A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xvi Part 10

We had light airs and calms, by turns, with showers of rain, all night, and at day-break, in the morning of the 24th, we found that the currents had carried the s.h.i.+p to the N.W. and N., so that the west end of the island, upon which we had been, called Atooi by the natives, bore E., one league distant; another island, called Oreehoua, W. by S., and the high land of a third island, called Oneeheow, from S.W. by W. to W.S.W. Soon after, a breeze sprung up at N.; and, as I expected that this would bring the Discovery to sea, I steered for Oneeheow, in order to take a nearer view of it, and to anchor there, if I should find a convenient place. I continued to steer for it, till past eleven o'clock, at which time we were about two leagues from it. But not seeing the Discovery, and being doubtful whether they could see us, I was fearful lest some ill consequence might attend our separating so far. I therefore gave up the design of visiting Oneeheow for the present, and stood back to Atooi, with an intent to anchor again in the road, to complete our water. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the northerly wind died away, and was succeeded by variable light airs and calms, that continued till eleven at night, with which we stretched to the S.E., till day-break in the morning of the 25th, when we tacked and stood in for Atooi road, which bore about N. from us; and, soon after, we were joined by the Discovery.

We fetched in with the land about two leagues to leeward of the road, which, though so near, we never could recover, for what we gained at one time, we lost at another; so that, by the morning of the 29th, the currents had carried us westward, within three leagues of Oneeheow.

Being tired with plying so unsuccessfully, I gave up all thoughts of getting back to Atooi, and came to the resolution of trying, whether we could not procure what we wanted at the other island, which was within our reach. With this view, I sent the master in a boat, to sound the coast, to look out for a landing-place, and, if he should find one, to examine if fresh water could be conveniently got in its neighbourhood. To give him time to execute his commission, we followed, under an easy sail, with the s.h.i.+ps. As soon as we were abreast, or to the westward of the south point of Oneeheow, we found thirty, twenty-five, and twenty fathoms water, over a bottom of coral sand, a mile from the sh.o.r.e.

At ten o'clock the master returned, and reported that he had landed in one place, but could find no fresh water; and that there was anchorage all along the coast. Seeing a village a little farther to leeward, and some of the islanders, who had come off to the s.h.i.+ps, informing us, that fresh water might be got there, I ran down, and came to an anchor before it, in twenty-six fathoms water, about three quarters of a mile from the sh.o.r.e. The S.E. point of the island bore S. 65 E., three miles distant; the other extreme of the island bore N. by E., about two or three miles distant; a peaked hill, inland, N.E. 1/4 E.; and another island, called Tahoora, which was discovered the preceding evening, bore S. 61 W., distant seven leagues.

Six or seven canoes had come off to us, before we anch.o.r.ed, bringing some small pigs and potatoes, and a good many yams and mats. The people in them resembled those of Atooi, and seemed to be equally well acquainted with the use of iron, which they asked for also by the names of _hamaite_ and _toe_, parting readily with all their commodities for pieces of this precious metal. Several more canoes soon reached the s.h.i.+ps, after they had anch.o.r.ed; but the natives in these seemed to have no other object, than to pay us a formal visit.

Many of them came readily on board, crouching down upon the deck, and not quitting that humble posture, till they were desired to get up.

They had brought several females with them, who remained alongside in the canoes, behaving with far less modesty than their countrywomen of Atooi; and, at times, all joining in a song, not remarkable for its melody, though performed in very exact concert, by beating time upon their b.r.e.a.s.t.s with their hands. The men who had come on board did not stay long; and before they departed, some of them requested our permission to lay down, on the deck, locks of their hair.

These visitors furnished us with an opportunity of agitating again, this day, the curious enquiry, whether they were cannibals; and the subject did not take its rise from any questions of ours, but from a circ.u.mstance that seemed to remove all ambiguity. One of the islanders, who wanted to get in at the gun-room port, was refused, and at the same time asked, whether, if he should come in, we would kill and eat him? accompanying this question with signs so expressive, that there could be no doubt about his meaning. This gave a proper opening to retort the question as to this practice; and a person behind the other, in the canoe, who paid great attention to what was pa.s.sing, immediately answered, that if we were killed on sh.o.r.e, they would certainly eat us. He spoke with so little emotion, that it appeared plainly to be his meaning, that they would not destroy us for that purpose, but that their eating us would be the consequence of our being at enmity with them. I have availed myself of Mr Anderson's collections for the decision of this matter, and am sorry to say, that I cannot see the least reason to hesitate in p.r.o.nouncing it to be certain, that the horrid banquet of human flesh is as much relished here, amidst plenty, as it is in New Zealand.

