[Illustration: SHIP GLIDE OF SALEM
From a water-color painted at Marseilles in 1823 by Anton Roux, Jr.]
WRECKED
AMONG CANNIBALS
IN THE FIJIS
_A NARRATIVE OF
SHIPWRECK & ADVENTURE
IN THE SOUTH SEAS_
BY
WILLIAM ENDICOTT
Third Mate of the Ship _Glide_
_with Notes by_
LAWRENCE WATERS JENKINS
Assistant-Director of the Peabody Museum
of Salem
[Illustration]
MARINE RESEARCH SOCIETY
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
1923
PUBLICATION NUMBER THREE
OF THE
MARINE RESEARCH SOCIETY
SALEM, MASS.
COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY
THE MARINE RESEARCH SOCIETY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
THE SOUTHWORTH PRESS
PORTLAND, MAINE
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 5
INTRODUCTION 7
WILLIAM ENDICOTT’S NARRATIVE 15
A CANNIBAL FEAST AT THE FIJI ISLANDS 55
VOCABULARY OF THE FIJI ISLANDS 71
VOCABULARY OF WALLIS ISLAND 75
LIST OF OFFICERS AND CREW ON THE SHIP _GLIDE_ 76
ILLUSTRATIONS
SHIP GLIDE OF SALEM _Frontispiece_
From a water-color painted at Marseilles in 1823 by
Anton Roux, Jr.
WILLIAM ENDICOTT 15
From a photograph made about 1860.
FIJIAN MEN 20
From a photograph made in 1898.
SHIP ANN ALEXANDER OF NEW BEDFORD 29
From a water-color in the possession of the Old
Dartmouth Historical Society, New Bedford.
FIJI WAR CLUBS 34
Presented to the East India Marine Society of Salem
between 1823 and 1834. Now in the Peabody Museum of
Salem.
FIJIAN HOUSE 40
From a photograph made in 1898.
MODEL OF A FIJI DOUBLE CANOE 44
Brought to the United States in 1856 by Capt. Thomas
C. Dunn, while on the bark _Dragon_ of Salem. Now in
the Peabody Museum of Salem.
SHIP CHINCHILLA OF NEW YORK 50
“Scrimshawed” on a whale’s tooth. Presented to the
East India Marine Society of Salem in 1825, by Capt.
William Osgood. Now in the Peabody Museum of Salem.
A SHOAL OF SPERM WHALE OFF THE ISLAND OF HAWAII IN 1833 52
From an engraving by J. Hill after a painting by
T. Birch. The picture shows the famous Roach (Rotch)
whaling fleet,--the _Enterprise_, _Wm. Roach_,
_Pocahontas_ and _Houqua_, all from Nantucket.
FIJIAN WOMEN 56
Wearing “maiden locks” indicating that they are
unmarried.
TOOTH OF A FIJIAN CANNIBAL 66
Presented to the Essex Institute in 1851 by Capt.
John H. Eagleston who stated that it was “A tooth from
Na Massa Ngaloa, the greatest cannibal that ever lived,
head chief of Rewa, Fiji Islands. Twenty years since
conquered most of the islands in the archipelago; since
died aged about sixty years. Eleven years ago became
Christian--baptised Ratu Mill.” Now in the Peabody
Museum of Salem.
MODEL OF A BURE OR FIJI TEMPLE 66
Such models were presented to the temples as
offerings. Given to the East India Marine Society of
Salem, by Capt. Joseph Winn, Jr., in 1835. Now in the
Peabody Museum of Salem.
OBJECTS FROM FIJI 68
Presented to the East India Marine Society of Salem
and The Essex Institute between 1831 and 1860. Now in
the Peabody Museum of Salem.
INTRODUCTION
A hundred years ago the young men and boys living in New England
seacoast towns could easily find in the forecastles of locally built
ships, an opportunity to gratify a desire for adventure and a sight
of foreign lands. Many of their shipmates would be neighbors or come
from nearby towns and all who intended to follow the sea looked forward
with anticipation and pride to the day when they might be able to ship
as an officer or be given the command of a vessel. It was no unusual
thing at that time for officers and captains to be under twenty years
of age and the ship and the sea then possessed a romance and a lure not
to be found in the present-day age of steam. The following narrative
describes in matter-of-fact language, the experiences of one of these
twenty-year old lads who shipped out of Salem, Massachusetts, as third
officer in a fine ship bound for the South Seas.
The ship _Glide_, of 306 tons burden, was built in Salem in 1811 for
Joseph Peabody and Samuel Tucker and made thirteen voyages to the
Mediterranean, Archangel, South America, India and the East Indies.
In 1829 she was sent on a trading voyage to the South Seas under the
command of Capt. Henry Archer. Most of her crew were young men and some
were green hands. After doubling the Cape of Good Hope a course was
set for New Zealand where fresh provisions, wood and water were taken
aboard. At that time it was possible to obtain for a small piece of
tobacco or some trading article of trifling cost, finely carved and
ornamented war-spears and canoe paddles and curiously figured shawls
made from the native flax,--articles now highly valued by museums and
collectors. While there the ship was visited by Pomare, the principal
chief in that part of the island, who brought with him his favorite
wife. He was a fine-looking man wearing a blanket fastened over his
right shoulder and his face and thighs were tattooed in graceful
scrolls. She was handsome for a New Zealander, wore a blanket fastened
over her left shoulder and her lips and chin were tattooed.
