_. Many of
the muscles are a span in length, and some having pretty large pearls,
which, however, are both badly shaped and coloured. We may conclude,
that there is red coral in the Sound, or somewhere upon the coast,
some thick pieces, or branches, having been seen in the canoes of the
natives.

The only animals of the reptile kind observed here, and found in the
woods, were brown snakes two feet long, with whitish stripes on the
back and sides, which are harmless, as we often saw the natives carry
them alive in their hands; and brownish water-lizards, with a tail
exactly like that of an eel, which frequented the small standing pools
about the rocks.

The insect tribe seem to be more numerous. For though the season,
which is peculiarly fitted to their appearing abroad, was only
beginning, we saw four or five different sorts of butterflies, none
of which were uncommon, a good many humble-bees, some of our common
gooseberry moths, two or three sorts of flies, a few beetles, and some
musquitoes, which, probably, may be more numerous and troublesome in
a country so full of wood, during the summer, though at this time they
did little mischief.

As to the mineral substances in this country, though we found both
iron and copper here, there is little reason to believe that either of
them belong to the place. Neither were the ores of any metal seen,
if we except a coarse, red, earthy, or ochry substance, used by the
natives in painting themselves, which probably may contain a little
iron, with a white and a black pigment used for the same purpose. But
we did not procure specimens of them, and therefore cannot positively
determine what are their component parts.

Besides the stone or rock that constitutes the mountains and shores,
which sometimes contains pieces of very coarse _quartz_, we found
amongst the natives, things made of a hard black _granite_, though not
remarkably compact or fine grained, a greyish whetstone, the common
oil-stone of our carpenters, in coarser and finer pieces, and some
black bits which are little inferior to the hone-stone. The natives
also use the transparent leafy _glimmer_, or Muscovy glass, a brown
leafy or martial sort, and they sometimes brought to us pieces of
rock-crystal, tolerably transparent. The two first are, probably,
found near the spot, as they seemed to be in considerable quantities;
but the latter seems to be brought from a greater distance, or is very
scarce; for our visitors