a quantity of loose ice, through which we sailed. Latitude 64° 55ʹ S.,
longitude 163° 20ʹ W. Grey albatrosses, blue peterels, pintadoes, and
fulmers were seen. As we advanced to the south-east by east, with a
fresh gale at west, we found the number of ice islands increase fast
upon us. Between noon and eight in the evening we saw but two, but
before four o’clock in the morning of the 15th, we had passed seventeen,
besides a quantity of loose ice which we ran through. At six o’clock we
were obliged to haul to the north-east, in order to clear an immense
field which lay to the south and south-east. The ice in most part of it
lay close packed together; in other places there appeared partitions in
the field, and a clear sea beyond it. However, I did not think it safe
to venture through, as the wind would not permit us to return the same
way that we must go in. Besides, as it blew strong, and the weather at
times was exceedingly foggy, it was the more necessary for us to get
clear of this loose ice, which is rather more dangerous than the great
islands. It was not such ice as is usually found in bays or rivers, and
near shore, but such as breaks off from the islands, and may not
improperly be called parings of the large pieces, or the rubbish or
fragments which fall off when the great islands break loose from the
place where they are formed.
We had not stood long to the north-east before we found ourselves
embayed by the ice, and were obliged to tack and stretch to the
south-west, having the field or loose ice to the south, and many huge
islands to the north. After standing two hours on this tack, the wind
very luckily veering to the westward, we tacked, stretched to the north,
and soon got clear of all the loose ice, but not before we had received
several hard knocks from the larger pieces, which, with all our care, we
could not avoid. After clearing one danger we still had another to
encounter; the weather remained foggy, and many large islands lay in our
way; so that we had to luff for one, and bear up for another. One we
were very near falling aboard of; and if it had happened, this
circumstance would never have been related. These difficulties, together
with the improbability of finding land farther south, and the
impossibility of exploring it on account of the ice, if we should find
any, determined me to get more to the north. At the time we last tacked,
we were in the longitude of 159° 20ʹ W. and in the latitude of 66° 0ʹ S.
Several penguins were seen on some of the ice islands, and a few
antarctic peterels on the wing.
We continued to stand to the north, with a fresh gale at west, attended
with thick snow showers till eight o’clock in the evening, when the wind
abated, the sky began to clear up, and, at six o’clock in the morning of
the 16th, it fell calm. Four hours after, it was succeeded by a breeze
at north-east, with which we stretched to the south-east, having thick
hazy weather, with snow showers, and all our rigging coated with ice. In
the evening, we attempted to take some out of the sea, but were obliged
to desist, the sea running too high, and the pieces being so large, that
it was dangerous for the boat to come near them.
The next morning, being the 17th, we succeeded better; for falling in
with a quantity of loose ice, we hoisted out two boats, and by noon got
on board as much as we could manage. We then made sail for the east,
with a gentle breeze northerly, attended with snow and sleet, which
froze to the rigging as it fell. At this time we were in the latitude of
64° 41ʹ S. longitude 155° 44ʹ W. The ice we took up proved to be none of
the best, being chiefly composed of frozen snow, on which account it was
porous, and had imbibed a good deal of salt water; but this drained off
after lying a while on deck, and the water then yielded was fresh. We
continued to stretch to the east, with a piercing cold northerly wind,
attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet, that decorated all our
rigging with icicles. We were hourly meeting with some of the large ice
islands, which in these high latitudes render navigation so very
dangerous: at seven in the evening, falling in with a cluster of them,
we narrowly escaped running aboard of one, and with difficulty wore
clear of the others. We stood back to the west till ten o’clock, at
which time the fog cleared away, and we resumed our course to the east.
At noon the next day, we were in the latitude of 64° 49ʹ S., longitude
149° 19ʹ W. Some time after our longitude, by observed distance of the
sun and moon, was 149° 19ʹ W.; by Mr. Kendal’s watch, 148° 36ʹ; and by
my reckoning, 148° 43ʹ, latitude 64° 48ʹ S.
The clear weather and the wind veering to north-west tempted me to steer
south, which course we continued till seven in the morning of the 20th,
when the wind changing to north-east, and the sky becoming clouded, we
hauled up south-east. In the afternoon the wind increased to a strong
gale, attended with a thick fog, snow, sleet, and rain, which
constitutes the very worst of weather. Our rigging at this time was so
loaded with ice that we had enough to do to get our top-sails down to
double the reef. At seven o’clock in the evening, in the longitude of
147° 46ʹ, we came the second time within the antarctic or polar circle,
continuing our course to the south-east till six o’clock the next
morning. At that time, being in the latitude of 67° 5ʹ S., all at once
we got in among a cluster of very large ice islands, and a vast quantity
of loose pieces; and, as the fog was exceedingly thick, it was with the
utmost difficulty we wore clear of them. This done, we stood to the
north-west till noon, when the fog being somewhat dissipated, we resumed
our course again to the south-east. The ice islands we met with in the
morning were very high and rugged, forming at their tops many peaks,
whereas the most of those we had seen before were flat at top, and not
so high, though many of them were between two and three hundred feet in
height, and between two and three miles in circuit, with perpendicular
cliffs or sides, astonishing to behold. Most of our winged companions
had now left us, the grey albatrosses only remained, and instead of the
other birds we were visited by a few antarctic peterels.
The 22d we steered east-south-east with a fresh gale at north, blowing
in squalls, one of which took hold of the mizzen top-sail, tore it all
to rags, and rendered it for ever after useless. At six o’clock in the
morning, the wind veering toward the west, our course was
east-northerly. At this time we were in the latitude of 67° 31ʹ, the
highest we had yet been in, longitude 142° 54ʹ west.
We continued our course to the east by north till noon the 23d, when,
being in the latitude of 67° 12ʹ, longitude 138° 0ʹ, we steered
south-east, having then twenty-three ice islands in sight from off the
deck, and twice that number from the mast-head, and yet we could not see
above two or three miles round us. At four o’clock in the afternoon, in
the latitude of 67° 20ʹ, longitude 137° 12ʹ, we fell in with such a
quantity of field or loose ice, as covered the sea in the whole extent
from south to east, and was so thick and close as wholly to obstruct our
passage. At this time, the wind being pretty moderate, and the sea
smooth, we brought to at the outer edge of the ice, hoisted out two
boats, and sent them to take some up. In the mean time, we laid hold of
several large pieces alongside, and got them on board with our tackle.
The taking up ice proved such cold work, that it was eight o’clock by
the time the boats had made two trips; when we hoisted them in, and made
sail to the west, under double-reefed top-sails and courses, with a
strong gale at north, attended with snow and sleet, which froze to the
rigging as it fell, making the ropes like wires, and the sails like
boards or plates of metal. The sheaves also were frozen so fast in the
blocks, that it required our utmost efforts to get a top-sail down and
up; the cold so intense as hardly to be endured; the whole sea, in a
manner, covered with ice; a hard gale, and a thick fog.
Under all these unfavourable circumstances, it was natural for me to
think of returning more to the north, seeing no probability of finding
any land here, nor a possibility of getting farther south; and to have
proceeded to the east, in this latitude, must have been wrong, not only
on account of the ice, but because we must have left a vast space of sea
to the north unexplored; a space of 24° of latitude, in which a large
track of land might have lain. Whether such a supposition was
well-grounded, could only be determined by visiting those parts.
While we were taking up ice, we got two of the antarctic peterels so
often mentioned, by which our conjectures were confirmed of their being
of the peterel tribe. They are about the size of a large pigeon; the
feathers of the head, back, and part of the upper side of the wings, are
of a light-brown; the belly and under side of the wings, white; the
tail-feathers are also white, but tipped with brown: at the same time,
we got another new peterel, smaller than the former, and all of a
dark-grey plumage. We remarked that these birds were fuller of feathers
than any we had hitherto seen; such care has nature taken to clothe them
suitably to the climate in which they live. At the same time we saw a
few chocolate-coloured albatrosses; these, as well as the peterels above
mentioned, we no where saw but among the ice; hence one may, with
reason, conjecture that there is land to the south. If not, I must ask
where these birds breed? A question which perhaps will never be
determined; for hitherto we have found these lands, if any, quite
inaccessible. Besides these birds, we saw a very large seal, which kept
playing about us some time. One of our people who had been at Greenland
called it a sea-horse; but every one else who saw it took it for what I
have said. Since our first falling in with the ice, the mercury in the
thermometer had been from 33 to 31 at noon-day.
On the 24th, the wind abated, veering to the north-west, and the sky
cleared up, in the latitude of 67° 0ʹ, longitude 138° 15ʹ. As we
advanced to the north-east, with a gentle gale at north-west, the ice
islands increased so fast upon us, that this day at noon we could see
near 100 round us, besides an immense number of small pieces. Perceiving
that it was likely to be calm, I got the ship into as clear a birth as I
could, where she drifted along with the ice; and by taking the advantage
of every light air of wind, was kept from falling aboard any of these
floating isles. Here it was we spent Christmas-day, much in the same
manner as we did the preceding one. We were fortunate in having
continual day-light and clear weather; for had it been as foggy as on
some of the preceding days, nothing less than a miracle could have saved
us from being dashed to pieces.
In the morning of the 26th, the whole sea was in a manner covered with
ice, 200 large islands and upwards being seen within the compass of four
or five miles, which was the limits of our horizon, besides smaller
pieces innumerable. Our latitude at noon was 66° 15ʹ longitude 134° 22ʹ.
By observation we found that the ship had drifted, or gone about 20
miles to the north-east or east-north-east, whereas by the ice islands
it appeared that she had gone little or nothing; from which we concluded
that the ice drifted nearly in the same direction, and at the same rate.
At four o’clock a breeze sprung up at west-south-west, and enabled us to
steer north, the most probable course to extricate ourselves from these
dangers.
We continued our course to the north with a gentle breeze at west,
attended with clear weather, till four o’clock the next morning, when,
meeting with a quantity of loose ice, we brought to, and took on board
as much as filled all our empty casks, and for several days present
expence. This done, we made sail, and steered north-west, with a gentle
breeze at north-east, clear frosty weather. Our latitude at this time
was 65° 53ʹ S., longitude 133° 42ʹ W.; islands of ice not half so
numerous as before.
At four in the morning of the 28th, the wind having veered more to the
east and south-east, increased to a fresh gale, and was attended with
snow showers. Our course was north till noon the next day. Being then in
the latitude of 62° 24ʹ, longitude 134° 37ʹ, we steered north-west by
north. Some hours after the sky cleared up, and the wind abating, veered
more to the south.
On the 30th, had little wind westerly; dark gloomy weather, with snow
and sleet at times; several whales seen playing about the ship, but very
few birds; islands of ice in plenty, and a swell from west-north-west.
On the 31st, little wind from the westward; fair and clear weather,
which afforded an opportunity to air the spare sails, and to clean and
smoke the ship betwixt decks. At noon our latitude was 59° 40ʹ S.,
longitude 135° 11ʹ W. Our observation to-day gave us reason to
conjecture that we had a southerly current. Indeed, this was no more
than what might reasonably be supposed, to account for such huge masses
of ice being brought from the south. In the afternoon, had a few hours’
calm, succeeded by a breeze from the east, which enabled us to resume
our north-west by north course.
