f the land)
consisted of a tree cut down at about four feet from the root, with a
large black skin thrown over it, and hanging in loose folds upon the
ground. Under this the savage nestled. Others were formed by means
of rough limbs of trees, with the withered foliage upon them, made to
recline, at an angle of forty-five degrees, against a bank of clay,
heaped up, without regular form, to the height of five or six feet.
Others, again, were mere holes dug in the earth perpendicularly, and
covered over with similar branches, these being removed when the tenant
was about to enter, and pulled on again when he had entered. A few were
built among the forked limbs of trees as they stood, the upper limbs
being partially cut through, so as to bend over upon the lower, thus
forming thicker shelter from the weather. The greater number, however,
consisted of small shallow caverns, apparently scratched in the face of
a precipitous ledge of dark stone, resembling fuller's earth, with which
three sides of the village were bounded. At the door of each of these
primitive caverns was a small rock, which the tenant carefully placed
before the entrance upon leaving his residence, for what purpose I could
not ascertain, as the stone itself was never of sufficient size to close
up more than a third of the opening.

This village, if it were worthy of the name, lay in a valley of some
depth, and could only be approached from the southward, the precipitous
ledge of which I have already spoken cutting off all access in other
directions. Through the middle of the valley ran a brawling stream of
the same magical-looking water which has been described. We saw several
strange animals about the dwellings, all appearing to be thoroughly
domesticated. The largest of these creatures resembled our common hog in
the structure of the body and snout; the tail, however, was bushy, and
the legs slender as those of the antelope. Its motion was exceedingly
awkward and indecisive, and we never saw it attempt to run. We noticed
also several animals very similar in appearance, but of a greater length
of body, and covered with a black wool. There were a great variety of
tame fowls running about, and these seemed to constitute the chief food
of the natives. To our astonishment we saw black albatross among these
birds in a state of entire domestication, going to sea periodically
for food, but always returning to the village as a home, and using the
southern shore in