looked on every thing that was shewn him with the utmost
indifference; nor did he take notice of any one thing, except a wooden
sand-box, which he seemed to admire, and turned it two or three times over
in his hand.

Next morning after breakfast, a party of us set out for the country, to try
if we could not get a nearer and better view of the volcano. We went by the
way of one of those hot smoking places before mentioned, and dug a hole in
the hottest part, into which a thermometer of Fahrenheit's construction was
put; and the mercury presently rose to 100 deg.. It remained in the hole two
minutes and a half without either rising or falling. The earth about this
place was a kind of white clay, had a sulphureous smell, and was soft and
wet, the surface only excepted, over which was spread a thin dry crust,
that had upon it some sulphur, and a vitriolic substance, tasting like
alum. The place affected by the heat was not above eight or ten yards
square; and near it were some fig-trees, which spread their branches over
part of it, and seemed to like their situation. We thought that this
extraordinary heat was caused by the steam of boiling water, strongly
impregnated with sulphur. I was told that some of the other places were
larger than this; though we did not go out of the road to look at them, but
proceeded up the hill through a country so covered with trees, shrubs, and
plants, that the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees, which, seem to have been
planted here by nature, were, in a manner, choaked up. Here and there we
met with a house, some few people, and plantations. These latter we found
in different states, some of long standing, others lately cleared, and some
only clearing, and before any thing had been planted. The clearing of a
piece of ground for plantation, seemed to be a work of much labour,
considering the tools they had to work with, which, though much inferior to
those at the Society Isles, are of the same kind. Their method is, however,
judicious, and as expeditious as it can well be. They lop off the small
branches of the large trees, dig under the roots, and there burn the
branches and small shrubs and plants which they root up. The soil, in some
parts, is a rich black mould; in other parts, it seemed to be composed of
decayed vegetables, and of the ashes the volcano sends forth throughout all
its neighbourhood. Happening to turn out of the common path, we came into a
plantation where we found a man at work