In
colour they resemble the Tahitians, from whom they do not widely
differ in features. Some of the women, however, show a good deal of
the Chinese character. I liked both their general expressions and
the sound of their voices. They appeared poor, and their houses
were destitute of furniture; but it was evident from the plumpness
of the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad
sustenance.
On this island the wells are situated from which ships obtain
water. At first sight it appears not a little remarkable that the
fresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it
has even been imagined that sand has the power of filtering the
salt from the sea-water. These ebbing wells are common on some of
the low islands in the West Indies. The compressed sand, or porous
coral rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water, but the
rain which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the
surrounding sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal
bulk of the salt water. As the water in the lower part of the great
sponge-like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the
water near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass be
sufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admixture; but
where the land consists of great loose blocks of coral with open
interstices, if a well be dug, the water, as I have seen, is
brackish.
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