This,
and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a remarkable,
and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and boisterous
welcome at Tahiti.
In the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger
groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a
village. Its name is Pahia: it is the residence of the
missionaries; and there are no native residents except servants
and labourers. In the vicinity of the Bay of Islands, the
number of Englishmen, including their families, amounts to
between two and three hundred. All the cottages, many of
which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the property
of the English. The hovels of the natives are so diminutive
and paltry, that they can scarcely be perceived from a distance.
At Pahia, it was quite pleasing to behold the English
flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were
roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and
whole hedges of sweetbrier.
December 22nd. - In the morning I went out walking; but
I soon found that the country was very impracticable. All
the hills are thickly covered with tall fern, together with
a low bush which grows like a cypress; and very little
ground has been cleared or cultivated. I then tried the
sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my walk
was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. The
communication between the inhabitants of the different
parts of the bay, is (as in Chiloe) almost entirely kept up
by boats.
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