Owyhee.--Sandwich Islanders--Their Nautical Talents.--
Tamaahmaah.--His Navy.--His Negotiations.--Views of Mr.
Astor With Respect to the Sandwich Islands--Karakakooa.--
Royal Monopoly of Pork.-Description of the Islanders--
Gayeties on Shore.--Chronicler of the Island.--Place
Where Captain Cook was Killed.--John Young, a Nautical
Governor.--His Story.--Waititi--A Royal Residence.--A Royal
Visit--Grand Ceremonials.--Close Dealing--A Royal Pork
Merchant--Grievances of a Matter-of-Fact Man.
OWYHEE, or Hawaii, as it is written by more exact orthographers, is the
largest of the cluster, ten in number, of the Sandwich Islands. It is
about ninety-seven miles in length, and seventy-eight in breadth, rising
gradually into three pyramidal summits or cones; the highest, Mouna
Roa, being eighteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, so as to
domineer over the whole archipelago, and to be a landmark over a wide
extent of ocean. It remains a lasting monument of the enterprising
and unfortunate Captain Cook, who was murdered by the natives of this
island.
The Sandwich Islanders, when first discovered, evinced a character
superior to most of the savages of the Pacific isles. They were frank
and open in their deportment, friendly and liberal in their dealings,
with an apt ingenuity apparent in all their rude inventions.
The tragical fate of the discoverer, which, for a time, brought them
under the charge of ferocity, was, in fact, the result of sudden
exasperation, caused by the seizure of their chief.
At the time of the visit of the Tonquin, the islanders had profited, in
many respects, by occasional intercourse with white men; and had shown a
quickness to observe and cultivate those arts important to their mode
of living. Originally they had no means of navigating the seas by which
they were surrounded, superior to light pirogues, which were little
competent to contend with the storms of the broad ocean. As the
islanders are not in sight of each other, there could, therefore, be but
casual intercourse between them. The traffic with white men had put
them in possession of vessels of superior description; they had made
themselves acquainted with their management, and had even made rude
advances in the art of ship-building.
These improvements had been promoted, in a great measure, by the energy
and sagacity of one man, the famous Tamaahmaah. He had originally been
a petty eri, or chief; but, being of an intrepid and aspiring nature, he
had risen in rank, and, availing himself of the superior advantages now
afforded in navigation, had brought the whole archipelago in subjection
to his arms. At the time of the arrival of the Tonquin he had about
forty schooners, of from twenty to thirty tons burden, and one old
American ship. With these he held undisputed sway over his insular
domains, and carried on intercourse with the chiefs or governors whom he
had placed in command of the several islands.
The situation of this group of islands, far in the bosom of the
vast Pacific, and their abundant fertility, render them important
stopping-places on the highway to China, or to the northwest coast
of America. Here the vessels engaged in the fur trade touched to make
repairs and procure provisions; and here they often sheltered themselves
during the winters that occurred in their long coasting expeditions.
The British navigators were, from the first, aware of the value of these
islands to the purposes of commerce; and Tamaahmaah, not long after
he had attained the sovereign sway, was persuaded by Vancouver, the
celebrated discoverer, to acknowledge, on behalf of himself, and
subjects, allegiance to the king of Great Britain. The reader cannot but
call to mind the visit which the royal family and court of the Sandwich
Islands was, in late years, induced to make to the court of St. James;
and the serio-comic ceremonials and mock parade which attended that
singular travesty of monarchal style.
It was a part of the wide and comprehensive plan of Mr. Astor to
establish a friendly intercourse between these islands and his intended
colony, which might, for a time, have occasion to draw supplies thence;
and he even had a vague idea of, some time or other, getting possession
of one of their islands as a rendezvous for his ships, and a link in the
chain of his commercial establishments.
On the evening of the 12th of February, the Tonquin anchored in the bay
of Karakakooa, in the island of Owyhee. The surrounding shores were wild
and broken, with overhanging cliffs and precipices of black volcanic
rock. Beyond these, however, the country was fertile and well
cultivated, with inclosures of yams, plantains, sweet potatoes,
sugar-canes, and other productions of warm climates and teeming soils;
and the numerous habitations of the natives were pleasantly sheltered
beneath clumps of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees, which afforded both
food and shade. This mingled variety of garden and grove swept gradually
up the sides of the mountains, until succeeded by dense forests, which
in turn gave place to naked and craggy rocks, until the summits rose
into the regions of perpetual snow.
