We Got A Magnificent View
From The Top Of A High Hill Of The Country To The Eastward, With
Large Rivers Winding Among Beautiful Undulating Wooded Country As
Far As The Eye Could Reach.
We passed through but one village, named
Naqeldreteki, and from here I saw two very fine waterfalls falling
side by side over a steep cliff several hundred feet straight drop
into the forest below.
It was about here that I came across a most
beautiful sort of fungus of a bright scarlet and orange, and in the
shape of a perfect star.
I heard what I took to be the gruff bark of a dog, when it suddenly
dawned upon me that there could not be any dogs here, as we were
far from any village. Upon investigation I discovered that it was a
bird that was the author of the noise, and I soon brought it down
with a load of dust-shot, and to my great delight it proved to be
the golden dove, a bird which I had hunted for in vain in the other
islands. It was of a very fine metallic golden-yellow colour, and
the feathers being long and narrow, gave it a very odd appearance. 1
could only mutter "venaka, venaka" (good), and in spite of the heavy
rain reverently and slowly rolled it up in cotton wool and paper, to
the great amusement of my three Fijians. Among the most interesting
features of bird life in the Samoan and Fijian Islands were the various
members of the dove family, which looked wonderfully brilliant with
their metallic greens, and their orange, crimson, purple, yellow,
pink, cream and olive green.
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