[Transcriber's note: Some punctuation and spelling may appear unusual
to modern readers.]
[Illustration: Map of Mulgrave Islands]
JOURNAL
OF A
CRUISE
OF THE
UNITED STATES SCHOONER DOLPHIN,
AMONG THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN;
AND A VISIT TO THE MULGRAVE ISLANDS,
IN PURSUIT OF THE MUTINEERS OF THE
WHALE SHIP GLOBE.
WITH A MAP.
By Lieut. HIRAM PAULDING, of the U. S. Navy.
NEW-YORK:
G. & C. & H. CARVILL.
M,DCCC,XXXI.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and thirty-one, by G. & C. & H. CARGILL, in the Clerk's
Office of the Southern District of New-York.
NEW-YORK:
LUDWIG & TOLEFREE, PRINTERS,
No. 73, Vesey-street.
PREFACE.
The principal inducement of the author, in preparing the following
Journal for publication, originated in an idea that a plain narrative
of a a cruise through an unfrequented part of the ocean, comprising a
particular description of a groupe of Islands, never before explored,
and forming, perhaps, the latest inhabited portion of the globe,
might not be without interest. It is believed, that, in habits,
opinions, and modes of living, the people of the Mulgrave Islands,
approach more nearly to a state of nature than those of any other
known region. The object of the CRUISE, of which a concise account
is now offered to the Public, necessarily led to a more full
examination of these Islands than has yet been made, or than it will
ever probably be thought worth while to make again, except for a
similar purpose.
The delay in publishing this little work originated partly in the
hesitation of the author in offering, and partly in that of the
booksellers, in accepting it; and the public must decide whether they
were not both right in the first instance. It only remains for him
to state, that all he aimed at or desired, was to give a plain,
unpretending narrative, of what he saw, which, without presuming to
merit applause, might at least escape censure.
_New-York, May_, 1831.
JOURNAL
OF A
CRUISE OF THE U. S. SCHOONER DOLPHIN.
----------
In the year 1824, the crew of a whale ship, called the Globe,
belonging to the island of Nantucket, mutinied while in the Pacific
Ocean, murdered the officers in latitude about eight degrees south,
longitude one hundred and sixty degrees west, and carried the ship to
the Mulgrave Islands, where it was proposed by the chief mutineers to
burn her, and form a settlement. Here they landed a great part of
the stores, sails, rigging, &c.; but some of the crew, who had no
part in the mutiny, taking advantage of the others' being on shore,
cut the cables, just at the dusk of evening, and, making sail, stood
out to sea with a fine breeze.
The mutineers pursued the ship, as soon as they discovered she was
underway, but, finding that she outsailed them, they soon gave up the
chase, and returned to the shore. The nautical instruments of every
description had been taken on shore by order of the mutineers, so
that the people on board of the Globe were left to traverse a vast
ocean, studded with islands, and rocks, and reefs, where currents are
frequent, strong, and variable, without any other guide by which to
direct their course than the stars and prevailing winds. The
Mulgrave Islands are situated in north latitude six degrees, east
longitude one hundred and seventy. three degrees; and although the
passage of the Globe was very long, she arrived safely at Valparaiso,
where the crew informed the American Consul of the events that had
transpired. It was unfortunately at a period when our commerce, on
the coast of the Pacific, required for its protection all the naval
force we had at the time on that station, and no measures were taken
to bring the offenders to answer for their crimes, until some months
after the Globe had returned to the United States. Information of
the occurrence having been communicated to the secretary of the navy,
he, in 1825, directed Commodore Hull, then commanding our squadron in
the Pacific Ocean, to despatch the United States schooner Dolphin, in
search of such of the mutineers as had been left at the Mulgraves.
Besides the importance of bringing the guilty to punishment, for the
sake of example,--humanity for the suffering condition of the
innocent, that had been left by those who escaped, dictated that
something should be done for their relief. Accordingly on the 18th
of August, 1825, the Dolphin sailed from Chorillos, on the coast of
Peru, under the command of Lieutenant Percival, who was directed,
preparatory to his departure from the coast, to stop at some
convenient place for such refreshments as might be necessary for the
cruise. On the day following, we stood into the harbour of Casma,
and anchored, when we fired several guns, as signals, to acquaint the
people in the interior of the arrival of a stranger that wanted their
aid. It was not long before we had the satisfaction of seeing a
number of people, who had made their appearance in obedience to the
signal. A few moments' conversation with them, satisfied us that our
wants could not be supplied here. Wood might have been obtained, but
the water was neither good, nor convenient to be got at, and all
other things that we were in want of, could only be procured at the
most extravagant prices.