January 1st, the wind remained not long at east; but veered round by the
south to west; blew fresh; attended with snow showers. In the evening,
being in the latitude of 58° 39ʹ S. we passed two islands of ice; after
which we saw no more till we stood again to the south.
At five o’clock in the morning on the 2d, it fell calm: being at this
time in the latitude of 58° 2ʹ, longitude 137° 12ʹ. The calm being
succeeded by a breeze at east, we steered N. W. by W. My reason for
steering this course was to explore part of the great space of sea
between us and our track to the south.
On the 3d, at noon, being in latitude 56° 46ʹ, longitude 139° 45ʹ, the
weather became fair, and the wind veered to south-west. About this time
we saw a few small divers (as we call them) of the peterel tribe, which
we judged to be such as are usually seen near land, especially in the
bays, and on the coast of New Zealand. I cannot tell what to think of
these birds. Had there been more of them, I should have been ready
enough to believe that we were at this time not very far from land, as I
never saw one so far from known land before. Probably these few had been
drawn thus far by some shoal of fish, for such were certainly about us,
by the vast number of blue peterels, albatrosses, and such other birds
as are usually seen in the great ocean; all or most of whom left us
before night. Two or three pieces of sea-weed were also seen; but these
appeared old and decayed.
At eight o’clock in the evening, being in the latitude of 56° S.
longitude 140° 31ʹ west, the wind fixing in the western board, obliged
us to steer north-easterly, and laid me under the necessity of leaving
unexplored a space of the sea to the west, containing near 40° of
longitude and half that in latitude. Had the wind continued favourable,
I intended to have run 15 or 20 degrees of longitude more to the west,
in the latitude we were then in, and back again to the east in the
latitude of 50°. This route would have so intersected the space
above-mentioned, as hardly to have left room for the bare supposition of
any land lying there. Indeed, as it was, we have little reason to
believe that there is; but rather the contrary, from the great hollow
swell we had had for several days, from the W. and N. W., though the
wind had blown from a contrary direction great part of the time; which
is a great sign we had not been covered by any land between these two
points.
While we were in the high latitudes, many of our people were attacked
with a slight fever, occasioned by colds. It happily yielded to the
simplest remedies; was generally removed in a few days; and at this time
we had not above one or two on the sick list.
We proceeded N. E. by N. till the 6th, at noon. Being then in the
latitude 52° 0ʹ S., longitude 135° 32ʹ W., and about 200 leagues from
our track to Otaheite, in which space it was not probable, all
circumstances considered, there is any extensive land; and it being
still less probable any lay to the west, from the great mountainous
billows we had had, and still continued to have from that quarter, I
therefore steered N. E. with a fresh gale at W. S. W.
At eight o’clock in the morning on the 7th, being in the latitude of 50°
49ʹ south, we observed several distances of the sun and moon, which gave
the longitude as follows, viz.
By Mr. Wales, 133° 24ʹ west.
Gilbert, 133 10
Clerke, 133 0
Smith, 133 37 25ʺ
Myself, 133 37
-------------
Mean, 133 21 43
By the watch, 133 44 west.
My reckoning, 133 39
-------------
Variation of the compass 6 2 east.
Thermometer, 50 0
The next morning we observed again; and the results were agreeable to
the preceding observations, allowing for the ship’s run. I must here
take notice that our longitude can never be erroneous, while we have so
good a guide as Mr. Kendal’s watch. This day at noon we steered E. N. E.
1/2 E. being then in the latitude of 49° 7ʹ S., longitude 131° 2ʹ W.
On the 9th, in the latitude of 48° 17ʹ S. longitude 127° 10ʹ W., we
steered east with a fine fresh gale at west, attended with clear
pleasant weather, and a great swell from the same direction as the wind.
In the morning of the 10th, having but little wind, we put a boat in the
water, in which some of the officers went and shot several birds. These
afforded us a fresh meal. They were of the peterel tribe, and such as
are usually seen at any distance from land. Indeed, neither birds nor
any other thing was to be seen that could give us the least hopes of
finding any; and therefore at noon the next day, being then in the
latitude of 47° 51ʹ S., longitude 122° 12ʹ W., and a little more than
200 leagues from my track to Otaheite in 1769, I altered the course, and
steered south east with a fresh gale at S. W. by W. In the evening when
our latitude was 48° 22ʹ S., longitude 121° 29ʹ W., we found the
variation to be 2° 34ʹ E.; which is the least variation we had found
without the tropic. In the evening of the next day we found it to be 4°
30ʹ E.; our latitude at that time was 50° 5ʹ S., longitude 119-1/2° W.
Our course was now more southerly, till the evening of the 13th, when we
were in the latitude of 53° 0ʹ S., longitude 118° 3ʹ W. The wind being
then at north-west, a strong gale with a thick fog and rain, which made
it unsafe to steer large, I hauled up south-west, and continued this
course till noon the next day, when our latitude was 56° 4ʹ S.,
longitude 122° 1ʹ W. The wind having veered to the north, and the fog
continuing, I hauled to the east, under courses and close-reefed
top-sails. But this sail we could not carry long; for before eight
o’clock in the evening, the wind increased to a perfect storm, and
obliged us to lie to, under the mizzen stay-sail, till the morning of
the 16th, when the wind having a good deal abated and veered to west, we
set the courses, reefed top-sails, and stood to the south. Soon after,
the weather cleared up; and in the evening we found the latitude to be
56° 48ʹ S., longitude 119° 8ʹ W.
We continued to steer to the south, inclining to the east, till the
18th, when we stood to the south-west with the wind at south-east, being
at this time in the latitude of 61° 9ʹ S., longitude 116° 7ʹ W. At ten
o’clock in the evening, it fell calm, which continued till two the next
morning, when a breeze sprung up at north, which soon after increased to
a fresh gale and fixed at N. E. With this we steered south till noon, on
the 20th, when, being now in the latitude of 62° 34ʹ S., longitude 116°
24ʹ W., we were again becalmed.
In this situation we had two ice islands in sight, one of which seemed
to be as large as any we had seen. It could not be less than two hundred
feet in height, and terminated in a peak not unlike the cupola of St.
Paul’s church. At this time, we had a great westerly swell, which made
it improbable that any land should lie between us and the meridian of
133-1/2°, which was our longitude under the latitude we were now in,
when we stood to the north. In all this route, we had not seen the least
thing that could induce us to think we were ever in the neighbourhood of
any land. We had, indeed, frequently seen pieces of sea-weed; but this,
I am well assured, is no sign of the vicinity of land; for weed is seen
in every part of the ocean. After a few hours’ calm, we got a wind from
S. E., but it was very unsettled, and attended with thick snow showers;
at length it fixed at S. by E., and we stretched to the east. The wind
blew fresh, was piercing cold, and attended with snow and sleet.
On the 22d, being in the latitude of 62° 5ʹ S., longitude 112° 24ʹ W.,
we saw an ice-island, an antarctic peterel, several blue peterels, and
some other known birds; but no one thing that gave us the least hopes of
finding land.
On the 23d, at noon, we were in the latitude of 62° 22ʹ S., longitude
110° 24ʹ. In the afternoon, we passed an ice-island. The wind, which
blew fresh, continued to veer to the west; and at eight o’clock the next
morning, it was to the north of west, when I steered S. by W. and
S. S. W. At this time we were in the latitude of 63° 20ʹ S., longitude
108° 7ʹ W. and had a great sea from S. W. We continued this course till
noon the next day, the 25th, when we steered due south. Our latitude, at
this time, was 65° 24ʹ S., longitude 109° 31ʹ W.; the wind was at north;
the weather mild and not unpleasant; and not a bit of ice in view. This
we thought a little extraordinary; as it was but a month before, and not
quite two hundred leagues to the east, that we were, in a manner,
blocked up with large islands of ice, in this very latitude. Saw a
single pintadoe peterel, some blue peterels, and a few brown
albatrosses. In the evening, being under the same meridian, and in the
latitude of 65° 44ʹ S., the variation was 19° 27ʹ E.; but the next
morning, in the latitude of 66° 20ʹ S., longitude the same as before, it
was only 18° 20ʹ E.: probably the mean between the two, is the nearest
the truth. At this time, we had nine small islands in sight; and soon
after, we came, the third time, within the antarctic polar circle, in
the longitude of 109° 31ʹ W. About noon, seeing the appearance of land
to the S. E., we immediately trimmed our sails and stood towards it.
Soon after it disappeared, but we did not give it up till eight o’clock
the next morning, when we were well assured that it was nothing but
clouds, or a fog-bank; and then we resumed our course to the south, with
a gentle breeze at N. E. attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet.
We now began to meet with ice islands more frequently than before; and,
in the latitude of 69° 38ʹ S., longitude 108° 12ʹ W., we fell in with a
field of loose ice. As we began to be in want of water, I hoisted out
two boats and took up as much as yielded about ten tons. This was cold
work; but it was now familiar to us. As soon as we had done, we hoisted
in the boats, and afterwards made short boards over that part of the sea
we had, in some measure, made ourselves acquainted with. For we had now
so thick a fog that we could not see two hundred yards round us; and as
we knew not the extent of the loose ice, I durst not steer to the south
till we had clear weather. Thus we spent the night, or rather that part
of the twenty-four hours which answered to night; for we had no darkness
but what was occasioned by fogs.
At four o’clock in the morning of the 29th, the fog began to clear away;
and the day becoming clear and serene, we again steered to the south
with a gentle gale at N. E. and N. N. E. The variation was found to be
22° 41ʹ E. This was in the latitude of 69° 45ʹ S., longitude 108° 5ʹ W.;
and, in the afternoon, being in the same longitude, and in the latitude
of 70° 23ʹ S., it was 24° 81ʹ E. Soon after, the sky became clouded, and
the air very cold. We continued our course to the south, and passed a
piece of weed covered with barnacles, which a brown albatross was
picking off. At ten o’clock, we passed a very large ice-island; it was
not less than three or four miles in circuit. Several more being seen
ahead, and the weather becoming foggy, we hauled the wind to the
northward; but in less than two hours, the weather cleared up, and we
again stood south.
On the 30th, at four o’clock in the morning, we perceived the clouds,
over the horizon to the south, to be of an unusual snow-white
brightness, which we knew denounced our approach to field-ice. Soon
after, it was seen from the top-mast head; and at eight o’clock, we were
close to its edge. It extended east and west, far beyond the reach of
our sight. In the situation we were in, just the southern half of our
horizon was illuminated, by the rays of light reflected from the ice, to
a considerable height. Ninety-seven ice-hills were distinctly seen
within the field, besides those on the outside; many of them very large,
and looking like a ridge of mountains, rising one above another till
they were lost in the clouds. The outer, or northern edge of this
immense field, was composed of loose or broken ice close packed
together; so that it was not possible for any thing to enter it. This
was about a mile broad; within which was solid ice in one continued
compact body. It was rather low and flat, (except the hills,) but seemed
to increase in height, as you traced it to the south; in which direction
it extended beyond our sight. Such mountains of ice as these, were, I
believe, never seen in the Greenland seas; at least, not that I ever
heard or read of; so that we cannot draw a comparison between the ice
here, and there. It must be allowed that these prodigious ice-mountains
must add such additional weight to the ice-fields which inclose them, as
cannot but make a great difference between the navigating this icy sea
and that of Greenland.
