of July 1824, in the 22nd year of her age."
The funeral procession was arranged in the following order: Twelve
Yeris, in the national costume, with beautiful coloured feather mantles
and helmets, walked first; they were followed by a band of musicians
playing the dead-march, and a company of soldiers from the frigate
Blond. Then came the chaplain of the frigate, and with him the
missionaries, immediately followed by the coffins in hearses, each drawn
by forty Yeris. Directly behind the coffins came the heir to the
throne, the brother of the King, a boy about thirteen, dressed in
European uniform. Lord Byron, his officers, and the royal family,
followed, the procession being closed by the people, who, attracted by
the novelty of the spectacle, assembled in great multitudes. All wore
crape as a sign of mourning, or, if they could not procure this, Tapa.
In the church, which was entirely hung with black, the chaplain of the
English frigate read the funeral-service, and the procession afterwards
repaired, in the order above described, to a small stone chapel, where
the coffins were deposited, and where they still remain.
Soon after the funeral, the new King was proclaimed by the title of
Tameamea the Third, at the command of Karemaku, who retained the regency
during the minority, in conjunction with the Queen Kahumanna. The
regents were thus nominally the same; but Karemaku was too ill to take
an active share in the government, and the missionary Bengham found
means to obtain such an acendency over the imperious Kahumanna, and,
through her, over the nation, that in the course of only seven months an
entire change had taken place:--we might have imagined ourselves in a
different country. Bengham had undertaken the education of the young
monarch, and was keeping him under the strictest _surveillance_. He
meddles in all the affairs of government, and makes Kahumanna, and even
sometimes Karemaku, the instrument of his will; pays particular
attention to commercial concerns, in which he appears to take great
interest; and seems to have quite forgotten his original situation and
the object of his residence in the islands, finding the avocations of a
ruler more to his taste than those of a preacher. This would be
excusable, if his talents were of a nature to contribute to the
instruction and happiness of the people; if he understood the art of
polishing the rough diamond, to which the uncorrupted Sandwich Islander
may aptly be compared, so as to bring out its intrinsic value, and to
increase its external splendour. But the fact is widely different; and
one cannot see without deep regret the spiritual and temporal weal of a
well-disposed people committed to the guidance of an unenlightened
enthusiast, whose ill-directed and ill-arranged designs are inimical to
their true and permanent interests.
Mr. Stewart, also a missionary, but more recently settled here than
Bengham, is a judicious and well-informed man, and would remedy many of
the evils incident to the present state of affairs; but Bengham, who has
usurped the absolute control of the spiritual administration, will have
every thing accommodated to his whims. Stewart therefore, finding
himself unable to follow the course prescribed by his active zeal and
strong understanding, for the benefit of the islanders, proposes to
leave the country.
That Bengham's private views may not be too easily penetrated, religion
is made the cloak of all his designs, and the greatest activity and
strictness prevail in its propagation, and in the maintenance of church
discipline. The inhabitants of every house or hut in Hanaruro are
compelled by authority to an almost endless routine of prayers; and even
the often dishonest intentions of the foreign settlers must be concealed
under the veil of devotion. The streets, formerly so full of life and
animation, are now deserted; games of all kinds, even the most
innocent, are sternly prohibited; singing is a punishable offence; and
the consummate profligacy of attempting to dance would certainly find no
mercy. On Sundays, no cooking is permitted, nor must even a fire be
kindled: nothing, in short, must be done; the whole day is devoted to
prayer, with how much real piety may be easily imagined. Some of the
royal attendants, on their return from London, at first opposed these
regulations, and maintained that the English, though good Christians,
submit to no such restraint. Kahumanna, however, infatuated by her
counsellor, will hear of no opposition; and as her power extends to life
and death, those who would willingly resist are compelled to bend under
the iron sceptre of this arbitrary old woman.