After laying at anchor a few hours, we got underway, and stood along
the coast for a small place called Santa, which was situated a few
leagues to the north of us, Casma is but a poor harbour, as it lies
so much exposed to the prevailing southerly winds, that frequently a
high and dangerous surf breaks upon that part of the shore where
alone (at any time) it is practicable to land. A valley, covered
with thickets of reeds and bushes, extends back from the sea for
several miles. In it there is neither habitations nor inhabitants,
and a sandy waste of hill and dale separates it from the little
Indian village of Casma, which is several miles in the interior. It
is situated in a valley, about a league in circumference, which is
watered by a small stream. The soil is rich, but poorly cultivated.
The inhabitants (of whom there is about a thousand) are all Indians.
They live in wretched habitations, and their intercourse with the
Spaniards for centuries, it seems, has not much improved their
condition in any respect. Their principal dependance is upon the
sale of their poultry to such ships as visit their harbour for the
trade of the interior country, and to people thus engaged, their
proximity may sometimes be a very great convenience.
The harbour of Santa is formed by several small islands, lying a
little to the south of it, and about a mile from the main. We passed
between the islands and the main, although it was night, and very
dark. On the following morning, we made the customary signal, by
firing a gun, which, in a very short time, brought the captain of the
port down to the beach. He had not much the appearance of official
dignity, having a long black beard, and was in no respect
prepossessing. Rude, however, as was his exterior, he was profuse in
offers of hospitality. He assured us that we should be abundantly
supplied with every thing we wanted, and requested that an officer
might be sent with him to Santa, to negociate for our supplies. The
purser and myself were ordered upon this service, and not having time
to send to Santa for horses, it being six miles from our anchorage,
we were reduced to the necessity of a most painful ride, behind the
captain of the port and a companion whom he had brought with him.
The road was over an uninterrupted plain, which was almost everywhere
covered with impenetrable thickets of reeds, and the Algaroba[1], and
in some places a foot or two deep with water that had escaped from
the streams of the cultivated valley. When we arrived at the door of
the commandant's house, he shewed us in with an air of some
formality, and welcomed us with every Spanish expression of
hospitality. The appearance of the house corresponded well with that
of its occupant. It was disgusting in the extreme. There were but
two rooms in it, one of which was occupied as a granary and bed-room,
and the other as a pulparia,[2] and the ordinary conveniences of the
family. In the middle of the latter, hung a hog, weighing three or
four hundred pounds, which had been butchered that morning. The
captain pretended he could himself supply whatever we asked for,
assuring us that he would sell more cheaply than any one else, and
evinced an extreme jealousy at our conversing with any other than
himself upon the subject of our visit to Santa. As a matter of
courtesy, we soon made our way to the house of the governor, and paid
our respects to him. He seemed to feel highly complimented with our
attention, and, like the captain of the port, proffered his
assistance to obtain for us whatever we stood in need of. He bore
the name of the cruel conqueror of Peru, it being nothing less than
the great Pizarro; but it was evident, from his complexion and
curling locks, that his ancestors came from Africa. Notwithstanding
this disadvantage, however, he could not be compared to the captain
of the port without disparagement, and, considering the wretched
society in which he lived, I thought he discharged his official
duties rather creditably. Both the governor and captain of the port
invited us to dine with them; and each, fearing we would make our
purchase of the other, solicited our company very earnestly. We
finally accepted the invitation of the latter, and he escorted us
back to his house, where the table was already smoking with savoury
dishes, served up in a variety of ways from the huge animal we had
seen there in the morning, under circumstances by no means calculated
to improve our appetites. A rabble, formed of half naked Indians,
and long bearded white men, assembled in the room, while we were at
dinner, some of whom sat down at table unceremoniously, and partook
with us. Our host indulged himself freely with the use of
aquadiente,[3] and, ere we finished our repast, his house exhibited a
constant scene of riot, from which we were exceedingly glad to
escape. After making a few purchases we returned on board. The next
day, a party, consisting of about thirty or forty, came down to make
us a visit. All degrees of the society of Santa, without any
distinction,--whites, mulattoes, and Indians, having, it would seem,
mingled together for the occasion. They remained with us all day,
eating and drinking, and appeared to be very happy; but begged for
every thing that came in their way. At sunset, to our great
satisfaction, they left us, and on the following morning, we got
underway, and continued along the coast to the north.
The small town of Santa contains about two thousand inhabitants,
nearly all of whom are Indians. It is situated in latitude nine
degrees south, in the valley of Santa, which is twenty or thirty
miles in circumference, beautiful and rich in soil, and watered by a
deep and rapid stream, which takes its rise in the Andes, at the
distance of a hundred miles from the sea coast. Previous to the
revolution, it was a flourishing valley, with a numerous population,
producing rice, wheat, and other grain, in considerable quantities,
for exportation; and frequently large herds of cattle were driven
from it to Lima. It abounds also in fruits, such as oranges, lemons,
grapes, and a variety of other delicious kinds. Large farming
establishments are every where to be seen, each comprehending
thousands of acres, and previous to the revolution possessed by
gentlemen of ample fortune. All of these are, now in ruins, and most
of them unoccupied. The climate of Santa is mild, and almost
unvarying. Here, as in nearly all the rest of Peru, bordering on the
Pacific Ocean, it never rains, and wherever the land is cultivated it
is watered from the rivers.
