1767. July. CHAP. VII. An Account of an Expedition to discover the inland Part of the Country, and our other Tranfactions, till we quitted the land to continue our Voyage. A FTER the mate came on board, he gave me a written account of his expedition, to Saturd. 25. the following effect: "At four o'clock in the morning of Saturday the 25th of June, I landed, with four midshipmen, a ferjeant and twelve marines, and twenty-four feamen, all armed, befides four, who carried hatchets and other articles of traffic, and four who were loaded with ammunition and provisions, the reft being left with the boat: every man had his day's allowance of brandy, and the hatchet men two small kegs, to give out when I should think proper. "As foon as I got on fhore, I called upon our old man, and took him with us: we then followed the course of the river in two parties, one marching on each fide. For the first two miles it flowed through a valley of confiderable width, in which were many habitations, with gardens walled in, and abundance of hogs, poultry, and fruit; the foil here seemed to be a rich fat earth, and was of a blackish colour. After this the valley became 1767. July. Saturd, 25 very narrow, and the ground rifing abruptly on one fide of the river, we were all obliged to march on the other. Where the stream was precipitated from the hills, channels had been cut to lead the water into gardens and plantations of fruit trees: in these gardens we found an herb which had never been brought down to the water-fide, and which we perceived the inhabitants eat raw. I tafted it, and found it pleasant, its flavour somewhat re fembling that of the West Indian spinnage, called Calleloor, though its leaf was very different. The ground was fenced off fo as to make a very pretty appearance; the bread-fruit and apple-trees were planted in rows on the declivity of the hills, and the cocoa-nut and plantain, which require more moisture, on the level ground: under the trees, both on the fides and at the foot of the hills, there was very good grafs, but no underwood. As we advanced, the windings of the ftream became innumerable, the hills on each fide fwelled into mountains, and vaft crags every where projected over our heads. Travelling now became difficult, and when we had proceeded about four miles, the road for the last mile having been very bad, we fat down to rest ourselves, and take the refreshment of our breakfast; we ranged ourselves upon the ground under a large apple tree, in a very pleasant spot; but juft as we were about to begin our repaft, we were suddenly alarmed by a confused found of many voices, and a great fhouting, and presently afterwards faw a multitude of men, women and children upon the hill above us; our old 304. July. CAPTAIN WALLIS's VOYAGE 1767. old man feeing us rife haftily, and look to our arms, beckoned to us to fit ftill, and immediately Saturd, 25. went up to the people that had furprised us. A's foon as he joined them they were filent, and foon after.disappeared; in a fhort time, however, they returned, and brought with them a large hog ready roasted, with plenty of bread-fruit, yams, and other refreshments, which they gave to the old man, who diftributed them among our people. In return for this treat, I gave them fome nails, buttons, and other things, with which they were greatly delighted. After this we proceeded up the valley as far as we could, searching all the runs of water, and all the places where water had run, for appearances of metal or ore, but could find none, except what I have brought back with me. I fhewed all the people that we met with, the piece of faltpetre which had been picked up in the island, and which I had taken with me for that purpose, but none of them took any notice of it, nor could I learn from them any thing about it. The old man began now to be weary, and there being a mountain before us, he made fighs that he would go home: before he left us, however, he made the people who had fo liberally fupplied us with provifions, take the baggage, with the fruit that had not been eaten, and fome cocoa-nut fhells full of fresh water, and made figns that they should follow us up the fide of the mountain. As foon as he was gone, they gathered green branches from the neighbouring trees, and with many ceremonies of which we did not know the meaning meaning, laid them down before us: after this they took fome fmall berries with which they painted themselves red, and the bark of a tree that contained a yellow juice, with which they stained their garments in different parts. We began to climb the mountain while our old man was ftill in fight, and he, perceiving that we made our way with difficulty through the weeds and brush wood, which grew very thick, turned back, and faid fomething to the natives in a firm loud tone; up. on which twenty or thirty of the men went before us, and cleared us a very good path; they alfo refreshed us with water and fruit as we went along, and affifted us to climb the most difficult places, which we should otherwise have found altogether impracticable. We began to afcend this hill at the distance of about fix miles from the place where we landed, and I reckoned the top of it to be near a mile above the river that runs through the valley below. When we arrived at the fummit, we again fat down to reft and refresh ourselves. While we were climbing we flattered ourselves that from the top we should command the whole island, but we now faw mountains be. fore us fo much higher than our fituation, that with respect to them we appeared to be in a valley; towards the ship indeed the view was enchanting: the fides of the hills were beautifully clothed with wood, villages were every where interfperfed, and the vallies between them afforded a still richer profpect; the houfes ftood thicker, and the ver dure was more luxuriant. We faw very few ha bitations 1767. July. Saturd, 25. 306 CAPTAIN WALLIS's VOYAGE 1767. bitations above us, but difcovered smoke in many July. places afcending from between the highest hills Saturd. 25. that were in fight, and therefore I conjectured that the most elevated parts of the country are by no means without inhabitants. As we afcended the mountain, we faw many springs gush from fiffures on the fide of it, and when we had reached the fummit, we found many houses that we did not discover as we paffed them. No part of these mountains is naked; the fummits of the highest that we could fee were crowned with wood, but of what kind I know not: thofe that were of the fame height with that which we had climbed, were woody on the fides, but on the fummit were rocky and covered with fern. Upon the flats that appeared below thefe, there grew a fedgy kind of grafs and weeds: in general the foil here, as well as in the valley, feemed to be rich. We faw feveral bushes of fugar-cane, which was very large and very good, growing wild, without the least culture. I likewife found ginger and turmerick, and have brought famples of both, but could not procure feeds of any tree, moft of them being in bloffom. After traverfing the top of this mountain to a good diftance, I found a tree exactly like a fern, except that it was 14 or 15 feet high. This tree I cut down, and found the infide of it alfo like a fern: I would have brought a piece of it with me, but found it too cumberfome, and I knew not what difficulties we might meet with before we got back to the ship, which we judged to be now at a great diftance. After having again recruited 3 |