the guests were dressed in the native costume with wreaths on their heads and necks and even the servants including our own whom I hardly recognized were similarly decorated wreaths had also been prepared for us three of fragrant yellow flowers for Maybell, Muriel and myself and others of a different kind for the gentlemen when the feast was ready the prince offered me his arm and we all walked in a procession to a grove of bananas in the garden through two lines of native servants who at a given signal saluted us with three hearty English cheers we then continued our walk till we arrived at a house built in the native style by the side of a rocky stream like a scotch bird the uprights of the house were banana trees transplanted with their leaves on so as to shade the roof which was formed of platted coconut palm leaves each about 15 feet long laid transversely across bamboo rafters from these light green supports and the dark green roof depended the yellow and brown leaves they've woven into graceful garlands and elegant festoons the floor was covered with the finest mats with black and white borders and the center strewn with broad green plantain leaves to form the tablecloth on which were laid baskets and dishes made of leaves sewed together and containing all sorts of native delicacies there were oysters lobsters were Ali and crawfish stewed chicken boiled sucking pig plantains breadfruit, melons, bananas, oranges and strawberries before each guest was placed a half coconut full of salt water another full of chopped coconut a third full of fresh water and another full of milk two pieces of bamboo a basket of poi half a breadfruit and a platter of green leaves the latter being changed with each course we took our seats on the ground round the green table an address was first delivered in the native language grace was then said and we commenced the first operation was to mix the salt water and the chopped coconut together so as to make an appetizing sauce into which we were supposed to dip each morsel we ate the empty salt water bowl being filled up with fresh water with which to wash our fingers and lips we were tolerably successful in the use of our fingers as substitutes for knives and forks the only drawback was that the dinner had to be eaten amid such a scene of novelty and beauty that our attention was continually distracted there was so much to admire both in the house itself and outside it after we had finished all the servants sat down to dinner and from Medeus at one end of the room we surveyed the bright and animated scene the gentlemen and some of the ladies too meanwhile enjoying their cigarettes when we got down to Papiti at about half past four so many things had to be done that it seemed impossible to accomplish a start this evening first of all the two princes came on board and were shown round after which there were accounts to be paid linen to be got on board and various other preparations to be made presently it was discovered that the cloaks I had purchased or thought I had purchased this morning had not turned up and that our saddles had been left at Fataoua on Sunday and had been forgotten the latter were immediately sent for but although someone went on shore to look after the cloaks nothing could be heard of them so I suppose I failed after all in making the man understand that he was to take them to the store and be paid for them there at six o'clock the pilot sent word that it was no longer safe to go out but steam was already up and Tom therefore decided to go outside the reef and their wait for the people and goods that were still on shore at this moment the saddles appeared in one direction and the rest of the party in another they were soon on board the anchor was raised and we began to steam slowly ahead taking a last regretful look at Pepiti as we left the harbor by the time we were outside it was dark the pilot went ashore and we steamed full speed ahead after dinner and indeed until we went to bed at half past eleven the lights along the shore were clearly visible and the form of the high mountains behind could be distinguished goodbye lovely Tahiti I wonder if I shall ever see you again it makes me quite sad to think how small is the chance of my doing so End of Chapter 14 Chapter 15 of A Voyage in the Sunbeam by Anna Brassie this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Debbie Cross, Taos, New Mexico Tahiti to Sandwich Islands, Kilauea by day and by night me thinks it should have been impossible not to love all things in a world so filled where the breeze warbles and the mute still air is music slumbering on her instrument Saturday December 9th After leaving the harbor of Pepiti we passed close to the island of Aimeo on which we have gazed so often and with so much pleasure during the past week it is considered the most beautiful island of the Georgian group and we all regret it that we were unable to spare the time to visit it from afar it is rather like the Dolomite mountains in the Tyrol and it is said that the resemblance is even more striking on a near approach the harbor is a long narrow gorge between high mountains clothed with palms oranges and plantains and is one of the most remarkable places. Huahine is the island of which the Earl and the Doctor