A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xv Part 41

"Mr Burney happening to come to the place where I was, I mentioned my suspicions to him; and, to put it to the test, whether they were well-founded, we attempted to get to the beach. But we were stopped, when about halfway, by some men, who told us, that we must go back to the place which we had left. On coming up, we found Omai entertaining the same apprehensions. But he had, as he fancied, an additional reason for being afraid; for he had observed, that they had dug a hole in the ground for an oven, which they were now heating; and he could a.s.sign no other reason for this, than that they meant to roast and eat us, as is practised by the inhabitants of New Zealand. Nay, he went so far as to ask them the question; at which they were greatly surprised, asking, in return, whether that was a custom with us? Mr Burney and I were rather angry that they should be thus suspected by him; there having, as yet, been no appearances, in their conduct toward us, of their being capable of such brutality."

"In this manner we were detained the greatest part of the day, being sometimes together, and sometimes separated, but always in a crowd; who, not satisfied with gazing at us, frequently desired us to uncover part of our skin; the sight of which commonly produced a general murmur of admiration. At the same time they did not omit these opportunities of rifling our pockets; and, at last, one of them s.n.a.t.c.hed a small bayonet from Mr Gore, which hung in its sheath by his side. This was represented to the chief, who pretended to send some person in search of it. But, in all probability, he countenanced the theft; for, soon after, Omai had a dagger stolen from his side, in the same manner, though he did not miss it immediately."

"Whether they observed any signs of uneasiness in us, or that they voluntarily repeated their emblems of friendship when we expressed a desire to go, I cannot tell; but, at this time, they brought some green boughs, and, sticking their ends in the ground, desired we might hold them as we sat. Upon out urging again the business we came upon, they gave us to understand, that we must stay and eat with them; and a pig which we saw, soon after, lying near the oven, which they had prepared and heated, removed Omai's apprehension of being put into it himself; and made us think it might be intended for our repast. The chief also promised to send some people to procure food for the cattle; but it was not till pretty late in the afternoon, that we saw them return with a few plantain-trees, which they carried to our boats."

"In the mean time, Mr Barney and I attempted again to go to the beach; but when we arrived, we found ourselves watched by people, who, to appearance, had been placed there for this purpose. For when I tried to wade in upon the reef, one of them took hold of my clothes and dragged me back. I picked up some small pieces of coral, which they required me to throw down again; and, on my refusal, they made no scruple to take them forcibly from me. I had gathered some small plants, but these also I could not be permitted to retain. And they took a fan from Mr Barney, which he had received as a present on coming ash.o.r.e. Omai said we had done wrong in taking up any thing, for it was not the custom here to permit freedoms of that kind to strangers, till they had, in some measure, naturalized them to the country, by entertaining them with festivity for two or three days."

"Finding that the only method of procuring better treatment was to yield implicit obedience to their will, we went up again to the place we had left; and they now promised that we should have a canoe to carry us off to our boats, after we had eaten of a repast which they had prepared for us."

"Accordingly the second chief, to whom we had been introduced in the morning, having seated himself upon a low broad stool of blackish hard wood, tolerably polished, and, directing the mult.i.tude to make a pretty large ring, made us sit down by him. A considerable number of cocoa-nuts were now brought, and shortly after a long green basket, with a sufficient quant.i.ty of baked plantains to have served a dozen persons. A piece of the young hog, that had been dressed, was then set before each of us, of which we were desired to eat. Our appet.i.tes, however, had failed from the fatigue of the day; and though we did eat a little to please them, it was without satisfaction to ourselves."

"It being now near sun-set, we told them it was time to go on board.

This they allowed, and sent down to the beach the remainder of the victuals that had been dressed, to be carried with us to the ships. But, before we set out, Omai was treated with a drink he had been used to in his own country, which, we observed, was made here, as at other islands in the South Sea, by chewing the root of a sort of pepper. We found a canoe ready to put us off to our boats, which the natives did with the same caution as when we landed. But even here their thievish disposition did not leave them. For a person of some consequence among them, who came with us, took an opportunity, just as they were pushing the canoe into the surf, to s.n.a.t.c.h a bag out of her, which I had with the greatest difficulty preserved all day, there being in it a small pocket-pistol, which I was unwilling to part with. Perceiving him, I called out, expressing as much displeasure as I could. On which he thought proper to return, and swim with the bag to the canoe; but he denied he had stolen it, though detected in the very act. They put us on board our boats, with the cocoa-nuts, plantains, and other provisions, which they had brought, and we rowed to the ships, very well pleased that we had at last got out of the hands of our troublesome masters."