Around the cultivated valley of Santa, are spread extensive plains of
barren sand; and at a short distance back from the sea rises the
first range of gloomy and sterile mountains which, increasing in
altitude as you advance into the interior, terminates in the eternal
snow-covered Andes, at the distance of from fifty to a hundred miles.
At Santa we obtained wood with ease, and from two or three old wells,
near the shore, filled our casks with brackish water. Where the
river empties into the harbour it is so much exposed to the sea as to
render watering difficult, and almost always dangerous. Santa was a
place of some trade before the revolution, it being connected by
direct communication with some mines of the precious metals in the
interior.
On the 24th of August, we anchored in the roads of Huanchaco, and
communicated with several vessels that were lying there. Huanchaco
is an Indian village, and the seaport of the city of Bolivia, the
ancient name of which was Truxillo. It is exposed to the sea, and at
times the surf breaks so violently on the shore, as to prevent all
intercourse with the vessels at anchor. The Indians are provided
with a float they call Balsa, and on which they pass through this
surf, in cases of great emergency, when no boat could live in it. It
is composed merely of two bundles of long reeds, bound compactly
together, tapering a little at one end, and the two bundles secured
to each other, the small ends coming to a point, somewhat resembling
in appearance the bow of a boat. In the middle it is hollowed
sufficiently for a man to seat himself securely. It is usually about
fifteen feet long, and from two to three feet wide. It is calculated
for one man only, who directs it with his paddle. I one day
witnessed their wonderful skill in the management of the balsa. The
surf was breaking so furiously, that the men, accustomed to work in
it, advised me not to go on board of my ship. Whilst I was standing
on the shore, with several of them around me, a boat appeared just
without the heavy rollers that were setting in, filled with people,
who it was evident were strangers to the danger they were about to
encounter, as they were dashing on fearlessly into the surf. The
Indians near me made motions, and called to them not to advance
further, but they neither saw nor heard the warning. Observing this,
six or eight of them launched their balsas, and in a few minutes were
in the midst of the breakers. They were just in time, for the boat
in a moment afterwards darted forward with great velocity, and
suddenly disappeared. The wave had broken, and was foaming over her,
and another must have terminated the existence of every person on
board; but, before the next swell, that came rolling on in quick
succession had reached them, each man was upon a balsa, and the
skilful and intrepid Indians bore them safely to the shore. We
remained but a few hours at Huanchaco, when we continued on to the
north, and on the 25th of August, came up with the Lobos Islands, in
latitude six degrees south, and distant about a hundred miles from
the coast. They are barren rocks, rising in some places several
hundred feet, and no where have any appearance of vegetation. With
the aid of our glasses, we saw at a distance a number of people upon
these inhospitable rocks, and supposing they might be some
unfortunate seamen, whose vessel had been cast away, we hove to, with
a view of affording them relief. Upon examination, however, they
proved to be Indians from the coast, who had come here on a
catamaran, upon a fishing enterprise, it being the season when great
quantities of fish, resembling mackerel, are taken on the shores of
these Islands.
Previous to ascertaining who these fishermen were, we landed on a
small island nearer to us, where, on the side of a hill, forty or
fifty yards distant, we saw several hundreds of seals basking in the
sun. The rock rose perhaps a hundred feet, and many of the seals
were near the top of it. The noise of our landing gave them the
alarm, and, as we had cut them off from the water, they made the best
of their way for the other side of the hill, joining in a terrific
growl like so many furious mastiffs. They had reached the top of the
hill, and were descending on the opposite side, when we overtook
them, and very wantonly killed several. They were so large that many
of them would have weighed at least five or six hundred pounds, but
their motions were extremely clumsy. Whenever we came near them they
would growl, and snapped at us like a ferocious dog, and their long
teeth warned us not to approach them within striking distance.
Considering their immense size, it is astonishing bow slight a blow
will kill them when given on the nose. If, however, this fatal part
is missed, and they receive a severe blow upon any other part of the
head, they suffer but little injury, and become extremely tenacious
of life, particularly if it has time to swell. The nose is then no
longer a mortal part, and it is almost impossible to subdue them. We
witnessed several instances of this kind, being but poorly provided
with weapons proper for the purpose, and withal unskilled in the use
of them. In descending from the top of the hill, there was but one
narrow defile by which they could escape, and there they floundered
for nearly half an hour, tumbling over each other three or four deep,
until at last they got into their native element.
The north side of the Lobos Islands affords a fine harbour, where we
saw a small vessel at anchor waiting for the proceeds of her cargo,
which had been landed on the coast at a place called Lambayaca.