A short time before our return, a command had issued, that all persons
who had attained the age of eight years should be brought to Hanaruro,
to be taught reading and writing. The poor country people, though much
discontented, did not venture to disobey, but patiently abandoning their
labour in the fields, flocked to Hanaruro, where we saw many families
bivouacking in the streets, in little huts hastily put together, with
the spelling-books in their hands. Such as could already read were made
to learn passages from the Bible by heart. Every street in Hanaruro has
more than one school-house: they are long huts, built of reeds, without
any division. In each of these, about a hundred scholars, of both sexes,
are instructed by a single native teacher, who, standing on a raised
platform, names aloud every single letter, which is repeated in a scream
by the whole assembly. These establishments, it may be supposed, are
easily recognised afar off; no other sounds are heard in the streets;
and the human figure is seldom to be seen amidst this melancholy
stillness, except when the scholars, conducted by their teachers, repair
to the church. Every sort of gaiety is forbidden.
Lord Byron had brought with him from England a variety of magic
lanterns, puppet-shows, and such like toys, and was making preparations
to exhibit them in public, for the entertainment of the people, when an
order arrived from Bengham to prevent the representation, because it did
not become God-fearing Christians to take pleasure in such vain
amusements. The nobleman, not wishing to dispute the point, gave up his
good-natured intentions.
That a people naturally so lively, should readily submit to such gloomy
restrictions at the command of their rulers, proves how easily a wise
government might introduce among them the blessings of rational
civilization. Well might Karemaku exclaim, "Tameamea, thou hast died too
soon!" Had this monarch doubled the usual age of man, and accorded his
protection to such a reformer as Stewart, the Sandwich Islanders might
by this time have acquired the respect of all other nations, instead of
retrograding in the arts of civilization, and assuming under compulsion
the hypocritical appearance of an affected devotion.
In taking a walk with an American merchant established here, I met a
naked old man with a book in his hand, whom my companion addressed, and
knowing him for a determined opponent of the new system, expressed his
surprise at his occupation, and enquired how long he had been studying
his alphabet. With a roguish laugh which seemed intended to conceal a
more bitter feeling, first looking round to make sure that he should
not be overheard, he replied, "Don't think that I am learning to read. I
have only bought the book to look into it, that Kahumanna may think I am
following the general example; she would not otherwise suffer me to
approach her, and what would then become of a poor, miserable, old man
like me? What is the use of the odious B A, Ba? Will it make our yams
and potatoes grow? No such thing; our country people are obliged to
neglect their fields for it, and scarcely half the land is tilled. What
will be the consequence? There will be a famine by and by, and "Pala,
Pala" will not fill a hungry man."
It is doubtless praiseworthy in a government to provide for the
instruction of the people, but to force it upon them by such
unreasonable measures as those adopted by Kahumanna and her counsellor
must have a prejudicial effect: so far the old man was right.
A striking instance of the severity with which the Queen sometimes
prosecutes her purpose, fell under our observation. An old man of
seventy, who rented a piece of land belonging to her, many miles
distant from Hanaruro, had always paid his taxes with regularity, and
hoping that the distance, and his advanced age, might dispense with his
attendance at the church and the school, acted accordingly; but for this
neglect, Kahumanna drove him from his home. He sought her presence,
implored her compassion for his destitute condition, and represented the
impossibility of learning to read at his age. But in vain! The Queen
replied with an angry gesture, "If you will not learn to read, you may
go and drown yourself."
To such tyranny as this, has Bengham urged the Queen, and perhaps
already esteems himself absolute sovereign of these islands. But he
reckons without his host. He pulls the cord so tightly, that the bow
must break; and I forewarn him, that his authority will, one day,
suddenly vanish: already the cloud is gathering; much discontent exists.
The injudicious summons of country people to Hanaruro has enhanced the
price of provisions, partly on account of the increased consumption,
partly because so much time spent in study and prayer leaves but little
for the labours of agriculture. Thus will the approaching pressure of
want be added to the slavery of the mind, and probably urge the
islanders to burst their fetters. I have myself heard many of the Yeris
express their displeasure, and the country people, who consider
Bengham's religion as the source of all their sufferings, one night set
fire to the church: the damage sustained was trifling, and the flames
were soon extinguished; but the incendiaries were not discovered.
