1777- ing black on the furface; which, from its irregularity, is
1— -v— > not much unlike large mafles of a burnt fubftance. Bur,
on breaking foine pieces off, we found, that, at the depth
of two or three inches, it was juft as frefh as the pieces thaic
had been lately thrbwn upon the beach by the waves. The
reef or rock, that lines the ihore entirely, runs to- different
breadths into the fea, where it ends, all at once, and be-
• -
-comes like a high, ileep wall. It is, nearly, even with the
furface of the water, and of a brown or brick colour; but
-the texture is rather porous, yet fufficient to withftand1 die
waihing of the furf which continually breaks upon it.”
Though the landing of our Gentlemen proved the means
of enriching, my Journal with the foregoing particulars,
the principal object I had in view was, in a great meafure,
unattained; for the day was fpenc without getting any one
thing from the iiland worth mentioning. The natives,
however, were gratified with a fight they never before had1;
and, probably, will never have again. And mere curioiity
feems to have been their chief motive for keeping the
gentlemen under fuch reftraint, and for ufing every art to
prolong their continuance amongft them.
It has been mentioned, that Omai was fent upon this ex-
|i pedition; and, perhaps, his being Mr. Gore’s interpreter
- was not the only fcrvice he performed this day. He was
afked, by the nadv'es, a great many queftions concerning
us, our ihips, our country, and the fort of arms we ufed;
and,’ according to the account he gave me, his anfwera were
not a little upon the marvellous. As, for inftanoe, he told
them, that.our country had ihips as large as their iiland ; on
board, which were inftruments of war (defcrihing our guns),
of fuch dimenfions, thatfeveral people mighrfit within them;
1 and
and that one of them was fufficient to crufh the whole iiland
at one ihot. This led them to inquire of him, what fort of
guns we a&uaily had in our two ihips. He faid, that though
they were but fmall, in comparifon with thofe he had juft
defcribed, yet, with fuch as they were, we could, with the
greateft eafe, and at the diftance the ihips were from the:
ihore, deftroy the iiland, and kill every foul in it. They
perfevered in their inquiries, to know by what means this
could be done; and Omai explained the matter as well as he
could. He happened luckily to have a few cartridges in his-
pocket. Thefe he produced; the balls, and the gunpowder
which was to fet them in motion, were fubmitted to infpec—
tion; and, to fupply the defefts of his defcription, an appeal
was made to the fenfes of the fpeilators. It has been*
mentioned above, that one of the Chiefs, had ordered the:
multitude to form themfelves into a circle; This furniffied;
Omai with a convenient ftage for his exhibition; In the-
center of this amphitheatre, the inconfiderable quantity of
gunpowder, collected from his cartridges, was properly
difpofed upon the ground, and, by means of a bit of burning
wood from the oven, where dinner was drefiing, fet on*
fire. The fudden blaft, and loud report, the mingled flame
and fmoke, that inftantly fucceeded, now filled the whole *
affembly with aftoniihment ;■ they no longer doubted the
tremendous power of our weapons, and gave full credit to;
all that Omai had faid.
If it had not been for the terrible. ideas ,they conceived ■
of the guns of our ihips, from this fpecimen_of their mode -
of operation, it was thought that they would have detained
the gentlemen all night: For Omai affured them, that, if
he and his companions did not return on board the famew-
day, they might expeif that I would fire upon the iiland.
And: