like a trough; for which the longest trees are chosen that can be got,
so that there are never more than three in the whole length: the next
stage, under _b b_, is formed of straight plank, about four feet long,
fifteen inches broad, and two inches thick: the third stage, under _c
c_, is, like the bottom, made of trunks, hollowed into its bilging form;
the last is also cut out of trunks, so that the moulding is of one piece
with the upright. To form these parts separately, without saw, plane,
chissel, or any other iron tool, may well be thought no easy task; but
the great difficulty is to join them together.
When all the parts are prepared, the keel is laid upon blocks, and the
planks being supported by stanchions, are sewed or clamped together with
strong thongs of plaiting, which are passed several times through holes
that are bored with a gouge or auger of bone, that has been described
already; and the nicety with which this is done, may be inferred from
their being sufficiently water-tight for use without caulking. As the
platting soon rots in the water, it is renewed at least once a-year; in
order to which, the vessel is taken entirely to pieces. The head and
stern are rude with respect to the design; but very neatly finished, and
polished to the highest degree.
These Pahies are kept with great care in a kind of house built on
purpose for their reception; the houses are formed of poles set upright
in the ground, the tops of which are drawn towards each other, and
fastened together with their strongest cord, so as to form a kind of
Gothic arch, which is completely thatched quite to the ground, being
open only at the ends; they are sometimes fifty or sixty paces long.
As connected with the navigation of these people, I shall mention their
wonderful sagacity in foretelling the weather, at least the quarter from
which the wind shall blow at a future time; they have several ways of
doing this, of which however I know but one. They say, that the
Milky-way is always curved laterally; but sometimes in one direction,
and sometimes in another: and that this curvature is the effect of its
being already acted upon by the wind, and its hollow part therefore
towards it; so that, if the same curvature continues a night, a
corresponding wind certainly blows the next day. Of their rules, I shall
not pretend to judge; but I know that, by whatever means, they can
predict the weather, at least the wind, with much greater certainty than
we can.
In their longer voyages, they steer by the sun in the day, and in the
night by the stars; all of which they distinguish separately by names,
and know in what part of the heavens they will appear in any of the
months during which they are visible in their horizon; they also know
the time of their annual appearing and disappearing with more precision
than will easily be believed by an European astronomer.
CHAP. XIX.
OF THE DIVISION OF TIME IN OTAHEITE; NUMERATION, COMPUTATION OF
DISTANCE, LANGUAGE, DISEASES, DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD, RELIGION, WAR,
WEAPONS, AND GOVERNMENT; WITH SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS FOR THE USE OF
FUTURE NAVIGATORS.
WE were not able to acquire a perfect idea of their method of dividing
time; but observed, that in speaking of it, either past or to come, they
never used any term but _Malama_, which signifies Moon. Of these moons
they count thirteen, and then begin again; which is a demonstration that
they have a notion of the solar year: but how they compute their months
so that thirteen of them shall be commensurate with the year, we could
not discover; for they say that each month has twenty-nine days,
including one in which the moon is not visible. They have names for them
separately, and have frequently told us the fruits that would be in
season, and the weather that would prevail, in each of them; and they
have indeed a name for them collectively, though they use it only when
they speak of the mysteries of their religion.
Every day is subdivided into twelve parts, each of two hours, of which
six belong to the day, and six to the night. At these divisions they
guess pretty nearly by the height of the sun while he is above the
horizon; but there are few of them that can guess at them, when he is
below it, by the stars.
In numeration they proceed from one to ten, the number of fingers on
both hands; and though they have for each number a different name, they
generally take hold of their fingers one by one, shifting from one hand
to the other till they come to the number they want to express. And in
other instances, we observed that, when they were conversing with each
other, they joined signs to their words, which were so expressive that a
stranger might easily apprehend their meaning.
In counting from ten they repeat the name of that number, and add the
word _more_; ten, and one more, is eleven; ten, and two more, twelve:
and so of the rest, as we say one and twenty, two and twenty. When they
come to ten and ten more, they have a new denomination, as we say a
score; and by these scores they count till they get ten of them, when
they have a denomination for two hundred; and we never could discover
that they had any denomination to express a greater number: neither,
indeed, do they seem to want any; for ten of these amount to two
thousand, a greater number than they can ever apply.
In measuring distance they are much more deficient than in computing
numbers, having but one term, which answers to fathom; when they speak
of distances from place to place, they express it, like the Asiatics, by
the time that is required to pass it.
Their language is soft and melodious; it abounds with vowels, and we
easily learnt to pronounce it: but found it exceedingly difficult to
teach them to pronounce a single word of ours; probably not only from
its abounding in consonants, but from some peculiarity in its structure;
for Spanish and Italian words, if ending in a vowel, they pronounced
with great facility.
Whether it is copious, we were not sufficiently acquainted with it to
know; but it is certainly very imperfect, for it is almost totally
without inflexion, both of nouns and verbs. Few of the nouns have more
than one case, and few of the verbs more than one tense; yet we found no
great difficulty in making ourselves mutually understood, however
strange it may appear in speculation.
They have, however, certain _affixa_, which, though but few in number,
are very useful to them, and puzzled us extremely. One asks another,
_Harre hea?_ “Where are you going?” The other answers, _Ivahinera_, “To
my wives;” upon which the first, repeating the answer interrogatively,
“To your wives?” is answered, _Ivahinereira_; “Yes, I am going to my
wives.” Here the suffixa _era_ and _eira_ save several words to both
parties.
I have inserted a few of their words, from which, perhaps, some idea may
be formed of the language.
Pupo, _the head_.
Ahewh, _the nose_.
Roourou, _the hair_.
Outou, _the mouth_.
Niheo, _the teeth_.
Arrero, _the tongue_.
Meu-eumi, _the beard_.
Tiarraboa, _the throat_.
Tuamo, _the shoulders_.
Tuah, _the back_.
Oama, _the breast_.
Eu, _the nipples_.
Oboo, _the belly_.
Rema, _the arm_.
Vaee, _wild plantains_.
Oporema, _the hand_.
Manneow, _the fingers_.
Mieu, _the nails_.
Touhe, _the buttocks_.
Hoouhah, _the thighs_.
Avia, _the legs_.
Tapoa, _the feet_.
Booa, _a hog_.
Moa, _a fowl_.
Euree, _a dog_.
Eure-eure, _iron_.
Ooroo, _bread-fruit_.
Hearee, _cocoa-nuts_.
Mia, _bananas_.
Poe, _beads_.
Poe matawewwe, _pearl_.
Ahou, _a garment_.
Avee, _a fruit like apples_.
Ahee, _another like chesnuts_.
Ewharre, _a house_.
Whennua, _a high island_.
Motu, _a low island_.
Toto, _blood_.
Aeve, _bone_.
Aeo, _flesh_.
Mae, _fat_.
Tuea, _lean_.
Huru-huru, _hair_.
Eraow, _a tree_.
Ama, _a branch_.
Tiale, _a flower_.
Huero _fruit_.
Etummoo, _the stem_.
Aaa, _the root_.
Eiherre, _herbaceous plants_.
Ooopa, _a pigeon_.
Avigne, _a paroquet_.
A-a, _another species_.
Mannu, _a bird_.
Mora _a duck_.
Mattow, _a fish-hook_.
Toura, _a rope_.
Mow, _a shark_.
Mahi-mahi, _a dolphin_.
Mattera, _a fishing-rod_.
Eupea, _a net_.
Mahanna, _the sun_.
Malama, _the moon_.
Whettu, _a star_.
Whettu-euphe, _a comet_.
Erai, _the sky_.
Eatta, _a cloud_.
Miti, _good_.
Eno, _bad_.
A, _yes_.
Ima, _no_.
Paree, _ugly_.
Paroree, _hungry_.
Pia, _full_.
Timahah, _heavy_.
Mama, _light_.
Poto, _short_.
Roa, _tall_.
Nehenne, _sweet_.
Mala-mala, _bitter_.
Whanno, _to go far_.
Harre, _to go_.
Arrea, _to stay_.
Enoho, _to remain_.
Rohe rohe, _to be tired_.
Maa, _to eat_.
Inoo, _to drink_.
Ete, _to understand_.
Warrido, _to steal_.
Worridde, _to be angry_.
Teparahi, _to beat_.
Among people whose food is so simple, and who in general are seldom
drunk, it is scarcely necessary to say, that there are but few diseases;
we saw no critical disease during our stay upon the island, and but few
instances of sickness, which were accidental fits of the colic. The
natives, however, are afflicted with the erysipelas, and cutaneous
eruptions of the scaly kind, very nearly approaching to a leprosy. Those
in whom this distemper was far advanced, lived in a state of seclusion
from all society, each in a small house built upon some unfrequented
spot, where they were supplied with provisions: but whether they had any
hope of relief, or languished out the remainder of their lives in
solitude and despair, we could not learn. We observed also a few who had
ulcers upon different parts of their bodies, some of which had a very
virulent appearance; yet they seemed not much to be regarded by those
who were afflicted with them, for they were left entirely without
application even to keep off the flies.
Where intemperance produces no diseases, there will be no physicians by
profession; yet where there is sufferance, there will always be attempts
to relieve; and where the cause of the mischief and the remedy are alike
unknown, these will naturally be directed by superstition: thus it
happens, that in this country, and in all others which are not further
injured by luxury, or improved by knowledge, the management of the sick
falls to the lot of the priest. The method of cure that is practised by
the priests of Otaheite, consists chiefly of prayers and ceremonies.
When he visits his patient he repeats certain sentences, which appear to
be set forms contrived for the occasion, and at the same time plats the
leaves of the cocoa-nut into different figures very neatly; some of
these he fastens to the fingers and toes of the sick, and often leaves
behind him a few branches of the _thespecia populnea_, which they call
_E’midho_: these ceremonies are repeated till the patient recovers or
dies. If he recovers, they say the remedies cured him; if he dies, they
say the disease was incurable; in which perhaps they do not much differ
from the custom of other countries.
If we had judged of their skill in surgery from the dreadful scars which
we sometimes saw, we should have supposed it to be much superior to the
art, not only of their physicians, but of ours. We saw one man whose
face was almost entirely destroyed, his nose, including the bone, was
perfectly flat, and one cheek and one eye were so beaten in, that the
hollow would almost receive a man’s fist, yet no ulcer remained; and our
companion, Tupia, had been pierced quite through his body by a spear,
headed with the bone of the sting-ray, the weapon having entered his
back, and come out just under his breast; but except in reducing
dislocations and fractures, the best surgeon can contribute very little
to the cure of a wound; the blood itself is the best vulnerary balsam,
and when the juices of the body are pure, and the patient is temperate,
nothing more is necessary as an aid to nature in the cure of the worst
wound, than the keeping it clean.
Their commerce with the inhabitants of Europe has, however, already
entailed upon them that dreadful curse which avenged the inhumanities
committed by the Spaniards in America, the venereal disease. As it is
certain that no European vessel besides our own, except the Dolphin, and
the two that were under the command of Mons. Bougainville, ever visited
this island, it must have been brought either by one of them or by us.
That it was not brought by the Dolphin, Captain Wallis has demonstrated
in the account of her voyage, (Vol. I. p. 323, 324.), and nothing is
more certain than that when we arrived, it had made most dreadful
ravages in the island. One of our people contracted it within five days
after we went on shore, and by the enquiries among the natives, which
this occasioned, we learnt, when we came to understand a little of their
language, that it had been brought by the vessels which had been there
about fifteen months before us, and had lain on the east side of the
island. They distinguished it by a name of the same import with
_rottenness_, but of a more extensive signification, and described, in
the most pathetic terms, the sufferings of the first victims to its
rage, and told us that it caused the hair and the nails to fall off, and
the flesh to rot from the bones: that it spread a universal terror and
consternation among them, so that the sick were abandoned by their
nearest relations, lest the calamity should spread by contagion, and
left to perish alone in such misery as till then had never been known
among them. We had some reason, however, to hope that they had found out
a specific to cure it: during our stay upon the island we saw none in
whom it had made a great progress, and one who went from us infected,
returned after a short time in perfect health; and by this it appeared
either that the disease had cured itself, or that they were not
unacquainted with the virtues of simples, nor implicit dupes to the
superstitious follies of their priests. We endeavoured to learn the
medical qualities which they imputed to their plants, but our knowledge
of their language was too imperfect for us to succeed. If we could have
learnt their specific for the venereal disease, if such they have, it
would have been of great advantage to us, for when we left the island it
had been contracted by more than half the people on board the ship.
It is impossible but that, in relating incidents, many particulars with
respect to the customs, opinions, and works of these people should be
anticipated; to avoid repetition, therefore, I shall only supply
deficiencies. Of the manner of disposing of their dead, much has been
said already. I must more explicitly observe, that there are two places
in which the dead are deposited; one a kind of shed, where the flesh is
suffered to putrify; the other an enclosure, with erections of stone,
where the bones are afterwards buried. The sheds are called TUPAPOW, and
the enclosures MORAI. The Morais are also places of worship.
As soon as a native of Otaheite is known to be dead, the house is filled
with relations, who deplore their loss, some by loud lamentations, and
some by less clamorous, but more genuine expressions of grief. Those who
are in the nearest degree of kindred, and are really affected by the
event, are silent; the rest are one moment uttering passionate
exclamations in a chorus, and the next laughing and talking without the
least appearance of concern. In this manner the remainder of the day on
which they assemble is spent, and all the succeeding night. On the next
morning the body is shrouded in their cloth, and conveyed to the
sea-side upon a bier, which the bearers support upon their shoulders,
attended by the priest, who, having prayed over the body, repeats his
sentences during the procession. When it arrives at the water’s edge, it
is set down upon the beach; the priest renews his prayers, and taking up
some of the water in his hands, sprinkles it towards the body, but not
upon it. It is then carried back forty or fifty yards, and soon after
brought again to the beach, where the prayers and sprinkling are
repeated: it is thus removed backwards and forwards several times, and
while these ceremonies have been performing a house has been built, and
a small space of ground railed in. In the centre of this house, or
Tupapow, posts are set up to support the bier, which is at length
conveyed thither, and placed upon it, and here the body remains to
putrify till the flesh is wholly wasted from the bones.
These houses of corruption are of a size proportioned to the rank of the
person whose body they are to contain; those allotted to the lower class
are just sufficient to cover the bier, and have no railing round them.
The largest we ever saw was eleven yards long, and such as these are
ornamented according to the abilities and inclination of the surviving
kindred, who never fail to lay a profusion of good cloth about the body,
and sometimes almost cover the outside of the house. Garlands of the
fruit of the palm-nut or _pandanus_, and cocoa-leaves, twisted by the
priests in mysterious knots, with a plant called by them, _Ethee no
Morai_, which is particularly consecrated to funeral solemnities, are
deposited about the place; provision and water are also left at a little
distance, of which, and of other decorations, a more particular
description has been given already.
As soon as the body is deposited in the Tupapow, the mourning is
renewed. The women assemble, and are led to the door by the nearest
relation, who strikes a shark’s tooth several times into the crown of
her head: the blood copiously follows, and is carefully received upon
pieces of linen, which are thrown under the bier. The rest of the women
follow this example, and the ceremony is repeated at the interval of two
or three days, as long as the zeal and sorrow of the parties hold out.
The tears also which are shed upon these occasions, are received upon
pieces of cloth, and offered as oblations to the dead: some of the
younger people cut off their hair, and that is thrown under the bier
with the other offerings. This custom is founded upon a notion that the
soul of the deceased, which they believe to exist in a separate state,
is hovering about the place where the body is deposited: that it
observes the actions of the survivors, and is gratified by such
testimonies of their affection and grief.
Two or three days after these ceremonies have been commenced by the
women, during which the men seem to be wholly insensible of their loss,
they also begin to perform their part. The nearest relations take it in
turn to assume the dress, and perform the office, which have already
been particularly described in the account of Tubourai Tamaide’s having
acted as chief mourner to an old woman, his relation, who died while we
were in the island. One part of the ceremony, however, which accounts
for the running away of the people as soon as this procession is in
sight, has not been mentioned. The chief mourner carries in his hand a
long flat stick, the edge of which is set with shark’s teeth, and in a
phrenzy, which his grief is supposed to have inspired, he runs at all he
sees, and if any of them happen to be overtaken, he strikes them most
unmercifully with this indented cudgel, which cannot fail to wound them
in a dangerous manner.
These processions continue at certain intervals for five moons, but are
less and less frequent, by a gradual diminution, as the end of that time
approaches. When it is expired, what remains of the body is taken down
from the bier, and the bones having been scraped and washed very clean,
are buried, according to the rank of the person, either within or
without a Morai. If the deceased was an Earee, or chief, his skull is
not buried with the rest of the bones, but is wrapped up in fine cloth,
and put in a kind of box made for that purpose, which is also placed in
the Morai. This coffer is called _Ewharre no te Orometua_, the house of
a teacher or master. After this the mourning ceases, except some of the
women continue to be really afflicted for the loss, and in that case
they will sometimes suddenly wound themselves with the shark’s tooth
wherever they happen to be: this perhaps will account for the passion of
grief in which Terapo wounded herself at the fort; some accidental
circumstance might forcibly revive the remembrance of a friend or
relation whom she had lost, with a pungency of regret and tenderness
which forced a vent by tears, and prompted her to a repetition of the
funeral rite.
The ceremonies, however, do not cease with the mourning: prayers are
still said by the priest, who is well paid by the surviving relations,
and offerings made at the Morai. Some of the things, which from time to
time are deposited there, are emblematical: a young plantain represents
the deceased, and the bunch of feathers the deity who is invoked. The
priest places himself over against the symbol of the god, accompanied by
some of the relations, who are furnished with a small offering, and
repeats his oraison in a set form, consisting of separate sentences; at
the same time weaving the leaves of the cocoa-nut into different forms,
which he afterwards deposits upon the ground where the bones have been
interred; the deity is then addressed by a shrill screech, which is used
only upon that occasion. When the priest retires, the tuft of feathers
is removed, and the provisions left to putrify, or be devoured by the
rats.
Of the religion of these people, we were not able to acquire any clear
and consistent knowledge: we found it like the religion of most other
countries, involved in mystery, and perplexed with apparent
inconsistencies. The religious language is also here, as it is in China,
different from that which is used in common, so that Tupia, who took
great pains to instruct us, having no words to express his meaning which
we understood, gave us lectures to very little purpose: what we learnt,
however, I will relate with as much perspicuity as I can.
Nothing is more obvious to a rational being, however ignorant or stupid,
than that the universe and its various parts, as far as they fall under
his notice, were produced by some agent inconceivably more powerful than
himself; and nothing is more difficult to be conceived, even by the most
sagacious and knowing, than the production of them from nothing, which
among us is expressed by the word _Creation_. It is natural, therefore,
as no Being apparently capable of producing the universe is to be seen,
that he should be supposed to reside in some distant part of it, or to
be in his nature invisible, and that he should have originally produced
all that now exists in a manner similar to that in which nature is
renovated by the succession of one generation to another; but the idea
of procreation includes in it that of two persons, and from the
conjunction of two persons these people imagine every thing in the
universe, either originally or derivatively, to proceed.
The Supreme Deity, one of these two first beings, they call
TAROATAIHETOOMOO, and the other, whom they suppose to have been a rock,
TEPAPA. A daughter of these was TETTOWMATATAYO, the year, or thirteen
months collectively, which they never name but upon this occasion, and
she, by the common father, produced the months, and the months, by
conjunction with each other, the days; the stars they suppose partly to
be the immediate offspring of the first pair, and partly to have
increased among themselves; and they have the same notion with respect
to the different species of plants. Among other progeny of
Taroataihetoomoo and Tepapa, they suppose an inferior race of deities,
whom they call EATUAS. Two of these Eatuas, they say, at some remote
period of time, inhabited the earth, and were the parents of the first
man. When this man, their common ancestor, was born, they say that he
was round like a ball, but that his mother, with great care, drew out
his limbs, and having at length moulded him into his present form, she
called him EOTHE, which signifies _finished_. That being prompted by the
universal instinct to propagate his kind, and being able to find no
female but his mother, he begot upon her a daughter, and upon the
daughter other daughters for several generations, before there was a
son; a son, however, being at length born, he, by the assistance of his
sisters, peopled the world.
Besides their daughter Tettowmatatayo, the first progenitors of nature
had a son, whom they called TANE. Taroataihetoomoo, the supreme deity,
they emphatically style the causer of earthquakes; but their prayers are
more generally addressed to Tane, whom they suppose to take a greater
part in the affairs of mankind.
Their subordinate deities, or Eatuas, which are numerous, are of both
sexes: the male are worshipped by the men, and the female by the women;
and each have Morais to which the other sex is not admitted, though they
have also Morais common to both. Men perform the office of priest to
both sexes, but each sex has its priests, for those who officiate for
one sex, do not officiate for the other.
They believe the immortality of the soul, at least its existence in a
separate state, and that there are two situations of different degrees
of happiness, somewhat analogous to our heaven and hell: the superior
situation they call _Tavirua l’erai_, the other _Tiahoboo_. They do not,
however, consider them as places of reward and punishment, but as
receptacles for different classes; the first, for their chiefs and
principal people, the other for those of inferior rank, for they do not
suppose that their actions here in the least influence their future
state, or indeed that they come under the cognizance of their deities at
all. Their religion, therefore, if it has no influence upon their
morals, is at least disinterested; and their expressions of adoration
and reverence, whether by words or actions, arise only from a humble
sense of their own inferiority, and the ineffable excellence of divine
perfection.
The character of the priest or Tahowa, is hereditary: the class is
numerous, and consists of all ranks of people; the chief, however, is
generally the younger brother of a good family, and is respected in a
degree next to their kings. Of the little knowledge that is possessed in
this country, the priests have the greatest share; but it consists
principally in an acquaintance with the names and ranks of the different
Eatuas or subordinate divinities, and the opinions concerning the origin
of things, which have been traditionally preserved among the order in
detached sentences, of which some will repeat an incredible number,
though but very few of the words that are used in their common dialect
occur in them.
The priests, however, are superior to the rest of the people in the
knowledge of navigation and astronomy; and, indeed, the name Tahowa
signifies nothing more than a man of knowledge. As there are priests of
every class, they officiate only among that class to which they belong:
the priest of the inferior class is never called upon by those of
superior rank, nor will the priest of the superior rank officiate for
any of the inferior class.
Marriage in this island, as appeared to us, is nothing more than an
agreement between the man and woman, with which the priest has no
concern. Where it is contracted, it appears to be pretty well kept,
though sometimes the parties separate by mutual consent, and in that
case a divorce takes place with as little trouble as the marriage.
But though the priesthood has laid the people under no tax for a nuptial
benediction, there are two operations which it has appropriated, and
from which it derives considerable advantages. One is _tattowing_, and
the other circumcision, though neither of them have any connection with
religion. The tattowing has been described already. Circumcision has
been adopted merely from motives of cleanliness; it cannot indeed
properly be called circumcision, because the _prepuce_ is not mutilated
by a circular wound, but only slit through the upper part to prevent its
contracting over the _glans_. As neither of these can be performed by
any but a priest, and as to be without either is the greatest disgrace,
they may be considered as a claim to surplice fees like our marriages
and christenings, which are cheerfully and liberally paid, not according
to any settled stipend, but the rank and abilities of the parties or
their friends.
The Morai, as has already been observed, is at once a burying-ground and
a place of worship, and in this particular our churches too much
resemble it. The Indian, however, approaches his Morai with a reverence
and humility that disgraces the Christian, not because he holds any
thing sacred that is there, but because he there worships an invisible
divinity, for whom, though he neither hopes for reward, nor fears
punishment at his hand, he always expresses the profoundest homage and
most humble adoration. I have already given a very particular
description both of the Morais and the altars that are placed near them.
When an Indian is about to worship at the Morai, or brings his offering
to the altar, he always uncovers his body to the waist, and his looks
and attitude are such as sufficiently express a corresponding
disposition of mind.
It did not appear to us that these people are, in any instance, guilty
of idolatry; at least they do not worship any thing that is the work of
their hands, nor any visible part of the creation. This island, indeed,
and the rest that lie near it, have a particular bird, some a heron, and
others a king’s-fisher, to which they pay a peculiar regard, and
concerning which they have some superstitious notions with respect to
good and bad fortune, as we have of the swallow and robin-red-breast,
giving them the name of EATUA, and by no means killing or molesting
them; yet they never address a petition to them, or approach them with
any act of adoration.
Though I dare not assert that these people, to whom the art of writing,
and consequently the recording of laws, are utterly unknown, live under
a regular form of government; yet a subordination is established among
them, that greatly resembles the early state of every nation in Europe
under the feudal system, which secured liberty in the most licentious
excess to a few, and entailed the most abject slavery upon the rest.
Their orders are, _Earee rahie_, which answers to king; _Earee_, baron;
_Manahouni_, vassal; and _Toutou_, villain. The Earee rahie, of which
there are two in this island, one being the sovereign of each of the
peninsulas of which it consists, is treated with great respect by all
ranks, but did not appear to us to be invested with so much power as was
exercised by the Earees in their own districts; nor, indeed, did we, as
I have before observed, once see the sovereign of Obereonoo while we
were in the island. The Earees are lords of one or more of the districts
into which each of the peninsulas is divided, of which there may be
about one hundred in the whole island; and they parcel out their
territories to the Manahounies, who cultivate each his part which he
holds under the baron. The lowest class, called Toutous, seem to be
nearly under the same circumstances as the villains in feudal
governments: these do all the laborious work; they cultivate the land
under the Manahounies, who are only nominal cultivators for the lord,
they fetch wood and water, and, under the direction of the mistress of
the family, dress the victuals: they also catch the fish.
Each of the Earees keeps a kind of court, and has a great number of
attendants, chiefly the younger brothers of their own tribe; and among
these some hold particular offices, but of what nature exactly we could
not tell. One was called the _Eowa no l’Earee_, and another the _Whanno
no l’Earee_, and these were frequently dispatched to us with messages.
Of all the courts of these Earees, that of Tootahah was the most
splendid, as indeed might reasonably be expected, because he
administered the government for Outou, his nephew, who was Earee rahie
of Obereonoo, and lived upon his estate. The child of the baron or
Earee, as well as of the sovereign or Earee rahie, succeeds to the title
and honours of the father as soon as it is born: so that a baron, who
was yesterday called Earee, and was approached with the ceremony of
lowering the garments, so as to uncover the upper part of the body, is
to-day, if his wife was last night delivered of a child, reduced to the
rank of a private man, all marks of respect being transferred to the
child, if it is suffered to live, though the father still continues
possessor and administrator of his estate: probably this custom has its
share, among other inducements, in forming the societies called Arreoy.
If a general attack happens to be made upon the island, every district
under the command of an Earee, is obliged to furnish its proportion of
soldiers for the common defence. The number furnished by the principal
districts, which Tupia recollected, when added together, amounted, as I
have observed before, to six thousand six hundred and eighty.
Upon such occasions, the united force of the whole island is commanded
in chief by the Earee rahie. Private differences between two Earees are
decided by their own people, without at all disturbing the general
tranquillity.
Their weapons are slings, which they use with great dexterity, pikes
headed with the stings of sting-rays, and clubs, of about six or seven
feet long, made of a very hard heavy wood. Thus armed, they are said to
fight with great obstinacy, which is the more likely to be true, as it
is certain that they give no quarter to either man, woman, or child, who
is so unfortunate as to fall into their hands during the battle, or for
some hours afterwards, till their passion, which is always violent,
though not lasting, has subsided.
The Earee rahie of Obereonoo, while we were here, was in perfect amity
with the Earee rahie of Tiarreboo, the other peninsula, though he took
himself the title of king of the whole island: this, however, produced
no more jealousy in the other sovereign, than the title of king of
France, assumed by our sovereign, does in his most Christian Majesty.