I will not say it was impossible any where to get farther to the south;
but the attempting it would have been a dangerous and rash enterprise;
and what, I believe, no man in my situation would have thought of. It
was, indeed, _my_ opinion, as well as the opinion of most on board, that
this ice extended quite to the pole, or, perhaps, joined to some land,
to which it had been fixed from the earliest time; and that it is here,
that is to the south of this parallel, where all the ice we find
scattered up and down to the north, is first formed, and afterwards
broken off by gales of wind, or other causes, and brought to the north
by the currents, which we always found to set in that direction in the
high latitudes. As we drew near this ice, some penguins were heard, but
none seen; and but few other birds, or any other thing, that could
induce us to think any land was near. And yet I think there must be some
to the south behind this ice; but if there is, it can afford no better
retreat for birds, or any other animals, than the ice itself, with which
it must be wholly covered. I, who had ambition not only to go farther
than any one had been before, but as far as it was possible for man to
go, was not sorry at meeting with this interruption; as it, in some
measure, relieved us; at least shortened the dangers and hardships
inseparable from the navigation of the southern polar regions. Since,
therefore, we could not proceed one inch farther to the south, no other
reason need be assigned for my tacking, and standing back to the north;
being at this time in the latitude of 71° 10ʹ S., longitude, 106° 54ʹ W.
It was happy for us that the weather was clear when we fell in with this
ice, and that we discovered it so soon as we did; for we had no sooner
tacked than we were involved in a thick fog. The wind was at east, and
blew a fresh breeze; so that we were able to return back over that space
we had already made ourselves acquainted with. At noon, the mercury in
the thermometer stood at 32-1/2°, and we found the air exceedingly cold.
The thick fog continuing with showers of snow, gave a coat of ice to our
rigging of near an inch thick. In the afternoon of the next day, the fog
cleared away at intervals; but the weather was cloudy and gloomy, and
the air excessively cold; however, the sea within our horizon was clear
of ice.
We continued to stand to the north with the wind easterly till the
afternoon, on the 1st of February, when, falling in with some loose ice
which had broken from an island to windward, we hoisted out two boats,
and having taken some on board, resumed our course to the north and
north-east with gentle breezes from the south-east, attended sometimes
with fair weather, and at other times with snow and sleet. On the 4th we
were in the latitude of 65° 42ʹ S., longitude 99° 44ʹ. The next day the
wind was very unsettled both in strength and position, and attended with
snow and sleet. At length on the 6th, after a few hours’ calm, we got a
breeze at south, which soon after freshened, fixed at west south-west,
and was attended with snow and sleet.
I now came to a resolution to proceed to the north, and to spend the
ensuing winter within the tropic, if I met with no employment before I
came there. I was now well satisfied no continent was to be found in
this ocean, but what must lie so far to the south as to be wholly
inaccessible on account of ice; and that if one should be found in the
Southern Atlantic Ocean, it would be necessary to have the whole summer
before us to explore it. On the other hand, upon a supposition that
there is no land there, we undoubtedly might have reached the Cape of
Good Hope by April, and so have put an end to the expedition, so far as
it related to the finding a continent; which indeed was the first object
of the voyage. But for me at this time to have quitted this Southern
Pacific Ocean, with a good ship expressly sent out on discoveries, a
healthy crew, and not in want either of stores or of provisions, would
have been betraying not only a want of perseverance, but of judgment, in
supposing the South Pacific Ocean to have been so well explored, that
nothing remained to be done in it. This, however, was not my opinion;
for, although I had proved there was no continent but what must lie far
to the south, there remained, nevertheless, room for very large islands
in places wholly unexamined: and many of those which were formerly
discovered, are but imperfectly explored, and their situations as
imperfectly known. I was besides of opinion, that my remaining in this
sea some time longer, would be productive of improvements in navigation
and geography, as well as other sciences. I had several times
communicated my thoughts on this subject to Captain Furneaux; but as it
then wholly depended on what we might meet with to the south, I could
not give it in orders without running the risk of drawing us from the
main object.
Since now nothing had happened to prevent me from carrying these views
into execution, my intention was first to go in search of the land, said
to have been discovered by Juan Fernandez, above a century ago, in about
the latitude of 38°; if I should fail in finding this land, then to go
in search of Easter Island or Davis’s Land, whose situation was known
with so little certainty that the attempts lately made to find it had
miscarried. I next intended to get within the tropic, and then proceed
to the west, touching at, and settling the situations of such islands as
we might meet with till we arrived at Otaheite, where it was necessary I
should stop to look for the Adventure. I had also thoughts of running as
far west as the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, discovered by Quiros,
and which M. de Bougainville calls the Great Cyclades. Quiros speaks of
this land as being large, or lying in the neighbourhood of large lands;
and as this was a point which Bougainville had neither confirmed nor
refuted, I thought it was worth clearing up. From this land my design
was to steer to the south, and so back to the east, between the
latitudes of 50° and 60°; intending if possible to be the length of Cape
Horn in November next, when we should have the best part of the summer
before us to explore the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Great as
this design appeared to be, I, however, thought it possible to be
executed; and when I came to communicate it to the officers, I had the
satisfaction to find, that they all heartily concurred in it. I should
not do these gentlemen justice if I did not take some opportunity to
declare, that they always showed the utmost readiness to carry into
execution, in the most effectual manner, every measure I thought proper
to take. Under such circumstances, it is hardly necessary to say that
the seamen were always obedient and alert; and, on this occasion, they
were so far from wishing the voyage at an end, that they rejoiced at the
prospect of its being prolonged another year, and of soon enjoying the
benefits of a milder climate.
I now steered north inclining to the east, and in the evening we were
overtaken by a furious storm at west south-west, attended with snow and
sleet. It came so suddenly upon us, that before we could take in our
sails, two old top-sails, which we had bent to the yards, were blown to
pieces, and the other sails much damaged. The gale lasted without the
least intermission till the next morning, when it began to abate; it,
however, continued to blow very fresh till noon on the 12th, when it
ended in a calm.
At this time we were in the latitude of 50° 14ʹ S., longitude 95° 18ʹ W.
Some birds being about the ship, we took the advantage of the calm to
put a boat in the water, and shot several birds on which we feasted the
next day. One of these birds was of that sort which has been so often
mentioned in this journal, under the name of Port-Egmont hens. They are
of the gull kind, about the size of a raven, with a dark brown plumage,
except the under side of each wing, where there are some white feathers.
The rest of the birds were albatrosses and sheer-waters.
After a few hours’ calm, having got a breeze at north-west, we made a
stretch to the south-west for twenty-four hours; in which route we saw a
piece of wood, a bunch of weed, and a diving peterel. The wind having
veered more to the west, made us tack and stretch to the north till noon
on the 14th, at which time we were in the latitude of 49° 32ʹ S.,
longitude 95° 11ʹ W. We had now calms and light breezes succeeding each
other, till the next morning, when the wind freshened at
west-north-west, and was attended with a thick fog and drizzling rain
the three following days, during which time we stretched to the north,
inclining to the east, and crossed my track to Otaheite in 1769. I did
intend to have kept more to the west, but the strong winds from that
direction put it out of my power.
On the 18th, the wind veered to south-west, and blew very fresh, but was
attended with clear weather, which gave us an opportunity to ascertain
our longitude by several lunar observations made by Messrs. Wales,
Clerke, Gilbert, and Smith. The mean result of all was 94° 19ʹ 30ʺ W.;
Mr. Kendal’s watch, at the same time, gave 94° 46ʹ W.; our latitude was
43° 53ʹ S. The wind continued not long at south-west, before it veered
back to west and west-north-west.
As we advanced to the north, we felt a most sensible change in the
weather. The 20th, at noon, we were in the latitude of 39° 58ʹ S.,
longitude 94° 37ʹ W. The day was clear and pleasant; and, I may say, the
only summer’s day we had had since we left New Zealand. The mercury in
the thermometer rose to 66.
We still continued to steer to the north, as the wind remained in the
old quarter; and the next day, at noon, we were in the latitude 37° 54ʹ
S., which was the same that Juan Fernandez’s discovery is said to lie
in. We, however, had not the least signs of any land lying in our
neighbourhood.
The next day, at noon, we were in latitude 36° 10ʹ S., longitude 94° 56ʹ
W. Soon after, the wind veered to south-south-east, and enabled us to
steer west-south-west, which I thought the most probable direction to
find the land of which we were in search; and yet I had no hopes of
succeeding, as we had a large hollow swell from the same point. We,
however, continued this course till the 25th, when, the wind having
veered again round to the westward, I gave it up, and stood away to the
north, in order to get into the latitude of Easter Island; our latitude
at this time was 37° 52ʹ, longitude 101° 10ʹ W.
I was now well assured that the discovery of Juan Fernandez, if any such
was ever made, can be nothing but a small island; there being hardly
room for a large land, as will fully appear by the tracks of Captain
Wallis, Bougainville, of the Endeavour, and this of the Resolution.
Whoever wants to see an account of the discovery in question, will meet
with it in Mr. Dalrymple’s Collection of Voyages to the South Seas. This
gentleman places it under the meridian of 90°, where I think it cannot
be; for M. de Bougainville seems to have run down under that meridian,
and we had now examined the latitude in which it is said to lie, from
the meridian of 94° to 101°. It is not probable it can lie to the east
of 90°; because if it did, it must have been seen at one time or other
by ships bound from the northern to the southern parts of America. Mr.
Pengré, in a little treatise concerning the transit of Venus published
in 1768, gives some account of land having been discovered by the
Spaniards in 1714, in the latitude of 38°, and 550 leagues from the
coast of Chili, which is in the longitude of 110° or 111° W., and within
a degree or two of my track in the Endeavour; so that this can hardly be
its situation. In short, the only probable situation it can have must be
about the meridian of 106° or 108° W.; and then it can only be a small
isle, as I have already observed.
I was now taken ill of the bilious colic, which was so violent as to
confine me to my bed; so that the management of the ship was left to Mr.
Cooper, the first officer, who conducted her very much to my
satisfaction. It was several days before the most dangerous symptoms of
my disorder were removed; during which time Mr. Patten, the surgeon, was
to me not only a skilful physician, but an affectionate nurse; and I
should ill deserve the care he bestowed on me, if I did not make this
public acknowledgment. When I began to recover, a favourite dog,
belonging to Mr. Forster, fell a sacrifice to my tender stomach. We had
no other fresh meat whatever on board; and I could eat of this flesh, as
well as broth made of it, when I could taste nothing else. Thus I
received nourishment and strength from food which would have made most
people in Europe sick; so true it is, that necessity is governed by no
law.
