282 cook's second voyage march, 



served they dug up out of an adjoining plantation ; 

 but this traffic, which was very advantageous to us, 

 was soon put a stop to by the owner (as we supposed) 

 of the plantation coming down, and driving all the 

 people out of it. By this we concluded, that he had 

 been robbed of his property, and that they were not 

 less scrupulous of stealing from one another than 

 from us, on whom they practised every little fraud 

 they could think on, and generally with success ; for 

 we no sooner detected them in one, than they found 

 out another. About seven o'clock in the evening, 

 the party I had sent into the country returned, after 

 having been over the greatest part of the island. 



They left the beach about nine o'clock in the 

 morning, and took a path which led across to the 

 south-east side of the island, followed by a great 

 crowd of the natives, who pressed much upon them. 

 But they had not proceeded far, before a middle- 

 aged man, punctured from head to foot, and his face 

 painted with a sort of white pigment, appeared with 

 a spear in his hand, and walked alongside of them, 

 making signs to his countrymen to keep at a distance, 

 and not to molest our people. When he had pretty 

 well effected this, he hoisted a piece of white cloth 

 on his spear, placed himself in the front, and led the 

 way with his ensign of peace, as they understood it 

 to be. For the greatest part of the distance across 

 the ground had but a barren appearance, being a dry 

 hard clay, and every where covered with stones j but, 

 notwithstanding this, there were several large tracks 

 planted with potatoes, and some plantain walks, but 

 they saw no fruit on any of the trees. Towards the 

 highest part of the south end of the island, the soil, 

 which was a fine red earth, seemed much better, 

 bore a longer grass, and was not covered with stones 

 as in the other parts ; but here they saw neither house 

 nor plantation. 



On the east side, near the sea, they met with three 

 platforms of stone-work, or rather the ruins of them, 



