herefore more nearly
connected with, at least, a part of the inhabitants of the Sandwich
Islands, than with the other South Sea islanders.

With the arrival of the white men begins the chronology of O Wahi, from
the first white king to Tameamea, making seven successive reigns.
During this period, but long before Cook's time, two vessels are said to
have been wrecked on the north-east side of O Wahi. Tradition is not
unanimous in the account of what became of the crews. According to some,
they were lost in the wreck, but others say they were murdered by the
natives. My informant, Karemaku, mentioned only one ship, which was seen
at a distance; and although the iron anchors found at O Wahi and at Muwe
prove that they must have been there, he could give no account of them.
It is very probable that the Spaniards, who often made a mystery of
their discoveries in the South Seas, already knew of the existence of
these islands before their discovery by Cook.

Their authentic history begins with this event, in 1778, when, as has
already been mentioned, Cook bestowed on them the name of the First Lord
of the Admiralty at that period. They were not then, as now, united
under one King; but each island had its particular sovereign, called
Yeri-Rahi, who possessed full power over the lives of his subjects, and
to whom the proprietors of land paid tribute. The name of the monarch
of O Wahi, on Cook's arrival, was Teraiopu, or, as he writes it,
Terreobu.

Captain King, the companion of Cook, gives the following description of
the Sandwich Islanders:--

"They are in general of the middle size,[3] and well-proportioned. Their
movements are graceful, they run swiftly, and are able to carry great
weights. The men, however, are inferior to the Friendly Islanders, in
strength and activity; and the women are not so delicately formed as
those of Tahaiti: their colour is also a little browner, and they are
not so handsome, but the features of both sexes are open and agreeable;
the females especially have beautiful eyes and teeth, and a sweet
expression of countenance. Their hair is dark-brown, not so smooth as
that of the American Indians, nor so woolly as that of the negroes of
Africa, but between the two.

"Here, as on the other South Sea Islands, the Yeris are advantageously
distinguished in form from the lower classes, and are seldom disfigured
by the swellings and ulcers frequent among the latter, which we ascribed
to the great use o