On the 28th, in the latitude of 33° 7ʹ S., longitude 102° 33ʹ W., we
began to see flying-fish, egg-birds, and nodies, which are said not to
go above sixty or eighty leagues from land; but of this we have no
certainty. No one yet knows to what distance any of the oceanic birds go
to sea; for my own part, I do not believe there is one in the whole
tribe that can be relied on, in pointing out the vicinity of land.
In the latitude of 30° 30ʹ S., longitude 101° 45ʹ W., we began to see
men-of-war birds. In the latitude of 29° 44ʹ, longitude 100° 45ʹ W., we
had a calm for near two days together, during which time the heat was
intolerable; but what ought to be remarked, was a very great swell from
the south-west.
On the 6th of March, the calm was succeeded by an easterly wind, with
which we steered north-west till noon the 8th, when, being in the
latitude of 27° 4ʹ S., longitude 103° 58ʹ W., we steered west, meeting
every day with great numbers of birds, such as men-of-war, tropic, and
egg-birds, nodies, sheer-waters, &c., and once we passed several pieces
of sponge, and a small dried leaf not unlike a bay one. Soon after, we
saw a sea-snake, in every respect like those we had before seen at the
tropical islands. We also saw plenty of fish; but were such bad fishers,
that we caught only four albacores, which were very acceptable, to me
especially, who was just recovering from my late illness.
CHAP. VII.
SEQUEL OF THE PASSAGE FROM NEW ZEALAND TO EASTER ISLAND, AND
TRANSACTIONS THERE, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF AN EXPEDITION TO DISCOVER THE
INLAND PART OF THE COUNTRY, AND A DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE SURPRISING
GIGANTIC STATUES FOUND IN THE ISLAND.
At eight o’clock in the morning on the 11th, land was seen, from the
mast-head, bearing west, and at noon from the deck, extending from W.
3/4 N. to W. by S. about twelve leagues distant. I made no doubt that
this was Davis’s Land, or Easter Island, as its appearance from this
situation corresponded very well with Wafer’s account; and we expected
to have seen the low sandy isle that Davis fell in with, which would
have been a confirmation; but in this we were disappointed. At seven
o’clock in the evening, the island bore from N. 62° W. to N. 87° W.,
about five leagues distant; in which situation we sounded, without
finding ground, with a line of an hundred and forty fathoms. Here we
spent the night, having alternately light airs and calms, till ten
o’clock the next morning, when a breeze sprung up at west-south-west.
With this we stretched in for the land; and, by the help of our glass,
discovered people, and some of those colossian statues or idols
mentioned by the authors of Roggewin’s Voyage.[4] At four o’clock in the
afternoon, we were half a league south-south-east, and north-north-west
of the north-east point of the island; and, on sounding, found
thirty-five fathoms, a dark sandy bottom. I now tacked and endeavoured
to get into what appeared to be a bay, on the west side of the point, or
south-east side of the island; but before this could be accomplished,
night came upon us, and we stood on and off under the land till the next
morning, having soundings from seventy-five to an hundred and ten
fathoms, the same bottom as before.
On the 13th, about eight o’clock in the morning, the wind, which had
been variable most part of the night, fixed at south-east and blew in
squalls, accompanied with rain, but it was not long before the weather
became fair. As the wind now blew right on the south-east shore, which
does not afford that shelter I at first thought, I resolved to look for
anchorage on the west and north-west sides of the island. With this
view, I bore up round the south point, off which lie two small islots,
the one nearest the point high and peaked, and the other low and
flattish. After getting round the point, and coming before a sandy
beach, we found soundings, thirty and forty fathoms, sandy ground, and
about one mile from the shore. Here a canoe conducted by two men came
off to us. They brought with them a bunch of plantains, which they sent
into the ship by a rope, and then they returned ashore. This gave us a
good opinion of the islanders, and inspired us with hopes of getting
some refreshments, which we were in great want of.
I continued to range along the coast till we opened the northern point
of the isle without seeing a better anchoring-place than the one we had
passed. We therefore tacked, and plied back to it; and, in the mean
time, sent away the master in a boat to sound the coast. He returned
about five o’clock in the evening, and soon after we came to an anchor,
in thirty-six fathoms’ water, before the sandy beach above-mentioned. As
the master drew near the shore with the boat, one of the natives swam
off to her, and insisted on coming aboard the ship, where he remained
two nights and a day. The first thing he did after coming aboard, was to
measure the length of the ship, by fathoming her from the tafferel to
the stern; and as he counted the fathoms, we observed that he called the
numbers by the same names that they do at Otaheite; nevertheless, his
language was in a manner wholly unintelligible to all of us.
Having anchored too near the edge of the bank, a fresh breeze from the
land, about three o’clock the next morning, drove us off it; on which
the anchor was heaved up, and sail made to regain the bank again. While
the ship was plying in, I went ashore, accompanied by some of the
gentlemen, to see what the island was likely to afford us. We landed at
the sandy beach, where some hundreds of the natives were assembled, and
who were so impatient to see us, that many of them swam off to meet the
boats. Not one of them had so much as a stick or weapon of any sort in
their hands. After distributing a few trinkets amongst them, we made
signs for something to eat; on which they brought down a few potatoes,
plantains, and sugar-canes, and exchanged them for nails,
looking-glasses, and pieces of cloth.
We presently discovered that they were as expert thieves, and as
tricking in their exchanges, as any people we had yet met with. It was
with some difficulty we could keep the hats on our heads, but hardly
possible to keep any thing in our pockets, not even what themselves had
sold us; for they would watch every opportunity to snatch it from us, so
that we sometimes bought the same thing two or three times over, and
after all did not get it.
Before I sailed from England, I was informed that a Spanish ship had
visited this isle in 1769. Some signs of it were seen among the people
now about us; one man had a pretty good broad-brimmed European hat on,
another had a grego jacket, and another a red silk handkerchief. They
also seemed to know the use of a musket, and to stand in much awe of it;
but this they probably learnt from Roggewin, who, if we are to believe
the authors of that voyage, left them sufficient tokens.
Near the place where we landed, were some of those statues
before-mentioned, which I shall describe in another place. The country
appeared barren and without wood; there were, nevertheless, several
plantations of potatoes, plantains, and sugar-canes; we also saw some
fowls, and found a well of brackish water. As these were articles we
were in want of, and as the natives seemed not unwilling to part with
them, I resolved to stay a day or two. With this view, I repaired on
board, and brought the ship to an anchor in thirty-two fathoms’ water;
the bottom a fine dark sand. Our station was about a mile from the
nearest shore, the south point of a small bay, in the bottom of which is
the sandy beach before mentioned, being east south-east distant one mile
and an half. The two rocky islots lying off the south point of the
island were just shut behind a point to the north of them; they bore S.
3/4 W. four miles distant, and the other extreme of the island bore N.
25° E. distant about six miles. But the best mark for this
anchoring-place is the beach; because it is the only one on this side
the island. In the afternoon we got on board a few casks of water, and
opened a trade with the natives for such things as they had to dispose
of. Some of the gentlemen also made an excursion into the country to see
what it produced, and returned again in the evening, with the loss only
of a hat, which one of the natives snatched off the head of one of the
party.
Early next morning, I sent Lieutenants Pickersgill and Edgcumbe with a
party of men, accompanied by several of the gentlemen, to examine the
country. As I was not sufficiently recovered from my late illness to
make one of the party, I was obliged to content myself with remaining at
the landing-place among the natives. We had at one time a pretty brisk
trade with them for potatoes, which we observed they dug up out of an
adjoining plantation; but this traffic, which was very advantageous to
us, was soon put a stop to by the owner (as we supposed) of the
plantation coming down, and driving all the people out of it. By this we
concluded, that he had been robbed of his property, and that they were
not less scrupulous of stealing from one another than from us, on whom
they practised every little fraud they could think on, and generally
with success; for we no sooner detected them in one, than they found out
another. About seven o’clock in the evening, the party I had sent into
the country returned, after having been over the greatest part of the
island.
They left the beach about nine o’clock in the morning, and took a path
which led across to the south-east side of the island, followed by a
great crowd of the natives, who pressed much upon them. But they had not
proceeded far, before a middle-aged man, punctured from head to foot,
and his face painted with a sort of white pigment, appeared with a spear
in his hand, and walked alongside of them, making signs to his
countrymen to keep at a distance, and not to molest our people. When he
had pretty well effected this, he hoisted a piece of white cloth on his
spear, placed himself in the front, and led the way with his ensign of
peace, as they understood it to be. For the greatest part of the
distance across the ground had but a barren appearance, being a dry hard
clay, and every where covered with stones; but, notwithstanding this,
there were several large tracks planted with potatoes, and some plantain
walks, but they saw no fruit on any of the trees. Towards the highest
part of the south end of the island, the soil, which was a fine red
earth, seemed much better, bore a longer grass, and was not covered with
stones as in the other parts; but here they saw neither house nor
plantation.
On the east side, near the sea, they met with three platforms of
stone-work, or rather the ruins of them. On each had stood four of those
large statues; but they were all fallen down from two of them, and also
one from the third; all except one were broken by the fall, or in some
measure defaced. Mr. Wales measured this one, and found it to be fifteen
feet in length, and six feet broad over the shoulders. Each statue had
on its head a large cylindric stone of a red colour, wrought perfectly
round. The one they measured, which was not by far the largest, was
fifty-two inches high, and sixty-six in diameter. In some, the upper
corner of the cylinder was taken off in a sort of concave quarter-round,
but in others the cylinder was entire.
From this place they followed the direction of the coast to the
north-east, the man with the flag still leading the way. For about three
miles they found the country very barren, and in some places stript of
the soil to the bare rock, which seemed to be a poor sort of iron ore.
Beyond this they came to the most fertile part of the island they saw,
it being interspersed with plantations of potatoes, sugar-canes and
plantain trees, and these not so much encumbered with stones as those
which they had seen before; but they could find no water except what the
natives twice or thrice brought them, which, though brackish and
stinking, was rendered acceptable by the extremity of their thirst. They
also passed some huts, the owners of which met them with roasted
potatoes and sugar-canes, and placing themselves ahead of the foremost
of the party, (for they marched in a line in order to have the benefit
of the path,) gave one to each man as he passed by. They observed the
same method in distributing the water which they brought; and were
particularly careful that the foremost did not drink too much, least
none should be left for the hindmost. But at the very time these were
relieving the thirsty and hungry, there were not wanting others who
endeavoured to steal from them the very things which had been given
them. At last, to prevent worse consequences, they were obliged to fire
a load of small shot at one who was so audacious as to snatch from one
of the men the bag which contained every thing they carried with them.
The shot hit him on the back; on which he dropped the bag, ran a little
way, and then fell; but he afterwards got up and walked; and what became
of him they knew not, nor whether he was much wounded. As this affair
occasioned some delay, and drew the natives together, they presently saw
the man who had hitherto led the way, and one or two more coming running
towards them; but instead of stopping when they came up, they continued
to run round them, repeating in a kind manner, a few words, until our
people set forwards again. Then their old guide hoisted his flag,
leading the way as before, and none ever attempted to steal from them
the whole day afterwards.