"We regretted much that our restrained situation gave us so little opportunity of making observations on the country; for, during the whole day, we were seldom a hundred yards from the place where we were introduced to the chiefs on landing, and consequently, were confined to the surrounding objects. The first thing that presented itself, worthy of our notice, was the number of people, which must have been at least two thousand. For those who welcomed us on the sh.o.r.e bore no proportion to the mult.i.tude we found amongst the trees, on proceeding a little way up."

"We could also observe, that, except a few, those we had hitherto seen on board were of the lower cla.s.s; for a great number of those we now met with had a superior dignity in their air, and were of a much whiter cast. In general, they had the hair tied on the crown of the head, long, black, and of a most luxuriant growth. Many of the young men were perfect models in shape, of a complexion as delicate as that of the women, and, to appearance, of a disposition as amiable. Others, who were more advanced in years, were corpulent; and all had a remarkable smoothness of the skin. Their general dress was a piece of cloth, or mat, wrapped about the waist, and covering the parts which modesty conceals. But some had pieces of mats, most curiously varied with black and white, made into a sort of jacket without sleeves; and others wore conical caps of cocoa-nut core, neatly interwoven with small beads, made of a sh.e.l.ly substance. Their ears were pierced; and in them they hung bits of the membranous part of some plant, or stuck there an odoriferous flower, which seemed to be a species of _gardenia_. Some, who were of a superior cla.s.s, and also the chiefs, had two little b.a.l.l.s, with a common base, made from the bone of some animal, which was hung round the neck, with a great many folds of small cord. And after the ceremony of introduction to the chiefs was over, they then appeared without their red feathers, which are certainly considered here as a particular mark of distinction, for none but themselves, and the young women who danced, a.s.sumed them."

"Some of the men were punctured all over the sides and back in an uncommon manner; and some of the women had the same ornament on their legs. But this method was confined to those who seemed to be of a superior rank; and the men, in that case, were also generally distinguished by their size and corpulence, unless very young. The women of an advanced age had their hair cropped short; and many were cut in oblique lines all over the fore-part of the body; and some of the wounds, which formed rhomboidal figures, had been so lately inflicted, that the coagulated blood still remained in them."

"The wife of one of the chiefs appeared with her child, laid in a piece of red cloth, which had been presented to her husband, and seemed to carry it with great tenderness, suckling it much after the manner of our women. Another chief introduced his daughter, who was young and beautiful, but appeared with all the timidity natural to the s.e.x, though she gazed on us with a kind of anxious concern, that seemed to struggle with her fear, and to express her astonishment at so unusual a sight.

Others advanced with more firmness, and indeed were less reserved than we expected, but behaved with a becoming modesty. We did not observe any personal deformities amongst either s.e.x, except in a few who had scars of broad superficial ulcers remaining on the face and other parts. In proportion to the number of people a.s.sembled, there appeared not many old men or women; which may easily be accounted for, by supposing that such as were in an advanced period of life, might neither have the inclination nor the ability to come from the more distant parts of the island. On the other hand, the children were numerous; and both these and the men climbed the trees to look at us when we were hid by the surrounding crowd."

"About a third part of the men were armed with clubs and spears; and probably these were only the persons who had come from a distance, as many of them had small baskets, mats, and other things, fastened to the ends of their weapons. The clubs were generally about six feet long, made of a hard black wood, lance-shaped at the end, but much broader, with the edge nicely scolloped, and the whole neatly polished. Others of them were narrower at the point, much shorter, and plain; and some were even so small as to be used with one hand. The spears were made of the same wood, simply pointed, and, in general, above twelve feet long; though some were so short that they seemed intended to be thrown as darts."

"The place where we were all the day was under the shade of various trees, in which they preserved their canoes from the sun. About eight or ten of them were here, all double ones, that is, two single ones fastened together (as is usual throughout the whole extent of the Pacific Ocean) by rafters lashed across. They were about twenty feet long, about four feet deep, and the sides rounded with a plank raised upon them, which was fastened strongly by means of withes. Two of these canoes were most curiously stained, or painted, all over with black, in numberless small figures, as squares, triangles, &c. and excelled by far any thing of that kind I had ever seen at any other island in this ocean. Our friends here, indeed, seemed to have exerted more skill in doing this than in puncturing their own bodies. The paddles were about four feet long, nearly elliptical, but broader at the upper end than the middle. Near the same place was a hut or shed, about thirty feet long, and nine or ten high, in which, perhaps, these boats are built; but at this time it was empty."

