On the bank a circular spot of ground, of fifteen yards in diameter, was cleared away, and had very lately been occupied by a tribe of natives.

The island is thickly wooded with a dwarf species of eucalyptus, but here and there the fan palm and pandanus grew in groups, and with the acacia, served to vary the otherwise monotonous appearance of the country.

The soil, although it was shallow and poor, was covered with grass, and a great variety of shrubs and plants in flower, which fully occupied Mr.Cunningham's attention.

As we proceeded through the trees, a group of lofty palms attracted our notice, and were at first supposed to be coconut trees that had been planted by the Malays; but on examining them closer, they proved to be the areca, the tree that produces the betel-nut and the toddy, a liquor which the Malays and the inhabitants of all the eastern islands use.

Some of these palms were from thirty to forty feet high, and the stem of one of them was bruised and deeply indented by a blunt instrument.
Having spent several hours on shore, without finding anything very interesting or at all useful to us, we returned on board, when we found that we had been watched by three natives, who had walked along the beach, but on coming near us, had concealed themselves among the trees, from which they had, probably, observed all our movements whilst we were on shore.