* 



30 c 2 COOK S VOYAGE TO MAY, 



habitations of the natives ; and the other parts of the 

 island, especially toward the sea, and about the sides 

 of the lake, are covered with trees and bushes of a 

 most luxuriant growth , the last place having a great 

 many mangroves, and the first a vast number of the 

 Jhitanoo trees already mentioned. There seem to be 

 no rocks or stones of any kind about the island that 

 are not coral, except in one place to the right of the 

 sandy beach, where there is a rock twenty or thirty 

 feet high, of a calcareous stone of a yellowish colour, 

 and a very close texture. But even about that place, 

 which is the highest part of the land, are large pieces 

 of the same coral rock that composes the shore. 



Besides walking frequently up into the country, 

 which we were permitted to do without interruption, 

 we sometimes amused ourselves in shooting wild 

 ducks not unlike the widgeon, which are very nu- 

 merous upon the salt lake, and the pool where we 

 got our water. In these excursions we found the 

 inhabitants had often deserted their houses to come 

 down to the trading place, without entertaining any 

 suspicion that strangers rambling about would take 

 away or destroy any thing that belonged to them. 

 But though, from this circumstance, it might be sup- 

 posed that the greater part of the natives were 

 sometimes collected at the beach, it was impossible 

 to form any accurate computation of their number, 

 as the continual resort of visitors from other islands 

 mixing with them might easily mislead one. How- 

 ever, as there was never to appearance, about a 

 thousand persons collected at one time, it would 

 perhaps be sufficient to allow double that number for 

 the whole island. 



To the north and north-east of Annamooka, and 

 in the direct tract to Hapaee, whither we were now 

 bound, the sea is sprinkled with a great number of 

 small isles. Amidst the shoals and rocks adjoining 

 to this group, I could not be assured that there was 

 a free or safe passage for such large ships as ours, 



