ightly punished the offenders, by cutting off their hair.
A beautiful young creature, who lived at the Observatory with one of our
young gentlemen, slipped out of bed from him in the night, and stole all
his linen. She was punished for the theft, by shaving one of her
eye-brows, and half of the hair off her head. She immediately run into
the woods, and used to come once or twice a day to the tent, to request
looking at herself in the glass; but the grotesque figure she cut, with
one side entirely bald, made her shriek out, and run into the woods to
shun society.

With respect to agriculture, in a soil where nature has done so much,
little is left to human industry; but had there been occasion for it,
abilities would not be wanting. It is much to be lamented, that the
endeavours of the philanthropic Sir Joseph Banks were frustrated, by
their razing of every thing which he took so much pains to rear amongst
them, a few shaddocks excepted. Tobacco and cotton have escaped their
ravage; and they are much mortified that they cannot eradicate it from
their grounds: but were a handloom on a simple construction, as used by
the natives of Java, introduced amongst them, they could soon turn their
cotton to good account. An instance of their ingenuity and imitative
powers in matting, was a thing perfectly unknown amongst them till
Captain Cook introduced it from Anamooka, one of the Friendly Isles: but
in that branch of manufacture they now far surpass their original. They
have likewise abundance of fine sugarcanes, growing spontaneously all
over the island, from which rum and sugar might be extracted. Indeed an
attempt was made by Coleman, the armourer of the _Bounty_, who made a
still, and succeeded; but, dreading the effects of intoxication, both
amongst themselves and the natives, very wisely put an end to his labours
by breaking the still.

Captain Bligh has likewise planted Indian corn, from which much may be
expected. On our landing, as soon as public business of more importance
would permit, our gentlemen were indefatigable in laying out a piece of
garden ground, and ditching it round. Lemons, oranges, limes,
pine-apples, plants of the coffee tree, with all the lesser class of
things, as onions, lettuces, peas, cabbages, and every thing necessary
for culinary purposes, were planted.

In order that they might not meet the same fate of the things planted by
Sir Joseph Banks, Captain Edwards made use of every stratagem to ma