THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
89 
from any we knew. The fnout is lengthened; the head 1776. 
armed with fome flrong fpines; the rays of the back- , Dece ^ mber ' 
fin long, and very flrong ; the belly is large; and the body 
without fcales. The only fhell fifli are a few limpets and 
mufcles ; and, amongfl the flones, a few fmall flar-nfh and 
fea-anemonies were found. 
The hills are of a moderate height; yet many of their 
tops were covered with fnow at this time, though anfwer- 
ing to our June. Some of them have large quantities of 
flones, irregularly heaped together at their foot, or on their 
fides. The fides of others, which form fleep cliffs toward 
the lea, are rent from the top downward, and feem ready 
to fall off, having flones of a confiderable fize lying in the 
fiffures. Some were of opinion that frofl might be the caufe 
of thefe fi fibres, which I fhall not difpute; but how others 
of the appearances could be effected, but by earthquakes, 
or fome fuch fevere fliocks, I cannot fay. 
It appears that rain mull be almoll conflant here, not 
only from the marks of large torrents having rallied down, 
but from the difpolition of the country, which, even on the 
hills, is almoll an entire bog or fwamp, the ground finking 
at every flep. 
The rocks, or foundations of the hills, are compofed 
chiefly of a dark blue, and very hard, flone, intermixed 
with fmall particles of glimmer or quartz. This feems to 
be one of the mofl univerfal productions of Nature, as it 
confhtutes whole mountains in Sweden, in Scotland, at the 
Canary Iflands, the Cape of Good Hope, and at this place. 
Another brownifh brittle flone forms here fome confider¬ 
able rocks ; and one which is blacker, and found in de¬ 
tached pieces, indoles bits of coarfe quartz. A red, a dull 
yellow, and a purplifh fand-flone, are alfo found in fmall 
Vol. I* N pieces: 
