spars, and on the first or second day, landed thirty or forty barrels
of beef and pork, sails, rigging, and a variety of other articles,
when Comstock having pitched a tent on shore, commenced with the
mechanics to work on a whale-boat that he was going to raise upon and
make larger. Paine was displeased with his doing this so soon, and
sent word to him that he had better discharge the ship, and then work
upon the boats. This greatly enraged Comstock, who hailed the ship
for a boat, and on her being sent to him, came on board. There he
and Paine had a violent quarrel, and Paine dared him to take a musket
and go on shore with him and fight it out, which Comstock refused to
do. When he landed, being afraid that Paine and Oliver would kill
him if he slept in the tent, he went off to pass the night with the
natives; in his absence, Paine and Oliver agreed to shoot him when he
came back; accordingly, on the following morning, he was seen coming
along the beach alone, "and when he had arrived within good gun-shot,
they commenced firing at him; without changing his pace, he continued
to advance, and drawing his cutlass, called out to Paine to stop
firing and he would make peace with him; Paine, however, continued to
fire, and, at the third or fourth discharge, Comstock fell lifeless
upon his face, a ball having pierced his heart. Fearing that he
might not be quite dead, and perhaps would get up again, Paine ran up
to him with an axe, and cut off the back of his neck. He was buried
close to the tent, in the manner he had often expressed a wish to be,
with all his clothes on, and his cutlass hung to his side. Upon
first landing, he had fixed upon a site for a town, and amongst other
public buildings that he contemplated erecting, was a church, for
which he had selected what he considered an eligible situation.
"The natives were all the time so very friendly, that we were not in
the least afraid of them. A great many of them came to our tent
every day, and some of them were there day and night, eating,
drinking, and sleeping with us. Paine had a girl that he brought
from another islet, who did not like to stay with us, and would run
away whenever she got an opportunity; he fired muskets at her several
times, and at last, used to keep her by putting her in irons.
A few days after the ship ran away, some of the natives, who had been
at the tent, stole from us a number of tools. Paine gave four or
five of our people muskets without cartridges, and sent them to the
natives, a great many of whom were assembled not far off, for the
stolen articles. The natives refused to give them up, and soon began
to throw stones at our people, who, knowing that they had not the
means of resisting, began to retreat; the natives pursued them,
throwing stones, and one of the party, Rowland Jones, either fell or
was knocked down by his pursuers, who came up immediately afterwards
and killed him. When the party returned to the tent, Paine, who had
taken the command after Comstock's death, ordered all the muskets
brought to him, and locked them up. We were all in or about the
tent, when a few hours afterwards the natives came there as usual,
but in greater numbers. After they had been there a little while,
some one remarked, 'I am afraid they are going to kill us; they have
all got spears, or stones, or sticks in their hands.' Upon this,
Paine said he believed we were all taken, but that he was safe. The
words were scarcely out of his mouth, when the natives commenced the
massacre, knocking our people on the head with stones and clubs, and
sticking spears in them. An old man and his wife laid hold of me,
one on each side, and led me a little way off in the bushes, where, I
thought they were going to kill me, but where they only held me fast
and protected me from the violence of several who came and wanted to
kill me. I saw two of the natives lead Paine off a little way, and
thought they were going to save his life; but they proceeded only a
few yards, when one of them took up a stone and struck him on the
head; he attempted to run, but a second blow brought him down, and
they immediately afterwards killed him. Oliver, I did not see; but
the natives told me that he ran a short distance, when he was
overtaken and killed in the bushes. A Sandwich Islander that was
with us, got to the water, and was overtaken and killed there."
"Were there any women at the massacre?"
"Oh, yes, and children too. The women seemed to take as active a
part as the men. I saw one old woman run a spear in the back of one
man, who was held by two natives, with a degree of violence that
seemed far beyond her strength. I thought that all but myself were
killed until the following evening. I had been taken to the islet
where your schooner is anchored, and where all the chiefs were
assembled, when they brought Huzzy, to show me that there was one
living besides myself. After an interview of a few hours, Huzzy was
taken away to live with Lugoma, who had saved his life, and I was
taken to live with the old man who had saved mine. He was so very
poor that I scarcely ever got enough to eat of the coarsest native
food. I had to labour very hard, although I suffered constantly from
hunger, which soon made me weak and extremely wretched. At last, the
high chief took compassion upon me, and made me live with him; after
which, I had always plenty to eat, and was at liberty to work or not,
as I pleased. He was very kind to me in every respect. They have
always brought Huzzy to me, or taken me to see him once a fortnight,
or once a month, and suffered us to pass the day together."
