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[Illustration: SULPHUR ISLAND.
Published Jany. 1. 1818. by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London.]
ACCOUNT
OF
A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
TO THE
WEST COAST OF COREA,
AND
THE GREAT LOO-CHOO ISLAND;
WITH
AN APPENDIX,
CONTAINING
CHARTS, AND VARIOUS HYDROGRAPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC NOTICES.
BY CAPTAIN BASIL HALL,
ROYAL NAVY, F.R.S. LOND. & EDIN.
MEMBER OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF CALCUTTA, OF THE LITERARY SOCIETY OF
BOMBAY, AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AT BATAVIA.
AND
A VOCABULARY OF THE LOO-CHOO LANGUAGE,
BY H.J. CLIFFORD, ESQ.
LIEUTENANT ROYAL NAVY.
LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 1818.
TO
CAPTAIN MURRAY MAXWELL,
Knight Companion to the Bath,
TO WHOSE
ABILITY IN CONDUCTING THIS VOYAGE,
ZEAL IN GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT TO EVERY INQUIRY,
SAGACITY IN DISCOVERING THE DISPOSITION OF THE NATIVES,
AND ADDRESS IN GAINING THEIR CONFIDENCE AND GOOD WILL,
IS TO BE ATTRIBUTED
WHATEVER MAY BE FOUND INTERESTING OR USEFUL
IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES,
THIS WORK
IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
THE AUTHORS.
PREFACE.
The following work contains a Narrative of the Voyage to the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-choo Island; an Appendix, containing Nautical details; and a Vocabulary of the Language spoken at Loo-choo.
In drawing up the Narrative from journals written at the time, I have derived great assistance from notes made by Lieutenant H.J. Clifford, of the Navy. This officer obtained permission from the Admiralty to accompany me, though on half pay, and having no specific duty to perform, he was enabled to devote himself entirely to the acquisition of knowledge; and had it in his power to record many interesting occurrences of the voyage, which the numerous duties of my station left me but little leisure to observe or describe.
All the Charts, Tables, and Nautical Notices have been placed in an Appendix, in order to avoid the interruption which such details are apt to occasion when inserted in a journal; and the Nautical reader will perhaps consider it advantageous, to have this part of the subject set apart, and condensed, instead of being scattered over the pages of the narrative.
I am indebted to Mr. Clifford for very important assistance in collecting and arranging the materials which form this Appendix.
The northern part of the Chart of the Yellow Sea, given in the Appendix, was taken from a Chart by Captain Daniel Ross, of the Bombay marine, the scientific and able surveyor commanding the squadron which the Honourable East India Company, in the spirit of a liberal and enlarged policy, have employed for upwards of nine years, in surveying the China Seas.
The Vocabulary is exclusively compiled by Mr. Clifford, who took the greatest pains to collect words and sentences in common use; and though, from the shortness of our stay, this part of the work is necessarily incomplete, it is hoped that a future voyager will derive considerable assistance from it, in his intercourse with the natives.
The drawings of scenery and costume were made by Mr. William Havell, the eminent artist who accompanied the Embassy, from sketches taken on the spot, by Mr. C.W. Browne, midshipman of the Alceste, and myself.
Nothing respecting the west side of Corea has hitherto been accurately known to Europeans. The coast laid down in most Charts has been taken from the celebrated map of the Jesuits, which is very correct in what relates to China, but erroneous with respect to Corea. The Jesuits, indeed, did not survey this country, but have inserted it in their map, I believe, from Japanese authorities.
Captain Broughton in his voyage to the North Pacific Ocean visited the South Coast of Corea, and his account of the inhabitants agrees with ours in most particulars.
The same distinguished voyager visited the Great Loo-choo Island in 1797, after having been shipwrecked near Typinsan, one of its dependant islands. He was at Napakiang for a few days, and his account of the natives is highly interesting.
There is an article by Pere Gaubil, a missionary, on the subject of the Loo-choo Islands, in the 23d vol. of the "Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses." It is a translation from the official report of a Chinese embassador sent to Loo-choo by the Emperor Kang Hi; our opportunities, however, were not sufficient to enable us to judge of the accuracy of this curious memoir.
CONTENTS
NARRATIVE.
CHAPTER I.
H.M.S. Alceste and Lyra leave the Yellow Sea on a Voyage of
Discovery—Sir James Hall's Group on the Coast of Corea—Unsociable
Character of the Natives—Hutton's Island—Interesting geological
Structure—Anchor near the Main Land—Corean Chief's Visit—Objections
made to Strangers landing—Distress of the Chief—His
Character—Departure from Basil's Bay—Clusters of Islands—Murray's
Sound—Deserted Corean Village—View from the Summit of a high
Peak—Interview with the Coreans—Peculiarities of their
Character—Language—Erroneous geographical Position of this
Coast—Leave Corea Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Enter the Japan Sea—Sulphur Island—Volcano—See the Great Loo-choo Island—Lyra nearly wrecked—First Interview with the Natives—Anchor at Napakiang—Natives crowd on Board—Their interesting Appearance and Manners—Several Chiefs visit the Alceste—Land to make Observations—Astonishment of the Natives—Six Chiefs visit the Ships—Alceste and Lyra proceed farther in Shore—A Chief of high Rank waits upon Captain Maxwell—Return his Visit—Feast—Projected Survey of the Anchorage—Visit Reef Island—The Lyra sent to look for another Harbour—Arrangements for landing the Alceste's Stores—Description of the Temple and Garden—First Acquaintance with Mádera—Study of the Language 58
CHAPTER III.
The Lyra sent to survey the Island of Loo-choo—Discovery of Port Melville—Description of that Harbour, and the Villages on its Banks—Lyra nearly wrecked—Interview with Natives at the South Point—Return to Napakiang—Behaviour of the Natives at a Seaman's Funeral—Mádera's Character and Conduct—Sociable Habits of the Natives—Dinner given to the Chiefs of the Island by Captain Maxwell—Mádera's Behaviour on this Occasion—Two Women seen—A Lady of Rank visits the Boatswain's Wife—Captain Maxwell fractures his Finger—Loo-choo Surgeon—Concern of the Natives—Visit of the Prince—Discussion about the King of Loo-choo's Letter—Mádera appears in a new Character—Feast given by the Prince—List of Supplies given to the Ships—Behaviour of the Prince on taking Leave—Preparations for Departure—Mádera's Distress—Last Interview with the Chiefs—Brief Memorandums upon the Religion, Manners, and Customs of Loo-choo—Advice to a Stranger visiting this Island 135
APPENDIX.
Notice explanatory of a Chart of the Gulf of Pe-chee-lee v
Notice to accompany the Chart of the West Coast of Corea x
Notice to accompany the general Chart of the Great Loo-choo Island in the Japan Sea, and the Charts of Napakiang Roads and Port Melville xvii
Observations made at the Observatory at Napakiang xxix
Table of Observations made with Dr. Wollaston's Dip Sector: with an Engraving, and a Description of this Instrument, and Directions for its Use xxxi
Meteorological Journal, from July to November 1816, while the
Ships were in the Yellow and Japan Seas li
Abstract of the Lyra's Voyage, from leaving England till her
Return; shewing the Distance between the different Places at
which she touched, and the Time taken in performing each Passage cix
Geological Memorandum; being a Description of the Specimens of
Rocks collected at Macao and the Ladrone Islands, on the Shores
of the Yellow Sea, the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-choo
Island cxix
VOCABULARY.
PART I.—English and Loo-choo words.
PART II.—Sentences in English and Loo-choo, with a literal Translation.
Loo-choo and Japanese Numerals—Names of Persons at Napakiang—Names of
Places—Days of the Moon—Orders of Rank—Tattoo Marks—Hours of the
Day.
Comparison between the Japanese and Loo-choo Languages.
Comparison between the Loo-choo and Insu Languages.
Comparison between the Loo-choo, Japanese, and Insu Languages.
Corean Words.
DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES.
Sulphur Island, to face the Title Page.
Corean Chief and Secretary To face Page 16
Napakiang 77
Loo-choo Chief and his two Sons 97
Priest and Gentleman of Loo-choo 132
The Prince of Loo-choo 176
Scene after the Prince's Feast 196
Gentleman of Loo-choo in his Cloak 215
Bridge of Napakiang 222
APPENDIX.
Chart of the Gulf of Pe-chee-lee v
Coast of Corea x
Chart of the Great Loo-choo Island xix
Napakiang Roads xxi
Port Melville xxiv
Wollaston's Dip Sector xxxiii
* * * * *
[Transcriber's note: The following errors have been corrected in the text.]
ERRATA.
Page 1, line 2 from bottom, for 11th August, read 9th August.
Page 60, top line, for was, read saw.
APPENDIX.
Meteorological Journal.—Longitude on the 1st Sept. for 124.20, read 124.48.
The longitudes in the Met. Journ. from the 3d to the 7th of Sept. inclusive are too small by 15'.
VOCABULARY.
For Tatesee, read Tatsee.
For Teetesee, read Teetsee.
For Meetesee, read Meetsee.
For Eeotesee, read Eeotsee.
For Eeyatesee, read Eeyatsee.
For opposite, read under, in the note on the word Hour.
[Transcriber's Note: a letter with a macron above it is denoted by [=x].]
VOYAGE TO THE WEST COAST OF COREA AND THE LOO-CHOO ISLANDS.
* * * * *
CHAPTER I.
H.M.S. Alceste and Lyra leave the Yellow Sea on a Voyage of
Discovery—Sir James Hall's Group on the Coast of Corea—Unsociable
Character of the Natives—Hutton's Island—Interesting geological
Structure—Anchor near the Main Land—Corean Chiefs
Visit—Objections made to Strangers landing—Distress of the
Chief—His Character—Departure from Basil's Bay—Clusters of
Islands—Murray's Sound—Deserted Corean Village—View from the
Summit of a high Peak—Interview with the Coreans—Peculiarities of
their Character—Language—Erroneous geographical Position of this
Coast—Leave Corea.
The embassy to China, under the Right Honourable Lord Amherst, left England in his Majesty's frigate Alceste, Captain Murray Maxwell, C.B., on the 9th of February, 1816, and landed near the mouth of the Pei-ho river, in the Yellow Sea, on the 9th of August. Shortly afterwards the Alceste and Lyra sloop of war, which had accompanied the embassy, proceeded to the coast of Corea, the eastern boundary of the Yellow Sea; for as these ships were not required in China before the return of the Embassador by land to Canton, it was determined to devote the interval to an examination of some places in those seas, of which little or no precise information then existed. The following pages give the details of this voyage.
1st of September.—This morning at daylight the land of Corea was seen in the eastern quarter. Having stood towards it, we were at nine o'clock near three high islands, differing in appearance from the country we had left, being wooded to the top, and cultivated in the lower parts, but not in horizontal terraces as at the places we had last visited in China. We proceeded to the southward of the group, and anchored in a fine bay at the distance of two or three miles from the southern island. Shortly after anchoring, a boat came from the shore with five or six natives, who stopped, when within fifty yards of the brig, and looking at us with an air of curiosity and distrust, paid no attention to the signs which were made to induce them to come alongside. They expressed no alarm when we went to them in our boat; and on our rowing towards the shore, followed us till we landed near a village. The inhabitants came in a body to meet us, forming an odd assemblage, different in many respects from any thing we had seen; their colour was a deep copper, and their appearance forbidding, and somewhat savage. Some men, who appeared to be superior to the rest, were distinguished by a hat, the brim of which was nearly three feet in diameter, and the crown, which was about nine inches high, and scarcely large enough to admit the top of the head, was shaped like a sugar-loaf with the end cut off. The texture of this strange hat is of a fine open work like the dragon-fly's wing; it appears to be made of horse-hair varnished over, and is fastened under the chin by a band strung with large beads, mostly black and white, but occasionally red or yellow. Some of the elderly men wore stiff gauze caps over their hair, which was formed into a high conical knot on the top of the head. Their dress consisted of loose wide trowsers, and a sort of frock reaching nearly to the knee, made of a coarse open grass cloth, and on their feet neat straw sandals. They were of the middle size, remarkably well made, and robust looking. At first they expressed some surprise on examining our clothes, but afterwards took very little interest in any thing belonging to us. Their chief anxiety was to get rid of us as soon as possible. This they expressed in a manner too obvious to be mistaken; for, on our wishing to enter the village, they first made motions for us to go the other way; and when we persevered, they took us rudely by the arms and pushed us off. Being very desirous to conciliate them, we shewed no impatience at this treatment; but our forbearance had no effect; and after a number of vain attempts to make ourselves understood, we went away not much pleased at their behaviour. A Chinese[1], who accompanied us, was of no use, for he could not read what the Coreans wrote for him, though in the Chinese character; and of their spoken language he did not understand a word.
On leaving these unsociable villagers, we went to the top of the highest peak on the island, the ascent being easy by a winding foot-path. From this elevation we saw a number of islands to the eastward, and the main land at a great distance beyond them. The top of the hill being covered with soft grass and sweet-smelling shrubs, and the air, which had been of a suffocating heat below, being here cool and refreshing, we were tempted to sit down to our pic-nic dinner. We returned by the other side of the hill; but there being no path, and the surface rocky and steep, and covered with a thick brushwood, we were not a little scratched and bruised before we reached a road which runs along the north face of the hill about midway. By following this, we came to a spot from whence we were enabled to look down upon the village, without being ourselves perceived by the natives. The women, who had deserted the village on our landing, had now returned; most of them were beating rice in wooden mortars, and they had all children tied on their backs. On a sudden they quitted their work and ran off to their huts, like rabbits in a warren; and in a few minutes we saw one of the ship's boats row round the point of land adjacent to the village, which explained the cause of their alarm. After remaining for some time in expectation of seeing the women again, we came down to the village, which the natives now permitted us to pass through. On this occasion one of the gentlemen of our party saw, for an instant, a woman at no great distance, whose feet he declared were of the natural size, and not cramped as in China. The village consists of forty houses rudely constructed of reeds plaistered with mud, the roofs are of all shapes, and badly thatched with reeds and straw, tied down by straw ropes. These huts are not disposed in streets, but are scattered about without order, and without any neatness, or cleanliness, and the spaces between them are occupied by piles of dirt and pools of muddy water. The valley in which this comfortless village is situated is, however, pretty enough, though not wooded; the hills forming it are of an irregular shape, and covered at top with grass and sweet-scented flowers; the lower parts are cultivated with millet, buckwheat, a kind of French bean, and tobacco, which last grows in great quantity; and here and there is a young oak-tree.
