452 VOYAGE TO THE 



chip. ' m g each other over the pile. The body was found ly- 

 v— yw ing with the head to the westward, and had been in- 

 ?826 terred in a double dress, the under one made of the 

 skins of eider-drakes, and the upper one of those of 

 reindeer. It had been exposed a considerable time, 

 as the skeleton only was left ; but enough of the 

 dress remained to show the manner in which the 

 body had been clothed. 



The beach was in a great measure composed of 

 dark-coloured volcanic sand, and was strewed with 

 dead shells of the cardium, Venus, turbo, murex, 

 solen, trochus, mytilus, mya, lepas, and tellina ge- 

 nera : there were also some large asterias. The 

 sand-hills were partly covered with elymus grass, 

 the vaccinium vitis ideea, empetrum nigrum, and 

 some shrubs, while the carex preferred the hollow 

 moist places ; the rest of the surface was occupied 

 by lichens. On the border of the lakes there were 

 several curlew, sanderlings, and gulls ; while small 

 flocks of ptarmigan alighted upon those parts which 

 produced berries. A red fox prowling among the 

 deserted huts and the graves was the only quadru- 

 ped seen. Nearly the whole of the day was passed 

 at this place in making astronomical observations ; 

 after which we embarked, and were obliged by bad 

 weather to return to the ship. 



The day after my departure, a new cutter, which 

 had been built of some wood of the porou-tree, 

 grown upon Otaheite, was completed and launched, 

 and upon trial found to answer under canvas be- 

 yond our expectations, doing great credit to Mr. 

 Garrett, the carpenter, who built her almost entirely 

 himself. I placed her under the charge of Lieute- 

 nant Belcher, who was afterwards almost daily em- 

 ployed in surveying. 



