They Extract The Sago From The Trunk, And The Palm
Always Dies After Flowering.
After passing through about four miles
of sugar cane, with small villages of the Indian coolies who work in
the cane fields, we left behind us the last traces of civilization.
We
next came to a very beautiful bit of hilly country, densely wooded on
the hills, though bordering the broad gravelly beaches of the river
were long stretches of beautiful grassy pastures. Darkness set in
as we ascended some thickly wooded hills. The atmosphere was damp
and close, and mosquitoes plentiful, and small phosphorescent lumps
seemed to wink at us out of the darkness on every side. I had to strike
plenty of matches to discover the track, and continually bumped myself
against boulders and the trunks of tree-ferns. It was late when we
arrived at the village of Nakavu, on the banks of the Navua River,
where I was soon asleep on a pile of mats in the hut of the "Buli,"
or village chief.
The next morning I resumed my journey with Masirewa and two canoe-men
in a canoe, and we were punted and hauled over numerous dangerous
rapids, at some of which I had to get out. We passed between two
steep, rocky cliffs the whole way, and they were densely clothed
with tree-ferns and other rank tropical vegetation, the large white
sweet-scented DATURA being very plentiful. The scenery was very
beautiful, and numerous waterfalls dashed over the rocky walls with
a sullen roar.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 36 of 217
Words from 9738 to 9993
of 59060
