37' W. It
is about eleven leagues in circuit; of a round form, and good height; and
hath deep waters close to its shores.
All the sea-coast, and as far inland
as we could see, is wholly covered with trees, shrubs, &c.; amongst which
were some cocoa-nut trees; but what the interior parts may produce we know
not. To judge of the whole garment by the skirts, it cannot produce much;
for so much as we saw of it consisted wholly of coral rocks, all over-run
with woods and bushes. Not a bit of soil was to be seen; the rocks alone
supplying the trees with humidity. If these coral rocks were first formed
in the sea by animals, how came they thrown up to such an height? Has this
island been raised by an earthquake? Or has the sea receded from it? Some
philosophers have attempted to account for the formation of low isles, such
as are in the sea; but I do not know that any thing has been said of high
islands, or such as I have been speaking of. In this island, not only the
loose rocks which cover the surface, but the cliffs which bound the shores,
are of coral stone, which the continual beating of the sea has formed into
a variety of curious caverns, some of them very large: The roof or rock
over them being supported by pillars, which the foaming waves have formed
into a multitude of shapes, and made more curious than the caverns
themselves.
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