After a voyage of 142 days from Salem, the _Glide_ reached Narai,
one of the Fijis, where fresh provisions were taken aboard. A common
musket worth only two or three dollars could be traded for a dozen
large hogs and a pair of scissors or a jackknife was valued at a bunch
of plantains or forty cocoanuts. When it came to exchanging trading
goods for the native labor necessary to obtain the beche-le-mer--the
principal article of trade in the islands--a common chisel made by
the blacksmith on board from old hoop iron could be bartered for a
day’s labor. To earn a chisel the islander must leave his hut early
in the morning, sail fifteen or twenty miles to the reef and then
work knee-deep in the water for six or eight hours gathering the
beche-le-mer, a species of sea snail; after which he must carry his
spoil to the ship--and all for a barrel-hoop chisel! The trading goods
most esteemed in the Fijis at that time were iron tools, knives,
scissors, whale’s teeth, beads and trinkets, but especially muskets,
pistols and ammunition.
The place selected for trade was reached about the middle of October,
1829, and after negotiating with the local chief, his people were
employed in building three houses,--a “batter house,” a hundred feet
long, thirty wide and twenty high, where the beche-le-mer were dried
and cured after boiling; a “pot house,” open on all sides, in which
the forty-gallon pots were placed to boil the sea snails; and a “trade
house,” a building about fifteen feet long, ten wide and eight high, in
which trading goods brought in the ship were stored and so made easily
available for barter.
The beche-le-mer when found on the reefs are about eight inches long
and three inches thick. They are of a dark brown color, have a rough
skin which is thickly covered with slime, and are easily taken.
Exposure to the air has little effect upon them. After having been
purchased by the trading master they are placed in a shallow pool made
near the shore where the sea-water flows in at high tide and here the
snails are cleaned of slime and then taken to the pot house and boiled
about forty minutes. After drying they become hard and are then sent
aboard the ship, packed in matting bags and stowed away. When properly
cured beche-le-mer will remain in good condition for several years. It
requires the Chinese palate to wholly appreciate the peculiar delicacy
of its flavor when cooked and served as a table dainty and it was to
the Chinese market in Manilla that the _Glide’s_ cargo was taken and
sold.
As the natives were a warlike race and the different tribes were
constantly engaged in fighting, the dozen men who remained on shore in
charge of the trading house and the curing of the beche-le-mer, went
fully armed. The _Glide_, also, presented a warlike appearance. Heavy
cannon loaded with cannister and grape-shot appeared at every port-hole
and on deck and below weapons were placed so that they were available
at an instant’s notice. In each top there was a chest of arms and
ammunition and “boarding nettings, eight or ten feet wide, were triced
up around the ship by tackles and shipping lines suspended from the
extremities of the lower yardarms.”[1] This seemed very necessary as
nearly two thousand natives were employed in gathering and curing the
beche-le-mer to complete the cargoes of the _Glide_ and the _Quill_,
a brig hailing from Salem, that came in not long after the _Glide_
reached Miambooa Bay.
Severe storms at times prevail in the Fijis and twice the _Glide_
narrowly escaped shipwreck. On the evening of March 21, 1831, a
hard gale came up unexpectedly and all night the shrill voice of
the leadsman called at intervals, “She drags! She drags!” The next
morning at about eleven o’clock, after having dragged her anchors
for a distance of nearly eight miles, the ship drove on a shore-reef
projecting from the island of Vanua Levu and soon became a total
wreck. In the following pages, William Endicott, the third officer
of the _Glide_, describes the events of the voyage and gives an
interesting account of the natives among whom he lived for several
months; supplying also a short vocabulary of their language.
William Endicott, who wrote this narrative, was the son of Israel and
Betsey (Rea) Endicott of Danvers, Mass., and was born there July 7,
1809. He came of a family of sailors and shipmasters and at the age of
fifteen went to sea for a voyage to the west coast of South America, in
the ship _China_, Capt. Hiram Putnam. There the ship was loaded with
copper and the voyage home made by way of Manilla, China and Calcutta.
It was during the homeward passage through the South Seas that Endicott
learned of the trade in beche-le-mer. The first officer of the ship was
Henry Archer, Jr., a Salem man, and on reaching home he proposed to
Joseph Peabody, the great Salem shipowner and merchant, that a voyage
be made to the South Seas to obtain beche-le-mer to be traded for
Chinese goods. The venture promised large profits and Archer was given
command of the ship _Glide_ and he shipped young Endicott as his third
mate. This was Endicott’s last voyage to sea and on reaching home he
engaged in the morocco leather business and in 1861 was commissioned an
inspector in the Salem Custom House. He died Sept. 25, 1881, in Danvers.
The journal of the voyage to the Fijis, kept by him, was given to
the Peabody Museum of Salem by his children and is now printed for
the first time by the kind permission of the Museum authorities
who have also supplied valuable material to illustrate the volume.
Accompanying the journal was a log book, kept during the voyage, from
which additional information has been abstracted and is included among
the footnotes. Mr. Israel O. Endicott, a son of William Endicott, has
obligingly furnished biographical information. Thanks are also due to
Mr. Charles C. Willoughby, Director of the Peabody Museum of Archæology
and Ethnology, Cambridge, Mr. Perry Walton, Boston, The Essex Institute
and Mr. Henry W. Wright, Salem, for assistance in illustrating the book.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See _Wreck of the Glide_, Boston, 1846.
