the ancient name of Scotland*.

the name of a settlement made by the Scots, on the west side of the gulf of Darien, in 1698; out of which they were starved at the request of the East-India company: for the English government prohibited the other colonies sending them any provisions; so they were obliged to leave it in 1700.

NEW CALEDONIA, an island in the south-sea, lately discovered by captain Cook, and, next to New Holland and New Zealand, is the largest island that hath yet been discovered in that sea. It extends from 19° 37' to 22° 30' S. Lat. and from 163° 37' to 167° 14' E. Long. Its length from north-west to south-east is about 80 leagues; but its greatest breadth does not exceed ten leagues. This island is diversified by hills and valleys of various size and extent. From the hills issue abundance of rivulets, which contribute to fertilize the plains. Along its north-east shore the land is flat; and being well watered, and cultivated by the inhabitants after their manner, appeared to great advantage to captain Cook's people. Was it not, indeed, for those fertile spots on the plains, the whole country might be called a dreary waste: the mountains and higher parts of the land are in general incapable of cultivation. They consist chiefly of rocks, many of which are full of mud; the little soil that is upon them is scorched and burnt up by the sun; it is, however, covered with coarse grass and other plants, and here and there covered with trees and shrubs. The country in general bears a great resemblance to those parts of New South Wales which lie under the same parallel of latitude. Several of its natural productions are the same, and the woods are without underwood as well as in that country. The whole coast seems to be surrounded by reefs and shoals, which render all access to it extremely dangerous; but at the same time guard the coasts against the attacks of the wind and sea; rendering it easily navigable along the coast by canoes, and caulking it abound with fish. Every part of the coast seems to be inhabited; the plantations in the plains are laid out with great judgment, and cultivated with much labour. They begin their cultivation by setting fire to the grass, &c. with which the ground is covered, but have no notion of preserving its vigour by manure; they, however, recruit it by letting it lie for some years untouched. On the beach was found a large irregular mass of rock, not less than a cube of ten feet, consisting of a close-grained stone speckled full of granates somewhat bigger than pins heads, from whence it seems probable that some valuable minerals may be found on this island. It differs from all the other islands yet discovered in the South Sea, by being entirely destitute of volcanic productions. Several plants of a new species were found here; and a few young breadfruit trees, not then sufficiently grown to bear fruit, seemed to have come up without culture: plantains and sugar-canes are here in small quantity, and the cocoa-nut trees are small and thinly planted. A new species of passion-flower was likewise met with, which was never known to grow wild anywhere but in America. Several Caputi (Melaleuca) trees were also found in flower. Musquetos here are very numerous. A great variety of birds were seen of different classes, which were for the most part entirely new; particularly a beautiful species of parrot before unknown to zoologists. A new species of fish, of the genus called by Linnaeus tetraodon, was caught here; and its liver, which was very large, presented at supper. Several species of this genus being reckoned poisonous, and the present species being remarkably ugly, Messrs. Forsters hinted their suspicions of its quality; but the temptation of a fresh meal, and the affluences of captain Cook that he had formerly eaten this identical sort of fish without harm, got the better of their scruples, and they ate of it. Its olives, however, though it had no other bad taste than what proceeded from this, prevented them from taking more than a morsel or two. In a few hours after they had had retired to rest, they were awakened by very alarming symptoms, being all seized with an extreme giddiness; their hands and feet were numb, so that they were scarcely able to crawl; and a violent languor and oppression seized them. Emetics were administered with some success, but sudorifics gave the greatest relief. Some dogs who had eaten the remainder of the liver were likewise taken ill; and a pig which had eaten the entrails died soon after, having swelled to an unusual size. The effects of this poison on the gentlemen did not go entirely off in less than six weeks.—Abundance of turtle was seen here. The natives had not the least notion of goats, hogs, dogs, or cats, and had not even a name for any of them.

