■ 774- tend their group much farther, even down to Bofcawen and) June. *
i---- -—i Keppel’s Hies, difcovered by Captain Wallis, and lying nearly
Tfcurflay 30. • / , ' 1 ■ 1 under the lame meridian, and m the latitude of i j ° 53'; for
from the little account I have had of the people of thefe two
ifles, they feem, to have the fame, fort of friendly difpofitiorr
we obferved in our Archipelago.
The inhabitants,. productions, &e.. of Rotterdam, and the1
neighbouring ides, are the fame as at Amfterdam. Hogs-
and fowls are, indeed, muchfcarcer; of the former having
got but fix, and not many of the latter. Yams and fhaddocks
were what we got the moft of,;- other fruits were not fo plenty;
Not half the ifle is laid out in inclofed-plantations as at Am-
fterdam; but the parts which are not inclofed, are not lefs fertile
or uncultivated. There is, however,, far more wafte land
on this ifle, in proporuon to Its fize,. than upon the other; and
the people feem to be much poorer; that is, in cloth, matting,
ornaments,'&c. which conftitute. a. great part of the
riches of the South Sea iflanders-
The people of this ifle feem to be more affedtedwith the
leprofy, or fome fcrophulous diforder, than any I have feerr
elfewhere. It breaks out in the face more than any other
part of the body. I have feen feveral whofe faces/were
ruined by it, and their nofes quite gone. In one of my' ei-
curfions, happening to peep into a houfe where one or more
of them were, one man only appeared at the door, or hole
by which I mull have entered, and which he began to flop
up, by drawing feveral parts of a cord acrofs it. But the
intolerable flench which came from his putrid face was
alone fufficient to keep me out, had the entrance been ever fo
wide. His nofe was quite gone, and his whole face in one continued
tinued ulcer; fo that.the very fight of him was Ihocking. As
our people had not all got clear of a certain difeafe they
had contracted at the Society Ifles, I took all poflible care to
prevent its being communicated to the natives here; and I
have reafon to believe my endeavours fuceeeded.
Having mentioned a houfe, it may not be amifs to obferve,
that fome here differ from thofe I faw at the other ifles; being
Inclofed or walled on every fide with reeds neatly put together
but not clofe. The entrance is by a fquare hole about
two and a half feet each way. The form of thefe houfes is an
oblong fquare; the floor or foundation every way Ihorter
than the eve, which is about four feet from the ground By
this conftrudlion, the rain that falls on the roof, is carried off
from the w a ll; which otherwife would decay and rot.
We did not diftinguifh any king, or leading chief, or any
perfon who took upon him the appearance of fupreme authority;
The man and woman before mentioned, whom I
believed to be man and wife, interefted themfelves on'feveral
occafions in our affairs ; but it wa-s.eafy to fee they had
no great, authority. -Amongft other 1 things which I gave
them as a reward for their fervice, was a young dog and
bitch, animals which they have not, but are very fond of,
and know very well by name. They have fome of the fame
fort of earthen pots we faw at Amfterdam ; and I am of opinion
they are of their .own manufacture, or that of fome
neighbouring ifle.
The road, as I have already mentioned, is on the North
fide of the ifle, juft to the fouthward of the fouthernmoft cove;.
for there .are two on this fide. The bank is of fome extent,
and the bottom free from rocks, with twenty-five and twenty
fathoms water, one or two miles from the fhore.
Eire