WILLIAM ENDICOTT’S NARRATIVE
[Illustration: WILLIAM ENDICOTT
From a photograph made about 1860.]
WILLIAM ENDICOTT’S NARRATIVE
On May 21st, 1829, I went on board the ship _Glide_, then lying in
Salem harbour, having engaged to perform a voyage in her to the South
Pacific Ocean for the purpose of procuring a cargo of beche-le-mer,
tortoise shell and sandalwood. At meridian, all hands being on board,
we got underweigh with a moderate east wind, and stood out to sea with
all sail set. At 5 P. M. we were obliged to anchor outside the harbour
where we lay until the following day at 11 A. M. when we weighed again
and succeeded in getting to sea. We shaped our course for the Cape de
Verde Islands in order to be sufficiently to the eastward where we
expected to meet the South East trades, and soon lost sight of the
American shores.
Nothing of importance occurred on the passage till the 15th of June,
when we saw one of the Cape de Verdes. We passed it and steered to
the southward till the 1st of July when we first met the South East
trade wind. We continued to steer to the southward, by the wind,
until we reached the latitude of 32° south, when the wind becoming
more variable, enabled us to proceed more directly on our course; to
double the Cape of Good Hope, proceed to the eastward and touch at New
Zealand, as was determined by the Captain, and to endeavour to procure
some fresh stock. After arriving into the latitude of 40° south, we
experienced a succession of gales and blowing weather, which lasted
with but little cessation until the 31st of August, when we saw Van
Diemens Land,[2] from whence we steered direct for the northern part of
New Zealand.
The wind and weather proved favourable and on the 14th of Sept. we
saw the island of New Zealand and on the 17th anchored in the Bay of
Islands,[3] 117 days from Salem, with one man sick.
We found in this place three English whale ships[4] and one merchant
brig.[5] The natives, although engaged in wars and fighting with
themselves and being exceedingly fierce and savage, treated us very
well and sold us hogs and vegetables in great plenty for muskets,
powder, tools, cloth and tobacco. We generally were well pleased with
them excepting the strong propensity they had to steal.
The English Mission has a large establishment in this place guarded by
a fort, and have succeeded tolerably well in informing the natives and
in particular in putting a stop to the horrid practice of eating the
dead bodies of their enemies.[6]
We purchased six of the natives from one of the Chiefs, who we intended
to employ in procuring our cargo; and after getting a supply of fresh
stock, wood and water, we sailed from this port and steered to the
north west intending to touch at the Tonga Islands before we went among
the Fegeis, in order to lay in a good supply of vegetables and hogs
which are in greater plenty at the Tonga Islands than at New Zealand.
After leaving the land we found the weather boisterous for a few days
until we reached the south east trades when it proved mild and pleasant
and on the 6th of October, we saw one of the group called Friendly
Islands[7] by Capt. Cook and Tonga by the natives. We ran in near to
the shore when the natives came off in great numbers in their canoes
bringing great quantities of cocoanuts, yams, plantains, hogs and
fowls, besides different kinds of fruit, which they readily sold for
cloth, beads, etc. As we had plenty of trade which we brought from the
United States for the purpose we soon purchased a sufficiency of fresh
stock and vegetables.
The natives were of a copper complexion and were of very handsome
features and appeared very friendly to us and well pleased with our
trade. They were nearly naked having only a small covering over the
middle and a few small ornaments round their necks and in the ears.
On the 8th, having purchased a sufficient quantity of stock, we left
the Islands and steered for the Fegee Islands,[8] our destined port,
where we expected to procure our cargo and where we should be obliged
to stop some months.
These are a cluster of islands situated in the Pacific Ocean between
the latitudes of 15° and 18° south and the longitudes of 178° and 180°
east and very much resemble the West Indies, being very fertile and
producing nearly all the fruits and vegetables found at those islands
and being situated between the Tropics, the climate is much the same.
Mountains of considerable size are to be found among them though they
would be generally considered as low islands. They are surrounded by
coral reefs and shoals of sand which renders navigation extremely
dangerous though they serve to protect many harbours and bays from
the sea. Although situated in the immediate vicinity of the S. E.
trade wind, the wind does not prevail at any particular point, but is
generally very variable and subject to frequent changes.
These islands are inhabited by a race of people who differ very much
from the other uncivilized nations in the South Pacific Ocean, in
customs, language and particularly their complexion which is much
darker and approaches very near to the Negroes. In stature they are
larger than most Europeans and like other Indians are very straight and
well built and it is not uncommon to see persons of elegant figure.[9]
They are extremely fierce and savage, frequently at war[10] with each
other and are addicted to the horrid practice of eating their enemies
when killed in battle.[11]
On the 10th of October, 1829, we arrived among the group and passed
Turtle Island,[12] the southernmost of the cluster, steering to the
northward intending to anchor in Miamboo Bay, which lay about 100
miles distant, where we expected to commence trading for our cargo.
We continued sailing through the passages between the islands (which
by reason of the imperfection of our chart, and the islands being
improperly surveyed, was rendered extremely dangerous and difficult),
until the 18th of the month, when we started from an island (under the
lee of which we had to lay by through the night, it being too difficult
to proceed till daylight) and steered for the passage through a very
large reef of coral.