As they passed along, they observed on a hill a number of people
collected together, some of whom had spears in their hands; but, on
being called to by their countryman, they dispersed; except a few,
amongst whom was one seemingly of some note. He was a stout well-made
man, with a fine open countenance; his face was painted, his body
punctured, and he wore a better _Ha hou_, or cloth than the rest. He
saluted them as he came up, by stretching out his arms with both hands
clenched, lifting them over his head, opening them wide, and then
letting them fall gradually down to his sides. To this man, whom they
understood to be the chief of the island, their other friend gave his
white flag; and he gave it to another, who carried it before them the
remainder of the day.
Towards the eastern end of the island, they met with a well whose water
was perfectly fresh, being considerably above the level of the sea; but
it was dirty, owing to the filthiness or cleanliness (call it which you
will) of the natives, who never go to drink without washing themselves
all over as soon as they have done; and if ever so many of them are
together, the first leaps right into the middle of the hole, drinks, and
washes himself without the least ceremony; after which another takes his
place and does the same.
They observed that this side of the island was full of those gigantic
statues so often mentioned; some placed in groups on platforms of
masonry; others single, fixed only in the earth, and that not deep; and
these latter are in general much larger than the others. Having measured
one which had fallen down, they found it very near twenty-seven feet
long, and upwards of eight feet over the breast or shoulders; and yet
this appeared considerably short of the size of one they saw standing;
its shade, a little past two o’clock, being sufficient to shelter all
the party, consisting of near thirty persons, from the rays of the sun.
Here they stopped to dine; after which they repaired to a hill, from
whence they saw all the east and north shores of the isle, on which they
could not see either bay or creek fit even for a boat to land in; nor
the least signs of fresh water. What the natives brought them here was
real salt water; but they observed that some of them drank pretty
plentifully of it; so far will necessity and custom get the better of
nature! On this account, they were obliged to return to the
last-mentioned well; where, after having quenched their thirst, they
directed their route across the island towards the ship, as it was now
four o’clock.
In a small hollow on the highest part of the island, they met with
several such cylinders as are placed on the heads of the statues. Some
of these appeared larger than any they had seen before; but it was now
too late to stop to measure any of them. Mr. Wales, from whom I had this
information, is of opinion that there had been a quarry here, whence
these stones had formerly been dug; and that it would have been no
difficult matter to roll them down the hill after they were formed. I
think this a very reasonable conjecture; and have no doubt that it has
been so.
On the declivity of the mountain, towards the west, they met with
another well; but the water was a very strong mineral, had a thick green
scum on the top, and stunk intolerably. Necessity, however, obliged some
to drink of it; but it soon made them so sick, that they threw it up the
same way it went down.
In all this excursion, as well as the one made the preceding day, only
two or three shrubs were seen. The leaf and seed of one (called by the
natives _Torromedo_) were not much unlike those of the common vetch; but
the pod was more like that of a tamarind in its size and shape. The
seeds have a disagreeable bitter taste; and the natives, when they saw
our people chew them, made signs to spit them out; from whence it was
concluded that they think them poisonous. The wood is of a reddish
colour, and pretty hard and heavy; but very crooked, small, and short,
not exceeding six or seven feet in height. At the south-west corner of
the island, they found another small shrub, whose wood was white and
brittle, and in some measure, as also its leaf, resembling the ash. They
also saw in several places the Otaheitean cloth plant; but it was poor
and weak, and not above two and a half feet high at most.
They saw not an animal of any sort, and but very few birds; nor indeed
any thing which can induce ships that are not in the utmost distress, to
touch at this island.
This account of the excursion I had from Mr. Pickersgill and Mr. Wales,
men on whose veracity I could depend; and, therefore, I determined to
leave the island the next morning, since nothing was to be obtained that
could make it worth my while to stay longer; for the water which we had
sent on board, was not much better than if it had been taken up out of
the sea.
We had a calm till ten o’clock in the morning of the 16th, when a breeze
sprung up at west, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, which lasted
about an hour. The weather then clearing up, we got under sail, stood to
sea, and kept plying to and fro, while an officer was sent on shore with
two boats, to purchase such refreshments as the natives might have
brought down; for I judged this would be the case, as they knew nothing
of our sailing. The event proved that I was not mistaken; for the boats
made two trips before night; when we hoisted them in, and made sail to
the north-west with a light breeze at north north-east.
CHAP. VIII.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND, ITS PRODUCE, SITUATION, AND INHABITANTS;
THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.—CONJECTURES CONCERNING THEIR GOVERNMENT,
RELIGION, AND OTHER SUBJECTS; WITH A MORE PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE
GIGANTIC STATUES.
I shall now give some farther account of this island, which is
undoubtedly the same that Admiral Roggewin touched at in April 1722,
although the description given of it by the authors of that voyage does
by no means agree with it now. It may also be the same that was seen by
Captain Davis in 1686; for when seen from the east, it answers very well
to Wafer’s description, as I have before observed. In short, if this is
not the land, his discovery cannot lie far from the coast of America, as
this latitude has been well explored from the meridian of 80° to 110°.
Captain Carteret carried it much farther, but his track seems to have
been a little too far south. Had I found fresh water, I intended
spending some days looking for the low sandy isle Davis fell in with,
which would have determined the point; but as I did not find water, and
had a long run to make before I was assured of getting any, and being in
want of refreshments, I declined the search, as a small delay might have
been attended with bad consequences to the crew, many of them beginning
to be more or less affected with the scurvy.
No nation need contend for the honour of the discovery of this island,
as there can be few places which afford less convenience for shipping
than it does. Here is no safe anchorage, no wood for fuel, nor any fresh
water worth taking on board. Nature has been exceedingly sparing of her
favours to this spot. As every thing must be raised by dint of labour,
it cannot be supposed the inhabitants plant much more than is sufficient
for themselves; and as they are but few in number, they cannot have much
to spare to supply the wants of visitant strangers. The produce is sweet
potatoes, yams, taraoreddy-root, plantains, and sugar-canes, all pretty
good, the potatoes especially, which are the best of the kind I ever
tasted. Gourds they have also; but so very few, that a coca-nut shell
was the most valuable thing we could give them. They have a few tame
fowls, such as cocks and hens, small but well tasted. They have also
rats, which it seems they eat; for I saw a man with some dead ones in
his hand, and he seemed unwilling to part with them, giving me to
understand they were for food. Land birds there were hardly any, and sea
birds but few; these were, men-of-war, tropic, and egg-birds, nodies,
tern, &c. The coast seemed not to abound with fish; at least we could
catch none with hook and line, and it was but very little we saw amongst
the natives.
Such is the produce of Easter Island, or Davis’s Land, which is situated
in the latitude of 27° 5ʹ 30ʺ S., longitude 109° 46ʹ 20ʺ W. It is about
ten or twelve leagues in circuit, hath a hilly and stony surface, and an
iron-bound shore. The hills are of such an height as to be seen fifteen
or sixteen leagues. Off the south end, are two rocky islots lying near
the shore. The north and east points of the island rise directly from
the sea to a considerable height; between them, on the south-east side,
the shore forms an open bay, in which I believe the Dutch anchored. We
anchored, as hath been already mentioned, on the west side of the
island, three miles to the north of the south point, with the sandy
beach bearing east-south-east. This is a very good road with easterly
winds, but a dangerous one with westerly, as the other on the south-east
side must be with easterly winds.
For this and other bad accommodations already mentioned, nothing but
necessity will induce any one to touch at this isle, unless it can be
done without going much out of the way; in which case touching here may
be advantageous, as the people willingly and readily part with such
refreshments as they have, and at an easy rate. We certainly received
great benefit from the little we got; but few ships can come here
without being in want of water, and this want cannot be here supplied.
The little we took on board, could not be made use of; it being only
salt water which had filtrated through a stony beach into a stone well.
This the natives had made for the purpose, a little to the southward of
the sandy beach so often mentioned, and the water ebbed and flowed into
it with the tide.
The inhabitants of this island do not seem to exceed six or seven
hundred souls; and above two-thirds of those we saw were males. They
either have but few females among them, or else many were restrained
from making their appearance during our stay; for though we saw nothing
to induce us to believe the men were of a jealous disposition, or the
women afraid to appear in public, something of this kind was probably
the case.
In colour, features, and language, they bear such affinity to the people
of the more western isles, that no one will doubt that they have had the
same origin. It is extraordinary that the same nation should have spread
themselves over all the isles in this vast ocean, from New Zealand to
this island, which is almost one-fourth part of the circumference of the
globe. Many of them have now no other knowledge of each other than what
is preserved by antiquated tradition; and they have by length of time
become, as it were, different nations, each having adopted some peculiar
custom or habit, &c. Nevertheless, a careful observer will soon see the
affinity each has to the other.
In general, the people of this isle are a slender race. I did not see a
man that would measure six feet; so far are they from being giants, as
one of the authors of Roggewin’s voyage asserts. They are brisk and
active, have good features, and not disagreeable countenances; are
friendly and hospitable to strangers, but as much addicted to pilfering
as any of their neighbours.
_Tatooing_, or puncturing the skin, is much used here. The men are
marked from head to foot, with figures all nearly alike; only some give
them one direction, and some another, as fancy leads. The women are but
little punctured; red and white paint is an ornament with _them_, as
also with the men; the former is made of tamarick; but what composes the
latter I know not.
Their clothing is a piece or two of quilted cloth about six feet by
four, or a mat. One piece wrapped round their loins, and another over
their shoulders, make a complete dress. But the men, for the most part,
are in a manner naked, wearing nothing but a slip of cloth betwixt their
legs, each end of which is fastened to a cord or belt they wear round
the waist. Their cloth is made of the same materials as at Otaheite,
viz. of the bark of the cloth-plant; but as they have but little of it,
our Otaheitean cloth, or indeed any sort of it, came here to a good
market.
Their hair, in general, is black; the women wear it long, and sometimes
tied up on the crown of the head; but the men wear it and their beards
cropped short. Their head-dress is a round fillet adorned with feathers,
and a straw bonnet something like a Scotch one; the former, I believe,
being chiefly worn by the men, and the latter by the women. Both men and
women have very large holes, or rather slits, in their ears, extended to
near three inches in length. They sometimes turn this slit over the
upper part, and then the ear looks as if the flap was cut off. The chief
ear ornaments are the white down of feathers, and rings, which they wear
in the inside of the hole, made of some elastic substance, rolled up
like a watch-spring. I judged this was to keep the hole at its utmost
extension. I do not remember seeing them wear any other ornaments,
excepting amulets made of bone or shells.
As harmless and friendly as these people seem to be, they are not
without offensive weapons, such as short wooden clubs and spears; which
latter are crooked sticks about six feet long, armed at one end with
pieces of flint. They have also a weapon made of wood, like the _Patoo
patoo_ of New Zealand.
