chief attendants; we showed them the planet upon the sun, and made them understand that we had come on purpose to see it. I spent the rest of the day in examining the produce of the island, and found it very nearly similar to that of Otahite. The people, indeed, were exactly the same. Many of them we had often seen at Otahite, and every one knew well what kind of trade we had and the value it bore in that island. The hills in general came nearer to the water, and the plains were consequently smaller and less fertile than in Otahite. The low point near which we lay was composed entirely of sand and coral; here neither bread-fruit nor any other useful vegetables would grow; the land was covered with Pandanus sectorius, with which grew several plants we had not seen at Otahite. Among them was Iberis,[1] which Mr. Gore tells me is the plant called by the voyagers scurvy grass, and which grows plentifully upon all the low islands.
4th. What with presents and trade our stock of provisions was so large that we were obliged to give away a large quantity; this done we put off, and before night arrived at the tents, where we had the great satisfaction to find that the observation there had been attended with as much success as Mr. Green and the captain could wish, the day having been perfectly clear, without so much as a cloud intervening. We also heard the melancholy news that a large part of our stock of nails had been purloined by some of the ship's company during the time of the observation, when everybody who had any degree of command was ashore. One of the thieves was detected, but only seven nails out of one hundredweight were found upon him, and he bore his punishment without impeaching any of his accomplices. This loss is of a very serious nature, as these nails, if circulated by the people among the Indians, will greatly lessen the value of iron, our staple commodity.
5th. During our absence at Imao an old woman of some consequence died, and was placed not far from the fort to rot above ground, as is the custom of the island. I went
- ↑ Lepidium piscidium, Forst.