On the 26th of August, we anchored at Peyta, in latitude five degrees
south. This was the last place at which it would be convenient for
us to stop, and here, to our gratification, we were enabled to obtain
the necessary refreshments for our cruise. We filled the deck with
pigs, poultry, and vegetables, and at considerable expense succeeded,
after much trouble, in obtaining a supply of good water. Peyta is
situated in a deep bay, and is a good harbour, formed by two
projecting points of land, and is for many leagues surrounded by
barren sand. It is the seaport of an interior city, called Pieura,
and receives from distant valleys all that is necessary for the
consumption of the inhabitants or strangers, who visit it for the
purposes of trade. It is supplied with water from a river that
empties itself into the sea, near a small Indian town called Golan,
whence we found it necessary to resort for a supply. When we had
proceeded there, and anchored our vessel within a mile or two of the
town, the only method by which we could obtain water, was to have it
brought in calabashes on mules. It was their saint's day, and in the
village all was frolic and mirth. Groups of men and women were
everywhere seen, dressed fantastically, singing and dancing along the
streets. I called upon the governor, who was a white man, very early
in the morning, to report the arrival of our vessel, and the object
of our visit. He had just risen from his hammock, and received me
with many expressions of civility, and proffers of assistance. His
house was but little better than that of the captain of the port of
Santa, and his appearance not more prepossessing. The room into
which I was ushered had no other floor than the ground beaten hard,
on which were several large piles of pumpkins, bags of beans, and
Indian corn, which he proposed to sell me before our official
interview had ended. Immediately after breakfast he came on board to
visit the captain, bringing with him several emales. They remained
on board nearly all day, to the annoyance of every body, and in the
evening were removed to the shore with great difficulty, so freely
had they partaken of our hospitality. Soon after our arrival at
Peyta, we were invited to dine with the governor, who treated us with
great kindness and hospitality. Some months previous to our arrival,
his son had shipped himself at Talcahuana, on board of the Dolphin,
as a common sailor, and was discharged on our arrival here, and
permitted to remain with his friends. He was spoken of amongst us as
a person who had been compelled to fly from his home for improper
conduct of some kind, and now the whole mystery was explained. His
father was one of the most respectable and patriotic men in the place
where he resided; but this son was a youth of a bad disposition, and
had given him a great deal of trouble. When the revolution first
commenced in that section of the country, he provided himself with
the uniform of a patriot officer, and went about the country, where
he was a stranger, or but slightly known, and under the authority of
his pretended commission, took, by violence, the cattle and horses of
the farmers, or whatever else he could possess himself of, which he
converted into money for his own purposes. Sometimes he even pressed
the Indians as soldiers, and compelled them to assist him in carrying
off his plunder.
At length, his exactions became so heavy, and were levied so
tyrannically, that a gentleman resisted him, and questioned the
legality of his authority. Numbers were fired with indignation
against him, and the propriety of his conduct was no sooner
questioned, than the investigation was followed up with such
activity, that, finding there was no safety but in flight, he
preferred a voluntary exile to meeting the just resentment of the
people he had injured. He had suffered many hardships during his
absence, and appeared on his return to be truly penitent. I was at
his father's house when he entered. His mother and sisters were
deeply affected, and received him with all the tenderness of female
sympathy, their eyes overflowing with tears. They each embraced him,
as one most dear to them; but when he approached his father (a man
about sixty) who was standing on the opposite side of the room, he
caught the old man's eye bent indignantly upon him, and turned away
with a look humbled to the dust.
Whilst lying here we had an opportunity of witnessing a solitary
instance of an enterprising disposition in a Peruvian Indian,--a
characteristic, it is believed, they but rarely possess, or, at most,
but in a slight degree. We had on board an Indian youth, who
belonged to this part of Peru, and for several days had held frequent
conversations with his countrymen, who were attracted on board by
curiosity. One of these people had concerted with the youth a plan
for his deserting. In compliance with this arrangement, he put off,
during the mid-watch, with his canoe, and taking his station just
ahead of the Dolphin, gave a shrill whistle as the signal of his
approach. The lad, fearing that he might be detected, did not
venture to answer the signal, which was repeated several times, when
the officer of the watch suspecting the object, gave the long
expected response, and the credulous Indian came cautiously paddling
close under the bow of the vessel, where, to his amazement, he was
made prisoner, and compelled to go on board. When the captain came
on deck the next morning, he punished the poor Indian, by impressing
upon him the belief that he intended to detain, and make a soldier of
him. Not having sagacity enough to know the difference between our
vessel and a patriot man-of-war, and conceiving that there was no
chance for his escape, he made the most pathetic appeals to the
captain's humanity, and appeared to suffer all the agony of despair.
The captain ordered a cartridge-box to be put over his shoulders, and
a musket placed in his hands.
He seemed frantic with the reality of his servitude, using his utmost
violence to disengage himself from the cartridge-box and musket,
declaring again and again that he was no soldier, and in the most
affecting manner begging the captain for God's sake to permit him to
go on shore. When his tormentors discontinued their persecutions, he
jumped over the stern into his canoe, with great activity, and soon
joined his anxious friends on the beach, who had assembled there,
apprehensive of his captivity, and awaiting the result.
