The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-02-04
CHAPTER XII

1t was towards sunset on a gIoriOus
! day that the WaTrigal stopped her en-
gIneS off AhUrei harbOr on Rama. and
waited for native pilot, and Tom. as
/ he stood on the bridge. saw before him
a panorama Of strange and wondrOus
beauty. High, fOrest-clad mountains of
! bright vivid green, rose Steeply from
a sleeping sea which under the ravs
of the sinking sun cleaned like a mir
rOr Of FURNISHED silver; and all along
and nesting in between the deep val
leys, were glinting beaches of snow
white sand, fringed with groves Of CO.
cos and breadfTuit trees, from out of
which peeped the russell brown
matched roofs of the native dwellings.
whilst far up on the highest peak of
all, whose jagged pinnacle of purpled
rock was silhOuetted against the sky
OF clOudlesS blue, there shOne a long.
straight line of silvery white-a noun
tain cascade, which fell a sheer three
hundred feet into the dark green shades
Of a valley below, from whence the
brawling water swept eastward to the
sea through groves of palms and or
ange trees, and understanding cedar.
and mango trees. And as he gazed
(Oblivious even of Christie, who. i'll as
he was, had taken the wheel, and was
watching the approach of the canoe
bringing off the pilot his memory
went to letter which the government
of Tasmania had shown to his father
"a treasured letter written by the I'M
happy and maigned Fletcher Chris
tan, the leader Of the Bounty mutt
neers, to the woman he loved in far
off Dorsetshire. and who had died
brOken-heaTted, when after that one
passionate letter reached her, she never
again heard from her sailor lover
Christian told her the story of the mu-
tiny and how after he and his COM
radeS had returned to Tahiti, and had
again sailed to seek a resting place in
one of the many islands of the South
Pacific, they had. come to an island
Of such WOndrOus beauty, that although
the natives were so fierce and war
like, that were she with him. he
would be content to live and die
there. SO beautiful is it, my Doris, that
I cannot attempt to portray it in pa
per for those sweet, grey eyes of yours
to read; and yetHm comrade, Edward
Young, and I are told Of another is
land in the same cluster as this of
Tubuai which is still more beautiful.
and where the people are mild and
gentle-mannered 1t is called Rapa. bv
our Tahitians, and lies a hundred lea
CUES to the south"
In the canoe were four staIwart. red
ish-brOwn skinned natives, with
straight black hair, and very regular
features. Two of them were dressed in
the shirts and trousers of civilization
the other wore the Tahitian pareu. or
waist cloth of soft tappa, made from
the bark of the paper mulberry tree.
Only the pilot spoke English, and as
soon as he assembled the bridge. he
shook hands with Christie, who asked
I him If he could take the steamer into
safe anchorage. He smiled and
showed his white pear1y teeth under
Well-tTained and Frenchified black
mustache.
"Oh, yes. I can take you anywhere
/ through any of the islands; but this
IS the first time of me to take steamer
into Ahurei, but plenty time I take
IN sailing vessel,-brig, barque, schoon-
er, full-rig ship"
Christie, quite satisfied, rang half
speed ahead" the pilot took the wheel
and half an hour later the anchor of
the Warrigal was lying upon a ground
OF dead coral and sand in nine fathoms
/ or water, so clear that the smallest
/ pebble could be seen lying on the bot
tom. Just abreast of the steamer was
a native village Of about thirty houses
surrounded by orange trees. under
which were gathered all the women
| ana chlldren, arrayed in their flowing
draperles of muslin, awaiting the ar
rival or the white men, Most of the
| men folk were away fishing on the
other side of the island, and so had