Karemaku is suffering under a confirmed dropsy. Lord Byron's surgeon
tapped him; but, by the time we arrived, the increase of his disorder
required a repetition of the operation; it was performed with great
success by our surgeon. But it is impossible he can survive long, and
his death will be the signal of a general insurrection, which Bengham's
folly will certainly have accelerated.
Our second visit to Hanaruro was as disagreeable as the first had been
pleasant: even our best friend, Nomahanna, was quite altered, and
received us with coldness and taciturnity, we therefore laid in our
stock of provisions and fresh water as quickly as possible, and
rejoiced in being at liberty to take leave of a country from whence one
wrong-headed man has banished cheerfulness and content.
Several whalers were lying in the harbour, and among them the Englishman
we had met with in St. Francisco, and who had then been so unsuccessful.
Fortune had since been more propitious to him, and he was now returning
from the coast of Japan with a rich cargo of spermaceti valued at
twenty-five thousand pounds sterling: he had touched here to take in
provisions for his voyage homewards.
I learnt from another captain the particulars of an accident that had
happened to one of his companions, which shows the dangers whale-fishers
are exposed to, and is a singular example of a providential escape.
A North American, Captain Smith, sailed in the year 1820 in a
three-masted ship, the Albatross, for the South Sea, in pursuit of the
spermaceti whale. When nearly under the Line, west of Washington's
Island, they perceived a whale of an extraordinary size. The boats were
all immediately lowered, and, to make the capture more sure, they were
manned with the whole crew: the cook's mate alone remained at the helm,
and the ship lay-to. The monster, as it peaceably floated on the surface
of the water, was eagerly followed, and harpooned. On feeling the stroke
of the weapon, it lashed its powerful tail with fury, and the boat
nearest it was obliged to dart with all speed out of the way, to avoid
instant destruction. The whale then turned its vengeance on the ship,
swam several times round her with prodigious noise, and then struck her
so violently on the bows, that the cook's mate could compare the effect
of the blow only to the shock of an earthquake. The fish disappeared,
but the tremendous leak the ship had sprung sank her in five minutes
with all that she contained. Her solitary guardian was with difficulty
saved.
The crew were now left in four open boats, several weeks' voyage from
the nearest land, and with no provision but the little biscuit they
happened to have with them. After a long discussion upon the best course
to pursue, they separated: two of the boats steered for the Washington
or Marquesas Isles; and the other two, with the Captain in one of them,
towards the south, for the island of Juan Fernandez. The former have
not since been heard of; but the latter were, a fortnight afterwards,
picked up by a vessel, when the captain and four only of his men were
found alive: the other ten had died of hunger, and their corpses had
afforded nourishment to the survivors.
On the 19th of September, when the first rays of the sun were gilding
the romantic mountains of Wahu, we spread our sails, and bade adieu to
the Sandwich Islands, heartily wishing them what they so greatly
want--another Tameamea, not in name only, but in spirit and in deed.
THE PESCADORES,
THE RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF,
THE ESCHSCHOLTZ,
AND THE
BRONUS ISLES.
THE PESCADORES, THE RIMSKI-KORSAKOFF, THE ESCHSCHOLTZ, AND THE BRONUS
ISLES.
On leaving the Sandwich Isles, we steered southward, it being my
intention to sail by a track not hitherto pursued by navigators who have
left us records of their voyages, to the Radack chain of islands. At
Hanaruro, several captains had mentioned to me an island situated in 17°
32' latitude, and 163° 52' longitude. On the 23rd of September we
crossed this point, and saw indeed birds of a description that rarely
fly to any great distance from land; but the reported island itself we
were unable to descry even from the mast-head, although the atmosphere
was perfectly clear:--so little is the intelligence of masters of
trading-vessels to be relied on.