On the 2d of September, we sailed from Peyta, and shaped our course
for the Gallapagos Islands. The trade wind was moderate, accompanied
with fine weather. On the morning of the 6th, we made Hood's Island,
and in a few hours afterwards, anchored on the west side, in a small
harbour, called Gardner's Bay, the only one it affords. After
dinner, the captain took with him twenty or thirty of the crew, and
went in pursuit of turtle. The island is high and mountainous,
covered everywhere with volcanic cinders, many of which are in huge
masses. The men were at first very eager in their search for turtle,
and the whole crew, if they had been permitted, would gladly have
engaged in it.
They expected to have found the turtle near the shore; instead of
which they had to scramble over rocks and climb mountains, half the
time making their way through brambles, at the expense of scratches
and torn clothes. Men were never more disappointed than our crew in
the amusement of catching turtle. Sometimes they would wander about
for hours before they found one, and then it would probably be a mile
or two from the beach, and as much as a man could well lift. By
sundown we had collected about thirty, of large size. Black grouper
were very abundant close to our anchorage, but the sharks were so
numerous that for every fish taken we lost one or two hooks. We got
a plentiful supply for the crew, however, in the course of an hour.
On the following morning, we joined Captain Meek, of the brig
Tamahamah, which vessel had accompanied us hither, and making a large
party--went round the island about ten or twelve miles from our
anchorage, where we expected to find turtle more abundant. The
captain was an old cruiser here, and well calculated to make one of
an agreeable party. He stood cook for us, and as the day was very
warm, our first essay on landing, was to make a large bower, under
which to prepare our dinner. The people then dispersed, to look for
turtle, the first of which were served up for our dinner, in a style
that might have been relished by less keen appetites than ours, which
were sharpened by laborious exercise. At night, we had collected
upwards of a hundred, besides ten large green turtle, we were so
fortunate as to find on the beach near the place of our landing.
When we came to assemble our men to return on board, two of them were
missing, and upon inquiry were ascertained to have been absent nearly
all day. We dispersed and looked for them in every direction until
dark, when every body being much fatigued, a party was left to search
for them again in the morning, and the rest repaired on board. In
the morning, we renewed our labours without success, and with great
reason began to feel seriously alarmed for the safety of our
shipmates. There was no water on the island, and the preceding day
had been so extremely warm, that we feared the poor fellows would
soon perish, if they had not already. Our search, too, was attended
with considerable danger. Wandering about in distant parts of the
island, we sometimes, in clambering over rocks and mountains, changed
our course without being sensible of it, and would find ourselves
pursuing our way in a different direction from what we supposed. In
the afternoon, when our strength and patience were quite exhausted,
and our parties returning for the night, the lost men suddenly
appeared on the beach, close to the vessel. They were pale and
emaciated, with scarcely strength to move one foot before the other.
Their clothes were in tatters, and their shoes worn off their feet,
which were very much crippled with their long journey over the sharp
cinders. It appeared from the story of these men, that they had
several times been on the side of the island where we were anchored,
but upon an eminence that overlooked the vessel, and thinking
themselves on the other side, recrossed; when, to their astonishment,
seeing nothing of her, they would retrace their steps; and in this
manner, were wandering about for many hours, almost despairing at
last of finding relief. While they were in this wretched situation,
they several times quenched their thirst by killing turtle that came
in their way, and drinking from the reservoir with which nature has
supplied this singular animal. I have since been told by a seaman,
that he deserted from a whale ship at these islands, accompanied by a
number of others, and that for weeks, they had no other water than
what they obtained by breaking open the turtles and drinking of the
water they found in them. It is contained in a pouch that resembles
a bladder, and is immediately connected with the stomach. It is
large in proportion to the size of the animal, and some of them will
hold two or three gallons. It surprised us to see the tameness of
the birds. They would scarcely fly from us when we approached them
within a few feet, and in many instances we could pick them up with
our hands. The gannet, generally of a clear white, and as large as a
goose, we could catch with great ease; and the albatrosses, some grey
and some yellow, which were much larger than any bird we have in the
United States, would but rarely rise upon the wing to escape us.
They ran very fast, and would sometimes give us a chase of one or two
hundred yards. A bird, the plumage and form of which differed in no
respect from our mocking-bird, would feed within a few feet of us,
and the turtle-doves were killed in great numbers by our people, with
short poles. Hood's Island is evidently of volcanic origin. It is,
indeed, nothing but a mass of cinders. It is covered with a slight
growth of scrubby bushes of various kinds, and occasionally a tree of
four or five inches in diameter, is met with. Of all its vegetation,
the cactus seems best adapted to it. There is a variety of the
species; one of which attains to a larger size than any other
production of the island, and spreads out into a tree of considerable
height. This kind of the cactus is chosen by the turtle for food.