The royal residence of Tamaahmaah was at this time at another island
named Woahoo. The island of Owyhee was under the command of one of his
eris, or chiefs, who resided at the village of Tocaigh, situated on a
different part of the coast from the bay of Karakakooa.
On the morning after her arrival, the ship was surrounded by canoes and
pirogues, filled with the islanders of both sexes, bringing off supplies
of fruits and vegetables, bananas, plantains, watermelons, yams,
cabbages and taro. The captain was desirous, however, of purchasing a
number of hogs, but there were none to be had--The trade in pork was a
royal monopoly, and no subject of the great Tamaahmaah dared to meddle
with it. Such provisions as they could furnish, however, were brought
by the natives in abundance, and a lively intercourse was kept up during
the day, in which the women mingled in the kindest manner.
The islanders are a comely race, of a copper complexion. The men are
tall and well made, with forms indicating strength and activity; the
women with regular and occasionally handsome features, and a lascivious
expression, characteristic of their temperament. Their style of dress
was nearly the same as in the days of Captain Cook. The men wore the
maro, a band one foot in width and several feet in length, swathed round
the loins, and formed of tappa, or cloth of bark; the kihei, or mantle,
about six feet square, tied in a knot over one shoulder, passed under
the opposite arm, so as to leave it bare, and falling in graceful folds
before and behind, to the knee, so as to bear some resemblance to a
Roman toga.
The female dress consisted of the pau, a garment formed of a piece
of tappa, several yards in length and one in width, wrapped round the
waist, and reaching like a petticoat, to the knees. Over this kihei, or
mantle, larger than that of the men, sometimes worn over both shoulders,
like a shawl, sometimes over one only. These mantles were seldom worn
by either sex during the heat of the day, when the exposure of their
persons was at first very revolting to a civilized eye.
Towards evening several of the partners and clerks went on shore,
where they were well received and hospitably entertained. A dance was
performed for their amusement, in which nineteen young women and one man
figured very gracefully, singing in concert, and moving to the cadence
of their song.
All this, however, was nothing to the purpose in the eyes of Captain
Thorn, who, being disappointed in his hope of obtaining a supply of
pork, or finding good water, was anxious to be off. This it was not so
easy to effect. The passengers, once on shore, were disposed, as usual,
to profit by the occasion. The partners had many inquiries to make
relative to the island, with a view to business; while the young clerks
were delighted with the charms and graces of the dancing damsels.
To add to their gratifications, an old man offered to conduct them to
the spot where Captain Cook was massacred. The proposition was eagerly
accepted, and all hands set out on a pilgrimage to the place. The
veteran islander performed his promise faithfully, and pointed out
the very spot where the unfortunate discoverer fell. The rocks and
cocoa-trees around bore record of the fact, in the marks of the balls
fired from the boats upon the savages. The pilgrims gathered round
the old man, and drew from him all the particulars he had to relate
respecting this memorable event; while the honest captain stood by and
bit his nails with impatience. To add to his vexation, they employed
themselves in knocking off pieces of the rocks, and cutting off the bark
of the trees marked by the balls, which they conveyed back to the ship
as precious relics.
Right glad, therefore, was he to get them and their treasures fairly on
board, when he made sail from this unprofitable place, and steered
for the Bay of Tocaigh, the residence of the chief or governor of the
island, where he hoped to be more successful in obtaining supplies. On
coming to anchor the captain went on shore, accompanied by Mr. M’Dougal
and Mr. M’Kay, and paid a visit to the governor. This dignitary proved
to be an old sailor, by the name of John Young; who, after being tossed
about the seas like another Sinbad, had, by one of the whimsical freaks
of fortune, been elevated to the government of a savage island. He
received his visitors with more hearty familiarity than personages in
his high station are apt to indulge, but soon gave them to understand
that provisions were scanty at Tocaigh, and that there was no good
water, no rain having fallen in the neighborhood in three years.