"The greatest number of the trees around us were _cocoa-palms_, some sorts of _hibiscus_, a species of _euphorbia_, and, toward the sea, abundance of the same kind of trees we had seen at Mangeea Nooe Nainaiwa, and which seemed to surround the sh.o.r.es of the island in the same manner. They are tall and slender, not much unlike a cypress, but with bunches of long, round, articulated leaves. The natives call them _etoa_. On the ground we saw some gra.s.s, a species of _convolvulus_, and a good deal of _treacle-mustard_. There are also, doubtless, other fruit-trees and useful plants which we did not see; for, besides several sorts of _plantains_, they brought, at different times, roots which they call _taro_, (the _coccos_ of other countries,) a bread-fruit, and a basket of roasted nuts, of a kidney shape, in taste like a chesnut, but coa.r.s.er."

"What the soil of the island may be farther inland we could not tell, but toward the sea it is nothing more than a bank of coral, ten or twelve feet high, steep and rugged, except where there are small sandy beaches at some clefts, where the ascent is gradual. The coral, though it has probably been exposed to the weather for many centuries, has undergone no farther change than becoming black on the surface, which, from its irregularity, is not much unlike large ma.s.ses of a burnt substance. But, on breaking some pieces off, we found that, at the depth of two or three inches, it was just as fresh as the pieces that had been lately thrown upon the beach by the waves. The reef, or rock, that lines the sh.o.r.e entirely, runs to different breadths into the sea, where it ends all at once, and becomes like a high, steep wall. It is nearly even with the surface of the water, and of a brown or brick colour; but the texture is rather porous, yet sufficient to withstand the washing of the surf which continually breaks upon it."

Though the landing of our gentlemen proved the means of enriching my journal with the foregoing particulars, the princ.i.p.al object I had in view was, in a great measure, unattained; for the day was spent without getting any one thing from the island worth mentioning. The natives, however, were gratified with a sight they never before had, and probably will never have again. And mere curiosity seems to have been their chief motive for keeping the gentlemen under such restraint, and for using every art to prolong their continuance amongst them.

It has been mentioned that Omai was sent upon this expedition; and perhaps his being Mr Gore's interpreter was not the only service he performed this day. He was asked by the natives a great many questions concerning us, our ships, our country, and the sort of arms we used; and, according to the account he gave me, his answers were not a little upon the marvellous. As, for instance, he told them that our country had ships as large as their island, on board which were instruments of war (describing our guns) of such dimensions that several people might sit within them, and that one of them was sufficient to crush the whole island at one shot. This led them to enquire of him what sort of guns we actually had in our two ships. He said, that though they were but small in comparison with those he had just described, yet, with such as they were, we could, with the greatest ease, and at the distance the ships were from the sh.o.r.e, destroy the island, and kill every soul in it. They persevered in their enquiries, to know by what means this could be done; and Omai explained the matter as well as he could. He happened luckily to have a few cartridges in his pocket. These he produced; the b.a.l.l.s, and the gunpowder which was to set them in motion, were submitted to inspection; and, to supply the defects of his description, an appeal was made to the senses of the spectators. It has been mentioned above, that one of the chiefs had ordered the mult.i.tude to form themselves into a circle. This furnished Omai with a convenient stage for his exhibition.

In the centre of this amphitheatre, the inconsiderable quant.i.ty of gunpowder collected from his cartridges was properly disposed upon the ground, and, by means of a bit of burning wood from the oven, where dinner was dressing, set on fire. The sudden blast and loud report, the mingled flame and smoke, that instantly succeeded, now filled the whole a.s.sembly with astonishment. They no longer doubted the tremendous power of our weapons, and gave full credit to all that Omai had said.

If it had not been for the terrible ideas they conceived of the guns of our ships, from this specimen of their mode of operation, it was thought that they would have detained the gentlemen all night. For Omai a.s.sured them, that if he and his companions did not return on board the same day, they might expect that I would fire upon the island. And as we stood in nearer the land in the evening, than we had done any time before, of which position of the ships they were observed to take great notice, they probably thought we were meditating this formidable attack, and, therefore, suffered their guests to depart; under the expectation, however, of seeing them again on sh.o.r.e next morning. But I was too sensible of the risk they had already run, to think of a repet.i.tion of the experiment.

