THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
127 
evident from the cafes of Terreeoboo 5 Kaoo, and fome other 1779. 
Chiefs, who were very old men; yet it invariably brings on t March - t 
an early and decrepid old age. It is fortunate, that the ufe 
of it is made one of the peculiar privileges of the Chiefs. 
The young fon of Terreeoboo, who was about twelve years 
old, ufed to boaft of his being admitted to drink ava, and 
brewed us, with great triumph, a fmall fpot in his tide that 
was growing fcaly. 
There is fomething very fmgular in the hiflory of this 
pernicious drug. When Captain Cook firft viflted the So¬ 
ciety Iflands, it was very little known among them. On 
his fecond voyage, he found the ufe of it very prevalent at 
Ulietea; but it had ftill gained very little ground at Ota- 
heite. ' When we were laft there, the dreadful havock it 
had made was beyond belief, infomuch that the Captain 
fcarce knew many of his old acquaintances. At the Friend¬ 
ly Iflands, it is alfo conftantly drunk by the Chiefs, but 
fo much diluted with water, that it does not appear to 
produce any bad effects. At Atooi, alfo, it is ufed with 
great moderation, and the Chiefs are, in confequence, a 
much finer fet of men there, than in any of the neigh¬ 
bouring iflands. We remarked, that, by difcontinuing 
the ufe of this root, the noxious effects of it foon wore 
off. Our good friends, Kaireekeea and old Kaoo, w'ere 
perfuaded by us to refrain from it; and they recovered 
amazingly during the flrort time we afterward remained in 
the ill and. 
It may be thought extremely difficult to form any pro¬ 
bable conjectures refpe&ing the population of iflands, with 
many parts of which we are but imperfectly acquainted. 
There are, however, two circumftances, that take away 
much 
