422
1774. Caledonia had hitherto Se p t em b e r . tailed no other animal food than
fifli and birds, and therefore the introduction of a quadruped
into their ceconomy, could not fail to furprife them.
We walked about for fome time among the marfhes and
plantations, and came to a houfe detached from the reft,
which was enclofed by Hakes, and behind which we faw a
row of wooden pillars. Each of them was about a foot
fquare, and nine feet h ig h ; and oh the top of each a human
head was rudely carved. Here we found a folitary
old man, who, on our pointing to thefe pillars, made figns
that they indicated his burying-place. Nothing is more remarkable
in the hiftory of mankind, than the general concurrence
of different nations, to ereft a monument on the
fpot where they lie buried. To' dive into the original motives
for this cuftom, with various people, would be. a
curious and interefting purfuit, and might perhaps lead us
to difcover, among all nations an univerfal idea of a future
flare;
After leaving this fpot, we palled a plantation, where
the natives, and particularly the women, were at work to
clear, and dig up a piece of fwampy ground, probably in
order to plant it with yams or eddoes. They had an in-
ftrument with a long crooked, and fharp-pointed bill, like
the bill of a bird, with which they ftirred up the foil. The
fame tool they frequently make ufe of as an offenfive weapon,
and as fuch I mentioned it page 3 85. It feenis the
foil
foil of this country is fo poor, as to require more than s ™ * , .
ordinary pains to make it fit for planting, efpecially as I
never obferved the people digging in this manner, in any
of the iflands of the South Sea. We fhot fome curious
and beautiful birds at this place, and then returned to the
fhip, where we found all the other boats hoifted in. We
landed at the watering-place after dinner, where captain
Cook ordered the following infcription to be cut into a remarkable
large and fhady tree on the beach, clofe to the
rivulet; “ His Britannic Majefty’s Ship Refolution, Sept,
1774.” This being done, we rambled for the laft time
along the brook, which had fupplied us with as much
water as we had expended fince our departure from Tanna 5-
and having fnatched a few plants, which our diforder had'
caufed us to overlook before, we took our laft leave of this
large ifland, and were hurried on board from our fcene of
aCtion.
At day-light the next morning, the feamen weighed the- T Mr<iay , 3.
anchors, the flap foon cleared the reefs, and we flood along
fliore to the N. W. We had lain in this harbour exactly
feven days and a hal f ; but on the third night after our
arrival, we were poifoned by eating of the fiih, by which
means we loft the opportunity of making the moft of this
ftiort flay. On leaving this place, we were far from being
recovered, but had daily acute head-aches, and fpafmodic
pains over the body, together with an eruption on our