Apr” out feeing any thing more than ourfelves. We were the
more eafily perfuaded to deli ft from our purpofe, as the heat
of the day, our precarious Rate of health, and the fatigue of
the afcent, had entirely exhaufted us, and as we faw no
profpeft of reaching the fummit. It appeared indeed at
Ip a ft three miles diftant from the place where we flopped,
the greateft part of which feemed to be infinitely deeper than
what we had hitherto left behind us. The whole ground,
as far as we had gone, was covered with a rich mould, and
contained excellent plantations, and groves of various fruit-
trees. The rocks under this mould, which appeared chiefly
near the banks of the rivulet, "or on the broken fides of the
path, contained volcanic productions, or different kinds of
lava, fome of which are full of white and greenilh Iherls.
Thefe iflands are therefore fimilar, in regard to their origin
and the nature of their minerals, to the Society Iflands, the
greater part of which feem to have had burning mountains.
About the houfes we frequently faw hogs, and fowls
of a large fort, and now and then fome rats. The trees
were likewife inhabited by feveral fmall birds, which re-
fembled thofe of Taheitee and the Society Iflands ; but they
were not frequent, and in no great variety. The Marque-
fas, upon the whole, fo much refemble the Society Iflands,
that they only feemed to want the beautiful ambient plain,
and the coral reef, which forms their excellent harbours.
No people in the South Sea, whom we had hitherto met
with,
with were fo much like each other in form, cuftoms, and ap” !1,
language, as the inhabitants of both thefe groups of iflands.
The principal difference feemed to lie in the different degrees
of cleanlinefs. The Taheitians, and their next
neighbours of the Society Iflands, are perhaps the
cleanlieft people under the fun ; they bathe two or three
times a day, and wafli their hands and face before and after
every meal. The inhabitants of the Marquefas did not
make their ablutions fo frequently, and were befides very
flovenly in the manner of preparing their meals. Their
principal food is bread-fruit, which they roaft over the fire,
rarely baking it under ground 5 when it is fufliciently
done, they put it into a very dirty wooden trough, out of
which their hogs are fed at other times, and mix it up
with water. This mixture they fcoop out with their
hands. They alfo prepare fermented pafte from their
hread-fruLt, of which they make the fame kind of acidulous
pottage, which is a great dainty with the Taheitian
chiefs. Their bread-fruit is dpjjbtlefs the largeft and moft
delicious which we ever tailed ; and as we bought many of
them perfectly ripe, we found them as foft as a kind of
cuftard, and in that ftate too lufeious to be eaten. Their
food con lifts of the fame variety o f fruit and roots which
are common at Taheitee, except the apple (fpondias.) Their
diet is chiefly vegetable ; though they have hogs and fowls,
and catch abundance of fifh at certain times. Their drink
E 2 is