different missionary establishments, occupied by natives of Otaheite.
No one else, that we saw, seemed to have any authority. They
permitted us to dig as much tarrow as we pleased, without asking any
return for it, and by night, we had as much on board as we knew what
to do with. One of the missionary establishments was situated at the
extreme depth of the bay. On landing there, I was met by the
missionaries themselves, and conducted to their house, where their
wives, who were also from Otaheite, received me, dressed in their own
island costume, with large straw bonnets on their heads. After
remaining with them for a few minutes, I repaired to the place where
the boats' crew were employed in collecting tarrow. A group of
natives, male and female, had assembled round, none of whom, could be
prevailed upon by the rewards we offered them, to assist our people
in their occupation. They had a sickly look, almost without an
exception. Their dress differed altogether from any we had before
seen. It consisted of a heavy mat of grass, weighing from ten to
fifteen pounds, which was thrown over their shoulders, and another
light mat of the same material, for the loins. Their deportment was
modest and retiring, and they evinced a disposition to have but
little intercourse with us. A few of their houses were scattered
about upon the hills. They were extremely miserable, and might,
without disparagement, be compared to dog kennels. They were long,
and very narrow, and about three or four feet high, so that when one
entered them, it was necessary to get down upon the hands and knees.
The Otaheite missionaries were distinguished from the natives, by
wearing the tappa cloth, of their own island, and an old cloth jacket
they had obtained from white visiters. I added something to their
stock of clothes, before I took leave of them, for which, they gave
me many thanks. When I returned on board, I found the other two
missionaries there, and several of the natives, who had accompanied
the captain. They spent the night with us, and the next morning,
showed us where to obtain a quantity of the mountain tarrow. It is
large, and very much resembles the West India yam. For a vessel long
at sea, and requiring vegetables, there is none more valuable.
The Englishman who came on board to act as our pilot, was residing at
the island, in charge of a party which had been left there by the
English Consul at the Sandwich Islands, to collect beach la mer, a
valuable article of commerce, at Canton. The collecting of
sandal-wood, was also to be an object of their attention; but they
told us, that both were scarce, and difficult to obtain--a statement,
we considered, of doubtful veracity.
At 2, P.M., on the 27th of June, we got underway, and made sail for
Valparaiso, which is distant from Oparro, about three thousand five
hundred miles. This island, which is called by the discoverer,
Oparro, is called by the natives, Lapa. It is situated in latitude
27 degrees 34 minutes south, west longitude 144 degrees. At 5, P.M.,
we saw the islands, called by Quiros, Los Corones, and hauled up,
until eight, to clear them.
For the first three days after we sailed, it blew a severe gale from
the westward, after which, it became more moderate, but nearly all
our passage to Valparaiso, was wet and boisterous. It was less
disagreeable, however, than we anticipated, as the wind was almost
constantly fair. We had the more reason to apprehend a severe trial
of our fortitude, as it was in the dead of winter that we were
advancing into a high latitude, after having been a long time within
the tropics, and besides that, our sails and rigging were very much
worn, some of our articles of provisions were quite exhausted, and
others, of the first necessity, reduced to a small quantity. If,
therefore, we had encountered tedious gales ahead, we must have
suffered greatly in our shattered and ill-fitted condition.
At 4, P.M., on the 19th of July, we made the island of Mas a Fuera,
on the coast of Chili, seventy miles from us, and at midnight, passed
close to it. At day-light, Juan Fernandes, was in sight, fifty miles
off. We passed it a little after meridian. It is very mountainous,
but well covered with trees. The interesting fable of Robinson
Crusoe's adventures, has given it a lasting fame, and rendered it an
object of curiosity to all who visit this part of the Pacific Ocean.
It is very fertile, and has been tolerably well cultivated. The
Spanish captain-general of Chili, formerly made it a place of
banishment, and after the revolution took place in that country, it
was appropriated to the same purpose, by the patriots and royalists,
as they alternately came into power. A considerable town was built
by the exiles, who were sent there at different times, and the finest
fruits of Chili are produced in great abundance. The cattle that
have been left upon the island, are running wild in large herds, and
several persons have found it profitable to send parties there to
kill them for their hides. The island produces some sandal-wood, but
it is small, and has never been collected in large quantities.
Fish, that very much resemble our codfish, and a variety of other
kinds are taken in the greatest abundance around Juan Fernandez and
Mas a Fuera. It is believed that if a fishery were established there
by some of our enterprising countrymen, it would be found a source of
great emolument. The privileges that might be considered necessary
for the prosperity of a company formed with this object, could easily
be obtained from the government of Chili, and there is no apparent
cause why the most successful results should not be realized. It
seems only necessary to call the attention of our capitalists to this
subject, to have all its advantages secured to our country. It has a
fine harbour for the prevailing winds of summer, but in the winter
season, when the winds set in from the northward, it is exposed. It
lies a little more than three hundred miles from the coast of Chili,
and in the summer months I have known open boats to pass between it
and Valparaiso.
On the 23d of July, we anchored in the harbour of Valparaiso, a
little before day-light, to the gratification of our friends, who
were becoming very much alarmed for our safety, no information of us
having been received during the whole period of our absence. Thus,
in a vessel of 180 tons burthen, poorly fitted, and having on board
only about four months' provisions, when we sailed from the coast of
Peru, we performed a cruise of upwards of eleven months in an
unfrequented Ocean, rendering to our countrymen, and many of the
people whom we visited, important benefits, besides realizing the
most successful results in the primary object of our cruise. Its
beneficial effects will long be felt by our countrymen, who are
engaged in the whale-fishery; and, although we suffered many
hardships, privations, and dangers, we were happy in being the
instruments, in the hands of Providence and our government, of
proving that crime cannot go unpunished in the remotest part of the
earth, and that no situation is so perilous as to justify despair.
[1] A tree that resembles the locust. It bears a pod, like that of a
bean, which is given by the Peruvians to their horses.
[2] A retail grocery and tippling shop.
[3] Spirits distilled from the grape.
[4] Mattee, mattee--Very bad.
[5] Very good, or very well.
[6] Don't you want a wife?
[7] Com. Porter.
[8] A bird commonly called the sand-snipe. We afterwards saw them so
frequently at sea, where no land was known to exist, that their
presence produced no other interest than would have arisen from the
appearance of a gull, or any other aquatic bird.
[9] When the steward was informed of his sentence, he asked Comstock
how long a time he would give him to make his peace with
God?--"Fourteen seconds!" was the reply.
[10] Tamon, High Chief.
[11] Called the Reef Chain Tide Islands.
[12] Lay witnessed the execution of a man during his residence at the
Mulgraves. I do not remember the nature of his offence. He was not
bound, or in any way confined; but, after it was determined that he
should die, several men attacked him with spears and stones. He
fought desperately to the last, although his situation was altogether
hopeless, freely bestowing upon his enemies the epithets of cowards
and murderers. Even when he could no longer resist, his spirit was
unconquered,--and he breathed his last, with expressions of scorn and
hatred on his lips.
[13] Lay frequently saw the people, who performed the execution I
have mentioned in a former note, throw away portions of their food,
as an offering to the spirit of him they had slain.
[14] Crimacu, as it is pronounced by the natives. The missionaries
write his name Karaimoku.