304 THE OCEAN. 



rigging made of cocoa-nut fibre, which makes good 

 rope. 



The mode in which these scattered isles wer<* 

 peopled is a subject of interesting discussion, as 

 the physical character of the inhabitants, their lan- 

 guage, and many peculiarities in their customs, seem 

 to indicate their Asiatic origin ; while, on the other 

 hand, it was deemed highly improbable that the 

 progress should have been made in a direction op- 

 posed to that of the trade-wind, and in such feeble 

 craft as they possessed. But the trade- wind is occa- 

 sionally exchanged for violent and continued gales 

 in other directions; and instances have come to 

 our knowledge, in which voyages of several hun- 

 dred miles have been performed by native canoes, 

 directly to windward. Thus, Captain Beechy 

 found at Byam Martin Island a native of Tahiti, 

 named Tuwarri, who, with a few companions, had 

 sailed from Chain Island on a voyage to Tahiti; 

 but after being out some time, he was met by a 

 violent storm, which drove him far out of his course 

 and knowledge. At length, after very severe pri- 

 vations and sufferings, he arrived at Byam Martin, 

 four hundred and twenty miles distant in a wind- 

 ward direction from the point of embarkation.* 

 Such involuntary emigrations as this, when we con- 

 sider how intimately the various groups are con- 

 nected with each other, and with the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, seem sufficient to warrant the conclusion, 

 that the tide of population has flowed in a direction 

 from west to east. 



* Voyage to the Pacific, <tc. 



