A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 13

Their food consists of pork, poultry, dog's flesh, and fish, bread-fruit, bananas, plantains, yams, apples, and a sour fruit, which, though not pleasant by itself, gives an agreeable relish to roasted bread-fruit, with which it is frequently beaten up. They have abundance of rats, but, as far as I could discover, these make no part of their food. The river affords them good mullet, but they are neither large nor in plenty. They find conchs, mussels, and other sh.e.l.lfish on the reef, which they gather at low-water, and eat raw with bread-fruit before they come on sh.o.r.e. They have also very fine cray-fish, and they catch with lines, and hooks of mother-of-pearl, at a little distance from the sh.o.r.e, parrrot-fish, groopers, and many other sorts, of which they are so fond that we could seldom prevail upon them to sell us a few at any price. They have also nets of an enormous size, with very small meshes, and with these they catch abundance of small fish about the size of sardines; but while they were using both nets and lines with great success, We could not catch a single fish with either. We procured some of their hooks and lines, but for want of their art we were still disappointed.

The manner in which they dress their food is this: They kindle a fire by rubbing the end of one piece of dry wood, upon the side of another, in the same manner as our carpenters whet a chissel; then they dig a pit about half a foot deep, and two or three yards in circ.u.mference: They pave the bottom with large pebble stones, which they lay down very smooth and even, and then kindle a fire in it with dry wood, leaves, and the husks of the cocoa-nut. When the stones are sufficiently heated, they take out the embers, and rake up the ashes on every side; then they cover the stones with a layer of green cocoa-nut tree leaves, and wrap up the animal that is to be dressed in the leaves of the plantain; if it is a small hog they wrap it up whole; if a large one they split it. When it is placed in the pit, they cover it with the hot embers, and lay upon them bread-fruit and yams, which are also wrapped up in the leaves of the plantain: Over these they spread the remainder of the embers, mixing among them some of the hot stones, with more cocoa-nut tree leaves upon them, and then close all up with earth, so that the heat is kept in.

After a time proportioned to the size of what is dressing, the oven is opened, and the meat taken out, which is tender, full of gravy, and, in my opinion, better in every respect than when it is dressed any other way. Excepting the fruit, they have no sauce but salt water, nor any knives but sh.e.l.ls, with which they carve very dexterously, always cutting from them. It is impossible to describe the astonishment they expressed when they saw the gunner, who, while he kept the market, used to dine on sh.o.r.e, dress his pork and poultry by boiling them in a pot.

Having, as I have before observed, no vessel that would bear the fire, they had no idea of hot water or its effects: But from the time that the old man was in possession of an iron pot, he and his friends eat boiled meat every day. The iron pots which I afterwards gave to the queen and several of the chiefs, were also in constant use, and brought as many people together, as a monster or a puppet-show in a country fair. They appeared to have no liquor for drinking but water, and to be happily ignorant of the art of fermenting the juice of any vegetable, so as to give it an intoxicating quality: They have, as has been already observed, the sugar-cane, but they seemed to make no other use of it than to chew, which they do not do habitually, but only break a piece off when they happen to pa.s.s by a place where it is growing.

Of their domestic life and amus.e.m.e.nts, we had not sufficient opportunity to obtain much knowledge; but they appear sometimes to have wars with each other, not only from their weapons, but the scars with which many of them were marked, and some of which appeared to be the remains of very considerable wounds, made with stones, bludgeons, or some other obtuse weapon: By these scars also they appear to be no inconsiderable proficients in surgery, of which indeed we happened to have more direct evidence. One of our seamen, when he was on sh.o.r.e, run a large splinter into his foot, and the surgeon being on board, one of his comrades endeavoured to take it out with a penknife; but after putting the poor fellow to a good deal of pain, was obliged to give it over. Our good old Indian, who happened to be present, then called over one of his countrymen that was standing on the opposite side of the river, who, having looked at the seaman's foot, went immediately down to the beach, and, taking up a sh.e.l.l, broke it to a point with his teeth; with this instrument, in little more than a minute, he laid open the place, and extracted the splinter; in the mean time the old man, who, as soon as he had called the other over, went a little way into the wood, returned with some gum, which he applied to the wound upon a piece of the cloth that was wrapped round him, and in two days time it was perfectly healed. We afterward learned that this gum was produced by the apple tree, and our surgeon procured some of it, and used it as a vulnerary balsam with great success.

