appearances o f metal or ore, but could find none, except
what I have brought back with me. I fhewed all the people
that we met with, the piece o f faltpetre which had been
picked up in the ifland, and which I had taken with me for
that purpofe, but none o f them took any notice o f it, nor
could I learn from them any thing about it. The old man
began now to be weary, and there being a mountain before
us, he made figns that he would go home: before he left us,
however, he made the people who had fo liberally fupplied
us with provifions, take the baggage, with the fruit that
had not been eaten, and fome cocoa-nut Ihells fulLof frefh
water, and made figns that they fhould follow us up the fide
o f the mountain. As foon as he was gone, they gathered
green branches from the neighbouring trees, and with many
ceremonies, of which we did not know the meaning, laid
them down before us: after this they took fome fmall
berries with which they painted themfelves red, and the
bark o f a tree that contained a yellow juice, with which
they ftained their garments in different parts. We began to
climb the mountain while our old man was ftill in fight,
and he, perceiving that we made our way with difficulty
through the weeds and brufh-wood, which grew very thick,
turned back, and faid fomething to the natives in a firm
loud tone; upon which twenty or thirty o f the men went
before us, and cleared us a very good path; they alfb re-
freffied us with water and fruit as we went along, and
affifted us to climb the mod difficult places, which we
fhould otherwife have found altogether impracticable. We
began to afcend this hill at the diftance o f about fix miles
from the place where we landed, and I reckoned the top o f
it to be near a mile above the river that runs through the
valley below. When we arrived at the fummit, we again
fat down to reft and refrefh ourfelves. While /we were
2 climbing
climbing we flattered ourfelves that from the top we fhould >767.
command the whole ifland, but we now faw mountains 1---- «---- <
before us fo much higher than our fituation, that with Sam iy 2J‘
refpedt to them we appeared to be in a v alle y ; to wards the
fhip indeed the view was enchanting: the fides o f the hills
were beautifully clothed with wood, villages were every
where interfperfed, and the vallies between them afforded a
ftill richer pfofpedt; the houfes flood thicker, and the verdure
was more luxuriant. We faw very few habitations
above us, but difcovered fmoke in many places afcending,
from between the higheft hills that were in fight, and therefore
I conjecture that the moft elevated parts o f the country
are by no means without inhabitants. As we afcended the
mountain, we faw many fprings guffi from fillures on the
fide of it; and when we had reached the fummit, we found
many houfes that we did not difcover as we palled them.
No part of thefe mountains is naked; the fummits o f the
higheft that we could fee were crowned with wood, but o f
what kind I know not: thofe that were o f the fame height
with that which we had climbed, were woody on the fides,
but on the fummit were rocky and covered with fern. Upon
the flats that appeared below thefe, there grew a fedgy kind
of grafs and weeds: in general the foil here, as well as in
the valley, feemed to be rich. We faw feveral bufhes o f
fugar-cane, which was very large and very good, growing;
wild, without the leaft culture. I likewife found ginger and
turmerick, and have brought famples o f both, but could
not procure feeds of any tree, moft o f them being in
bloffom. After travelling the top o f this mountain to a good:
diftance, I found a tree exactly like a fern, except that it was:
14 or 15 feet high. This tree I cut down, and found the in-
fide of it alfo like a fern: I would have brought a piece of it
with me, but found it too cumberfome, and I knew not
what