Their houses are low miserable huts, constructed by setting sticks
upright in the ground, at six or eight feet distance, then bending them
towards each other, and tying them together at the top, forming thereby
a kind of Gothic arch. The longest sticks are placed in the middle, and
shorter ones each way, and at less distance asunder; by which means the
building is highest and broadest in the middle, and lower and narrower
towards each end. To these are tied others horizontally, and the whole
is thatched over with leaves of sugar-cane. The door-way is in the
middle of one side, formed like a porch, and so low and narrow as just
to admit a man to enter upon all fours. The largest house I saw was
about sixty feet long, eight or nine feet high in the middle, and three
or four at each end; its breadth at these parts was nearly equal to its
height. Some have a kind of vaulted houses built with stone, and partly
under ground; but I never was in one of these.
I saw no household utensils amongst them except gourds, and of these but
very few. They were extravagantly fond of cocoa-nut shells; more so than
of any thing we could give them. They dress their victuals in the same
manner as at Otaheite; that is, with hot stones in an oven or hole in
the ground. The straw or tops of sugar-cane, plantain heads, &c. serve
them for fuel to heat the stones. Plantains, which require but little
dressing, they roast under fires of straw, dried grass, &c., and whole
races of them are ripened or roasted in this manner. We frequently saw
ten or a dozen, or more, such fires in one place, and most commonly in
the mornings and evenings.
Not more than three or four canoes were seen on the whole island; and
these very mean, and built of many pieces sewed together with small
line. They are about eighteen or twenty feet long, head and stern carved
or raised a little, are very narrow, and fitted with out-riggers. They
do not seem capable of carrying above four persons, and are by no means
fit for any distant navigation. As small and as mean as these canoes
were, it was a matter of wonder to us, where they got the wood to build
them with; for in one of them was a board six or eight feet long,
fourteen inches broad at one end, and eight at the other; whereas we did
not see a stick on the island which would have made a board half this
size; nor, indeed, was there another piece in the whole canoe half so
big.
There are two ways by which it is possible they may have got this large
wood; it might have been left here by the Spaniards; or it might have
been driven on the shore of the island from some distant land. It is
even possible that there may be some land in the neighbourhood, from
whence they might have got it. We, however, saw no signs of any; nor
could we get the least information on this head from the natives,
although we tried every method we could think of to obtain it. We were
almost as unfortunate in our inquiries for the proper or native name of
the island. For, on comparing notes, I found we had got three different
names for it, viz. Tamareki, Whyhu, and Teapy. Without pretending to say
which, or whether any of them, is right, I shall only observe, that the
last was obtained by Oedidee, who understood their language much better
than any of us; though even he understood it but very imperfectly.
It appears by the account of Roggewin’s voyage, that these people had no
better vessels than when he first visited them. The want of materials,
and not of genius, seems to be the reason why they have made no
improvement in this art. Some pieces of carving were found amongst them,
both well designed and executed. Their plantations are prettily laid out
by line, but not inclosed by any fence; indeed, they have nothing for
this purpose but stones.
I have no doubt that all these plantations are private property, and
that there are here, as at Otaheite, chiefs (which they call _Areekes_)
to whom these plantations belong. But of the power or authority of these
chiefs, or of the government of these people, I confess myself quite
ignorant.
Nor are we better acquainted with their religion. The gigantic statues
so often mentioned, are not, in my opinion, looked upon as idols by the
present inhabitants, whatever they might have been in the days of the
Dutch; at least, I saw nothing that could induce me to think so. On the
contrary, I rather suppose that they are burying-places for certain
tribes or families. I, as well as some others, saw a human skeleton
lying in one of the platforms, just covered with stones. Some of these
platforms of masonry, are thirty or forty feet long, twelve or sixteen
broad, and from three to twelve in height; which last in some measure
depends on the nature of the ground. For they are generally at the brink
of the bank facing the sea, so that this face may be ten or twelve feet
or more high, and the other may not be above three or four. They are
built, or rather faced, with hewn stones of a very large size; and the
workmanship is not inferior to the best plain piece of masonry we have
in England. They use no sort of cement; yet the joints are exceedingly
close, and the stones morticed and tenanted one into another, in a very
artful manner. The side walls are not perpendicular, but inclining a
little inwards, in the same manner that breast-works, &c., are built in
Europe: yet had not all this care, pains, and sagacity been able to
preserve these curious structures from the ravages of all-devouring
time.
The statues, or at least many of them, are erected on these platforms
which serve as foundations. They are, as near as we could judge, about
half length, ending in a sort of stump at the bottom, on which they
stand. The workmanship is rude, but not bad; nor are the features of the
face ill formed, the nose and chin in particular; but the ears are long
beyond proportion; and, as to the bodies, there is hardly any thing like
a human figure about them.
I had an opportunity of examining only two or three of these statues,
which are near the landing-place; and they were of a grey stone,
seemingly of the same sort as that with which the platforms were built.
But some of the gentlemen who travelled over the island, and examined
many of them, were of opinion that the stone of which they were made was
different from any other they saw on the island, and had much the
appearance of being factitious. We could hardly conceive how these
islanders, wholly unacquainted with any mechanical power, could raise
such stupendous figures, and afterwards place the large cylindric
stones, before mentioned, upon their heads. The only method I can
conceive, is by raising the upper end by little and little, supporting
it by stones as it is raised, and building about it till they got it
erect; thus a sort of mount, or scaffolding, would be made, upon which
they might roll the cylinder, and place it upon the head of the statue,
and then the stones might be removed from about it. But if the stones
are factitious, the statues might have been put together on the place in
their present position, and the cylinder put on by building a mount
round them as above-mentioned. But, let them have been made and set up,
by this or any other method, they must have been a work of immense time,
and sufficiently show the ingenuity and perseverance of the islanders in
the age in which they were built; for the present inhabitants have most
certainly had no hand in them, as they do not even repair the
foundations of those which are going to decay. They give different names
to them, such as Gotomoara, Marapate, Kanaro, Gowaytoo-goo, Matta Matta,
&c. &c. to which they sometimes prefix the word Moi, and sometimes annex
Areekee. The latter signifies chief, and the former, burying, or
sleeping-place, as well as we could understand.
Besides the monuments of antiquity, which were pretty numerous, and no
where but on or near the sea-coast, there were many little heaps of
stones, piled up in different places, along the coast. Two or three of
the uppermost stones in each pile were generally white; perhaps always
so, when the pile is complete. It will hardly be doubted that these
piles of stone had a meaning. Probably they might mark the place where
people had been buried, and serve instead of the large statues.
The working-tools of these people are but very mean, and, like those of
all the other islanders, we have visited in this ocean, made of stone,
bone, shells, &c. They set but little value on iron or iron tools, which
is the more extraordinary as they know their use; but the reason may be
their having but little occasion for them.
CHAP. IX.
THE PASSAGE FROM EASTER ISLAND TO THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS.—TRANSACTIONS
AND INCIDENTS WHICH HAPPENED WHILE THE SHIP LAY IN MADRE DE DIOS, OR
RESOLUTION BAY, IN THE ISLAND OF ST. CHRISTINA.
After leaving Easter Island, I steered north-west by north, and
north-north-west, with a fine easterly gale, intending to touch at the
Marquesas, if I met with nothing before I got there. We had not been
long at sea, before the bilious disorder made another attack upon me,
but not so violent as the former. I believe this second visit was owing
to my exposing and fatiguing myself too much at Easter Island.
On the 22d, being in the latitude of 19° 20ʹ S., longitude 114° 49ʹ W.,
steered north-west. Since leaving Easter Island, the variation had not
been more than 3° 4ʹ, nor less than 2° 32ʹ E.; but on the 26th, in
latitude 15° 7ʹ S., longitude 119° 45ʹ W., it was no more than 1° 1ʹ E.,
after which it began to increase.
On the 29th, being in latitude 10° 20ʹ, longitude 123° 58ʹ W., altered
the course to west north-west, and the next day to west, being then in
latitude 9° 24ʹ, which I judged to be the parallel of the Marquesas;
where, as I have before observed, I intended to touch in order to settle
their situation, which I find different in different charts. Having now
a steady settled trade-wind, and pleasant weather, I ordered the forge
to be set up, to repair and make various necessary articles in the iron
way, and the calkers had already been some time at work calking the
decks, weather-works, &c.
As we advanced to the west, we found the variation to increase but
slowly; for, on the 3d of April, it was only 4° 40ʹ E., being then in
the latitude 9° 32ʹ, longitude 132° 45ʹ, by observation made at the same
time.
I continued to steer to the west till the 6th, at four in the afternoon,
at which time, being in the latitude of 9° 20ʹ, longitude 138° 14ʹ W.,
we discovered an island, bearing west by south, distant about nine
leagues. Two hours after we saw another bearing south-west by south,
which appeared more extensive than the former. I hauled up for this
island, and ran under an easy sail all night, having squally unsettled
rainy weather, which is not very uncommon in this sea when near high
land. At six o’clock the next morning, the first island bore north-west,
the second south-west 1/2 west, and a third west. I gave orders to steer
for the separation between the two last, and soon after a fourth was
seen, still more to the west. By this time we were well assured that
these were the Marquesas, discovered by Mendana in 1595. The first isle
was a new discovery, which I named Hood’s Island, after the young
gentleman who first saw it; the second was that of Saint Pedro; the
third La Dominica; and the fourth St. Christina. We ranged the
south-east coast of La Dominica without seeing the least signs of
anchorage, till we came to the channel that divides it from St.
Christina, through which we passed, hauled over for the last-mentioned
island, and ran along the coast to the south-west in search of Mendana’s
Port. We passed several coves in which there seemed to be anchorage; but
a great surf broke on all the shores. Some canoes put off from these
places, and followed us down the coast.
[Illustration: _Resolution Bay in the Marquesas._]
At length, having come before the port we were in search of, we
attempted to turn into it, the wind being right out; but as it blew in
violent squalls from this high land, one of these took us just after we
had put in stays, payed the ship off again, and before she wore round,
she was within a few yards of being driven against the rocks to leeward.
This obliged us to stand out to sea, and to make a stretch to windward;
after which we stood in again, and, without attempting to turn, anchored
in the entrance of the bay in thirty-four fathoms’ water, a fine sandy
bottom. This was no sooner done, than about thirty or forty of the
natives came off to us in ten or twelve canoes; but it required some
address to get them alongside. At last, a hatchet and some spike-nails
induced the people in one canoe to come under the quarter-gallery; after
which all the others put along-side, and having exchanged some
bread-fruit, and fish, for small nails, &c. retired ashore, the sun
being already set. We observed a heap of stones in the bow of each
canoe, and every man to have a sling tied round his hand.