Here Lay's narrative ended. Huzzy told us, that during his residence
with Lugoma, his time had been spent principally on the water, going
with him in his canoe, which required two to work it. Lugoma was a
great fisherman, and distinguished amongst the chiefs for his
industry and enterprising character. He would always have enough to
eat, if he had to steal it. When Huzzy would complain to him of the
hard and laborious life that he led, Lugoma would always reply, that
if he would eat he must work. There seems to be no doubt, that the
natives saved the lives of these young men from no other motive than
that of making them slaves, and availing themselves of the advantage
of their labour.
At the dawn of day, we prepared to depart for the schooner, and in
getting up our anchor, which was a kedge, weighing upwards of a
hundred pounds, we found that it was hooked to a bunch of coral at
the bottom, from which all our efforts failed to move it. As soon as
Lugoma saw our difficulty, he told his son to go down and clear the
anchor. The little fellow jumped into the water, which was about
three fathoms deep, and in a few moments came up, making motions for
us to haul away. He had disengaged the kedge, and we had no further
trouble in getting it up. It is a universal practice amongst the
natives, whenever they wish to anchor, to take a line from the end of
the canoe, and tie it to a tree of coral at the bottom.
The chief persisted in his desire to leave us, saying he was still
afraid I would kill him; and as I had no object in taking him with me
against his will, I consented to his departure, presenting him with
some seeds, the culture of which I caused to be explained to him, as
also the value of the fruit. Our return on board was welcomed by
every body. We had now accomplished the object of our visit, and the
islands were altogether so void of interest, except for their novel
formation, and the singular habits of the natives, that we were well
content to leave them and return to some other place more congenial
to the feelings of civilized men. Before we left, however, we wished
to see the chiefs, and after representing the impropriety of their
conduct toward the white men who had sought an asylum upon their
islands, point out the course they must in future pursue towards such
as might again visit them. On the morning of December the first,
none of the chiefs or people residing upon the islet abreast of us
having returned, the mother of the high chief was directed to send
for her son to come back, and bring with him the rest of the chiefs,
without delay. I made a visit to the chief's village, where I found
but few inhabitants, most of whom were women and children. It was
situated on the side of the island opposite to us, and bordering upon
the inland sea. It was not extensive, but a beautiful and romantic
spot; the grove of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, through which
were scattered the huts of the natives, ran about a hundred yards
back from the inland sea to a wild thicket that passes through the
centre of the islet, in length two or three hundred yards. Here I
found the largest canoe that I had yet seen. It was large enough to
carry fifty men, but being old, leaked so badly, that the high chief
was compelled to leave it behind, in his flight, with all the rest.
Near the high chief's hut, we came to consecrated ground. It was the
place of burial for the royal dead. It was but a small space,
comprehended within the circumference of a few yards, and at the head
of each grave stood a cocoa-nut tree, bound round with dry leaves,--a
mark that prohibited the use of the fruit. We were accompanied by a
son of the high chief, a child about twelve years old, who desired us
not to tread on the graves of his ancestors. Two graves were pointed
out, as those of chiefs, who had been highly distinguished, beside
which stood the aged trunks of cocoa-nut trees, that indicated the
period of their demise to have been very distant. At one of the huts
we saw a domestic fowl, which, when I expressed a wish to purchase,
the chief's son, whose name was Ladro, immediately presented me. We
afterwards saw a number of others running wild in the thickets. They
were small, and looked like what is called the bantam. The natives
never eat them, giving, as the reason for it, that they are not
cleanly in their food. On our return, Lay took me to a place, where,
after the massacre, he had buried a Spanish dollar. It was still
there, and he took it with him as a memento of his captivity. We
passed several springs of water, to which the women are banished at a
certain period.