In the afternoon, I sent Lieutenant Gore, with three armed boats, to look for the most convenient landing-place; and, when on sh.o.r.e, to search for fresh water. In the evening he returned, having landed at the village above-mentioned, and acquainted me that he had been conducted to a well half a mile up the country; but, by his account, the quant.i.ty of water it contained was too inconsiderable for our purpose, and the road leading to it exceedingly bad.

On the 30th, I sent Mr Gore ash.o.r.e again, with a guard of marines, and a party to trade with the natives for refreshments. I intended to have followed soon after, and went from the s.h.i.+p with that design. But the surf had increased so much by this time, that I was fearful, if I got ash.o.r.e, I should not be able to get off again. This really happened to our people who had landed with Mr Gore, the communication between them and the s.h.i.+ps, by our own boats, being stopped. In the evening, they made a signal for the boats, which were sent accordingly; and, not long after, they returned with a few yams and some salt. A tolerable quant.i.ty of both had been procured in the course of the day; but the surf was so great, that the greatest part of both these articles had been lost in conveying them to the boats. The officer and twenty men, deterred by the danger of coming off, were left ash.o.r.e all night; and, by this unfortunate circ.u.mstance, the very thing happened, which, as I have already mentioned, I wished so heartily to prevent, and vainly imagined I had effectually guarded against. The violence of the surf, which our own boats could not act against, did not hinder the natives from coming off to the s.h.i.+ps in their canoes. They brought refreshments with them, which were purchased in exchange for nails, and pieces of iron-hoops; and I distributed a good many pieces of ribbon, and some b.u.t.tons, as bracelets, amongst the women in the canoes. One of the men had the figure of a lizard punctured upon his breast, and upon those of others were the figures of men badly imitated. These visitors informed us, that there was no chief, or _Hairee_, of this island; but that it was subject to Teneooneoo, a chief of Atooi; which island, they said, was not governed by a single chief, but that there were many to whom they paid the honour of _moe_, or prostration; and, amongst others, they named, Otaeaio and Terarotoa. Among other things, which these people now brought off, was a small drum, almost like those of Otaheite.

About ten or eleven o'clock at night, the wind veered to the S., and the sky seemed to forebode a storm. With such appearances, thinking that we were rather too near the sh.o.r.e, I ordered the anchors to be taken up, and having carried the s.h.i.+ps into forty-two fathoms, came to again in that safer station. The precaution, however, proved to be unnecessary; for the wind, soon after, veered to N.E., from which quarter it blew a fresh gale, with squalls, attended with very heavy showers of rain.

This weather continued all the next day; and the sea ran so high, that we had no manner of communication with our party on sh.o.r.e; and even the natives themselves durst not venture out to the s.h.i.+ps in their canoes. In the evening, I sent the master in a boat up to the S.E.

head, or point of the island, to try if he could land under it. He returned with a favourable report; but it was too late, now, to send for our party till the next morning; and thus they had another night to improve their intercourse with the natives.

Encouraged by the master's report, I sent a boat to the S.E. point, as soon as day-light returned, with an order to Mr Gore, that, if he could not embark his people from the spot where they now were, to march them up to the point. As the boat could not get to the beach, one of the crew swam ash.o.r.e, and carried the order. On the return of the boat, I went myself with the pinnace and launch up to the point, to bring the party on board; taking with me a ram-goat and two ewes, a boar and sow-pig of the English breed, and the seeds of melons, pumpkins, and onions, being very desirous of benefiting these poor people, by furnis.h.i.+ng them with some additional articles of food. I landed with the greatest ease, under the west side of the point, and found my party already there, with some of the natives in company. To one of them, whom Mr Gore had observed a.s.suming some command over the rest, I gave the goats, pigs, and seeds. I should have left these well-intended presents at Atooi, had we not been so unexpectedly driven from it.

