THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
107 
farther up, efpecially where there are few trees, it is of a 
grey tough caft, to appearance very poor. 
In the valleys between the hills, the -water drains down 
from their fides; and at laft, in fome places, forms fmall 
brooks; fuch indeed as w'ere fufficient to fupply us with 
water, but by no means of that fize we might expect in fo 
extenfive a country, efpecially as it is both hilly and well 
wooded. Upon the whole, it has many marks of being 
naturally a very dry country; and perhaps might (inde¬ 
pendent of its wood) be compared to Africa, about the Cape 
of Good Hope, though that lies ten degrees farther North¬ 
ward, rather than to New Zealand, on its other fide, in the 
fame latitude, where we find every valley, however fmall, 
furnifhed with a confiderable ftream of w r ater. The heat 
too appears to be great, as the thermometer flood at 64, 70, 
and once at 74. And it was remarked, that birds were 
feldom killed an hour or two, before they were almoft co¬ 
vered with fmall maggots, which I would rather attribute 
merely to the heat; as we had not any reafon to fuppofe 
there is a peculiar difpofition in the climate to render fub- 
flances foon putrid. 
No mineral bodies, nor indeed ftones of any other fort, but 
the wiiite fand one already mentioned, were obferved. 
Amongfl the vegetable productions, there is not one, that 
we could find, which afforded the fmalleft fubfiflence for 
man. 
The forefl trees are all of one fort, growing to a great 
height, and in general quite flraight, branching but little, 
till toward the top. The bark is white, which makes them 
appear, at a diftance, as if they had been peeled; it is alfo 
thick; and within it are fometimes collected, pieces of a 
P 2 reddifh 
1 
1777* 
January. 
I II 11 ■ 1 ^ ~ 
