The feathers of a fine mazarine
blue, except those of its neck, which are of a most beautiful silver-grey,
and two or three short white ones, which are on the pinion joint of the
wing.
Under its throat hang two little tufts of curled, snow-white
leathers, called its poies, which being the Otaheitean word for
earrings, occasioned our giving that name to the bird, which is not more
remarkable for the beauty of its plumage than for the sweetness of its
note. The flesh is also most delicious, and was the greatest luxury the
woods afforded us.
Of the fan-tail there are different sorts; but the body of the most
remarkable one is scarcely larger than a good filbert, yet it spreads a
tail of most beautiful plumage, full three quarters of a semi-circle, of at
least four or five inches radius.
For three or four days after we arrived in Pickersgill harbour, and as we
were clearing the woods to set up our tents, &c. a four-footed animal was
seen by three or four of our people; but as no two gave the same
description of it, I cannot say of what kind it is. All, however, agreed,
that it was about the size of a cat, with short legs, and of a mouse
colour. One of the seamen, and he who had the best view of it, said it had
a bushy tail, and was the most like a jackall of any animal he knew. The
most probable conjecture is, that it is of a new species. Be this as it
may, we are now certain that this country is not so destitute of quadrupeds
as was once thought.
The most mischievous animals here are the small black sand flies, which are
very numerous, and so troublesome, that they exceed every thing of the kind
I ever met with. Wherever they bite they cause a swelling, and such an
intolerable itching, that it is not possible to refrain from scratching,
which at last brings on ulcers like the small-pox.
The almost continual rains may be reckoned another evil attending this bay;
though perhaps this may only happen at this season of the year.
Nevertheless, the situation of the country, the vast height, and nearness
of the mountains, seem to subject it to much rain at all times. Our people,
who were daily exposed to the rain, felt no ill effects from it; on the
contrary, such as were sick and ailing when we came in, recovered daily,
and the whole crew soon became strong and vigorous, which can only be
attributed to the healthiness of the place, and the fresh provisions it
afforded. The beer certainly contributed not a little. As I have already
observed, we at first made it of a decoction of the spruce leaves; but
finding that this alone made the beer too astringent, we afterwards mixed
with it an equal quantity of the tea plant (a name it obtained in my former
voyage, from our using it as tea then as we also did now,) which partly
destroyed the astringency of the other, and made the beer exceedingly
palatable, and esteemed by every one on board. We brewed it in the same
manner as spruce-beer, and the process is as follows: First, make a strong
decoction of the small branches of the spruce and tea plants, by boiling
them three or four hours, or until the bark will strip with ease from off
the branches; then take them out of the copper, and put in the proper
quantity of molasses, ten gallons of which is sufficient to make a ton, or
two hundred and forty gallons of beer; let this mixture just boil, then pot
it into the casks, and to it add an equal quantity of cold water, more or
less, according to the strength of the decoction, or your taste: When the
whole is milk-warm, put in a little grounds of beer, or yeast, if you have
it, or any thing else that will cause fermentation, and in a few days the
beer will be fit to drink. After the casks have been brewed in two or three
times the beer will generally ferment itself, especially if the weather is
warm. As I had inspissated juice of wort on board, and could not apply it
to a better purpose, we used it together with molasses or sugar, to make
these two articles go farther. For of the former I had but one cask, and of
the latter little to spare for this brewing. Had I known how well this beer
would have succeeded, and the great use it was of to the people, I should
have come better provided. Indeed I was partly discouraged by an experiment
made during my former voyage, which did not succeed then, owing, as I now
believe, to some mismanagement.
Any one, who is in the least acquainted with spruce pines, will find the
tree which I have distinguished by that name. There are three sorts of it;
that which has the smallest leaves and deepest colour, is the sort we
brewed with; but doubtless all three might safely serve that purpose. The
tea-plant is a small tree or shrub, with five white petals, or flower-
leaves, shaped like those of a rose, having smaller ones of the same figure
in the intermediate spaces, and twenty or more filaments or threads. The
tree sometimes grows to a moderate height, and is generally bare on the
lower part, with a number of small branches growing close together towards
the top. The leaves are small and pointed, like those of the myrtle; it
bears a dry roundish seed-case, and grows commonly in dry places near the
shores. The leaves, as I have already observed, were used by many of us as
tea, which has a very agreeable bitter and flavour when they are recent,
but loses some of both when they are dried.
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