When the whalers, or other visiters, go to the Gallapagos Islands for
these animals, they cut down a number of the trees in the evening,
and on the following morning they are sure to find turtle feeding
there, although none could be seen in its vicinity on the preceding
day. The guanas are not the least remarkable of the inhabitants of
the Gallapagos. They are from two to three feet long and shaped like
a lizard. Their colour varies from grey to jet black. They are
easily caught and quite harmless; are often eaten and said to be
excellent. On the top of the head they have a beautiful shining
crest of black and yellow, which, in the sun, has a most brilliant
appearance.
Except where we anchored, a heavy surf breaks all round Hood's
Island. In a high and central part of it, is a place which resembles
the dry bed of a small lake. It is surrounded by ridges and peaks of
cinders rising in some places from one to three hundred feet, and in
all probability has been the crater of a volcano. In places
difficult of access we saw a few seals, but so shy that with the
exception of one or two instances, we could not approach them. The
few that we killed were hair seal, and consequently of but little
value. Between Hood's Island and the small one that forms the
harbour, there is a passage for ships, but it is very narrow, and
with a strong current that runs through it, which would always render
it dangerous for a ship to attempt to pass, particularly so if the
wind were not perfectly fair.
At one, P.M., on the 10th of September, we got underway, and stood
over for Charles Island, where we anchored at six, in Essex Bay.
Rock Dismal, so called by Commodore Porter, is an excellent land
mark, and seems to have been appropriately named. It rises to the
eastward of Essex Bay, in sharp crags of fifty to a hundred feet
high. A few solitary bushes constitute all its vegetation. In
approaching Essex Bay, and at its entrance, we were alarmed several
times by a strong ripple, but in casting the lead found no bottom
with ten fathoms of line. At Essex Bay, is the celebrated
post-office of the whalers, to which Commodore Porter resorted
several times during his cruise for information. We found a letter
there left by a whaler who had visited Charles Island for a supply of
turtle. He was last from the river Tumbez, where one of his crew had
caught a fever, of which he died. Two others lost their way in the
mountains of Charles Island, where, after wandering about for a
considerable time, one of them complained to his companion of a
head-ache, and soon after sat down and died. The other found his way
to the ship after a great deal of suffering.
Charles Island is high and mountainous, and like Hood's, is covered
with a thin growth of bushes. At the distance of a mile from the
beach there is a small spring of water, to which there is a footpath
over the crags and hills, worn by visiters in search of turtle, a
scanty supply of which can only be obtained with great labour. The
residence of Pat, the Irishman, in this lone and dreary place, for a
number of years, has made it an object of curiosity to all who visit
the island. Here he planted his potatoes and pumpkins, and raised
his chickens; administering the government of his island with
despotic sway, for Pat was a monarch although he pillowed his head
upon a rock, and reposed his rude limbs on a bed made of bushes. The
story is known to all who have read Commodore Porter's journal, in
which he gives an account of Pat's residence on this island, and of
his possessing himself of the person and services of a black man
belonging to a whale ship, who had strayed too far from his
companions, and whom Pat held in durance for a long time.
At ten, A.M., we parted company with the Tamahamah, and sailed for
the Marqueses Islands. The turtle with which our deck was covered,
were very troublesome and offensive for about a week, when they
became quite domesticated and gave us not the slightest
inconvenience. For two or three weeks we served them to the crew
constantly, in lieu of the usual allowance of salt provisions. It
was a most valuable substitute, and important to us, as we were bound
upon a long cruise, as well for the health of the crew as for the
preservation of our sea stock. When the number became comparatively
small, we discontinued the general use of them, and served them only
once or twice a week. We never fed them, and for aught I could see,
they were equally as fat and healthy a month after they were taken on
board, as on the first day. As a sea stock nothing can be more
convenient or better calculated for a long cruise. They may be put
any where and kept in almost any way, and if it should be thought
advisable to feed them, there is scarcely any vegetable substance
that they will not eat after they are a little domesticated. The
liver of this turtle is particularly delicious. When fried, it is
not unlike a fine oyster, and although partaken very freely of, no
ill effect is ever experienced from it. Sixteen days after leaving
Charles Island, we made the island Rooahooga, one of the southernmost
of the Marqueses group. The wind was fresh and blew steadily from
the southward and eastward, accompanied by a heavy swell. As we
approached the islands, we had some rainy and cloudy weather, but
with this exception, our whole passage was attended with clear days
and fine moonlight nights. In latitude three degrees south, and
longitude ninety-five degrees west, we observed a remarkable
appearance in the water, which, had we been navigating an
unfrequented ocean, would have very much alarmed us. At several
different times during the day, on September 12th, we passed through
violent rips, and at times nearly the whole ocean assumed the
appearance and agitation of boiling water.