The captain was immediately for breaking up the conference and
departing, but the partners were not so willing to part with the
nautical governor, who seemed disposed to be extremely communicative,
and from whom they might be able to procure some useful information. A
long conversation accordingly ensued, in the course of which they
made many inquiries about the affairs of the islands, their natural
productions, and the possibility of turning them to advantage in the way
of trade; nor did they fail to inquire into the individual history of
John Young, and how he came to be governor. This he gave with great
condescension, running through the whole course of his fortunes “even
from his boyish days.”
He was a native of Liverpool, in England, and had followed the sea from
boyhood, until, by dint of good conduct, he had risen so far in his
profession as to be boatswain of an American ship called the Eleanor,
commanded by Captain Metcalf. In this vessel he had sailed in 1789,
on one of those casual expeditions to the northwest coast, in quest of
furs. In the course of the voyage, the captain left a small schooner,
named the Fair American, at Nootka, with a crew of five men, commanded
by his son, a youth of eighteen. She was to follow on in the track of
the Eleanor.
In February, 1790, Captain Metcalf touched at the island of Mowee, one
of the Sandwich group. While anchored here, a boat which was astern
of the Eleanor was stolen, and a seaman who was in it was killed. The
natives, generally, disclaimed the outrage, and brought the shattered
remains of the boat and the dead body of the seaman to the ship.
Supposing that they had thus appeased the anger of the captain, they
thronged, as usual, in great numbers about the vessel, to trade. Captain
Metcalf, however, determined on a bloody revenge. The Eleanor mounted
ten guns. All these he ordered to be loaded with musket-balls, nails,
and pieces of old iron, and then fired them, and the small arms of the
ship, among the natives. The havoc was dreadful; more than a hundred,
according to Young’s account, were slain.
After this signal act of vengeance, Captain Metcalf sailed from Mowee,
and made for the island of Owyhee, where he was well received by
Tamaahmaah. The fortunes of this warlike chief were at that time on the
rise. He had originally been of inferior rank, ruling over only one or
two districts of Owyhee, but had gradually made himself sovereign of his
native island.
The Eleanor remained some few days at anchor here, and an apparently
friendly intercourse was kept up with the inhabitants. On the 17th
March, John Young obtained permission to pass the night on shore. On the
following morning a signal-gun summoned him to return on board.
He went to the shore to embark, but found all the canoes hauled up on
the beach and rigorously tabooed, or interdicted. He would have launched
one himself, but was informed by Tamaahmaah that if he presumed to do so
he would be put to death.
Young was obliged to submit, and remained all day in great perplexity to
account for this mysterious taboo, and fearful that some hostility was
intended. In the evening he learned the cause of it, and his uneasiness
was increased. It appeared that the vindictive act of Captain Metcalf
had recoiled upon his own head. The schooner Fair American, commanded
by his son, following in his track, had fallen into the hands of the
natives to the southward of Tocaigh Bay, and young Metcalf and four of
the crew had been massacred.
On receiving intelligence of this event, Tamaahmaah had immediately
tabooed all the canoes, and interdicted all intercourse with the ship,
lest the captain should learn the fate of the schooner, and take his
revenge upon the island. For the same reason he prevented Young from
rejoining his countrymen. The Eleanor continued to fire signals from
time to time for two days, and then sailed; concluding, no doubt, that
the boatswain had deserted.
John Young was in despair when he saw the ship make sail; and found
himself abandoned among savages;-and savages, too, sanguinary in
their character, and inflamed by acts of hostility. He was agreeably
disappointed, however, in experiencing nothing but kind treatment from
Tamaahmaah and his people. It is true, he was narrowly watched whenever
a vessel came in sight, lest he should escape and relate what had
passed; but at other times he was treated with entire confidence and
great distinction. He became a prime favorite, cabinet counsellor, and
active coadjutor of Tamaahmaah, attending him in all his excursions,
whether of business or pleasure, and aiding in his warlike and ambitious
enterprises. By degrees he rose to the rank of a chief, espoused one of
the beauties of the island, and became habituated and reconciled to his
new way of life; thinking it better, perhaps, to rule among savages
than serve among white men; to be a feathered chief than a tarpaulin
boatswain. His favor with Tamahmaah, never declined; and when that
sagacious, intrepid, and aspiring chieftain had made himself sovereign
over the whole group of islands, and removed his residence to Woahoo, he
left his faithful adherent John Young in command of Owyhee.