The habitations of these happy people I have described already; and besides these, we saw several sheds inclosed within a wall, on the outside of which there were several uncouth figures of men, women, hogs, and dogs, carved on posts, that were driven into the ground. Several of the natives were from time to time seen to enter these places, with a slow pace and dejected countenance, from which we conjectured that they were repositories of the dead. The area within the walls of these places was generally well paved with large round stones, but it appeared not to be much trodden, for the gra.s.s every where grew up between them. I endeavoured with particular attention to discover whether they had a religious worship among them, but never could find the least traces of any.

The boats or canoes of these people are of three different sorts. Some are made out of a single tree, and carry from two to six men: These are used chiefly for fishing, and we constantly saw many of them busy upon the reef: Some were constructed of planks, very dexterously sewed together: These were of different sizes, and would carry from ten to forty men. Two of them were generally lashed together, and two masts set up between them; if they were single, they had an out-rigger on one side, and only one mast in the middle. With these vessels they sail far beyond the sight of land, probably to other islands, and bring home plantains, bananas, and yams, which seem also to be more plenty upon other parts of this island, than that off which the ship lay. A third sort seem to be intended princ.i.p.ally for pleasure and show: They are very large, but have no sail, and in shape resemble the gondolas of Venice: The middle is covered with a large awning, and some of the people sit upon it, some under it. None of these vessels came near the ship, except on the first and second day after our arrival; but we saw, three or four times a week, a procession of eight or ten of them pa.s.sing at a distance, with streamers flying, and a great number of small canoes attending them, while many hundreds of people run a-breast of them along the sh.o.r.e. They generally rowed to the outward point of a reef which lay about four miles to the westward of us, where they stayed about an hour, and then returned. These processions, however, are never made but in fine weather, and all the people on board are dressed; though in the other canoes they have only a piece of cloth wrapped round their middle.

Those who rowed and steered were dressed in white; those who sat upon the awning and under it in white and red, and two men who were mounted on the prow of each vessel were dressed in red only. We sometimes went out to observe them in our boats, and though we were never nearer than a mile, we saw them with our gla.s.ses as distinctly us if we had been upon the spot.

The plank of which these vessels are constructed, is made by splitting a tree, with the grain, into as many thin pieces us they can. They first fell the tree with a kind of hatchet, or adze, made of a tough greenish kind of stone, very dexterously fitted into a handle; it is then cut into such lengths as are required for the plank, one end of which is heated till it begins to crack, and then with wedges of hard wood they split it down: Some of these planks are two feet broad, and from fifteen to twenty feet long. The sides are smoothed with adzes of the same materials and construction, but of a smaller size. Six or eight men are sometimes at work upon the same plank together, and, as their tools presently lose their edge, every man has by him a cocoa-nut sh.e.l.l filled with water, and a flat stone, with which he sharpens his adze almost every minute. These planks are generally brought to the thickness of about an inch, and are afterwards fitted to the boat with the same exactness that would be expected from an expert joiner. To fasten these planks together, holes are bored with a piece of bone that is fixed into a slick for that purpose, a use to which our nails were afterwards applied with great advantage, and through these holes a kind of plaited cordage is pa.s.sed, so as to hold the planks strongly together: The seams are caulked with dried rushes, and the whole outside of the vessel is paid with a gummy juice, which some of their trees produce in great plenty, and which is a very good succedaneum for pitch.