speak in South Sea bubbles in terms of such enthusiasm and Rerotanga is the head and center of all the missionary efforts of the present time in these parts. The weather today was fine though we had occasional squalls of wind and rain we were close hauled and the motion of the vessel was violent and disagreeable I was very seasick and was consoled to find several of the men were so too a head sea or nearly so is quite a novel experience for us of late and we none of us like the change Sunday December 10th another squally day still close hauled and even then not on our course we had a short service at 11 but it was as much as I could do to remain on deck Monday December 11th very like yesterday we passed close to Flint and Vostok Islands at the former of which I should have much like to land but it was a good deal to leeward of us there is no anchorage and the landing which is always difficult and sometimes impossible has to be affected in native surf boats it would have been interesting to see a guano island of which this is a perfect specimen we had hoped to make the Caroline islands before dark not the Caroline islands proper but a group of low islets whose position is very uncertainly indicated in the different charts and books but the wind fell light and as we could see nothing of them at sunset although the view from the masted extended at least 15 miles in every direction it was decided at 8 o'clock to put the ship about to ensure not running on them or any of the surrounding reefs in the night the currents run very swiftly between these islands and it is impossible to tell your exact position even a few hours after having taken an observation Tuesday December 12th the wind freshened immediately after we had changed our course last night and fell light directly we had put about again this morning so that it was fully 9 a.m. before we had regained our position of yesterday evening our compass cards were getting worn out and Tom gave out new ones before leaving Tahiti I was very much amused tonight when as usual just before going to bed I went to have a look at the compass and see how the yacht was lying and asked the man at the wheel what course he was steering north and by west half east ma'am he replied that's a funny course I said tell me again he repeated his statement whereupon I remarked that the course was quite a new one to me oh yes ma'am he answered compass cards this man is one of the best helmsmen in the ship but certainly seems to be an indifferent scholar Friday December 15th we crossed the line at half past four this morning father Neptune was to have paid us another visit in the evening but the crew were busy and there were some difficulties about arranging the details of the ceremony the children were obliged therefore to be content with their usual game of drilling on that they were able to muster for soldiers after the fashion of Captain Brown's rifle practice are marching up and down the decks to the strains of Jim Butts fiddle playing Tommy make room for your uncle accompanied by the somewhat discordant noise of their own drums these amusements after sunset and scrubbing decks and working at the pumps before sunrise give us all the much needed exercise it is impossible to take in the heat of the daytime Saturday December 16th at one thirty a.m. I was awoke by the strains of sweet music and could not at first imagine where I could be or whence the sounds came it proved to be the performance of some weights on board I do not know who originated the idea but it was a very good one and was excellently carried out everybody assembled on deck by degrees and the songsters enjoyed a glass of grog when their labors were finished after which we all went to bed again it had fallen calm yesterday evening and the funnel was raised at midnight but the breeze sprang up again today and at noon the fires were banked and the sails were set of course it then fell calm again and at six o'clock we were once more proceeding under steam there was one squall in the night accompanied by the most tremendous rain I ever saw or heard we talk of tropical rain in England but the real thing is very different it seemed just as if the bottom of an enormous cistern overhead had suddenly been removed allowing the contents to fall exactly on the spot where we were the water came down in sheets and was soon three or four inches deep on the deck though it was pouring out of the scuppers all the time as fast as possible Sunday December 17th a showery morning we had communion service and hymns at eleven in the afternoon it was too rough for church and Tom was unable to deliver his intended address to the men Monday December 18th we were close hauled with a strong northeast wind and heavy squalls and showers at intervals we saw several flying fish and a good many birds apparently hovering over a shoal of whales or grompuses it is wonderful how little life we have seen on this portion of our voyage Tuesday December 19th a fine day wind rather more fair the sea is still rough and disagreeable I tried to work hard all day but found it very difficult Thursday December 21st wind variable and baffling sometimes calm sometimes squally sometimes an ice breeze sales were hoisted and lowered at least a dozen times and fires were