The sterility of the country will apologise for the natives not contributing to the wants of the navigator.  The sea may, perhaps, in some measure, compensate for the deficiency of the land; for a coast surrounded by reefs and shoals, as this is, cannot fail of being stored with fish.

I have before observed, that the country bears great resemblance to New South Wales, or New Holland, and that some of its natural productions are the same.  In particular, we found here, the tree which is covered with a soft white ragged bark, easily peeled off, and is, as I have been told, the same that, in the East Indies, is used for caulking of ships.  The wood is very hard, the leaves are long and narrow, of a pale dead green, and a fine aromatic; so that it may properly be said to belong to that continent.  Nevertheless, here are several plants, etc. common to the eastern and northern islands, and even a species of the passionflower, which, I am told, has never before been known to grow wild any where but in America.  Our botanists did not complain for want of employment at this place; every day bringing something new in botany or other branches of natural history.  Land-birds, indeed, are not numerous, but several are new.  One of these is a kind of crow, at least so we called it, though it is not half so big, and its feathers are tinged with blue.  They also have some very beautiful turtle-doves, and other small birds, such as I never saw before.

All our endeavours to get the name of the whole island proved ineffectual.  Probably it is too large for them to know by one name.  Whenever we made this enquiry, they always gave us the name of some district or place, which we pointed to; and, as before observed, I got the names of several, with the name of the king or chief of each.  Hence I conclude, that the country is divided into several districts, each governed by a chief; but we know nothing of the extent of his power.  Balade was the name of the district we were at, and Tea Booma the chief.  He lived on the other side of the ridge of hills, so that we had but little of his company, and therefore could not see much of his power. Tea seems a title prefixed to the names of all, or most, of their chiefs or great men.  My friend honoured me by calling me Tea Cook.

They deposit their dead in the ground.  I saw none of their burying-places, but several of the gentlemen did.  In one, they were informed, lay the remains of a chief who was slain in battle; and his grave, which bore some resemblance to a large mole-hill, was decorated with spears, darts, paddles, etc. all stuck upright in the ground round about it.  The canoes, which these people use, are somewhat like those of the Friendly Isles; but the most heavy clumsy vessels I ever saw.  They are what I call double canoes, made out of two large trees, hollowed out, having a raised gunnel, about two inches high, and closed at each end with a kind of bulk-head of the