The wood which they use for their large canoes, is that of the apple-tree, which grows very tall and straight. Several of them that were measured, were near eight feet in the girth, and from twenty to forty to the branches, with very little diminution in the size. Our carpenter said, that in other respects it was not a good wood for the purpose, being very light. The small canoes are nothing more than the hollow trunk of the bread-fruit tree, which is still more light and spongy. The trunk of the bread-fruit tree is six feet in girth, and about twenty feet to the branches.

Their princ.i.p.al weapons are stones, thrown either with the hand or sling, and bludgeons; for though they have bows and arrows, the arrows are only fit to knock down a bird, none of them being pointed, but headed only with a round stone.

I did not see one turtle all the while I lay off this island; but, upon shewing some small ones which I brought from Queen Charlotte's Island, to the inhabitants, they made signs that they had them of a much larger size. I very much regretted my having lost our he-goat, which died soon after we left St Iago, and that neither of our she-goats, of which we had two, were with kid. If the he-goat had lived, I would have put them all on sh.o.r.e at this place, and I would have left a she-goat here if either of them had been with kid; and I doubt not, but that in a few years they would have stocked the island.

The climate here appears to be very good, and the island to be one of the most healthy as well as delightful spots in the world. We saw no appearance of disease among the inhabitants. The hills are covered with wood, and the vallies with herbage; and the air in general is so pure, that, notwithstanding the heat, our flesh meat kept very well two days, and our fish one. We met with no frog, toad, scorpion, centipied, or serpent of any kind: And the only troublesome insects that we saw were ants, of which there were but few.

The south-east part of the island seems to be better cultivated and inhabited than where we lay, for we saw every day boats come round from thence laden with plantains and other fruit, and we always found greater plenty, and a lower price, soon after their arrival, than before.

The tide rises and falls very little, and, being governed by the winds, is very uncertain; though they generally blow from the E. to the S.E., and for the most part a pleasant breeze.

The benefit that we received while we lay off this island, with respect to the health of the ship's company, was beyond our most sanguine expectations, for we had not now an invalid on board, except the two lieutenants and myself, and we were recovering, though still in a very feeble condition.

It is certain that none of our people contracted the venereal disease here, and therefore, as they had free commerce with great numbers of the women, there is the greatest probability that it was not then known in the country. It was, however, found here by Captain Cook, in the Endeavour, and as no European vessel is known to have visited this island before Captain Cook's arrival, but the Dolphin, and the Boudeuse and Etoil, commanded by M. Bougainville, the reproach of having contaminated, with that dreadful pest, a race of happy people, to whom its miseries had till then been unknown, most be due either to him or to me, to England or to France; and I think myself happy to be able to exculpate myself and my country beyond the possibility of doubt.

It is well known that the surgeon on board his majesty's ships keeps a list of the persons who are sick on board, specifying their diseases, and the times when they came under his care, and when they were discharged. It happened that I was once at the pay-table on board a ship, when several sailors objected to the payment of the surgeon, alleging, that although he had discharged them from the list, and reported them to be cured, yet their cure was incomplete. From this time, it has been my constant practice when the surgeon reported a man to be cured, who had been upon the sick-list, to call the man before me, and ask him whether the report was true: If he alleged that any symptoms of his complaint remained, I continued him upon the list; if not, I required him, as a confirmation of the surgeon's report, to sign the book, which was always done in my presence. A copy of the sick-list on board the Dolphin, during this voyage, signed by every man in my presence, when he was discharged well, in confirmation of the surgeon's report, written in my own hand, and confirmed by my affidavit, I have deposited in the Admiralty; by which it appears, that the last man on board the ship, in her voyage outward, who was upon the sick-list for the venereal disease, except one who was sent to England in the store-ship, was discharged cured, and signed the book on the 27th of December, 1766, near six months before our arrival at Otaheite, which was on the 19th of June, 1767; and that the first man who was upon the list for that disease, in our return home, was entered on the 26th of February, 1768, six months after we left the island, which was on the 26th of July, 1767; so that the ship's company was entirely free fourteen months within one day, the very middle of which time we spent at Otaheite; and the man who was first entered as a venereal patient, on our return home, was known to have contracted the disease at the Cape of Good Hope, where we then lay.