We saw bullocks and poultry, but the natives would not exchange them for our money, or for any thing we had to offer. They refused dollars when offered as a present, and, indeed, appeared to set no value upon any thing we shewed them, except wine glasses; but even these they were unwilling to receive. One of the head men appeared particularly pleased with a glass, which, after a good deal of persuasion, he accepted, but, in about five minutes after, he, and another man to whom a tumbler had been given, came back and insisted upon returning the presents; and then, without waiting for further persuasion, returned to the village, leaving with us only one man, who, as soon as all the rest were out of sight, accepted one of the glasses with much eagerness.
These people have a proud sort of carriage, with an air of composure and indifference about them, and an absence of curiosity which struck us as being very remarkable. Sometimes when we succeeded, by dint of signs and drawings, in expressing the nature of a question, they treated it with derision and insolence. On one occasion, being anxious to buy a clumsy sort of rake made of reeds, which appeared to me curious, I succeeded in explaining my wish to the owner, one of the lowest class of villagers; he laughed at first good humouredly, but immediately afterwards seized the rake which was in my hand, and gave it a rude push towards me with a disdainful fling of the arm, accompanying this gesticulation by words, which seemed to imply a desire to give any thing upon condition of our going away. One man expressed the general wish for our departure, by holding up a piece of paper like a sail, and then blowing upon it in the direction of the wind, at the same time pointing to the ships, thereby denoting that the wind was fair, and that we had only to set sail and leave the island. Several of the people were marked with the small-pox. The children kept out of our reach at first, but before we went away, their fears had, in some degree, subsided, for the boys, who, from their feminine appearance, were mistaken at first for girls, accompanied us to some distance from the village.
Captain Maxwell named these islands Sir James Hall's group, in compliment to the President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. They lie in longitude 124º 46' E. and latitude 37º 50' N.
At eight o'clock in the evening we weighed and stood to the southward, but as the coast was quite unknown, we kept rather off shore during the night, and in the morning no land was in sight. On the 2d we stood to the eastward, but not having daylight enough to get in with the coast, it became necessary to anchor for the night, though in deep water.
3d of September.—Having reached nearly lat. 36-1/3 N. and long. 126 E. we sailed this morning amongst a range of islands extending as far as the eye could reach, both to the southward and northward, at the distance of six or seven leagues from the main land. By two o'clock we were close to the outer cluster of the islands, and the passages appearing clear between them, we sailed through and anchored inside. While passing one of these islands in the ships, at no great distance, it looked so curiously formed, that, on anchoring, we went in the boats to examine its structure more minutely[2]. While we were thus engaged, the natives had assembled in a crowd on the edge of the cliff above us; they did not seem pleased with our occupation of breaking their rocks, for, from the moment we landed, they never ceased to indicate by shouts, screams, and all kinds of gesticulations, that the sooner we quitted the island the better; the cliff being 200 feet high, and nearly perpendicular, it was fortunate for us that they confined themselves to signs and clamour, and did not think of enforcing their wishes by a shower of stones.
As soon as we had completed our investigation of this spot, we went round in the boats to a small bay where there was good landing. Here we were met by the natives, who addressed several long speeches to us in a very loud tone of voice; to which we replied in English, that our wish was merely to look at the island, without interfering with any body; at the same time we proceeded up a foot-path to the brow of a hill. This the natives did not seem at all to relish, and they made use of a sign which was sufficiently expressive of their anxiety, though we could not determine exactly to whom it referred. They drew their fans across their own throats, and sometimes across ours, as if to signify that our going on would lead to heads being cut off; but whether they or we were to be the sufferers was not apparent. It was suggested by one of our party that they dreaded being called to account by their own chiefs for permitting us to land. All these signs, however, did not prevent our advancing till we had reached the brow of the hill to which the path led; from this place we had a view of a village at the distance of half a mile, of a much better appearance than that above described. Trees were interspersed among the houses, which were pleasantly situated at the bottom of a little cove, with fishing-boats at anchor near it. We explained readily enough that our wish was to go to the village, but it was all in vain, for their anxiety increased every moment, and we desisted from any further attempts to advance.
The dress of these people is a loose white robe, cloth shoes, and a few wear the broad hats before described; by most the hair is tied in a high conical knot on the top of the head, but by others it is allowed to fly loose, so as to give them a wild appearance. Some confine the short hair by a small gauze band with a star on one side, forming, along with the top knot, rather a becoming head-dress. Their beards and whiskers which, apparently, had never been cut, and their fans and long tobacco-pipes, and their strange language and manners, gave a grotesque air to the whole group, which it is impossible to describe. They crowded about us, and, by repeated shouts, manifested their surprise at the form and texture of our clothes; but on a watch being shewn, they disregarded every thing else, and entreated to be allowed to examine it closely. It was evidently the first they had seen, and some of them while watching the second-hand, looked as if they thought it alive. From the watch they proceeded to examine the seals and keys; with the former they shewed themselves acquainted by pressing them on their hands, so as to cause an impression. Their attention was drawn away from the watch by our firing a musket, which made the whole party fall back several paces.
After amusing ourselves in this manner for some time, we walked back to the boats, to the great joy of the natives, who encouraged us by all means to hasten our departure. They took our hands and helped us over the slippery stones on the beach; and, on perceiving one of the boats aground, several of them stript and jumped into the water to push her off. This gave us an opportunity of observing their remarkable symmetry and firmness of limb; yet, as their long hair was allowed to flow about their neck and shoulders, their appearance was truly savage. During this visit we saw no women; but the children came round us without shewing any symptoms of fear. The people, upon the whole, are more free, and not so surly as our acquaintance on Sir James Hall's group. They have a singular custom of speaking with a loud tone, amounting almost to a shout. Captain Maxwell named this island after Dr. Hutton the geologist.
4th of September.—During all last night it remained perfectly calm. At nine o'clock in the morning we got under weigh with a fine sea breeze, and stood in for the land, leaving on either hand many well cultivated islands. The main land seems to be populous, from the number of large villages which we passed, and the cultivation which extends a considerable way up the mountains. Our object this morning was to discover some safe anchoring place in the main land, but we were obliged to coast along for a considerable distance before any opening appeared. About three o'clock we sailed round a point of land and discovered a bay, which, at first sight, promised shelter, but the water proved too shallow even for the Lyra, and we anchored far out in five fathoms. The natives who had assembled in crowds on the point shouted to us as we passed, in seeming anger at our approaching so near. This bay is about four miles in diameter, and is skirted by large villages built amongst trees, and surrounded by cultivated districts, forming altogether a scene of considerable beauty.
As soon as the Alceste had anchored, Captain Maxwell, Mr. Clifford, and I, went towards the nearest village in the bay. On approaching the shore we observed a great bustle among the inhabitants on the shore, as well as in the boats at anchor off the village. The people on the beach hastily jumped into canoes, whilst those in the large boats weighed the anchors, and pulled out with such expedition, as to meet us in a body before we were near the landing-place. Every boat was crowded with people, and ornamented with numerous flags and streamers; but one of them being distinguished by a large blue umbrella, we steered towards it, on the supposition that this was an emblem of rank; in which opinion we were soon confirmed by the sound of music, which played only on board this boat. On coming closer, we saw a fine patriarchal figure seated under the umbrella; his full white beard covered his breast, and reached below his middle; his robe or mantle, which was of blue silk, and of an immense size, flowed about him in a magnificent style. His sword was suspended from his waist by a small belt, but the insignia of his office appeared to be a slender black rod tipped with silver, about a foot and a half long, with a small leather thong at one end, and a piece of black crape tied to the other: this he held in his hand. His hat exceeded in breadth of brim any thing we had yet met with, being, as we supposed, nearly three feet across.
As this was evidently the chief of the party, we pulled alongside and got into his boat, where he received us with much politeness; but as he looked dissatisfied at this proceeding, we returned to our own boat, and there carried on the conference. While we were endeavouring to make ourselves understood, the other boats gradually separated, and began to form a circle round us. Apprehending treachery, we prepared our arms, and pushed off to a little distance. The old gentleman, perceiving this, looked about very innocently to discover the cause of our alarm; and at length being made aware by our signs of what was the matter, he commanded all the boats to go to the other side. We now remained a considerable time without being able to make ourselves understood; for the Chinese whom we had with us was quite ignorant of their language. We endeavoured, by pointing to the shore, to signify our desire to land, while the old Chief, by similar signs, expressed his wish to go to the ships. We accordingly rowed to the Lyra, which lay nearer to the shore than the Alceste. When the Chief's boat was within ten yards of the brig, they let go their anchor, and threw a rope on board her, by which they drew the boat alongside in a very seaman-like style. The old man did not find it an easy matter to get up the ship's side, encumbered as he was with his splendid robes; he was no sooner on board, however, than we were crowded with the natives, who boarded us on all sides. Some climbed up the rigging, so as to overlook the quarter-deck; others got on the poop, and a line was formed along the hammock netting from one end of the brig to the other. As the evening was fine, it was thought best to entertain the venerable Chief upon deck, rather than give him the trouble of going down to the cabin, which, indeed, we had reason to fear would prove too small for the party. Chairs were accordingly placed upon the deck; but the Chief made signs that he could not sit on a chair, nor would he consent for a time to use his mat, which was brought on board by one of his attendants. He seemed embarrassed and displeased, which we could not at the moment account for, though it has since occurred to us that he objected to the publicity of the conference. At length, however, he sat down on his mat, and began talking with great gravity and composure, without appearing in the smallest degree sensible that we did not understand a single word that he said. We of course could not think of interrupting him, and allowed him to talk on at his leisure; but when his discourse was concluded, he paused for our reply, which we made with equal gravity in English; upon this he betrayed great impatience at his harangue having been lost upon us, and supposing that we could, at all events, read, he called to his secretary, and began to dictate a letter. The secretary sat down before him with all due formality, and having rubbed his cake of ink upon a stone, drawn forth his pen, and arranged a long roll of paper upon his knee, began the writing, which was at length completed, partly from the directions of the Chief, and partly from his own ideas, as well as the occasional suggestions of the bystanders. The written part was then torn off from the scroll and handed to the Chief, who delivered it to me with the utmost confidence of its being understood: but his mortification and disappointment were extreme on perceiving that he had overrated our acquirements[3].
[Illustration: Drawn by Wm. Havell, Calcutta. Engraved by
Robt Havell & Son.
COREAN CHIEF and his SECRETARY.
Published Jany, 1, 1818, by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London.]
A debate now appeared to take place between the Chief and his followers, as to the mode of communicating with us; meanwhile, as we ourselves were equally at a loss, we became anxious to relieve the old man's embarrassment, by shewing him all the attention in our power, and completely succeeded in putting him into a good humour, by giving him some cherry brandy, and distributing rum to his people.
While these attempts at explanation were going on, the crowd of natives increased, and their curiosity became so great, that they pressed round us in a way nowise agreeable. Some of them roved about the ship, and appeared highly entertained with every thing they saw. The Chief himself, however, did not appear at ease, but continued giving directions to his officers and people about him with an air of impatience. He more than once ordered them all into their boats, but they always returned after a few minutes. One man persevered in climbing over the hammocks, close to the Chief, to see what was going on. The noise made to keep him back attracted the Chief's attention, who immediately gave orders to one of the attendants for his being taken away; it will be seen by and by what was his fate.
The persons forming the suite of the Chief were dressed nearly in the same manner as himself, excepting that their robes were white, and did not contain such a profusion of cloth. They wore the large hats and wide trowsers tied above the ancle, with cotton shoes turned up a little at the toe. The immediate attendants, who seemed also to be soldiers, were differently clothed: over a loose pink frock with wide sleeves, they have another which fits closer, and is without sleeves, the corners being tucked up, like the skirts of some military uniforms. Their hat is a broad flat cone made of thick grass, the under part being embossed with different coloured silks, and from a gilt ornament on the peak there hangs a tassel made of peacock's feathers, and another of hair dyed red: some are armed with bows and arrows, others with only a straight sword, having no guard for the hand. A coarse frock without sleeves, and trowsers, or rather drawers, covering the thigh, are worn by the lower orders.
It was nearly dark when the Chief gave directions for preparing the boats, at the same time calling to two of his attendants to assist him to get on his legs. Each took an arm, and in this way succeeded in raising him up, which was no sooner observed by the people, than they jumped into their boats with the utmost alacrity, and the Chief, after many bows and salams, walked into his boat. This did not give him so much trouble as he had experienced on coming on board, for a platform of gratings and planks had been prepared for his accommodation during his visit, an attention with which he seemed much pleased. So far all seemed well; but there was still something amiss, for the old man, seated in state under his umbrella, remained alongside with his attendants ranged on the deck about him, he and his people preserving the most perfect silence, and making no signs to explain his wishes. We were greatly puzzled to discover what the old gentleman wanted, till at length it was suggested, that having paid us a visit, he expected a similar compliment in return. This idea was no sooner started, than we proceeded to pay our respects to him in his boat. He made signs for us to sit down, honouring us at the same with a corner of his own mat. When we were seated, he looked about as if in distress at having nothing to entertain us with, upon which a bottle of wine was sent for and given to him. He ordered an attendant to pour it into several bowls, and putting the bottle away, made signs for us to drink, but would not taste it himself till all of us had been served. He was nowise discomposed at being obliged to entertain his company at their own expense; on the contrary, he carried off the whole affair with so much cheerfulness and ease, as to make us suspect sometimes that he saw and enjoyed the oddity of the scene and circumstances, as fully as we did ourselves.