Throughout our passage, we remarked, that whenever the wind hauled to
the southward of southeast, it increased in force. It occurred so
frequently as to be a subject of general remark.
On the 20th of September, in latitude seven degrees fifty minutes
south, and longitude one hundred and twenty degrees thirty minutes
west, we saw a comet for the first time, thirty or forty degrees
above the horizon, and bearing from us east by north. At day-light,
on the morning of September 26th, several of the southernmost of the
Marqueses were in sight. They were all mountainous, but covered with
vegetation, and as we drew near presented a pleasing contrast to the
sterile and gloomy Gallapagos. We stood along the shore of La
Dominica, admiring the beautiful little valleys that were presented
to our view in quick succession, where villages of palm-thatched
huts, surrounded by clumps of tall cocoa-nut and wide-spreading bread
fruit trees, formed scenes of rural quiet calculated to fill the
imagination with the most agreeable conceptions of the happy
condition of their inhabitants. At length we came to a small bay
where the valley was more populous than any we had seen before, and
the captain, to our great satisfaction, hauled up for it and stood
close in towards the island. We lowered a boat, and providing
ourselves with a few trifles for presents, pulled into the bay within
a few yards of the shore. The beach was already thronged with people
of all ages, male and female, who invited us to land by the most
significant gestures, whilst many of them were singing and dancing to
express their joy. The surrounding rocks and hills were covered with
groups of females, gaily decked off with their neat head-dresses of
the white Tapa cloth and many-coloured robes, which were floating in
the wind, half concealing and half exposing their fantastically
painted limbs. When they saw that we would not land, the men and
boys dashed into the water with whatever they had to offer us, and
swam off to the boat. A chief, who had a dry wreath of cocoa-nut
around his brows, came off with them; and, upon being invited, got
into the boat, where he remained until our departure, apparently
giving orders from time to time to those who were passing and
repassing from the shore to the boat. In a few minutes, they had
presented us with a considerable quantity of cocoa-nuts, bananas, and
papayas, for which we gave them in return a few trifling articles,
the most valuable of which were glass beads. The chief had his eyes
constantly fixed upon our fire-arms, and finally gave us to
understand, by motions, that a pistol would be acceptable to him.
With this intimation we could not comply; but he bore the refusal
with great good nature, and for some time after our store of little
presents was exhausted, his people continued to bring us off fruit
without the expectation of any return. When they found that we were
serious in our refusal to land, the women came from the hills and
assembled on the rocks close to us, where, in a nearer view, they
could display their persons to more advantage, and charm us with the
melody of their voices. There they all joined in songs, keeping time
by clapping their hands, stopping occasionally to receive the
applause of the men and to invite us on shore. Several of them, male
and female, swam off to the boat; and when we were about to depart,
insisted so strongly upon going on board with us that we had to use
some violence to get clear of them.
We continued on in the afternoon, soon passing La Dominica, and at
sundown made Rooahooga ahead. The weather being squally and the
island only fifteen miles from us, we lay by for the night. At
daylight, we found ourselves a few miles distant from the middle of
the south side of the island, where a bay presented itself, which, at
a distance, promised to afford anchorage. On a nearer approach,
however, its appearance changed, and as there were but few signs of
inhabitants, we ran along toward the west end of the island. This
part of it had not much appearance of fertility, although we saw a
few large trees. It is high, broken, and indented with a number of
small bays, none of which are large enough to form a harbour. In
rounding the southwest point of the island we had sudden and violent
gusts of wind. Invisible Bay is situated a little to the westward of
this point, and although it has somewhat the appearance of a harbour,
and presents to view a beautiful sand beach, we saw no indications of
inhabitants. About ten miles to the north, we anchored in twenty
fathoms water, having rocky bottom, and an inaccessible rocky shore
where the surf breaks violently. The captain and several officers
went back to Invisible Bay in one of the boats, and in a cave close
to the shore they found five or six natives, who at their approach,
fled to the hills, making signs for our people to depart. In the
cave, they found a few fishing-nets. They tried to prevail upon the
natives to come near, but their demonstrations of friendship were
answered only by motions expressive of hostility. The landing was
difficult, as the shore was rocky, and a considerable surf broke upon
it, although the bay was tolerably protected by a projecting point.
