tafting like alum. The place affe&ed by the heat was not
above eight or ten yards fquare; and near it were Lome fig-
trees, which fpread their branches over a part of it, and feemed
to like their fituadon. We thought that this extraordinary
heat was caufed by the fleam of boiling water, ftrongly impregnated
with fulphur. I was told that fome of the other
places were larger than this; though we did not go out of
the road to look at them, but proceeded up the hill through
a country fo covered with trees, fhrubs, and plants, that the
bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees, which feem to have been
planted here by Nature, were in a manner choked up.
Here and there, we met with an houfe, fome few people, and
plantations. Thefe latter we found in different ftates ; fome
of long ftanding; others lately cleared; and fome only
clearing, and before any thing had been planted. The'clear-
ing a piece of ground for a plantation, feemed to be a work
of much labour, confidering the tools .they had to work
with, which, though much inferior to thofe at the Society
Ifles, are of the fame kind. Their method is, however, ju dicious,
and as expeditious as it can well be. They lop off
the fmall branches of the large trees, dig under the roots, and
there burn the branches and fmall fhrubs and plants which
they root up. The foil, in fome parts, is a rich black mould ;
in other parts, it feemed to be compofed of decayed vegetables,
and of the afhes the volcano fends forth throughout
all its neighbourhood. Happening to turn out of the common
path, we came into a plantation where we found a
man at work, who, either out of good-nature, or to get us
the fooner out of his territories, undertook to be our guide.
We followed him accordingly; but had not gone far before we
came to thej undiion of two roads,in one of which flood another
man with a fling and a ftone, which he thought proper to lay
down
5
down when a mufquet was pointed at him. The attitude in A'u77u‘},'
which we found him, the ferocity appearing in his looks, 1---- '
• . ’ , 1 , Sunday 14. and his behaviour after, convinced us that he meant to defend
the path he flood in. He, in fome meafure, gained
his point; for our guide took the other road, and we followed;
but not without fufpedling he was leading us out of the
common way. The other man went with us likewife, counting
us feveral times over, and hallooing, as we judged, for
afliftance.; for we were prefently joined by two or three
more, among whom was a young woman with'a club in her
hand. By thefe people we were conducted to the brow of a
hill, and fhewn a road, leading down to the harbour, which
they wanted us to take. Not choofing to comply, we returned
to that we had left, which we purfued alone, our
guide refufing to go with us. After afcending another ridge,
as thickly covered with wood as thofe we had come over, we
faw yet other hills between us and the volcano, which
feemed as far off as at our firft fetdng out. This difcouraged
us from proceeding farther, efpecially as we could get no
one to be our guide. We therefore came to a refolution to
return ; and had but juft put this in execution when we met
between twenty and thirty people, whom the fellow before
mentioned had collefted together, with a defign,. as we
judged, to oppofe our advancing into the country; but as
they faw us returning, they fuffered us to pafs unmolefted.
Some of them put us into the right road, accompanied us
down the hill, made us flop by the way, to entertain us
with cocoa-nuts, plantains, and fugar-cane; and what we
did not eat on the fpot, they brought down the hill with us.
Thus we found thefe people hofpitable, civil, and good-natured,
when not prompted to acontrary conduct by jealoufy;
a condutft I cannot tell how to blame them for, efpecially
V o l . II. K when