HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS. 161 



Their population is estimated by Captain King 

 at four hundred thousand; whose colour, form, 

 language, and manners, testify their relationship 

 with the other islanders of this great ocean, 

 though they have very little knowledge of them. 

 Their earliest history consists of traditions of 

 truths interwoven with fables, which ascend 

 to the first peopling of the islands, and are not 

 yet embodied in the relation of any voyage. I 

 have collected them carefully from the accounts 

 of the most distinguished and intelligent man 

 in Hanaruro. my friend Karemaku, a Spaniard 

 named Marini, who had long resided here, 

 assisting as interpreter. 



According to a belief not long ago univer 

 sally prevalent, the mighty spirit Etua-Rono 

 reigned over these islands before they were in 

 habited by men. Ardently desirous of seeing 

 his country peopled, he was melancholy, and 

 shed torrents of tears on the mountain Mou-na- 

 roa, because he had no offspring ; and his loving 

 wife, the beautiful goddess Opuna, was not in 

 a situation to console him. At length Fate 

 heard his prayers. On the south-east point of 

 the island of O Wahi two boats were stranded, 



