We took the opportunity of visiting the town of Marisa, situated three miles below Umata Bay, and found a very pretty village. The houses are all on one street, which is very long. One peculiarity we could not but notice: the street was swept very clean, and we observed many Spaniards of both sexes engaged in sweeping it, probably paying the penalty of breaking some law. The church here is a fine edifice, and contains two large bells, which ring out merrily for vespers. Although the governor has his permanent residence at Guam, yet he occasionally leaves the “heat and turmoil of city life,” and, taking his family for a visit to the “country,” spends a week or so in this village, where he has a large palace. After rambling around to our entire satisfaction, and spending the day very pleasantly, we returned with a fine breeze, the boat fairly flying through the water. We felt quite fatigued in consequence of our jaunt, but, after a refreshing rest, awoke next morning ready for another day’s tramp. We improved the day in visiting the town of Umata Bay, and a short ramble in the mountains back. The village differed but little from that of Marisa: the same long street, swept clean; the same white houses; and, were it not for the absence of the palace and the difference in the country adjoining, one would almost imagine himself in the same village. At two P.M. on Saturday, April 10th, we took on board the last of five hundred barrels of water, hove up the anchor with a will, and steered for the port of Apia. We arrived here the next morning, where we cast anchor. This is the anchorage, and the only safe one, for ships refitting at Guam, and is situated seven miles from the town or village of Guam, which is the capital of the group. The port of Apia is a fine bay, situated on the west side of the island, protected from the sea by a reef running across, with an entrance of about half a mile in width. This island, like nearly all in the Pacific, is surrounded by a coral reef. In the centre of the bay is a small island, on which is a fine-looking fort, with five or six guns mounted for the protection of the commerce of the island. We found several ships lying at anchor here, from some of which we obtained quite late news from home.