at them, and brought down fix or eight at once, befides
wounding feveral others which held fall on the tree. They
were of the kind which is commonly called the vampyre *,
and meafured from three to four feet between the expanded
wings. A great number of them were difturbed at.our
firing, and flew from the tree very heavily, uttering a
(hriH piping note ; fome Iikewife arrived from remote parts
at intervals to the tree, but the greateft number remained in
their pofition, and probably go out to feed only by night.
As they live chiefly upon fruit, it is likely that they commit
great depredations in the orchards of the natives, fome
of whom being prefent when we fired, feemed very well
pleafed with the death of their enemies. We had feen
fome of them who had caught thefe bats alive, and placed
them in a cage of wickerwork very ingenioufly contrived,
with an entrance like that of a filh-bafket, where the animal
could eafily be put in, but could not come out again.
They Iikewife affured us the bats were very mordacious, for
which purpofe they feemed indeed to be well provided with
large fharp teeth.
We had already obferved at Taheitee, at the Society
Elands, and even at Ea-oowhe, that wherever we met with
a cafuarina, a burying-place was at hand. Therefore, at
fight of this venerable tree, which was hung with ill-
omened creatures, we immediately conjedtured that it would
* La Rougette, of M. de Buffon. Vampyrus of Linne, and Pennant.
lead
A VO YAGE ROUND THE WORLD. |||
lead us to a cemetery or place of worlhip, and the event 0c’ ” 3B'Ki
Ihewed that we were not miftaken. We found a beautiful
green lawn, enclofed on all fides by Ihady bufhes and trees,
amongft which cafuarinas, pandangs, and wild fago-
palms appeared with their various tints of green. A row
of Barringtonias, as big as the loftieft oaks, formed one fide
of it, and ftrewed it with their large blufhing flowers. At
the upper end of it, there was a rifing two or three feet
high, fet out with coral-ftones cut fquare. The area above
was covered with a green fod, like the reft of the lawn.
Two fteps, Iikewife of coral rock, led up to this part, in
the midft of which a houfe was Gtuated, exadtly like that
which we faw at Ea-oowhe, Its length was about twenty,
the breadth fifteen, and the height of the ridge ten feet.
The roof defcended floping nearly to the ground, and was
made of banana leaves. We entered into this building
with only one of the natives, the reft keeping at fome
diftance. We found the floor covered with broken pieces
of white coral rock, and in one corner a heap of blackilh
pebbles, about eight feet long, which was elevated a foot
above the white {tones. The native told us that a man lay
buried there, and pointing to the place where his little
finger had formerly been cut away, he plainly dignified that
when his maduas or parents * died, they mutilated their
hands. We found two pieces of wood afoot long, carved
* Perhaps any relations in the afeending line.
M m m 2 into