islanders extremely, they flock to the spirit house, and remain there while the storm continues, making offerings of cocoa-nuts, cava root, and other eatables. They imagine the storm is caused by the presiding spirit, who when he is displeased goes to the top of the highest land in the island, and manifests his wrath by raising a tempest. When he is appeased by the offerings, he returns to the hall of ghosts.'

Their mode of cooking is common to almost all barbarous nations. A circular hole is made in the earth, about one foot in depth and three in diameter. Into this hole they put a quantity of fire-wood, and when it is pretty well burnt, throw on it a number of small black stones, about a quarter of a pound in weight. These soon become red hot, and as the fire-wood is consumed they fall into the excavation, are levelled over the lower part and sides, and covered neatly with green leaves or grass not apt to catch fire. On these again are placed the yams, bread-fruit, sweet potatoes, or whatever is to be cooked. Three or four tier of leaves are put over the food, and the new earth dug out of the hole is thrown over all, and well beat down and smoothed with a paddle, so as to prevent a particle of heat escaping. In about an hour the clay is scraped off, and the provisions come out nicely baked and remark

ably clean. The inhabitants of each house have an oven of this sort prepared every evening, and at sunset make a hearty meal. If there is any thing left, it is reserved for the next morning's breakfast; if there be nothing, they make a very slender breakfast on a cocoa-nut or a few plantains.

The Tucopians are of a bright copper colour, and use the betel-nut and chunam. They resemble the inhabitants of Tongataboo in stature and colour, and also those of Anuto, the Cherry Island of the Pandora. They are exceedingly clean in their persons, and bathe several times in the day in fresh water. There is one freshwater lake on the south side of the island, of great depth, on which there are generally many wild ducks.

The only craft the Tucopians have are small canoes, that will not carry more than six men in a sea-way. They confine their voyages to Anuto Island, about sixty miles to windward, and Mannicolo, about one hundred and eighteen miles to leeward. During the months of December, January, February, and March, the northwest wind prevails at Tucopia, with heavy rains, thunder, and lightning. This I suppose to be the north-west monsoon, which prevails in the Banda seas during the same months. It blows with great violence at intervals.

7th.-Moderate trades with passing light rain squalls. At 10 A.M. Mannicolo came in sight, and we stood for it. Our latitude observed at noon was 11° 45' S., longitude 167° 23′ E., at which time the centre of the island bore from us W. N., distance nine miles. On approaching it I presented the pilot with two yards of scarlet, two yards of blue gurrahs, and a palampore. He promised to keep the scarlet till his arrival at Tucopia, when he would present it as an offering to his god.

On getting within three or four leagues of the land he wished me to stand round the south point, where his friends resided, at a place which he called Dennema, near where he said the two ships had been wrecked. I inquired how the reefs lay in that quarter, and he told me that they projected a considerable way into the sea. As the day was far spent, and the sun to the westward of us, which might prevent us from seeing any dangers that might be in the way, and an anchorage might be obtained in a bay near the north-east point of the island, it was my intention to anchor there first, and send the pilot with the two boats to his friend's abode. On his return, if we succeeded in finding anchorage there, I proposed to go round to see and make them presents. He did not appear to relish my proposal of not visiting his friends

first, and with all the rhetoric in his power represented the dangers to which I should be exposed on that part of the land. The people, he said, fought with large bows and poisoned arrows, the least scratch from one of which proved fatal. He likewise strenuously besought me not to remain at the island more than three days: for if I did, that my people would be seized with a malady peculiar to the place, called by him the mackareddy (or cold), which would carry them all off, and he represented the dreadful way in which people shivered who unfortunately were afflicted with it. To heighten the effect of this dismal picture he added, that if the ship should strike the ground so as to be unable to get off again, we should all be devoured by sharks, which were very large and numerous upon these coasts.

Finding my resolution was not to be shaken by his eloquence, and that I was determined to survey the reefs in the boats before I visited his friends round the south point of the island, he began to coincide with my views, saying he would land at the north-east point in the morning and proceed over land to his friend's residence, stop there one night, and then prevail on him to come on board the ship with such things as he possessed belonging to the wreck, when (added he) we must sail for Tucopia. I

told him, that before departing from the island I must see Paiow: to which he strongly objected, saying there were no people there. "So much the better," replied I, "for in that case we shall not be interrupted by the natives, as I wish to see the spot where the ship or brig was built."

Finding me equally inflexible in this determination, and resolved to visit all parts of the island, he inquired what depth of water I would require for the ship to let go her stone in, for so he called the anchor, stones being used by these islanders for the same purpose in their canoes when fishing. I gave him to understand that we required five or six fathoms, when he smiled, saying, "Let us go on shore; that will do."He told me then that he had imagined that the ship was as much under water as her mast-heads were above it.

The day being far spent, I hauled to the wind for the purpose of making short tacks till daylight next morning, and gave orders for two boats' crews to hold themselves in readiness to set off at 4 A.M. in search of a harbour or anchorage.

8th. The first and middle part of this day, light airs from the north-east rendered it unsafe to approach the shore with the ship. Mannicolo island was in sight, the north-east point of it appearing to be a separate island. There