drinks, and wafhes himfelf without the lead ceremony ; after
which another takes his place and does the fame.
They obferved that this fide of the ifland was full of thofe
gigantic ftatues fo often mentioned ; fome placed in groupes
on platforms of mafonry ; others Angle, fixed only in the
earth, and that not deep ; and thefe latter are, in general,
touch larger than the others. Having meafured one, which
had fallen down, they found it very near twenty-feven feet
long, and upwards of eight feet over the breaft or fhoulders.;
and yet this appeared confiderably fhort of the fize of one
they faw Handing : its fhade, a little pad two o’clock, being
fufficient to fhelter all the party, confiding of near thirty
perdons, from the rays of the fun. Here they Hopped to
dine ; after which they repaired to a hill, from whence they
faw all the Ead and North fliores of the ide, on which they
could not fee either bay or creek fit even for. a boat to land
in ; nor the lead figns of frefh water. What the natives-
brought them here was real fait water; but they obferved
that fome of them drank pretty plentifully of it, fo far will
neceffity and cufiom get the better of nature ! On this account
they were obliged to return to the lad-mentioned well-
where, after having quenched their third, they directed
their route acrofs the ifland towards the fhip, as it was now
four o’clock.
In a fmall hollow, on the higheff part of the idand, they
met with feveral fuch cylinders as are placed, on the heads
of the datues. Some of thefe appeared larger than any they
had feen before ; but it was now too late to Hop to meafure
any of them. Mr. Wales, from whom 1 had this information,
is of opinion, that there had been a quarry here, whence
thefe
285
thefe dones had formerly been dug; and that it would have Jfrlfc
been no difficult matter to roll them down the hill after y— -----' . Tuelday 15.
they were formed. I think this a Very reafonable conjecture ;
and have no doubt that it has been fo.
On the declivity of the mountain towards the Wed, they
met with another well; but the water was a very drong mineral,
had a thick green fcum on thé top, and dunk intolerably.
Neceffity, however, obliged fome to drinkof it ; but
it foon made them fo fick, that they threw it up the fame
way it went down.
In all this excurfion, as well as the one made the preceding
day, only two or three Ihrubs were feen. The leaf and feed
of one (called, by the natives Torromedo) were not much un-
like thofe of the common vetch; but the pod was-more like
that of a tamarind, in its fize and ffiape. The feeds have a
difagreeable bitter tade; and the natives, when they faw
our people chew them, made figns to fpit them out ; from -
whence it was concluded that they think them peifonous.
The wood is of a rediffi colour, and pretty hard and heavy ;
but very crooked, fmall, and fhort, not exceeding fix or
feven feet in height. At theS. W. comer of the ifland, they
found another fmall flirub, whofe wood was white and
brittle, and in fome meafure, as alfo its leaf, refembling-
the afli. They alfo faw in feveral places the Otaheitean
cloth plant; but it was poor and weak, and not above two-
and a half feet high at mod.
They faw not an animal of any fort, and but very few
birds ; nor indeed any thing which can induce drips that
are not in the utmod didrefs, to touch at this idand.
This