While the people were engaged in filling four water-casks, from a small stream occasioned by the late rain, I walked a little way up the country, attended by the man above-mentioned, and followed by two others carrying the two pigs. As soon as we got upon a rising ground, I stopped to look round me, and observed a woman, on the opposite side of the valley where I landed, calling to her countrymen who attended me. Upon this, the chief began to mutter something which I supposed was a prayer; and the two men, who carried the pigs, continued to walk round me all the time, making, at least, a dozen circuits before the other had finished his oration. This ceremony being performed; we proceeded, and presently met people coming from all parts, who, on being called to by my attendants, threw themselves prostrate on their faces, till I was out of sight. The ground, through which I pa.s.sed, was in a state of nature, very stony, and the soil seemed poor. It was, however, covered with shrubs and plants, some of which perfumed the air, with a more delicious fragrancy than I had met with at any other of the islands visited by us in this ocean. Our people, who had been obliged to remain so long on sh.o.r.e, gave me the same account of those parts of the island which they had traversed. They met with several salt ponds, some of which had a little water remaining, but others had none; and the salt that was left in them was so thin, that no great quant.i.ty could have been procured. There was no appearance of any running stream; and though they found some small wells, in which the fresh water was tolerably good, it seemed scarce. The habitations of the natives were thinly scattered about; and it was supposed, that there could not be more than five hundred people upon the island, as the greatest part were seen at the marketing-place of our party, and few found about the houses by those who walked up the country. They had an opportunity of observing the method of living amongst the natives, and it appeared to be decent and cleanly. They did not, however, see any instance of the men and women eating together; and the latter seemed generally a.s.sociated in companies by themselves. It was found, that they burnt here the oily nuts of the _dooe dooe_ for lights in the night, as at Otaheite; and that they baked their hogs in ovens, but, contrary to the practice of the Society and Friendly Islands, split the carcases through their whole length. They met with a positive proof of the existence of the _taboo_ (or, as they p.r.o.nounce it, the _tafoo_), for one woman fed another who was under that interdiction. They also observed some other mysterious ceremonies; one of which was performed by a woman, who took a small pig, and threw it into the surf, till it was drowned, and then tied up a bundle of wood, which she also disposed of in the same manner. The same woman, at another time, beat with a stick upon a man's shoulders, who sat down for that purpose. A particular veneration seemed to be paid here to owls, which they have very tame; and it was observed to be a pretty general practice amongst them, to pull out one of their teeth;[4] for which odd custom, when asked the reason, the only answer that could be got was, that it was _teeha_, which was also the reason a.s.signed for another of their practices, the giving a lock of their hair.

[Footnote 4: It is very remarkable, that, in this custom, which one would think is so unnatural, as not to be adopted by two different tribes, originally unconnected, the people of this island, and Dampier's natives on the west side of New Holland, at such an immense distance, should be found to agree.--D.]

After the water-casks had been filled and conveyed into the boat, and we had purchased from the natives a few roots, a little salt, and some salted fish, I returned on board with all the people, intending to visit the island the next day. But, about seven o'clock in the evening, the anchor of the Resolution started, and she drove off the bank. As we had a whole cable out, it was some time before the anchor was at the bows; and then we had the launch to hoist up alongside, before we could make sail. By this unlucky accident, we found ourselves, at day-break next morning, three leagues to the leeward of our last station; and, foreseeing that it would require more time to recover it than I chose to spend, I made the signal for the Discovery to weigh and join us. This was done about noon, and we immediately stood away to the northward, in prosecution of our voyage. Thus, after spending more time about these islands than was necessary to have answered all our purposes, we were obliged to leave them before we had completed our water, and got from them such a quant.i.ty of refreshments as their inhabitants were both able and willing to have supplied us with. But, as it was, our s.h.i.+p procured from them provisions, sufficient for three weeks at least; and Captain Clerke, more fortunate than us, got, of their vegetable productions, a supply that lasted his people upward of two months. The observations I was enabled to make, combined with those of Mr Anderson, who was a very useful a.s.sistant on all such occasions, will furnish materials for the next section.

SECTION XII.

_The Situation of the Islands now discovered.--Their Names.--Called the Sandwich Islands.--Atooi described.--The Soil.--Climate.--Vegetable Productions.--Birds.--Fish.--Domestic Animals.--Persons of the Inhabitants.--Their Disposition.--Dress.--Ornaments.--Habitations.--Food.--Cookery.-- Amus.e.m.e.nts.--Manufactures.--Working-tools.--Knowledge of Iron accounted for.--Canoes.--Agriculture.--Account of one of their Chiefs.--Weapons.--Customs agreeing with those of Tongataboo and Otaheite.--Their Language the same.--Extent of this Nation throughout the Pacific Ocean.--Reflections on the useful Situation of the Sandwich Islands._

It is worthy of observation, that the islands in the Pacific Ocean, which our late voyages have added to the geography of the globe, have been generally found lying in groups or cl.u.s.ters; the single intermediate islands, as yet discovered, being few in proportion to the others; though, probably, there are many more of them still unknown, which serve as steps between the several cl.u.s.ters. Of what number this newly-discovered Archipelago consists, must be left for future investigation. We saw five of them, whose names, as given to us by the natives, are Woahoo, Atooi, Oneeheow, Orrehoua, and Tahoora.

The last is a small elevated island, lying four or five leagues from the S.E. point of Oneeheow, in the direction of S., 69 W. We were told, that it abounds with birds, which are its only inhabitants. We also got some information of the existence of a low uninhabited island in the neighbourhood, whose name is Tammata pappa. Besides these six, which we can distinguish by their names, it appeared, that the inhabitants of those with whom we had intercourse, were acquainted with some other islands both to the eastward and westward. I named the whole group the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the Earl of Sandwich.

