ill
s t r a t a , found likewife, in the vicinity o f the hot foaming places' op folfa-
taras, a red ochre», or vitrioKc earth,, fimilar to the colcotixir -uitri^
opij ufed by the natives for, painting their faces. Every where in-
the ifle we met with pumice^flanes o f purple, black, and white
colour^ and o f diferentilpedfia gravity. On the South-fide g f th e
hie is a cliff, in which I found feveral pieces o f kva, feme o f which-
were black and folid, others porous and filled with greenifh and-
white Ihcrl cryfials -, others! were grey and porous,, containing yel-
low and black died. Befides thefe, we found a reddilh lava or-
tairas, very light and fimilar to a pumice-Hone. On the ffcores
were calcareous tophi to be met with, containing lèverai nidi o f
pholadfs. u
T h e neighbouring iRe o f A n a t t o j t , I fuppofe to contain lik e -
wife volcanic productions, as well as Tanna, becaufe the natives o f
the latter had hatchets of black, -Iplid bafaltcs, or paragone,. and laid
they came from Anattom, to diflinguilh- them from hatchets made
o f a white fhell, -and which came from the ifle o f Immer : the firft
kind they called Pabb^btttaf, and the latter Paha-biijhan. T o our
iron hatchets they gave the firfi name,
N ew - C a l e d o n ia , and its adjacent ifles-, are fur-rounded by a,
reef o f coral rocks and madrepores. Th e Ihores confifl o f Ihell-
land and particles o f quartz. Th e foil is, in the plains,. a bk ek
mould mixed with the above land, and. when watered and cultivat-
6 ed,
ed, very fertile, Thelides o f the hills, which I y.ifited, are com- .s t r a t a «
pofed o f a yellow ochreous clay, richly fpangled with fmall particles
o f cat-lilver, o r a whitilli kind o f daze. (Mica argentea. Linn.)
T h e higher parts o f the hills confift o f a Hone, called by the German
miners gejlell-jtein, compofed o f quartz and great lumps o f
the above cat-lilver. (Saxum qttarzo & mica argentea compojitum.)
The-cat-lilver is femetimes o f an intenfely red or orange colour, by
means o f an iron-ochre. T o the W ell o f our anchoring-place,
near the lliore, are large, extremely hard mafies o f a blackilh-green
liorn-ftone, f talcum corneum. Linn.) full rof linall pieces of gar-,
nets, o f the lize o f a pin’s head. ( Saxum corneum, granatis mix-,
turn.) \ In. feveral places, fragments o f white and very tranfparcnt
quartz, fometimes tinged red in the cracks, are found fcattered:
thefe hones the natives contrive to break in fudh a manner, that a
lhai;p edge is produced, and ufe them to cut their hair. The na*
lives carry Hones for their flings in fmall bags. Thefe Hones are of
an oblong roondiih figure, and pointed at both ends, confiHing of
a kind o f foap-roek or Imeftites. Befides thefe, we met with fome
coarfe, fibrous, greenifli albedos.
I f I except the coral rocks and madrepores, which form the
Ihores of a great many o f thefe ifles, I cannot fay, that I met with
a Angle petrefabbon o f any denomination, in all the ifles we vifited
in the courfe o f our .expedition.
E 3 From