CAPTAIN COOK’S FIRST VOYAGE.'

541

Eaheinomauwe, though hilly, and in fome places mountainous, is well ftored with'Wood, and there is a rivulet in every valley. The foil of the valleys is light, but is fofertile, as to be well adapted for the plentiful production of all forts of the fruits, plants,and corn of Europe . The fummer is more equally warm, though not hotter than inEngland ; and it is imagined, from the vegetables that were found, that the winter isnot fo fevere.

Dogs and rats are the only quadrupeds that were feen, and of the latter only a veryfew. The inhabitants breed the dogs for the foie purpofe of eating them. There arefeals and whales on the coaft; and they once faw a fea-lion. The birds are hawks,owls, quails; and there are fong-birds, whofe note is wonderfully melodious. TheinfeCts are flelh-flies, beetles, butterflies, fand-flies, and mufquitoes.

Tovy Poenammoo appears to be a barren country, is very mountainous, and almoftdeftitute of inhabitants.

The fea which wafhes thefe iflands abounds with fifh, which are equally delicate andwholefome food. They feldom came to anchor but they catched enough, with hookand line only, to fupply the whole flip’s crew; and, when they fifhed with nets, everymefs in the fhip, except thofe who were too indolent, falted as much as fupplied themWhen at fea for feveral weeks after.

This country abounds with forefls, filled with very large, ftraight and clean timber.Upwards of four hundred fpecies of plants were found, all of which are unknown inEngland, except garden night-fhade, fow-thiflle, two or three kinds of fern, and oneor two forts of grafs. There is only one fhrub or tree in this country which producesfruit, and that is a kind of berry almoft taftelefs; but they have a plant whichanfwers all the ufes of hemp and flax. There are two kinds of this plant, theleaves of one of which are yellow, and the other a deep red, and both of them refemblethe leaves of flags. Of thefe leaves they make lines and cordage, and much ftrongerthan any thing of the kind in Europe .

The men of this country are as large as the largeft Europeans . Their complexionJs brown, but little more fo than that of a Spaniard. They are full of flefli, but notlazy and luxurious ; and are flout and well-fhaped. The women poffefs not that de-licacy which diftinguifhes the European ladies; but their voice is Angularly foft, which,as the drefs of both fexes is ftmilar, chiefly diftinguifhes them from the men. Theyhave neither black cattle, fheep, hogs, nor goats ; fo that their chief food being fifh,and that not at all times to be obtained, they are in danger of dying through hunger.'I hey have a few, and but a very few dogs ; and when no fifh is to be got, they haveonly vegetables, fuch as yams and potatoes, to feed on; and if by any accident thefethem, their fituation muft be deplorable. This will account for their fhockingcuftom of eating the bodies that are flain in battle; for he who fights through merehunger, will not fcruple to eat the adverfary he has killed.

The inhabitants of New Zealand are as modeft and referved in their behaviour andoonverfation as the moft polite nations of Europe . The women indeed were not dead*he fofter impreflions; but their mode of confent was, in their idea, as harmlefs asthe confent to marriage with us, and equally binding for the ftipulated time. If anythe Englifh addrefled one of their women, he was informed, that the confent of herri ends mull be obtained, which ufually followed on his making a prefent. This done,ie was obliged to treat his temporary wife at leaft as delicately as we do in England.

gentleman who failed in the Endeavour, having addrefled a family of fome rank,feceived an anfwer, of which the following is an exa£l tranflation—“ Any of thefe>°ung ladies will think themfelves honoured by your addrefles, but you muft firft make

me