40
A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
1772.
August.
tain sent them his own boat; but when it came on shore, the governor begged to be excused, because he was always affected with sickness on board any vessel, whether at sea or in harbour. The commandant promised to come, but having at first neglected to ask the governor's leave, the latter retired to take his siesta (or afternoon's repose) and no one ventured to disturb him.
The extreme scarcity of refreshments made our stay at Porto-Praya very short. We were therefore obliged to content ourselves with a few casks of brackish water, a single bullock, a few long-legged goats, with strait horns and pendulous ears, some lean hogs, turkies, and fowls, and a few hundreds of unripe oranges, and indifferent bananas. The researches we had made the preceding day, furnished us with a few tropical plants, mostly of known species, with some new kinds of insects and of fish. We also observed several sorts of birds, and among them guinea-hens, which seldom fly, but run very swiftly, and which, when old, are very tough and dry eating. Quails and red-legged partridges are likewise common, according to the report of the natives, though we did not see any; but the most remarkable bird we found is a species of Kingfisher[1], because it feeds on large land-crabs of a blue
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