SECTION IX.

_Pa.s.sage from Otaheite to Tinian, with some Account of several other Islands that were discovered in the South Seas._

Having made sail from King George the Third's Island, we proceeded along the sh.o.r.e of the Duke of York's Island, at the distance of about two miles. There appeared to be good bays in every part of it, and in the middle a fine harbour; but I did not think it worth while to go on sh.o.r.e. The middle and west end is very mountainous, the east end is lower, and the coast, just within the beach, is covered with cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, apple, and plantain trees.

At daylight, the next morning, we saw land, for which we made sail, and ran along the lee-side of it. On the weather-side there were very great breakers, and the lee-side was rocky, but in many places there appeared to be good anchorage. We saw but few inhabitants, and they appeared to live in a manner very different from those of King George's Island, their habitations being only small huts. We saw many cocoa-nut and other trees upon the sh.o.r.e; but all of than had their heads blown away, probably in a hurricane. This island is about six miles long, and has a mountain of considerable height in the middle, which seems to be fertile. It lies in lat.i.tude 17 28' S., and longitude, by our last observation, 151 4' W. and I called it _Sir Charles Saunders's Island_.

On the 29th, the variation of the compa.s.s, by azimuth, was 7 52' E.; and early the next morning, at day-break, we saw land bearing from N. by E. to N.W. We stood for it, but could find no anchorage, the whole island being surrounded by breakers. We saw smoke in two places, but no inhabitants. A few cocoa-nut trees were growing on the lee-part of it, and I called it _Lord Howe's Island_. It is about ten miles long, and four broad, and lies in lat.i.tude 16 46' S., longitude, by observation, 154 13' W.

In the afternoon, we saw land bearing W. by N. and stood for it. At five o'clock, we saw breakers running a great way out to the southward, and soon after, low land to the S.W. and breakers all about it in every direction.

We turned to windward all night, and as soon as it was light, crowded sail to get round these shoals. At nine we got round them, and named them _Scilly Islands_. They are a group of islands or shoals extremely dangerous; for in the night, however clear the weather, and by day, if it is hazy, a ship may run upon them without seeing land. They lie in lat.i.tude 16 28' S. longitude 155 30' W.

We continued to steer our course westward, till daybreak on the 13th of August, when we saw land bearing W. by S. and hauled towards it. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, we saw more land in the W.S.W. At noon, the first land that we saw, which proved to be an island, bore W. 1/2 S.

distant about five leagues, and had the appearance of a sugar-loaf; the middle of the other land, which was also an island, and appeared in a peak, bore W.S.W. distant six leagues. To the first, which is nearly circular, and three miles over, I gave the name of _Boscawen's Island_; and the other, which is three miles and a half long, and two broad, I called _Keppel's Isle_. Port Royal at this time bore E. 4 10' S.

distant 478 leagues.

At two o'clock, being about two miles distant from Boscawen's Island, we saw several of the inhabitants; but Keppel's Isle being to windward, and appearing more likely to afford us anchorage, we hauled up for it. At six, it was not more than a mile and a half distant, and, with our gla.s.ses, we saw many of the inhabitants upon the beach; but there being breakers at a considerable distance from the sh.o.r.e, we stood off and on all night.

