A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
These people were of a brown colour; and, though of the
common size, were stoutly made. There was little difference in the
casts of their colour, but a considerable variation in their features,
some of their visages not being very unlike those of Europeans. The
hair of most of them was cropt pretty short, others had it flowing
loose, and, with a few, it was tied in a bunch on the crown of the
head. In all it seemed to be naturally black; but most of them had
stained it, as is the practice of the Friendly Islanders, with some
stuff which gave it a brown or burnt colour. In general they wore
their beards. They had no ornaments about their persons, nor did we
observe that their ears were perforated; but some were punctured on
the hands, or near the groin, though in a small degree; and the bits
of cloth which they wore, were curiously-stained with red, black, and
white colours. They seemed very mild, and had no arms of any kind,
if we except some small stones, which they had evidently brought for
their own defence, and these they threw overboard when they found that
they were not wanted.
Seeing no signs of an anchoring-place at this eastern extreme of the
island, I bore away to leeward, and ranged along the S.E. side, at the
distance of half a league from the shore. As soon as we made sail the
canoes left us; but others came off as we proceeded along the coast,
bringing with them roasting-pigs, and some very fine potatoes, which
they had exchanged, as the others had done, for whatever was offered
to them. Several small pigs were purchased for a sixpenny nail, so
that we again found ourselves in a land of plenty, and just at
the time when the turtle, which we had so fortunately procured at
Christmas Island, were nearly expended. We passed several villages,
some seated near the sea, and others farther up the country. The
inhabitants of all of them crowded to the shore, and collected
themselves on the elevated places to view the ships. The land upon
this side of the island rises in a gentle slope, from the sea to the
foot of the mountains, which occupy the centre of the country, except
at one place near the east end, where they rise directly from the
sea, and seemed to be formed of nothing but stone, or rocks lying in
horizontal _strata_. We saw no wood but what was up in the interior
part of the island, except a few trees about the villages, near
which, also, we could observe several plantations of plantains and
sugar-canes, and spots that seemed cultivated for roots.
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