dolphins, cavalhas, parrot-fifli, fling-rays, toothlefs-rays,
angel-fiffi, fliarks, and fucking-ftfh, as well as feveral fpe-
eies of mackrel and mullet (,mugil'). The woods contained
a variety of birds, efpecially feveral forts of pigeons, parro-
quets, and fly-catchers. Among the latter we found a fpecies
which islikewife to be met within New Zeeland. The
Ceylanefe owl, a fpecies of creeper, a fort of duck, and a
purple water-hen, were likewife feen ; but all in general
were remarkably Ihy, which feems to indicate their being
purfued by the natives. The only tame fowls are the common
cock and hen ; and the only domeftic quadrupeds are
hogs. Rats and bats, both which I have already mentioned,
form the only two wild fpecies of quadrupeds.
Tanna, thus well fupplied by nature, and bleffed with
the mild influence of a tropical climate, contains a race of .
men in a much inferior Gate of civilization, than thé natives
of the Friendly and Society Iflands, who live nearly in
the fame parallel, but to the eaftward. I am of opinion,
we rate the population of Tanna very high, when we fup-
pofe it to amount to twenty thoufand perfons. The plantations
feem to bear a fmall proportion to the wild forefts,
wherever we walked about in the ifland, only excepting
the flat hill along the eaftern fliore of the bay, which is indeed
the richeft fpot I ever beheld irf the South Seas. The
excellence of the foil, inftead of being an advantage to cultivation
in its infant Rate, is rather of differvice; as all
kinds
kinds of wild trees,, buflies and weeds, are with the greateft AuӣT.
difficulty rooted out, and propagate with luxuriance, either
from feeds, or from the roots. Cultivated vegetables, being
of a more weakly and delicate nature, are eafily op-
preffed- and fuffocated by the indigenous wild tribes, tiff repeated
labours fucceed at laft to bring them to a flourifhing
Gate. Thefe two circumftances together ftrongly indicate,
that the nation which inhabits Tanna is not very numerous,
in proportion to the extent of that ifland. The people feem
to live difperfed in fmall villages, confifting of a few families.;
and their conftant cuftom of going armed is a certain
fign that they formerly had, and probably ftill have, wars
with neighbouring iflanders, or quarrels amongft them-
felves. If I might venture a conjecture, founded upon the-
languages which we heard fpoken in the ifland, I. fhould
fuppofe that feveral tribes of different nations have, peopled
the ifland of Tanna, and may have difputed the poffeffion.
of the ground with each other. Befides the common language
of the ifland, and befides. a dialed: of that o f the
Friendly Iflands, we collected fome words o f a'third language,
chiefly current among the inhabitants of its weftern
hills ; and we particularly obtained the numerals of all the
three tongues, which are indeed totally diftinct. In the
common language of Tanna, we met with two or three
words, which have a clear affinity with the language of
Mallicollo, and about the fame numher correfpond with
fomet