The inhabitants are very stout, tall, and in general well proportioned; their features mild; their beards and hair black, and strongly frizzled, so as to be somewhat woolly in some individuals; their colour is fawny, or a dark chestnut brown. A few were seen who measured five feet four inches. They are remarkably courteous, not at all addicted to pilfering and stealing; in which character of honesty they are singular, all the other nations in the South Sea being remarkably thieves. Some wear their hair long, and tie it up to the crown of their heads; others suffer only a large lock to grow on each side, which they tie up in clubs; many others, as well as all the women, wear it cropped short. They make use of a kind of comb made of sticks of hard wood from seven to nine or ten inches long, and about the thickness of knitting needles; a number of these, seldom exceeding twenty, but generally fewer, are fastened together at one end, parallel to and near one tenth of an inch from each other; the ends, which are a little pointed, will spread out or open like the flicks of a fan. These combs they always wear in their hair on one side of their head. Some had a kind of concave cylindrical stiff black cap, which appeared to be a great ornament among them, and was supposed to be worn only by the chiefs and warriors. A large sheet of strong paper, whenever they got one in exchange, was commonly applied to this purpose. The men go naked; only tying a string round their middle, and another round their neck. A little piece of a brown cloth made of the bark of a fig-tree, sometimes tucked up to the belt, and sometimes pendulous, scarcely deserves the name of a covering; nor indeed does it seem at all intended for that purpose. This piece of cloth is sometimes of such a length, that the extremity is fastened to the string round the neck; to this string they likewise hang small round beads of a pale green nephritic stone. Coarse garments were seen among them made of a sort of matting; but they seemed never to wear them, except when in their canoes and unemployed. The women seemed to be in a servile state; they were the only persons of the family who had any employment, and several of them brought bundles of sticks and fuel on their backs; those who had children carried them on their backs in a kind of satchel. The women also were seen to dig up the earth in order to plant it. They are in general of a dark chestnut, and sometimes mahogany brown; their stature middle-sized, some being rather tall, and their whole form rather stout, and somewhat clumsy. Their dress is the most disfiguring that can be imagined, and gives them a thick squat shape; it is a short petticoat or fringe, consisting of filaments or little cords, about eight inches long, which are fastened to a very long string, which they have tied several times round their waist. The filaments, or little ropes, therefore, lie above each other in several layers, forming a kind of thick thatch all round the body, but which does not near cover the thigh: these filaments were sometimes dyed black; but frequently those on the outside only were of that colour, the rest being of a dirty grey. There was not a single instance, during the ship's stay in this island, of the women permitting any indecent familiarity with an European: they took pleasure in practising the arts of a jilting coquette, but never became absolute wantons. The general ornaments of both sexes are ear-rings of tortoise shells; necklaces, or amulets, made both of shells and stones; and bracelets made of large shells, which they wear above the elbows.

The houses, or huts, in New Caledonia, are circular, something like a bee-hive, and full as close and warm; the entrance is by a small door, or long square hole, just big enough to admit a man bent double: the side walls are about four feet and a half high; but the roof is lofty, and peaked to a point at the top, above which is a post or stick of wood, which is generally ornamented either with carving or shells, or both. The framing is of small spars, reeds, &c. and both sides and roof are thick, and close covered with thatch made of coarse long grass. In the inside of the house are set up posts, to which crofs spars are fastened, and platforms made, for the conveniency of laying any thing on. Some houses have two floors, one above another; the floor is laid with dried grass, and here and there mats are spread for the principal people to sit or sleep on. In these houses there was no passage for the smoke but through the door; they were intolerably smoky, and so hot as to be insupportable to those unaccustomed to them: probably the smoke is intended to drive out the musquitos which swarm here. They commonly erect two or three of these huts near each other under a cluster of lofty fig-trees, whose leaves are impervious to the rays of the sun.

The canoes used here are very heavy clumsy vessels; they are made of two trees hollowed out, having a raised gunnel about two inches high, and closed at each end with a bulk head of the same height; so that the whole is like a long square trough about three feet shorter than the body of the canoe. Two canoes thus fitted are fastened to each other about three feet apart, by means of crofs spars, which project about a foot over each side. Over these is laid a deck or heavy platform made of plank and small round spars, on which they have a fire-hearth, and generally a fire burning; they are navigated by one or two latteen sails, extended to a small latteen yard, the end of which is fixed in a notch or hole in the deck.

Notwithstanding the inoffensive disposition of the inhabitants of New Caledonia, they are well provided with offensive weapons; as clubs, spears, darts, and slings for throwing stones. Their clubs are about two feet and an half long, and variously formed; some like a scythe, others like a pick-axe; some have a head like a hawk, and others have round heads, but all are neatly made; many of their darts and spears are no less neat, and ornamented with carvings. The slings are as simple as possible; but they take some pains to form the stones that they use into a proper shape, which is something like an egg, supposing both ends to be like the small one. They drive the dart by the affluence of short cords knotted at one end and looped at the other, called by the seamen becketts. These contained a quantity of red wool taken from the vampire, or great Indian bat. Bows and arrows are wholly unknown among them.

Their language bears no affinity to that spoken in the other South-sea islands, the word arrekee and one or two more excepted. This is the more extraordinary, as different dialects of one language were spoken not only in the eastern islands, but at New Zealand.

A musical instrument, a kind of whistle, was procured here. It was a little polished piece of brown wood about two inches long, shaped like a kind of bell, tho' apparently solid, with a rope fixed at the small end; two holes were made in it near the base, and another near the insertion of the rope, all which communicated with each other; and by blowing in the uppermost, a shrill sound like whistling was produced: no other instrument was seen among them that had the least relation to music.

Many of the New-Caledonians were seen with prodigiously thick legs and arms, which seemed to be affected with a kind of leprosy; the swelling was found to be extremely hard, but the skin was not alike harsh and scaly in all those who were afflicted with the disorder. The supernatural expansion of the arm or leg did not appear to be a great inconvenience to those who suffered it; and they seemed to intimate that they very rarely felt any pain in it; but in some the disorder began to form blotches, which are marks of a great degree of virulence.

Here they bury their dead in the ground. The grave of a chief who had been slain in battle here resembled a large mole-hill, and was decorated with spears, darts, paddles, &c., all stuck upright in the ground round about it. Lieutenant Pickersgill was shewed a chief whom they named Ten-booma, and styled their arrekee or king; but nothing further is known of their government, and nothing at all of their religion.