2o6 Voyage in search 



lefs hard, green fchorl, granite, fpecular iron 

 ore, &c. 



On our return, we flopped at the foot of 

 thefe mountains, in the midft of fome families 

 of favages aflembled near their huts, and fig- 

 nified to feveral of them a great defire to 

 quench our third with cocoa-nut juice ; but 

 as that fruit is by no means plentiful in this 

 part of the ifland, they conferred together a Ic/ig 

 time before they would refolveto fell us any. At 

 laft one of them went and pulled fome from the 

 top of one of the lofrieft cocoa-nut trees, in 

 order to bring them to us. We were extremely 

 furprifed at the rapidity with whi-ch he afcend- 

 cd. Holding the trunk of the tree with his 

 hands, he ran up all its length with almoft as 

 much cafe and quicknefs as if he had been on 

 a horizontal plane. I had never had an oppor- 

 tunity of remarking fuch agility among the 

 other iflanders whom we before vifited. 



The waters of the fea frequently wallied the 

 foot of the cocoa-palm, the fruit of which we 

 had juil procured ; the.nce they were filled with 

 a rather tart liquor, which however we drank, 

 being very thirfly. 



The children of thefe favages watched the 



ir.omcnt when we had emptied the cocoa-nuts 



(;f their juice, to afl^ them of us, finding ftill 



ir.eans to make fomcthing of them. They tore 



J with 