We met with a native, whom Lay knew, and who, assuming the native
dress, went through the violent motions and gestures of a Mulgrave
man, engaged in battle. It was an indescribable mixture of the
frightful and ludicrous. I was apprehensive that it would offend the
native: but he laughed with us at the representation, and said, it
was very good. On the following morning, December the second, we
were disappointed in not seeing the chiefs. The captain went again
to the high chief's mother, who made some excuse for their not
appearing, and declared, that they would positively be up that night
by moonlight. He told her to send to them again, and say, if they
were not there on the morrow, he would go after them, and the
consequence might be serious. The old woman seemed very much alarmed
at hearing such language, and promised a faithful compliance on the
part of her son. It had the desired effect, as on the following
morning, December the third, the chiefs all presented themselves on
the shore, near our anchorage. The captain, taking Lay and Huzzy
with him, went on shore to meet them. They told him, by way of
opening the interview, that they were in his power, and ready to obey
all his commands. He required of them to restore a whale boat that
belonged to the Globe, a swivel, they had taken from the white men,
and Lay's musket, to all of which they cheerfully assented. He then
gave them, as a proof of his friendship, some cotton handkerchiefs,
axes, and a variety of other articles, of much more value to them
than those he had taken. He told them, that white men would never
come there to hurt them, and that they must always be kind and
friendly to them, whenever ships should hereafter visit their island.
That, if other white men should ever be similarly situated to those
they had killed, they must take care of them, and at some future time
they would be rewarded for it. They promised faithfully to do all
that they were told, and regretted having killed our countrymen. We
gave them a pair of pigs, male and female, which we told them to take
great care of, and increase the number as much as possible,
forbidding them, on pain of our displeasure, to kill any until we
should again return, which might be at no very distant period,
although it was uncertain when. The surgeon's grave was made a
sacred spot by the high chief, and every thing about it was to be
held in the same reverence as the burial-place of his forefathers.
The high chief was instructed, through the interpreters, in the
manner of cultivating the fruits and vegetables, the seeds of which
we had given him in great variety. Some we planted, and all was to
be under his especial care. The use of the various kinds was
explained to him, as well as their importance to ships, that might
visit his islands, which would give him in return for them, axes, or
whatever else was most valuable to him.
On the fourth of December, I obtained a boat, and set off on a visit
to Lugoma, who, contrary to his promise, had not yet been on board.
I took Huzzy with me, knowing that it would delight the chief to see
him. We met with a variety of obstacles in our passage, through the
inland sea, and did not arrive at the islet of the chief until the
second day after our departure. We stood into his bay in the midst
of a heavy shower, notwithstanding which, as soon as he saw us,
himself and son ran down to the shore to meet us, and waded up to the
middle in the water, extending their arms towards us, full of roasted
fish, of which he had taken a large quantity on the preceding day.
Both of them called to Huzzy, with repeated expressions of their
happiness at seeing him, and, in a moment after we struck the shore,
the whole tribe of old women welcomed us, with their joyful
exclamations. As soon as we were out of the boat, each one in turn
clung round Huzzy's neck, and embraced him in the kindest manner. In
several different huts were large piles of fish, amounting to some
thousands, which had been roasted to preserve them. Lugoma offered
at once to accommodate us for the night, saying, he had an abundance
of room in his huts for us to sleep, and plenty of fish for us to
eat. The weather was squally and wet, which induced me to accept his
offer. I wished, also, to witness the manner in which he caught fish
in such quantities, and another opportunity might not offer before I
left the islands.
As soon as the shower was over, which lasted for two or three hours,
Lugoma went out, and employed himself busily collecting and breaking
up dry wood, and arranging his ovens of stones, that all might be in
readiness to cook the fish as soon they were taken out of the water.
There was a considerable shoal extending out from the shore, opposite
to his huts, upon which the fish, in their migrations along the
islets came in great numbers. At the outer edge of this shoal he had
sunk, a few feet below the surface of the water, a long line of
cocoa-nut leaves, which were dry, and of a reddish colour. One end
of the line of leaves was taken to the shore, and made fast, where
there was a pen, built of stone. The line was then taken round upon
the shoal semi-circularly, encompassing a considerable portion of it,
and the space between the other end of the line and the shore left
quite open. When a school of fish is seen, the natives intercept
them, driving them through this open space, and, pressing forward,
finally into the stone pen, from which they are taken with nets.
