f Weijoride
they began to climb the mountains, and soon entered a charming valley
stretching to the south-southwest, and enclosed by high steep rocks,
basaltic, like those of Matarai. Down their precipitous sides clothed
with the richest green rushed innumerable streamlets to swell the
largest and most rapid rivulet on the island, which watered the whole
extent of this luxuriant valley. Here the cocoa, palm, and the
bread-fruit tree disappear, but bananas and oranges flourishing wild,
produce finer and more juicy fruit than our best hot-houses.

A few scattered huts raised on the margin of the little river, gave
tokens of human habitation. In one of these, occupied by an old married
pair, our travellers passed the first night. Maititi seemed to consider
himself quite on a foraging party, and Mr. Hoffman was under the
necessity of begging him to moderate his zeal, and leave the care of the
entertainment to their host. The old man fetched a pig, and Maititi,
with great dexterity, played the part both of butcher and cook. Mr.
Hoffman describes the operation of lighting the fire on this occasion,
in the following manner:--A Tahaitian took two pieces of wood of
different degrees of hardness, laid the softer upon the ground, and very
rapidly rubbed its length backwards and forwards with the harder. This
made a furrow, in which the dust rubbed from the wood collected, and
soon became hot; it was then shaken among dry leaves and burst into a
flame. The whole process seemed easy and quick; but Mr. Hoffman could
not succeed in it though he made many attempts. Before supper, the
master of the house recited a prayer aloud, the family repeating it
after him, but not audibly. They then ate a hearty but silent meal, and
prayed again before lying down to sleep. The couch offered to Mr.
Hoffman was a raised platform in the hut, thickly spread with mats, with
a pair of sheets of the Tahaitian manufacture, called Tapa, for its
covering.

The volubility of his guides, restrained during the repast by the more
important business of satisfying their appetites, now broke out to his
great disturbance. They chattered almost incessantly during great part
of the night with the host, whom they were probably entertaining with an
account of our ship, which he had not yet visited, and of their
intercourse with us. Mr. Hoffman, on taking leave in the morning, gave
his host a knife, an important present, which the old man received very
gratefully, as