In a government so rude, it cannot be expected that distributive justice
should be regularly administered, and indeed, where there is so little
opposition of interest, in consequence of the facility with which every
appetite and passion is gratified, there can be but few crimes. There is
nothing like money, the common medium by which every want and every wish
is supposed to be gratified by those who do not possess it; there is no
apparently permanent good which either fraud or force can unlawfully
obtain; and when all the crimes that are committed by the inhabitants of
civilized countries, to get money, are set out of the account, not many
will remain: add to this, that where the commerce with women is
restrained by no law, men will seldom be under any temptation to commit
adultery, especially as one woman is always less preferred to another,
where they are less distinguished by personal decorations, and the
adventitious circumstances which are produced by the varieties of art,
and the refinements of sentiment. That they are thieves is true; but as
among these people no man can be much injured or benefited by theft, it
is not necessary to restrain it by such punishments, as in other
countries are absolutely necessary to the very existence of civil
society. Tupia, however, tells us, that adultery is sometimes committed
as well as theft. In all cases where an injury has been committed, the
punishment of the offender lies with the sufferer: adultery, if the
parties are caught in the fact, is sometimes punished with death in the
first ardour of resentment; but without circumstances of immediate
provocation, the female sinner seldom suffers more than a beating. As
punishment, however, is enforced by no law, nor taken into the hand of
any magistrate, it is not often inflicted, except the injured party is
the strongest; though the chiefs do sometimes punish their immediate
dependents, for faults committed against each other, and even the
dependents of others, if they are accused of any offence committed in
their district.
Having now given the best description that I can of the island in its
present state, and of the people, with their customs and manners,
language and arts, I shall only add a few general observations, which
may be of use to future navigators, if any of the ships of Great Britain
should receive orders to visit it. As it produces nothing that appears
to be convertible into an article of trade, and can be used only by
affording refreshments to shipping in their passage through these seas,
it might be made to answer this purpose in a much greater degree, by
transporting thither sheep, goats, and horned cattle, with European
garden-stuff, and other useful vegetables, which there is the greatest
reason to suppose will flourish in so fine a climate, and so rich a
soil.
Though this, and the neighbouring islands lie within the tropic of
Capricorn, yet the heat is not troublesome, nor did the winds blow
constantly from the east. We had frequently a fresh gale from the S. W.
for two or three days, and sometimes, though very seldom, from the N. W.
Tupia reported, that south westerly winds prevail in October, November,
and December, and we have no doubt of the fact. When the winds are
variable, they are always accompanied by a swell from the S. W. or W. S.
W.; there is also a swell from the same points when it is calm, and the
atmosphere loaded with clouds, which is a sure indication that the winds
are variable, or westerly out at sea, for with the settled trade-wind
the weather is clear.
The meeting with westerly winds, within the general limits of the
eastern trade, has induced some navigators to suppose that they were
near some large track of land, of which, however, I think they are no
indication.
It has been found, both by us and the Dolphin, that the trade-wind, in
these parts, does not extend farther to the south than twenty degrees,
beyond which, we generally found a gale from the westward; and it is
reasonable to suppose, that when these winds blow strong, they will
drive back the easterly wind, and consequently encroach upon the limits
within which they constantly blow, and thus necessarily produce variable
winds, as either happens to prevail, and a south-westerly swell. This
supposition is the more probable, as it is well known that the
trade-winds blow but faintly for some distance within their limits, and
therefore may be more easily stopped or repelled by a wind in the
contrary direction: it is also well known, that the limits of the
trade-winds vary not only at different seasons of the year, but
sometimes at the same season, in different years.
There is therefore no reason to suppose that south-westerly winds,
within these limits, are caused by the vicinity of large tracts of land,
especially as they are always accompanied with a large swell, in the
same direction in which they blow; and we find a much greater surf
beating upon the shores of the south-west side of the islands that are
situated just within the limits of the trade-wind, than upon any other
part of them.
The tides about these islands are perhaps as inconsiderable as in any
part of the world. A south or S. by W. moon, makes high water in the bay
of Matavai at Otaheite; but the water very seldom rises perpendicularly
above ten or twelve inches.
The variation of the compass I found to be 4° 46ʹ easterly, this being
the result of a great number of trials made with four of Dr. Knight’s
needles, adapted to azimuth compasses. These compasses I thought the
best that could be procured, yet when applied to the meridian line, I
found them to differ, not only one from another, sometimes a degree and
an half, but the same needle, half a degree from itself in different
trials made on the same day; and I do not remember that I have ever
found two needles which exactly agreed at the same time and place,
though I have often found the same needle agree with itself, in several
trials made one after the other. This imperfection of the needle,
however, is of no consequence to navigation, as the variation can always
be found to a degree of accuracy, more than sufficient for all nautical
purposes.
CHAP. XX.
A DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL OTHER ISLANDS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF OTAHEITE,
WITH VARIOUS INCIDENTS; A DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENT; AND MANY PARTICULARS
RELATIVE TO THE CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THE INHABITANTS.
AFTER parting with our friends, we made an easy sail, with gentle
breezes and clear weather, and were informed by Tupia, that four of the
neighbouring islands, which he distinguished by the names of HUAHEINE,
ULIETEA, OTAHA, and BOLABOLA, lay at the distance of between one and two
days sail from Otaheite; and that hogs, fowls, and other refreshments,
with which we had of late been but sparingly supplied, were there to be
procured in great plenty; but having discovered from the hills of
Otaheite, an island lying to the northward, which he called TETHUROA, I
determined first to stand that way, to take a nearer view of it. It lies
N. ½ W. distant eight leagues from the northern extremity of Otaheite,
upon which we had observed the transit, and to which we had, for that
reason, given the name of POINT VENUS. We found it to be a small low
island, and were told by Tupia, that it had no settled inhabitants, but
was occasionally visited by the inhabitants of Otaheite, who sometimes
went thither for a few days to fish; we therefore determined to spend no
more time in a farther examination of it, but to go in search of
Huaheine and Ulietea, which he described to be well peopled, and as
large as Otaheite.
At six o’clock in the morning of the 14th, the westermost part of EIMEO,
or York Island, bore S. E. ½ S. and the body of Otaheite E. ½ S. At
noon, the body of York Island bore E. by S. ½ S.; and Port-Royal bay, at
Otaheite, S. 70° 45ʹ E. distant 61 miles; and an island, which we took
to be Saunders’s Island, called by the natives TAPOAMANAO, bore S. S. W.
We also saw land bearing N. W. ½ W. which Tupia said was Huaheine.
On the 15th, it was hazy, with light breezes and calms succeeding each
other, so that we could see no land, and made but little way. Our
Indian, Tupia, often prayed for a wind to his god Tane, and as often
boasted of his success, which indeed he took a very effectual method to
secure, for he never began his address to Tane, till he saw a breeze so
near that he knew it must reach the ship before his oraison was well
over.
On the 16th, we had a gentle breeze; and in the morning about eight
o’clock, being close in with the north-west part of the island Huaheine,
we sounded, but had no bottom with 80 fathom. Some canoes very soon came
off, but the people seemed afraid, and kept at a distance till they
discovered Tupia, and then they ventured nearer. In one of the canoes
that came up to the ship’s side, was the king of the island and his
wife. Upon assurances of friendship, frequently and earnestly repeated,
their majesties and some others came on board. At first they were struck
with astonishment, and wondered at every thing that was shewn them; yet
they made no inquiries, and seeming to be satisfied with what was
offered to their notice, they made no search after other objects of
curiosity, with which it was natural to suppose a building of such
novelty and magnitude as the ship must abound. After some time, they
became more familiar. I was given to understand, that the name of the
king was OREE, and he proposed, as a mark of amity, that we should
exchange names. To this I readily consented; and he was Cookee, for so
he pronounced my name, and I was Oree, for the rest of the time we were
together. We found these people to be very nearly the same with those of
Otaheite, in person, dress, language, and every other circumstance,
except, if Tupia might be believed, that they would not steal.
Soon after dinner, we came to an anchor in a small but excellent harbour
on the west side of the island, which the natives call OWHARRE, in
eighteen fathom water, clear ground, and secure from all winds. I went
immediately ashore, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, Mr.
Monkhouse, Tupia, King Cookee, and some other of the natives who had
been on board ever since the morning. The moment we landed, Tupia
stripped himself as low as the waist, and desired Mr. Monkhouse to do
the same: he then sat down before a great number of the natives, who
were collected together in a large house or shed; for here, as well as
at Otaheite, a house consists only of a roof supported upon poles; the
rest of us, by his desire, standing behind. He then began a speech or
prayer, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, the king, who stood
over against him, every now and then answering in what appeared to be
set responses. In the course of this harangue, he delivered, at
different times, two handkerchiefs, a black silk neckcloth, some beads,
two small bunches of feathers, and some plantains, as presents to their
Eatua, or God. In return for these, he received for our Eatua, a hog,
some young plantains, and two small bunches of feathers, which he
ordered to be carried on board the ship. After these ceremonies, which
we supposed to be the ratification of a treaty between us, every one was
dismissed to go whither he pleased; and Tupia immediately repaired to
offer his oblations at one of the Morais.
The next morning, we went on shore again, and walked up the hills, where
the productions were exactly the same as those of Otaheite, except that
the rocks and clay appeared to be more burnt. The houses were neat, and
the boat-houses remarkably large; one that we measured was fifty paces
long, ten broad, and twenty-four feet high, the whole formed a pointed
arch, like those of our old cathedrals, which was supported on one side
by twenty-six, and on the other by thirty pillars, or rather posts,
about two feet high, and one thick, upon most of which were rudely
carved the heads of men, and several fanciful devices, not altogether
unlike those which we sometimes see printed from wooden blocks, at the
beginning and end of old books. The plains, or flat part of the country,
abounded in bread-fruit, and cocoa-nut trees; in some places, however,
there were salt swamps and lagoons, which would produce neither.
