288 JOHN LEDYARD. 



so much facilitated our progress began not only 

 to take a direction southward of west, but had been 

 so little frequented as to be almost effaced. In this 

 situation we consulted our Indian convoy, but to no 

 purpose. We then advised among ourselves, and 

 at length concluded to proceed by the nearest route 

 without any beaten track, and went in this manner 

 about four miles farther, finding the way even more 

 steep and rough than we had yet experienced, but 

 above all impeded by such impenetrable thickets as 

 to render it impossible for us to proceed any farther. 

 We therefore abandoned our design, and, returning 

 in our track, reached the retreat we had improved 

 the last night, having been the whole day in walk- 

 ing only about ten miles, and we had been very 

 assiduous too. We found the country here, as well 

 as on the sea-shore, universally overspread with lava, 

 and also saw several subterranean excavations that 

 had every appearance of past eruption and fire. 

 Our botanist to-day met with great success, and we 

 had also shot a number of fine birds of the liveliest 

 and most variegated plumage that any of us had 

 ever met with; but we heard no melody among 

 them. Except these, we saw no other kind of birds 

 but the screech-owl, neither did we see any kind of 

 quadruped ; but we caught several curious insects. 

 The woods here are thick and luxuriant, the largest 