This day, it seems, was destined to give Omai more occasions than one of being brought forward to bear a princ.i.p.al part in its transactions. The island, though never before visited by Europeans, actually happened to have other strangers residing in it; and it was entirely owing to Omai's being one of Mr Gore's attendants, that this curious circ.u.mstance came to our knowledge.

Scarcely had he been landed upon the beach, when he found, amongst the crowd there a.s.sembled, three of his own countrymen, natives of the Society Islands. At the distance of about 200 leagues from those islands, an immense, unknown ocean intervening, with such wretched sea-boats as their inhabitants are known to make use of, and fit only for a pa.s.sage where sight of land is scarcely ever lost, such a meeting, at such a place, so accidentally visited by us, may well be looked upon as one of those unexpected situations with which the writers of feigned adventures love to surprise their readers, and which, when they really happen in common life, deserve to be recorded for their singularity.

It may easily be guessed with what mutual surprise and satisfaction Omai and his countrymen engaged in conversation. Their story, as related by them, is an affecting one. About twenty persons in number, of both s.e.xes, had embarked on board a canoe at Otaheite, to cross over to the neighbouring island Ulietea. A violent contrary wind arising, they could neither reach the latter nor get back to the former. Their intended pa.s.sage being a very short one, their stock of provisions was scanty, and soon exhausted. The hardships they suffered, while driven along by the storm they knew not whither, are not to be conceived. They pa.s.sed many days without having any thing to eat or drink. Their numbers gradually diminished, worn out by famine and fatigue. Four men only survived when the canoe overset, and then the perdition of this small remnant seemed inevitable. However, they kept hanging by the side of their vessel during some of the last days, till Providence brought them in sight of the people of this island, who immediately sent out canoes, took them off their wreck, and brought them ash.o.r.e. Of the four who were thus saved, one was since dead. The other three, who lived to have this opportunity of giving an account of their almost miraculous transplantation, spoke highly of the kind treatment they here met with.

And so well satisfied were they with their situation, that they refused the offer made to them by our gentlemen, at Omai's request, of giving them a pa.s.sage on board our ships, to restore them to their native islands. The similarity of manners and language had more than naturalized them to this spot; and the fresh connexions which they had here formed, and which it would have been painful to have broken off after such a length of time, sufficiently account for their declining to revisit the places of their birth. They had arrived upon this island at least twelve years ago. For I learnt from Mr Anderson, that he found they knew nothing of Captain Wallis's visit to Otaheite in 1765, nor of several other memorable occurrences, such as the conquest of Ulietea by those of Bolabola, which had preceded the arrival of the Europeans. To Mr Anderson I am also indebted for their names, Orououte, Otirreroa, and Tavee; the first born at Matavai in Otaheite, the second at Ulietea, and the third at Huaheine.

The landing of our gentlemen on this island, though they failed in the object of it, cannot but be considered as a very fortunate circ.u.mstance.

It has proved, as we have seen, the means of bringing to our knowledge a matter of fact, not only very curious, but very instructive. The application of the above narrative is obvious. It will serve to explain, better than a thousand conjectures of speculative reasoners, how the detached parts of the earth, and, in particular, how the islands of the South Sea, may have been first peopled, especially those that lie remote from any inhabited continent, or from each other.[154]

[Footnote 154: Such accidents as this here related, probably happen frequently in the Pacific Ocean. In 1696, two canoes, having on board thirty persons of both s.e.xes, were driven by contrary winds and tempestuous weather on the isle of Samal, one of the Philippines, after being tossed about at sea seventy days, and having performed a voyage from an island called by them Arnorsot, 300 leagues to the E. of Samal.

Five of the number who had embarked died of the hardships suffered during this extraordinary pa.s.sage. See a particular account of them, and of the islands they belonged to, in Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, tom. xv. from p. 196 to p. 215. In the same volume, from p. 282 to p.

320, we have the relation of a similar adventure in 1721, when two canoes, one containing twenty-four, and the other six, persons, men, women, and children, were driven from an island they called Farroilep, northward to the Isle of Guam, or Guahan, one of the Ladrones or Mariannes. But these had not sailed so far as their countrymen who reached Samal, as above, and they had been at sea only twenty days.