[Illustration: FIJIAN MEN
From a photograph made in 1898.]
At 11 A. M. we found our ship safe through the reef but in a very
dangerous situation being surrounded by sunken rocks and shoals.
We continued sailing for the Bay which was about 40 miles distant,
avoiding the rocks as soon as they could be seen, until 1.30 P. M. when
a rock was seen directly ahead of the ship. Every effort was made to
avoid the danger but it proved of no avail and she immediately struck
on her larboard bow about 12 miles from the Bay. We lay’d the sails
aback and she went off when we sounded the pumps and found she leak’d
1400 strokes per hour.
After getting clear of the rocks we anchored with the stream and sent
the boat well arm’d to examine the Bay. The boat returned in the
evening and at daylight we proceeded to get the anchor up but found it
impossible without great danger to the ship. Accordingly the cable was
cut and at meridian we arrived in Miamboo Bay, Oct. 19th, 1829, Civil
Account.[13]
On examining the leak we found the keel split badly and the ship
injured so much as it would become necessary to repair her before we
could prosecute our voyage, but we found no place where we could heave
her down or haul her on shore with safety. Having understood from the
natives that there was another vessel at a place 90 miles distant,
called Bow,[14] we dispatched a boat to procure assistance and also
any information that would be of service to us in our unfortunate
situation.
Meanwhile we proceeded to stop the leak, as well as circumstances would
permit, until the 20th, when to our great joy we discovered a sail
standing for the Bay. At 5 P. M. she anchored and proved to be the brig
_Quill_[15] of Salem, Capt. J. Kinsman, from the Island of Bow. They
informed us of the danger of our boat from the natives when another
boat was immediately dispatched in charge of the first officer[16] of
the _Quill_, to find the other boat. Oct. 23rd, both boats arrived safe.
Finding it impossible to repair the ship on the shore it was determined
to construct a raft from the ship’s spars and the lumber in the ship
and to heave the ship down in the Bay, to the raft, Capt. Kinsman
kindly offering us his assistance and protection from the natives.
Got underweigh on October 22nd and anchored near to the brig where we
commenced transhipping our cargo, stores, provisions, etc., on board
of the brig. After this was accomplish’d we proceeded to strip the
ship and construct the raft with the spars, etc. We had an interview
with the principal Chief of the Island, on Oct. 25th, and purchased
some cocoanut trees of him for our raft by means of which, on the 1st
of November, we completed it to our satisfaction. After securing and
preparing the ship we attempted to heave her down but found no rope
in either vessel of sufficient strength. The next day, however, we
succeeded in making a rope and hove the ship keel out and found the
stem started over to starboard, the wood-ends started considerably, the
keel split, etc.
As it was impossible to right the stem in our present circumstances, it
was determined to secure it as it was by means of iron clamps, which
the armourers of both vessels proceeded to make on board of the brig,
and to stop the leak as much as possible with wedges, sheathing and tar.
On Nov. 9th, 1829, we received a visit from Capt. Maurice of the brig
_Morliana_ of Woaho,[17] lying about 60 miles distance.
On the 19th of November, after much trouble and after surmounting many
difficulties we succeeded in finishing the repairs and when we righted
the ship, found we had stopped the leak. We also found that two of
our New Zealanders had run away from us and gone to live with the
Fegee natives. In the meantime the brig _Quill_ had commenced curing
beche-le-mer.
By the 24th we had succeeded in getting all our cargo, provisions,
ballast, etc., on board and commenced rigging the ship. The Captain
then contracted with one of the principal Chiefs to build three houses
on shore for the purpose of curing beche-le-mer at a place called
Sub-a-Sub, and on the 9th of December, the first and third officers,
with 10 men, went on shore, the houses having been completed, and
commenced purchasing beche-le-mer of the natives.
The beche-le-mer[18] is a sort of animal found on the sandy reefs,
which very much resembles a leech or blood-sucker in shape, but is
much larger. They are supposed to get their sustenance from the slime,
which collects on the reefs and shoals so numerous among these islands.
The natives obtain them by going onto the reefs when the tide is low,
collecting them in baskets made for the purpose from the leaves of the
cocoanut tree. They brought them on to the beach near to our house
where we purchased them. We then carried the fish into the pot-house
and boiled them; then into the drying-house where they were dried by
means of fire. When they are considered as cured they are much reduced
in size and very hard, but when stowed in the ship they soon become
more soft and very much resemble India rubber.
We employed great numbers of the natives, frequently upwards of 80
canoes averaging 10 men each, besides great numbers on shore procuring
wood (of which we used great quantities) and assisting us in curing
the cargo. The principal articles of trade were muskets, ammunition,
whales’ teeth, iron tools, beads and ornaments. Tortoise shell and
sandalwood we also purchased of the natives. The turtles they catch
with large nets made of the fibres of the cocoanut husk in the making
of which they are very expert.
On the 10th of December we got underweigh and ran in towards the shore
near to our fish houses and proceeded to finish rigging the ship and
repairing damages. After three or four days, finding it difficult to
proceed from our unacquaintance with their language, we shipped an
interpreter[19] from the brig _Quill_, also a number of seamen who were
acquainted with the method of curing the fish. We also purchased the
kettle of Capt. Kinsman (ours being too small to make any progress) and
proceeded to purchase the fish of the natives again.
