murdered or detained.

The South Pacific Ocean abounds with thousands of islands, of a vast
many of which we have no account; but those mentioned in these pages
appear to be the _Samoas_, the _Kingsmill_, and the _Feejee Groups_ of
islands, which lie nearly under the equator, and they are described by
Captain Charles Wilkes, in his narrative of the United States Exploring
Expedition between the years 1838 and 1842. These islands were all
visited by the different vessels engaged in the expedition; many of them
appear to be of volcanic formation, others are of coral origin; they are
all characterised as possessing an exceedingly fertile soil; they abound
with a picturesque beauty of scenery, and luxuriant vegetation, which
excites the most painful feelings when we learn, that where nature has
bestowed so much bounty, the inhabitants are, it is greatly to be
feared, cannibals. In some two or three islands, a solitary white man
was found, one of whom, Paddy Connell, (an Irishman, of course), a
short, wrinkled old man, with a beard reaching to his middle, in a rich
Milesian brogue, related his adventures during a forty years' residence
at Ovolan, one of the Feejees. Paddy, with one hundred wives, and
forty-eight children, and a vast quantity of other live stock, expressed
his content and happiness, and a determination to die on the island. In
other cases, the white men expressed an earnest desire to quit the
island, and were received on board the expedition, to the great grief of
their wives and connections.

The _Samoan Islands_ are of volcanic structure, with coral reefs, and
the harbours are generally within these reefs; and one of them was
discovered by Commodore Byron in 1765, who reported it as destitute of
inhabitants. Their character is variable, and during the winter months
they have long and heavy rains, and destructive hurricanes sometimes
occur. The air is generally moist, and light winds and calms during the
summer, render vegetation luxuriant.

The woods in the interior of these islands are very thick, and are
composed of large and fine trees; there are pandanus, palms, tree ferns,
and a remarkable species of banyan, whose pendant branches take root to
the number of thousands, forming steps of all dimensions, uniting to the
main trunk, more than eight feet above the ground, and supporting a vast
system of horizontal branches, spreading like an umbrella over the tops
of other trees. The bread-fruit is