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They prefently difcovered that they were as expert thieves, and as tricking in theirexchanges, as any people they had yet met with. It was with fome difficulty theycould keep the hats on their heads; but hardly poffible to keep any thing in theirpockets, not even what themfelves had fold; for they would watch every oppor-tunity to fnatch it from them, fo that they fometimes bought the fame thing two orthree times over, and after all did not get it.
Before they failed from England, Captain Cook was informed that a Spaniffi ffiiphad vifited this ifle in 1769. Some figns of it were feen among the natives; one manhad a pretty good broad-brimmed European hat on; another had a jacket; and ano-ther a red fitk handkerchief.
Near the place where they landed were fome tall ftatues, which fhall be defcribedhereafter. The country appeared quite barren, and without wood; there were never-thelefs feveral plantations of potatoes, plaintains, and fugar-canes; they alfo faw fomefowls, and found a well of brackiffi water. The ffiip was brought to an anchor inthirty-two fathoms water, about a mile from the neareft ffiore.
The captain was obliged to content himfelf with remaining at the landing-placeamong the natives, as he was not yet quite recovered. They had a pretty brifk tradewith them for potatoes, which they obferved they dug out of an adjoining plantation;but this traffic, which was very advantageous to them, was foon put a flop to, by theowner (as they fuppofed) of the plantation coming down and driving all the peopleout of it. By this they concluded, that he had been robbed of his property, and thatthey were not lefs fcrupulous of Healing from one another than from them, on whomthey pra&ifed every little fraud they could think on, and generally with fuccefs ; f° rthey had no fooner detected them in one, than they found out another,. A party whohad been fent out in the morning to view the country, now returned. They had notproceeded far, before a middle-aged man, punctured from head to foot, and his facepainted with a fort of white pigment, appeared with a fpear in his hand, and walkedalongfide of them, making figns to his countrymen to keep at a diftance, and not tomoleft them. When he had pretty well effefted this, he hoifted a piece of whitecloth on his fpear, placed himfelf in the front, and led the way, with this enfign °*peace. For the greateft part of the diftance acrofs, the ground had but a barrenappearance.
On the eaft fide, near the fea ; they met with three platforms of ftone-work, ° rrather the ruins of them. —> On each had flood four of thofe large ftatues, but theywere all fallen down from two of them, and alfo one from the third j all except onewere broken by the fall, or in fome meafure defaced. Mr. Wales meafured this oneand found it to be fifteen feet in length, and fix feet broad over the ffioulders. Eacftatue had on its head a large cylindric ftone of a red colour, wrought perfectly ro ^ n 'The one they meafured, which was not by far the largeft, was fifty-two inches ffig. ’and fixty-fix in diameter. In fome the upper corner of the cylinder was taken on 1a fort of concave quarter round ; but in others the cylinder was entire.
Beyond this they came to the moft fertile part of the ifland they faw, it being inte ^fperfed with plantations of potatoes, fugar-canes, and plantain-trees, and thefe not ^much incumbered with ftones as thofe they had feen before; but they could findwater except what the natives twice or thrice brought them, which, though brae *and {linking, was rendered acceptable by the extremity of their thirft. They apaffed fome huts, the owners of which met them with roafted potatoes and fugar-c a jand placing themfelves a-head of the party (for they marched in a line in orderhave the benefit of the path_), gave one to each man as he paffed by. But at the ve^
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