176 AVOYAGETO 



•777; obfervation, are guarded by a reef of coral rock, on the outfide 



March. " 



of which the fea is of an unfathomable depth. It is full five 

 leagues in circuit, and of a moderate and pretty equal 

 height ; though, in clear weather, it may be certainly fctn 

 at the diftance of ten leagues; for we had not loft fight of it 

 at night, when we had run above feven leagues, and the 

 weather was cloudy. In the middle, it rifes into little hills, 

 from whence there is a gentle defcent to the fliore, which, 

 at the South Weft part, is ftecp, though not above ten or 

 twelve feet high; and has feveral excavations made by the 

 beating of the waves againft a brownifli fand-ftone of 

 which it is compofed. The defcent here is covered with 

 trees of a deep green colour, very thick, but not high, 

 which feem all of one fort, unlefs neareft the fluore, where 

 there are great numbers of that fpecies of dracena found in 

 the woods of New Zealand, which are alfo fcattered in 

 fome other places. On the North Weft parr, the fhore, as 

 we mentioned above, ends in a fandy beech ; beyond which 

 the land is broken down into fmall chafms or gullies, and 

 has a broad border of trees refembling tall willows ; which, 

 from its regularity, might be fuppofed a work of art, did 

 not its extent forbid us to think fo. Farther up on the 

 afcent, the trees were of the deep green mentioned before. 

 Some of us fuppofed thefe to be the rima^ intermixed with 

 low cocoa palms; and a few of fome other forts. They 

 feemed not fo thick as on the South Weft part, and higher ; 

 which appearance might be owing to our nearer approach 

 to the fhore. On the little hills, were fome trees of a taller 

 fort, thinly fcattered ; but the other parts of them were 

 either bare, and of a reddifii colour, or covered with fome- 

 thing like fern. Upon the whole, the illand has a pretty 

 afped, and might be made a beautiful fpot by cultivation. 

 J As 