On the 21st the brig _Quill_ sailed for Manilla, having on board about
800 piculs[20] of beche-le-mer, tortoise shell, etc. She returned on
the 23rd, in consequence of a head-wind, but sailed again on the first
of January.
Jan. 11th, 1830, Seth Richardson died on board the ship. He belonged to
Salem and had been complaining nearly all the voyage.
We continued curing beche-le-mer on shore, while those on board were
putting the ship in order and nothing particular occurred until the
30th of January when the natives on shore maliciously set fire to our
houses and destroyed 60 piculs of beche-le-mer, trade, clothes, etc.,
and the men with difficulty got on board the ship, at midnight. The
next morning we discovered they had broken our kettles for the purpose
of getting the wrought iron. We found their principal object in setting
fire to our houses was plunder and we immediately sent for the King[21]
or principal Chief of the Bay. He came on board and informed us that
our houses, being built by an inferior Chief, were more liable to be
troubled by the natives. He advised us to use the houses that were
employed by the brig _Quill_, as he built them himself, and he being
the King of the Island and Bay, the natives would not dare to trouble
them. On the 2nd of February we commenced curing fish in the houses of
the King, the blacksmith having mended the kettles.
On the 10th, as the beche-le-mer began to grow scarce on the reefs, it
was determined on the advice of the King to go to another bay, about
40 miles distant and build new houses and employ the natives in that
place. On February 19th, the launch, in charge of the 1st officer, was
sent round to the Bay with 10 men to prepare for curing the fish and
two days later, having taken on board all the things from the shore, we
got underweigh and stood out of the Bay of Miamboo.
On the 23rd, we arrived safe in the bay called Aloa by the natives,
and found the King with his men had completed the houses and were
all prepared to prosecute the business of purchasing and curing the
beche-le-mer. Here we continued to cure fish without any interruption
till March 23rd, when the interpreter was dispatched about 90 miles to
a place call’d Baratta to purchase hogs, with the Chief of that place.
We found on April 9th that we had upwards of 1000 piculs beche-le-mer,
350 pounds tortoise shell and some sandalwood, so we settled with the
natives and burnt our houses[22] and put the ship in readiness to go
to sea. Four days later the interpreter arrived, bringing 90 hogs, and
informed us that the ship _Clay_,[23] Capt. Millet, of Salem, was at
Bow and had brought letters from our friends which the interpreter
delivered to us.
On April 15th, 1830, we got underweigh and stood out of the bay of
Aloa bound to Manilla. After passing through the inner reef and
thinking ourselves safe at sea, we observed a very large coral reef
with no passage through it and it being near night and the weather
unfavourable, we immediately tacked and endeavoured to gain the harbour
we had left; but finding it impossible, anchored outside, near a small
island[24] with coral reefs and breakers all around us. The wind
increased through the night to a violent gale obliging us to get our
topmast down and pay out all on both cables. It continued to blow very
hard for four days, the ship being in a very dangerous situation with
a large coral reef only two cables length astern. Fortunately, on the
20th, it moderated and we got our masts on end and got underweigh and
on the 22nd arrived safe in Miamboo Bay where we lay till the 25th
waiting for a favourable wind to go to sea.
On the 25th of April, 1830, we again got underweigh and succeeded in
passing out through the passages to sea and steered direct for Manilla.
We had a tolerable passage and in fifty days saw the island of Samar at
the entrance of the Strait of St. Bernadina and passing it proceeded
through the Strait and on the 22nd June anchored in the Bay of Manilla,
off Caviter, about nine miles from the city. We found here one American
ship and a number of English[25] and Spanish vessels. Got underweigh
on June 27th and ran up to the city with the ship for the purpose of
discharging our cargo, which was sold to Chinese merchants as the
beche-le-mer forms an article of food and is eaten by the principal
Chinese.
[Illustration: SHIP ANN ALEXANDER OF NEW BEDFORD
From a water-color in the possession of the Old Dartmouth Historical
Society, New Bedford.]
After having discharged the cargo and taken in a sufficient quantity
of ballast, we shipp’d 8 Manilla sailors and put the ship in order for
another voyage to the Fegees, taking on board some stores, and on the
17th of July we got underweigh and stood out of the Bay, intending
to touch at the Sandwich Islands for the purpose of procuring water
and fresh stock. On the 22nd, having passed through the Strait of St.
Bernadino, we steered to the eastward and soon lost sight of the land.
We had a tedious passage (though the weather was mild and pleasant)
owing to the light winds which prevailed for most of the time. On
the 16th of August we saw the Caroline Islands and on the 18th the
Ladrone Isles. [On the 1st of Sept. spoke the ship “Zeneas Coffin,”[26]
Capt. Joy of Nantucket on a cruise. On the 4th saw a number of whales
and other smaller fish. On the 22nd was boarded by a boat from the
whale-ship “Ann Alexander”[27] of New Bedford, Capt. Howland, on a
cruise. On the 3rd of Oct. spoke ship “Hector,”[28] Capt. Morse, of
New Bedford, cruising for whales.--_From Log Book._] After a passage
of 84 days arrived at the Sandwich Islands, and on the 9th of Oct.
anchored in Mowee Roads.[29] Found in this place one whale-ship[30] and
a number of small schooners.