After sitting about ten minutes, we left the Chief in great good humour, and returned on board, thinking, of course, that he would go straight to the shore; but in this we were much mistaken, for we had no sooner left him, than he pushed off to the distance of ten or twelve yards, and calling the other boats round him, gave orders for inflicting the discipline of the bamboo upon the unfortunate culprit, who had been ordered into confinement during the conference. This exhibition, which it was evidently intended we should witness, had a very ludicrous effect, for it followed so much in train with the rest of the ceremony, and was carried on with so much gravity and order, that it looked like an essential part of the etiquette. During the infliction of this punishment, a profound silence was observed by all the party, except by five or six persons immediately about the delinquent, whose cries they accompanied by a sort of song or yell at each blow of the bamboo. This speedy execution of justice was, no doubt, intended to impress us with high notions of Corean discipline.
As it was now quite dark, we did not expect the Chief to pay any more visits this evening; but we underrated his politeness, for the moment the above scene was concluded, he steered for the Alceste. Captain Maxwell, who during all the time had been on board the Lyra, hurried into his boat to be prepared to give him a proper reception in his ship, and had just time to change his jacket for a coat and epaulettes before the Chief arrived. After climbing up the ship's side with some difficulty, and being received in due form on the quarter-deck, which was lighted up, he was handed into the foremost cabin, where he was met by Captain Maxwell, and conducted to a seat in the after cabin. As he declined sitting on a chair, he was obliged to wait for his mat, and, in the meantime, looked round him in amaze at the magnificence of the apartments. The change of dress made him behave towards Captain Maxwell as to a perfect stranger; but the moment he recognised him, he appeared much amused with his mistake, and his manners became less reserved. He now turned about to see what was become of his mat, and was astonished to find himself alone with us in the cabin. It was then discovered that the sentry at the door, in repressing the crowd of his followers, had found it impossible to distinguish his more immediate attendants, and had therefore allowed nobody to pass.
The door being opened, the mat-bearer and four of the principal people were called in by the Chief; and when we were all fairly seated on the deck, the secretary was directed to prepare a writing, which was dictated and delivered much in the same manner as before. Whether the presentation of a written paper was considered by the Chief as a necessary piece of etiquette, or whether he really had more hopes of being understood on this occasion than before, was quite uncertain; but the mode adopted by Captain Maxwell to undeceive him was conclusive. He immediately called for paper, and wrote upon it in English, "I do not understand one word that you say," and presented this paper in return, with all the forms and ceremonies that had been adopted towards himself. The Chief, on receiving it, examined the characters with great attention, and then made signs that it was wholly unintelligible, alternately looking at the paper and at Captain Maxwell with an inquiring air, and was only made sensible of the awkward dilemma in which we were placed, by observing Captain Maxwell repeat all his looks and gestures as equally applicable to the Corean writing which he held in his hand[4].
The Chief had now recourse to signs, which he used ever afterwards. He was in great spirits, and seemed entertained with the efforts which were made to please him. He asked to look at a mirror which had caught his attention; when it was put into his hands, he seemed very well satisfied with the figure which it presented, and continued for some time pulling his beard from side to side with an air of perfect complacency. One of the attendants thought there could be no harm in looking at the mirror likewise, but the Chief was of a different opinion, and no sooner observed what he was doing, than he very angrily made him put down the glass and leave the cabin. The secretary too fell under his displeasure, and was reprimanded with much acrimony for overlooking our paper when we were writing. Scarcely five minutes elapsed, in short, during his stay, without his finding some cause of complaint against his people; but we could not determine whether this arose from mere captiousness, or was done to give us a higher notion of his consequence, because, in the intervals, he was all cheerfulness and good humour. He was offered tea and cherry brandy, which he took along with us, and appeared at his ease in every respect. We thought that he made signs, implying a wish for us to visit him on shore; to this we cheerfully assented, and an arrangement for landing in the morning was made accordingly by means of similar signs, with which the Chief appeared much pleased, and rose to go away.
He had not got much beyond the cabin-door, however, before the serenity of his temper was once more overturned. On passing the gun-room sky-light, he heard the voices of some of his people whom the officers had taken below, and who were enjoying themselves very merrily amongst their new acquaintance. The old Chief looked down, and observing them drinking and making a noise, he called to them in a loud passionate voice, which made them leave their glasses, and run up the ladder in great terror. From thence the alarm spread along the lower deck, to the midshipmen's berth, where another party was carousing. The grog and wine with which they had been entertained was too potent for this party, as they did not seem to care much for the old Chief, who, posting himself at the hatchway, ascertained, by personal examination, who the offenders were. On this occasion, his little rod of office was of much use; he pushed the people about with it to make them speak, and used it to turn them round, in order to discover their faces. One man watching his opportunity when the Chief was punching away at somebody who had just come up, slipped past and ran off; but the quick eye of the old man was not so easily deceived, and he set off in chase of him round the quarter deck. The man had an apron full of biscuit, which had been given to him by the midshipmen; this impeded his running, so that the Chief, notwithstanding his robes, at last came up with him; but while he was stirring him up with his rod, the fellow slipped his cargo of bread into a coil of rope, and then went along with the Chief quietly enough. The old man came back afterwards, and found the biscuit, which he pointed out to us, to shew that it had not been taken away.
He continued for some time at the hatchway, expecting more people; but finding none come up, he went below himself, to the main deck, and rummaged under the guns and round the main-mast, to discover whether any one was concealed; but finding no person there, he came again upon deck, and shortly after went into his boat.
On returning to the Lyra, we found a number of boats anchored round her, which looked as if they meant to keep strict watch over us. We went in our boat to one of them, where we found the crew asleep. They seemed to have had orders not to follow the Chief to the frigate, and were here waiting his return. On our pointing to the shore, and making signs that the old man with the long beard and large hat had landed, they began immediately to get their anchor up, and called to the other boats to do the same. In a few minutes they were all at work, and every person in the boats joined in repeating the two words "ho ya, ho ya," the effect of which, from a great many voices, was not unpleasing.
The cable in these boats is wound round a large reel or barrel; to the ends of which two wheels with handles are fitted, which enables a considerable number to apply their strength at the same moment. The anchor is made of a dark coloured, heavy wood, with a long shank and flukes, and a short stock crossing the former, near the crown of the anchor, and not at the end of the shank, as with us in Europe. The mat sails are divided into horizontal divisions by slender pieces of bamboo. When not under sail, the boats are moved by oars having a circular piece of wood tied to the end, and are steered by a large scull over the stern. The bow is square above, but rises from the water in a slope, making a small angle with the water, like the end of a coal barge, but overhanging more. The planks are fastened together by means of square tree-nails, which pass in a slanting direction through the plank, and not straight, as with us.
5th of September.—A considerable bustle was observed on shore at daybreak this morning; and shortly afterwards, we saw the old Chief and his suite embark, and pull towards us, accompanied by a numerous fleet of smaller boats, all ornamented with showy flags, and crowded with people in gay and bright coloured garments, forming, upon the whole, a splendid and imposing scene. As the procession moved slowly along, the band in the Chief's boat struck up a lively, martial sort of air, on instruments similar to those we had heard last night; the tone of which is not unlike the drawling sound of the bagpipe, the bass or drone being produced by a long horn, and the squeaking sounds by four trumpets, two of which have stops in the middle, by which the notes are distinctly marked.
The Chief's visit was so unexpectedly early, that we had not put things in order for his reception, before he was alongside: he came on board, however, and seemed happy at being allowed to walk about the decks, and examine every thing at his leisure. When the cabin was ready, and the Chief seemed to have satisfied himself with looking round the upper deck, he was asked to walk down; which he complied with as soon as he understood what was meant. But he found it no easy matter to get down the narrow hatchway, in which there was barely room for his hat; but this he would by no means take off. As he entered the cabin, his robes and hat completely filled the door-way; and when seated at the table, (for he now made no objection to a chair) he occupied no inconsiderable portion of the whole apartment. He sat here for some time, and examined every thing in the cabin with great attention, pointing with the little stick whenever he saw any thing which he wanted to look at more closely. In this way, the books, globes, glasses, &c. were put into his hands; and it was not a little amusing to see the old gentleman wheeling the globes round, and hunting over the books for pictures, like a child. A person of rank who accompanied the Chief this morning, was asked to the cabin along with him; and was no sooner seated, than we observed that he had a very sickly look; which circumstance was the cause of a curious mistake. It had been supposed that the Chief, during last night's conference, made allusions to some friend of his who was unwell; and accordingly, in our arrangements for the morning, it was proposed to take the doctors of both ships on shore, to visit him. As the Chief had himself come on board, our plans for landing were interrupted, and we ascribed this early visit to his anxiety on account of his friend's health.
It was therefore taken for granted, that this sickly looking companion of the Chief, who, some how or other, got the title of the "Courtier," amongst us, was the patient alluded to last night; and no sooner were the first compliments over in the cabin, than the doctor was sent for to prescribe. On his being introduced, the Courtier was made to hold out his tongue, have his pulse felt, and submit to various interrogatories, the object of which the unfortunate man could not divine, particularly as there was nothing at all the matter with him. He submitted with so much patience to all these forms, and the Chief looked on with such grave propriety during all the examination, that they evidently considered the whole scene as a part of our ceremonial etiquette. When this gentleman was released from the doctor's hands, he began to examine the books with the air of a person who understands what he is about. He appeared desirous of passing for a literary character; and observing us hand the books about in a careless manner, ventured to ask for one, by drawing it towards himself with a begging look. As he happened to select a volume of the Encyclopædia Britannica, I was under the necessity of refusing; but offered in its stead a less valuable, though more showy book, which he accepted with much gratitude. No return, of course, had been looked for, and I was for a moment at a loss to understand what my friend meant, by slipping his fan into my hand, under the table. He did this in so mysterious a way, when the Chief was looking in another direction, that I saw it was his wish to conceal what he had done, and the fan was sent privately away. But unfortunately, my precaution was fruitless, for a few minutes afterwards, on finding the crowded cabin very hot, I called for a fan, and the servant, unconscious of the mischief he was doing, brought the Courtier's present; which no sooner met the old man's eye, than he rose half off his chair, and gave his unhappy companion such a look of furious anger, as made him tremble from top to toe: but he was soon pacified when he saw that we took an interest in the question, and the Courtier was allowed to keep his book.
After sitting half an hour, and drinking a glass of Constantia, the old man proposed to go upon deck. I accordingly led the way, and had gone some steps up the ladder, in advance, before I perceived that he had stopped at the door of the gun-room, where the officers mess, and was looking in, with his usual curiosity. I begged him to go in, which he accordingly did, and entertained himself for some time, with looking over the different cabins of the officers. From having observed the pleasure which he took in the sight of any thing new, I was induced to propose his going round the lower deck, and he looked quite pleased when I pointed along the passage. The state hat, which had been resolutely kept on during all this time, notwithstanding its perpetual inconvenience to himself and every one around him, was here destined to come off; for after making two or three attempts, he found it impossible to get along and wear the hat too; and being of a very inquisitive disposition, he chose the degrading alternative of being uncovered, and his researches proceeded without interruption. Nothing escaped the old man's observation; whatever was shut or tied up, he requested to have opened; and in this way he rummaged the midshipmen's chests, and the sailors' bags, all along the lower deck. He looked into the holds, took the lid off the boilers, and turned every thing topsy-turvy. Seeing a cutlass tied to the deck, overhead, he took it down, and on drawing it from the scabbard, its lustre, and the keenness of its edge, surprised and delighted him so much, that I asked him to accept it. At first he seemed willing enough, but after holding a consultation with the Courtier for five minutes, he reluctantly put it back again. As he went along, he took samples of every thing that he could easily put into his sleeve, which served him instead of a sack; so that when he came upon deck, he was pretty well loaded, and looked about with the satisfaction of a school-boy, on having visited a show for the first time in his life.
Whilst we were below, one of the natives had been busily employed in taking the dimensions of the ship with a string, and another person was engaged under him, taking an account of the guns, shot, and rigging, all which details he wrote down; but not being able to ascertain, himself, the exact number of people on board, he had recourse to me for the information; this I communicated by opening eight times the fingers of both hands. The only part of the ship to which he had not free access was the cabin under the poop, and from which he felt much annoyed at being excluded: but when told that a gentleman was shaving there, he shewed himself quite satisfied with the explanation, and waited patiently until the door was opened to him.
The old gentleman and his followers appearing anxious to see a shot fired, an eighteen pound carronade was loaded before them, and discharged with the muzzle so much depressed, that the shot struck the water close to us, and then rose and fell eight or ten times, to the great entertainment and surprise of the whole party. In the mean time, Captain Maxwell had come on board, and breakfast being ready, we prevailed upon the Chief to sit down with us. He ate heartily of our hashes, and of every thing else that was put before him, using a knife, fork, and spoon, which he now saw, probably, for the first time in his life, not only without awkwardness, but to such good purpose, that he declined exchanging them for Chinese chopsticks, which were provided for him. In fact, he was so determined to adopt our customs in every respect, that when the tea was offered to him in the Chinese way, he looked to the right and left, and seeing ours differently prepared, held up his cup to the servant, for milk and sugar, which being given to him, the old gentleman remained perfectly satisfied.
The politeness and ease with which he accommodated himself to the habits of people so different from himself, were truly admirable; and when it is considered, that hitherto, in all probability, he was ignorant even of our existence, his propriety of manners should seem to point, not only to high rank in society, but to imply also a degree of civilization in that society, not confirmed by other circumstances. Be this as it may, the incident is curious, as shewing, that however different the state of society may be in different countries, the forms of politeness are much alike in all. This polished character was very well sustained by the old Chief; as he was pleased with our attempts to oblige him, and whatever we seemed to care about, he immediately took an interest in. He was very inquisitive, and was always highly gratified when he discovered the use of any thing which had puzzled him at first. But there was no idle surprise, no extravagant bursts of admiration, and he certainly would be considered a man of good breeding, and keen observation, in any part of the world. Towards his own people, indeed, he was harsh and impatient at all times; but this may have arisen from his anxiety that no offence should be given to us by the other natives, whom he might know were less delicate and considerate than himself, and therefore required constant control.
