OLD TAHITIWhat will not length of time be able to change?CLAUDIANUS.Tahiti is exceedingly interesting to-day, but how much more so must it have been to Captain Wallis and his crew, who first set their eyes on this gem of the Pacific! When theDolphincame in sight of this beautiful island that never before had been seen by a white man, we can readily imagine officers and crew straining their eyes to see first its rugged outlines, and later the details of the wonderful landscapes. Under the blue sky and lighted up by the vigorous rays of the tropic sun, they could see the mountain-peaks clothed in the verdure of a tropic forest, the little island set like a gem in the ocean, and, as they beheld these mountains and turned their eyes upward they could also seeThey were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful that God alone was to be seen in heaven.BYRON.TAHITIAN GIRLTAHITIAN GIRL IN NATIVE FESTIVE DRESSAs they approached nearer and saw the natural wealth of the island and its happy inhabitants basking in the sunshine, eating what Nature had provided for them without care or toil on their part, they must have come to the unavoidable conclusion that they at last had found a land whereThere was a never-ending spring, and flowers unsown were kissed by the warm western breeze. Then the unploughed land gave forth corn, and the ground, year after year, was white with full ears of grain. Rivers of milk, rivers of nectar ran, and the yellow honey continued to pour from the ever-green oak.OVIDIUS.On landing, having overcome the animosity of the natives and ascertained the boundless resources of the island, they could not escape the conviction that they in their wanderings over the limitless sea, had at last found "a heaven on earth" (Milton).What wonderful stories those men must have brought to Europe on their return after the long and hazardous voyage, when they related what they had seen in Tahiti, then in its primitive native state! Captain Cook made a longer stay in the island on his first visit and had therefore a better opportunity to study the island, its resources and its interesting inhabitants. It is on his descriptions we will rely in giving an account of some of the traits, customs and habits of the people as they existed at that time.
OLD TAHITIWhat will not length of time be able to change?CLAUDIANUS.Tahiti is exceedingly interesting to-day, but how much more so must it have been to Captain Wallis and his crew, who first set their eyes on this gem of the Pacific! When theDolphincame in sight of this beautiful island that never before had been seen by a white man, we can readily imagine officers and crew straining their eyes to see first its rugged outlines, and later the details of the wonderful landscapes. Under the blue sky and lighted up by the vigorous rays of the tropic sun, they could see the mountain-peaks clothed in the verdure of a tropic forest, the little island set like a gem in the ocean, and, as they beheld these mountains and turned their eyes upward they could also seeThey were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful that God alone was to be seen in heaven.BYRON.TAHITIAN GIRLTAHITIAN GIRL IN NATIVE FESTIVE DRESSAs they approached nearer and saw the natural wealth of the island and its happy inhabitants basking in the sunshine, eating what Nature had provided for them without care or toil on their part, they must have come to the unavoidable conclusion that they at last had found a land whereThere was a never-ending spring, and flowers unsown were kissed by the warm western breeze. Then the unploughed land gave forth corn, and the ground, year after year, was white with full ears of grain. Rivers of milk, rivers of nectar ran, and the yellow honey continued to pour from the ever-green oak.OVIDIUS.On landing, having overcome the animosity of the natives and ascertained the boundless resources of the island, they could not escape the conviction that they in their wanderings over the limitless sea, had at last found "a heaven on earth" (Milton).What wonderful stories those men must have brought to Europe on their return after the long and hazardous voyage, when they related what they had seen in Tahiti, then in its primitive native state! Captain Cook made a longer stay in the island on his first visit and had therefore a better opportunity to study the island, its resources and its interesting inhabitants. It is on his descriptions we will rely in giving an account of some of the traits, customs and habits of the people as they existed at that time.
What will not length of time be able to change?CLAUDIANUS.
What will not length of time be able to change?
CLAUDIANUS.
Tahiti is exceedingly interesting to-day, but how much more so must it have been to Captain Wallis and his crew, who first set their eyes on this gem of the Pacific! When theDolphincame in sight of this beautiful island that never before had been seen by a white man, we can readily imagine officers and crew straining their eyes to see first its rugged outlines, and later the details of the wonderful landscapes. Under the blue sky and lighted up by the vigorous rays of the tropic sun, they could see the mountain-peaks clothed in the verdure of a tropic forest, the little island set like a gem in the ocean, and, as they beheld these mountains and turned their eyes upward they could also see
They were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful that God alone was to be seen in heaven.BYRON.
They were canopied by the blue sky, so cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful that God alone was to be seen in heaven.
BYRON.
TAHITIAN GIRLTAHITIAN GIRL IN NATIVE FESTIVE DRESS
TAHITIAN GIRL IN NATIVE FESTIVE DRESS
As they approached nearer and saw the natural wealth of the island and its happy inhabitants basking in the sunshine, eating what Nature had provided for them without care or toil on their part, they must have come to the unavoidable conclusion that they at last had found a land where
There was a never-ending spring, and flowers unsown were kissed by the warm western breeze. Then the unploughed land gave forth corn, and the ground, year after year, was white with full ears of grain. Rivers of milk, rivers of nectar ran, and the yellow honey continued to pour from the ever-green oak.OVIDIUS.
There was a never-ending spring, and flowers unsown were kissed by the warm western breeze. Then the unploughed land gave forth corn, and the ground, year after year, was white with full ears of grain. Rivers of milk, rivers of nectar ran, and the yellow honey continued to pour from the ever-green oak.
OVIDIUS.
On landing, having overcome the animosity of the natives and ascertained the boundless resources of the island, they could not escape the conviction that they in their wanderings over the limitless sea, had at last found "a heaven on earth" (Milton).
What wonderful stories those men must have brought to Europe on their return after the long and hazardous voyage, when they related what they had seen in Tahiti, then in its primitive native state! Captain Cook made a longer stay in the island on his first visit and had therefore a better opportunity to study the island, its resources and its interesting inhabitants. It is on his descriptions we will rely in giving an account of some of the traits, customs and habits of the people as they existed at that time.