an abundance of natural curioſities: nor were our hopes deceived. This coaſt was in many places formed of high banks, very difficult of acceſs: the water frequently extending as far as the foot of the hills. Different ſpecies of mimoſa, with ſimple leaves, grew under the ſhade of the large trees.
It appears that the natives ſometimes fix their habitations upon the borders of this lake, which affords them abundance of food in the ſhell-fiſh it contains. We found a hut which they had built a few paces from the ſhore, of a ſemi-oval form, about three feet and three quarters high, and four feet broad at the baſe. It conſiſted of branches fixed at both ends into the ground and bent into a ſemi-circular form, ſupporting each other, ſo as to form a pretty ſolid frame-work, which was covered with the bark of trees.
Amongſt a number of other curious plants which I collected, I was ſtruck with the beauty of the flower of a new ſpecies of aletris, remarkable for its bright ſcarlet colour.
As the ſeaſon was already far advanced, we found very few inſects.
Some hours before ſun-ſet we directed our courſe to the ſouth in order to return to our ſhips; but it was already dark before we arrived at a ſandy beach that we were acquainted with. We
were