On the 26th, we were, by observation, in 14° 32' latitude, and 169° 38'
longitude. During the whole of the day, large flights of such sea-birds
were seen as indicate the neighbourhood of land, and even some
land-birds; so that no doubt remained of our having sailed at no great
distance from an island hitherto unknown, the discovery of which is
reserved for some future voyager. During the whole of this course, we
had frequent signs of the vicinity of land, but never to the same extent
as on this day.
A captain, who had frequently made the voyage from the Sandwich Isles to
Canton, asserts his having discovered a shoal in 14° 42' latitude, and
170° 30' longitude. I can neither confirm nor confute this assertion;
and my only motive for repeating it here is, that vessels passing near
that point may be put upon their guard.
On the 5th of October we reached the Udirik group, the most northern of
the islands belonging to the Radack chain. We sailed past its southern
point, at a distance of only three miles, for the purpose of rectifying
our longitude, that, in case of discovering the Ralik chain, we might be
enabled to ascertain the exact difference between that and Radack. We
therefore continued our course due west, in the direction of the
Pescadore Islands, to obtain ocular demonstration that these and the
Udirik group are not one and the same; an opinion which is still
entertained by some persons, on the ground that the discoverers of the
former have mistaken their longitude.
We continued our course due west throughout the day, with very fine
weather, and having a man constantly upon the look-out from the
mast-head. During the night we had the benefit of the full moon; we then
carried but little sail; but at break of day we again set all our
top-sails.
At noon, the watch called from the tops that land was right ahead of us.
It soon came in sight, and proved to be a group of low, thickly-wooded
coral islands, forming, as usual, a circle round a basin. At one o'clock
in the afternoon we reached within three miles of them, and had, from
the mast-head, a clear view of their whole extent. While occupied in
surveying them, we doubled their most southern point, at a distance of
only half a mile from the reefs, and perceived that their greatest
length is from east to west, in which direction they take in a space of
ten miles. The aspect of these green islands is pleasing to the eye,
and, according to appearance, they would amply supply the necessities of
a population not superabundant; but though we sailed very near them, and
used our telescopes, we could discover no trace of human habitation.
According to accurate astronomical observations, the middle of this
group lies under 11° 19' 21" latitude, and 192° 25' 3" longitude. In
comparing the situation of the Pescadores, as given by Captain Wallis,
their discoverer, with this observation, it is scarcely possible to
believe in the identity of the groups. I have, however, left them the
name of Pescadores, because the two observations nearly correspond.
After having sailed round the whole group, we came, at four o'clock in
the afternoon, so close to their north-western point, that every
movement on land might have been distinctly seen with the naked eye; yet
even here there was nothing to indicate the presence of man, though
Wallis communicated with the inhabitants, if, indeed, these islands be
really the Pescadores. If so, these people must have become extinct long
ago, as no monument of their former existence is now visible. When we
had completed our survey, we again proceeded westward, and, within half
an hour, the watch again announced land in sight. The evening was now so
far advanced, that we determined to lay-to, in order to avoid the danger
of too near an approach to the coral reefs during the night, and
deferred our survey till the following morning. At break of day we saw
the islands which we have called the Pescadores, lying six miles to the
eastward; whilst those which had risen on our horizon the preceding
evening had wholly disappeared. We had diverged from them in the night;
but, with a brisk trade-wind, we regained the sight of them in an hour.
At eight o'clock in the morning we came within three miles of the
nearest island, and running parallel with the land, began our
examination. It was another group of coral islands connected by reefs
round a basin. Here also vegetation was luxuriant, and the cocoa-trees
rose to a towering height, but not a trace of man could be discerned;
and we therefore concluded they were uninhabited, as we were near enough
to distinguish any object with the naked eye. Favoured by a fresh
breeze, we sailed westward along the islands, till nightfall, without
reaching the end of this long group. During the night we had much
difficulty in keeping our position, owing to a tolerably smart gale,
which, in these unknown waters, would have been attended by no
inconsiderable danger, but that the land lay to windward of us; and were
therefore well pleased in the morning to find that the different
landmarks by which we had been guided overnight, were still visible, so
that we were enabled to pursue our observations without interruption.
