abode of the inhabitants, it may be allowable to describe.
The walls were sunk under ground, so that only the roof
appeared from without, the inside was fifteen feet by s ix :
the walls of neatly squared stones, being two feet high, and
the roof in the middle about six or seven high, formed of a
ridge pole supported in the centre by a forked stick ; the
rafters of rough branches were covered with reeds, and
thatched over with the leaf of the wild pine, which grows
on all the coral islands. The fire-place was at one end
on a raised part of the floor, and the other end appeared
to be the sleeping place. I t was conjectured, that this
wretched place could only be meant as a temporary residence
of fishermen, whose nets we saw lying ab o u t; but
the number of water jars and cooking utensils which we
found in and about it, gave it the appearance of a fixed
habitation.
I t was almost dark when we quitted the island, and the
tide carrying us out of our proper course, we missed the
ships and grounded on the reefs near the town; but as
the tide was flowing, we easily got off, and by coasting
along, soon gained the anchorage.
Sunday, 29th of September.—This day is memorable,
on account of its being the first on which we were permitted
to land.
Yesterday, when we were absent a t Reef Island, the
chiefs had come on board to say that we might land, but
that our walk must be confined to the beach, and that
we were neither to enter the town, nor to go into the
country. At one o’clock several of the chiefs came on
board and accompanied us to the beach, where we landed
amidst an immense crowd, and were handed along by
Ookooma and the rest, who, in their desire to be civil, held
us by the arms. The day, however, being excessively hot,
and the sand deep, we found this troublesome, and begged
leave to walk alone, to which they reluctantly consented,
and we proceeded along the beach for a quarter of a mile.
Beginning to get tired of our walk, we stopped and expressed
some surprise at such a reception, and told them
how disagreeable it was to us to be in the sun a t such an
hour. But our remonstrances did not produce much effect,
for, on our objecting particularly to the heat, they shewed
us to a sort of cave in a rock on the beach, where they put
down a mat and wished us to drink tea in the shade, since
we disliked the sun. This could not be submitted to, however,
and we told them that our object in landing was not
to sit down on th e . beach to drink tea, but to walk about
under the trees in order to recover our health, impaired by
a long stay on board ship. They tried all their eloquence
to persuade us; that our walk, thus limited, was perfectly