[ 77 ] 
diftance; they Teemed vaftly happy at his going 
among them, immediately gathered round him, and 
made a rude kind of noife, which I believe was their 
method of finging, as their countenances befpoke it a 
fpecies of jollity. The commodore then made a 
motion to them to fit down, which they did in a circle 
with him in the middle, when Mr. Byron took Tome 
beads and ribbons, which he had brought for that 
purpofe, and tied about the women’s necks, &c. with 
which they Teemed infinitely pleafed. We were 
flruck with the greateft aftonifhment at the fight of 
people of Tuch a gigantic flature, notwithftanding our 
previous notice with our glades from the fhipj their 
number was increafed by the time we got on fhore to 
about five hundred, men, women, and children. The 
men and women both rid in the Tame manner ; the 
women had a kind of belt to clofe their fkin round the 
waifl, which the men had not, as theirs were only 
flung over their fhoulders, and tied with two little 
flips (cut from the fkin) round the neck. At the 
time of the commodore’s motion for them to retire 
farther up the beach, they all difmounted, and turned 
their horfes loofe, which were gentle and flood very 
quietly. The commodore, having difpofed of all his 
prefents and fatisfied his curiofity, thought proper to 
retire, but they were vaftly anxious to have him go up 
into the country to eat with them ; (that they wanted 
him to go with them to eat, we could very well 
underftand by their motion, but their language was 
wholly unintelligible to us.) There was a very great 
fmoke to which they pointed, about a mile from us, 
where there muft have been fever^l fires ; but Tome 
intervening hills prevented our Teeing any thing but 