Very early next morning, the natives visited us again in much greater
numbers than before; bringing with them bread-fruit, plantains, and one
pig, all of which they exchanged for nails, &c. But, in this traffic,
they would frequently keep our goods and make no return; till at last I
was obliged to fire a musket-ball over one man who had several times
served us in this manner; after which they dealt more fairly, and soon
after several of them came on board. At this time, we were preparing to
warp farther into the bay; and I was going in a boat, to look for the
most convenient place to moor the ship in. Observing too many of the
natives on board, I said to the officers, “You must look well after
these people, or they will certainly carry off something or other.” I
had hardly got into the boat, before I was told they had stolen one of
the iron stanchions from the opposite gang-way, and were making off with
it. I ordered them to fire over the canoe till I could get round in the
boat, but not to kill any one. But the natives made too much noise for
me to be heard; and the unhappy thief was killed at the third shot. Two
others in the same canoe leaped overboard; but got in again just as I
came to them. The stanchion they had thrown overboard. One of them, a
man grown, sat bailing the blood and water out of the canoe, in a kind
of hysteric laugh. The other, a youth about fourteen or fifteen years of
age, looked on the deceased with a serious and dejected countenance: we
had afterwards reason to believe he was his son.
At this unhappy accident, all the natives retired with precipitation. I
followed them into the bay, and prevailed upon the people in one canoe
to come along-side the boat, and receive some nails, and other things,
which I gave them. This, in some measure, allayed their fears. Having
taken a view of the bay, and found that fresh water, which we most
wanted, was to be had, I returned on board, and carried out a
kedge-anchor with three hawsers upon an end, to warp the ship in by, and
hove short on the bower. One would have thought, that the natives, by
this time, would have been so sensible of the effect of our fire-arms,
as not to have provoked us to fire upon them any more; but the event
proved otherwise. For the boat had no sooner left the kedge-anchor, than
two men in a canoe put off from the shore, took hold of the buoy-rope,
and attempted to drag it ashore, little considering what was fast to it.
Lest, after discovering their mistake, they should take away the buoy, I
ordered a musket to be fired at them. The ball fell short, and they took
not the least notice of it; but a second having passed over them, they
let go the buoy, and made for the shore. This was the last shot we had
occasion to fire at any of them while we lay at this place. It probably
had more effect than killing the man, by showing them that they were not
safe at any distance; at least we had reason to think so, for they
afterwards stood in great dread of the musket. Nevertheless, they would
very often be exercising their talent of thieving upon us, which I
thought proper to put up with, as our stay was not likely to be long
amongst them. The trouble these people gave us retarded us so long,
that, before we were ready to heave the anchor, the wind began to
increase, and blew in squalls out of the bay; so that we were obliged to
lie fast. It was not long before the natives ventured off to us again.
In the first canoe which came, was a man who seemed to be of some
consequence. He advanced slowly, with a pig on his shoulder, and
speaking something which we did not understand. As soon as he got
alongside, I made him a present of a hatchet; and several other
articles. In return he sent in his pig; and was, at last, prevailed upon
to come himself up into the gang-way, where he made but a short stay,
before he went away. The reception this man met with, induced the people
in all the other canoes to put alongside; and exchanges were presently
re-established.
Matters being thus settled on board, I went on shore with a party of
men, to see what was to be done there. We were received by the natives
with great courtesy; and, as if nothing had happened, trafficked with
them for some fruit and a few small pigs; and, after loading the launch
with water, returned aboard. After dinner I sent the boats, under the
protection of a guard, ashore for water. On their landing, the natives
all fled but one man, and he seemed much frightened; afterwards one or
two more came down; and these were all that were seen this afternoon. We
could not conceive the reason of this sudden fright.
Early in the morning of the 9th, the boats were sent as usual for water;
and, just as they were coming off, but not before, some of the natives
made their appearance. After breakfast, I landed some little time before
the guard, when the natives crowded round me in great numbers; but as
soon as the guard landed, I had enough to do to keep them from running
off. At length their fears vanished, and a trade was opened for fruit
and pigs. I believe the reason of the natives flying from our people the
day before, was their not seeing me at the head of them; for they
certainly would have done the same to-day had I not been present. About
noon, a chief of some consequence, attended by a great number of people,
came down to the landing-place. I presented him with such articles as I
had with me; and, in return, he gave me some of his ornaments. After
these mutual exchanges, a good understanding seemed to be established
between us; so that we got by exchanges as much fruit as loaded two
boats, with which we returned on board to dinner; but could not prevail
on the chief to accompany us.
In the afternoon, the watering and trading parties were sent on shore;
though the latter got but little, as most of the natives had retired
into the country. A party of us went to the other, or southern cove of
the bay, where I procured five pigs, and came to the house, which, we
were told, did belong to the man we had killed. He must have been a
person of some note, as there were six pigs in and about his house,
which, we were told, belonged to his son, who fled on our approach. I
wanted much to have seen him, to make him a present, and by other kind
treatment to convince him and the others, that it was not from any bad
design against the nation, that we had killed his father. It would have
been to little purpose, if I had left any thing in the house, as it
certainly would have been taken by others; especially as I could not
sufficiently explain to them my meaning. Strict honesty was seldom
observed when the property of our things came to be disputed. I saw a
striking instance of this in the morning, when I was going ashore. A man
in a canoe offered me a small pig for a six-inch spike, and another man
being employed to convey it, I gave him the spike, which he kept for
himself, and, instead of it, gave to the man who owned the pig a
sixpenny nail. Words of course arose, and I waited to see how it would
end; but as the man who had possession of the spike seemed resolved to
keep it, I left them before it was decided. In the evening, we returned
on board with what refreshments we had collected, and thought we had
made a good day’s work.
On the 10th, early in the morning, some people from more distant parts
came in canoes along side, and sold us some pigs; so that we had now
sufficient to give the crew a fresh meal. They were in general so small
that forty or fifty were hardly sufficient for this purpose. The trade
on shore for fruit was as brisk as ever. After dinner I made a little
expedition in my boat along the coast to the southward, accompanied by
some of the gentlemen; at the different places we touched at, we
collected eighteen pigs; and, I believe, might have gotten more. The
people were exceedingly obliging wherever we landed, and readily brought
down whatever we desired.
Next morning I went down to the same place where we had been the
preceding evening; but, instead of getting pigs as I expected, found the
scene quite changed. The nails and other things they were mad after but
the evening before they now despised; and instead of them wanted they
did not know what; so that I was obliged to return with three or four
little pigs, which cost more than a dozen did the day before. When I got
on board I found the same change had happened there, as also at the
trading place on shore. The reason was, several of the young gentlemen
having landed the preceding day, had given away in exchange various
articles which the people had not seen before, and which took with them
more than nails or more useful iron tools. But what ruined our market
the most was, one of them giving for a pig a very large quantity of red
feathers he had got at Amsterdam. None of us knew, at this time, that
this article was in such estimation here; and if I had known it, I could
not have supported the trade, in the manner it was begun, one day. Thus
was our fine prospect of getting a plentiful supply of refreshments from
these people frustrated; which will ever be the case so long as every
one is allowed to make exchanges for what he pleases; and in what manner
he pleases. When I found this island was not likely to supply us, on any
conditions, with sufficient refreshments, such as we might expect to
find at the Society Isles, nor very convenient for taking in wood and
water, nor for giving the ship the necessary repairs she wanted, I
resolved forthwith to leave it, and proceed to some other place where
our wants might be effectually relieved. For, after having been nineteen
weeks at sea, and living all the time upon salt diet, we could not but
want some refreshments; although I must own, and that with pleasure,
that on our arrival here, it could hardly be said we had one sick man;
and but a few who had the least complaint. This was undoubtedly owing to
the many antiscorbutic articles we had on board, and to the great
attention of the surgeon, who was remarkably careful to apply them in
time.
CHAP. X.
DEPARTURE FROM THE MARQUESAS.—A DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION, EXTENT,
FIGURE, AND APPEARANCE OF THE SEVERAL ISLANDS; WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE
INHABITANTS, THEIR CUSTOMS, DRESS, HABITATIONS, FOOD, WEAPONS, AND
CANOES.
At three o’clock in the afternoon we weighed, and stood over from St.
Christina for La Dominica, in order to take a view of the west side of
that isle; but, as it was dark before we reached it, the night was spent
in plying between the two isles. The next morning we had a full view of
the south-west point, from which the coast trended north-east, so that
it was not probable we should find good anchorage on that side, as being
exposed to the easterly winds. We had now but little wind, and that very
variable, with showers of rain. At length we got a breeze at east
north-east, with which we steered to the south. At five o’clock in the
afternoon, Resolution Bay bore E. N. E. 1/2 E. distant five leagues, and
the island Magdalena south-east about nine leagues, distant. This was
the only sight we had of this isle. From hence I steered S. S. W. 1/2 W.
for Otaheite, with a view of falling in with some of those isles
discovered by former navigators, especially those discovered by the
Dutch, whose situations are not well determined.
But it will be necessary to return to the Marquesas; which were, as I
have already observed, first discovered by Mendana, a Spaniard, and from
him obtained the general name they now bear, as well as those of the
different isles. The nautical account of them, in Mr. Dalrymple’s
Collection of Voyages to the South Seas[5], is deficient in nothing but
situation. This was my chief reason for touching at them: the settling
this point is the more useful, as it will, in a great measure, fix the
situations of Mendana’s other discoveries.
The Marquesas are five in number, viz. La Magdalena, St. Pedro, La
Dominica, Santa Christina, and Hood’s island, which is the northernmost,
situated in latitude 9° 26ʹ S., and N. 13° W., five leagues and a half
distant, from the east point of La Dominica, which is the largest of all
the isles, extending east and west six leagues. It hath an unequal
breadth, and is about fifteen or sixteen leagues in circuit. It is full
of rugged hills rising in ridges directly from the sea; these ridges are
disjoined by deep valleys, which are clothed with wood, as are the sides
of some of the hills; the aspect is, however, barren; but it is,
nevertheless, inhabited, latitude 9° 44ʹ 30ʺ S. St. Pedro, which is
about three leagues in circuit, and of a good height, lies south, four
leagues and an half from the east end of La Dominica: we know not if it
be inhabited. Nature has not been very bountiful to it. St. Christina
lies under the same parallel, three or four leagues more to the west.
This island stretches north and south, is nine miles long in that
direction, and about seven leagues in circuit. A narrow ridge of hills
of considerable height extends the whole length of the island. There are
other ridges, which, rising from the sea, and, with an equal ascent,
join the main ridge. These are disjoined by deep narrow valleys, which
are fertile, adorned with fruit and other trees, and watered by fine
streams of excellent water. La Magdalena, we only saw at a distance. Its
situation must be nearly in the latitude of 10° 25ʹ, longitude 138° 50ʹ.
So that these isles occupy one degree in latitude, and near half a
degree in longitude, viz. from 138° 47ʹ to 139° 13ʹ W. which is the
longitude of the west end of La Dominica.
The port of Madre de Dios, which I named Resolution Bay, is situated
near the middle of the west side of St. Christina, and under the highest
land in the island, in latitude 9° 55ʹ 30ʺ, longitude 139° 8ʹ 40ʺ W.;
and N. 15ʹ W. from the west end of La Dominica. The south point of the
bay is a steep rock of considerable height, terminating at the top in a
peaked hill, above which you will see a path-way leading up a narrow
ridge to the summits of the hills. The north point is not so high, and
rises with a more gentle slope. They are a mile from each other, in the
direction of north by east, and south by west. In the bay, which is near
three-quarters of a mile deep, and has from thirty-four to twelve
fathoms’ water, with a clean sandy bottom, are two sandy coves, divided
from each other by a rocky point. In each is a rivulet of excellent
water. The northern cove is the most commodious for wooding and
watering. Here is the little waterfall mentioned by Quiros, Mendana’s
pilot; but the town or village is in the other cove. There are several
other coves or bays on this side of the island, and some of them,
especially to the northward, may be mistaken for this; therefore, the
best direction is the bearing of the west end of La Dominica.
