It
was curious to hear them crowing away in the depths of the forest,
and at first I kept imagining that I was close to some village. I also
obtained some good duck shooting on a lake high up in the mountains,
and Ratu Lala described to me what must. be a species of apteryx,
or wingless bird (like the Kiwi of New Zealand), which he said
was found in the mountains and lived in holes in the ground, but I
never came across it, though I had many a weary search. Ratu Lala
also assured me that the wild chickens were indigenous in Fiji, and
were not descended. from the domestic fowl. We had plenty of fish,
both salt and fresh water, and the mountain streams were full of
large fish, which Ratu Lala, who is a keen fisherman, caught with
the fly or grasshoppers. He sometimes caught over one hundred in
a day, some of them over three pounds in weight. The streams were
also full of huge eels and large prawns, and a kind of oyster was
abundant in the sea, so what with wild pig, wild chickens, pigeons,
turtles, oysters, prawns, crabs, eels, and fish of infinite variety,
we fared exceedingly well. Oranges, lemons, limes, large shaddocks,
"kavika," and other wild fruits were plentiful everywhere.
During my stay here in August and September the climate was delightful,
and it was remarkably cool for the tropics.
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