We went again a-shore on the 18th, and would have taken the advantage of
Tupia’s company, in our perambulation; but he was too much engaged with
his friends: we took, however, his boy, whose name was TAYETO, and Mr.
Banks went to take a farther view of what had much engaged his attention
before; it was a kind of chest or ark, the lid of which was nicely sewed
on, and thatched very neatly with palm-nut leaves: it was fixed upon two
poles, and supported on little arches of wood, very neatly carved; the
use of the poles seemed to be to remove it from place to place, in the
manner of our sedan chairs: in one end of it was a square hole, in the
middle of which was a ring touching the sides, and leaving the angles
open, so as to form a round hole within a square one. The first time Mr.
Banks saw this coffer, the aperture at the end was stopped with a piece
of cloth, which, lest he should give offence, he left untouched;
probably there was then something within, but now the cloth was taken
away, and, upon looking into it, it was found empty. The general
resemblance between this repository and the Ark of the Lord among the
Jews is remarkable; but it is still more remarkable, that upon inquiring
of the boy what it was called, he said, _Ewharre no Eatua_, the _house
of the God_: he could however give no account of its signification or
use. We had commenced a kind of trade with the natives, but it went on
slowly; for when any thing was offered, not one of them would take it
upon his own judgment, but collected the opinions of twenty or thirty
people, which could not be done without great loss of time. We got,
however, eleven pigs, and determined to try for more the next day.
The next day, therefore, we brought out some hatchets, for which we
hoped we should have had no occasion, upon an island which no European
had ever visited before. These procured us three very large hogs; and as
we proposed to sail in the afternoon, King Oree and several others came
on board to take their leave. To the king I gave a small plate of
pewter, on which was stamped this inscription, “His Britannic-Majesty’s
ship, Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook, Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine.”
I gave him also some medals or counters, resembling the coin of England,
struck in the year 1761, with some other presents; and he promised that
with none of these, particularly the plate, he would ever part. I
thought it as lasting a testimony of our having first discovered this
island, as any we could leave behind; and having dismissed our visitors
well satisfied, and in great good-humour, we set sail, about half an
hour after two in the afternoon.
The island of Huaheine, or Huahene, is situated in the latitude of 16°
43ʹ S. and longitude 152° 52ʹ W. from Greenwich: it is distant from
Otaheite about thirty-one leagues, in the direction of N. 58 W. and is
about seven leagues in compass. Its surface is hilly and uneven, and it
has a safe and commodious harbour. The harbour, which is called by the
natives OWALLE, or OWHARRE, lies on the west side, under the
northernmost high land, and within the north end of the reef, which lies
along that side of the island; there are two inlets or openings, by
which it may be entered, through the reef, about a mile and a half
distant from each other; the southernmost is the widest, and on the
south side of it lies a very small sandy island.
Huaheine seems to be a month forwarder in its productions than Otaheite,
as we found the cocoa-nuts full of kernel, and some of the new
bread-fruit fit to eat. Of the cocoa-nuts the inhabitants make a food
which they call _Poe_, by mixing them with yams; they scrape both fine,
and having incorporated the powder, they put it into a wooden trough,
with a number of hot stones, by which an oily kind of hasty-pudding is
made, that our people relished very well, especially when it was fried.
Mr. Banks found not more than eleven or twelve new plants; but he
observed some insects, and a species of scorpion which he had not seen
before.
The inhabitants seem to be larger made, and more stout, than those of
Otaheite. Mr. Banks measured one of the men, and found him to be six
feet three inches and an half high; yet they are so lazy, that he could
not persuade any of them to go up the hills with him: they said, if they
were to attempt it, the fatigue would kill them. The women were very
fair, more so than those of Otaheite; and in general, we thought them
more handsome, though none that were equal to some individuals. Both
sexes seemed to be less timid, and less curious: it has been observed,
that they made no inquiries on board the ship; and when we fired a gun,
they were frighted indeed, but they did not fall down, as our friends at
Otaheite constantly did when we first came among them. For this
difference, however, we can easily account upon other principles; the
people at Huaheine had not seen the Dolphin, those at Otaheite had. In
one, the report of a gun was connected with the idea of instant
destruction; to the other, there was nothing dreadful in it but the
appearance and the sound, as they had never experienced its power of
dispensing death.
While we were on shore, we found that Tupia had commended them beyond
their merit, when he said that they would not steal; for one of them was
detected in the fact. But when he was seized by the hair, the rest,
instead of running away, as the people at Otaheite would have done,
gathered round, and inquired what provocation had been given: but this
also may be accounted for without giving them credit for superior
courage; they had no experience of the consequence of European
resentment, which the people at Otaheite had in many instances purchased
with life. It must, however, be acknowledged, to their honour, that when
they understood what had happened, they showed strong signs of
disapprobation, and prescribed a good beating for the thief, which was
immediately administered.
We now made sail for the island of ULIETEA, which lies S. W. by W.
distant seven or eight leagues from Huaheine, and at half an hour after
six in the evening, we were within three leagues of the shore, on the
eastern side. We stood off and on all night, and when the day broke the
next morning, we stood in for the shore: we soon after discovered an
opening in the reef which lies before the island, within which Tupia
told us there was a good harbour. I did not, however, implicitly take
his word; but sent the master out in the pinnace to examine it: he soon
made the signal for the ship to follow; we accordingly stood in, and
anchored in two-and-twenty fathom, with soft ground.
The natives soon came off to us in two canoes, each of which brought a
woman and a pig. The woman we supposed was a mark of confidence, and the
pig was a present; we received both with proper acknowledgments, and
complimented each of the ladies with a spike nail and some beads, much
to their satisfaction. We were told by Tupia, who had always expressed
much fear of the men of Bolabola, that they had made a conquest of this
island; and that, if we remained here, they would certainly come down
to-morrow, and fight us. We determined, therefore, to go on shore
without delay, while the day was our own.
I landed in company with Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and the other
gentlemen, Tupia being also of the party. He introduced us by repeating
the ceremonies which he had performed at Huaheine, after which I hoisted
an English jack, and took possession of this and the three neighbouring
islands, Huaheine, Otaha, and Bolabola, which were all in sight, in the
name of his Britannic Majesty. After this, we took a walk to a great
Morai, called Tapodeboatea. We found it very different from those of
Otaheite; for it consisted only of four walls, about eight feet high, of
coral stones, some of which were of an immense size, inclosing an area
of about five-and-twenty yards square, which was filled up with smaller
stones: upon the top of it many planks were set up on end, which were
carved in their whole length: at a little distance we found an altar, or
Ewhatta, upon which lay the last oblation or sacrifice, a hog of about
eighty pounds weight, which had been offered whole, and very nicely
roasted. Here were also four or five Ewharre-no-Eatua, or houses of God,
to which carriage poles were fitted, like that which we had seen at
Huaheine. One of these Mr. Banks examined by putting his hand into it,
and found a parcel about five feet long and one thick, wrapped up in
mats: he broke a way through several of these mats with his fingers, but
at length came to one which was made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut, so
firmly plaited together that he found it impossible to tear it, and
therefore was forced to desist; especially as he perceived, that what he
had done already gave great offence to our new friends. From hence we
went to a long house, not far distant, where, among rolls of cloth, and
several other things, we saw the model of a canoe, about three feet
long, to which were tied eight human jaw-bones: we had already learnt
that these, like scalps among the Indians of North America, were
trophies of war. Tupia affirmed that they were the jaw-bones of the
natives of this island: if so, they might have been hung up, with the
model of a canoe, as a symbol of invasion, by the warriors of Bolabola,
as a memorial of their conquest.
Night now came on apace, but Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander continued their
walk along the shore, and at a little distance saw another
Ewharre-no-Eatua, and a tree of the fig kind, the same as that which Mr.
Green had seen at Otaheite, in great perfection, the trunk, or rather
congeries of the roots of which was forty-two paces in circumference.
On the 21st, having dispatched the master in the long-boat to examine
the coast of the south part of the island, and one of the mates in the
yawl, to sound the harbour where the ship lay, I went myself in the
pinnace, to survey that part of the island which lies to the north. Mr.
Banks and the gentlemen were again on shore, trading with the natives,
and examining the products and curiosities of the country; they saw
nothing, however, worthy notice, but some more jaw-bones, of which they
made no doubt but that the account they had heard was true.
On the 22d and 23d, having strong gales and hazy weather, I did not
think it safe to put to sea; but on the 24th, though the wind was still
variable, I got under sail, and plied to the northward within the reef,
with a view to go out at a wider opening than that by which I had
entered; in doing this, however, I was unexpectedly in the most imminent
danger of striking on the rock: the master, whom I had ordered to keep
continually sounding in the chains, suddenly called out “two fathom.”
This alarmed me, for though I knew the ship drew at least fourteen feet,
and that therefore it was impossible such a shoal should be under her
keel; yet the master was either mistaken, or she went along the edge of
a coral rock, many of which, in the neighbourhood of these islands, are
as steep as a wall.
This harbour, or bay, is called by the natives OOPOA, and taken in its
greatest extent, it is capable of holding any number of shipping. It
extends almost the whole length of the east side of the island, and is
defended from the sea by a reef of coral rocks: the southernmost opening
in this reef, or channel into the harbour, by which we entered, is
little more than a cable’s length wide; it lies off the easternmost part
of the island, and may be known by another small woody island, which
lies a little to the south-east of it, called by the people here OATARA.
Between three and four miles north west from this island, lie two other
islets, in the same direction as the reef, of which they are a part,
called OPURURU and TAMOU; between these lies the other channel into the
harbour, through which I went out, and which is a full quarter of a mile
wide. Still farther to the north-west are some other small islands, near
which I am told there is another small channel into the harbour; but
this I know only by report.