Such is an outline of the history of Governor Young, as furnished by
himself; and we regret that we are not able to give any account of the
state maintained by this seafaring worthy, and the manner in which he
discharged his high functions; though it is evident he had more of
the hearty familiarity of the forecastle than the dignity of the
gubernatorial office.
These long conferences were bitter trials to the patience of the
captain, who had no respect either for the governor or his island, and
was anxious to push on in quest of provisions and water. As soon as
he could get his inquisitive partners once more on board, he weighed
anchor, and made sail for the island of Woahoo, the royal residence of
Tamaahmaah.
This is the most beautiful island of the Sandwich group. It is forty-six
miles in length and twenty-three in breadth. A ridge of volcanic
mountains extends through the centre, rising into lofty peaks, and
skirted by undulating hills and rich plains, where the cabins of the
natives peep out from beneath groves of cocoanut and other luxuriant
trees.
On the 21st of February the Tonquin cast anchor in the beautiful bay
before the village of Waititi, (pronounced Whyteetee.) the abode of
Tamaahmaah. This village contained about two hundred habitations,
composed of poles set in the ground, tied together at the ends, and
thatched with grass, and was situated in an open grove of cocoanuts. The
royal palace of Tamaahmaah was a large house of two stories; the lower
of stone, the upper of wood. Round this his body-guard kept watch,
composed of twenty-four men in long blue cassocks, turned up with
yellow, and each armed with a musket.
While at anchor at this place, much ceremonious visiting and long
conferences took place between the potentate of the islands and the
partners of the company. Tamaahmaah came on board of the ship in royal
style, in his double pirogue. He was between fifty and sixty years
of age, above the middle size, large and well made, though somewhat
corpulent. He was dressed in an old suit of regimentals, with a sword
by his side, and seemed somewhat embarrassed by his magnificent attire.
Three of his wives accompanied him. They were almost as tall, and quite
as corpulent as himself; but by no means to be compared with him in
grandeur of habiliments, wearing no other garb than the pan. With him,
also, came his great favorite and confidential counseller, Kraimaker;
who, from holding a post equivalent to that of prime minister, had been
familiarly named Billy Pitt by the British visitors to the islands.
The sovereign was received with befitting ceremonial. The American
flag was displayed, four guns were fired, and the partners appeared
in scarlet coats, and conducted their illustrious guests to the cabin,
where they were regaled with wine. In this interview the partners
endeavored to impress the monarch with a sense of their importance, and
of the importance of the association to which they belonged. They let
him know that they were eris, or chiefs, of a great company about to
be established on the northwest coast, and talked of the probability
of opening a trade with his islands, and of sending ships there
occasionally. All this was gratifying and interesting to him, for he
was aware of the advantages of trade, and desirous of promoting frequent
intercourse with white men. He encouraged Europeans and Americans to
settle in his islands and intermarry with his subjects. There were
between twenty and thirty white men at that time resident in the island,
but many of them were mere vagabonds, who remained there in hopes
of leading a lazy and an easy life. For such Tamaahmaah had a great
contempt; those only had his esteem and countenance who knew some trade
or mechanic art, and were sober and industrious.
On the day subsequent to the monarch’s visit, the partners landed and
waited upon him in return. Knowing the effect of show and dress upon men
in savage life, and wishing to make a favorable impression as the eris,
or chiefs, of the great American Fur Company, some of them appeared in
Highland plaids and kilts to the great admiration of the natives.
While visits of ceremony and grand diplomatic conferences were going
on between the partners and the king, the captain, in his plain,
matter-of-fact way, was pushing what he considered a far more important
negotiation; the purchase of a supply of hogs. He found that the king
had profited in more ways than one by his intercourse with white men.
