Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/118

 110 FEEJEE ISLANDS erate or pudding stone. The valleys extend only a short distance into the interior and have little level ground ; they are exceedingly fertile, with a deep, rich soil, and well culti- vated. Its harbors are all formed by the reefs. Levuka, a town on .the E. side of the island, is chiefly inhabited by foreigners. It is the seat of the Feejeean government, the residence of foreign consuls, the principal shipping port, and has several hotels, churches, and stores. The metropolis of Feejee, containing upward of 1,000 inhabitants, is Bau, or Mbau, on the small island of the same name, which is con- nected with the large island Viti Levu by a long flat of coral, ford able at high water, and in places bare at low water. Lakemba, or Lakeba, is the principal island on the wind- ward side of the group, 160 m. E. S. E. of Bau; the chief town is Tumbou. Other in- habited islands are Batiki or Mbatiki, Beqa or Mbeng-ga, Cakaudrove-i-wai or Thakaundrove, Cikobia or Thikombia, Kabara or Kambara, Komo, Macuata or Mathuata, Malolo, Nairai, Nayau, Ogea or Ongea, Oneata, Rewa, Vanua Balavu or Mbalavu, Vulaga or Vulanga, often called Fulanga, and Yacata or Yathata. From the meteorological register kept at Le- vuka by Col. "W. J. Smythe, from January to the end of April, it appears that the maximum heat amounted on the 1st of January to 91 9', and that the minimum temperature on the 8th of April was 72. The average rain during these four months was IV'29 in. ; thunder was heard almost daily, while the wind was gener- ally very light. Thomas Williams places the mean temperature of the group at 80. There is a large number of rainy days, but uninter- rupted dry weather often continues for two or three months. Among the botanical produc- tions are numerous varieties of the dioscorceaor yam, called urn; the balabala, a kind of palm or tree fern, of which the heart is eaten in times of scarcity; the bau, with an edible fruit and a beautiful brown or red wood, used for canoes and boxes ; the bele, of which the leaves are cooked and eaten ; the bokoi, which has a fruit scarcely distinguishable from the kavika, a kind of Malay apple tree with a quince-like fruit ; the bovu-dama, which fur- nishes a heavy timber of a light color ; and the bulou, with a root resembling in taste an old potato. There is an elegant variety of fern called conini. The dalici bears spike-shaped flowers, and yields a hard and useful timber ; but the most useful tree for canoe building, masts, and all kinds of carpentry, is the damauu. A fruit somewhat like a plum is borne by the dawa and the dawamoli. Bread is made from the fruit of the dogo and the dogokana. The wood of the duva, pounded into fibres and fastened to a line, poisons or stupefies fish, which turn on their back as if they were dead, but soon recover when left to themselves. The fruit of the ivi is either baked or boiled, or grated and made into bread or pudding. The leaves of the danidani and the kura are used medicinally. The smaller branches of the loselose are used by the natives as torches. But the most important of all the botanical productions is the cocoanut tree, here called niu, almost every part of which is put to some use. Drums are made of the wood of the tavola; fans and umbrellas from the leaves of the viu, a kind of palm. A fruit very much like the raspberry is obtained from the wagadrogadro. The root of the lagona (piper mythisticum) is chewed and mixed with water and drunk as a beverage. The bitu and the bituvatu are kinds of bamboo which grow ex- tensively. Cotton has succeeded admirably, and can be harvested within six months. Many of the colonists are planting coffee. Fishes are plentiful, including the porpoise, sole, mullet,- and many other edible kinds ; also a large shark, called mego, and a still more dangerous fish called ogo. A kind of sea worm called labolo, found on some reefs toward the latter part of the year, is much esteemed by the natives as food. A maggot called yavato, which bores into wood, is much eaten on the poor islands. There are several kinds of oyster (civa), of which the large pearl shell is ground and used for orna- ments. The coqe, a sacred bird, has a singular cry, much like a dog's or the human voice. There is a small bird somewhat like a corn- crake, called Mci; a vampire bat, called beka ; a large sea gull, called Icasaqa; the kitu, a bird destructive to the sugar cane ; the kulu, a spe- cies of red parrot, whose feathers are much valued for fringes of mats and personal orna- ments; the sacred lawedua, a sea bird with two long feathers in its tail; owls, hawks, pigeons, &c. From a pair of horses introduced in 1851 all the mission stations have been sup- plied. Some islands of the group are much troubled with mosquitoes. The natives are above the middle height, sleek and portly, with stout limbs and short necks. They are of darker complexion than the copper-colored and lighter than the black races. Their hair is black, long, frizzled, and bushy, sometimes en- croaching on the forehead and joined by whis- kers to a thick round or pointed beard, to which moustaches are often added. They are almost free from tattooing; only the women are tattooed, and that on the parts of the body which are covered. The men dress in a sort of sash of white, brown, or figured masi, using generally about six yards, though a wealthy man will wear one sometimes nearly 300 ft. long. The women wear a liku or fringed band, made of the bark of a tree, the fibre of a wild root, and some kinds of grass; the fringe is from 3 to 10 inches deep. The turban, worn only by the men of the respectable classes, is a fine masi of one thickness, and has a gauze-like appearance. They bore the lobe of the ear and distend the hole, and wear enormous ear ornaments. Both sexes paint their bodies, and seem to prefer red ; they also besmear them- selves with oil. The hair is the most impor- tant part of the toilet, and is dressed in gro-