We immediately commenced getting our water and purchasing goats and
vegetables for the use of the ship’s company. Many of the natives came
on board and appeared very civil. The American Mission appeared to be
in a very flourishing condition. A new church[31] nearly finished we
observed and the missionaries appeared to have succeeded very well in
reforming and civilizing the natives. We found this a most excellent
place for watering and for procuring vegetables and fresh stock, etc.,
which we purchased very, very cheap for iron tools, etc.
On the 15th of October after having taken a sufficient supply of water,
stock, etc., we sailed, steering to the southward, bound to the Fegees.
We experienced fine weather and a regular trade wind and on the 6th
of Novr. saw an island supposed to be Penrhyn’s Island,[32] which the
Captain intended to touch at for the purpose of procuring some grass
for our live stock if possible. At 5 P. M. we were near to the shore
when the natives came off in great numbers and appeared perfectly
savage and fierce, hallowing and shaking their spears.
The Captain had given orders for every man on board to arm himself and
prepare to resist them should they attempt to attack us. We endeavoured
to trade with them and had succeeded in purchasing some cocoanuts when
the Captain, in endeavouring to persuade one of the natives to come
on board, another native fired his spear at the Captain and slightly
wounded him in the neck. He immediately gave orders to fire at them
which was accordingly done and 7 or 8 of the natives were killed.
We immediately fill’d our sails and stood on our course leaving the
natives to bewail the visit of civilized people to their uncivilized
shores.
Passed the Tonga Islands on Novr. 16th and on the 18th saw Turtle
Island, the southernmost of the Fegee Group. We passed through the
passages between the island and on the 24th of Nov. anchored off
Ovalou,[33] an island about 25 miles from Bow, the principal town of
the Fegee Islands, where the King of the whole group resides. Here the
1st Officer and interpreter left the ship for Bow to have an interview
with the King [Tanoa] and on the 26th he came on board in a very large
double canoe with some of his principal warriors and two of his wives.
The Captain purchased some tortoise shell of him and contracted with
him for 2 large houses on an island a short distance from Bow where,
on the 1st Dec., we commenced curing beche-le-mer. The interpreter and
the Manilla men were employed on shore with a number of English sailors
which we hired for the purpose, but finding the beche-le-mer very
scarce and the natives not well disposed towards us it was determined
to remove from this place and endeavour to find some better place for
procuring a second cargo.
Before we could get away a violent gale came on from the northward,
on the 16th of Dec. and as our ship lay in an open roadstead, her
situation became dangerous and beginning to drift and the reefs but
a short distance astern, we let go both of our lower anchors and got
our top-gall-masts down. The gale increased to such violence that our
chain cable soon parted and the stream,[34] being the only anchor we
had left on board, was immediately let go. That in a short time parted
also and the ship drifted within a cable length of the breakers,
the sea running very high at the time. Our sheet cable still held on
and the gale moderating considerable we rode out the gale until the
next morning when the cable parted and we drove on to the reef before
sail could be made on the ship. Fortunately for us the wind shifting
suddenly and blowing off shore we were able to clear the rocks without
doing the ship any injury.
We made all sail and after passing out to sea through the reefs we
steered over towards the island of Somer-Some,[35] intending to
purchase of the natives the cables and anchors of the brig _Fawn_[36]
lately shipwrecked there, as we were wholly destitute of cables or
anchors and it would be impossible to prosecute the voyage without a
new supply.
Arriving at Somer-Some, on the 19th Dec. we succeeded in procuring 3
anchors and 2 chain cables which formerly belonged to the brig _Fawn_
and also some rigging, and proceeded towards the island of Ovalou again
to procure our anchors if possible and get our things from the shore.
On the 25th we anchored in the same place where we lost the anchors,
but found it impossible to regain them so the boat was sent on shore to
procure stocks for the anchors we had on board. The next day, while
the carpenter was employed in cutting the anchor stocks and the men
were guarding him from the natives, whom we were suspicious of from
their appearance, they rushed down from the mountains and attacked our
men who immediately fled to the boat and succeeded in reaching it,
excepting two men belonging to Salem, Edmund Knight[37] and Joshua B.
Derby, whom the natives killed with their clubs, the latter having
previously shot the Chief of the tribe. They took the muskets and
stripped the dead bodies of our unfortunate men, those in the boat not
being able to prevent them. Hearing the tumult in the ship, another
boat was dispatched, armed completely, and succeeded in getting the
bodies which we buried on shore. We soon learned the natives intended
to attack the ship and immediately got our things on board and prepared
the ship for sea. We got underweigh on the 29th Dec. and stood out
through the reefs to sea and steered towards Miamboo Bay, where we
anchored on the 31st and the 1st and 3rd officers landed for the
purpose of passing over the mountains to Aloa Bay, to contract with the
King (our friend of the former voyage) while the ship proceeded round
to the Bay.
[Illustration: FIJIAN WAR CLUBS
1. Collected by Capt. Benjamin Vanderford in 1823
2, 3, 4. Collected by Capt. Charles Millett in 1832
5. Collected by Capt. William H. Brown in 1834
Now in the Peabody Museum of Salem]
On the 1st Jan., 1831, the ship arrived in Aloa Bay and anchored near
the place where our houses were building, the officers having
contracted with the Chief. On the 13th, the house being completed,
we commenced curing beche-le-mer. The 1st officer, interpreter and
ten men stayed on shore and the rest of the ship’s company commenced
repairing the rigging which was found to be in a very bad condition.