When breakfast was over, and the old man once more upon deck, we endeavoured to signify to him that we meant to land, according to our engagement yesterday evening; but this he either did not, or would not comprehend; for whenever we pointed towards the shore, he directed our attention to the frigate. At length he got into his boat, pushed off, and was making for the Alceste, when Captain Maxwell followed in his boat, and drawing up alongside of him, tried to prevail upon him to accompany us to the village: the Chief shook his head by way of disapprobation, and turning towards his attendants, entered into a discussion with them, which terminated by the Courtier and himself stepping into Captain Maxwell's boat.
We ascribed this measure to a desire on the Chief's part to show publicly that he had not himself invited us on shore, and had only acceded to our request to land. We had not proceeded far before the Chief repented of his ready compliance, and tried to persuade us to return; but finding the ordinary signs of no avail, he held his head down and drew his hand across his throat, as if his head was to be cut off. It was now our turn not to comprehend signs, and thinking it would be idle to lose so favourable an opportunity, spared no pains to reconcile the old man to our landing. In this, however, we did not succeed, for, as we approached the shore, his anxiety increased, and he frequently drew his hand across his neck, as if to shew that he would lose his head if we persisted. We again tried to re-assure him, by explaining that we had no intention of going near the village, but merely desired to walk about for a short time, and then to go to the frigate to dine. He was of course included in this invitation; but his only answer consisted in pointing to us and making signs of eating, and then drawing his hand across his throat; by which he was understood to mean, that it might be very well for us to talk of eating, but, for his part, he was taken up with the danger of losing his head. We could not but laugh at this, as we had no notion of any such apprehension being well grounded; and, in a short time, landed at the distance of half a mile from the village.
The old man was lifted out of the boat by several of his people, and we were amazed to find, when they set him down, that he was in tears, and looking altogether very unhappy. In a few minutes a crowd, consisting of more than a hundred people, assembled round us, and we began to think we should pay dearly for our curiosity. But the poor old man had no thoughts of vengeance, and was no better pleased with the crowd than we were; for turning to his soldiers, he desired them to disperse the mob, which they did in a moment by pelting them with great stones. The Chief now began crying violently, and turning towards the village walked away, leaning his head on the shoulder of one of his people. As he went along, he not only sobbed and wept, but every now and then bellowed aloud. We had been nowise prepared for such a scene, and were extremely sorry for having pushed matters to this extremity. It had never occurred to us that the old Chief's head was really in danger; and even now we could not satisfy ourselves whether he was sincere, or merely acting in order to prevail on us to retire. The perfect tranquillity, nay even cheerfulness of the Courtier, who staid with us all this time, puzzled us extremely: nor could we account for the indifference of the other attendants, who looked on with as much composure as if such scenes were every day occurrences. But at all events, it was necessary before proceeding any further, that the old man should be pacified; and in order to effect this, we sat down on the beach, upon which he turned about and came crying back again. He seated himself by us, and waited very patiently whilst we remonstrated on the unreasonableness of his conduct, and contrasted the reception he had met with from us, with his present unaccountable behaviour. This was expressed by a dumb show acting of all that had taken place since we came to anchor in the bay; and these signs we thought might be intelligible to the Chief, because they were so to all of us, although no words were used. The signs used by different nations, however, are often dissimilar when the same thing is to be expressed: and it happened frequently with us that all attempts at explanation failed, on both sides, though the signs used appeared to be understood by all the people of the same nation with the person making the signs.
The old man made a long speech in reply; in the course which the beheading sign was frequently repeated. It is curious that he invariably held his hands towards his throat after he had gone through this motion, and appeared to wash his hands in his blood: probably he did this in imitation of some ceremony used at executions.
Upon one occasion the Chief endeavoured to explain something to us which had a reference to a period of two days; this he did by pointing to the sun, making a motion twice from east to west, and, at the end of each time, closing his eyes as if asleep. This sign was variously interpreted: some believed it to mean that in two days his head would be taken off: others imagined that in two days a communication might be made to his government, and that orders for our reception would be transmitted. Whatever might have been meant by this particular sign, it seems very probable that some general instructions were in force along the whole of this coast by which the treatment of strangers is regulated. The promptitude with which we were met at this place, where, perhaps, no ship ever was before, and the pertinacity with which our landing was opposed, seem to imply an extraordinary degree of vigilance and jealousy on the part of the government.
We expressed a desire to eat and drink, in the hopes of working on the old man's hospitality, and, perhaps, inducing him to entertain us in his house; but he made no motion towards the village, and merely sent off a servant for some water and a few small cockles. When this sorry fare was laid on the beach, the old gentleman made signs for us to begin; but we did not choose to be pleased either with the entertainment itself, or with the place and manner in which it had been served. We explained to him that the proper place to eat was in a house, and not on a wet dirty beach; he made no offer, however, of any other; but leaning his head pensively on his hands, seemed entirely resigned to his fate.
The case was now utterly hopeless; and after an ineffectual attempt to cheer him up, we went on board, as the last, and indeed only favour we could grant him. Thus we quitted this inhospitable shore, after a stay of not quite an hour, in which time we had never been twenty yards from our own boats. We saw the village, however, to some advantage; it is neatly built, and very pleasantly situated under fine trees, in a valley cultivated like a garden, in small square patches.
It was now determined to prosecute the voyage to the southward, and the Lyra was accordingly ordered to proceed as usual to sound the passages a-head of the frigate, but had not gone far before the Alceste, still at anchor, was observed to be surrounded with boats. In about an hour she weighed and stood to sea. Captain Maxwell had received another visit from the old Chief, whose appearance was described as being quite altered; his sprightliness and curiosity all gone, and his easy unceremonious manner exchanged for cold and stately civility: he looked embarrassed and unhappy, as it appeared, from an apprehension of having offended Captain Maxwell. When this was discovered, no pains were spared to convince him that, in this respect, there was not the slightest cause for uneasiness. He would not accept any presents, but appeared much relieved by the unexpected kindness with which he was received, and before he went away, was restored, in some degree, to his wonted spirits. When looking over the books in the cabin, he was a good deal taken with the appearance of a Bible, but when offered to him he declined it, though with such evident reluctance, that it was again shewn to him just as he was pushing off in his boat, and he now received it with every appearance of gratitude, and took his leave in a manner quite friendly.
We quitted this bay without much regret. The old Chief, indeed, with his flowing beard, and pompous array, and engaging manners, had made a strong impression upon us all; but his pitiable and childish distress, whatever might have been the cause, took away from the respect with which we were otherwise disposed to regard him: yet this circumstance, though it makes the picture less finished, serves to give it additional interest; whilst every thing ridiculous in the old man's character is lost in the painful uncertainty which hangs over his fate.
From this bay we steered amongst the islands, during all the 6th and 7th, to the S.W. before the natives were met with again; we saw them indeed, but never got near enough to converse with them. They were frequently observed seated in groups watching us on the islands which we passed. We saw several fishing-boats, with a crew of about a dozen men, crowded on a sort of poop. At a little distance these boats appeared to be formed of two vessels lashed together. This appearance we believe to be caused by their having an outrigger on one side, on which their oars, sails, and masts are piled, in order probably to keep the boat clear when they are at anchor fishing. Their mast is lowered down and hoisted up by means of a strong tackle from the mast-head to the stern, as in the barges on the Thames.
We threaded our way for upwards of a hundred miles amongst islands which lie in immense clusters in every direction. At first we thought of counting them, and even attempted to note their places on the charts which we were making of this coast, but their great number completely baffled these endeavours. They vary in size, from a few hundred yards in length to five or six miles, and are of all shapes. From the mast-head other groups were perceived lying one behind the other to the east and south as far as the eye could reach. Frequently above a hundred islands were in sight from deck at one moment. The sea being quite smooth, the weather fine, and many of the islands wooded and cultivated in the valleys, the scene was at all times lively, and was rendered still more interesting by our rapid passage along the coast, by which the appearances about us were perpetually changing. Of this coast we had no charts possessing the slightest pretensions to accuracy, none of the places at which we touched being laid down within sixty miles of their proper places. Only a few islands are noticed in any map; whereas the coast, for near two hundred miles, is completely studded with them, to the distance of fifteen or twenty leagues from the main land. These inaccuracies in the charts naturally gave a very high degree of interest to this part of the voyage; yet the navigation being at all times uncertain, and often dangerous, considerable anxiety necessarily mingled itself with the satisfaction produced by so new and splendid a scene. We always anchored during the night, or when the tides, which were very rapid, prevented our proceeding in the deliberate manner absolutely required by the nature of the circumstances. An instance of the necessity of these precautions occurred on the 7th of September, at four o'clock in the afternoon, when, it being quite calm, we were drifting along with the tide, which suddenly shifted and carried us rapidly towards a reef of rocks, which was invisible till the strong rippling of the water shewed us our danger: we let go the anchor immediately, but the jerk was so great, as to break the Lyra's cable. A second anchor, however, brought her up at a sufficient distance from the reef.
As soon as the tide slacked, a boat was dispatched to examine the anchorage on the other side of an island near us. The officer landed about sunset, and from the top of the island could discover a village on the other side, on the shores of a fine large bay. He afterwards sounded the anchorage, and found it of a convenient depth. On his way back he landed near the village, but though it was bright moonlight he saw none of the inhabitants.
8th of September.—About noon we weighed and sailed round the north end of the island, which had been visited last night. The Alceste anchored nearly in the middle between the two islands which form the anchorage; but as the Lyra draws less water, she was placed as close off the village as was safe, being then about a quarter of a mile from the beach. At this distance, by means of a telescope fixed on a table on the poop, we were enabled to see what was going on in the village, while the people were unconscious of being observed. Mr. Clifford, who was too unwell to land with Captain Maxwell and myself, placed himself at the glass, and made many observations which must otherwise have escaped notice.
At first the only inhabitants visible were seated on the top of the hill watching us, the village itself being quite deserted; but shortly after our anchoring, the inhabitants began to assemble from different parts of the island. Of these several were women, some of whom had children on their backs, and others carried them in their arms. They looked stout, were fairer in complexion than the men, and were dressed in a long white robe, loose and open in front, with a petticoat of the same colour reaching a little below the knees; their hair was tied in a large knot behind; a small piece of white cloth was thrown loosely over the head to protect them from the rays of the sun. Some women were engaged in husking rice in a mortar with a wooden beater; these had no dress above the waist. The men and boys were seen carrying loads on a wooden frame hooked to the shoulders.
In a square flat place near the village a number of women and children were employed winnowing corn by pouring it from a height, so that the husks blew away. Fishing-nets were spread to dry on most of the houses. We landed about five o'clock, and found in the village only two men, who obstinately remained at one place without speaking, and looking anxious that we should go away; they refused the buttons which we offered them, and resisted our persuasions to accompany us to the upper part of the village, which we were anxious they should do, to shew that we had no intention of hurting any thing, but merely to look about us. We went on alone, and on reaching a deserted house thought it a good opportunity to examine it. Before the door, on a neat clean level space, enclosed by a hedge covered with a sweet-scented white flower, we found several heaps of corn and straw, and several of the wooden mortars in which the rice is pounded, also a number of vessels, some filled with water and others with rice. Cooking utensils were lying about, and a number of fishing lines coiled neatly in baskets, and split fish spread out to dry on the top of little corn ricks on one side of the court. The inside was dark and uncomfortable; the mud floor was full of hollow places; the walls were black with soot, and every thing looked dirty. On the left of the entrance two large metal boilers, twenty inches deep, were sunk in the brickwork, the upper part being about a foot above the floor. The fire-place was between the boilers, and on the hot embers lay three split fish. On the wall opposite to the fire were shelves, having a number of cups, basons, and cooking utensils, principally of coarse stone ware, and some few of a sort of bell-metal. The number of inhabitants in one house must be considerable, if we can form an estimate from the quantity of their dishes and vessels. There were three neat small pieces of furniture on one of the shelves, the use of which we could not discover; they were made of wood, elegantly carved and varnished, with a round top about a foot in diameter, and four legs a foot and a half long. The roof was well constructed, the rafters being mortised into the ends of the horizontal beams, and tied to the middle by a perpendicular beam or King-Post. Over the rafters is laid a net-work of rods, to which the thatch is tied. There was no chimney to this house, and only one window made of slender bars of wood, forming square spaces three inches by two, covered by a thin semi-transparent paper defended by the roof, which extends so far beyond the wall as to shelter it not only from the rain but from the sun. Most of the houses had a sort of raised verandah under the eaves, about a foot or more above the ground, extending from the door on either hand to the end of the house; these places were neatly levelled, and must afford a cool seat. The walls of the houses are from six to eight feet high, and from fourteen to twenty feet long; the top of the roof being about fourteen. The walls are of stone and mud, the door moves on the bar, which forms one of its sides; this bar is prolonged, and works in holes in the beam above, and a stone below. There was a back door to the house which we examined. On opening this we found a bare bank of earth as high as the house, at the distance of three feet from the walls, and a hedge rising still higher on the top; this effectually excluded all light.
This minute survey of the house being completed, we returned to our friends, who seemed in some measure re-assured. We tried to prevail upon them to accompany us in our walk, in hopes that the rest of the cottagers might be induced to return when they saw how peaceably we were disposed. Captain Maxwell used every sign he could think of to no purpose, and tired at length of these attempts, took hold of the oldest man's hand, drew it through his arm, and walked off with him. I followed his example with the other; and this familiarity amused the natives, who now accompanied us in perfect good humour. The ease and apparent indifference with which they walked along with us was curious, and had so little of awkwardness in it, that one might have supposed it to be the fashion of Corea to walk arm in arm. Having reached the house which we had before examined, we sat down in the verandah, and made signs that we wished to smoke a pipe with them. In the meantime a boat was observed to come to the landing-place; the crew quitted her and came towards us at a rapid pace. The quick manner of these people, so different from the ordinary behaviour of the Coreans we had seen, made us apprehend that some violence was meditated; but in this we were mistaken, for they sat down with us, gave us their pipes to smoke, and laughed immoderately at some of our words: we took the hint from them, and laughed heartily whenever we observed that any thing good had been said amongst them; this was well received, and proved afterwards a good mode of introduction.
