154 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
him, for I was particularly anxious to get plants of the Dammara ; bat 
to my great disappointment, I was told, on my arrival, by Mr. Water- 
house, the Missionary, that the forest of Dammara was twenty miles 
inland, and that the conflicts which prevailed among the natives rendered 
travelling most dangerous; on hearing which, the Captain forbade my 
attempting to go. By my absence from Ovulan on this occasion Į also 
lost some of the plants I had gathered, being unable to attend to them 
for some days, for I was not allowed to carry them with me. Į was 
glad to procure growing specimens of the tree from which the natives 
make their cloth, with portions of the bark in all stages of preparation, 
_ to the finished cloth, also several articles of native produce. 
From Ovulan we sailed, on the 24th of November, to Aneiteum, one 
of the New Hebrides, and reached-it on the 28th; but as the ship was 
to proceed quickly to Tanna, whence I now write, only forty-eight hours 
could be allowed at Aneiteum, which I strove to use to the best advan- 
tage; travelling fourteen miles across the mountains for growing plants, 
some of which I send you. Please to observe, particularly, one which 
appears to be a Vaccinium. 1 secured also that object of my chief 
desire, the Dammara, both alive, and seeds of it; with Orchidee and 
many interesting Ferns; but had to sleep on. the ground one night to 
. obtain them. 
_ We anchored at Tanna on the 2nd of December, at sunset. It was 
a Saturday, and at the entreaty of the native teacher, who had been sent 
hither from Anietum, and who wished us to set a good example to the 
poor islanders, we stayed on board all Sunday. On Monday, Mr. 
Macgillivray and I landed; but we found the natives so troublesome, that 
we were obliged to be very careful, and for safety's sake, we could only 
about in parties... We took our way towards the mountain, which 
is five miles from our anchorage, and were followed by a prodigious 
oe of natives, who still realize the description given of them by 
Captain Cook, and since by Dr. Hinds, in their troublesome and inqui- 
Stive ways: they pulled open my botanizing boxes, they pilfered every- 
thing they could contrive to clutch. However, in spite of this annoy- 
LN, we climbed the mountain, upwards of 400 feet above the sea, and 
gazed mito the volcanic pit, quite as much in depth and about two miles 
: round, which is on the summit. In many places explosions were going 
a dhot "n being hurled up to a great height, with clouds of 
E smoke and violent bursts of heat. A yellow margin of steaming, cho- 