The principal refreshments that are to be procured at this part of the
island are, plantains, cocoa-nuts, yams, hogs, and fowls; the hogs and
fowls, however, are scarce; and the country, where we saw it, is neither
so populous, nor so rich in produce as Otaheite, or even Huaheine. Wood
and water may also be procured here; but the water cannot conveniently
be got at.
We were now again at sea, without having received any interruption from
the hostile inhabitants of Bolabola, whom, notwithstanding the fears of
Tupia, we intended to visit. At four o’clock in the afternoon of the
25th, we were within a league of Otaha, which bore N. 77 W. To the
northward of the south end of that island, on the east side of it, and
something more than a mile from the shore, lie two small islands, called
TOAHOUTU and WHENNUAIA; between which, Tupia says, there is a channel
into a very good harbour, which lies within the reef, and appearances
confirmed his report.
[Illustration: _The Harbour of Oopoa._]
As I discovered a broad channel between Otaha and Bolabola, I determined
rather to go through it, than run to the northward of all; but the wind
being right a-head, I got no ground.
Between five and six in the evening of the 26th, as I was standing to
the northward, I discovered a small low island, lying N. by W. or N. N.
W. distant four or five leagues from Bolabola. We were told by Tupia
that the name of this island is TUBAI; that it produces nothing but
cocoa-nuts, and is inhabited only by three families; though it is
visited by the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands, who resort
thither to catch fish, with which the coast abounds.
On the 27th, about noon, the peak of Bolabola bore N. 25 W. and the
north end of OTAHA, N. 80 W. distant three leagues. The wind continued
contrary all this day and the night following. On the 28th, at six in
the morning, we were near the entrance of the harbour on the east side
of OTAHA, which has been just mentioned; and finding that it might be
examined without losing time, I sent away the master in the long-boat,
with orders to sound it; and, if the wind did not shift in our favour,
to land upon the island, and traffic with the natives for such
refreshments as were to be had. In this boat went Mr. Banks and Dr.
Solander, who landed upon the island, and before night purchased three
hogs, twenty-one fowls, and as many yams and plantains as the boat would
hold. Plantains we thought a more useful refreshment even than pork; for
they were boiled and served to the ship’s company as bread, and were now
the more acceptable as our bread was so full of vermin, that
notwithstanding all possible care, we had sometimes twenty of them in
our mouths at a time, everyone of which tasted as hot as mustard. The
island seemed to be more barren than Ulietea, but the produce was of the
same kind. The people also exactly resembled those that we had seen at
the other islands; they were not numerous, but they flocked about the
boat wherever she went from all quarters, bringing with them whatever
they had to sell. They paid the strangers, of whom they had received an
account from Tupia, the same compliment which they used towards their
own kings, uncovering their shoulders, and wrapping their garments round
their breasts; and were so solicitous to prevent its being neglected by
any of their people, that a man was sent with them, who called out to
every one they met, telling him what they were, and what he was to do.
In the mean time, I kept plying off and on, waiting for the boat’s
return; at half an hour after five, not seeing any thing of her, I fired
a gun, and after it was dark hoisted a light; at half an hour after
eight, we heard the report of a musquet, which we answered with a gun,
and soon after the boat came on board. The master reported, that the
harbour was safe and commodious, with good anchorage from twenty-five to
sixteen fathom water, clear ground.
As soon as the boat was hoisted in, I made sail to the northward, and at
eight o’clock in the morning of the 29th, we were close under the Peak
of Bolabola, which was high, rude, and craggy. As the island was
altogether inaccessible in this part, and we found it impossible to
weather it, we tacked and stood off, then tacked again, and after many
trips did not weather the south end of it till twelve o’clock at night.
At eight o’clock the next morning, we discovered an island, which bore
from us N. 63° W. distant about eight leagues; at the same time the Peak
of Bolabola bore N. ¼ E. distant three or four leagues. This island
Tupia called MAURUA, and said that it was small, wholly surrounded by a
reef, and without any harbour for shipping; but inhabited, and bearing
the same produce as the neighbouring islands: the middle of it rises in
a high round hill, that may be seen at the distance of ten leagues.
When we were off Bolabola, we saw but few people on the shore, and were
told by Tupia that many of the inhabitants were gone to Ulietea. In the
afternoon we found ourselves nearly the length of the south end of
Ulietea, and to windward of some harbours that lay on the west side of
this island. Into one of these harbours, though we had before been
ashore on the other side of the island, I intended to put, in order to
stop a leak which we had sprung in the powder room, and to take in more
ballast, as I found the ship too light to carry sail upon a wind. As the
wind was right against us, we plied off one of the harbours, and about
three o’clock in the afternoon on the 1st of August, we came to an
anchor in the entrance of the channel leading into it, in fourteen
fathom water, being prevented from working in, by a tide which set very
strong out. We then carried out the kedge-anchor, in order to warp into
the harbour; but when this was done, we could not trip the bower-anchor
with all the purchase we could make; we were therefore obliged to lie
still all night, and in the morning, when the tide turned, the ship
going over the anchor, it tripped of itself, and we warped the ship into
a proper birth with ease, and moored in twenty-eight fathom, with a
sandy bottom. While this was doing, many of the natives came off to us
with hogs, fowls, and plantains, which they parted with at an easy rate.
When the ship was secured, I went on shore to look for a proper place to
get ballast and water, both which I found in a very convenient
situation.
This day Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander spent on shore, very much to their
satisfaction: every body seemed to fear and respect them, placing in
them at the same time the utmost confidence, behaving as if conscious
that they possessed the power of doing them mischief, without any
propensity to make use of it. Men, women, and children, crowded round
them, and followed them wherever they went; but none of them were guilty
of the least incivility: on the contrary, whenever there happened to be
dirt or water in the way, the men vied with each other to carry them
over on their backs. They were conducted to the houses of the principal
people, and were received in a manner altogether new: the people, who
followed them while they were in their way, rushed forward as soon as
they came to a house, and went hastily in before them, leaving however a
lane sufficiently wide for them to pass. When they entered, they found
those who had preceded them ranged on each side of a long matt, which
was spread upon the ground, and at the farther end of which sat the
family: in the first house they entered, they found some very young
women or children, dressed with the utmost neatness, who kept their
station, expecting the strangers to come up to them and make them
presents, which they did with the greatest pleasure; for prettier
children, or better dressed, they had never seen. One of them was a girl
about six years old; her gown or upper garment was red; a large quantity
of platted hair was wound round her head, the ornament to which they
give the name of Tamou, and which they value more than any thing they
possess. She sat at the upper end of a matt thirty feet long, upon which
none of the spectators presumed to set a foot, notwithstanding the
crowd; and she leaned upon the arm of a well-looking woman about thirty,
who was probably her nurse. Our gentlemen walked up to her, and as soon
as they approached, she stretched out her hand to receive the beads
which they offered her, and no princess in Europe could have done it
with a better grace.
The people were so much gratified by the presents which were made to
these girls, that when Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander returned, they seemed
attentive to nothing but how to oblige them: and in one of the houses,
they were, by order of the master, entertained with a dance different
from any that they had seen. It was performed by one man, who put upon
his head a large cylindrical piece of wickerwork, or basket, about four
feet long and eight inches in diameter, which was faced with feathers,
placed perpendicularly, with the tops bending forwards, and edged round
with shark’s teeth, and the tail feathers of tropic birds: when he had
put on this head-dress, which is called a _Whow_, he began to dance,
moving slowly, and often turning his head so as that the top of his high
wicker-cap described a circle, and sometimes throwing it so near the
faces of the spectators as to make them start back: this was held among
them as a very good joke, and never failed to produce a peal of
laughter, especially when it was played off upon one of the strangers.
On the 3d, we went along the shore to the northward, which was in a
direction opposite to that of the route Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander had
taken the day before, with a design to purchase stock, which we always
found the people more ready to part with, and at a more easy price, at
their houses than at the market. In the course of our walk, we met with
a company of dancers, who detained us two hours, and during all that
time afforded us great entertainment. The company consisted of two women
dancers, and six men, with three drums; we were informed by Tupia, that
they were some of the most considerable people of the island, and that,
though they were continually going from place to place, they did not,
like the little strolling companies of Otaheite, take any gratuity from
the spectators. The women had upon their heads a considerable quantity
of Tamou, or platted hair, which was brought several times round the
head, and adorned in many parts with the flowers of the cape-jessamine,
which were stuck in with much taste, and made a head-dress truly
elegant. Their necks, shoulders, and arms, were naked; so were the
breasts also, as low as the parting of the arm; below that, they were
covered with black cloth, which set close to the body; at the side of
each breast, next the arm, was placed a small plume of black feathers,
much in the same manner as our ladies now wear their nosegays or
_bouquets_; upon their hips rested a quantity of cloth plaited very
full, which reached up to the breast, and fell down below into long
petticoats, which quite concealed their feet, and which they managed
with as much dexterity as our opera dancers could have done: the plaits
above the waist were brown and white alternately, the petticoats below
were all white.
In this dress they advanced sideways in a measured step, keeping
excellent time to the drums, which beat briskly and loud; soon after
they began to shake their hips, giving the folds of cloth that lay upon
them a very quick motion, which was in some degree continued through the
whole dance, though the body was thrown into various postures, sometimes
standing, sometimes sitting, and sometimes resting on their knees and
elbows, the fingers also being moved at the same time with a quickness
scarcely to be imagined. Much of the dexterity of the dancers, however,
and the entertainment of the spectators, consisted in the wantonness of
their attitudes and gestures, which was, indeed, such as exceeds all
description.
