The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
The two towns or villages mentioned in the course of my Journal seem to
be the only inhabited parts of the sound. The number of inhabitants in
both might be pretty exactly computed from the canoes that were about
the ships the second day after our arrival. They amounted to about a
hundred, which, at a very moderate allowance, must, upon an average,
have held five persons each; but, as there were scarcely any women, very
old men, children, or youths amongst them at that time, I think it will
be rather rating the number of the inhabitants of the two towns too low,
if we suppose they could be less than four times the number of our
visitors, that is, two thousand in the whole.
The village at the entrance of the sound stands on the side of a rising
ground, which has a pretty steep ascent from the beach to the verge of
the wood in which space it is situated.
The houses are disposed in three ranges or rows, rising gradually behind
each other, the largest being that in front and the others less; besides
a few straggling or single ones at each end. These ranges are
interrupted or disjoined at irregular distances by narrow paths or lanes
that pass upward; but those which run in the direction of the houses
between the rows are much broader. Though there be some appearance of
regularity in this disposition, there is none in the single houses; for
each of the divisions made by the paths may be considered either as one
house or as many, there being no regular or complete separation, either
without or within, to distinguish them by. They are built of very long
and broad planks[44], resting upon the edges of each other, fastened or
tied by withes of pine-bark here and there, and have only slender posts,
or rather poles, at considerable distances on the outside, to which they
are also tied; but within are some larger poles placed aslant. The
height of the sides and ends of these habitations is seven or eight
feet, but the back part is a little higher, by which means the planks
that compose the roof, slant forward, and are laid on loose, so as to be
moved about, either to be put close to exclude the rain, or in fair
weather to be separated, to let in the light, and carry out the smoke.
They are, however, upon the whole, miserable dwellings, and constructed
with little care or ingenuity. For though the side-planks be made to fit
pretty closely in some places, in others they are quite open, and there
are no regular doors into them, the only way of entrance being either by
a hole where the unequal length of the planks has accidentally left an
opening, or, in some cases, planks are made to pass a little beyond each
other, or overlap, about two feet asunder, and the entrance is in this
space. There are also holes or windows in the sides of the houses to
look out at; but without any regularity of shape or disposition, and
these have bits of mat hung before them to prevent the rain getting in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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