banked more than once Friday December 22nd at 6 30 a.m. we made the island of Hawaii rather too much to leeward as we had been carried by the strong current at least 18 miles out of our course we were therefore obliged to beat up to windward in the course of which operation we passed a large bark running before the wind the first ship we had seen since leafing Tahiti and also a fine whale blowing close to us we could not see the high land in the center of the island owing to the mist in which it was enveloped and there was great excitement and much speculation on board to the principal points which were visible at noon the observations taken proved that Tom was right in his opinion as to our exact position the wind dropped as we approached the coast where we could see the heavy surf dashing against the black lava cliffs rushing up the little creeks and throwing its spray in huge fountain like jets high above the tall coconut trees far inland we sailed along close to the shore and by 2 o'clock we're near the entrance to the Bay of Hilo in answer to our signal for a pilot a boat came off with a man who said he knew the entrance to the harbor but informed us that the proper pilot had gone to Honolulu on a pleasure trip it was a clear afternoon the mountains Monakia and Monaloa could be plainly seen from top to bottom their giant crusts rising nearly 14,000 feet above our heads their tree and fern clad slopes seemed with deep gulches or ravines down each of which a fertilizing river ran into the sea inside the reef the white coral shore on which the waves seemed too lazy to break is fringed with a belt of coconut palms amongst which as well as on the hill sides the little white houses are prettily dotted all are surrounded by gardens so full of flowers that the bright patches of color were plainly visible even from the deck of the yacht the harbor is large and is exposed only to one bad wind which is most prevalent during the winter months still with good ground tackle there is not much to be feared and there is one particular spot sheltered by the blonde reef which is almost always safe here accordingly we have taken up our station though it is rather far from the town sometimes it is impossible to land at Hilo itself for days together but there is fortunately a little creek where we can find coconut island which is always accessible this afternoon the weather was all that could be desired and at 3 o'clock we landed and went straight to Mr. Conway's store to make arrangements for going to the volcano of Kilauea tomorrow Mr. Conway sent a man off at once on horseback to warn the people at the halfway house and at volcano house to make preparations to receive our party a necessary precaution as visitors to the island are not numerous we can only arrive by the monthly steamer from Honolulu having arranged to this matter we went for a stroll among neat houses in pretty gardens to the suspension bridge over the river followed by a crowd of girls all decorated with wreaths and garlands and wearing almost the same dress that we had seen at Tahiti a colored long-sleeved loose gown reaching to the feet the natives here appear to affect duller colors than those we have experienced to lilac, drab, brown and other dark prints being the favorite tints whenever I stopped to look at a view one of the girls would come behind me and throw a lay of flowers over my head fasten it round my neck and then run away laughing to a distance to judge of effect the consequence was that before the end of our walk I had about a dozen wreaths of various colors and lengths hanging round me just as if I had a fur tip it on they made me so hot and yet I did not like to take them off for fear of hurting the poor girl's feelings we walked along the river bank and crossed to the other side just below the rapids jumping over the narrow channels through which the water hurried and rushed some of our attendant girls carried Muriel and the dogs and springing barefooted from rock to rock led us across the stream and up the precipitous banks on the other side there is a sort of hotel here kept by a Chinaman where everything is scrupulously clean and the food good though plain it is rather more like a lodging house than a hotel however you hire your rooms and are expected to make special arrangements for board before we got back to the yacht it had become dark the moon had risen and we could see the reflection in the sky of the fires in the crater of Kilauea I do hope the volcano will be active tomorrow two days in the same condition and visitors have frequently remained in the neighborhood of the crater for a week without seeing an eruption the starlit sky, the bright young moon and the red cloud from Kilauea floating far above our heads made up a most beautiful scene from the deck of the sunbeam Saturday, December 23rd the boatmen who brought us off last night had told us that Saturday was market day at Hilo and that at five o'clock the natives would come in from the surrounding country in crowds to buy their Sunday and Christmas day provisions and to bring their own produce for sale we accordingly gave orders that the boat should come for us at a quarter to five shortly before which we got up and went on deck we waited patiently in the dark until