Those that I saw, are situated between the lat.i.tude of 21 30', and 22 15' N., and between the longitude of 199 20', and 201 30' E.

Of Woahoo, the most easterly of these islands, seen by us, which lies in the lat.i.tude of 21 36', we could get no other intelligence, but that it is high land, and is inhabited.

We had opportunities of knowing some particulars about Oneeheow, which have been mentioned already. It lies seven leagues to the westward of our anchoring-place at Atooi; and is not above fifteen leagues in circuit. Its chief vegetable produce is yams, if we may judge from what was brought to us by the natives. They have salt, which they call _patai_, and is produced in salt ponds. With it they cure both fish and pork; and some salt fish, which we got from them, kept very well, and were found to be very good. This island is mostly low land, except the part facing Atooi, which rises directly from the sea to a good height; as does also the S.E. point of it, which terminates in a round hill. It was on the west side of this point where our s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed.

Of Oreehoua we know nothing more than that it is a small elevated island, lying close to the north side of Oneeheow.

Atooi, which is the largest, being the princ.i.p.al scene of our operations, I shall now proceed to lay before my readers what information I was able to collect about it, either from actual observation, while on sh.o.r.e, or from conversation with its inhabitants, who were perpetually on board the s.h.i.+ps while we lay at anchor; and who, in general, could be tolerably well understood, by those of us who had acquired an acquaintance with the dialects of the South Pacific Islands. It is, however, to be regretted, that we should have been obliged, so soon, to leave a place, which, as far as our opportunities of knowing reached, seemed to be highly worthy of a more accurate examination.

Atooi, from what we saw of it, is, at least, ten leagues in length from east to west; from whence its circuit may nearly be guessed, though it appears to be much broader at the east than at the west point, if we may judge from the double range of hills which appeared there. The road, or anchoring-place, which we occupied, is on the south-west side of the island, about six miles from the west end, before a village which has the name of Wymoa. As far as we sounded, we found, that the bank has a fine grey sand at the bottom, and is free from rocks; except a little to the eastward of the village, where there spits out a shoal, on which are some rocks and breakers; but they are not far from the sh.o.r.e. This road would be entirely sheltered from the trade-wind, if the height of the land, over which it blows, did not alter its direction, and make it follow that of the coast; so that it blows at N.E., on one side of the island, and at E.S.E., or S.E., on the other, falling obliquely upon the sh.o.r.e. Thus the road, though situated on the lee side of the island, is a little exposed to the trade-wind; but, notwithstanding this defect, is far from being a bad station, and much superior to those which necessity obliges s.h.i.+ps daily to use, in regions where the winds are both more variable and more boisterous; as at Teneriffe, Madeira, the Azores, and elsewhere.

The landing too is more easy than at most of those places; and, unless in very bad weather, always practicable. The water to be got in the neighbourhood is excellent, and easy to be conveyed to the boats.

But no wood can be cut at any distance, convenient enough to bring it from, unless the natives could be prevailed upon to part with the few _etooa_ trees (for so they call the _cordia sebestina_,) that grow about their villages, or a sort called _dooe dooe_, that grow farther up the country.

The land, as to its general appearance, does not, in the least, resemble any of the islands we have hitherto visited within the tropic, on the south side of the _equator_; if we except its hills near the centre, which are high, but slope gently to the sea, or lower lands. Though it be dest.i.tute of the delightful borders of Otaheite, and of the luxuriant plains of Tongataboo, covered with trees, which at once afford a friendly shelter from the scorching sun, and an enchanting prospect to the eye, and food for the natives, which may be truly said to drop from the trees into their mouths, without the laborious task of rearing; though, I say, Atooi be dest.i.tute of these advantages, its possessing a greater quant.i.ty of gently-rising land, renders it, in some measure, superior to the above favourite islands, as being more capable of improvement.

The height of the land within, the quant.i.ty of clouds which we saw, during the whole time we staid, hanging over it, and frequently on the other parts, seems to put it beyond all doubt, that there is a sufficient supply of water; and that there are some running streams which we did not see, especially in the deep valleys, at the entrance of which the villages commonly stand. From the wooded part to the sea, the ground is covered with an excellent sort of gra.s.s, about two feet high, which grows sometimes in tufts, and, though not very thick at the place where we were, seemed capable of being converted into plentiful crops of fine hay. But not even a shrub grows naturally on this extensive s.p.a.ce.

In the break, or narrow valley, through which we had our road to the _morai_, the soil is of a brownish black colour, somewhat loose; but as we advanced upon the high ground, it changed to a reddish brown, more stiff and clayey, though, at this time, brittle from its dryness.

