1770. ROUND THE WORLD. 383 



pensated for my labour, for I saw the sea on the 

 eastern side of the country, and a passage leading 

 from it to that on the west, a little to the eastward 

 of the entrance of the inlet where the ship now lay. 

 The main land, which lay on the south-east of this 

 inlet, appeared to be a narrow ridge of very high 

 hills, and to form part of the south-west side of the 

 straight; the land on the opposite side appeared to 

 trend away east as far as the eye could reach; and to 

 the south-east there appeared to be an opening to the 

 sea, which washed the eastern coast : on the east 

 side of the inlet also I saw some islands which I had 

 before taken to be part of the main land. Having 

 made this discovery, I descended the hill, and as 

 soon as we had taken some refreshment, we set out 

 on our return to the ship. In our way, we examined 

 the harbours and coves which lie behind the islands 

 that I had discovered from the hill; and in this route 

 we saw an old village, in which there were many 

 houses that seemed to have been long deserted: we 

 also saw another village which was inhabited, but the 

 day was too far spent for us to visit it, and we there- 

 fore made the best of our way to the ship, which we 

 reached between eight and nine o'clock at night. 



The 23d I employed in carrying on a survey of the 

 place; and upon one of the islands where I landed, 

 I saw many houses which seemed to have been long 

 deserted, and no appearance of any inhabitant. 



On the 24th, we went to visit our friends at the 

 Hippah or village on the point of the island near the 

 ship's station, who had come off to us on our first 

 arrival in the bay. They received us with the ut- 

 most confidence and civility, showing us every part 

 of their habitations, which were commodious and 

 neat. The island or rock on which this town is 

 situated, is divided from the main by a breach or 

 fissure so narrow, that a man might almost leap from 

 one to the other: the sides of it are every where so 

 steep as to render the artificial fortification of these 