The trees, plants, and other productions of these isles, so far as we
know, are nearly the same as at Otaheite and the Society Isles. The
refreshments to be got are hogs, fowls, plantains, yams, and some other
roots; likewise bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts, but of these not many. At
first these articles were purchased with nails. Beads, looking-glasses,
and such trifles, which are so highly valued at the Society Isles, are
in no esteem here; and even nails at last lost their value for other
articles far less useful.
The inhabitants of these islands, collectively, are, without exception,
the finest race of people in this sea. For fine shape and regular
features, they perhaps surpass all other nations. Nevertheless, the
affinity of their language to that spoken in Otaheite and the Society
Isles, shows that they are of the same nation. Oedidee could converse
with them tolerably well, though _we_ could not; but it was easy to see
that their language was nearly the same.
The men are punctured, or curiously _tattooed_ from head to foot. The
figures are various, and seem to be directed more by fancy than custom.
These punctuations make them look dark; but the women, who are but
little punctured, youths, and young children who are not at all, are as
fair as some Europeans. The men are in general tall; that is, about five
feet ten inches or six feet; but I saw none that were fat and lusty like
the _Earees_ of Otaheite; nor did I see any that could be called meagre.
Their teeth are not so good, nor are their eyes so full and lively as
those of many other nations. Their hair, like ours, is of many colours,
except red, of which I saw none. Some have it long; but the most general
custom is to wear it short, except a bunch on each side of the crown,
which they tie in a knot. They observe different modes in trimming the
beard, which is in general long. Some part it, and tie it in two bunches
under the chin; others plat it; some wear it loose, and others quite
short.
Their clothing is the same as at Otaheite, and made of the same
materials; but they have it not in such plenty, nor is it so good. The
men, for the most part, have nothing to cover their nakedness, except
the _Marra_, as it is called at Otaheite, which is a slip of cloth
passed round the waist and betwixt the legs. This simple dress is quite
sufficient for the climate, and answers every purpose modesty requires.
The dress of the women is a piece of cloth, wrapped round the loins like
a petticoat, which reaches down below the middle of the leg, and a loose
mantle over their shoulders. Their principal head-dress, and what
appears to be their chief ornament, is a sort of broad fillet, curiously
made of the fibres of the husk of cocoa-nuts. In the front is fixed a
mother-of-pearl shell wrought round to the size of a tea-saucer. Before
that another, smaller, of very fine tortoise-shell, perforated into
curious figures. Also before, and in the centre of that, is another
round piece of mother-of-pearl, about the size of half-a-crown; and
before this another piece of perforated tortoise-shell, the size of a
shilling. Besides this decoration in front, some have it also on each
side, but in smaller pieces; and all have fixed to them the
tail-feathers of cocks or tropic-birds, which, when the fillet is tied
on, stand upright; so that the whole together makes a very sightly
ornament. They wear round the neck a kind of ruff or necklace, call it
which you please, made of light wood, the out and upper side covered
with small red peas, which are fixed on with gum. They also wear small
bunches of human hair, fastened to a string, and tied round the legs and
arms. Sometimes, instead of hair, they make use of short feathers; but
all the above-mentioned ornaments are seldom seen on the same person.
I saw only the chief, who came to visit us, completely dressed in this
manner. Their ordinary ornaments are necklaces and amulets made of
shells, &c. I did not see any with ear-rings, and yet all of them had
their ears pierced.
Their dwellings are in the valleys, and on the sides of the hills, near
their plantations. They are built after the same manner as at Otaheite;
but are much meaner, and only covered with the leaves of the bread-tree.
The most of them are built on a square or oblong pavement of stone,
raised some height above the level of the ground. They likewise have
such pavements near their houses, on which they sit to eat and amuse
themselves.
In the article of eating, these people are by no means so cleanly as the
Otaheiteans. They are likewise dirty in their cookery. Pork and fowls
are dressed in an oven of hot stones as at Otaheite; but fruit and roots
they roast on the fire, and, after taking off the rind or skin, put them
into a platter or trough with water, out of which I have seen both men
and hogs eat at the same time. I once saw them make a batter of fruit
and roots diluted with water, in a vessel that was loaded with dirt, and
out of which the hogs had been but that moment eating, without giving it
the least washing, or even washing their hands, which were equally
dirty; and when I expressed a dislike, was laughed at. I know not if all
are so. The actions of a few individuals are not sufficient to fix a
custom on a whole nation. Nor can I say if it is the custom for men and
women to have separate messes. I saw nothing to the contrary; indeed I
saw but few women upon the whole.
They seemed to have dwellings, or strong-holds, on the summits of the
highest hills. These we only saw by the help of our glasses; for I did
not permit any of our people to go there, as we were not sufficiently
acquainted with the disposition of the natives, which I believe is
humane and pacific.
Their weapons are clubs and spears, resembling those of Otaheite, but
somewhat neater. They have also slings, with which they throw stones
with great velocity, and to a great distance, but not with a good aim.
Their canoes are made of wood and pieces of the bark of a soft tree,
which grows near the sea in great plenty, and is very tough and proper
for the purpose. They are from sixteen to twenty feet long, and about
fifteen inches broad; the head and stern are made of two solid pieces of
wood; the stern rises or curves a little, but in an irregular direction,
and ends in a point; the head projects out horizontally, and is carved
into some faint and very rude resemblance of a human face. They are
rowed by paddles, and some have a sort of latteen sail made of matting.
Hogs were the only quadrupeds we saw; and cocks and hens the only tame
fowls. However, the woods seemed to abound with small birds of a very
beautiful plumage, and fine notes; but the fear of alarming the natives
hindered us from shooting so many of them as might otherwise have been
done.
CHAP. XI.
A DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL ISLANDS DISCOVERED OR SEEN IN THE PASSAGE FROM
THE MARQUESAS TO OTAHEITE, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF A NAVAL REVIEW.
With a fine easterly wind I steered south-west; south-west by west, and
west by south till the 17th, at ten o’clock in the morning, when land
was seen bearing W. 1/2 N., which, upon a nearer approach, we found to
be a string of low islots connected together by a reef of coral rocks.
We ranged the north-west coast, at the distance of one mile from shore,
to three-quarters of its length, which in the whole is near four
leagues, when we came to a creek or inlet that seemed to open a
communication into the lake in the middle of the isle. As I wanted to
obtain some knowledge of the produce of these half-drowned isles, we
brought to, hoisted out a boat, and sent the master in to sound, there
being no soundings without.
As we ran along the coast, the natives appeared in several places armed
with long spears and clubs; and some were got together on one side of
the creek. When the master returned, he reported that there was no
passage into the lake by the creek, which was fifty fathoms wide at the
entrance, and thirty deep; farther in, thirty wide and twelve deep; that
the bottom was every where rocky, and the sides bounded by a wall of
coral rocks. We were under no necessity to put the ship into such a
place as this; but as the natives had shown some signs of a friendly
disposition, by coming peaceably to the boat, and taking such things as
were given them, I sent two boats well armed ashore, under the command
of Lieutenant Cooper, with a view of having some intercourse with them,
and to give Mr. Forster an opportunity of collecting something in his
way. We saw our people land without the least opposition being made by a
few natives who were on the shores. Some little time after, observing
forty or fifty more, all armed, coming to join them, we stood close in
shore in order to be ready to support our people in case of an attack.
But nothing of this kind happened; and soon after our boats returned
aboard, when Mr. Cooper informed me that, on his landing, only a few of
the natives met him on the beach, but there were many in the skirts of
the woods with spears in their hands. The presents he made them were
received with great coolness, which plainly showed we were unwelcome
visitors. When their reinforcement arrived, he thought proper to embark,
as the day was already far spent, and I had given orders to avoid an
attack by all possible means. When his men got into the boats, some were
for pushing them off, others for detaining them; but, at last, they
suffered them to depart at their leisure. They brought on board five
dogs, which seemed to be in plenty there. They saw no fruit but
cocoa-nuts, of which they got, by exchanges, two dozen. One of our
people got a dog for a single plantain, which led us to conjecture they
had none of this fruit.
This island, which is called by the inhabitants Tiookea, was discovered
and visited by Commodore Byron. It has something of an oval shape, is
about ten leagues in circuit, lying in the direction of east south-east,
and west north-west, and situated in the latitude of 14° 27ʹ 30ʺ S.,
longitude 144° 56ʹ W. The inhabitants of this island, and perhaps of all
the low ones, are of a much darker colour than those of the higher
islands, and seem to be of a more ferine disposition. This may be owing
to their situation. Nature not having bestowed her favours to these low
islands with that profusion she has done to some of the others, the
inhabitants are chiefly beholden to the sea for their subsistence;
consequently, are much exposed to the sun and weather, and by that means
become more dark in colour, and more hardy and robust; for there is no
doubt of their being of the same nation. Our people observed that they
were stout, well made men, and had marked on their bodies the figure of
a fish; a very good emblem of their profession.
On the 18th, at day-break, after having spent the night making short
boards, we wore down to another isle we had in sight to the westward,
which we reached by eight o’clock, and ranged the south-east side at one
mile from shore. We found it to be just such another as that we had
left, extending north-east and south-west near four leagues, and from
five to three miles broad. It lies south-west by west, two leagues
distant from the west end of Tiookea, and the middle is situated in the
latitude of 14° 37ʹ S., longitude 145° 10ʹ W. These must be the same
islands to which Commodore Byron gave the name of George’s Islands.
Their situation in longitude, which was determined by lunar observations
made near the shores, and still farther correct by the difference of
longitude carried on by the watch to Otaheite, is 3° 54ʹ more east than
he says they lie. This correction, I apprehend, may be applied to all
the islands he discovered.
After leaving these isles, we steered south-south-west, half west, and
south-west by south, with a fine easterly gale, having signs of the
vicinity of land, particularly a smooth sea; and, on the 19th, at seven
in the morning, land was seen to the westward, which we bore down to,
and reached the south-east end by nine o’clock. It proved to be another
of these half-overflowed or drowned islands, which are so common to this
part of the ocean; that is, a number of little isles ranged in a
circular form, connected together by a reef or wall of coral rock. The
sea is, in general, every where on their outside, unfathomable; all
their interior parts are covered with water, abounding, I have been
told, with fish and turtle, on which the inhabitants subsist, and
sometimes exchange the latter with the high islanders for cloth, &c.
These inland seas would be excellent harbours, were they not shut up
from the access of shipping, which is the case with most of them, if we
can believe the report of the inhabitants of the other isles. Indeed few
of them have been well searched by Europeans; the little prospect of
meeting with fresh water having generally discouraged every attempt of
this kind. I, who have seen a great many, have not yet seen an inlet
into one.