One of these girls had in her ear three pearls; one of them was very
large, but so foul that it was of little value; the other two were as
big as a middling pea; these were clear, and of a good colour and shape,
though spoiled by the drilling. Mr. Banks would fain have purchased
them, and offered the owner any thing she would ask for them, but she
could not be persuaded to part with them at any price: he tempted her
with the value of four hogs, and whatever else she should choose, but
without success; and indeed they set a value upon their pearls very
nearly equal to what they would fetch among us, except they could be
procured before they are drilled.
Between the dances of the women, the men performed a kind of dramatic
interlude, in which there was dialogue as well as dancing; but we were
not sufficiently acquainted with their language to understand the
subject.
On the 4th, some of our gentlemen saw a much more regular entertainment
of the dramatic kind, which was divided into four acts.
Tupia had often told us that he had large possessions in this island,
which had been taken away from him by the inhabitants of Bolabola, and
he now pointed them out in the very bay where the ship was at anchor.
Upon our going on shore, this was confirmed by the inhabitants, who
showed us several districts or Whennuas, which they acknowledged to be
his right.
On the 5th, I received a present of three hogs, some fowls, several
pieces of cloth, the largest we had seen, being fifty yards long, which
they unfolded and displayed so as to make the greatest show possible;
and a considerable quantity of plantains, cocoa-nuts, and other
refreshments, from Opoony, the formidable king, or, in the language of
the country, Earee rahie, of Bolabola, with a message that he was at
this time upon the island, and that the next day he intended to pay me a
visit.
In the mean time Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went upon the hills,
accompanied by several of the Indians, who conducted them by excellent
paths, to such a height, that they plainly saw the other side of the
island, and the passage through which the ship had passed the reef
between the little islands of Opururu and Tamou, when we landed upon it
the first time. As they were returning, they saw the Indians exercising
themselves at what they call _Erowhaw_, which is nothing more than
pitching a kind of light lance, headed with hard wood, at a mark: in
this amusement, though they seem very fond of it, they do not excel, for
not above one in twelve struck the mark, which was the hole of a
plantain tree, at about twenty yards distance.
On the 6th, we all staid at home, expecting the visit of the great king,
but we were disappointed; we had, however, much more agreeable company,
for he sent three very pretty girls to demand something in return for
his present: perhaps he was unwilling to trust himself on board the
ship, or perhaps he thought his messengers would procure a more valuable
return for his hogs and poultry than he could himself; be that as it
may, we did not regret his absence, nor his messengers their visit.
In the afternoon, as the great king would not come to us, we determined
to go to the great king. As he was lord of the Bolabola men, the
conquerors of this, and the terror of all the other islands, we expected
to see a chief young and vigorous, with an intelligent countenance, and
an enterprising spirit: we found, however, a poor feeble wretch,
withered and decrepit, half blind with age, and so sluggish and stupid
that he appeared scarcely to have understanding enough left to know that
it was probable we should be gratified either by hogs or women. He did
not receive us sitting, or with any state or formality as the other
chiefs had done: we made him our present, which he accepted, and gave a
hog in return. We had learnt that his principal residence was at Otaha;
and upon our telling him that we intended to go thither in our boats the
next morning, and that we should be glad to have him along with us, he
promised to be of the party.
Early in the morning, therefore, I set out both with the pinnace and
long-boat for Otaha, having some of the gentlemen with me; and in our
way we called upon Opoony, who was in his canoe, ready to join us. As
soon as we landed at Otaha, I made him a present of an axe, which I
thought might induce him to encourage his subjects to bring us such
provision as we wanted; but in this we found ourselves sadly
disappointed; for after staying with him till noon, we left him without
being able to procure a single article. I then proceeded to the north
point of the island, in the pinnace, having sent the long-boat another
way. As I went along, I picked up half a dozen hogs, as many fowls, and
some plantains and yams. Having viewed and sketched the harbour on this
side of the island, I made the best of my way back with the long-boat,
which joined me soon after it was dark; and about ten o’clock at night
we got on board the ship.
In this excursion Mr. Banks was not with us: he spent the morning on
board the ship, trading with the natives, who came off in their canoes,
for provisions and curiosities; and, in the afternoon, he went on shore
with his draughtsmen, to sketch the dresses of the dancers which he had
seen a day or two before. He found the company exactly the same, except
that another woman had been added to it: the dancing also of the women
was the same, but the interludes of the men were somewhat varied; he saw
five or six performed, which were different from each other, and very
much resembled the drama of our stage dances. The next day, he went
ashore again, with Dr. Solander, and they directed their course towards
the dancing company, which, from the time of our second landing, had
gradually moved about two leagues in their course round the island. They
saw more dancing, and more interludes, the interludes still varying from
each other: in one of them the performers, who were all men, were
divided into two parties, which were distinguished from each other by
the colour of their clothes, one being brown, and the other white. The
brown party represented a master and servants, and the white party a
company of thieves: the master gave a basket of meat to the rest of his
party, with a charge to take care of it: the dance of the white party
consisted of several expedients to steal it, and that of the brown party
in preventing their success. After some time, those who had charge of
the basket placed themselves round it upon the ground, and, leaning upon
it, appeared to go to sleep; the others, improving this opportunity,
came gently upon them, and lifting them up from the basket, carried off
their prize: the sleepers, soon after awaking, missed their basket, but
presently fell a dancing, without any farther regarding their loss; so
that the dramatic action of this dance was, according to the severest
laws of criticism, one, and our lovers of simplicity would here have
been gratified with an entertainment perfectly suited to the chastity of
their taste.
On the 9th, having spent the morning in trading with the canoes, we took
the opportunity of a breeze, which sprung up at east, and having stopped
our leak, and got the fresh stock which we had purchased on board, we
sailed out of the harbour. When we were sailing away, Tupia strongly
urged me to fire a shot towards Bolabola, possibly as a mark of his
resentment, and to show the power of his new allies: in this I thought
proper to gratify him, though we were seven leagues distant.
While we were about these islands, we expended very little of the ship’s
provisions, and were very plentifully supplied with hogs, fowls,
plantains and yams, which we hoped would have been of great use to us in
our course to the southward; but the hogs would not eat European grain
of any kind, pulse, or bread-dust, so that we could not preserve them
alive; and the fowls were all very soon seized with a disease that
affected the head so, that they continued to hold it down between their
legs till they died: much dependence, therefore, must not be placed in
live stock taken on board at these places, at least not till a discovery
is made of some food that the hogs will eat, and some remedy for the
disease of the poultry.
Having been necessarily detained at Ulietea so long, by the carpenters,
in stopping our leak, we determined to give up our design of going on
shore at Bolabola, especially as it appeared to be difficult of access.
To these six islands, Ulietea, Otaha, Bolabola, Huaheine, Tubai, and
Maurua, as they lie contiguous to each other, I gave the names of
SOCIETY ISLANDS, but did not think it proper to distinguish them
separately by any other names than those by which they were known to the
natives.
They are situated between the latitude of 16° 10ʹ and 16° 55ʹ S., and
between the longitude of 150° 57ʹ and 152° W. from the meridian of
Greenwich. Ulietea and Otaha lie within about two miles of each other,
and are both inclosed within one reef of coral rocks, so that there is
no passage for shipping between them. This reef forms several excellent
harbours; the entrances into them, indeed, are but narrow, yet when a
ship is once in, nothing can hurt her. The harbours on the east side
have been described already; and on the west side of Ulietea, which is
the largest of the two, there are three. The northernmost, in which we
lay, is called OHAMANENO: the channel leading into it is about a quarter
of a mile wide, and lies between two low sandy islands, which are the
northernmost on this side; between, or just within the two islands,
there is good anchorage in twenty-eight fathom, soft ground. This
harbour, though small, is preferable to the others, because it is
situated in the most fertile part of the island, and where fresh water
is easily to be got. The other two harbours lie to the southward of
this, and not far from the south end of the island: in both of them
there is good anchorage, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathom. They are
easily known by three small woody islands at their entrance. The
southernmost of these two harbours lies within, and to the southward of
the southernmost of these islands, and the other lies between the two
northernmost. I was told that there were more harbours at the south end
of this island, but I did not examine whether the report was true.
Otaha affords two very good harbours, one on the east side, and the
other on the west. That on the east side is called Ohamene, and has been
mentioned already; the other is called OHERURUA, and lies about the
middle of the south-west side of the island; it is pretty large, and
affords good anchorage in twenty and twenty-five fathom, nor is there
any want of fresh water. The breach in the reef, that forms a channel
into this harbour, is about a quarter of a mile broad, and, like all the
rest, is very steep on both sides: in general there is no danger here
but what is visible.
The island of Bolabola lies N. W. and by W. from Otaha, distant about
four leagues; it is surrounded by a reef of rocks, and several small
islands, in compass together about eight leagues. I was told, that, on
the south-west side of the island, there is a channel through the reef
into a very good harbour, but I did not think it worth while to examine
it, for the reasons that have been just assigned. This island is
rendered very remarkable by a high craggy hill, which appears to be
almost perpendicular, and terminates at the top in two peaks, one higher
than the other.
The land of Ulietea and Otaha is hilly, broken, and irregular, except on
the sea-coast, yet the hills look green and pleasant, and are, in many
places, clothed with wood. The several particulars in which these
islands, and their inhabitants, differ from what we had observed, at
Otaheite, have been mentioned in the course of the narrative.
