THE bays of Anaho and Hatiheu are divided at their roots by the knife-edge of a single hill -the pass so often mentioned;but this isthmus expands to the seaward in a considerable peninsula:very bare and grassy;haunted by sheep and,at night and morning,by the piercing cries of the shepherds;wandered over by a few wild goats;and on its sea-front indented with long,clamorous caves,and faced with cliffs of the colour and ruinous outline of an old peat-stack.
In one of these echoing and sunless gullies we saw,clustered like sea-birds on a splashing ledge,shrill as sea-birds in their salutation to the passing boat,a group of fisherwomen,stripped to their gaudy under-clothes.(The clash of the surf and the thin female voices echo in my memory.)We had that day a native crew and steersman,Kauanui;it was our first experience of Polynesian seamanship,which consists in hugging every point of land.There is no thought in this of saving time,for they will pull a long way in to skirt a point that is embayed.It seems that,as they can never get their houses near enough the surf upon the one side,so they can never get their boats near enough upon the other.The practice in bold water is not so dangerous as it looks -the reflex from the rocks sending the boat off.Near beaches with a heavy run of sea,I continue to think it very hazardous,and find the composure of the natives annoying to behold.We took unmingled pleasure,on the way out,to see so near at hand the beach and the wonderful colours of the surf.On the way back,when the sea had risen and was running strong against us,the fineness of the steersman's aim grew more embarrassing.As we came abreast of the sea-front,where the surf broke highest,Kauanui embraced the occasion to light his pipe,which then made the circuit of the boat -each man taking a whiff or two,and,ere he passed it on,filling his lungs and cheeks with smoke.Their faces were all puffed out like apples as we came abreast of the cliff foot,and the bursting surge fell back into the boat in showers.At the next point 'cocanetti'was the word,and the stroke borrowed my knife,and desisted from his labours to open nuts.These untimely indulgences may be compared to the tot of grog served out before a ship goes into action.