perhaps some of the actors in the atrocious deed might even themselves
be amongst the crowd which now assembled around us. This wild troop
appeared timid at first, but our orator having encouraged them, they
became so impudent and daring, that they seemed disposed to storm the
ship. I ranged my sailors fully armed round the deck, to keep off such
disagreeable visitants, but with strict orders to avoid hurting them. It
was, however, only the bayonets and lances which prevented the multitude
from climbing into the ship; and some of the most daring, by patiently
enduring heavy and repeated blows, even succeeded in reaching the deck;
they grasped with both hands any object they could cling to, so
pertinaceously, that it required the united efforts of several of our
strongest sailors to throw them overboard. Except a few cocoa-nuts, they
brought us no kind of provisions, but by pantomimic gestures invited us
to land; endeavouring to signify that we should be richly provided on
shore with every thing we wanted. The savages had probably destined for
us the fate of De Langle and his companions; they appeared unarmed, but
had artfully concealed clubs and short lances in their canoes.
A very few of them, whom we permitted to remain on deck, behaved as
impudently as if they had been masters of the ship; they snatched from
my hands some little presents I was about to distribute among them,
exhibiting them to their companions in the canoes below. This excited
amongst the latter a terrific rage, and, with noise and gestures
resembling madness, they endeavoured to frighten us into compliance with
their desire to come on board. Only one among them received the presents
we made him, with any appearance of modesty or thankfulness; the others
seemed to consider them as a tribute due to them. This more decorous
personage bowed towards me in almost an European fashion, pressed the
articles given him several times to his forehead, and then, turning to
me, rubbed the point of his nose pretty roughly against mine. This young
savage was probably a person of rank, who had received a particularly
good education; he was of a cheerful temper, examined every thing very
closely, and made many remarks to those in the canoes, which were
apparently considered extremely witty, for he was always answered by
bursts of laughter. The rest of his countrymen who remained on board,
became very troublesome; like the beasts of the deserts, scarcely more
wild than themselves, they tried to seize by main force whatever we
would not willingly give them. One of them was so tempted by the
accidental display of a sailor's bare arm, that he could not help
expressing his horrible appetite for human flesh;--he snapt at it with
his teeth, giving us to understand by unequivocal signs, that such food
would be very palatable to him. This proof that we were in communication
with cannibals, needed not the picture presently conjured up by our
imagination, of the detestable meal which the unfortunate Frenchmen had
doubtlessly afforded to their murderers, to complete our disgust and
aversion, and to accelerate the expulsion of the remaining savages from
our vessel.
The inhabitants of many of the South Sea islands are still cannibals,
and most of them, even where this abominable propensity does not
prevail, are of so artful and treacherous a character, that none should
venture among them without the greatest precaution. Their friendliness
arises from fear, and soon vanishes when they think themselves the
strongest, and are not exposed to vengeance. I would not even advise
placing too much confidence in the inhabitants of Radack, who are
certainly among the best of these islanders. It is only when ideas of
right and wrong are steadily fixed, that man becomes really rational;
before this, he is like other animals, the mere slave of his instincts.
The inhabitants of Maouna are probably the worst of these tribes; those
we saw were at least five feet and a half in height, slender, their
limbs of a moderate size, and strikingly muscular; I should have thought
their faces handsome, had they not been disfigured by an expression of
wildness and cruelty; their colour is dark brown; some let their long,
straight, black hair hang down unornamented over neck, face, and
shoulders; others wore it bound up, or frizzed and crisped by burning,
and entangled like a cap round the head: these caps are coloured yellow,
and make a striking contrast with the heads which remain black. Some,
again, coloured their hair red, and curled it over their shoulders like
a full-bottomed wig. A great deal of time must be required for this
mode of dressing, a proof that vanity may exist even among cannibals.