Their curiosity was strongly excited by our clothing, which they examined minutely; they wished to see some parts of our dress taken off, and in order to gratify them they were allowed to have our coats, shoes, stockings, hats, &c. They were more struck with the stockings than with any thing else, frequently shouting "Hota! Hota!" This word, which is pronounced with a strong aspiration, was noted down in our list as the Corean word for stockings; but it was found afterwards to be an expression of approbation, applied indiscriminately to whatever they consider remarkably good. After sitting some time with these people, and smoking several pipes with them, we gave up all hopes of seeing the villagers return while we were there, and as the night was falling we proposed taking a short walk with our friends, and then going on board. But as soon as they saw us go up the hill instead of returning to the boat, they became very uneasy, and wanted us to turn back. As we had reason, however, to conjecture that the women and children were on the other side of the hill, we went on in the expectation of getting a sight of them before dark. This the Coreans prevented by following us with shouts wherever we went, so as to give warning of our approach. The women and children probably retreated before us to a ravine on the north side of the island, for when we approached it the Coreans became more anxious than ever for our return; and one man seeing us still advance, took hold of my arm and gave it a sharp pinch. I turned round and exclaimed, "Patience, Sir!" He drew back on observing my displeasure, and a moment after called out himself, "Patience, Sir!" The others hearing this caught the words too, and nothing was heard for some time amongst them but "Patience, Sir," pronounced in every instance with perfect propriety. They seemed surprised themselves on discovering powers of imitation hitherto in all probability unexercised. This incident brought us better acquainted, and we remained on the top of the hill teaching them English words till it was dark. They were certainly entertained with our instructions, but nevertheless shewed much more satisfaction in attending us down hill again to our boats. Before going on board we invited them to come to the ship next day, which one of the party was supposed to comprehend: he first made preparations for going to bed, then closed his eyes, hung his head on his hand, and snored very properly; after a time he opened his eyes, started and looked about him, then laid his hands on Captain Maxwell's shoulders with an air of welcome. This was interpreted by some into a wish for our departure till the morning, and by others that he himself would visit us at daylight. As he never came on board, and received us on landing next day with any thing but welcome, probably both guesses were wrong: of one thing there was no doubt, his anxiety to get rid of us; and his signs may have meant that it was time for all honest people to be in bed.
9th of September.—At sunrise we landed at the same village, and found it deserted as before. We left it and made for the highest peak on the island, accompanied by a few of the Coreans, who did not interfere with us till about halfway up, when on our entering a grove of fir trees, with the appearance of which we had been struck, one of the Coreans objected; we went on, however, and upon reaching the stump of an old tree the Corean fell on his knees, bowed his head to the ground, and as he raised it again held his hands closed and pressed together towards the stump. This had very much the air of a stratagem to dissuade us from going further in that direction, where the women probably were concealed. Admitting this to have been the motive, it is curious that he should have supposed such a shew of religious form calculated to restrain us. It is further remarkable as being the only circumstance which we have seen on this coast implying a knowledge of religion or religious ceremony. There are here no temples, idols, nor tombs, whereas in China, villages much smaller than these of Corea have them in every corner. The other Coreans took no notice of the stump, and the man who was prostrating himself before it finding that his behaviour produced nothing but a number of questions from us concerning the nature of the tree, got on his legs and walked sulkily away. In the course of our walk we saw six bullocks of a small breed and very fat, but which the Coreans were not to be tempted to sell by any thing which we had to give them. Dogs were the only quadrupeds besides that we saw. There were pigeons, hawks, and eagles, but few small birds. Crows were as numerous here as in every other part of the world. We returned on board to breakfast, and afterwards set out on an excursion to the top of a high island lying some leagues to the south-east of us. On our way we landed, and observed the sun's meridian altitude with an artificial horizon, by which we ascertained the latitude to be 34º 22' 39" north, the longitude by the mean of two chronometers is 126º 2' 45" east.
We passed, for the distance of five miles, amongst islands, all, except the very smallest, inhabited. The villages are built in the valleys, where the houses are nearly hid by trees and hedges. The sides of the hills are cultivated with millet and a species of bean; and in the numerous small gardens near the villages, we saw a great variety of plants.
As the peaked island which we had undertaken to climb was steep, and covered with a long coarse grass, it cost us a tiresome scramble to gain the top, which is about six hundred feet above the level of the sea. The main land of Corea is just discernible in the north-east and east, from this elevation; but it commands a splendid view of the islands, lying in thick clusters, as far as the eye can reach, from north-west quite round by east to south. We endeavoured to count them. One person, by reckoning only such as were obviously separate islands, made their number one hundred and twenty. Two other gentlemen, by estimating the numbers in each connected cluster, made severally, one hundred and thirty-six, and one hundred and seventy; a difference, which at once shews the difficulty of speaking with precision on this subject. But when it is considered, that from one spot, which though considerably elevated, was not centrical, one hundred and twenty islands could be counted, and that our course for upwards of one hundred miles had been amongst islands no less crowded than these, some idea may be formed of this great Archipelago.
After enjoying this scene for some time, we went down on the other side of the peak, which is much less steep. We found the boat's crew preparing dinner for us, under some trees, close to a well of cool water. The village to which the well belonged not being many yards off, we proceeded to explore it, and found it deserted by all except an old woman and a man. The woman, seated on a pile of stones, in the middle of the village, took no notice of us as we passed; and indeed, she was herself so very homely, as to occupy but little of our attention. The man was seated at the door of a cottage, making a straw sandal: on our entering his inclosure, he looked up for an instant, and immediately resumed his work, with as much composure as if we had been a party of the villagers. A button was offered to him, which he accepted without scruple: he agreed, with equal readiness, to exchange his unfinished sandal for another button, which having carelessly put away, in a bag lying near him, he took some straw and re-commenced his business, without seeming to notice that we were rummaging his house. He is the only Corean we have met with, who has not shewn some slight symptoms of curiosity: indeed, he seemed totally indifferent about our staying or going, or about what we were doing in his house; and we left him without knowing whether to ascribe his apathy to fear, or to absolute stupidity.
On returning from the village, we saw a party of the natives assembled on a rising ground near us; they were invited, by signs, to join us at dinner, but they kept their places unmoved. While we were at dinner, the sailors, who had been rambling about, joined the natives, and in a few minutes became very good friends with them; the natives giving up their pipes, and the sailors in return supplying them with tobacco. We have frequently remarked during this voyage, that the sailors make acquaintance with the natives much sooner than the officers. This seems the natural effect of the difference in our manners. On meeting with natives, we feel so anxious to conciliate, and to avoid giving offence, that our behaviour, thus guarded and circumspect, has an air of restraint about it, which may produce distrust and apprehension on their part; whilst, on the other hand, Jack, who is not only unreflecting and inoffensive himself, but never suspects that others can possibly misconstrue his perfect good-will and unaffected frankness, has an easy, disengaged manner, which at once invites confidence and familiarity.
In about an hour after we had sat down, one of the natives hastily rose, and without appearing to deliberate, but as if actuated by a sudden impulse, strode rapidly down to us, and in the most unceremonious way possible, presented his lighted pipe for us to smoke. We received him as kindly as we could, and prevailed upon him to take a glass of wine; which he had no sooner drank off, than he roared out, "Hota! Hota!"
This exclamation brought the rest down, who seating themselves by us, drank freely, and became very cheerful and communicative, telling us the Corean names of every thing we pointed to, and asking, in return, the English names for our clothes.[5] But though the wine made these people far more sociable than any we had yet seen, they never forgot the principal object of their thoughts, and suggested, every now and then, by pointing to our boats, the propriety of our going away. After sunset, they became very impatient and uneasy at our stay; but when at length we yielded to their entreaties, the whole party accompanied us to the water's side, and took leave with the most lively marks of satisfaction at our departure.
10th of September.—This morning, about ten o'clock, we got under weigh, and stood to the southward. By sunset we were clear of all the islands, and could just distinguish the island of Quelpaert in the south-east quarter.
The shortness of our stay on this coast, and the difficulty we experienced in communicating with the inhabitants, will account for the scanty and disjointed nature of the information obtained. A future voyager would do well to be accompanied by a person who can write the Chinese character, and should have full leisure to overcome, by patient management, the distrust of strangers evinced by this unsociable people.
A chart of our track along this coast is subjoined to this work, in the hope that it may prove useful to a future voyager. As it was constructed under circumstances of great haste, it is necessarily incomplete; yet it will probably be found more accurate than any maps or charts hitherto published.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: A servant of the embassy, left behind by accident at the
Pei-ho river.]
[Footnote 2: We found the north-east end composed of a fine-grained granite; the middle of the island of a brittle micaceous schistus of a deep blue colour; the strata are nearly horizontal, but dip a little to the S.W. This body of strata is cut across by a granite dyke, at some places forty feet wide, at others not above ten; the strata in the vicinity of the dyke are broken and bent in a remarkable manner; this dislocation and contortion does not extend far from the walls of the dyke, but veins of granite branch out from it to a great distance, varying in width from three feet to the hundredth part of an inch: the dyke is visible from the top of the cliff to the water's edge, but does not re-appear on the corresponding cliff of an island opposite to it, though distant only thirty yards. This island is composed of the same schistus, and is cut in a vertical direction by a whin dyke, four feet wide, the planes of whose sides lie N.E. and S.W., being at right angles to those of the great granite dyke in the neighbourhood, which run S.E. and N.W. The strata contiguous to the whin dyke are a good deal twisted and broken, but not in the same degree as at their contact with the granite dyke.
The whin dyke is formed of five layers or sets of prisms laid across in the usual way. Beyond the small island cut by the whin dyke, at the distance of only forty or fifty feet, we came to an island rising abruptly out of the sea, and presenting a high rugged cliff of breccia, fronting that on which the granite dyke is so conspicuous: the junction of this rock with the schistus cut by the granite and the whin would have been interesting; but although we must have been at times within a few yards of it, the actual contact was every where hid by the sea.
The whole of the S.W. end of this island is formed of breccia, being an assemblage of angular and water-worn pieces of schistus, quartz, and some other rocks, the whole having the appearance of a great shingle beach. The fragments of the schistus in this rock are similar to that which forms the cliff first spoken of.
The theory which presented itself to us on the spot was, that the great mass of strata which forms the centre of the island was formerly at the bottom of the ocean; and that the western part, which is now a firm breccia, had been a beach shingle produced by the action of the waves on the strata: the granite which forms the eastern end of the island had been forced into its present situation from beneath the strata, with sufficient violence to dislocate and contort the beds nearest to it, and to inject the liquid granite into the rents formed by the heaving action of the strata as they were raised up. It is natural to suppose that the ragged edges of the strata forming the sides of these cracks would be subjected to a grinding action, from which the strata more remote might be exempted; and in this way we may account for the extraordinary twisting, and separation of masses along the whole course of the granite dyke. In the dyke, as well as in the veins which branch from it, there are numerous islands of schistus. That this last was softened, seems to follow from the frequent instances which occur of its being bent back upon itself without producing cracks. The same heat, propagated by the melted granite in the neighbourhood, may also be supposed to have reduced the shingle beach to a state of semifusion by the aid of some flux contained in the sand scattered amongst it. We could not discover any circumstance by which the relative antiquity of the two dykes mentioned above, could be ascertained.]
[Footnote 3: Note on the peculiar character of the written language in that quarter of the globe.
In China, Japan, Corea, and the islands in the adjacent seas, the spoken languages are different from one another; the written language, on the contrary, is the same in all. Thus a native of China is unintelligible to a Corean or Japanese, while he is speaking, but they mutually understand one another when their thoughts are expressed in writing. The cause of this may be thus explained. We in Europe form an idea in the mind, and this we express by certain sounds, which differ in different countries; these sounds are committed to writing by means of the letters of the alphabet, which are only symbols of sounds, and, consequently, a writing in Europe is unintelligible to every one who is ignorant of the spoken language in which it happens to be written. The Chinese and the other natives in these seas have, on the contrary, no alphabet; no symbols of sounds; their ideas are committed to writing at once without the intervention of sound, and their characters may therefore be called symbols of ideas. Now, as the same characters are adopted in all these countries to express the same ideas, it is clear that their writings will be perfectly intelligible to each other, although their spoken languages may be quite incomprehensible.
The case of the Roman numerals in Europe furnishes a ready illustration of this symbolical language. There is nothing in the symbols 1, 2, 3, &c. by which their pronunciation can be ascertained when presented to the eye, yet they communicate meaning independent of sound, and are respectively intelligible to the inhabitants of the different countries of Europe; while, at the same time, the sounds by which a native of one country distinguishes the written symbols 1, 2, 3, &c. are unintelligible to all the rest.
The knowledge of writing is supposed to be very generally diffused over the countries using what is called the Chinese character, and, as probably none but the lowest vulgar are ignorant of it, the surprise of these people on discovering our inability to read their papers is very natural. The case, we may imagine, had never occurred to them before, and it was highly interesting to watch the effect which so novel an incident produced. At first they appeared to doubt the fact of our ignorance, and shewed some symptoms of impatience; but this opinion did not last long, and they remained completely puzzled, looking at each other with an odd expression of surprise.]
[Footnote 4: This paper, presented by the Corean Chief, has been translated by Mr. Morrison at Canton, and is as follows: "Persons, of what land—of what nation (are you)? On account of what business do you come hither? In the ship are there any literary men who thoroughly understand, and can explain what is written?">[
[Footnote 5: See note at the end of the Loo-choo vocabulary.]