It is most probably the same all over the cultivated parts; for, what adhered to most of the potatoes, bought by us, which, no doubt, came from very different spots, was of this sort. Its quality, however, may be better understood from its products, than from its appearance. For the vale, or moist ground, produces _taro_, of a much larger size than any we had ever seen; and the higher ground furnishes sweet potatoes, that often weigh ten, and sometimes twelve or fourteen pounds; very few being under two or three.

The temperature of the climate may be easily guessed from the situation of the island. Were we to judge of it from our experience, it might be said to be very variable; for, according to the generally received opinion, it was now the season of the year, when the weather is supposed to be most settled, the sun being at his greatest annual distance. The heat was at this time very moderate; and few of those inconveniences, which many tropical countries are subject to, either from heat or moisture, seem to be experienced here, as the habitations of the natives are quite close; and they salt both fish and pork, which keep well, contrary to what has usually been observed to be the case, when this operation is attempted in hot countries. Neither did we find any dews of consequence, which may, in some measure, be accounted for, by the lower part of the country being dest.i.tute of trees.

The rock that forms the sides of the Valley, and which seems to be the same with that seen by us at different parts of the coast, is a greyish black, ponderous stone; but honey-combed, with some very minute s.h.i.+ning particles, and some spots of a rusty colour interspersed. The last gives it often a reddish cast, when at a distance. It is of an immense depth, but seems divided into _strata_, though nothing is interposed. For the large pieces always broke off to a determinate thickness, without appearing to have adhered to those below them. Other stones are probably much more various, than in the southern islands. For, during our short stay, besides the _lapis lydius_, which seems common all over the South Sea, we found a species of cream-coloured whetstone, sometimes variegated with blacker or whiter veins, as marble; or in pieces, as _brecciae_; and common writing slate, as well as a coa.r.s.er sort; but we saw none of them in their natural state; and the natives brought some pieces of a coa.r.s.e whitish pumice-stone. We got also a brown sort of _haemat.i.tes_, which, from being strongly attracted by the magnet, discovered the quant.i.ty of metal that it contained, and seems to belong to the second species of Cronstedt, though Linnaeus has placed it amongst his _intractabilia_. But its variety could not be discovered; for what we saw of it, as well as the slates and whetstones, was cut artificially.

Besides the vegetable articles bought by us as refreshments, amongst which were, at least, five or six varieties of plantains, the island produces bread-fruit; though it seems to be scarce, as we saw only one tree, which was large, and had some fruit upon it. There are also a few cocoa-palms; yams, as we were told, for we saw none; the _kappe_ of the Friendly Islands, or Virginian _arum_; the _etooa_ tree, and sweet-smelling _gardenia_, or _cape jasmine_. We saw several trees of the _dooe dooe_, so useful at Otaheite, as bearing the oily nuts, which are stuck upon a kind of skewer, and burnt as candles. Our people saw them used, in the same manner, at Oneeheow. We were not on sh.o.r.e at Atooi but in the day-time, and then we saw the natives wearing these nuts, hung on strings, round the neck. There is a species of _sida_, or Indian mallow, somewhat altered, by the climate, from what we saw at Christmas Island; the _morinda citrifolia_, which is called _none_; a species of _convolvulus_; the _ava_, or intoxicating pepper; and great numbers of gourds. These last grow to a very large size, and are of a vast variety of shapes, which probably is effected by art. Upon the dry sand, about the village, grew a plant, that we had never seen in these seas, of the size of a common thistle, and p.r.i.c.kly, like that; but bearing a fine flower, almost resembling a white poppy. This, with another small one, were the only uncommon plants, which our short excursion gave us an opportunity of observing.

The scarlet birds, already described, which were brought for sale, were never met with alive; but we saw a single small one, about the size of a canary-bird, of a deep crimson colour; a large owl; two large brown hawks, or kites; and a wild duck. The natives mentioned the names of several other birds; amongst which we knew the _otoo_, or blueish heron; and the _torata_, a sort of whimbrel, which are known by the same names at Otaheite; and it is probable, that there are a great many sorts, judging by the quant.i.ty of fine yellow, green, and very small, velvet-like, black feathers used upon the cloaks, and other ornaments worn by the inhabitants.

Fish and other marine productions were, to appearance, not various; as, besides the small mackarel, we only saw common mullets; a sort of a dead white, or chalky colour; a small brownish rock-fish, spotted with blue; a turtle, which was penned up in a pond; and three or four sorts of fish salted. The few sh.e.l.l-fish that we saw, were chiefly converted into ornaments, though they neither had beauty nor novelty to recommend them.

The hogs, dogs, and fowls, which were the only tame or domestic animals that we found here, were all of the same kind that we met with at the South Pacific Islands. There were also small lizards, and some rats, resembling those seen at every island at which we had, as yet, touched.

