to the natives in a firm loud tone; upon which twenty or thirty of the men went before us, and cleared us a very good path; they also refreshed us with water and fruit as we went along, and assisted us to climb the most difficult places, which we should otherwise have found altogether impracticable.  We began to ascend this hill at the distance of about six miles from the place where we landed, and I reckoned the top of it to be near a mile above the river that runs through the valley below.  When we arrived at the summit, we again sat down to rest and refresh ourselves.  While we were climbing we flattered ourselves that from the top we should command the whole island, but we now saw mountains before us so much higher than our situation, that with respect to them we appeared to be in a valley; towards the ship indeed the view was enchanting:  The sides of the hills were beautifuly clothed with wood, villages were every where interspersed, and the vallies between them afforded a still richer prospect; the houses stood thicker, and the verdure was more luxuriant.  We saw very few habitations above us, but discovered smoke in many places ascending from between the highest hills that were in sight, and therefore I conjectured that the most elevated parts of the country are by no means without inhabitants.  As we ascended the mountain, we saw many springs gush from fissures on the side of it, and when we had reached the summit, we found many houses that we did not discover as we passed them.  No part of these mountains is naked; the summits of the highest that we could see were crowned with wood, but of what kind I know not:  Those that were of the same height with that which we had climbed, were woody on the sides, but on the summit were rocky and covered with fern.  Upon the flats that appeared below these, there grew a sedgy kind of grass and weeds:  In general the soil here, as well as in the valley, seemed to be rich.  We saw several bushes of sugar-cane, which was very large and very good, growing wild, without the least culture.  I likewise found ginger and turmerick, and have brought samples of both, but could not procure seeds of any tree, most of them being in blossom.  After traversing the top of this mountain to a good distance, I found a tree exactly like a fern, except that it was 14 or 15 feet high.  This tree I cut down, and found the inside of it also like a fern:  I would have brought a piece of it with me, but found it too cumbersome, and I knew not what difficulties we might meet with before we got back to the ship, which we judged to be now at a great distance.  After having recruited our strength by refreshment and rest, we began to descend the mountain, being still attended by the people to whose care we had been recommended by our old man.  We kept our general direction towards the ship, but sometimes deviated a little to the right and left in the plains and vallies, when we saw any houses that were pleasantly situated, the inhabitants being every where ready to accommodate