THE FIJIS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume 42, Issue I, 28 November 1868, Page 3

THE FIJIS.

("Prom the Auckland Woekly Hew*.") Although tho official reports negatively characterise #ia Fijis as being Vnot mi-,, healthy,*' tho affirmative "healthy" cannot'foil apjnliecVto them. Dr. Seeman (who th.Yoagh.au!, his work, evinces a disposition to aay as lifcilo aa poasiblo iv disparagement) was -scarcely ji month ashore when he was attacked by .dysontery, a disease which he sayVwith naivete', "has proved fatal to* many new-comers from .Europe." His assistant alsoj- Mr, Store!*, suffered

from "those ulcerations to which most people going to the tropics for the first time are subject." Virulent ophthalmiais mentioned as attacking the children of the missionaries at Tavinui, insomuch that they were compelled to remove. Cutaneous diseases also appear to be prevaleut, and elephantiasis is another local affection. "A fearful sight it certainly "is" says Dr. Seeman, "when the -feet assume dimensions and shapes that make them more like those of elephants than human beings." In one district he found almost every inhabitant" afßiofeli with , ihis calamity. It is only fair to state that he adds i"I have not heard of any settlers having suffered from elephanatisis." But this statement hardly squares with a subsequent acknowledgement, "that one European did become a victim,"and had instantly to leave for colder climes, the only known remedy for checking the disease. iThe fact is, that all the 'tropical Polynesian lßlandslare kiiown to' be * subject to elephanatisis, and the white man. is not ,specially exempt from its attacks anywhere. "There are about ten different kinds of snakes, but none of them larger than six feet. A food many inhabit trees and often drop down" —a circumstance which must render life in the dense woods of this ' 'paradise" rather exciting. ' 'Some" he adds, "are eaten!" Lizards, two feet in length, also dwell in the trees. "Crocodiles," he ingenuously observes, "are not indigenous; but about the beginning of this century a large one made its appearence in Fiji." The natives fancied it had come from heaven; but our matter of fact narrator thinks it must have drifted from the West Indies. It is difficult to believe in either the one supposition or the other. J Grustaceous animals are well represented, and amongst these is a cheerful monster called "Ogavule," which in some of the isl.uids, "is common." It is a kind of land crab and is the most ferocious creature of the species ever heard of, for when attacked it shews tight, "and throws earth and stones into tbj faces of its pursuers." "The insect tribe are very numerous both in species and individuals." Mosquitoes are very plentiful. In some localities they worry their human victims all day; in others they ouly indulge in their peculiar proclivities at night. Equally irritating are the flies, which keep ones hands continually employed; and in order to have a meal in peace a boy must be, kept constantly employed in driving them away. "Fleas, to finish the catalogue of irritants are not so plentiful as I have found them in Spanish America or Southern Europe; nor are foreigners much troubled by the vermin so abundant in the large heads of hair worn by the natives." "Cockroaches are swarming in most houses, canoes, and vessels, and often disturb one during the night, not only by running overonesbody, but also by attacking (it in right earnest." Some "very fine beetles and butterflies are met with," and "a+ dusk the woods begin to swarm with myriads of fireflies." As a matter of little consequence, it is added that "some large kiads of spiders, among others a stinging one, have to be noticed. Centipedes, nearly a foot long, were frequently encountered by us in the woods, and scorpions are more frequent than one could wish." Thsiv <ire trees — one significantly called "Jtchwood" — possessing direful properties. If a drop of the sa-j touches any part of the body, the unhappy victim is forthwith plunged into violent agonics — and subjected to effects such as we hesitate lo trjjisi ar the description of to our columns.