At four o'clock the next morning, we sent off the boats to sound, and visit the island; and as soon as it was light, we ran down and lay over-against the middle of it. At noon, the boats returned, and reported that they had run within a cable's length of the island, but could find no ground: That seeing a reef of rocks lie off it, they had hauled round it, and got into a large, deep bay which was full of rocks: That they then sounded without the bay, and found anchorage from fourteen to twenty fathom, with a bottom of sand and coral: That afterwards they went again into the bay, and found a rivulet of good water, but the sh.o.r.e being rocky, went in search of a better landing-place, which they found about half a mile farther, and went ash.o.r.e. They reported also, that from the water to this landing-place, a good rolling-way might be made for supplying the ship, but that a strong guard would be necessary, to prevent molestation from the inhabitants. They saw no hogs, but brought off two fowls and some cocoa-nuts, plantains, and bananas. While the boats were on sh.o.r.e, two canoes came up to them with six men: They seemed to be peaceably inclined, and were much the same kind of people as the inhabitants of King George's Island, but they were clothed in a kind of matting, and the first joint of their little fingers had been taken off; at the same time about fifty more came down from the country, to within about an hundred yards of them, but would advance no farther.

When our people had made what observations they could, they put off, and three of the natives from the canoes came into one of the boats, but when she got about half a mile from the sh.o.r.e, they all suddenly jumped overboard, and swam back again.

Having received this account, I considered that the watering here would be tedious, and attended with great fatigue: That it was now the depth of winter in the southern hemisphere, that the ship was leaky, that the rudder shook the stern very much, and that what other damage she might have received in her bottom could not be known. That for these reasons, she was very unfit for the bad weather which she would certainly meet with either in going round Cape Horn, or through the streight of Magellan: That if she should get safely through the streight, or round the cape, it would be absolutely necessary for her to refresh in some port, but in that case no port would be in her reach; I therefore determined to make the best of my way to Tinian, Batavia, and so to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope. By this route, as far as we could judge, we should sooner be at home; and if the ship should prove not to be in a condition to make the whole voyage, we should still save our lives, as from this place to Batavia we should probably have a calm sea, and be not far from a port.

In consequence of this resolution, at noon I bore away, and pa.s.sed Boscawen's Island without visiting it. It is a high round island, abounding in wood, and full of people; but Keppel's Isle is by far the largest and the best of the two.

Boscawen's Island lies in lat.i.tude 15 50' S. longitude 175 W. and Keppel's Isle in lat.i.tude 15 55' S. longitude 175 3' W.

We continued a W.N.W. course till ten o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 16th, when we saw land bearing N. by E. and hauled up for it. At noon, we were within three leagues of it: The land within sh.o.r.e appeared to be high, but at the water-side it was low, and had a pleasant appearance; the whole seemed to be surrounded by reefs, that ran two or three miles into the sea. As we sailed along the sh.o.r.e, which was covered with cocoa-nut trees, we saw a few huts, and smoke in several parts up the country. Soon after we hauled without a reef of rocks, to get round the lee-side of the island, and at the same time sent out the boats to sound, and examine the coast.

The boats rowed close along the sh.o.r.e, and found it rocky, with trees growing close down to the water-side. These trees were of different sorts, many of them very large; but had no fruit: On the lee-side, however, there were a few cocoa-nuts, but not a single habitation was to be seen. They discovered several small rills of water, which, by clearing, might have been made to run in a larger stream. Soon after they had got close to the sh.o.r.e, several canoes came up to them, each having six or eight men on board. They appeared to be a robust, active people, and were quite naked, except a kind of mat that was wrapped round their middle. They were armed with large maces or clubs, such as Hercules is represented with, two of which they sold to the master for a nail or two, and some trinkets. As our people had seen no animal, either bird or beast, except sea-fowl, they were very desirous to learn of the natives whether they had either, but could not make themselves understood. It appears, that during this conference, a design was formed to seize our cutter, for one of the Indians suddenly laid hold of her painter, and hauled her upon the rocks. Our people endeavoured, in vain, to make them desist, till they fired a musket cross the nose of the man that was most active in the mischief. No hurt was done; but the fire and report so affrighted them, that they made off with great precipitation. Both our boats then put off, but the water had fallen so suddenly that they found it very difficult to get back to the ship; for when they came into deep water they found the points of rocks standing up, and the whole reef, except in one part, was now dry, and a great sea broke over it. The Indians probably perceived their distress, for they turned back, and followed them in their canoes all along the reef till they got to the breach, and then seeing them clear, and making way fast towards the ship, they returned.