Soon after meridian, we got under way and shaped our course for
Nooaheeva, which was plainly in sight from Rooahooga. We stood
along, with a fine breeze and clear weather, and at three, P.M.,
rounded the north-eastern extremity of Nooaheeva, when a spacious
harbour, called Comptroller's Bay, opened to our view. It is about
three miles deep, and at its inner extremity are two projecting
points that extend out for more than a mile, and form three small
harbours. We were no sooner observed by the natives on shore, than
they put off in a number of large canoes and pulled with great
rapidity towards us. The wind was light and baffling, and we
advanced slowly into the harbour. In a few minutes, we were
surrounded by canoes, containing from six to eight men each. They
belonged to different tribes, which they attempted to explain to us
with great earnestness of speech and gesture, but as we had no one on
board who knew much of the language, we were greatly at a loss to
comprehend their meaning. They had not followed us long when two of
the canoes came along side, one on each quarter, and the men crawled
up the side and perched themselves upon the hammocks, like so many
monkeys, where they called out in a loud voice, addressing themselves
alternately to us and to the natives on the side of the vessel
opposite to them,--one party exclaiming "Mattee, mattee, Typee!" and
the other "Mattee, mattee,[4] Happah!" and occasionally using angry
gestures with the exclamation. This was too expressive for us not to
understand. They belonged to different tribes, the Typee, and
Happah; and were mutually trying to prejudice us against the tribe to
which they did not belong, in order to induce us to anchor in their
own bay. Both the bays were beautiful, but as the Happahs' was the
most populous and nearest to us, we gave it the preference; and a
little before sunset anchored in twenty fathoms water within a
cable's length of the shore. The Typees no sooner saw that we were
standing in for the Happah Bay, than they hurried into their canoe
and paddled off for their village as fast as they could. The Happah
valley was a romantic spot. A plain, a league or two in
circumference, stretched back to the mountains in a semicircular
form, presenting in front a clear white sand beach about a mile long.
The plain was covered with cocoa-nuts, with bread-fruit interspersed,
and near enough to form a continued shade without presenting the
appearance of a dense forest. Scattered about every where through
these trees were the palm-thatched habitations of the natives. In
the rear of the plain, the mountains rose precipitously, forming an
insuperable barrier against the incursions of other tribes. The land
rose gently to the left, but it was almost barren and added nothing
to the beauty of the landscape. On the extreme right, a considerable
mountain and a point projecting far out into the bay, separated the
Happahs from the tribes that lived beyond them in that direction.
Nothing could equal the apparent joy of the natives when they saw us
anchored in front of their village. The whole tribe, which probably
did not exceed five hundred, flocked down to the beach, expressing
their satisfaction by dancing and singing. Hundreds of them dashed
into the water and swam off to us, so that we had not time to furl
sails and clear the deck before the vessel was crowded with people.
To show them that we had the means of making successful resistance
against any hostile intention they might adopt, we paraded our
musketeers upon the deck and practised them, a ceremony that appeared
to afford the natives very great amusement. We allowed them to
remain on board until the dusk of evening, when the number being so
great as to make the vessel uncomfortable, and apprehending that in
the course of the night they might appropriate to themselves many
things that they would find about the deck, and which could not
conveniently be spared, we sent most of them on shore. The chiefs
and a few others who expressed a great desire to remain, were
permitted to pass the night with us.
On the following day, I took a few presents with me and went over to
the Typee valley, to visit that tribe, celebrated as the most warlike
of Nooaheeva. As soon as the boat was perceived, the people came
running towards the beach in every direction, and before she reached
the shore we were surrounded by great numbers, who plunged into the
water and swam off to us. As many as we could conveniently
accommodate were permitted to get into the boat, where they treated
me so unceremoniously that I did not think it prudent to land.
Amongst those who paid me a visit was a chief of the tribe. He was a
man about thirty years of age, well-featured and of fine proportions.
His deportment was grave and dignified, but like the rest of our new
acquaintances, who swam off to us, he was quite naked except a slight
covering about his loins. The common people treated him with great
deference, and never intruded upon that part of the boat where he was
seated. He made us understand that he wished to obtain muskets and
powder, for the purchase of which he had caused five or six large
hogs to be brought down, that were tied and laying on the shore. I
offered him whatever else I had that I thought would induce him to
part with them; but he obstinately refused any other consideration
than muskets and powder. Large quantities of cocoa-nuts, bananas,
and papayas were thrown into the boat by the people who were swimming
around us, and when we had been lying there an hour, we had as many
in the boat as we could conveniently carry. I had a variety of
presents, such as beads, buttons, &c., all of which the common people
were very anxious to obtain; but the chief would take nothing from me
of less consequence than fire-arms or gunpowder. I offered him
flints and musket balls, which, although of great value amongst the
natives, he would not receive. He invited me frequently, with great
earnestness of manner, to land, until he found, by my repeated
refusals, that I was determined to remain in my boat.
The bay of the Typees was rather smaller than that of the Happah
tribe. They live principally upon the side of a mountain that rises
gently from the shore. The number of the tribe appeared to be about
the same as that of the Happahs. Their houses are situated in
circular chains of villages, rising one above the other, from the
base to near the top of the mountain, where it terminates in rude and
uninhabitable cliffs. Groves and clumps of cocoa-nut, and
bread-fruit trees are every where interspersed with the dwellings,
and the mind of the observer being impressed with the idea of their
usefulness to the natives, gives a double effect to the beautiful
landscape adorned by their waving tops and broad green leaves. We
had several occasions to remark the inveterate dislike that the
Typees and Happahs entertained towards each other.