Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 2 (Stockdale).djvu/132

104 them, received us with various testimonies of great affection.

The ground occupied by each of these habitations was not, in general, above sixteen feet long, and ten feet wide. The roof, about six feet and a half high in the middle, sloped down to the ground. In one of its sides an opening was made, sometimes the whole length of the hut, but so low, that there was no entering, without stooping so much, as to be obliged to creep on all fours. On the opposite side we observed another opening, still lower and narrower, which seemed intended to promote the circulation of air. In others a greater number of openings were seen, but smaller, and made even in the ends of the huts. We admired the fine texture of the mats, which were spread upon the ground. The roofs were covered with the leaves of the cocoa-tree, or of the mountain palm (corypha umbraculifera), sometimes too with grass or rushes. Under such a roof there is no standing, except in the middle; but these people commonly squat on the ground, so that they can fit tolerably near to the sides.

In the neighbourhood of these tranquil dwellings we frequently met with very obliging though stout men, who took care to inform strangers of the favourable reception they might meet with