| number, magnitude, and closeness 
of situation, make them appear like 
the villages of the natives. 
_ These buildings are usually termed 
hills, by natives as well as strangers, 
from their outward appearance, 
which is that of little hills, more or 
less conical, generally pretty much 
in the form of sugar loaves, and 
about ten or twelve feet in perpen- 
dicular height above the common 
surface of the ground, 
These hills continue quite bare 
until they are six or eight feet high ; 
but in time the dead barren clay, of 
which they are composed, becomes 
‘fertilized by the genial power of the 
elements in these prolific climates, 
and the addition of vegetable salts and 
other matters, brought by the wind ; 
and in the second or third year, the 
hillock, if not overshaded by trees, 
becomes, like the rest of the earth, 
almost covered with grass and other 
plants ; and, in the dry season, when 
the herbage is burnt up by the rays 
of the sun, it is not much unlike a 
very large hay-cock. 
Every one of these buildings con- 
sists of two distinct parts, the exte- 
tior and the interior. 
The exterior is one large shell, in 
the manner of a dome, large and 
strong enough to inclose and shelter 
the interior from the vicissitudes of 
the weather, and the inhabitants 
from the attacks of natural or acci- 
dental enemies. Itis always, there- 
fore, much stronger than the inte 
nor building, which is the habitable 
part, divided with a wonderful kind 
of regularity and contrivance, inte 
an amazing number of apartments 
for the residence of the king and 
queen, and the nursing of their nu- 
Merous progeny; or for magazines, 
which are always found well filled 
with stores and provisions, 
~ 
- 
NATURAL HISTORY, Say 
These hills make their first ape 
pearance above ground by a little 
turret or two in the shape of sugar 
loaves, which are run a foot high or 
more. Soon after, at some little 
distance, while the former are in- 
creasing in height and size, they 
raise others, and so go on increasing 
the number and widening them at 
the base, till their works below are 
covered with these turrets, which 
they always raise the highest and 
largest in the middle, and by filling 
up the intervals between each tur- 
ret, collect them as it were into one 
dome. 
They are not very curious or ex- 
act about these turrets, except in 
making them very solid and strong, 
and when, by the junction of them 
the dome is completed, for which 
purpose the turrets answer as scaf- 
folds, they take away the middle 
ones entirely, except the tops (which 
joined together make the crown of 
the cupola) and apply the clay to 
the building of the works within, or 
to erecting fresh turrets, for the pur- 
pose of raising the hillock still high- 
er; So that no doubt some part of 
the clay is used several times, like 
‘the boards and posts of a mason’s 
scaffold. 
The outward shell or dome, is not 
only of use to protect and support 
the interior buildings from external 
violence, and the heavy rains; but 
to collect and preserve a regular de- 
gree of genial warmth and moisture, 
which seems very necessary, for 
hatching the eggs and cherishing the 
young ones. 
The royal chamber, which I call 
so on account of its being adapted 
for, and occupied by, the king and 
queen, appears to be, in the opinion 
of this little people, of the most con- 
sequence, being always situated as 
near 