The inhabitants are of a middling stature, firmly made, with some exceptions, neither remarkable for a beautiful shape, nor for striking features, which rather express an openness and good-nature, than a keen intelligent disposition. Their visage, especially amongst the women, is sometimes round; but others have it long; nor can we say that they are distinguished as a nation, by any general cast of countenance. Their colour is nearly of a nut-brown; and. it may be difficult to make a nearer comparison, if we take in all the different hues of that colour; but some individuals are darker. The women have been already mentioned as being little more delicate than the men in their formation; and I may say, that, with a very few exceptions, they have little claim to those peculiarities that distinguish the s.e.x in other countries. There is, indeed, a more remarkable equality in the size, colour, and figure of both s.e.xes, than in most places I have visited. However, upon the whole, they are far from being ugly, and appear to have few natural deformities of any kind. Their skin is not very soft, nor s.h.i.+ning; perhaps for want of oiling, which is practised at the southern islands; but their eyes and teeth are, in general, very tolerable. The hair, for the greatest part is straight, though in some frizzling; and though its natural colour be commonly black, it is stained, as at the Friendly and other islands. We saw but few instances of corpulence; and these oftener amongst the women than the men; but it was chiefly amongst the latter that personal defects were observed, though, if any of them can claim a share of beauty, it was most conspicuous amongst the young men.

They are vigorous, active, and most expert swimmers; leaving their canoes upon the most trifling occasion, diving under them, and swimming to others, though at a great distance. It was very common to see women with infants at the breast, when the surf was so high, that they could not land in the canoes, leap overboard, and, without endangering their little ones, swim to the sh.o.r.e, through a sea that looked dreadful.

They seem to be blest with a frank cheerful disposition; and were I to draw any comparisons, should say, that they are equally free from the fickle levity which distinguishes the natives of Otaheite, and the sedate east observable amongst many of those of Tongataboo. They seem to live very sociably in their intercourse with one another; and, except the propensity to thieving, which seems innate in most of the people we have visited in this ocean, they were exceedingly friendly to us. And it does their sensibility no little credit, without flattering ourselves, that when they saw the various articles of our European manufacture, they could not help expressing their surprise, by a mixture of joy and concern, that seemed to apply the case as a lesson of humility to themselves; and, on all occasions, they appeared deeply impressed with a consciousness of their own inferiority; a behaviour which equally exempts their national character from the preposterous pride of the more polished j.a.panese, and of the ruder Greenlander. It was a pleasure to observe with how much affection the women managed their infants, and how readily the men lent their a.s.sistance to such a tender office; thus sufficiently distinguis.h.i.+ng themselves from those savages, who esteem a wife and child as things rather necessary, than desirable or worthy of their notice.

From the numbers which we saw collected at every village, as we sailed past, it may be supposed, that the inhabitants of this island are pretty numerous. Any computation, that we make, can be only conjectural. But, that some notion may be formed, which shall not greatly err on either side, I would suppose, that, including the straggling houses, there might be, upon the whole island, sixty such, villages, as that before which we anch.o.r.ed; and that, allowing five persons to each house, there would be, in every village, five hundred; or thirty thousand upon the island. This number is certainly not exaggerated; for we had sometimes three thousand persons at least upon the beach; when it could not be supposed that above a tenth part of the inhabitants were present.

The common dress both of the women and of the men has been already described. The first have often much larger pieces of cloth wrapped round them, reaching from just below the b.r.e.a.s.t.s to the hams or lower; and several were seen with pieces thrown loosely about the shoulders, which covered the greatest part of the body; but the children when very young are quite naked. They wear nothing upon the head; but the hair in both s.e.xes is cut in different forms; and the general fas.h.i.+on, especially among the women, is to have it long before and short behind. The men often had it cut or shaved on each side, in such a manner, that the remaining part, in some measure, resembles the crest of their caps or helmets formerly described. Both s.e.xes, however, seem very careless about their hair, and have nothing like combs to dress it with. Instances of wearing it in a singular manner were sometimes met with among the men, who twist it into a number of separate parcels, like the tails of a wig, each about the thickness of a finger; though the greatest part of these, which are so long that they reach far down the back, we observed were artificially fixed upon the head over their own hair.[1]

[Footnote 1: The print of Horn Island, which we meet with in Mr Dalrymple's account of Le Maire and Schouten's voyage, represents some of the natives of that island with such long tails hanging from their heads as are here described. See Dalrymple's Voyages to the South Pacific, vol. ii. p. 58.--D]

