37 1 ) SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1S20. it had. probably belonged to the Echo. Near the 
Aug^6. cask were lying several cocoa-nuts, one of which 
was quite sound and perfect. The beach was 
strewed with pumice-stone, heaped up above the 
high-water mark. 
The basis of the island is a coarse-grained 
granite. A shallow soil on the sides of the hills, 
the surface of which was thickly strewed with 
stones and large masses of rock, nourished a 
slight clothing of grass and other herbage. The 
summit of the island forms a peak, and is, per- 
haps, about a thousand feet high ; the island is 
thinly wooded with small trees, which scarcely 
deserve the appellation of timber. 
No natives were seen, but it was evident they 
had lately been upon the island, from the re- 
cent appearances of their fire-places and the 
perfect state of a hut, which was a more comfort- 
able habitation than we have usually found: it 
was arched over in the usual way, by twigs bent 
in the form of a dome ; and was neatly thatched 
with dry grass. No turtle marks were noticed 
on the beach, so that I should think this was 
not the season for laying their eggs. 
We were detained at this anchorage, from the 
unfavourable state of the weather, until the 8th, 
on which day we sailed, and steered for Howick 
Group on a direct and unimpeded course. The 