There seems to be no reason to doubt the general authenticity of these two relations. The information contained in the Letters of the Jesuits about these islands, now known under the name of the Carolines, and discovered to the Spaniards by the arrival of the canoes at Samal and Guam, has been adopted by all our later writers. See President de Brosse's Voyages aux Terres Australes, tom. ii. from p. 443 to p. 490.

See also the Modern Universal History.--D.]

This island is called Wateeoo by the natives. It lies in the lat.i.tude of 20 1' S. and in the longitude 201 45' E., and is about six leagues in circ.u.mference. It is a beautiful spot, with a surface composed of hills and plains, and covered with verdure of many hues. Our gentlemen found the soil, where they pa.s.sed the day, to be light and sandy. But farther up the country, a different sort perhaps prevails, as we saw from the ship, by the help of our gla.s.ses, a reddish cast upon the rising grounds. There the inhabitants have their houses; for we could perceive two or three, which were long and s.p.a.cious. Its produce, with the addition of hogs, we found to be the same as at the last island we had visited, which the people of this, to whom we pointed out its position, called Owhavarouah, a name so different from Mangeea Nooe Nainaiwa, which we learnt from its own inhabitants, that it is highly probably Owhavarouah is another island.

From the circ.u.mstances already mentioned, it appears that Wateeoo can be of little use to any ship that wants refreshment, unless in a case of the most absolute necessity. The natives, knowing now the value of some of our commodities, might be induced to bring off fruits and hogs to a ship standing off and on, or to boats lying off the reef, as ours did.

It is doubtful, however, if any fresh water could be procured; for, though some was brought in cocoa-nut sh.e.l.ls to the gentlemen, they were told that it was at a considerable distance; and, probably, it is only to be met with in some stagnant pool, as no running stream was any where seen.

According to Omai's report of what he learnt in conversation with his three countrymen, the manners of these islanders, their method of treating strangers, and their general habits of life, are much like those that prevail at Otaheite, and its neighbouring isles. Their religious ceremonies and opinions are also nearly the same. For, upon seeing one man who was painted all over of a deep black colour, and enquiring the reason, our gentlemen were told that he had lately been paying the last good offices to a deceased friend; and they found, that it was upon similar occasions the women cut themselves, as already mentioned. From, every circ.u.mstance, indeed, it is indubitable, that the natives of Wateeoo sprung originally from the same stock, which hath spread itself so wonderfully all over the immense extent of the South Sea. One would suppose, however, that they put in their claim to a more ill.u.s.trious extraction; for Omai a.s.sured us, that they dignified their island with the appellation of _Wenooa no te Eatooa_, that is, A land of G.o.ds; esteeming themselves a sort of divinities, and possessed with the spirit of the Eatooa. This wild enthusiastic notion Omai seemed much to approve of, telling us there were instances of its being entertained at Otaheite, but that it was universally prevalent amongst the inhabitants of Mataia, or Osnaburg Island.

The language spoken at Wateeoo was equally well understood by Omai, and by our two New Zealanders. What its peculiarities may be, when compared with the other dialects, I am not able to point out; for, though Mr Anderson had taken care to note down a specimen of it, the natives, who made no distinction of the objects of their theft, stole the memorandum book.

SECTION III.

_Wenooa-ette, or Otokootaia, visited.--Account of that Island, and of its Produce.--Hervey's Island, or Terougge mou Attooa, found to be inhabited.--Transactions with the Natives,--Their Persons, Dress, Language, Canoes.--Fruitless Attempt to land there.--Reasons for bearing away for the Friendly Islands.--Palmerston's Island touched at.--Description of the two Places where the Boats landed.--Refreshments obtained there.--Conjectures on the Formation of such low Islands.--Arrival at the Friendly Islands_.

Light airs and calms having prevailed, by turns, all the night of the 3d of April, the easterly swell had carried the ships some distance from Wateeoo before day-break. But as I had failed in my object of procuring at that place some effectual supply, I saw no reason for staying there any longer. I therefore quitted it, without regret, and steered, for the neighbouring island, which, as has been mentioned, we discovered three days before.