The glass beads they obtained from us they immediately hung over their
neck and ears, but had previously no ornaments on either. Most of them
were quite naked; only a few had aprons made of the leaves of some kind
of palm unknown to us, which from their various colours and red points
resemble feathers. Since the time of La Pérouse, the fashion in
tattooing appears to have very much altered: he found the inhabitants of
the South Sea Islands so tattooed over the whole body, as to have the
appearance of being clothed;--now most of them are not tattooed at all;
and those few who are, not with various drawings as formerly, but merely
stained blue from the hip to the knee, as though they had on short
breeches.
In the canoes we saw a few women who were all very ugly: these
disagreeable creatures gave us to understand that we should by no means
find them cruel--a complaisance which did not render them the less
disgusting. La Pérouse here describes some attractive females: these
were as brown as the men, and as little dressed; their hair was cut
short off, with the exception of two bunches stained red, which hung
over their faces.
Scarcely one of these savages was without some remarkable scar: one of
them attracted our attention by a deep cut across the belly. We
contrived to ask him how he got this cicatrice; and he pointed to his
lance, from which it may be inferred that they are not unaccustomed to
war, either with their neighbours or each other, and that they are
possessed of skilful surgeons. No one of this people seemed to exercise
any authority over the others. Either no chief accompanied the party who
came to us, or the term does not signify much power or distinction.
The few fruits which they brought with them were exchanged for pieces of
iron, old barrel-hoops, and glass beads; on the latter especially they
set great value, and even brought forward some of their concealed arms,
and offered them in exchange for this costly decoration. Meanwhile the
crowd of canoes round the ship grew more and more numerous, and in the
same proportion the boldness of the savages increased. Many of them rose
up in their canoes, and made long speeches to, or at us, accompanied by
angry and menacing gestures, which drew shouts of laughter from their
companions. At length the screaming and threatening with clubs and
doubled fists became general. They began to make formal preparations for
an attack, and we again had recourse to bayonets and lances to keep them
at a distance. I confess that, at this moment, I had need of some
self-command to overcome my inclination to revenge on the ferocious
rabble the fate of La Pérouse's companions.
Our guns and muskets were all ready loaded. A sign from me would have
spread dismay and death around us; and had we stayed longer among this
brutal race, we must inevitably have made them feel the power of our
cannon.
We therefore spread our sails, and the ship running swiftly before the
wind, many of the canoes which had fastened themselves about her were
suddenly upset. Those who fell into the water took their ducking very
coolly, righted their canoes again, and threatened revenge on us with
the most violent gestures. Several of them clung like cats to the sides
of the ship, with nails which might have rivalled those of a Chinese
Mandarin; and we had recourse to long poles as the only means of freeing
ourselves from such undesirable appendages.
At the western promontory of the island we again lay to, and purchased
two pigs from some canoes which soon came up. The savages here in no
other respect differed from those of Massacre Bay, than by conducting
themselves in a rather more peaceable manner, probably from fear, as
their number was small.
In the evening the island of Olajava appeared in sight; and about seven
miles from a little island lying in its neighbourhood, several canoes,
carrying two or three men each, rowed towards us, deterred neither by
the distance nor the increasing darkness. Our visitors proved to be
merry fishermen, for their carefully constructed little canoes adorned
with inlaid muscle-shells, were amply provided with large angling hooks
made of mother-of-pearl, attached to long fine lines, and various kinds
of implements for fishing, and contained an abundance of fine live fish
of the mackerel kind.
An expression of openness and confidence sat on the countenances of this
people. Our purchases were carried on with much gaiety and laughter on
both sides. They gave us their fish, waited quietly for what we gave
them in return, and were perfectly satisfied with their barter.
Their attention was strongly attracted to the ship. They examined her
closely from the hold to the mast-head, and made many animated remarks
to each other on what they saw. If they observed any manoeuvres with
the sails or tackle, they pointed with their fingers towards the spot,
and appeared to watch with the most eager curiosity the effect produced.
