Our Road, At First, Lay
Through Woods Which Bordered Each Side Of The River; And
The Glimpses Of The Lofty Central Peaks, Seen As Through An
Avenue, With Here And There A Waving Cocoa-Nut Tree On One
Side, Were Extremely Picturesque.
The valley soon began to
narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous.
After having walked between three and four hours, we
found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that of the
bed of the stream.
On each hand the walls were nearly vertical,
yet from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees
and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting ledge.
These precipices must have been some thousand feet high;
and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnificent
than anything which I had ever before beheld. Until
the midday sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt
cool and damp, but now it became very sultry. Shaded by a
ledge of rock, beneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our
dinner. My guides had already procured a dish of small
fish and fresh-water prawns. They carried with them a
small net stretched on a hoop; and where the water was
deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their
eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus
caught them.
The Tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals
in the water. An anecdote mentioned by Ellis shows how
much they feel at home in this element.
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