BASHEEISLANDS. 69 



of three or four rows of fmall houfes, erected on polls, and 

 wattled with boughs. They have no other way of getting to 

 their habitations but by a ladder, which is pulled up after them, 

 if they mean to afcend to the upper villages, or to fecure them- 

 felves from an aflault. Thefe two illands are the moft populous, 

 as they have more of thefe precipices. Bq/Jjee illand has but 

 one precipice, and in confequence only one town. Orange is 

 lofty, yet io plain as to furnilh no fpot fitted for the lite of their 

 villages, and is therefore uninhabited. 



The produce of thefe iflands are a few of the tropical fruits, Produci. 

 pine apples, fugar canes, plantains, bananas^ calabalhes, yams, 

 and potatoes. Thefe are planted in the vallies, which are well 

 watered with fmall ftreams ; they are alfo well wooded, bur the 

 trees do not grow to any large fize. Their animals are hogs and 

 goats in plenty ; their poultry few ; among the wild fowl, par- 

 roquets and fome other fmall birds. 



The natives are fliort and fquat, round vifaged, with low Natives. 

 foreheads and thick eye-brows ; fhort low nofes, eyes fmall and 

 hazel, but larger than thofe of the Cbinefe; lips and mouth of 

 a mi{idle lize, hair black, thick, lank, and cut fhort, fo as ji>ft 

 to cover the ears. The defcription of thefe people agrees fo 

 exadly with that of the Japanefe- given by Kaempfer *, that 

 there cannot be any doubt of their origin^ 



Their government is quite patriarchal ; their religion has no Governm 

 exterior rites, but probably is mental, as is comm'on with many 

 orientalifts. There is no appearance of idols on any of their 

 iflands : They certainly have laws ; for Dmnpier faw the crime 

 of theft puniflied in a young man who was buried alive in the 



• Hill, of Japan, i. p. 95. 



pre fence 



NT. 