It was evident that this people, sailors by birth, took a lively
interest in whatever related to navigation. Their modest behaviour
contrasted so strikingly with the impudent importunity of the
inhabitants of Maouna, that we should have been inclined to consider
them of a different race, but for their exact resemblance in every other
particular, even in the dressing of their hair, though this was even
more elaborately performed--an attention to appearance which is curious
enough, when compared with the dirty, uncombed locks of European
fishermen; but among the South Sea Islanders fishing is no miserable
drudgery of the lowest classes, but the pride and pleasure of the most
distinguished, as hunting is with us. Tameamea, the mighty King of the
Sandwich Islands, was a very clever fisherman, and as great an
enthusiast in the sport as any of our European princes in the stag
chase. As soon as the increasing darkness veiled the land from our
sight, our visitors departed, and we could hear their regular measured
song long after they were lost from view.
The little island they inhabit not being marked on any map, it is
probably a new discovery. By what name the natives called it I could not
learn; and therefore, to distinguish it from three other small islands
lying to the north, mentioned by La Pérouse, I gave it the name of
Fisher's Island. It rises almost perpendicularly from the sea to a
considerable height, and is overgrown with thick wood.
On the following day we sailed with a brisk wind to the island of
Olajava, for the purpose of surveying the coast. A number of canoes put
off from the land, but could not overtake the ship; and I would not lie
to, on account of the hinderance it occasioned to our work. In the
afternoon we found ourselves near the little island lying off the
north-west point of Olajava, called by La Pérouse the Flat Island. A
hill situated in its centre has, in fact, a flat surface, which La
Pérouse, at a distance of thirty miles, mistook for the whole island,
because the low land which surrounds it was not within the compass of
his horizon.
For the same reason he could not observe that the eastern part of this
island is connected with the western coast of Olajava by two reefs
forming a basin, in the middle of which is a small rock. If these be
indeed coral reefs, which they certainly resemble, they are the only
ones I have remarked in the Navigators' Islands.
The Flat Island, which, for the reason above mentioned, occupies a much
larger space on our map than on that of La Pérouse, is entirely
overgrown with wood, and has a very pleasant appearance. At a little
distance from this, to the north-west, another little island, which does
not appear to have been observed by that Voyager, rises perpendicularly
from the sea. Its sloping back is crested with a row of cocoa-trees so
regularly arranged, that it is difficult to conceive them planted by the
unassisted hand of Nature; viewed laterally from a short distance, they
present the form of a cock's-comb, on which account I gave the island
this name, to distinguish it from the rest. On its western side a high
conical rock is covered from top to bottom with a variety of plants,
evincing the prolific powers of Nature in these regions, where
vegetation is thus luxuriantly fastened on the most unfavourable soils.
North-west of this rock lies a third small island, exceeding both the
others in elevation: its sides fall precipitously to the sea, and the
upper surface describes a horizontal line thickly clothed with beautiful
trees. As its circumference is only three miles and a half, it can
hardly be the same that La Pérouse has called Calinasseh. Probably he
did not observe this island at all, but took the high round mountain on
the low north-east point of Pola for a separate island, to which he gave
the name of Calinasseh. The promontory of Pola deceived us also at a
little distance, but a closer examination convinced us of our error, and
I transferred the name of Calinasseh to the above-mentioned small
island.
When the Flat Island lay about three miles to our right, the wind again
died away. This opportunity was not lost by the natives of Olajava, who
had all the while followed us in their canoes. They exerted themselves
to the utmost, and their well worked little vessels swiftly skimmed the
smooth surface of the sea to the accompaniment of measured cadences,
till they at last reached the ship.
A horde of canoes now put off towards us from the Flat Island, and we
were soon surrounded by immense numbers of them, locked so closely
together, that they seemed to form a bridge of boats, serving for a
market well stocked with fruits and pigs, and swarming with human beings
as thick as ants on an anthill: they were all in high spirits, and with
many jests extolled the goods they brought, making much more noise than
all the traffic of the London Exchange. Even on our own deck we could
only make ourselves heard by screaming in each other's ears.
Our bartering trade proceeded, however, to our mutual satisfaction.
Those who were too far off to reach us endeavoured by all sorts of
gesticulation, and leaping into the air, to attract our notice. Many of
the canoes were in this manner upset,--an accident of little consequence
to such expert swimmers, and which only excited the merriment of their
companions.
