A native, whom I desired to engage as guide,
demanded a dollar and a half a day.
I returned from Papara to Papeiti in the company of an officer and
his native beauty; we walked the thirty-six miles in a day. On our
way, we passed the hut of the girl's mother, where we partook of a
most splendid dish. It was composed of bread-fruit, mangoes, and
bananas, kneaded together into a paste, and cooked upon hot stones.
It was eaten, while warm, with a sauce of orange juice.
On taking leave, the officer gave the girl a present of a dollar to
give her mother; the girl took it as indifferently as if it were not
of the slightest value, and her mother did exactly the same, neither
of them pronouncing one word of thanks, or manifesting the least
sign of satisfaction.
We now and then came upon some portions of the road, the work of
public offenders, that were most excellently constructed. Whenever
an Indian is convicted of a crime, he is not chained in a gang, like
convicts in Europe, but condemned to make or mend a certain extent
of road, and the natives fulfil the tasks thus imposed with such
punctuality, that no overseer is ever necessary. This kind of
punishment was introduced under King Pomare, and originated with the
natives themselves - the Europeans have merely continued the
practice.
At Punavia we entered the fort, where we refreshed ourselves, in
military fashion, with bread, wine, and bacon, and reached our
journey's end at 7 o'clock in the morning.
Besides Papara, I visited also Venus Point, a small tongue of land
where Cook observed the transit of Venus. The stone on which he
placed his instruments still remains. On my way, I passed the
grave, or murai, of King Pomare I. It consists of a small piece of
ground, surrounded by a stone wall, and covered with a roof of palm-
leaves. Some half-decayed pieces of cloth and portions of wearing
apparel were still lying in it.
One of my most interesting excursions, however, was that to Fantaua
and the Diadem. The former is a spot which the Indians considered
impregnable; but where, nevertheless, they were well beaten by the
French during the last war. Monsieur Bruat, the governor, was kind
enough to lend me his horses, and to allow me the escort of a non-
commissioned officer, who could point out to me each position of the
Indians and French, as he had himself been in the engagement.
For more than two hours, we proceeded through horrible ravines,
thick woods, and rapid mountain torrents. The ravines often became
so narrow as to form so many defiles, with such precipitous and
inaccessible sides, that here, as at Thermopylae, a handful of
valiant warriors might defy whole armies.
