excellent water. The northern cove is the moll commodious
for wooding and watering. Here is the little waterfall
mentioned by Quiros, Mendana’s pilot; but the town, or
village, is in the other cove. There are feveral other coves,
or bays, on this fide of the ifland ; and fome of them, efpe-
cially to the northward, may be miftaken for this; therefore,
the beft direction is the hearing of the Weft end of La
Dominica.
The trees, plants, and other produflions of thefe ifies, fo
far as we know, are nearly the fame as at Otaheite and the
Society Iftes. The refrelhments to be got are hogs, fowls,
plantains, yams, and fome other roots; likewife bread-fruit
and cocoa-nuts, but of thefe not many. At firft thefe
articles were purchafed with nails. Beads, looking-glafies,
and fuch trifles, which are fo highly valued at the Society
lfles, are in no efteem here; and even nails, at laft, loft their
value for other articles far lefs ufeful.
The inhabitants of thefe iflands, collectively, are without
exception the fineft race of people in this fea. For fine
fhape and regular features, they perhaps furpafs all other
nations. Neverthelefs, the affinity of their language to that
fpoken in Otaheite and the Society lfles, fhews that they are
of the fame nation. Oedidee could converfe with them to,
lerably well, though we could not; but it was eafy to fee
that their language was nearly the fame.
The men are punftured, or curioufly tattowed}. from head
to foot. The figures are various, and feem to be direcfted
more by fancy than cuftom. Thefe punctuations make
them look dark ; but the women, who are but little punctured,
youths, and young children who are not at all, are as
fair.
fair as fome Europeans. The men are, in general, tall; that '774-
is, about five feet ten inches or fix feet; but I faw none that <—
were fat and lufty like the Earees of Otaheite; nor did I fee
any that could be called .meagre. Their teeth are not fo
good, nor are their eyes fo full and lively as thofe of many
other nations. Their hair, like ours, is of many colours,
except red, of which I faw none. Some have it long; but
the moft general cuftom is to wear it fhort, except a bunch
on each fide of the crown, which they tie in a knot. They
obferve different modes in trimming the beard, which is, in
general, long. Some part it, and tie it in two bunches under
the chin; others plait it; fome wear it loofe;. and others,
quite fhor.t.
Their cfoatfiing is the fame as at Otaheite, and' made of
the fame materials; but they have it not in fuch plenty, nor
is it fo good. The men, for the moft part, have nothing to
cover their nakednefs, except the Marra, as it is called at
Otaheite; which is a flip of cloth paffed round the waift and
betwixt the legs. This Ample drefs is quite fufficient for the
climate, and anfwers every purpofe modefty requires; The
drefs of the women is a piece of cloth, wrapped round the loins
like a petticoat, which reaches down below the middle of
the leg, and a loofe mantle over their fhoulders. Their principal
head-drefs, and what appears to be their chief ornament,
is a fort of broad fillet, curioufly madeof the fibres of the
hufkof cocoa-nuts. In the frontis fixed a mother-of-pearl fhell
wrought round to the fize of a tea faucer. Before that, another,
fmaller, of very fine to'rtojfe-fhell, perforated in curious
figures. Alfo before, and in the center-of that,.is another
round piece of mother-of-pearl, about .the fize of half a.
crown ; and before, this.,another piece of perforated tortoife—
ih e lli