Accident gave us specimens of their extraordinary skill in diving. We
threw some pieces of barrel-hoops into the sea, when numbers of the
islanders instantly precipitated themselves to the bottom, and snatched
up the booty, for the possession of which we could plainly distinguish
them wrestling with each other under the water. They willingly obeyed
our orders not to come on deck, and fastened their goods to a rope, by
which they were drawn on board, waiting with confidence for what we
should give them, and appearing content with it. Some few had brought
arms with them, but for trading, not warlike purposes; and although so
vastly superior to us in numbers, they behaved with great modesty. We
saw no scars upon them, like those of their neighbours of Maouna--a
favourable sign, though they certainly seemed to belong to the same
race. It would be interesting to know the cause of this striking
difference.
In less than an hour we had obtained upwards of sixty large pigs, and a
superfluity of fowls, vegetables, and fruits of various kinds, covering
our whole deck, all of which cost us only some pieces of old iron, some
strings of glass beads, and about a dozen nails. The blue beads seemed
to be in highest estimation. A great fat pig was thought sufficiently
paid for by two strings of them; and when they became scarce with us,
the savages were glad to give two pigs for one such necklace.
Some of the fruits and roots they brought were unknown to us; and their
great size proved the strength of the soil. The bananas were of seven or
eight species, of which I had hitherto seen but three in the most
fruitful countries. Some of them were extremely large, and of a most
excellent flavour. One of the fruits resembled an egg in size and
figure; its colour was a bright crimson; and on the following day when
we celebrated the Easter festival after the Russian fashion, they
supplied to us the place of the Easter eggs.
I must yet mention two more articles of our marketing--namely, tame
pigeons and parrots. The former are widely different from those of
Europe both in shape and in the splendour of their plumage; their claws
are also differently formed. The parrots are not larger than a sparrow,
of a lively green and red, with red tails more than four times the
length of their whole bodies. All these birds, of which great numbers
were brought to us, were so tame, that they would sit quietly on the
hand of their master, and receive their food from his mouth; the
inclination for taming them, and the method of treatment, is favourable
evidence of the mildness which characterises this people.
How many other unknown plants and animals may exist among these islands,
where Nature is so profuse! and how much is it to be regretted that no
secure anchorage can be found, which would enable an European expedition
to effect a landing with proper precautions. Some idea may be formed of
the dense population of the Flat Island, from the fact that, small as is
its extent, above sixty canoes, each containing seven or eight men, came
to us from it in less than an hour; and had we stayed longer, the
canoes must have amounted to some hundreds, as the whole sea between us
and the island was rapidly covering with increasing numbers.
Our market became still more animated when, the ship's provision being
completed, I gave permission to the sailors to trade each for himself;
as hitherto, to avoid confusion, the bargains had all been made by one
person. Now some wanted one thing, some another from the canoes; and
buttons, old bits of cloth, and pieces of glass, were offered in
exchange. The noise became louder and louder; and the sailors laid in
such a stock of their own, that for weeks afterwards their
breakfast-table was always provided with a roasted pig stuffed with
bananas, and their palates gratified with abundance of delicious fruits.
They unanimously declared that they had never seen so rich a country.
Our trade was interrupted by the appearance of a great canoe surrounded
with lesser ones, which, advancing towards us, drew the attention of all
the natives. They called out _Eige-ea Eige_, and hastened to give place
to the new-comers. The canoe, rowed by ten men, large and elegantly
embellished with muscle-shells, soon approached us. The heads of the
rowers and of the steersman were decorated with green boughs, probably
in token of peace.
In the fore part of the vessel, on a platform covered with matting, sat
an elderly man cross-legged in the Asiatic fashion, holding a green,
silk European parasol, which we conjectured must have belonged to one of
the unfortunate companions of La Pérouse, and have been obtained by this
chief from Maouna. His clothing consisted of a very finely plaited
grass-mat, hanging like a mantle from his shoulders, and a girdle round
his waist. His head was enveloped in a piece of white stuff, in the
manner of a turban. He spoke a few words, accompanied by a motion of the
hand, to his countrymen or subjects, who immediately made way for his
canoe to come alongside; and on our invitation he came on board attended
by three persons.
