ASCENT OF THE HILL. 107 



and friendly. We made them many presents, and 

 after an early breakfast, Lieut. Yule, Dr. M'Clatchie, 

 and I, in one boat with four men, Messrs. Pollard 

 and Sweatman, with five men, in another, prepared 

 to go ashore. All the party were armed except 

 Mr. Yule and Messrs. Pollard and Sweatman, who 

 had the chronometer, sextant, theodolite, &c. to 

 attend to. In landing, we found a slight surf upon 

 the beach, and accordingly anchored the boats and 

 waded ashore, leaving two men armed in each boat 

 to take care of her. Mr. Yule was lame with 

 rheumatism, I therefore volunteered to look after 

 the natives, while he attended merely to his work. 

 At the back of the beach rose some low crumbling 

 sand cliffs, about 40 feet high, above which was a 

 gentle slope for two or three hundred yards to the 

 foot of the hill, which was steep and rocky. This 

 slope was rather uneven, and covered here and there 

 with small scrubby bushes. On the right hand, as 

 we went up, was an open hollow, and on our left a 

 deep little gully, full of low dense scrub, apparently 

 quite impenetrable. The hill was composed of 

 granite, with many large loose blocks upon its sides, 

 and its top was about 400 or 500 feet above the level 

 of the sea. Soon after we reached the top our two 

 black friends joined us, having followed us ashore 

 in their, canoe, and whilst the observations were 

 being taken M'Clatchie and I kept them in good 

 humour at a little distance, by talking, laughing, 

 and dancing as usual. The country on the other 