half past five when, no boat appearing from the shore the dinghy was manned and we landed the lights in the town were all out the day had hardly dawned and there were no signs of life to be seen at last we met two men who told us we should find the market near the river and offered to show us the way but when we arrived at the spot they had indicated we found only a large butcher's shop and were informed that the regular market for fish, fruit and other things was held at five o'clock in the afternoon instead of in the morning we had thus had all our trouble for nothing and the non-appearance of the boat was fully explained presently we met a friend who took us to his home it was a pretty walk by the side of the river and through numerous gardens fresh with the morning dew he gave us the latest news from the United States and presented us with oranges and flowers with which we returned to the yacht we were on board again by seven and having packed up our things and sent them ashore had an early breakfast and landed in readiness for the conversion to Kilauea the baggage animals ought already to have started but we found they had been kept back in case we should happen to forget anything quite a crowd assembled to see us off and a good deal of gossip had to be got through so that it was half past nine before we were all mounted and fairly off the first part of our way lay along the flat ground gay with bright scarlet Guernsey lilies and shaded by coconut trees between the town and the sea then we struck off to the right and soon left the town behind us emerging into the open country at a distance from the sea Hilauea looks as green as the emerald isle itself but on a closer inspection the grass turns out to be coarse and dry and many of the trees looks grubby and half dead except in the gulches and the deep holes between the hills the island is covered with lava in many places of so recent a deposit that it has not yet had time to decompose and there is consequently only a thin layer of soil on its surface this soil being however very rich vegetation flourishes luxuriously for a time but as soon as the roots have penetrated a certain depth and have come into contact with the lava the trees wither up and perish like the seed that fell on stony ground the Hilauea trees form a handsome feature in the landscape with their thick tall stems full foliage and light crimson flowers the fruit is a small pink waxy looking apple slightly acid, pleasant to the taste when you are thirsty the candle nut trees attain to a large size and their light green foliage and white flowers have a very graceful appearance most of the foliage however is spoiled by a deposit of black dust not unlike what one sees on the leaves in a London garden I do not know whether this is caused by the fumes of the not far distant volcano or whether it is some kind of mold or fungus after riding about ten miles in the blazing sun we reached a forest where the vegetation was quite tropical though not so varied in its beauties as that of Brazil or of the still more lovely south sea islands there were ferns of various descriptions in the forest and many fine trees entwined, supported or suffocated by numerous climbing plants amongst which were blue and lilac convolvulus and magnificent passion flowers the protection from the sun afforded by this dense mass of foliage was extremely grateful but the air of the forest was close and stifling and at the end of five miles we were glad to emerge once more into the open the rest of the way lay over the hard lava through a sort of desert of scrubby vegetation occasionally relieved by clumps of trees and hollows more than once we had a fine view of the sea stretching away into the far distance though it was sometimes mistaken for the bright blue sky until the surf could be seen breaking upon the black rocks amid the encircling groves of coconut trees the sun shone fiercely at intervals and the rain came down several times in torrents the pace was slow, the road was dull and dreary and many were the inquiries made for the halfway house long before we reached it we had still two miles farther to go in the course of which we were drenched by a heavy shower at last we came to a native house crowded with people where they were making tapa or kappa the cloth made from the bark of the paper mulberry here we stopped for a few minutes until our guide hurried us on pointing out the church and the halfway house just ahead we were indeed glad to dismount after our weary ride and rest in the comfortable rocking chairs under the veranda it is a small white wooden building overhung with orange trees with a pond full of ducks and geese outside it and a few scattered out buildings including a cooking hunt close by a good looking man was busy broiling beef steaks stewing chickens and boiling taro and we had soon a plentiful repast set before us with the very weakest of weak tea as a beverage the woman of the house which contained some finely worked mats and clean looking beds showed us some tapa cloth together with the mallets and other instruments used in its manufacture and a beautiful orange colored lay or feather necklace which she had made herself the cloth and mallets were for sale but no inducement would persuade her to