He was not tattooed, was about six feet high, thin, but vigorous and
muscular. His features were not handsome but agreeable; his countenance
was intelligent and reflective; his behaviour modest and decorous.
On entering the ship, he inquired for the _Eigeh_, and I was pointed out
to him; he approached me, bowed his head a little, spoke a few words
which I did not understand, and then took hold of my elbows with both
hands, raised them up several times, and repeated the English words
"Very good." After this welcome, which I returned in an European manner,
he gave me to understand that he was Eigeh of the Flat Island, and
commanded his attendants to lay at my feet the presents he had brought
for me, consisting of three fine fat pigs, which he called _boaka_, and
some fruits. I presented him in return with a large hatchet, two strings
of blue beads, and a coloured silk handkerchief, which I bound for him
myself over his turban. The _Eigeh_ appeared excessively happy in the
possession of these treasures, and tried to express his thankfulness by
various gesticulations, and the repetition of the words "Very good." He
also seemed to hold the blue beads in great estimation, and could not
feel convinced that all those riches actually belonged to him. He
inquired in pantomime if he might really keep both necklaces; and on my
assuring him that he might, the old man forgot his dignity, and jumped
about like a boy with the beads in his hand, calling out, "Very good!
very good!" A fat treasurer shared the joy of his lord, and
punctiliously imitated its expression, though not without some
difficulty. When this tumult of pleasure had a little subsided, the
latter produced a small basket very prettily plaited, and provided with
a lid, and placed in it the costly acquisitions of the _Eigeh_; who
himself took from it a Spanish dollar, and endeavoured to make me
comprehend the question, whether this would purchase more blue beads.
To judge if he had any idea of the value of money, I offered him a
single bead for his dollar; he immediately closed with the bargain, and,
fearing that I might repent of mine, snatched up the bead and thrust the
money into my hand. I returned it to him; but, to his delight and
astonishment, left him in possession of the bead. I now tried to learn
from him how he came by this coin. He soon comprehended my meaning,
pointed to the south, named Tongatabu, one of the Friendly Islands,
which are some days' voyage from his own, and gave us to understand that
he had sailed thither in his own vessel, and had there met with a ship
from whose _Eigeh_ he had obtained the dollar as well as the parasol.
The boldness and skill these islanders display in the management of
their fragile canoes, guiding them on long voyages merely by the sun and
stars, in a region where the trade-wind is seldom constant, is most
surprising.
I also made some little presents to the suite of the _Eigeh_, and the
good people were lost in amazement at their costliness, till their
attention was withdrawn from them to the ship itself. Their inquisitive
eyes wandered in all directions, and their astonishment and admiration
was loudly expressed. The _Eigeh_ contemplated the objects before him
with more tranquillity, and asked but few questions, having already seen
a ship, which his companions probably had not.
He remarked, however, with wonder the number of our guns and muskets,
which he called _Puas_; counted them several times over, and clasped his
hands above his head to express his surprise. He intimated to us that he
knew the effect they produced, by pointing to a gun, trying to imitate
the sound of the report, and then closing his eyes and hanging his head.
He explained this to his companions, who were so terrified by what he
told them, that they would not again venture near the guns.
Meanwhile our traffic was renewed, though rather confusedly, from the
impatience of the islanders to dispose of their property; the _Eigeh_
grew angry at this, and pressed me much to fire my _puas_ on the
boisterous mob. Was he then really acquainted with their destructive
power, and so indifferent about human life? Or, was he aware of the
possibility of firing with blank cartridges? This remained uncertain.
A telescope which I held in my hand attracted the observation of the
chief, who took it for a gun. I directed him to look through it; but the
sudden vision of the distant prospect brought so close to his eye that
he could even distinguish the people on the strand, so terrified him,
that nothing could induce him to touch the magic instrument again.