i??-f. cove where we landed, and where no one would ever have
Ju*y' ■ thought of looking for what we wanted. However, I believe,
the water of this fpring might be good, were it pof-
fible to take.it up, before, the tide mixes with it. Finding-
that we did not like this, our friends took us a little way
into the iiland; where, in a deep chafm, we found very
good water; which, at the expence of fome time and
trouble, might he conveyed down to the ihore, by means o f
fpquts or troughs, that could be made with plantain leaves»
and the item of the tree> But, rather than to undertake
that tedious talk, I refolved to reft contented with the fupply
the ihips had got at Tonga taboo.
Before I returned on board, I fét oh foot a trade for hogs
and yams. O f the former, we could- procure but few ; but;
of the latter, plenty. I put afhore, at- this iiland, the rám
and two ewes, of the Cape of Good Hope breed of fheep;
intrufting them to the care of Taoofa, who feeméd proud
of his'charge. It was. fortúnate,, perhaps, that Mareewa-
gee, to whom I had given them, as before-mentioned,
flighted the prefent. Eooa, not having, as yet, got: any dogs,
upon it, feems to be a properer place than Tongataboo for
the rearing of iheep.
As we lay at anehor, this: iftand bore a very different-
afpeft from any we had lately feen, and formed a moft
beautiful landfcape. If is higher than any we had paffed}
fince leaving New Zealand (as Kao may juftly be reckoned
an immenfe rock), and- from its top, which is almoft flat;
declines veFy gently toward the fea. As-the other iiles, of
this duller, are level, the eye can difcover nothing but the
trees that cover them ; hut here-the land, riling gently upward,
prefents us with an extenfive. profpedt, where groves
of trees are only interfperfed at irregular diftances, in,
beautiful
beautiful diforder, and the reft covered with-grafs. Near
the ihore, again, it is. quite fhaded with various trees, '
amongft which are the habitations of the natives ; and- to-
the right of our ftation, was one of the moft extenfive groves,
of cocoa-palms we had ever feen.
The 13th,. in the afternoon, a party of us made an excur- Sunday 13 -
fion to- the higheft part of the iiland, which was a little to-
the right of our ihips, in order to have- a full view of the'
country. About half way up, we crofted a deep valley, the
bottom and fides of which, though compofed of, hardly any
thing but coral rock, were clothed with trees.- We were
now about two or three hundred feet above the level o f the:
iea, and yet, even here, the coral was perforated into all the
holes and inequalities, which ufuaMy diveriify the furfaee
of this fubftance within the reach of the tide. Indeed, we
found the fame coral, till we began to approach the fum-
mits of the higheft hills; and, it was remarkable, that:
thefe were chiefly compofed of a yellowiili, foft, fandy
ftone. The foil, there, is, in general, a reddilh clay ; which,
in many places, feemed to- be veny deept On the moft elevated
part of the whole iftand, we found a round platform,
cff mount of earth, fupported by a wall of cot al ftones; to*
bring which, to fuch a height, muft have coft much- labour.'
Qur guides told us, that this mount had been, ere&ed by-
order of. their Chief; and that they, fometimes, met there,
tp drink kava. They called it Etchee; by which name, an
qreftion, which w.e had feen at Tongataboo, as already
mentioned, was diftinguiihed. Not many paces, from- it,
was a fpring of excellent water; and, about a.mile-lower
down, a running ftream, which, we were told, found its,
yyay to the fea, when the rains, were copious. We alfo met,
with,;