Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/354

2§8 Transactions at catching them, owing to the greater number of reefs and shelves. With this canoe, a certain chief, named Mahe Boogoo, departed for Ha- pai, where he possessed a large property, on which he was desirous to reside for the future. He had also a plantation at Vavaoo, situated on the northern coast, about a mile and a half long, and half a mile broad, one end of which ran down close to the water's edge : this pro- perty he made a present of to the king. It will be proper to give a description of this planta- tion, because it includes, near the sea, the most romantic spot in all the Tonga islands ; which- constitutes the subject of many of their songs, and is a place of resort to the young and old of both sexes, who wish to enjoy, for a few hours, the luxury of romantic scenery : it is famous, also, for having been, at a former epoch, the scene of an enterprising action on the part of some young chiefs, who took refuge there from their adversaries, and obstinately held their po- sition for six months. It happens that nature has assembled in this spot, not only the wildest profusion of the ve- getable kingdom, over which the lofty toa tree stands pre-eminent, but also objects of another description, overhanging rocks, hollow-sound- ing caverns, and steep precipices, calculated to give an aspect as bold and sublime as the ima-