THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
193 
along the South Eaft lide, at the diftance of half a league 1778. 
from the fhore. As foon as we made fail, the canoes left 
us; but others came off, as we proceeded along the coaft, 
bringing with them roafting-pigs, and fome very fine pota¬ 
toes, which they exchanged, as the others had done, for 
whatever was offered to them. Several fmall pigs were 
purchafed for a fixpenny nail; fo that we again found our- 
felves in a land of plenty; and juft at the time when the 
turtles, which we had fo fortunately procured at Chriftmas 
Ifland, were nearly expended. We paffed feveral villages; 
fome feated near the fea, and others farther up the country. 
The inhabitants of all of them crowded to the fhore, and 
collected themfelves on the elevated places to view the fhips. 
The land upon this fide of the ifland rifes, in a gentle flope, 
from the fea to the foot of the mountains, which occupy 
the centre of the country, except at one place near the Eaft 
end, where they rife diredlly from the fea, and feemed to be 
formed of nothing but ftone, or rocks lying in horizontal 
Jirata . We faw no wood, but what was up in the interior 
part of the ifland, except a few trees about the villages; 
near which, alfo, we could obferve feveral plantations of 
plantains and fugar-canes, and fpots that feemed cultivated 
for roots. 
We continued to found, without ftriking ground with a 
line of fifty fathoms, till we came abreaft of a low point, 
which is about the middle of this fide of the ifland, or ra¬ 
ther nearer the North Weft end. Here we met with twelve 
and fourteen fathoms, over a rocky bottom. Being paft this 
point, from which the coaft trended more Northerly, we 
had twenty, then fixteen, twelve, and, at laft, five fathoms 
over a fandy bottom. 'The laft foundings were about a mile 
from the fhore. Night now put a ftop to any farther re- 
Vol, II. C c fearches; 