CHAPTER II.
Enter the Japan Sea—Sulphur Island—Volcano—See the Great Loo-Choo
Island—Lyra nearly wrecked—First Interview with the
Natives—Anchor at Napakiang—Natives crowd on Board—Their
interesting Appearance and Manners—Several Chiefs visit the
Alceste—Land to make Observations—Astonishment of the Natives—Six
Chiefs visit the Ships—Alceste and Lyra proceed farther in Shore—A
Chief of high Rank waits upon Captain Maxwell—Return his
Visit—Feast—Projected Survey of the Anchorage—Visit Reef
Island—The Lyra sent to look for another Harbour—Arrangements for
landing the Alceste's Stores—Description of the Temple and
Garden—First Acquaintance with Mádera—Study of the Language.
After leaving Corea, we stood to the southward and eastward, with a strong breeze from the north, and a mountainous swell from the north-east. Shortly after daybreak on the 13th of September, we saw Sulphur Island, in the south-west quarter, and by eleven in the forenoon were close up to it. We intended to land, but were prevented by the high wind, which caused so great a surf all round the island, as to render this impracticable. The sulphuric volcano from which the island takes its name is on the north-west side; it emits white smoke, and the smell of sulphur is very strong on the lee side of the crater. The cliffs near the volcano are of a pale yellow colour, interspersed with brown streaks: the ground at this place is very rugged, as the strata lie in all directions, and are much broken; on the top is a thin coat of brown grass. The south end of the island is of considerable height, of a deep blood red colour, with here and there a spot of bright green: the strata, which are here nearly horizontal, are cut by a whin dyke running from the top to the bottom of the cliff, projecting from its face like a wall. As the weather still looked threatening, we gave up the intention of examining this spot, and proceeded to the southward till four o'clock, at which time land was seen in the south-west quarter; but as there was not sufficient daylight to close with it, we hauled off to the westward for the night. Shortly after sunset the sky became overcast, the wind veered about from one point to another, the air became suddenly quite chill, the sea rose high, and every thing, in short, seemed to indicate an approaching tyfoong or hurricane. All our preparations were made to encounter a violent tempest; but we were much pleased at finding it turn out nothing more than an ordinary gale of wind.
14th of September.—The weather was still stormy, but being anxious to close with the land, we bore up, and steered in the supposed direction of the Great Lieou Kieou, or Loo-choo Island. At eight o'clock we saw the Sugar Loaf of Captain Broughton, which is a small green island, having a high remarkable cone in the middle. We left this to the eastward, and continued steering to the south south-west, hoping to get to leeward of the great island before night, where we might remain in smooth water till the weather became fine. While going along at a quick rate, we suddenly saw breakers close to us; we instantly hauled to the wind, and made all the sail we could carry. Our situation was now very critical, for the swell caused by the recent gale checked our way considerably, and a lee current drifted us gradually towards the reef. From the mast head we could look down upon the reef, which was of a circular form, with a low island on its southern side; the surf broke all round, but in the inside the water was quite smooth, and being only a few feet deep, the coral, which was of a bright green, appeared distinctly through it. At the distance of one-third of a mile from where we were, no bottom was to be found with our lead lines, so that anchoring was out of the question. After being in this unpleasant predicament for some time, we succeeded in weathering the western end of the reef, which we had no sooner done, than we saw a passage four or five miles wide, by which we proceeded to leeward of the reef island, where we found the water perfectly smooth. The Alceste rounded the reef without difficulty, being half a league farther off than the Lyra, which, as usual, had been stationed a-head to look out, but had not perceived the danger sooner, owing to the extreme haziness of the weather.
15th of September.—In the morning, it was arranged that the Lyra should proceed in shore in search of a harbour, while the frigate remained in deep water. At ten o'clock I thought we had discovered a place of security, and having anchored the Lyra, sent three boats to examine it. A sort of harbour was found, formed by coral reefs; but the passages being all intricate for large ships, and the water shallow inside, it is by no means safe. We fell in with several people in canoes; one man, who seemed to know what we were searching for, directed us to a point of land to the northward, and waved for us to go round it. While the boats were away, several natives came off to the Lyra. No people that we have yet met with have been so friendly; for the moment they came alongside, one handed a jar of water up to us, and another a basket of boiled sweet potatoes, without asking or seeming to wish for any recompense. Their manners were gentle and respectful; they uncovered their heads when in our presence, bowed whenever they spoke to us; and when we gave them some rum, they did not drink it till they had bowed to every person round. Another canoe went near the Alceste, and a rope being thrown to them, they tied a fish to it, and then paddled away. All this seemed to promise well, and was particularly grateful after the cold repulsive manners of the Coreans.
The day was spent in trying to beat round the point to windward, but the tide was too strong against us, and when it became dark, we found ourselves awkwardly situated. To the east and west of us there were islands at the distance of a few miles. To leeward was a circular coral reef, just appearing above the surface at low water; and to windward were seen the reefs upon which we were so nearly wrecked on Saturday. As the exact position of these numerous dangers was unknown to us, we were determined to anchor for the night, though in eighty fathoms water.
16th of September.—At daylight we weighed, and beat to windward all the morning; but owing to the tide being contrary, it was two o'clock before we passed the point mentioned above; which we had no sooner done, than we came in sight of an extensive town, having a harbour filled with vessels at anchor. On steering towards the town, we had to sound our way cautiously amongst coral reefs, which were tolerably well defined by the surf breaking upon them[6]. The Alceste followed as soon as we had ascertained that the passage was clear, and both ships anchored at the distance of half a mile from the town.
In a short time we were surrounded by canoes, full of the natives, who, with their children, flocked on board. They wear a loose dress, tied with a belt round their waist; their hair is brought tight up from all sides, and formed into a knot on the top of the head, with two metal pins stuck in it. In the course of an hour, a native came on board who appeared to be somewhat higher in rank than the rest; and we now discovered, to our great satisfaction, that this man understood our Chinese servant, who had been of no use to us at Corea. As it was found that there were other chiefs on shore superior in rank to this man, Captain Maxwell declined receiving his visit; as well with the view of inducing the principal people to come on board, as of maintaining an appearance of dignity, a point of great importance in all transactions with the Chinese and their dependents, who invariably repay condescension with presumption. As we had heard of these people being tributary to China, it was natural to conclude that there might be some similarity in manners. At all events, it was evidently much easier at any future time to be free and cordial with them, after having assumed a distance and reserve in the first instance, than it would be to repress insolence, if at first encouraged by too hasty familiarity.
Before this man went on shore, he requested to know the reason of our coming into this port; the interpreter was instructed to acquaint him that the ships had experienced very bad weather, and had been a long time at sea; that the large ship had sprung a leak, and required repairs which could only be done in a secure harbour: further explanations, it was observed, would be given to the superior chiefs when they came on board. We had been prepared for these inquiries, not only from the reception we had met with at Corea, but from the well-known character of the nations in this quarter of the globe; and it was so far fortunate, that the Alceste was actually in want of repairs; because to have assigned curiosity, and a desire of gaining information as our object, to people wholly unconscious of such feelings, would naturally have led them to ascribe our actions to some more interested, and consequently more dangerous motive.
The canoes which we have seen to-day are mostly made of one piece of wood; they have two sails, and are moved with considerable velocity, by two or more paddles, assisted by an oar over the stern, which acts both as a scull and a rudder. There is a neat low seat, made of rattans, for each person in the canoe. As the day closed, the fishing canoes came in great numbers from sea, and all came on board the ships on their way; some of the fishermen pulled up our lines and baited the hooks. The whole shore abreast of the ships was covered with people, but the crowd was greatest on two pier-heads, forming the entrance to the harbour; and the variety of colour in their dresses made this a very lively exhibition. In the evening, Captain Maxwell and I rowed round to examine the anchorage, which we found tolerably clear of rocks. An officer was at the same time sent to examine the inner harbour, but he did not go far within the entrance, which was much too shallow for the frigate.
On returning to the Lyra, I found that Mr. Clifford had been entertaining several respectable looking natives who had paid him a visit. As they readily comprehended his desire to know their words for various things, he has succeeded in collecting a considerable number, among which we are surprised to find their name for tobacco the same as ours; all the others are quite new to us.
17th of September.—I carried the interpreter to the Alceste, after breakfast, where I found two chiefs, who had been on board some time, and had been taken care of by the officers, as Captain Maxwell was not prepared to receive them. A message was then sent to intimate that the Ta-yin (a Chinese title, used also by these people to persons of rank) was desirous of seeing the chiefs, and they were introduced into the after-cabin, where they were received in form. They objected to sitting down, making at the same time many low obeisances, which they did by stooping the body, and raising the hands, closed one over the other, to their face. Their scruples about being seated were at length overcome, and the first chief took his place on Captain Maxwell's left hand, the next on my left, and a third, who was evidently of a lower rank, sat beyond the second. The chiefs sat respectfully silent, and Captain Maxwell finding that he was expected to speak first, communicated to them that the ships under his command belonged to the King of England; that they had gone to China with an Embassador, carrying presents to the Emperor, at Pekin; that on their way back to Canton, they had experienced very bad weather, and had been obliged to put in here to refit, and to procure supplies.
In reply, they expressed their willingness to assist us as much as lay in their power, but said that the harbour was too shallow for so large a ship, and recommended our proceeding to another harbour called Kinching, which they described as being secure and commodious, and only a few hours sail from this anchorage: they offered to furnish pilots and a boat to conduct us. Captain Maxwell, however, was unwilling to quit this anchorage unless certain of finding a better; he therefore proposed to send the Lyra to examine and report upon the harbour alluded to. The chiefs paused upon this, and said they could not take upon them to send pilots to the Brig without consulting the Great Man on shore. We were very curious to know who this great personage might be, but they evaded all our inquiries. Captain Maxwell asked where the king resided, and intimated his intention of waiting upon him; to this they strongly objected, declaring moreover, that it was impossible, as his majesty lived a thousand miles off. They did not seem aware of their inconsistency, when they undertook, immediately afterwards, to get an answer from court about pilots for the Lyra, in a few hours.
We had been led to hope, from the frankness and kindness of these people, that no restraint would be imposed on us; and we were the more disappointed at observing, that whenever we spoke of landing, or asked any questions about the king, the chiefs became uneasy, and replied in a mysterious manner. We consoled ourselves, however, with the supposition, that upon further acquaintance their apprehension would wear off.
Business being over, the chiefs were asked to walk round the cabin, an invitation which they accepted with manifest satisfaction. During the conference they had preserved a gravity suited to an important ceremony, and, though surrounded by new and curious objects, had never expressed the least curiosity. They were now no longer formal, and looked over the various articles with attention, taking particular notice of the globes, books, and mirrors. Their manners are remarkably gentle and unassuming. They are observant, and not without curiosity, but they require encouragement to induce them to come forward, being restrained, it would seem, by a genteel self-denial, from gratifying curiosity, lest it might be thought obtrusive. Their dress is singularly graceful; it consists of a loose flowing robe, with very wide sleeves, tied round the middle by a broad rich belt or girdle of wrought silk, a yellow cylindrical cap, and a neat straw sandal, over a short cotton boot or stocking. Two of the chiefs wore light yellow robes, the other dark blue streaked with white, all of cotton. The cap is flat at top, and appears to be formed by winding a broad band diagonally round a frame, in such a manner, that at each turn a small portion of the last fold shall be visible above in front, and below at the hinder part. The sandal is kept on by a stiff straw band passing over the instep, and joining the sandal near the heel; this band is tied to the forepart by a slight string, drawn between the great toe and the next, the stocking having a division like the finger of a glove for the great toe. They all carry fans, which they stick in their girdles when not in use, and each person has a short tobacco pipe in a small bag, hanging, along with the pouch, at the girdle. When they had satisfied themselves with looking over the cabin, they went away, with a promise of returning in the evening as soon as the answer from the Great Man should arrive.
During all this morning, the whole space between the ships and the shore has been covered with canoes, each containing about ten persons. The scene was very lively, for few of the parties which came to visit the ships remained long on board, so that the canoes were continually passing backwards and forwards, and the number which came in this way must have been immense. They all seemed highly gratified at being allowed to go wherever they liked over the ships, nor was this liberty ever abused. The manners even of the lowest classes are genteel and becoming; their curiosity is great, but it never makes them rudely inquisitive: their language is musical, and in most cases easy of pronunciation. We heard a boat song to-day, the air of which was sweet and plaintive; we tried in vain to catch the words, and unfortunately, none of us had skill enough to note down the air. We observed several people in canoes, making drawings of the ships, but they hid their work when they were observed. In consequence of what had been said last night of our wanting repairs, a party of shipwrights and caulkers was sent on board the Alceste this morning, but their tools were of a Lilliputian order, and quite unsuited to the rough work required.
The variety of colour and pattern in the dresses of the people to-day, is remarkable. Many wear printed cottons, others have cotton dresses with the pattern drawn on it by hand, instead of being stamped; but blue, in all its shades, is the prevalent colour, though there were many dresses resembling in every respect Highland tartans. The children, in general, wear more shewy dresses than the men, and of the dress of the women we can say nothing, as none have yet been seen. Every person has one of the girdles before described, which is always of a different colour from the dress, and is, in general, richly ornamented with flowers in embossed silk, and sometimes with gold and silver threads. This dress is naturally so graceful, that even the lowest boatmen have a picturesque appearance. Their hair, which is of a glossy black, is shaved off the crown, but the bare place is concealed by their mode of dressing the hair in a close knot over it. Their beards and mustachios are allowed to grow, and are kept neat and smooth. They are rather low in stature, but are well formed, and have an easy graceful carriage, which suits well with their flowing dress. Their colour is not good, some being very dark and others nearly white, but in most instances they are of a deep copper. This is fully compensated for by the sweetness and intelligence of their countenance. Their eyes, which are black, have a placid expression, and their teeth are regular and beautifully white. In deportment they are modest, polite, timid, and respectful, and in short, appear to be a most interesting and amiable people.