part with the necklace it was the first she had ever made and I was afterwards told that the natives are superstitiously careful to preserve the first specimen of their handiwork of whatever kind it may be a woman dressed in a pink haloku and a light green apron had followed us hither from the cottages we had first stopped at and I noticed at the time that though she was chatting and laughing with the female companion she did not seem very well whilst we were at lunch a sudden increase to her family took place and before we were ready to start I paid her and her infant a visit she was then sitting up apparently as well as ever and seemed to look upon the recent event as a very light matter directly we had finished our meal about three o'clock the guide came and tried to persuade us that as the baggage meals had not yet arrived it would be too late for us to go on today and that we had better spent the night where we were and start early in the morning we did not however approve of this arrangement so the horses were saddled and leaving word that the baggage meals were to follow on as soon as possible we mounted and set off for the volcano house we had not gone far before we were again overtaken by a shower which once more drenched us to the skin the scene was certainly one of extreme beauty the moon was hidden by a cloud and the prospect lighted only by the red glare of the volcano which hovered before and above us the Israelites pillar of fire giving us hopes of a splendid spectacle when we should at last reach the long wished for crater presently the moon shone forth again and gleamed and glistened on the raindrops and silver grasses till they looked like fireflies and glow worms at last becoming impatient we proceeded slowly on our way until we met a man on horseback who hailed us in a cheery voice with an unmistakable American accent it was the landlord of the volcano house Mr. Kane who, fearing from the delay that we had met with some mishap had started to look for us he explained that he thought it was only his duty to look after and help ladies visiting the volcano and added that he had intended going down as far as the halfway house in search of us it was a great relief to know that we were in the right track and I quite enjoyed the gallop through the dark forest though there was barely sufficient light to enable me to discern the horse immediately in front of me when we emerged from the wood we found ourselves at the very edge of the old crater the bed of which, three or four hundred feet beneath us was surrounded by steep and in many places overhanging sides it looked like an enormous cauldron four or five miles in width full of a mass of cooled pitch in the center was the still glowing stream of dark red lava flowing slowly towards us and in every direction were red hot patches and flames and smoke issuing from the ground a bit of the black country at night with all the coal heaps on fire would give you some idea of the scene yet the first sensation is rather one of disappointment as one expects greater activity on the part of the volcano but the new crater was still to be seen containing the lake of fire with steep walls rising up in the midst of the sea of lava twenty minutes hard riding brought us to the door of the volcano house from which issued the comforting light of a large wood fire reaching halfway up the chimney native garments replaced maybells and mine dripping habits and we sat before the fire in luxury until the rest of the party arrived after some delay supper was served cooked by our host and accompanied by excellent basses beer no wine or spirits being procurable on the premises Mr. Cain made many apologies for shortcomings explaining that his cook had run away that morning and that his wife was not able to do much to assist him as her first baby was only a week old everything at this inn is most comfortable though the style is rough and ready the interior is just now decorated for Christmas with wreaths and evergreens and ferns and bunches of white plumes not unlike Reva Reva made from the pith of the silver grass the beds and bedrooms are clean but limited in number there being only three of the latter altogether the rooms are separated only by partitions of grass seven feet high so that there is plenty of ventilation and the heat of the fire permeates the whole building but you must not talk secrets in these dormitories or be too restless I was amused to find in the morning that I had unconsciously poked my hand through the wall of our room during the night the grandeur of the view in the direction of the volcano increased as the evening wore on the fiery cloud above the present crater augmented in size and depth of color the extinct crater glowed red in 30 or 40 different places and clouds of white vapor issued from every crack and crevice in the ground into the sulfurous smell with which the atmosphere was laden our room faced the volcano there were no blinds and I drew back the curtains and lay watching the splendid scene until I fell asleep Sunday December 24th Christmas Eve I was up at four o'clock to gaze once more on the wondrous spectacle that lay before me the molten lava still flowed in many places the red cloud over the fiery lake was bright as ever and steam was