It is remarkable, that, contrary to the general practice of the islands we had hitherto discovered in the Pacific Ocean, the people of the Sandwich Islands have not their ears perforated; nor have they the least idea of wearing ornaments in them. Both s.e.xes, nevertheless, adorn themselves with necklaces made of bunches of small black cord, like our hat-string, often above a hundred-fold; exactly like those of Wateeoo; only that instead of the two little b.a.l.l.s on the middle before, they fix a small bit of wood, stone, or sh.e.l.l, about two inches long, with a broad hook turning forward at its lower part well polished. They have likewise necklaces of many strings of very small sh.e.l.ls, or of the dried flowers of the Indian mallow. And sometimes a small human image of bone, about three inches long, neatly polished, is hung round the neck. The women also wear bracelets of a single sh.e.l.l, pieces of black wood, with bits of ivory interspersed and well polished, fixed by a string drawn very closely through them; or others of hogs' teeth laid parallel to each other, with the concave part outward, and the points cut off, fastened together as the former; some of which made only of large boars' tusks are very elegant. The men sometimes wear plumes of the tropic-bird's feathers stuck in their heads; or those of c.o.c.ks, fastened round neat polished sticks two feet long, commonly decorated at the lower part with _oora_; and for the same purpose, the skin of a white dog's tail is sewed over a stick with its tuft at the end. They also frequently wear on the head a kind of ornament of a finger's thickness or more, covered with red and yellow feathers curiously varied and tied behind; and on the arm, above the elbow, a kind of broad sh.e.l.l-work, grounded upon net-work.

The men are frequently punctured, though not in any particular part, as the Otaheiteans and those of Tongataboo. Sometimes there are a few marks upon their hands or arms, and near the groin; but frequently we could observe none at all; though a few individuals had more of this sort of ornament, than we had usually seen at other places, and ingeniously executed in a great variety of lines and figures on the arms and fore-part of the body; on which latter, some of them had the figure of the _taame_, or breast-plate of Otaheite, though we did not meet with the thing itself amongst them. Contrary to the custom of the Society and Friendly Islands, they do not slit or cut off part of the _prepuce_; but have it universally drawn over the _glans_, and tied with a string as practised by some of the natives of New Zealand.

Though they seem to have adopted the mode of living in villages, there is no appearance of defence or fortification near any of them; and the houses are scattered about without any order, either with respect to their distances from each other, or their position in any particular direction. Neither is there any proportion as to their size; some being large and commodious, from forty to fifty feet long, and twenty or thirty broad, while others of them are mere hovels. Their figure is not unlike oblong corn or hay-stacks; or, perhaps, a better idea may be conceived of them, if we suppose the roof of a barn placed on the ground, in such a manner as to form a high, acute ridge, with two very low sides hardly discernible at a distance. The gable at each end corresponding to the sides, makes these habitations perfectly close all round; and they are well thatched with long gra.s.s, which is laid on slender poles disposed with some regularity. The entrance is made indifferently in the end or side, and is an oblong hole, so low, that one must rather creep than walk in; and is often shut up by a board of planks fastened together, which serves as a door, but having no hinges, must be removed occasionally. No light enters the house but by this opening; and though such close habitations may afford a comfortable retreat in bad weather, they seem but ill adapted to the warmth of the climate. They are, however, kept remarkably clean; and their floors are covered with a large quant.i.ty of dried gra.s.s, over which they spread mats to sit and sleep upon. At one end stands a kind of bench about three feet high, on which their household utensils are placed. The catalogue is not long. It consists of gourd-sh.e.l.ls, which they convert into vessels that serve as bottles to hold water, and as baskets to contain their victuals, and other things with covers of the same; and of a few wooden bowls and trenchers of different sizes.

Judging from what we saw growing, and from what was brought to market, there can be no doubt, that the greatest part of their vegetable food consists of sweet potatoes, _taro_, and plantains; and that bread-fruit and yams are rather to be esteemed rarities. Of animal food they can be in no want; as they have abundance of hogs, which run without restraint about the houses; and if they eat dogs, which is not improbable, their stock of these seemed to be very considerable. The great number of fis.h.i.+ng-hooks found amongst them, shewed that they derive no inconsiderable supply of animal food from the sea. But it should seem, from their practice of salting fish, that the openness of their coast often interrupts the business of catching them; as it may be naturally supposed, that no set of people would ever think of preserving quant.i.ties of food artificially, if they could depend upon a daily regular supply of it in its fresh state. This sort of reasoning, however, will not account for their custom of salting their pork, as well as their fish, which are preserved in gourd-sh.e.l.ls. The salt, of which they use a great quant.i.ty for this purpose, is of a red colour, not very coa.r.s.e, and seems to be much the same with what our stragglers found at Christmas Island. It has its colour doubtless from a mixture of the mud at the bottom of the part where it is formed; for some of it that had adhered in lumps, was of a sufficient whiteness and purity.