The head of our main-mast was rotted nearly off and after much trouble
and delay a tree was found of sufficient size for a fish,[38] which was
purchased of the natives. On the 27th we completed our mast and having
refitted the rigging as well as circumstances would permit we prepared
to receive our cargo, hoping to be able to prosecute our voyage without
more delay which from a succession of misfortunes and accidents had
been long protracted and was rendered extremely tedious and thus far
unprofitable.
But we found our troubles were far from being at an end for on the 29th
we found our principal house on fire which was burnt together with 100
piculs of beche-le-mer, some trade, etc. Another delay was unavoidable,
but with the assistance of the King and other Chiefs, another house was
soon completed and on the 4th of February we commenced fishing again.
We continued to cure beche-le-mer until the 13th with but little
success, when the natives attempted to burn our houses again and
appeared disposed to attack the men on shore if an opportunity offered.
The Chiefs also seemed disposed to countenance their tribes in their
designs. We immediately manned and armed the boats and sent them on
shore for the protection of our property and the men. In the morning,
a slight attack was made by the natives on our people, but they were
defeated without any loss on our side. As we killed a number of them
and they perceived the superiority of our muskets over their weapons,
they retreated into the woods. We got our things on board without any
molestation from the natives and immediately put the ship in readiness
for sea.
Finding it impossible to procure a cargo in this place we burnt the
houses and got underweigh and stood out of the bay intending to proceed
to Mutt-Water,[39] a town and bay on the north end of the island, where
we arrived on the 17th and anchored near the shore about a musket-shot
distance from the principal chief’s town. We immediately had an
interview with the Chief and agreed with him to furnish houses for the
purpose of curing beche-le-mer, the Chiefs agreeing to furnish canoes
and men to man them, the 2nd Chief of the place, who was much loved
and respected by the natives, agreeing to stay on board the ship, as a
hostage for our men and property on shore. By the 21st of February the
house was completed and we commenced purchasing and curing beche-le-mer.
We continued curing the fish and nothing particular occurred until
the 22nd March, 1831, by which time we had procured about 500 piculs
of beche-le-mer and 300 pounds of tortoise shell. An accident then
befell us which not only ruined our voyage but by which we lost all our
property and were cast on the mercy of savages whose fierceness and
ferocity are not equalled on the South Seas.
Our ship lay in a channel between a small island and the north end of
the island of Tackanova[40] on which was the town and our beche-le-mer
establishment at a short distance from the ship. The 1st officer, three
of the crew, the Manilla men and several English sailors, whom we
employed, were on shore curing beche-le-mer, when an _excessive hard
gale_ came on from E. S. E. about 8 P. M. on the 21st. At ten, all
hands were call’d and the sheet anchor let go, but as the other cable
was payed all out it could bring no strain until the ship began to
drift. It continuing to blow very hard and every appearance of a hard
gale coming, we proceeded to get our yards and masts down and at 3 P.
M. having got the top-gall-masts and main-top-masts down we found the
ship drifting and immediately let go the small chain-anchors, one of
which was back’d with the ship’s kedge, and payed out a long scope on
all the cables. We also got down the fore-top-masts and lower yards. At
9.30, the wind increasing and the ship having drifted so far as to be
exposed to the sea, which had now become very high and confused, we
payed out the bitter end[41] of all the cables.
At 10 A. M. we perceived by the land, which could only be seen at
intervals, that the ship had drifted 7 or 8 miles along the coast and
was in a most dangerous situation, the current setting against us and
the wind having increased to a hurricane, the sea running very high.
Breakers were all round us and there seemed but little chance to save
the ship, so we cut away the lower masts and with them went almost
every moveable thing from the deck. The breakers were soon seen astern
and at about 11 A. M. the ship struck on the shore reef, having drifted
10 miles from her anchorage. The sea soon drove her upon the reef where
she bilged and fell over on her side, heeling in towards the land and
protecting us from the sea which beat against her with great violence.
We were fortunate in having a chief[42] on board of considerable
influence with the natives, who advised us to land if possible and
proceed to the town, as the mountaineers would come on board for
plunder and would not scruple to take our lives which he could not
possibly prevent. Accordingly the ship was delivered to the chief and
we proceeded to clear away the boats. Our launch went adrift and was
lost in the beginning of the gale and when we lowered a quarter boat it
immediately went to pieces. In the two left, we, after much difficulty
and danger, succeeded in reaching the shore in safety with no property
but our clothes.
We soon met with a party of mountaineers, exceedingly fierce, who
robbed us of our clothes, hardly leaving each one with a single
garment, it not being in our power to prevent them, and leaving us
exposed naked to the storm, without any shelter and perfectly ignorant
of the road to the King’s town,[43] nor would any one of them be
prevailed upon to show us the way. The savages soon left us and we
proceeded on our way towards the town but from our ignorance of the
right paths and the fury of the storm, our travelling was rendered
exceedingly difficult and tiresome. The next morning, however, we
found ourselves all safe in the King’s town. The King[44] and all
the principal inhabitants had gone aboard the ship and the five that
remained gave us the largest house where, without provisions of any
kind and knowing our fate would not be determined until the arrival of
the King and his men, we were forced to wait in a painful suspense two
days.