With a gentle breeze at E. we got up with it before ten o'clock in the morning, and I immediately dispatched Mr Gore, with two boats, to endeavour to land, and get some food for our cattle. As there seemed to be no inhabitants here to obstruct our taking away whatever we might think proper, I was confident of his being able to make amends for our late disappointment, if the landing could be effected. There was a reef here surrounding the land as at Wateeoo, and a considerable surf breaking against the rocks. Notwithstanding which, our boats no sooner reached the lee, or west side of the island, but they ventured in, and Mr Gore and his party got safe on sh.o.r.e. I could, from the ship, see that they had succeeded so far, and I immediately sent a small boat to know what farther a.s.sistance was wanting. She did not return till three o'clock in the afternoon, having waited to take in a lading of what useful produce the island afforded. As soon as she was cleared, she was sent again for another cargo; the jolly boat was also dispatched, and Mr Gore was ordered to be on board, with all the boats, before night, which was complied with.

The supply obtained here consisted of about a hundred cocoa nuts for each ship; and, besides this refreshment for ourselves, we got for our cattle some gra.s.s, and a quant.i.ty of the leaves and branches of young cocoa-trees, and of the _wharra_-tree, as it is called at Otaheite, the _panda.n.u.s_ of the East Indies. This latter being of a soft, spungy, juicy nature, the cattle eat it very well when cut into small pieces; so that it might be said, without any deviation from truth, that we fed them upon billet wood.

This island lies in the lat.i.tude of 19 51' S. and the longitude of 201 37' E, about three or four leagues from Wateeoo, the inhabitants of which called it Otakootaia; and sometimes they spoke of it under the appellation of Wenooa-ette, which signifies little island. Mr Anderson, who was on sh.o.r.e with our party, and walked round it, guessed that it could not be much more than three miles in circuit. From him I also learned the following particulars: The beach, within the reef, is composed of a white coral sand, above which the land within does not rise above six or seven feet, and is covered with a light reddish soil, but is entirely dest.i.tute of water.

The only common trees found there were cocoa-palms, of which there were several cl.u.s.ters, and vast numbers of the _wharra_. There was likewise the _callophyllum, suriana, guettarda_, a species of _tournefortia_, and _tabernae montanae_, with a few other shrubs, and some of the _etoa_ tree seen at Wateeoo. A sort of bind-weed over-ran the vacant s.p.a.ces, except in some places, where was found a considerable quant.i.ty of _treacle-mustard_, a species of _spurge_, with a few other small plants, and the _morinda citrifolia_, the fruit of which is eaten by the natives of Otaheite in times of scarcity. Omai, who had landed with the party, dressed some of it for their dinner, but it proved very indifferent.

The only bird seen amongst the trees was a beautiful cuckoo, of a chesnut brown, variegated with black, which was shot. But upon the sh.o.r.e were some egg-birds; a small sort of curlew; blue and white herons; and a great number of noddies; which last, at this time, laid their eggs a little farther up on the ground, and often rested on the wharra-tree.

One of our people caught a lizard of a most forbidding aspect, though small, running up a tree; and many of another sort were seen. The bushes toward the sea were frequented by infinite c.u.mbers of a sort of moth, elegantly speckled with red, black, and white. There were also several other sorts of moths, as well as some pretty b.u.t.terflies, and a few other insects.

Though there were, at this time, no fixed inhabitants upon the island, indubitable marks remained of its being at least occasionally frequented. In particular, a few empty huts were found. There were also several large stones erected, like monuments, under the shade of some trees, and several s.p.a.ces inclosed with smaller ones, where, probably, the dead had been buried. And, in one place, a great many c.o.c.kle-sh.e.l.ls, of a particular sort, finely grooved, and larger than the first, were to be seen; from which it was reasonable to conjecture, that the island had been visited by persons who feed partly on sh.e.l.l-fish. In one of the huts Mr Gore left a hatchet and some nails, to the full value of what we took away.

As soon as the boats were hoisted in, I made sail again to the northward, with a light air of wind easterly, intending to try our fortune at Hervey's Island, which was discovered in 1773, during my last voyage. Although it was not above fifteen leagues distant, yet we did not get sight of it till day-break in the morning of the 6th, when it bore W.S.W. at the distance of about three leagues. As we drew near it, at eight o'clock, we observed several canoes put off from the sh.o.r.e, and they came directly toward the ships. This was a sight that indeed surprised me, as no signs of inhabitants were seen when the island was first discovered; which might be owing to a pretty brisk wind that then blew, and prevented their canoes venturing out as the ships pa.s.sed to leeward, whereas now we were to windward.