slowly ascending in every direction over hill and valley till as the sun rose it became difficult to distinguish clearly the sulfurous vapors from the morning mists we walked down to the sulfur banks about a quarter of a mile from the volcano house and burnt our gloves and boots in our endeavors to procure crystals the beauty of which generally disappeared after a very short exposure to the air we succeeded however in finding a few good specimens and by wrapping them at once in paper in cotton wool and putting them into a bottle hoped to bring them home uninjured on our return we found a gentleman who had just arrived from cow and who proposed to join us in our expedition to the crater and at three o'clock in the afternoon we set out a party of eight with two guides and three porters to carry our wraps and provisions and to bring back specimens before leaving the inn the landlord came to us and begged us in an earnest and confidential manner to be very careful to do exactly what our guides told us and especially to follow in their footsteps exactly when returning in the dark he added, there has never been an accident happen to anybody from my house and I should feel real mean if one did but there have been a power of narrow escapes first of all we descended the precipice 300 feet in depth forming the wall of the old crater but now thickly covered with vegetation it is so steep in many places that flights of zigzag wooden steps have been inserted in the face of the cliff in some places in order to render the descent practicable at the bottom we stepped straight on to the surface of cold boiled lava which we had seen from above last night even here in every crevice where a few grains of soil had collected delicate little ferns might be seen struggling for life and thrusting out their green fronds towards the light it was the most extraordinary walk imaginable over that vast plain of lava twisted and distorted into every conceivable shape and form according to the temperature it had originally attained and the rapidity with which it had cooled its surface like half molten glass cracking and breaking beneath our feet sometimes we came to a patch that looked like the contents of a pot suddenly petrified in the act of boiling sometimes the black iridescent lava had assumed the form of waves or more frequently of huge masses of rope twisted and coiled together sometimes it was piled up like a collection of organ pipes or had gathered into mounds and cones of various dimensions as we proceeded the lava became hotter and hotter and from every crack arose gaseous fumes affecting our noses and throats in a painful manner till it last when we had to pass to leeward of the molten stream flowing from the lake the vapors almost choked us and it was with difficulty we continued to advance the lava was more glassy and transparent looking as if it had been fused at a higher temperature than usual and the crystals of sulfur, alum and other minerals with which it abounded reflected the light in bright prismatic colors in places it was quite transparent and we could see beneath it the long streaks of a stringy kind of lava like brown spun glass called Pele's hair at last we reached the foot of the present crater and commenced the ascent of the outer wall many times the thin crust gave way beneath our guide and he had to retire quickly from the hot blinding choking fumes that immediately burst forth but we succeeded in reaching the top and then what a sight presented itself to our astonished eyes I could neither speak nor move at first but could only stand and gaze at the horrible grandeur of the scene we were standing on the extreme edge of a precipice overhanging a lake of molten fire a hundred feet below us and nearly a mile across dashing against the cliffs on the opposite side with a noise like the roar of a stormy ocean waves of blood red fiery liquid lava hurled their billows upon an iron bound headland and then rushed up the face of the cliffs to toss their gory spray high in the air the restless heaving lake boiled and bubbled never remaining the same for two minutes together its normal color seemed to be a dull dark red covered with a thin gray scum which every moment and in every part of the ocean cracked and emitted fountains cascades and whirlpools of yellow and red fire while sometimes one big golden river sometimes four or five flowed across it there was an island on one side of the lake which the fiery waves seemed to attack unceasingly with relentless fury as if bent on hurling it from its base on the other side was a large cavern into which the burning mass rushed with a loud roar breaking down in its impetuous headlong career the gigantic stalactites that overhung the mouth of the cave and flinging up the liquid material for the formation of fresh ones it was all terribly grand magnificently sublime but no words could adequately describe such a scene the precipice on which we were standing overhung the crater so much that it was impossible to see what was going on immediately beneath but from the columns of smoke and vapor that arose the flames and sparks that constantly drove us back from the edge it was easy to imagine that there must have been two or three grand fiery fountains below as the sun set and