326 cook's voyage to may, 



some, preferable to any we had got at the former 

 watering-place. This will not be the only time 

 I shall have occasion to remark, that these people 

 do not know what good water is. We were con- 

 ducted to two wells ; but the water in both of them 

 proved to be execrable ; and the natives, our 

 guides, assured us that they had none better. 



Near the south end of the island, and on the 

 west side, we met with an artificial mount. From 

 the size of some trees that were growing upon it, 

 and from other appearances, I guessed that it had 

 been raised in remote times. I judged it to be 

 about forty feet high, and the diameter of its sum- 

 mit measured fifty feet. At the bottom of this 

 mount stood a stone, which must have been hewn 

 out of coral rock. It was four feet broad, two 

 and a half thick, and fourteen high ; and we were 

 told by the natives present, that not above half its 

 length appeared above ground. They called it 

 Tangata Arekee*; and said that it had been set up, 

 and the mount raised, by some of their forefathers, 

 in memory of one of their kings j but how long 

 since they could not tell. 



Night coming on, Mr. Gore and I returned on 

 board ; and, at the same time Mr. Bligh got back 

 from sounding the bay, in which he found from 

 fourteen to twenty fathoms' water ; the bottom for 

 the most part sand, but not without some coral 

 rocks. The place where we now anchore&is. much 

 better sheltered than that which we had lately 

 come from ; but between the two is another 

 anchoring station, much better than either. Le- 

 fooga and Hoolaiva are divided from each other by 

 a reef of coral rocks, which is dry at low water; 

 so that one may walk at that time, from the one 

 to the other without wetting a foot. Some of 

 our gentlemen, who landed in the latter island, 



* Tangata, in their language la man; Arekee, king. 