About six in the evening, it being then dark, the boats returned, and the master told me, that all within the reef was rocky, but that in two or three places, at about two cables' length without it, there was anchorage in eighteen, fourteen, and twelve fathom, upon sand and coral.

The breach in the reef he found to be about sixty fathom broad, and here, if pressed by necessity, he said a ship might anchor or moor in eight fathom; but that it would not be safe to moor with a greater length than half a cable.

When I had hoisted the boats in, I ran down four miles to leeward, where we lay till the morning; and then, finding that the current had set us out of sight of the island, I made sail. The officers did me the honour to call this island after my name. _Wallis's Island_ lies in lat.i.tude 13 18' S. longitude 177 W.

As the lat.i.tudes and longitudes of all these islands are accurately laid down, and plans of them delivered in to the Admiralty, it will be easy for any ship, that shall hereafter navigate these seas, to find any of them, either to refresh or to make farther discoveries of their produce.

I thought it very remarkable, that although we found no kind of metal in any of these islands, yet, the inhabitants of all of them, the moment they got a piece of iron in their possession, began to sharpen it, but made no such attempt on bra.s.s or copper.

We continued to steer N. westerly, and many birds were from time to time seen about the ship, till the 28th, when her longitude being, by observation, 18724'W. we crossed the Line into north lat.i.tude. Among the birds that came about the ship, one which we caught exactly resembled a dove in size, shape, and colour. It had red legs, and was web-footed. We also saw several plantain leaves and cocoa-nuts pa.s.s by the ship.

On Sat.u.r.day the 29th, about two o'clock in the afternoon, being in lat.i.tude 250'N. longitude 188W. we crossed a great rippling, which stretched from the N.E. to the S.W. as far as the eye could reach from the mast-head. We sounded, but had no bottom with a line of two hundred fathoms.

On Thursday the 3d of September, at five o'clock in the morning, we saw land bearing E.N.E. distant about five miles: In about half an hour we saw more land in the N. W. and at six, saw in the N.E. an Indian proa, such as is described in the account of Lord Anson's voyage. Perceiving that she stood towards us, we hoisted Spanish colours; but when she came within about two miles of us, she tacked, and stood from us to the N.N.W. and in a short time was out of sight.

At eight o'clock, the islands which I judged to be two of the Piscadores, bore from S.W. by W. to W. and to windward, from N. by E. to N.E. and had the appearance of small flat keys. They were distant about three leagues; but many others, much farther off, were in sight. The lat.i.tude of one of those islands is 11N. longitude 19230' W.; and the other 1120'N., longitude 19258'W.

On the 7th, we saw a curlieu and a pewit, and on the 9th we caught a land-bird, very much resembling a starling.

On the 17th, we saw two gannets, and judged the island of Tinian to bear west, at about one-and-thirty leagues distance; our lat.i.tude being 15N., and our longitude 212 30'W. At six o'clock the next morning, we saw the island of Saypan, bearing W. by N. distant about ten leagues. In the afternoon, we saw Tinian, and made sail for the road; where, at nine o'clock in the morning, of Sat.u.r.day the 19th, we came to an anchor in two-and-twenty fathom, sandy ground, at about a mile distant from the sh.o.r.e, and half a mile from the reef.

SECTION X.

_Some Account of the present State of the Island of Tinian, and our Employment there; with what happened in the Run from thence to Batavia._

As soon as the ship was secured, I sent the boats on sh.o.r.e to erect tents, and bring off some refreshments; and about noon they returned, with some cocoa-nuts, limes, and oranges.

In the evening, the tents being erected, I sent the surgeon and all the invalids on sh.o.r.e, with two months provisions, of every kind, for forty men, the smith's forge, and a chest of carpenter's tools. I then landed myself, with the first lieutenant, both of us being in a very sickly condition, taking with us also a mate, and twelve men, to go up the country and hunt for cattle.