portek's journai^ 



135 



the same language, with slight variations, have the same re- 

 ligion and customs, use the same arms and ornaments, and 

 are disseminated among the innumerable islands scattered 

 about the Pacific Ocean, A Nooaheevan, a Sandwich isl- 

 ander, an Otaheitan, and a New Zealander, are all of the 

 same nation, and their language and appearance do not 

 differ so much as those of the people of the different coun- 

 ties of England. 



The natives of Nooaheevah are more beautiful in their 

 proportions than either. I have had those of the three 

 other places on board my ship, and in point of beauty and 

 intelligence of countenance they bear no comparison. 

 The Sandwich Islander, the Otaheitan, and the New Zea- 

 lander, had long resided among white men ; they had fallen 

 into their vices, and indulged in the same food ; they were 

 no longer in a state of nature ; they had, hke us, become 

 corrupt, and while the honest guileless face of the Nooa- 

 heevan shone with benevolence, good nature, and intelli- 

 gence, the downcast eye and sullen looks of the others 

 marked their inferiority and degeneracy. Guilt, of which, 

 from their intercourse with us, they had become sensible, 

 had already marked their countenances; every emanation 

 of their souls could not be perceived by their features, as 

 by those of the honest naked Nooaheevan. While 1 am on 

 this subject, it may not be improper to take some notice of 

 the traditions of those people, which may lead to some idea 

 of the manner by which these islands became peopled. 

 Many conjectures on this subject have been started. Some 

 suppose they were peopled from the west, but the general 

 opinion is, that the first inhabitants came from the east, for 

 few are willing to admit that God created the human spe- 

 cies (great and distinct as are the varieties) elsewhere than 

 in Paradise. I believe that this island was not inhabited 

 from the commencement of the world, because its general 

 appearance indicates that many centuries have not elapsed 

 since it was thrown out of the ocean by volcanoes. It is 

 not less irregular in its surface, than the islands composing 

 the group of Gallipagos, but it is evidently older, and 

 more covered with verdure, which has consequently pro- 

 duced streams of water, and rendered it more suitable for 

 the residence of man. The same may be said of all the 

 islands composing the groups of Marquesas and Washings 