After all the arrangements were made, Lugoma and another native,
waded out beyond the line of leaves, to watch the schools of fish,
but, unfortunately, he allowed them all to escape; and, as well as
ourselves, seemed to be a good deal disappointed with his bad
success. What appeared to be most remarkable about this method of
catching fish, is that, after they are inclosed, they will not pass
under the cocoa-nut leaves, although there is a depth of several feet
water between them and the bottom. Lugoma took me to the place where
he had planted the water-melon seeds, I gave him at the time of our
parting. He had cleared and mellowed the ground with care,
preparatory to planting the seeds, which were already up, and looked
thrifty. I bestowed upon him a great deal of praise, and planted a
variety of other seeds, of fruit and vegetables, of which he promised
to have an abundant supply for me, when I should again return. When
night came, and the hour of repose was at hand, I was perplexed with
the difficulty of providing for our security against surprise or
treachery, without giving Lugoma reason to suppose that we did not
confide in his friendship, which I knew he would infer, from any
particular watchfulness on our part. I did not believe that we had
reason to apprehend danger from Lugoma or any one else, but as we
were exposed to it, and had the means of security, I was determined
not to run any risk. Three of the men were sent to sleep in the
boat, anchored off a short distance from the shore, and which Lugoma
was told no one must approach. The rest were directed to bring their
arms on shore, and keep a lookout through the night, in rotation.
When the arrangement was made, and we had all lain down, except the
man that was standing sentry, Lugoma saw him, and asked, if there was
not room enough for him to lay down. We answered evasively several
times, with a view to satisfy the uneasiness he expressed, lest he
should be thought wanting in any respect in hospitality; but were at
last obliged to tell him, that the man was keeping watch, to see that
no one came to hurt us. His mortification was evident, as he
remarked, in reply, that no one would come to his island to hurt us.
We expressed our full confidence in his friendship, giving him the
further information, that it was our custom always to have some one
on the look-out. Lugoma arranged mats upon the floors of his huts
for us all, and invited me to lay down on one side of him, having his
wife and daughter on the other side. It blew and rained hard all
night, but the morning was clear and pleasant. We set off on a visit
to an islet a few miles beyond that of Lugoma. He offered to go with
us, and dive for a large shell-fish, found there; but as we could not
take him, without incommoding ourselves, we declined his company.
The islet was so uninteresting, as hardly to repay us for the trouble
of going to it. It was covered with a thick growth of hard red wood,
common to most of the low islands, and wild bup. We soon took our
departure from it, and returned to Lugoma's islet, at an early hour
of the day.
For the first time, at the Mulgraves', I observed, in one of Lugoma's
huts, a drum, resembling those of Nooaheeva, but of small dimensions.
I supposed it was an instrument of music, and in compliance with my
request, Lugoma readily consented to play on it. Calling his
daughter to him, he bade her thump upon it with her hands, whilst he
sung, in time with the music, a few short lines, throwing himself in
a variety of attitudes, alternately extending one arm, with great
vigour, and drawing the other to his breast. Upon inquiring what was
the subject of his song, he told me, through Huzzy, that it was the
massacre of the white men,--a rudeness, I did not expect,--even from
the untutored Lugoma. I declined any further display of his musical
powers. When we were preparing to return on board, Lugoma came to me
several times, saying, that I might just as well cut his throat, as
to lake Huzzy away from him. "I have no one," said he, with a
distressed look, "that is equally capable of assisting me, to work my
canoe, and now, he is going away with his musket, my enemies can come
and kill me." Finding, at last, that he could not prevail upon us to
leave Huzzy, he said, we must bring him back very soon. That, if we
were long absent, we should not find him living. He said, that we
must bring him clothes, like ours; guns and axes; and that we should
share the government of his islet with him, promising to have an
abundant supply for us, of all the fruits and vegetables we had
planted.
When he and the old women had taken an affectionate leave of Huzzy,
he requested me to take two or three females in my boat, with their
baskets of fish, which were intended as a present to the high chief,
and land them upon the islet where he lived. We consented to do so,
and, after landing them, arrived on board late in the afternoon, the
schooner having run down to the Globe's anchorage, where she was now
lying.
