>774. part of the bay, loaded with bundles, -which they carried
into th£ country. Our men were of opinion that they had
adhmlly removed, in order to remain undifturbed, and out
of the reach of our fire-arms; but as we never found many
habitations on this part of the ffiore, our arrival might at
firft have drawn together a number of people from other
parts of the ifland, who occa&onally lodged in the woods-
thereabouts, but now returned to their own dwellings, feeing
that no farther mifehief was to be apprehended from the-
ftrangers, who had arrived among them. We endeavoured
to conquer their diffidence more and more, by counting on
our fingers, that we only intended to remain a certain-
number of days on the ifland ; and we found that they
were always much pleafed and pacified by this intelligence»
It mail be obferved, however, that all thofe who carried*
loads this morning were women, whiift the men walked on
unconcernedly without any incumbrance,, except their arms.
It ffiould appear from this circumftance, that the people o f
Tanna are not yet arrived at that advanced fiate, which,
diftinguiffies the natives of the Society and Friendly Iflands.
All favage nations have the general character of ufing the-
other fex with great unkindnefs and indignity, obliging
them to perform all forts of laborious, and humiliating-
operations.
The removal of the natives was foon difcernible, as-
thofe whtJ came on the beach to us, were in very fmall:
numbers..
numbers. We therefore took the opportunity of walking august
out upon the plain, behind the watering-place. We met
with feveral ponds of ftagnant water, in which the natives
had planted great quantities of eddoes (arum.) The coco-
palms formed fpacious groves, full of different fhrubberies,
where a great number of birds of different forts, chiefly
fly-catchers, creepers, and parroquets refided. We faw like-
wife many lofty trees, covered with nuts, which are common
at Ta-heitee, finoear-pus Nov. Gen,J Thefe trees were
commonly the refort of pigeons of different kinds, and-
chiefly o f the fort which are to be met with at the Friendly
Iflands, where the natives catch and tame them. It fhould
feem that the inhabitants of Tanna likewife pradtife fowling
I for one of our lieutenants ffiot a pigeon this day,
which had two very long, white feathers fattened to its
tail by firings ; he had believed it to be a new and Angular
fpecies of bird, till he difeovered the artifice. We met with,
fome natives on this excurfion, who told us, that one of our
people had killed two pigeons; but this intelligence was
only valuable to us, on account of the language in which,
k was conveyed, which was exaftly the fame with that
fpoken at the Friendly Iflands» It appeared to us that he-
made ufe of this language, in order to be more intelligible
to us, having frequently obferved that we pronounced,
feveral words of it. We expreffed fome furprize however,
at his knowledge, and he then repeated, the fame meaning;
in