As we still kept on toward the island, six or seven of the canoes, all double ones, soon came near us. There were from three to six men in each of them. They stopped at the distance of about a stone's throw from the ship, and it was some time before Omai could prevail upon them to come along-side; but no entreaties could induce any of them to venture on board. Indeed, their disorderly and clamorous behaviour by no means indicated a disposition to trust us, or treat us well. We afterward learnt that they had attempted to take some oars out of the Discovery's boat, that lay along-side, and struck a man who endeavoured to prevent them. They also cut away, with a sh.e.l.l, a net with meat, which hung over that ship's stern, and absolutely refused to restore it, though we afterward purchased it from them. Those who were about our ship behaved in the same daring manner; for they made a sort of hook of a long stick, with which they endeavoured openly to rob us of several things, and, at last, actually got a frock, belonging to one of our people that was towing, overboard. At the same time they immediately shewed a knowledge of bartering, and sold some fish they had (amongst which was an extraordinary flounder, spotted like porphyry, and a cream-coloured eel, spotted with black) for small nails, of which they were immoderately fond, and called them _goore_. But, indeed, they caught with the greatest avidity bits of paper, or any thing else that was thrown to them; and if what was thrown fell into the sea, they made no scruple to swim after it.

These people seemed to differ as much in person as in disposition from the natives of Wateeoo, though the distance between the two islands is not very great. Their colour was of a deeper cast; and several had a fierce, rugged aspect, resembling the natives of New Zealand, but some were fairer. They had strong black hair, which, in general, they wore either hanging loose about the shoulders, or tied in a bunch on the crown of the head. Some, however, had it cropped pretty short; and in two or three of them it was of a brown or reddish colour. Their only covering was a narrow piece of mat, wrapt several times round the lower part of the body, and which pa.s.sed between the thighs; but a fine cap of red feathers was seen lying in one of the canoes. The sh.e.l.l of a pearl-oyster polished, and hung about the neck, was the only ornamental fashion that we observed amongst them, for not one of them had adopted that mode of ornament so generally prevalent amongst the natives of this ocean, of puncturing, or _tatooing_, their bodies.

Though singular in this, we had the most unequivocal proofs of their being of the same common race. Their language approached still nearer to the dialect of Otaheite than that of Wateeoo or Mangeea. Like the inhabitants of these two islands, they enquired from whence our ships came, and whither bound, who was our chief, the number of our men on board, and even the ship's name. And they very readily answered such questions as we proposed to them. Amongst other things, they told us they had seen two great ships like ours before, but that they had not spoken with them as they sailed past. There can be no doubt that these were the Resolution and Adventure. We learnt from them, that the name of their island is Terouggemon Atooa, and that they were subject to Teerevatooeah, king of Wateeoo.[155] According to the account that they gave, their articles of food are cocoa-nuts, fish, and turtle; the island not producing plantains, or bread-fruit, and being dest.i.tute of hogs and dogs. Their canoes, of which near thirty were, at one time, in sight, are pretty large, and well built. In the construction of the stern, they bear some resemblance to those of Wateeoo; and the head projects out nearly in the same manner, but the extremity is turned up instead of down.

[Footnote 155: The reader will observe, that this name bears little affinity to anyone of the names of the three chiefs of Wateeoo, as preserved by Mr Anderson.--D.]

Having but very little wind, it was one o'clock before we drew near the N.W. part of the island, the only part where there seemed to be any probability of finding anchorage for our ships, or a landing-place for our boats. In this position I sent Lieutenant King, with two armed boats, to sound and reconnoitre the coast, while we stood off and on with the ships. The instant the boats were hoisted out, our visitors in the canoes, who had remained alongside all the while, bartering their little trifles, suspended their traffic, and, pushing for the sh.o.r.e as fast as they could, came near us no more.

At three o'clock the boats returned, and Mr King informed me, "That there was no anchorage for the ships, and that the boats could only land on the outer edge of the reef, which lay about a quarter of a mile from the dry land. He said that a number of the natives came down upon the reef, armed with long pikes and clubs, as if they intended to oppose his landing. And yet, when he drew near enough, they threw some cocoa-nuts to our people, and invited them to come on sh.o.r.e, though, at the very same time, he observed that the women were very busy bringing down a fresh supply of spears and darts. But, as he had no motive to land, he did not give them an opportunity to use them."