e hot yams ready
to eat, which Masirewa made the most of. At the entrance to each
village there was usually a palisade of bamboo or tree-fern trunks,
and here a crowd of girls and children would often be waiting, and on
my approach they would set up loud yells and scamper off, till I began
to think that I must look a very ferocious kind of "papalangai." At
Dellaisakau the natives looked a very wild lot. Some of the men had
black patches all over their faces, and some had great masses of hair
shaped like a parasol. One or two of the women wore only the old-time
small aprons of coconut fibre.

We followed the Waiandina River amid very fine scenery. The sloping
hills were covered with woods, and we passed under a canopy of bamboo,
the large trumpet flowers of the white _datura,_ tree-ferns, large
"ivi," "dakua" and "kavika" trees loaded with ferns and fine orchids in
flower. We crossed the river several times, and I was carried across
by a huge Fijian whose head and neck were covered with lime. Rain
soon set in again, and we literally wallowed in mud and water. I
got drenched by the soaking vegetation, so I afterwards waded boldly
through rivers and streams, as it was impossible to get any wetter.

At Nasiuvou the whole village turned out to greet me, and I held my
usual reception in the chief's hut. The chief seemed very annoyed that
I would not stay the night. No doubt he thought that I would prove
a great attraction for his people. The banks of the Waiandina River
were crowded as I got into a canoe, and Masirewa, in trying to show
off with a large paddle, lost his balance and fell into the water, the
yells of laughter from the crowd showing that they were not lacking
in humour. Masirewa did not like it at all, but I was very glad, as
he had been giving himself too many airs. I dismissed my two bearers
and took only one canoe man and made Masirewa help him. We went down
several rapids at a great pace. It was dangerous but exhilarating, and
we had several narrow escapes of being swamped, as the canoe, being a
small one, was often half-filled with water. We also had several close
shaves from striking rocks and tree trunks. Ducks were plentiful, and I
shot one on the wing as we were tearing down a rapid. The scenery was
very fine; steep wooded mountains, rocky peaks with odd shapes, steep
precipices, fine waterfalls, grand forests, and picturesque villages,
and the scenery as we wound among the mountains was most romantic.