70 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MAN. 



aquatic animal, his skin may not with impunity be exposed to perpe- 

 tual moisture ; whether directly applied, or arising from perspiration 

 retained by dress. Indeed, we subsequently heard complaints among 

 Polynesians, that " they never had colds until they began wearing 

 clothes." At the same time, we ourselves, could not with impunity 

 have laid clothino; aside: the skin with us was in an unnatural con- 

 dition, over-sensitive, from the exclusion as well of light as of air; or 

 according to a term used by naturalists, ' etiolated.' The importance 

 to health, therefore, of keeping the skin dry, does not appear to have 

 hitherto received due attention. 



Near the head of the valley, we unexpectedly found a family re- 

 siding, and at a point below, we observed one or two abandoned houses; 

 but with these exceptions, the Interior appeared to be wholly uninha- 

 bited. We next traversed a ridge of about twenty-seven hundred feet 

 in elevation; were ferried over the Lake on a raft of wild banana 

 stems ; and on reaching the opposite coast, learned to our surprise, that 

 " we were the first White men who had ever crossed the island of 

 Taheiti." The pass, indeed, is very seldom used by the natives; 

 who confine themselves to the coast, making limited excursions along 

 the mountain ridges, to procure the fruit of the ' fehi,' or wild banana. 

 According to an intelligent chief, " the wild people who formerly in- 

 habited Taheiti, were accustomed to go all over the mountains; but 

 there was no one now, who knew the way." The gradual abandon- 

 ment of the Interior, was of so recent a date as to have been in part 

 witnessed by the missionaries : and it was stated by them, that even 

 " within a few years, some natives made their appearance, who were 

 quite unaware of the changes brought about by the residence of 

 Europeans." 



Continuing our journey, we completed the circuit of the larger sec- 

 tion of the island, by the well-known and indeed only route, that along 

 the coast. An innovation on ancient habits was observed, in the joint 

 ownership of a large sugar plantation, by an association of natives. 

 " Landed property, was said to be at the bottom of most of the quar- 

 rels and difficulties among the native population;" and on the autho- 

 rity of the chief above mentioned, "it was always the principal cause 

 of war." The missionaries, however, spoke of "a spirit of emulation 

 between the different districts, that showed itself in various modes 

 after the cessation of the wars; and at one time cock-fighting* was 



* We note here an apparent connexion with the occurrence of the same kind of amuse- 

 ment at the Tarawan Group, and with its unusual prevalence at the Philippine Islands. 