Above all other arts he had learned the art of driving a bargain. He was
a magnanimous monarch, but a shrewd pork merchant; and perhaps thought
he could not do better with his future allies, the American Fur Company,
than to begin by close dealing. Several interviews were requisite, and
much bargaining, before he could be brought to part with a bristle of
his bacon, and then he insisted upon being paid in hard Spanish dollars;
giving as a reason that he wanted money to purchase a frigate from his
brother George, as he affectionately termed the king of England. *
At length the royal bargain was concluded; the necessary supply of hogs
obtained, besides several goats, two sheep, a quantity of poultry, and
vegetables in abundance. The partners now urged to recruit their forces
from the natives of this island. They declared they had never seen
watermen equal to them, even among the voyageurs of the Northwest; and,
indeed, they are remarkable for their skill in managing their light
craft, and can swim and dive like waterfowl. The partners were inclined,
therefore, to take thirty or forty with them to the Columbia, to be
employed in the service of the company. The captain, however, objected
that there was not room in his vessel for the accommodation of such a
number. Twelve, only, were therefore enlisted for the company, and as
many more for the service of the ship. The former engaged to serve for
the term of three years, during which they were to be fed and clothed;
and at the expiration of the time were to receive one hundred dollars in
merchandise.
And now, having embarked his live-stock, fruits, vegetables, and water,
the captain made ready to set sail. How much the honest man had
suffered in spirit by what he considered the freaks and vagaries of
his passengers, and how little he had understood their humors and
intentions, is amusingly shown in a letter written to Mr. Astor from
Woahoo, which contains his comments on the scenes we have described.
“It would be difficult,” he writes, “to imagine the frantic gambols
that are daily played off here; sometimes dressing in red coats, and
otherwise very fantastically, and collecting a number of ignorant
natives around them, telling them that they are the great eris of the
Northwest, and making arrangements for sending three or four vessels
yearly to them from the coast with spars, &c.; while those very natives
cannot even furnish a hog to the ship. Then dressing in Highland plaids
and kilts, and making similar arrangements, with presents of rum, wine,
or anything that is at hand. Then taking a number of clerks and men
on shore to the very spot on which Captain Cook was killed, and each
fetching off a piece of the rock or tree that was touched by the shot.
Then sitting down with some white man or some native who can be a little
understood, and collecting the history of those islands, of Tamaahmaah’s
wars, the curiosities of the islands, &c., preparatory to the
histories of their voyages; and the collection is indeed ridiculously
contemptible. To enumerate the thousand instances of ignorance, filth,
&c.,--or to particularize all the frantic gambols that are daily
practiced, would require Volumes.”
Before embarking, the great eris of the American Fur Company took leave
of their illustrious ally in due style, with many professions of lasting
friendship and promises of future intercourse; while the matter-of-fact
captain anathematized him in his heart for a grasping, trafficking
savage; as shrewd and sordid in his dealings as a white man. As one of
the vessels of the company will, in the course of events, have to appeal
to the justice and magnanimity of this island potentate, we shall see
how far the honest captain was right in his opinion.
* It appears, from the accounts of subsequent voyagers, that
Tamaahmaah afterwards succeeded in his wish of purchasing a
large ship. In this he sent a cargo of sandal-wood to
Canton, having discovered that the foreign merchants trading
with him made large profits on this wood, shipped by them
from the islands to the Chinese markets. The ship was manned
by natives, but the officers were Englishmen. She
accomplished her voyage, and returned in safety to the
islands, with the Hawaiian flag floating gloriously in the
breeze. The king hastened on board, expecting to find his
sandal-wood converted into crapes and damasks, and other
rich stuffs of China, but found, to his astonishment, by the
legerdemain of traffic, his cargo had all disappeared, and,
in place of it, remained a bill of charges amounting to
three thousand dollars. It was some time before he could be
made to comprehend certain of the most important items of
the bill, such as pilotage, anchorage, and custom-house
fees; but when he discovered that maritime states in other
countries derived large revenues in this manner, to the
great cost of the merchant, “Well,” cried he, “then I will
have harbor fees also.” He established them accordingly.
Pilotage a dollar a foot on the draft of each vessel.
Anchorage from sixty to seventy dollars. In this way he
greatly increased the royal revenue, and turned his China
speculation to account.