In all this excursion, as well as the one made the preceding day, only two or three shrubs were seen. The leaf and seed of one (called by the natives _Torromedo_) were not much unlike those of the common vetch; but the pod was more like that of a tamarind in its size and shape. The seeds have a disagreeable bitter taste; and the natives, when they saw our people chew them, made signs to spit them out; from whence it was concluded that they think them poisonous. The wood is of a reddish colour, and pretty hard and heavy; but very crooked, small, and short, not exceeding six or seven feet in height. At the south-west corner of the island, they found another small shrub, whose wood was white and brittle, and in some measure, as also its leaf, resembling the ash. They also saw in several places the Otaheitean cloth plant; but it was poor and weak, and not above two and a half feet high at most. They saw not an animal of any sort, and but very few birds; nor indeed any thing which can induce ships that are not in the utmost distress, to touch at this island. This account of the excursion I had from Mr. Pickersgill and Mr. Wales, men on whose veracity I could depend; and, therefore, I determined to leave the island the next morning, since nothing was to be obtained that could make it worth my while to stay longer; for the water which we had sent on board, was not much better than if it had been taken up out of the sea. We had a calm till ten o’clock in the morning of the 16th, when a breeze sprung up at west, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, which lasted about an hour. The weather then clearing up, we got under sail, stood to sea, and kept plying to and fro, while an officer was sent on shore with two boats, to purchase such refreshments as the natives might have brought down; for I judged this would be the case, as they knew nothing of our sailing. The event proved that I was not mistaken; for the boats made two trips before night; when we hoisted them in, and made sail to the north-west with a light breeze at north north-east. CHAP. VIII. A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND, ITS PRODUCE, SITUATION, AND INHABITANTS; THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.—CONJECTURES CONCERNING THEIR GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND OTHER SUBJECTS; WITH A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE GIGANTIC STATUES.