The greatest length of this group, which I named, after our second
lieutenant, Rimski-Korsakoff, is from east-north-east to
west-south-west, in which direction it is, fifty-four miles long. Its
greatest breadth is ten miles. As we were sailing along the islands to
windward of us, we could plainly distinguish from the mast-head those
which lay at the other side of the basin.
After having terminated our observations, we pursued a southerly
course, in hopes of discovering more land, and sailed at a great rate
during the whole of the day, without seeing any thing. At night we
lay-to; but the following morning, the 9th of October, we had scarcely
spread our sails, before the man at the mast-head discovered some low
islands to the north, which we had already past, and which now lay to
windward of us. I immediately changed our course, and endeavoured to
approach them by dint of tacking, but a strong easterly current, which
increased as we drew nearer to the land, almost baffled our efforts. We
succeeded with much difficulty in getting within eleven miles and a half
of the western extremity of the group, distinguished by a small round
hill, which at noon lay due east, our latitude by observation being 11°
30' 32", and our longitude 194° 34'. From this point we could see the
group, stretching to the verge of the horizon, in a south-easterly and
north-easterly direction. We again attempted to approach them nearer;
but not succeeding, we were obliged to continue our course to the
westward, contenting ourselves with determining the position of the
western extremity, 11° 40' 11" latitude, and 194° 37' 35" longitude,
from which point they must stretch considerably to the east. These, like
other coral islands, probably lie round a basin: of population we could
see no trace, though there was every appearance of their being
habitable. I named them, after our worthy Doctor and Professor,
Eschscholtz, who was now making the second voyage with me.
It is unnecessary to add any thing here respecting the situations of
these three groups of isles, which have been laid down, with the
greatest possible accuracy, in the chart accompanying this volume; one
thing only I beg to observe, that they bear not the slightest
resemblance to the Pescadores described by Wallis. He did not possess
the facilities for ascertaining the longitude, which have been invented
since his time. His Pescadores may be situated elsewhere; but even if
one of these groups should be the Pescadores, we may justly claim the
discovery of the other two. This discovery is of some value, inasmuch as
these groups are no doubt the northern extremity of the Ralik chain;
and their position and distance from Radak being now ascertained, there
will hereafter be little difficulty in discovering the remaining groups
of the chain.
From the Eschscholtz Isles we steered for the Bronus Isles, it being my
wish to try the accuracy of their geographical position, and to
ascertain whether the interval between the two groups was wholly free of
islands. On the 11th of October, at noon, being in latitude 11° 21' 39",
and longitude 196° 35', the Bronus Isles were descried from the
mast-head, at a distance of twenty miles. We approached within a mile
and a half of the southern extremity of the group, from which point we
were able to survey the whole, which we found, like other coral groups,
to consist of a circle of islands connected by a reef. The Bronus Isles,
however, appeared of more ancient formation than any we had yet seen;
the land was somewhat more elevated, and the trees were larger and
stronger. Here also we saw no appearance of inhabitants.
A calm which suddenly set in exposed us to the danger of being driven by
a powerful current upon the reef; but when we were already very near
the breakers, the direction of the current varied, running southward
parallel with the coast. By this means we were enabled to double the
southern extremity of the group, and a gentle breeze soon after
springing up, conveyed us to a safe distance from the land. According to
our observation, this southern extremity lies in latitude 11° 20' 50",
and longitude 197° 28' 30". It was my intention to have noted the
position of the whole group, for which purpose I endeavoured during the
night to keep the ship in its vicinity; but at daybreak the current had
carried us so far to leeward, that land could scarcely be perceived from
the mast-head. As it was utterly impossible to make any way against the
united force of the current and trade-wind, I was obliged to abandon my
design, upon which we steered for the Ladrones, or Mariana Isles, where
I intended to take in fresh provisions.