On the following morning Lugoma made his appearance on the beach,
with his little son, having landed with his canoe upon the opposite
side of the narrow islet. A boat was sent to bring them off. The
chief stared wildly round, astonished, and wondering at every thing
he saw. He was very timid, and, notwithstanding our kind reception,
appeared to feel extremely doubtful of his safety. His confidence
was in a measure gained, however, when we gave him an axe, a piece of
cotton handkerchiefs, and some other trifles; and he left us,
reminding me of my promise to return. Not long after his departure
we got underway, and ran back to the residence of the chiefs, where,
at ten, A.M., we came to in our old anchorage.
The captain went on shore, and at two, P.M., December the eighth,
returned on board with the high chief, and two others. They were
shown every thing about the deck, but without awakening much apparent
curiosity. We then beat to quarters, and let them see what a
formidable appearance we made, arrayed for battle,--an appearance,
truly ridiculous to one accustomed to the imposing effect of a fine
ship of war, and calculated to excite our risibility, notwithstanding
the seeming gravity we assumed for the occasion. The captain asked
the high chief, if he did not wish to hear one of the cannon fired,
to which he answered evasively, unwilling, I suppose, to acknowledge
his fears, as he had been a great warrior in his time. The captain
then told him, that he would have one of them fired, if he was not
afraid, which brought the chief to a confession, that he dared not
hear it. The chiefs brought a number of presents for the Tamon,[10]
as they called the captain, consisting principally of mats.
When they became tired of remaining on board, and expressed a wish to
be sent on shore, we gratified them, and got underway. The high
chief's son, who had visited me a number of times before, and to whom
I had made presents of trifling value, but important to him, came on
board with his father, and expressed a wish to go with me. His
father gave his consent, being perfectly willing that he should go;
but as there was great probability an opportunity would never offer
for him to return, I thought it would be cruel to take him from his
native islands, where, in his father's inheritance, he would be so
well provided for.
It was late in the evening when we got underway, at the Mulgraves,
for the last time. We had surveyed all that part of the islands
intervening between our first anchorage and the Globe's landing, and
now steered to the eastward by the bearings we had previously taken.
Squalls of wind and heavy rain coming on, we soon lost sight of the
land. The loud roaring of the surf, off the extreme north-eastern
point, as well as the heavy swell that set in immediately afterwards,
apprised us that we had cleared the group. The land was in sight
from the mast-head, in the morning, when we ran down for the eastern
end of the island, where we had first anchored, and at a convenient
distance run along upon the weather side, taking hearings at the end
of every base of three or four miles. Near the centre of the
windward part of the group we passed a wide opening into the inland
sea, not far from which was a reef of considerable extent, where a
very high surf was breaking. Within a short distance of the reef, we
saw the bottom plainly in ten fathoms water. There was no place on
the weather side of the islands, where it was possible to land with
any degree of safety. After passing the extreme northern point we
steered off, with the trending of the land W. by S.; and, at
sun-down, were up with the island, from whence I had taken Lay,
having sailed nearly round the group. Here we hove to for the night.
The group of Mulgrave Islands, as they are called, form a circular
chain of narrow strips of land, which are no where more than half a
mile wide, inclosing within the circle an inland sea, one hundred and
forty miles in circumference, filled with shoals and reefs of coral.
It is every where bounded on the sea-side, by a bank of coral, that
protects it from the violence of the ocean. This bank generally
extends but a short distance from the shore, when it goes off into
unfathomable water. At the chief's islet, where we buried the
surgeon, it was wider than at any other place about the group, being
upwards of a cable's length, which, for a low coral island, may be
considered good anchorage. The whole circle is broken alternately
into clumps, a few feet above the water, of level and low coral
reefs, some of which are above high-water mark, and some sufficiently
low to afford a passage for boats. The clumps vary in length, but
none of them are more than two miles long, without an interruption of
a dry or drowned reef. They are covered with a thick growth of
bushes, and trees of small size, except where the cocoa-nut and
bread-fruit trees rear their tall heads, and wide-spreading branches.
Wherever these grow, the underwood disappears, and the place has the
appearance of an old forest, cleared for a pleasure ground, where a
few trees have been left standing, for the advantage of their shade.