After the gale had abated, the King came up from the ship, having
plundered her of everything except the salt provisions and bread, and
after a consultation with his priests and warriors, he proclaimed that
our lives should be spared, that houses should be prepared for us and
that we might be permitted to secure what provisions from the ship we
could. After hearing this law passed by the King and feeling confident
it would be violated on no account, without his orders, our minds were
greatly relieved and our spirits, which had been greatly depressed with
our misfortunes, rose high with the hope of once more seeing our native
country and leaving these savage shores where we had experienced, from
the time we first arrived among them, so much trouble and so many
misfortunes.
The King having lent us one of his large canoes, with which and our
small boat (the only one sav’d from the wreck) we proceeded down to the
ship for provisions. We found the natives greatly excited with their
prize. The chief, however (who was on board when we struck), received
us very well and gave us permission to take anything we pleased; but
the natives had destroyed almost everything they had not carried off.
Every part of her was ransacked and torn to pieces; the hull cut and
hacked for the purpose of getting the iron work, and with pain we saw
our unfortunate ship in a most wretched and miserable condition and
with no hope of leaving the country till some vessel arrived.
[Illustration: FIJIAN HOUSE
From a photograph made in 1898.]
We succeeded in getting 14 pounds of salt meat, a few casks of bread
and some other little articles and returned to the town. The King
prepared his largest church[45] for us to live in and a small house
for our provisions; gave us some cooking utensils and we made
arrangements for our comfort and prepared to wait patiently until some
relief came to us.
Having understood that there was another vessel among the group
previous to our misfortune, it was determined by the captain, with the
consent of the King, to proceed in the boat, with a crew, up to the
Island of Bow, about 90 miles distant, to learn the fate of the vessel
and if he found her safe to request the captain to come to our relief.
Accordingly, on the 28th March, having fitted sails for the boat, layed
in stores and ammunition, the captain, left us and proceeded on his
voyage.
The King supplied us with yams and gave us a number of presents of
clothes, and we continued to live on the most friendly terms with the
natives. We were tolerably acquainted with their language and from a
long acquaintance with them we were soon able to conform in some degree
to the customs and manners. We found our King was the sovereign over a
large part of the island of Tackanova (the second largest of the Group)
and a number of smaller islands over which he reigned with an absolute
sway. But he was subject to the King of Bow who was the great sovereign
of the whole group.
The natives of these islands are remarkable from the other natives
in these seas, not only from their extreme savage dispositions and
eagerness to kill and eat their enemies, but from the dark colour of
their skins and the manner in which they dress their hair. They allow
it to grow at full length, when it is made very stiff by applying a
mixture made of the ashes of burnt coral and then dyed in various
colours; the grown people having it always black, when they pick it up
into many curious shapes and being very thick and bushy their heads
present a very singular and frightful appearance. Their bodies are
nearly naked, with no covering except a piece of cloth made from the
bark of a tree, wrapped around the waist; though they oil themselves
with cocoanut oil which serves to protect their bodies from the rays of
the sun and renders the skin soft and pliable.
The females wear a covering made of a sort of grass which is curiously
interwoven and being of different colours presents a handsome
appearance. Their bodies are oiled and their hair dressed the same as
the men. Both sexes always lie with their necks resting on a stick so
as not to injure the shape of their hair. The females, although at the
complete disposal of the men, are not treated with great severity. They
assist in tilling the ground, fishing and cooking; though a great part
of their time is spent in fixing their hair. They display considerable
ingenuity in making earthen-pots (which much resemble ours) and in
making cloth nets.
The men of whatever rank are learnt the art of war and always carry
their arms with them wherever they go. They are very ingenious in the
construction of their houses and their war-weapons, but in particular
in their canoes. Their houses are much like a one-story house in our
country (but without windows) in their shape. They are framed of the
limbs of trees seized together with a kind of sennet[46] made of the
fibres of the cocoanut husk plaited together. On these are fastened
small reeds and on them are secured the thatch with which the house is
covered.
Their double canoes are formed of two single ones secured together by
large timbers on which a platform is built and on which the sail is set
and the natives stand. Single canoes have an outrigger and a platform
built on the single canoe on which the sail is set. They commence
building first by hollowing out the trunk of a tree, when planks are
hew’d and seized on until it is of sufficient size, secured by timbers
very much resembling those in a ship. The sail is made of mats, the
rope of a kind of bark, and is so constructed as to be turned either
way without the necessity of turning the canoe round when tacking at
sea. The canoes are all fitted to sail either end first. They are
sometimes very large containing room for 4 or 5 hundred persons[47]
and nearly as long as a ship. They sail remarkably fast and the
natives are very expert in the management of them and as the natives
all go arm’d, from their savage dress they present a very formidable
appearance.
The natives of these islands believe in a Great Spirit whom they think
lives in the sky and who made all things. In every town there are a
number of priests whom the natives think are endowed with divine powers
by the Great Spirit with whom he sometimes converses and informs them
how to direct the people. These priests have great influence with the
chiefs in declaring war and managing the affairs of the nation.
The principal amusements consisted in a kind of dance, singing songs
relating to the war exploits and fishing expeditions, performing
warlike manœuvres, and in drinking the ava[48] extracted from the
ava-root, of which they are immoderately fond.
[Illustration: MODEL OF A FIJIAN DOUBLE CANOE
Brought to the United States in 1856 by Capt. Thomas C. Dunn, while on
the bark _Dragon_ of Salem. Now in the Peabody Museum of Salem.]