Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/101

 that they were so tyrannically abused that they had taken charge of the ship, confining the officers below in the  cabin, and had steered for the nearest port. Our commodore, who acted as arbitrator, soon settled matters, and the whaler sailed for the United States a week afterward, with several of our invalids on board of her.

The Samoan group of islands is situated in the South Pacific Ocean, between latitudes 13° and 15° south, longitude 168° west. There are about twelve islands, large and small, Savaii being the largest, then Apolima. Tutuila is about one hundred miles in circumference. The entire area of the group is about three thousand square miles. The population was at that time nearly sixty thousand. The people are divided into two parties, — the Christians, who follow the missionaries, and the "Devils," who do  not. The latter were so named by the former. While exploring the interior, we discovered several extinct craters, on Mt. Malata, over two thousand feet above the  level of the sea. One on the summit was two miles in circumference and three hundred feet deep. Its bottom was a beautiful sight. It was thickly covered with a forest of lofty palm trees. We also found several mountain streamlets, beautiful waterfalls, and fairy lakes. The various vines, and rattans almost a hundred feet long, were so thick that we could with difficulty make our way  through them. The warbling of beautiful birds was enchanting. Our botanist seemed at a loss for words with which to name the unknown blossoms that adorned  these woods and filled the air with their fragrance. The wild orange was very plentiful, and in places the ground  was literally covered with it. I think they are of a richer