58 cook's first voyage march, 



ance we could not learn ; but we observed that the 

 chiefs, as well here as in other parts, were elderly 

 men. In other parts, however, we learnt that they 

 possessed their authority by inheritance. 



The little societies which we found in the southern 

 parts seemed to have several things in common, par- 

 ticularly their fine clothes, and fishing nets. Their 

 fine clothes, which possibly might be the spoils of war, 

 were kept in a small hut, which was erected for that 

 purpose in the middle of the town : the nets we saw 

 making in almost every house, and the several parts 

 being afterwards collected were joined together. 

 Less account seems to be made of the women here 

 than in the South Sea islands; such at least was the 

 opinion of Tupia, who complained of it as an indignity 

 to the sex. We observed that the two sexes eat to- 

 gether ; but how they divide their labour we do not 

 certainly know. I am inclined to believe that the 

 men till the ground, make nets, catch birds, and go 

 out in their boats to fish ; and that the women dig up 

 fern-roots, collect lobsters and other shell-fish near 

 the beach, dress the victuals, and weave cloth : such 

 at least were their employments when we had an op- 

 portunity of observing them, which was but seldom - y 

 for in general our appearance made a holiday wher- 

 ever we went, men, women and children, flocking 

 round us, either to gratify their curiosity, or to pur- 

 chase some of the valuable merchandise which we 

 carried about with us, consisting principally of nails, 

 paper, and broken glass. 



Of the religion of these people it cannot be sup- 

 posed that we could learn much ; they acknowledge 

 the influence of superior beings, one of whom is su- 

 preme, and the rest subordinate ; and gave nearly 

 the same account of the origin of the world, and the 

 production of mankind, as our friends in Otaheite : 

 Tupia, however, seemed to have a much more deep 

 and extensive knowledge of these subjects than any 

 of the people here ; and whenever he was disposed 