We pursued our course without any event worthy of note till the 13th,
about noon, when we saw land bearing S. E., which Tupia told us was an
island called OHETEROA. About six in the evening, we were within two or
three leagues of it, upon which I shortened sail, and stood off and on
all night; the next morning stood in for the land. We ran to leeward of
the island, keeping close in shore, and saw several of the natives,
though in no great numbers, upon the beach. At nine o’clock I sent Mr.
Gore, one of my lieutenants, in the pinnace, to endeavour to land upon
the island, and learn from the natives whether there was anchorage in a
bay then in sight, and what land lay farther to the southward. Mr. Banks
and Dr. Solander accompanied Mr. Gore in this expedition, and as they
thought Tupia might be useful, they took him with them.
As the boat approached the shore, those on board perceived the natives
to be armed with long lances: as they did not intend to land till they
got round a point which runs out at a little distance, they stood along
the coast, and the natives, therefore, very probably thought they were
afraid of them. They had now got together to the number of about sixty,
and all of them sat down upon the shore, except two, who were dispatched
forward to observe the motions of those in the boat. These men, after
walking abreast of her some time, at length leaped into the water, and
swam towards her, but were soon left behind; two more then appeared, and
attempted to board her in the same manner, but they also were soon left
behind; a fifth man then ran forward alone, and having got a good way
a-head of the boat before he took to the water, easily reached her. Mr.
Banks urged the officer to take him in, thinking it a good opportunity
to get the confidence and good-will of a people, who then certainly
looked upon them as enemies, but he obstinately refused; this man,
therefore, was left behind like the others, and so was a sixth, who
followed him.
When the boat had got round the point, she perceived that all her
followers had desisted from the pursuit: she now opened a large bay, at
the bottom of which appeared another body of men, armed with long lances
like the first. Here our people prepared to land, and pushed towards the
shore, a canoe at the same time putting off to meet them. As soon as it
came near them, they lay upon their oars, and calling out to them, told
them that they were friends, and, that if they would come up, they would
give them nails, which were held up for them to see: after some
hesitation they came up to the boat’s stern, and took some nails that
were offered them with great seeming satisfaction; but in less than a
minute they appeared to have formed a design of boarding the boat, and
making her their prize: three of them suddenly leaped into it, and the
others brought up the canoe, which the motion in quitting her had thrown
off a little, manifestly with a design to follow their associates, and
support them in their attempt. The first that boarded the boat, entered
close to Mr. Banks, and instantly snatched his powder-horn out of his
pocket: Mr. Banks seized it, and with some difficulty wrenched it out of
his hand, at the same time pressing against his breast in order to force
him over-board, but he was too strong for him, and kept his place: the
officer then snapped his piece, but it missed fire, upon which he
ordered some of the people to fire over their heads; two pieces were
accordingly discharged, upon which they all instantly leaped into the
water: one of the people, either from cowardice or cruelty, or both,
levelled a third piece at one of them as he was swimming away, and the
ball grazed his forehead; happily, however, the wound was very slight,
for he recovered the canoe, and stood up in her as active and vigorous
as the rest. The canoe immediately stood in for the shore, where a great
number of people, not less than two hundred, were now assembled. The
boat also pushed in, but found the land guarded all round with a shoal,
upon which the sea broke with a considerable surf; it was, therefore,
thought advisable by the officer to proceed along shore in search of a
more convenient landing-place: in the mean time, the people on board saw
the canoe go on shore, and the natives gather eagerly round her to
enquire the particulars of what had happened. Soon after, a single man
ran along the shore, armed with his lance, and when he came a-breast of
the boat, he began to dance, brandish his weapon, and call out in a very
shrill tone, which Tupia said was a defiance from the people. The boat
continued to row along the shore, and the champion followed it,
repeating his defiance by his voice and his gestures; but no better
landing-place being found than that where the canoe had put the natives
on shore, the officer turned back with a view to attempt it there,
hoping, that if it should not be practicable, the people would come to a
conference either on the shoals or in their canoes, and that a treaty of
peace might be concluded with them.
As the boat rowed slowly along the shore back again, another champion
came down, shouting defiance, and brandishing his lance: his appearance
was more formidable than that of the other, for he wore a large cap made
of the tail feathers of the tropic bird, and his body was covered with
stripes of different coloured cloth, yellow, red, and brown. This
gentleman also danced, but with much more nimbleness and dexterity than
the first; our people therefore, considering his agility and his dress,
distinguished him by the name of HARLEQUIN. Soon after a more grave and
elderly man came down to the beach, and hailing the people in the boat,
inquired who they were, and from whence they came; Tupia answered in
their own language, from Otaheite: the three natives then walked
peaceably along the shore till they came to a shoal, upon which a few
people were collected; here they stopped, and after a short conference,
they all began to pray very loud: Tupia made his responses, but
continued to tell us that they were not our friends. When their prayer,
or, as they call it, their _Poorah_, was over, our people entered into a
parley with them, telling them, that, if they would lay by their lances
and clubs, for some had one and some the other, they would come on
shore, and trade with them for whatever they would bring: they agreed,
but it was only upon condition that we would leave behind us our
musquets: this was a condition which, however equitable it might appear,
could not be complied with, nor indeed would it have put the two parties
upon an equality, except their numbers had been equal. Here then the
negotiation seemed to be at an end; but in a little time they ventured
to come nearer to the boat, and at last came near enough to trade, which
they did very fairly, for a small quantity of their cloth and some of
their weapons; but as they gave our people no hope of provisions, nor
indeed any thing else, except they would venture through a narrow
channel to the shore, which, all circumstances considered, they did not
think it prudent to do, they put off the boat and left them.
With the ship and the boat we had now made the circuit of the island,
and finding that there was neither harbour nor anchorage about it, and
that the hostile disposition of the people would render landing
impracticable, without bloodshed, I determined not to attempt it, having
no motive that could justify the risk of life.
The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island, the
bottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainly
be seen at the depth of five and twenty fathom, which is one hundred and
fifty feet.
This island is situated in the latitude of 22° 27ʹ S. and in the
longitude of 150° 47ʹ W. from the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteen
miles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous nor
fertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in these
seas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make their
weapons, called in their language _Etoa_; many plantations of it were
seen along the shore, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouring
islands, by a reef.
The people seemed to be lusty and well made, rather browner than those
we had left: under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad as
the hand, the edges of which formed not a straight but an indented line:
they had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round their
arms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body.
Their dress was very different from any that we had seen before, as well
as the cloth of which it was made. The cloth was of the same materials
as that which is worn in the other islands, and most of that which was
seen by our people was dyed of a bright but deep yellow, and covered on
the outside with a composition like varnish, which was either red, or of
a dark lead-colour; over this ground it was again painted in stripes of
many different patterns, with wonderful regularity, in the manner of our
striped silks in England: the cloth that was painted red was striped
with black, and that which was painted lead-colour with white. Their
habit was a short jacket of this cloth, which reached about as low as
their knees; it was of one piece, and had no other making than a hole in
the middle of it, stitched round with long stitches, in which it
differed from all that we had seen before: through this hole the head
was put, and what hung down was confined to their bodies by a piece of
yellow cloth or sash, which, passing round the neck behind, was crossed
upon the breast, and then collected round the waist like a belt, which
passed over another belt of red cloth, so that they made a very gay and
warlike appearance; some had caps of the feathers of the tropic bird,
which have been before described, and some had a piece of white or
lead-coloured cloth wound about the head like a small turban, which our
people thought more becoming.
Their arms were long lances, made of the Etoa, the wood of which is very
hard; they were well polished and sharpened at one end: some were near
twenty feet long, though not more than three fingers thick: they had
also a weapon, which was both club and pike, made of the same wood,
about seven feet long; this also was well polished, and sharpened at one
end into a broad point. As a guard against these weapons, when they
attack each other, they have matts folded up many times, which they
place under their clothes from the neck to the waist: the weapons
themselves indeed are capable of much less mischief than those of the
same kind which we saw at the other islands, for the lances were there
pointed with the sharp bone of the stingray that is called the sting,
and the pikes were of much greater weight. The other things that we saw
here were all superior in their kind to any we had seen before; the
cloth was of a better colour in the dye, and painted with greater
neatness and taste; the clubs were better cut and polished, and the
canoe, though a small one, was very rich in ornament, and the carving
was executed in a better manner: among other decorations peculiar to
this canoe, was a line of small white feathers, which hung from the head
and stern on the outside, and which, when we saw them, were thoroughly
wetted by the spray.
Tupia told us, that there were several islands lying at different
distances, and in different directions from this, between the south and
the north west; and that, at the distance of three days’ sail to the
north-east, there was an island called MANUA, Bird-island: he seemed,
however, most desirous that we should sail to the westward, and
described several islands in that direction which he said he had
visited: he told us that he had been ten or twelve days in going
thither, and thirty in coming back, and that the _Pahie_ in which he had
made the voyage, sailed much faster than the ship: reckoning his Pahie
therefore to go at the rate of forty leagues a day, which, from my own
observation, I have great reason to think these boats will do, it would
make four hundred leagues in ten days, which I compute to be the
distance of Boscawen and Keppel’s Islands, discovered by Captain Wallis,
westward of Ulietea, and therefore think it very probable that they were
the islands he had visited. The farthest island that he knew any thing
of to the southward, he said, lay at the distance of about two days’
sail from Oteroah, and was called MOUTOU; but he said that his father
had told him there were islands to the southward of that: upon the
whole, I was determined to stand southward in search of a continent, but
to spend no time in searching for islands, if we did not happen to fall
in with them during our course.