290 cook's second voyage march, 



winds, but a dangerous one with westerly, as the 

 other on the south-east side must be with easterly 

 winds. 



For this and other bad accommodations already 

 mentioned, nothing but necessity will induce any 

 one to touch at this isle, unless it can be done with- 

 out going much out of the way ; in which case 

 touching here may be advantageous, as the people 

 willingly and readily part with such refreshments as 

 they have, and at an easy rate. We certainly re- 

 ceived great benefit from the little we got ; but few 

 ships can come here without being in want of water, 

 and this want cannot be here supplied. The little 

 we took on board, could not be made use of; it 

 being only salt water which had filtrated through 

 a stony beach into a stone well. This the natives 

 had made for the purpose, a little to the southward 

 of the sandy beach so often mentioned, and the water 

 ebbed and flowed into it with the tide. 



The inhabitants of this island do not seem to ex- 

 ceed six or seven hundred souls ; and above two- 

 thirds of those we saw were males. They either 

 have but few females among them, or else many 

 were restrained from making their appearance during 

 our stay ; for though we saw nothing to induce us 

 to believe the men were of a jealous disposition, or 

 the women afraid to appear in public, something of 

 this kind was probably the case. 



In colour, features, and language, they bear such 

 affinity to the people of the more western isles, that 

 no one will doubt that they have had the same 

 origin. It is extraordinary that the same nation 

 should have spread themselves over all the isles in 

 this vast ocean, from New Zealand to this island, 

 which is almost one-fourth part of the circumference 

 of the globe. Many of them have now no other 

 knowledge of each other than what is preserved by 

 antiquated tradition ; and they have by length of 

 time become, as it were, different nations, each 



