Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/205

] an abundance of natural curioities: nor were our hopes deceived. This coat was in many places formed of high banks, very difficult of acces: the water frequently extending as far as the foot of the hills. Different pecies of mimoa, with imple leaves, grew under the hade of the large trees.

It appears that the natives ometimes fix their habitations upon the borders of this lake, which affords them abundance of food in the hell-fih it contains. We found a hut which they had built a few paces from the hore, of a emi-oval form, about three feet and three quarters high, and four feet broad at the bae. It conited of branches fixed at both ends into the ground and bent into a emi-circular form, upporting each other, o as to form a pretty olid frame-work, which was covered with the bark of trees.

Amongt a number of other curious plants which I collected, I was truck with the beauty of the flower of a new pecies of aletris, remarkable for its bright carlet colour.

As the eaon was already far advanced, we found very few inects.

Some hours before un-et we directed our coure to the outh in order to return to our hips; but it was already dark before we arrived at a andy beach that we were acquainted with. We were