s » t,»” »k . arms to our people for trifles of iron-ware, or Taheitee
cloth. They alfo, at the defire of Mr. Pickerfgill, brought
him fome frefli water.
In the evening our party retired to a few bufhes, and
made a great fire, by which they broiled the fifli which had
been prefented to them, and ate their fuppers. A number
of the natives ftill remained with them, and fpoke o f a grear
land to the northward, which they called Mingha, of which
the inhabitants were their enemies, and very warlike.
They likewife pointed out a fepulchral mound or tumulus,
where one of their chiefs lay buried, who had been killed
in defence of his own country, by the hand of a native of
Mingha. The appearance of a large beef-bone, which
fbme of our people began to pick towards the conclufion of
their fupper, interrupted this converfation. The natives
talked very loud and earneftly to each other, looked with
great furprize, and fome marks of difguft, at our people,
and at laft went away all together, exprefling by figns that
they fufpefted the ftrangers of eating human flefh. Our
officer endeavoured to free himfelf and his fliipmates from
this fufpicion ; but the want of language wa.s an unfur-
mountable obftacle to this undertaking, even fuppofing it
poffible to perfuade a fet of people, who had never feen a
quadruped in- their lives. The next morning they went
about to mend their boat, and fpread their wet cloaths upon
the ground to dry in the fun. The natives gathered about
them
them in great crouds from all parts of the ifland, and Mr.
Pickerfgill found it advifeable to draw lines on the fand, in
order to fecure the cloaths of his people. The natives very
readily came into his propofal, and never crofied the lines.
One of them, however, feemed to be more furprifed than all
the reft at this contrivance, and with a great deal of humour
drew a circle round about himfelf, on the ground,
with a flick; and intimated, by many ludicrous geftures,
that every body prefent fhould keep at a diftance from him.
This little fally was the more ftriking, as it was extremely
uncommon among the grave inhabitants of thefe countries.
They fpent the day in repairing their boats, and examining
the ifland on which they had landed; and the next morning
before day-break put off, in order to return. They
1 7 7 4 - Se p t emb e r s .
were, however, unfortunate enough to find their repairs to
little purpofe, and therefore, in order to lighten the boat,
landed on New Caledonia at fix in the morning. They left
only .the rowers in the boat, and proceeded .on foot, along
a coaft of near twenty-four miles, to the land abreaft of the
{hip. One of the furgeon’s mates, who went on this ex-
curfion, collected a prodigious variety of new and curious
fhells upon the ifland of Ballabeea, and likewife met with
many new fpecies of plants, of which we did not fee a Angle
fpecimen in the diftrifts we had vifited \ but the meaneft
and moft unreafonable envy taught him to conceal thefe
difcoveries from us, though he was utterly incapable of
H h h 2 ' making