Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/140

82 liniment was applied, but with what result I never took the trouble to inquire.

Hercules to-day gave us a specimen of the music of this country; four people performed upon flutes, which they sounded with one nostril, while they stopped the other with their thumbs: to these four others sang, keeping very good time, but during half an hour they played only one tune, consisting of not more than five or six notes; more I am inclined to think they have not upon their instruments, which have only two stops.

23rd. Mr. Green and myself went to-day a little way upon the hills in order to see how the roads were. Lycurgus went with us, but complained much at the ascent, saying that it would kill him. We found as far as we went, possibly three miles, exceedingly good paths, and at the end of our walk we met boys bringing wood from the mountains, which we look upon as a proof that the journey will be very easy whenever we attempt to go higher.

We had this evening some conversation about an axe which was brought in the morning by Hercules to be ground. It was very different from our English ones, and several gentlemen were of opinion that it was French. Some went so far as to give it as their opinion that some other ship had been here since the Dolphin. The difficulty, however, appeared to be easily solved by supposing axes to have been taken in the Dolphin for trade, in which case old ones of any make might have been bought, for many such I suppose there are in every old iron shop in London.

25th. I do not know by what accident I have so long omitted to mention how much these people are given to thieving. I will make up for my neglect to-day, however, by saying that great and small, chiefs and common men, all are firmly of opinion that if they can once get possession of anything it immediately becomes their own. This we were convinced of the very second day we were here; the chiefs were employed in stealing what they could in the cabin, while their dependents took everything that was loose about the ship, even the glass ports not escaping them, of