They bake their vegetable food with heated stones, as at the southern islands; and from the vast quant.i.ty, which we saw dressed at one time, we suspected that the whole village, or, at least, a considerable number of people joined in the use of a common oven. We did not see them dress any animal food at this island; but Mr Gore's party, as already mentioned, had an opportunity of satisfying themselves, that it was dressed at Oneeheow in the same sort of ovens, which leaves no doubt of this being also the practice in Atooi; especially as we met with no utensil there that could be applied to the purpose of stewing or boiling. The only artificial dish we met with was a _taro_ pudding, which, though a disagreeable mess from its sourness, was greedily devoured by the natives. They eat off a kind of wooden plates or trenchers; and the women, as far as we could judge from one instance, if restrained from feeding at the same dish with the men, as at Otaheite, are at least permitted to eat in the same place near them.

Their amus.e.m.e.nts seem pretty various; for during our short stay, several were discovered. The dances at which they used the feathered-cloaks and caps were not seen; but from the motions which they made with their hands on other occasions, when they sung, we could form some judgment that they are, in some degree at least, similar to those we had met with at the southern islands, though not executed so skilfully. Neither had they amongst them either flutes or reeds, and the only two musical instruments which we observed were of an exceedingly rude kind. One of them does not produce a melody exceeding that of a child's rattle. It consists of what may be called a conic cap inverted, but scarcely hollowed at the base above a foot high, made of a coa.r.s.e sedge-like plant, the upper part of which, and the edges, are ornamented with beautiful red feathers, and to the point, or lower part, is fixed a gourd-sh.e.l.l larger than the fist.

Into this is put something to rattle, which is done by holding the instrument by the small part, and shaking or rather moving it from place to place briskly, either to different sides or backward and forward just before the face, striking the breast with the other hand at the same time. The other musical instrument (if either of them deserve that name) was a hollow vessel of wood, like a platter, combined with the use of two sticks, on which one of our gentlemen saw a man performing. He held one of the sticks, about two feet long, as we do a fiddle with one hand, and struck it with the other, which was smaller, and resembled a drum-stick, in a quicker or slower measure; at the same time beating with his foot upon the hollow vessel that lay inverted upon the ground, and thus producing a tune that was by no means disagreeable. This music was accompanied by the vocal performance of some women, whose song had a pleasing and tender effect.

We observed great numbers of small polished rods, about four or five feet long, somewhat thicker than the rammer of a musket, with a tuft of long white dog's hair fixed on the small end. These are probably used in their diversions. We saw a person take one of them in his hand, and holding it up, give a smart stroke, till he brought it into an horizontal position, striking with the foot on the same side upon the ground, and with his other hand beating his breast at the same time. They play at bowls with pieces of whetstone mentioned before, of about a pound weight, shaped somewhat like a small cheese, but rounded at the sides and edges, which are very nicely polished; and they have other bowls of the same sort, made of a heavy reddish, brown clay, neatly glazed over with a composition of the same colour, or of a coa.r.s.e dark-grey slate. They also use, in the manner that we throw quoits, small flat rounded pieces of the writing slate of the diameter of the bowls, but scarcely a quarter of an inch thick, also well polished. From these circ.u.mstances, one would be induced to think that their games are rather trials of skill than of strength.

In every thing manufactured by these people, there appears to be an uncommon degree of neatness and ingenuity. Their cloth, which is the princ.i.p.al manufacture, is made from the _morus papyrifera_; and doubtless in the same manner as at Otaheite and Tongataboo; for we bought some of the grooved sticks with which it is beaten. Its texture, however, though thicker, is rather inferior to that of the cloth of either of the other places; but in colouring or staining it, the people of Atooi display a superiority of taste, by the endless variation of figures which they execute. One would suppose, on seeing a number of their pieces, that they had borrowed their patterns from some mercer's shop, in which the most elegant productions of China and Europe are collected; besides some original patterns of their own.

Their colours, indeed, except the red, are not very bright; but the regularity of the figures and stripes is truly surprising; for, as far as we know, they have nothing like stamps or prints, to make the impressions. In what manner they produce their colours, we had not opportunities of learning; but, besides the party coloured sorts, they have some pieces of plain white cloth, and others of a single colour, particularly dark-brown and light-blue. In general, the pieces which they brought to us were about two feet broad, and four or five yards long, being the form and quant.i.ty that they use for their common dress or _maro_; and even these we sometimes found were composed of pieces sewed together; an art which we did not find to the southward, but is strongly, though not very neatly, performed here. There is also a particular sort that is thin, much resembling oil-cloth; and which is actually either oiled or soaked in some kind of varnish, and seems to resist the action of water pretty well.

They fabricate a great many white mats, which are strong, with many red stripes, rhombuses, and other figures, interwoven on one side; and often pretty large. These probably make a part of their dress occasionally; for they put them on their backs when they offered them to sale. But they make others coa.r.s.er, plain and strong, which they spread over their floors to sleep upon.