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time fome were relieving the thirfty and hungry, there were others who endeavouredto fteal from them the very things which had been given them. At laft, to preventworfe confequences, they were obliged to fire a load of finall {hot at one who was foaudacious as to fnatch the bag which contained every thing they carried with them.The {hot hit him on the back, on which he dropped the bag, ran a little way and thenfell; but he afterwards got up and walked, and what became of him they knew not,nor whether he was much wounded. This affair occafioned fome delay, and drew thenatives together: they prefently faw the man who had hitherto led the way, and oneor two more, coming running towards them ; but inftead of flopping when they cameup, they continued to run round them, repeating in a kind manner a few words, untilthey fet forwards again. Then their old guide hoifted his flag, leading the way asbefore, and none ever attempted to fteal from them the whole day afterwards.
Towards the eaftern end of the ifland they met with a well whofe water was per-fectly frefh, being confiderably above the level of the fea; but it was dirty, owing tothe filthinefs or cleanlinefs (call it which you will) of the natives, who never go todrink without wafhing themfelves all over as foon as they have done; and if ever fomany of them are together, the firft leaps right into the middle of the hole, drinks,and wafhes himfelf without the leaft ceremony; after which another takes his placeand does the fame.
They obferved that this fide of the ifland was full of thofe gigantic ftatues beforementioned; fome placed in groupes on platforms of mafonry; others Angle , fixedonly in the earth, and that not deep j and thefe latter are, in general, much largerthan the others. Having meafured one which had fallen down, they found it verynear twenty-feven feet long, and upwards of eight feet over the breaft or fhoulders;and yet this appeared confiderably fliort of the fize of one they faw (landing: its(hade, a little paft two o’clock, being fufficient to {helter all the party, confiding of nearthirty perfons, from the rays of the fun. Mr. Wales, from whom Captain Cook hadthis information, is of opinion that there had been a quarry here, whence thefe (toneshad formerly been dug j and that it would have been no difficult matter to roll themdown the hill after they were formed.
They faw not an animal of any fort, and but very few birds; nor indeed any thingwhich can induce (hips that are not in the utmoft diftrefs to touch at this ifland.
The Captain determined to leave the ifland the next morning, fince nothing wasto be obtained that could make it worth his while to (lay longer. They had a calm tillten o’clock in the morning of the 16th, when a breeze fprung up at weft, accompaniedWith heavy ftiowers of rain, which lafted about an hour. The weather then clearingU P» on the 16th of March, they got under fail, and flood to fea.
The produce of this ifland is fweet potatoes, yams, tara or eddy root, plantains, andfugar-canes, all pretty good, the potatoes efpecially, which are the beft of the kindthey ever tailed. Gourds they have alfo, but fo very few. that a cocoa-nut (hell wasthe mod valuable thing they could give them. They have a few tame fowls, fuch as£°cks and hens, fmall but well tailed. They have alfo rats, which, it feems, they eat;tor they faw a man with fome dead ones in his hand; and he feemed unwilling to part'with them, giving them to underftand they were for food. The coaft feemed not toa bound with fifli; at leaft they could catch none with hook and line, and it was butVer y little they faw amongft the natives.
The inhabitants of this ifland do not feem to exceed fix or feven hundred fouls,an d above two-thirds of thofe they faw were males. They either have but few femalesa *nong them, or elfe many were reftrained from making their appearance.
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