darkness enveloped the scene it became more awful than ever we retired a little way from the brink to breathe some fresh air and to try and eat the food we had brought with us but this was an impossibility every instant a fresh explosion or glare made us jump up to survey the stupendous scene the violent struggles of the lava to escape from its fiery bed and the loud and awful noises by which they were at times accompanied suggested the idea that some imprisoned monsters were trying to release themselves from their bondage with shrieks and groans and cries of agony and despair at the futility of their efforts sometimes there were at least seven spots on the borders of the lake where the molten lava dashed up furiously against the rocks seven fire fountains playing simultaneously with the increasing darkness the colors emitted by the glowing mass became more and more wonderful varying from the deepest jet black to the palest gray from darkest maroon through cherry and scarlet to the most delicate pink, violet and blue from the richest brown through orange and yellow to the lightest straw color and there was yet another shade only describable by the term molten lava color even the smokes and vapors were rendered beautiful by their borrowed lights and tents and the black peaks, pinnacles and crags which surrounded the amphitheater formed a splendid and appropriate background sometimes great pieces broke off and tumbled with a crash into the burning lake only to be remelted and thrown up anew I had for some time been feeling very hot and uncomfortable and on looking round the cause was at once apparent not two inches beneath the surface the gray lava on which we were standing and sitting was red hot a stick thrust through it caught fire a piece of paper was immediately destroyed and the gentleman found the heat from the crevices so great that they could not approach near enough to light their pipes one more long last look and then we turned our faces away from the scene that had enthralled us for so many hours the hole of the lava we had crossed in the extinct crater was now a glow in many patches and in all directions flames were bursting forth fresh lava was flowing and steam and smoke were issuing from the surface it was a toilsome journey back again walking as we did in single file and obeying the strict injunctions of our head guide to follow him closely and to tread exactly in his footsteps on the hole it was easier by night than by day to distinguish the route to be taken as we could now see the dangers that before we could only feel and many were the fiery crevices we stepped over or jumped across once I slipped and my foot sank through the thin crust sparks issued from the ground and the stick on which I lent caught fire before I could fairly recover myself either from the effects of the unaccustomed exercise after our long voyage or from the intense excitement of the novel scene combined with the gaseous exhalations from the lava my strength began to fail and before reaching the side of the crater I felt quite exhausted I struggled on at short intervals however collapsing several times and fainting away twice but at last I had fairly to give in and to allow myself to be ignominiously carried up the steep precipice to the volcano house on a chair which the guides went to fetch for me it was half past eleven when we once more found ourselves beneath Mr. Cain's hospitable roof he had expected us to return at nine o'clock and was beginning to feel anxious about us Monday December 25th Christmas Day the morning in last night was the work of a very few minutes and this morning I awoke perfectly refreshed and ready to appreciate anew the wonders of the prospect that met my eyes the pillar of fire was still distinctly visible when I looked out from my window though it was not so bright as when I had last seen it but even as I looked it began to fade and gradually disappeared at the same moment a river of glowing lava issued from the side of the bank we had climbed with so much difficulty yesterday and slowly but surely overflowed the ground we had walked over I awoke Tom and you may imagine the feelings with which we gazed upon this startling phenomenon which had it occurred a few hours earlier might have caused the destruction of the whole party if our exhibition had been made today instead of yesterday we should certainly have had to proceed by a different route to the crater and should have looked down on the lake of fire from a different spot I cannot hope that in my attempt to give you some idea of Kilauea as we beheld it I shall be successful in conveying more than a very faint impression of its glories I feel that my description is so utterly inadequate that were it not for the space I should be tempted to send you in full the experiences of previous visitors as narrated in Miss Birds, Six Months in the Sandwich Islands and Mr. Bottom Weathams, Pearls of the Pacific the account contained in the former work I had read before arriving here the latter I enjoyed at the volcano house both are well worth reading by anyone who feels an interest in the subject it would I think be difficult to imagine a more interesting and exciting mode of spending Christmas Eve than yesterday has taught us or a stranger situation