THEPACIFIC OCEAN. 99 



nuifance, like all other infecTrs, had now become area! peft; i??-- 

 and fo deftructive, that few things were free from their ra- *— v~lr 

 vages. If food of any kind was expofed, only for a few 

 minutes, it was covered with them ; and they foon pierced 

 it full of holes, rcfembling a honeycomb. They were par- 

 ticularly deftru(5live to birds, which had been fluffed and 

 prcferved as curiofities ; and, what was worfe, were uncom- 

 monly fond of ink ; fo that the writing on the labels, fatt- 

 ened to different articles, was quite eaten out ; and the only 

 thing that preferved books from them, was the clofenefs of 

 the binding, which prevented thefe devourers getting be- 

 tween the leaves. According to Mr. Anderfon's obferva- 

 tions, they were of two forts, the blatta orientalis, and ger- 

 ?iianica. The lirft of thefe had been carried home in the 

 fliip from her former voyage, where they withflood the fc- 

 verity of the hard winter in 1776, though flie was in dock 

 all the time. The others had only made their appearance 

 fmce our leaving New Zealand ; but had increafed fo faft, 

 that they now not only did all the mifchief mentioned 

 above, but had even got amongft the rigging; fo that when 

 a fail was loofened, thoufands of them fell upon the decks. 

 The orient aksy though in infinite numbers, fcarcely came 

 out but in the night, when they made every thing in the 

 cabins feem as if in motion, from the particular noife in 

 crawling about. And, befides their difagreeable appear- 

 ance, they did great mifchief to our bread, which was fo 

 befpattcred with their excrement, that it would have been 

 badly reliflied by delicate feeders. 



The intercourfe of trade, and friendly offices, was carried 

 on, between us and the natives, without being diflurbed by 

 any one accident, till the evening of the sad, when a man v/ednef. 22, 

 found means to get into Mr. Bayly's obfervatory, and to 



O 2 carry 



