tens, tens of tens, or hundreds, tens of hundreds, thousands, and so on; still from ten to ten.  We can discover no reason why the number ten should be chosen rather than any other for the term of numeration, except this primitive practice of counting by the fingers.”  The whole of his observations on this subject are well worthy of minute consideration.  On such elements, the provision of nature, are founded the most sublime and important sciences.—­E.]

In measuring distance they are much more deficient than in computing numbers, having but one term which answers to fathom; when they speak of distances from place to place, they express it, like the Asiatics, by the time that is required to pass it.

Their language is soft and melodious; it abounds with vowels, and we easily learnt to pronounce it:  But found it exceedingly difficult to teach them to pronounce a single word of ours; probably not only from its abounding in consonants, but from some peculiarity in its structure; for Spanish and Italian words, if ending in a vowel, they pronounced with great facility.

Whether it is copious, we were not sufficiently acquainted with it to know; but it is certainly very imperfect, for it is almost totally without inflexion, both of nouns and verbs.  Few of the nouns have more than one case, and few of the verbs more than one tense; yet we found no great difficulty in making ourselves mutually understood, however strange it may appear in speculation.

They have, however, certain affixa, which, though but few in number, are very useful to them, and puzzled us extremely.  One asks another, Harre hea? “Where are you going?” the other answers Ivahinera, “To my wives;” upon which the first repeating the answer interrogatively, “To your wives?” is answered, Ivahinereira; “Yes, I am going to my wives.”  Here the suffixa era and eira save several words to both parties.[25]

[Footnote 25:  A table of some words of the language follows in the copy.—­It is omitted here, because an opportunity will occur, to give one more full and correct; and it seemed injudicious to run the hazard of being charged with unnecessary repetition.—­E.]

Among people whose food is so simple, and who in general are seldom drunk, it is scarcely necessary to say, that there are but few diseases; we saw no critical disease during our stay upon the island, and but few instances of sickness, which were accidental fits of the cholic.  The natives, however, are afflicted with the erysipelas, and cutaneous eruptions of the scaly kind, very nearly approaching to a leprosy.  Those in whom this distemper was far advanced, lived in a state of seclusion from all society, each in a small house built upon some unfrequented spot, where they were supplied with provisions:  But whether they had any hope of relief, or languished out the remainder of their lives in solitude and despair, we could not learn.  We observed also a few who had ulcers upon different parts of their bodies, some of which had a very virulent appearance; yet they seemed not much to be regarded by those who were afflicted with them, for they were left entirely without application even to keep off the flies.[26]