VOL. LXVIII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIOXS. 310 



the natives that have seen it. The tiger is to be heard of in ahnost every part 

 of this island: Mr. M. had never seen one, though he had frequently heard them 

 when he had slept in the woods, and often seen the marks of their feet. They 

 annually destroy near 100 people in the country where the pepper is planted; 

 yet the people are so infatuated that they seldom kill them, having a notion 

 that they are animated by the souls of their ancestors. Of tiger-cats there are 

 2 or 3 sorts; elephants, rhinoceros, elks, one or two other kind of deer, 

 buffaloes, two or three sorts of mustelee, porcupines, and the small liog-deer, 

 almost complete the catalogue of the mammalia. Birds he had seen very few 

 indeed, and very few species of insects. Ants, of 20 or 30 kinds, abound so 

 much, as to make it impossible to preserve birds or insects. He had frequently 

 attempted it, but in vain. He met with one instance, and one only, of a 

 stratum of fossil shells. He had some notion that it was an observation (of Con- 

 damine he thinks) that no such thing was to be found between the tropics. 



The island of Enganho, though situated only about QO miles to the south- 

 ward of Malbro', was so little known, on account of the terrible rocks and 

 breakers which entirely surround it, that it was even doubtful whether it was 

 inhabited: to this island Mr. M. made a voyage. With great dil^culty and 

 danger they beat up the whole south-west side of it, without finding any place 

 to attempt to land. At last however they discovered a spacious harbour at the 

 south-east end of the island, and Mr. M. immediately went to it in the boat, 

 and ordered the vessel to follow as soon as possible, for it was then a dead calm. 

 They rowed directly into this bay; and as soon as they had got round the points 

 of an island which lay off' the harbour, they discovered all the beach covered 

 with naked savages, who were all armed with lances and clubs ; and 1 1 canoes 

 full of them, who, till they had passed them, had lain concealed, immediately 

 rushed out on him, making a horrid noise: this alarmed them greatly; and as 

 Mr. M. had only one European and 4 black soldiers, besides the 4 lascars that 

 rowed the boat, he thought it best to return, if possible, luider the guns of the 

 vessels, before he ventured to speak with them. The canoes however, after 

 having pursued for more than a mile, luckily stopped a little to consult together, 

 which gave him an opportunity to escape them, as they did not care to pursue 

 out to sea. The same afternoon the vessel came to an anchor in the bay, and 

 they were presently visited by 50 or 6o canoes full of people. They paddled 

 round the vessel, and called to them in a language which nobody on board 

 understood, though he had people who understood the languages spoken on all 

 the other islands. They seemed to look at every thing about the vessel very 

 attentively; but more from the motive of pilfering than from curiosity, for they 

 watched an opportunity and unshipped the rudder of the boat, and paddled 

 away with it. He fired a musket over their heads, the noise of which frightened 