in which to exchange our Christmas greetings than beneath the glass roof of an inn on the edge of a volcano in the remote Sandwich Islands they were certainly rendered none the less cordial and sincere by the novelty of our position and I think we are all rather glad not to have in prospect the inevitable feastings and ceremonies without which it seems to be impossible to commemorate this season in England if we had seen nothing but Kilauea since we left home we should have been well rewarded for our long voyage at six o'clock we were dressed and packed breakfast followed at half past and at seven we were prepared for a start our kind active host and his wife and baby all came out to see us off the canter over the dewy grass and the fresh morning air was most invigorating it was evident that no one had passed along the road since Saturday night for we picked up several waves and strays dropped in the dark on our way up a whip, a stirrup, Macintosh hood, etc by half past ten we had reached the halfway house where we were not expected so early and where we had ample opportunity to observe the native ways of living while waiting for our midday meal an uninteresting mess of stewed fowl and tarot watched down with weak tea after it was over I made an unsuccessful attempt to induce the woman of the house to part with her orange colored lay I bought some tapa and mallets however with some of the markers used in coloring the cloth and a few gourds and calabashes warming part of the household furniture while the horses were being saddled preparatory to our departure Maybell and I went to another cottage close by to see the mother of the baby that had been born while we were here on Saturday she was not at home but we afterwards found her playing cards with some of her friends in a neighboring hut quite a large party of many natives were gathered together and not the least cheerful of whom was the young mother whose case had interested me so much the rest of the ride down to Highlow was as dull and monotonous as our upward journey had been although in order to enable us to get over it as quickly as possible fresh horses had been sent to meet us at last we reached the pier where we found the usual little crowd waiting to see us off the girls who had followed us when we first landed came forward shyly they thought they were unobserved and again encircled me with lays of gay and fragrant flowers the custom of decorating themselves with wreaths on every possible occasion is in my eyes a charming one and I like the inhabitants of Polynesia for their love of flowers they are as necessary to them as the air they breathe and I think the missionaries make a mistake in endeavoring to repress so innocent and natural a taste the whole town was on fate today natives were riding about in pairs in the cleanest of bright cotton dresses and the freshest of lays and garlands our own men from the yacht contributed not a little to the gaiety of the scene they were all on shore and the greater part of them were galloping about on horseback tumbling off, scrambling on again laughing, flirting, joking and enjoying themselves generally after a fashion peculiar to English sailors as far as we know the only evil result of all this merriment was that the doctor received a good many applications for Diaklion Plaster in the course of the evening to repair various abrasions of the cuticle as he expressed it I think at least half the population of Hilo has been on board the yacht in the course of the day as a Christmas treat at last we took a boat and went off to accompanied by Mr. Lyman the appearance of the sunbeam from the shore was very gay and as we approached it became more festive still all her masts were tipped with sugar canes and bloom her stern was adorned with flowers and in the arms of the figurehead was a large bouquet she was surrounded with boats the occupants of which cheered us heartily as we rode alongside the gangway was decorated with flowers and surmounted by a triumphal arch on which were inscribed welcome home a merry Christmas a happy new year and other good wishes the whole deck was festooned with tropical plants and flowers and the decorations of the cabins were even more beautiful and elaborate I believe all hands had been hard at work ever since we left to produce this wonderful effect and every garden in Hilo had furnished a contribution to please and surprise us on our return the choir from Hilo came out in boats in the evening saying all sorts of songs, sacred and secular and cheered everybody till they were hoarse after this having had a cold dinner in order to save trouble and having duly drunk the health of our friends at home we all adjourned to the saloon to assist in the distribution of some Christmas presents a ceremony which afforded great delight to the children and which was equally pleasing to the elder people and to the crew if one may judge from their behavior on the occasion then we sat on deck gazing at the cloud of fire over Kilauea and wondering if the appearance of the crater could ever be grander than it was last night when we were standing on its brim so ended Christmas Day 1876 at Hilo in Hawaii God grant that there may be many more as pleasant for us in store in the future End of Chapter 15