Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . had learned of their picturesqueness years before, andlonged to see them. They come and go in the Suva harbourand I had caught exciting glimpses of them in the distanceand had sketched all I saw; but to see them in a troop, fromnear, and undisturbed by anything inartistic and modem, herewas the chance for me. I settled myself on the seashore andwatched. At first only tiny specks were to be seen in thedistance, but gradually they grew larger, and soon the sea wascovered with the most exquisite yellow butterflies, waftedtowards us across the
Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . had learned of their picturesqueness years before, andlonged to see them. They come and go in the Suva harbourand I had caught exciting glimpses of them in the distanceand had sketched all I saw; but to see them in a troop, fromnear, and undisturbed by anything inartistic and modem, herewas the chance for me. I settled myself on the seashore andwatched. At first only tiny specks were to be seen in thedistance, but gradually they grew larger, and soon the sea wascovered with the most exquisite yellow butterflies, waftedtowards us across the water. How I wished they would notgo so fast. They were no sooner plainly visible than theyhad reached the shore, the great sail of pandanus matting wasbeing rapidly let down, and the boat drawn up—it seemed justlike a flash. With a suitable wind these wangas attain a verygreat speed and leave an ordinary motor-boat far behind. Ihad the greatest longing to sail in one, but it never was grati-fied. Ratu Kandavu Levu was to take me in his boat, but. 126 Islands Far Away. the wild weather, which kept us storm-stayed for ten daysat Mbau, began this very day and prevented it. Then, whenRatu Kandavu Levu had gone, Rata Joni said we should gomth him, but this same storm prevented it; and later, whenRatu Simoni proposed taking us, the weather again inter-fered and the rain came down in buckets full. It was not tobe, but it was a disappointment. Perhaps, if I had gone, Ishould not now have been writing, for wangas are not verysafe, and are often upset. The natives can swim like fish, andare not much coveted bj^ sharks, so an upset is of little conse-quence to them, especially as they are clever in righting theircanoes again. But my case would have been quite , the fact that I never sailed in one of these canoes is amatter that I shall always regret. These boats are curious and very picturesque. Both endsare the same and they can go either way. When they sailagainst the
Size: 1269px × 1970px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidislandsfaraw, bookyear1921