Two of our friends who had visited us in the morning, and whose names we have discovered to be Ookooma and Jeema, came on board again about half past five, and staid an hour; they had not received any answer, they said, from the Great Man, and therefore could not send pilots to the "hoonee gua," or little ship. They were accompanied by a chief whom we took to be a Chinese from his looks, and his appearing to understand the interpreter better than the others. His formal and suspicious manner did not promise so well as that of the others. They came to say that a present of stock and vegetables had been sent to the ships. It was intimated to them that we intended to land the next day, and upon their objecting to this, we said that our wish was to wait upon the Great Man; to which they replied, that no person answering to this description resided here. We then said, that it was right we should return their visit. This argument they combated by saying that they were men of unequal rank to us, and therefore nowise entitled to such an honour; and that we, at the same time, would be degrading ourselves by such undue condescension. This having failed, Captain Maxwell told them of his illness; upon which, our new acquaintance, who seemed more earnestly bent against our landing than the others, offered to send a physician on board to see him. Captain Maxwell replied, that his own doctor had recommended a ride on shore; upon which they laughed, and turned the discourse to something else.
In this way every proposal to land, or even allusion to the shore, was industriously put aside; and as it was our wish to gain their good will, the matter was dropped for the present. Before they went away, Captain Maxwell, pointing to their pipes, begged them to smoke if they wished it; they were grateful for this considerate attention, but would not on any account begin till we shewed them the example, by smoking with pipes which they prepared for us. They appeared more at their ease after this incident, and after sitting for some time, took leave for the night on the most friendly terms.
18th of September.—Captain Maxwell sent to me to say that he meant to land on a point at some distance from the town, in order to observe the sun's meridian altitude with an artificial horizon. Just as I was setting out to accompany him, I was taken by surprise by two well-dressed natives, who were halfway down the cabin ladder before I knew of their approach. One came to superintend the measurement of the Lyra, and the other, who seemed of inferior rank, to explain why some poultry, only then sent, had not come on the preceding night, along with the other presents. I forgot to mention, that a bullock, two hogs, two goats, a dozen and a half of fowls, some candles, wood, and water, were sent to each of the ships. I asked them to sit down, and they were so well satisfied with the Constantia which I gave them, that they remained for some time; owing to which delay, I did not reach the shore till the time for observing the sun had gone by. I found Captain Maxwell with Ookooma and several of the chiefs, and an immense crowd of the natives, all of whom had left the town on seeing the boat put off, and had hastened to this spot, either out of curiosity or respect, or more probably to watch our proceedings. At our request, Ookooma, who appears to possess considerable authority, made the whole crowd, chiefs and all, sit down on the grass in a circle round us. Their astonishment at our operations was strongly expressed in their countenances, and, indeed, our apparatus and behaviour must have looked, to perfect strangers, somewhat magical.
In the first place the quicksilver, which to them would appear like melted metal, was poured into a trough, in a fine stream from a wooden bottle; while it was running out the people repeated in an under tone "yi, yi, yi, yi!" but were silent when the glass roof was placed over the trough. The circular instrument and sextant, fixed on stands, next attracted their notice, and they looked on in profound silence while we were taking the sun's altitude. As we were too late for the desired observation, we amused the natives by letting them look at the two reflected images of the sun through the telescope of the instruments. Ookooma was the first who looked, and being quite unprepared for what he saw, started back in astonishment, as if he had unconsciously beheld something supernatural and forbidden. The other chiefs, in their turn, placed themselves at the instrument, as well as several old men who stepped forward from the crowd. Some testified their surprise by a sudden exclamation; others were perfectly calm, so that we could not guess what they thought; and some held up their hands, and looked as if the whole matter was totally beyond the reach of their comprehension. When this was over, and there was no longer any necessity for the crowd being seated, they closed round and watched us while we were putting the instruments up. Some of the boys held out their hands for quicksilver, with which they ran off, quite happy.
During this time we were about fifty yards from the foot of a cliff, on the brow of which was posted a group of women with baskets on their heads; we were unfortunately not near enough to discern their features, nor to make out their dress distinctly; it appeared, however, to be like that of the men, though somewhat shorter, and without any girdle round the waist.
The rock here rises in perpendicular rugged cliffs of coral, with a number of rude square excavations on its face, which, at first sight, appear to have been worn by the elements, but on examination shew evident traces of art. Most of these caves are closed up by a wall of loose stones, but in one, of which the mouth was open, several human bones were found lying amongst the sand. On removing a stone from a closed cave, a vase was observed in the inside, of an elegant shape; the people signified to us that these were the remains of the dead, but we did not make out distinctly whether the bones or the ashes only were thus preserved. They made no objections to our examining these caves, though they certainly were not pleased with it. No notice was taken of what Captain Maxwell and I did; but Mr. Clifford, who had remained below collecting words from some intelligent natives, was strongly recommended by Ookooma to go back to the boat; he walked up, however, without opposition, to the cave which we had been examining, and they ceased to importune him. A number of little boys who had observed us occasionally pulling flowers and plants, ran about collecting for us, and after presenting what they had gathered, with much politeness, ran away laughing with an arch expression of ridicule at our curiosity.
On our way back, instead of going directly off to the ships, we coasted along shore in our boats, which gave us a new view of a stone bridge, of one arch, connecting two parts of the town. On the south side of the bridge we passed a space of considerable extent, probably set apart as a burying ground. We saw here a number of large horse-shoe tombs like those used in China, whitewashed, and apparently kept in good repair. Most of the tombs, however, are in the form of small square houses, with low pyramidal roofs; some of these were tiled, others thatched. It is evident that, in what relates to the dead, they follow, in some respects, the Chinese customs.
[Illustration: NAPAKIANG.]
The whole coast at this place is of coral cliffs, the base of which appears to have been scooped out by the action of the sea. As this excavation is at some places higher than the waves of the sea can be supposed to have ever reached, there is difficulty in assigning the sea as the cause; yet the roof of the excavation is horizontal for a great extent, and its appearance, in every other respect, suggests that it has been formed by the dashing of the waves. There is, moreover, some difficulty in accounting for coral cliffs being so much above the level of the sea, in which, according to every supposition, they must have been formed.
The scenery here, as in most countries in these climates, does not admit of a satisfactory description. It may be said, however, that it is more pleasing to the eye than that of islands near the equator, where the vegetation is so profusely luxuriant, as to overload the picture with foliage to the exclusion of every thing else. Here there is much variety; the numerous groves of pine-trees give some parts of it an English air, but the style of landscape is what is called tropical. The general character of the scenery at this spot is faithfully preserved in the drawing of Napakiang.
19th of September.—No answer having yet come from the Great Man, we begin to apprehend that they are going to treat us in Chinese style, and exclude us from their country altogether. We have tried in vain to discover whether the King is at this place, or a hundred, or as some maintain, a thousand miles off; in the mean time, as we know the island to be not more than sixty miles long, it is fair to suppose that they wish to deceive us.
We conjecture that a large building on a rising ground, three or four miles from us in an eastern direction, with two flag-staffs near it, is the palace mentioned in the account quoted by Pere Gaubil, Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, Tom. XXIII. The natives always refuse to give any information when asked about this building.
Whenever the natives come on board, if at all well dressed, they are asked into the cabin, where we treat them with cherry brandy and Constantia. In the course of conversation they contribute a number of new words, and, in general, when they see what the object is, are very willing to lend their assistance, and take much pains to teach us the true pronunciation of their words. One man, however, who was not so quick as they generally are, was in the cabin to-day for some time; Mr. Clifford was getting from him the Loo-choo words for sour, sweet, salt, &c.; and in order to make him comprehend the questions, made him taste different things that were sour, sweet, and so on: the poor fellow stood this very well, till some quassia was given to him to get the word "bitter;" he had no sooner tasted it, than he ran off quite astonished at the manner in which he had been entertained.
It blew hard this morning, so that there was little intercourse with the shore; but towards sunset it moderated, and Ookooma, Jeema, and four other Chiefs, came on board, bringing with them a present of a bullock, two hogs, goats, and vegetables. The Chief whose name is Shayoon is the most clever of them all; he is next in rank to Ookooma, but he generally takes the lead in discussion; he has a quick intelligent look, with more determination in his manner than any of the others. They were very particular on all these state occasions to observe the order of precedence, and no one sat down till his superior was seated. When any subject was discussed, one at a time rose to speak, but not in order of rank, and they never attempted to interrupt one another.
The weather at this moment looked so stormy, that I went on board the Lyra to prepare for a gale; by which I lost a very interesting conference with the chiefs. I learnt from Captain Maxwell afterwards, that he had remonstrated with them on their inconsistency and the pretended difficulty of getting answers from court; he gave them to understand, that he did not conceive it was treating the King of England with due respect to deny his officers permission to walk on shore. Again, that they had promised to send pilots, but that none had come; and that many other promises had not been performed. He desired the interpreter to say, that he was not pleased with their telling him so many different stories, all of which could not be true; first they said that the bullocks, hogs, &c. were gifts from themselves; then, that they were sent by the Great Man; then, that there was no Great Man here: in fine, he urged them strongly to tell him the truth on all points. They made the interpreter repeat six times over what Captain Maxwell had desired him to say; they then consulted amongst themselves a long time, and at last assured Captain Maxwell, that a reply to the communications made by them to government would reach this place next day.
As the stock and vegetables received by the ships had, by this time, amounted to a considerable quantity, a bag of dollars was offered to them, and they were urged to take payment for what had been sent on board; this offer, which had been made more than once before, was still declined; upon which they were informed, that we considered it improper, as servants of government, to receive presents to such an extent from individuals. Upon this they gave their assurance, that the stock had been sent on board by order of the Loo-choo government, on their being informed that the King of another country's ships had arrived. No payment they said could therefore be taken. With this Captain Maxwell was satisfied. Their wish seems to be, to prevent our opening any communication with their government, and they appear so decided upon these matters, that they will probably succeed, notwithstanding all our efforts.
The chiefs have dresses adapted to the state of the weather; yesterday being cold and threatening, they all came on board with a sort of cloak or great coat made of a thick blue stuff like woollen cloth, buttoned in front. It is tighter than the ordinary dress, and is worn over it. It is only in fine weather, and on state occasions, that they wear the band turban, called by them "hatchee matchee;" at all other times they go uncovered, having their hair dressed like the rest of the people.
20th of September.—The mercury in the barometer fell last night from 29. 72, to 29. 51, and the sky assumed a yellow appearance. We expected a heavy gale, more particularly as it was so near the equinox, but we were so sheltered by the land, that though it appeared to blow hard at sea, we felt nothing of it where we lay.
Three or four canoes came round the south-west point of land this forenoon; the people in them were supposed to have come from the other side of the island, for they did not appear to have seen the ships before. One of these people was much delighted with a looking-glass which was shewn to him; he took it in his hands, and calling his companions about him, shewed them in turn its effect. Having done so several times, he held it opposite to his own face for four or five minutes without altering his countenance in the least; at last he smiled, and immediately and involuntarily nodded assent to the image in the glass, which had so exactly expressed what he felt himself; he seemed, however, aware, that it was a reflection of his own countenance, as he pointed to himself, yet he could not restrain his curiosity from looking behind, but instantly turned it round again. While the glass was in his hands, he made us several long speeches, in which he frequently repeated the word "Kagung," the Loo-choo name for mirror; but, from his behaviour, it is probable he knew it only by name. One of this party sold his "Jeewa" or head ornaments for a wine glass. Sometime afterwards, the others saw a bottle, which they wished to purchase in the same way; it was, however, given to them as a present, and they went away very well satisfied. These canoes were of pine, from twelve to twenty feet long, and from two to four wide; their anchor is made of wood loaded with stones.
As no answer came this morning from the Great Man, Captain Maxwell took the ships into a more secure anchorage at the north-east corner of the bay; our first anchorage being too close to a reef, and moreover open to the south-west winds. The place we had now shifted to, though apparently exposed, is, in fact, sheltered by a chain of reefs under water outside of us to the westward. By this change, we have been brought close to the bridge spoken of before, and are now abreast the east end of the town: the Lyra not being more than a quarter of a mile from the shore. A strict watch is kept on shore, so that no boat leaves the ships without being observed. Orders have been given for the whole anchorage to be carefully sounded; in doing this, the boats often approach the shore, and whenever this happens, a crowd of the natives, headed by one or other of the chiefs, repair to the spot, and wave them to keep farther off.
21st of September.—There appears to be some embargo upon the canoes, for there has not been one near us this morning, and only one on board the Alceste. It was found necessary to-day to move the frigate still farther in, and four or five hawsers were laid out for the purpose of warping her a-head. While this was going on, the beach, and all the heights near us, were crowded with people, wondering, no doubt, how the ship was made to move without sails, for the hawsers were low down, and might have escaped their observation. In the canoe which visited the Alceste, there came two men, who had not been seen before; they remained but a short time, which was spent in examining the hawsers and the mode of warping the ship. As soon as they had made themselves master of this subject, they went on shore, as if to make a report. During their visit they said little, being intent upon what was going on; but the interpreter learnt from one of them, that a Great Man had actually come, or was expected in the town to-day. A report prevails, that the King of the island has lately been on board in disguise. We cannot trace the report to any good foundation, and it is probably false. At the same time, if his Majesty has any curiosity, it is not unlikely that he may have come near enough to see such a strange sight as we must be.
It is possible that our moving up so close to the town has alarmed the people, and may have prevented their visiting us as heretofore; at all events, it is very unfair in our friends, the Chiefs, neither to let the people come on board, nor to allow us to go on shore to look at them.
