one of the friendly islands in the south-sea. This island was first discovered by Tasman, a Dutch navigator, in January 1742-3; and is called by the natives Ea-Oo-wake: it is about fifteen miles from north to south, and in the widest part about eight miles from east to west. The skirts are chiefly laid out in plantations, the south-west and north-west sides especially. The interior parts are but little cultivated, though very capable of it; but this neglect adds greatly to the beauty of the island; for here are agreeably dispersed groves of cocoa-nuts and other trees, lawns covered with thick grass, here and there plantations and paths leading to every part of the island, in such beautiful disorder, as greatly to enliven the prospect. The hills are low; the air is delightful; but unfortunately water is denied to this charming spot. Yams, with other roots, bananas, and bread-fruit, are the principal articles of food; but the latter appeared to be scarce. Here is the pepper-tree, or avu-avu, with which they make an intoxicating liquor, in the same disgusting manner as is practiced in the Society Islands. Here are several odoriferous trees and shrubs, particularly a species of the lemon tribe; and the botanical gentlemen met with various new species of plants. Here also are a few Middleburg hogs and fowls.

There are no towns or villages; most of the houses are built in plantations, which are laid out in different parts, with no other order than what convenience requires. They are neatly constructed, but are less roomy and convenient than those in the Society Isles. The floors are a little raised, and covered with thick strong mats. The same sort of matting serves to inclose them on the windward side, the others being open. They have little areas before most of them, which are planted round with trees or ornamental shrubs, whose fragrance perfumes the air. Their household furniture consists of a few wooden platters, cocoa-nut shells, and pillows made of wood, and shaped like four-footed stools or forms: their common clothing, with the addition of a mat, serves them for bedding.

The natives are of a clear mahogany or chestnut brown, with black hair, in short frizzled curls, which seems to be burnt at the tips; their beards are cut or shaven. The general stature of the men is equal to our middle size, from five feet three to five ten inches; the proportions of the body are very fine, and the contours of the limbs extremely elegant, though something more muscular than at O-Taheitee, which may be owing to a greater and more constant exertion of strength in their agriculture and domestic economy. Their features are extremely mild and pleasing; and differ from the O-Taheitian faces in being more oblong than round, the nose sharper, and the lips rather thinner. The women are, in general, a few inches shorter than the men, but not so small as the lower clats of women at the Society Islands. The practice of puncturing the skin, and blacking it, which is called tattooing, is in full force among the men here, for their belly and loins are very strongly marked in configurations more compounded than those at O-Taheitee. The tenderest parts of the body were not free from these punctures; the application of which, besides being very painful, must be extremely dangerous on glandulous extremities.

The men in general go almost naked, having only a small piece of cloth round the loins, but some wrap it in great abundance round them from their waist: this cloth is manufactured much like that at O-Taheitee, but overspread with a strong glue, which makes it stiff, and fit to resist the wet. The women are likewise covered from the waist downwards: they often have loose necklaces, consisting of several strings of small shells, seeds, teeth of fishes; and in the middle of all, the round operculum, or cover of a shell as large as a crown-piece. The men frequently wear a string round their necks, from which a mother-of-pearl shell hangs down on the breast; both the ears of the women were perforated with two holes, and a cylinder cut out of tortoise-shell or bone was stuck through both the holes. The most remarkable circumstance observed of this people was, that most of them wanted the little finger on one, and sometimes on both hands: the difference of sex or age did not exempt them from this amputation; for even among the few children that were seen running about naked, the greater part had already suffered such loss. This circumstance was observed by Tasman. Another singularity which was observed to be very general among the Middleburg these people was, a round spot on each cheek-bone, which appeared to have been burnt or blistered. On some it seemed to have been recently made, on others it was covered with scurf, and many had only a slight mark of its former existence: how, or for what purpose it was made, could not be learnt. The women here, in general, were reserved; and turned, with disgust, from the immodest behaviour of ungovernable leaven: there were not, however, wanting some who appeared to be of easy virtue, and invited their lovers with lascivious gestures. The language spoken here is soft, and not unpleasing; and whatever they said was spoken in a kind of singing tone. O-Mai and Mahine, who were both passengers on board the ship, at first declared that the language was totally new, and unintelligible to them; however, the affinity of several words being pointed out, they soon caught the particular modification of this dialect, and conversed much better with the natives than any on board the ships could have done, after a long intercourse. They have the neatest ornaments imaginable, consisting of a number of little flat sticks, about five inches long, of a yellow wood like box, firmly and elegantly connected together at the bottom by a tisue of the fibres of cocoa-nut, some of which were of their natural colour, and others dyed black; the same fibres were likewise used in the making of baskets, the taste of which was highly elegant, and varied into different forms and patterns. Their clubs are of a great variety of shapes, and many of them so ponderous as scarce to be managed with one hand. The most common form was quadrangular, so as to make a rhomboid at the broad end, and gradually tapering into a round handle at the other. Far the greater part were curved all over in many chequered patterns, which seemed to have required a long space of time, and incredible patience, to work up; as a sharp stone, or a piece of coral, are the only tools made use of: the whole surface of the plain clubs was highly polished as if an European workman had made them with the best instruments. Besides clubs, they have spears of the same wood, which were sometimes plain sharp-pointed sticks, and sometimes barbed with a sting-ray's tail. They have likewise bows and arrows of a peculiar construction: the bow, which is six feet long, is about the thickness of a little finger, and when slack forms a slight curve; its convex part is channelled with a single deep groove, in which the bow-string is lodged. The arrow is made of reed, near six feet long, and pointed with hard wood: when the bow is to be bent, instead of drawing it so as to increase the natural curvature, they draw it the contrary way, make it perfectly straight, and then form the curve on the other side. Most of their canoes have outriggers, made of poles, and their workmanship is very admirable: two of these canoes are joined together with a surprising exactness, and the whole surface receives a very curious polish. Their paddles have short broad blades, something like those at O-Taheitee, but more neatly wrought, and of better wood.

They keep their dead above ground, after the manner of the Society Islands; as a corpse was seen deposited on a low hut.

Here were seen several men and women afflicted with leprous diseases, in some of whom the disorder had risen to a high degree of virulence; one man in Middlesex, particular had his back and shoulders covered with a large cancerous ulcer, which was perfectly livid within, and of a bright yellow all round the edges. A woman was likewise unfortunate enough to have her face destroyed by it in the most shocking manner; there was only a hole left in the place of her nose; her cheek was swelled up, and continually oozing out a purulent matter; and her eyes seemed ready to fall out of her head, being bloody and sore: though these were some of the most miserable objects that could possibly be seen, yet they seemed to be quite unconcerned about their misfortunes, and traded as briskly as any of the rest.