Our occupation in the mean time is to observe the natives through the telescope placed on a table on the Lyra's poop. The stone bridge appears to be a great thoroughfare, several roads from the country leading to it; it seems also to be the only entrance to the town on this side. Nobody crosses it without stopping to look at us, and a crowd of idle people have taken post on and about it. We see a number of women coming from the country with baskets on their heads. Their outer dress differs from that of the men, it is open in front, and they have no girdle; they have an under dress, or sack, which is also loose, but not open; in some we can see that this comes nearly to the feet, in others just to the knee, and we imagine that those who work in the fields have the short dress: most of them allow their upper garment to flow out with the wind behind them. We observe a woman carrying a child across the hip as in India, with its hands on its mother's shoulder, while her arm is round the child's waist. One young lady has been seen for some time amusing herself by making a dog bark at the ships. We see women beating rice in wooden mortars. On the banks of the stream which the bridge crosses, there are a number of people washing clothes, which they perform in the Indian way, by dipping the clothes in water and beating them on stones. From one end of the beach to the other there is a range of people watching us, they are formed here and there into groups; one of which, on a craggy knoll abreast of the ships, has struck us as being particularly interesting. A fine majestic looking man, whose full beard and flowing garments remind us of a figure in the Cartoons of Raphael, is standing in the middle of a circle of old men, who are lying on the grass, and appear to be listening to him.
22nd of September.—This morning brings us no news, no permission to land! A number of flags and streamers are displayed on the masts of the vessels in the inner harbour, and there seems to be something going on on shore; no boats have come to us, and we have no occupation but looking through the glass, which, however, affords a good deal of entertainment, particularly as the people whom we see with it act in the usual way, being unconscious of our scrutiny.
In the afternoon a number of boats left the shore and proceeded to the Alceste in procession. In the foremost boat there seemed to be a person of consequence, whom we immediately conjectured to be the Great Man alluded to by the people yesterday. He got on board the Alceste before us, and the natives also had left their canoes, so that we found the ship's decks crowded with people. The Chief, whom we found seated in the cabin, was clothed in purple silk, with a light purple hatchee matchee. An official communication of our history was now repeated at the old man's request. He listened with great attention till Captain Maxwell concluded his statement, by informing him that the ship was leaky and required frequent pumping. He then begged permission to see this operation, if it would not give too much trouble. As this was exactly what we wished, the chain pumps were ordered to be got ready, and the conference went on, consisting principally of compliments. Observing that we took notice of his being a little deaf, he seemed anxious to explain that this was the effect of age. He made us feel his pulse, and look at the withered state of his hand, then taking ours and feeling the pulse, held them up along with his own, and laughed with great good humour at the contrast which age had produced. He was about sixty years old, and his beard of thin hair was as white as snow: he had a cheerfulness of expression, and a liveliness of manner, which are remarkable for a man of his years. His manners were graceful and elegant, and from the first moment he seemed quite at his ease. Every thing about him, in short, indicated good-breeding, and a familiarity with good society; and we could not help remarking his decided superiority in appearance over the other chiefs.
When the pumps were ready, he was escorted to the main deck, where he sat for some time in great admiration of the machinery; and seeing the labour required to work it, he seemed really affected at our situation, which he naturally thought must be very bad, from the immense quantity of water thrown out by the pumps. The ship being upright, the water did not run off freely from the deck, and in a short time it flowed round the chair in which the old man was seated. Three or four of the sailors seeing him somewhat uneasy at this inundation, took him up chair and all, and placed him on a dry spot. The old gentleman was surprised, not displeased, and very graciously replied to the low bows which the sailors made him. On returning to the cabin, they were all entertained as usual with sweet wine, cherry brandy, and pipes. The old man filled pipes for us, and as soon as this part of the ceremonial had been gone through, a formal request was made for permission to land the Alceste's casks and stores, in order to stop the leak and make other repairs. This produced a long discussion amongst the chiefs, in which the old man joined but little; he spoke, however, now and then, and whatever he said, appeared to be to the purpose. Whenever the chiefs spoke, they rose and addressed themselves to him in a most respectful manner. At length, having agreed about an answer, they communicated to Captain Maxwell that there was no good place here for the purposes he wanted, and that as our present anchorage was unsafe, they recommended our going round to the harbour alluded to on a former occasion. At this place, which they call Winching or Oonching, he said we might put on shore whatever we chose. On our asking if in Winching the water was deep enough to admit a large ship, a long discussion arose, during which they appeared to be considering the merits of the harbour. They seemed apprehensive of giving it too high a character, and that on our reaching it we should be disappointed. The old man at length suggested sending the "little ship" to see whether it would answer. To this Captain Maxwell agreed, only requesting that a person might accompany us, in order to save time in the search. Simple as this appears, they took a long time to consider it, and ended by saying that no reply could be given till the next day.
While the subject of this harbour was under discussion, the old man drew on a sheet of paper, a chart of the island, and pointed out the place where the harbour lay. It proved afterwards, when we had surveyed the island, that this sketch possessed considerable accuracy, as the situation of the harbour of which they spoke corresponds exactly with that of Port Melville, discovered in the Lyra. It is much to be regretted that this curious sketch is lost.
The Chief now walked about the cabin, examined the globes, books, and pictures, with great attention. The wainscot struck him particularly, as well as the machinery and finish of the windows and sliding shutters. Captain Maxwell tried to make him comprehend our track on the globe. He had felt it becoming to preserve some state while business was going on, but he now became quite chatty and familiar. He went all over the ship, accompanied by the other chiefs and his own personal suite, consisting of a pipe bearer, a man who carried his large camp chair, another with a cover of red cloth for the chair, and a man who carried a round Japan box for the hatchee-matchee. Two others took it in turn to fan him, and to hold his arm by the elbow and wrist whenever he walked about; probably as a piece of state, for the ship had very little motion: these fanners were very expert at their business, for not content with cooling his face and neck, they lifted up his large sleeves and fanned his arms. On returning to the cabin, he saw Mr. Clifford using gloves, and begged leave to try them on; with the right one he succeeded very well, but the nails of his left hand being about an inch long, he found it not so easy a matter: he seemed to think them the oddest things he had met with, and laughing much, held them up repeatedly to the other chiefs.
The old man brought a present for Captain Maxwell, and sent another to the Lyra, consisting of a hog, a kid, two bags of potatoes, a basket of charcoal, thirty bundles of eggs (five in each), a bundle of vermicelli, and a jar of an ardent spirit called samchew. All the chiefs, who were in their best attire, were severally accompanied by a man carrying a box for the hatchee-matchee; their dresses were of various colours, and their sandals and stockings all alike. On rising to go away, the old man bowed to me, and said that he meant to visit my ship; but this being evidently complimentary, I begged him not to take so much trouble: he, in return, expressed himself obliged to me for being satisfied with the politeness intended. The Embassador's barge was manned to take him on shore, but as soon as he saw what was intended, he drew back, and declared that he could not land in any boat but his own. As it was supposed that his modesty prevented his accepting this offer, he was urged to overcome his scruples, and land in the manner proposed; he still, however, declined the honour, but at last went down the ladder, and having stepped into the barge, made a bow to Captain Maxwell, as if in acknowledgment of the attention, but immediately afterwards went into his own boat and pushed off, under a salute of three guns from each ship.
Our intention of returning this visit the next day was not mentioned during the discussions in the cabin, from the certainty of its being combated, and perhaps overruled: but when the last of the chiefs was getting into the boat, the interpreter was desired to tell him, in a careless way, as a matter of course, that next morning this visit would be returned on shore. As had been foreseen, this did not receive their approbation; the interpreter went into the boat, where every persuasion was used to convince him of the impropriety of our intention: they could not succeed, however, in making him yield this point, and at length went away. This interpreter is called "John" by all parties, and though merely an under servant of the factory at Canton, he is a very shrewd fellow. His English is certainly not the best, and probably the Chinese he speaks is the base provincial language of Canton; so that misunderstandings are no doubt often caused by his erroneous interpretation.
John's report after the boat had put off, and from which we gather that we shall be expected, was as follows: "They ax me, 'what for my Ta-yin come sho?' I say, 'to make chin-chin[7] they Ta-yin;' they tell me, 'You Ta-yin too much great mandarine, no can come sho;' I say, 'What for my Ta-yin no come sho? He great man; he[8] Ta-wang-tee too much great man; he let you Ta-yin come board ship, and you no let him come sho, chin-chin you Ta-yin; what for this?' Then they speak long time together; by and by ax me, 'how many people bring sho you Ta-yin?' So I shake my head, I no like give answer long time, (they always take long time answer me). When they ax me again, I say, 'Ta-yin bring five people mo besides me.' They say, 'too much men come;' I say, 'No, no too much.' They ax, 'What time come?' I give no answer."
23d September.—As we had not contemplated such adventures as these, we had made no preparations for them; and now that it was necessary to make some return to the chief whom we were going to visit, we found great difficulty in preparing a suitable present. Captain Maxwell took with him several dozens of wine, some books, glasses, various trinkets, and a large piece of blue broad cloth. I took half the quantity of Captain Maxwell's other presents, and a table cloth in place of the broad cloth. Smaller presents were also made up for each of the chiefs. At one o'clock we set out in the barge, with a large union jack flying, and as it blew fresh, we soon reached the harbour. As we rowed past the shore, the people were seen running along all the roads leading to the town, so that by the time we reached the harbour, the crowd on both sides was immense: the trees, walls, and house tops, and in short every spot from which we could be seen, was literally covered with people, forming a sight as striking and animated as can well be conceived. As we entered the harbour several of the chiefs were observed to come down to a point, and wave for us to go round the end of a pier or mole, forming the inner harbour, where there was a good landing-place.
The chiefs helped us out, and then led us along, Ookooma taking Captain Maxwell's hand, Shayoon mine, and Jeema Mr. Clifford's; the others, according to their rank, conducted Mr. M'Leod of the Alceste, Mr. Maxwell, and another midshipman, Mr. Browne. They held our hands nearly as high as the shoulder, while a lane was formed for us through the crowd of people, who were perfectly silent. The children were placed in front, and the next rank sat down, so that those behind could see us in passing. At about a hundred and fifty yards from the landing-place, we came to the gate of a temple, where we were met by the Chief, who stood just on the outside of the threshold, on a small raised pavement: he took Ookooma's place, and conducted Captain Maxwell up a few steps into the temple, which was partly open on two sides, with deep verandahs, which made the interior shady and cool. A large table, finely japanned, was spread, and two ornamented chairs were placed for us. The Chief seated himself at one end of the table, and placed Captain Maxwell on his left.
He expressed himself much gratified and honoured by the visit, asked our ages, and if we were married. He was greatly pleased with Captain Maxwell's account of his family, which nearly corresponded with his own. He guessed Mr. Maxwell's age to be twenty-seven, and was with difficulty persuaded to believe that a person six feet high could be only sixteen. The same mistake was made by all the natives, who invariably judged of the age of our young men by their height alone. An entertainment was now served, beginning with a light kind of wine, called sackee, which was handed round in very diminutive cups, filled by Issacha, from a small high pot in which the sackee was kept hot. They insisted on our emptying the cup every time, shewing us a fair example themselves. During the whole feast the sackee never left the table, being considered apropos to all the strange dishes which we partook of. The first of these consisted of hard boiled eggs, cut into slices, the outside of the white being coloured red. A pair of chopsticks[9] was now given to each person, and these were not changed during the feast. Next came fish fried in batter, which we found an excellent dish; then sliced smoked pork, next pig's liver sliced. After this, tea was handed round in cups of a moderate size; the tea was quite new, resembling, as was observed, an infusion of hay. Pipes and tobacco served to fill up the short intervals between the courses. A man attended behind each of our chairs, whose sole business it was to fill and light the pipes. The next dish was the strangest of any, and disgusted most of the party; it consisted of a mass of coarse, soft, black sugar, wrapped up in unbaked dough, powdered over with rice flour, dyed yellow. After this we had dishes of round cakes, like gingerbread nuts; then cakes made in the form of wreaths, and in a variety of other shapes. There was something like cheese given us after the cakes, but we cannot form a probable conjecture of what it was made. Most of the dishes were so good that we soon made a hearty dinner, but the attendants still brought in more, till the Chief seeing that we did not eat, recommended the sackee to us. The old gentleman's eyes at length began to glisten, and observing that we felt it hot, he requested us to uncover, shewing the example himself. He seized the doctor's cocked hat and put it on, while the doctor did the same with his hatchee-matchee. The oddity of the Chief's appearance produced by this change overcame the gravity of the attendants, and the mirth became general; nor was the joke relished by any body more than the Chief's two sons, who stood by his chair during all the entertainment: they were pretty little boys, with gaudy dresses, and their hair dressed in high shewy top-knots.
[Illustration: LOO-CHOO CHIEF and his TWO SONS.]
During the early part of the feast, our presents were brought in on trays, and laid at the feet of the Chief: the old man rose and saw them arranged, he then made a graceful bow, and acknowledged his satisfaction, observing that we had sent him too much, and had done him more honour than he was entitled to, and that he could not think of accepting the whole. This we considered matter of form, and in reply lamented our inability to make suitable presents; upon which he sat down and said no more. The other chiefs ran about shewing the list of their presents to their friends among the crowd.
The room in which this entertainment was given was open at first on two sides only, but afterwards the partitions on the other two sides were taken down, being contrived to slide in grooves; thus the rooms are enlarged or diminished at pleasure. When the partition behind us was removed, several strange looking figures made their appearance, who we found were Bodezes or priests. Their heads and faces were shaved, their feet bare, and their dress different from that worn by the rest of the people, being somewhat shorter, and much less free and flowing, without any belt round the waist, the robe being merely tightened a little by a drawing string tied at the side; over the shoulders hangs an embroidered band or belt, like that used by drummers: the colour of their dress is not uniform, some wearing black, others yellow, and some deep purple. They have a timorous, patient, subdued sort of look, with a languid smile, and ghastly expression of countenance. They are low in stature, and generally look unhealthy; they all stoop more or less, and their manners are without grace, so that a more contemptible class of people cannot easily be imagined. Along with the Bodezes were several boys, whom we took to be their children from the resemblance they bore to them; but this mistake must have arisen from these boys being dressed like the priests, for the Bodezes are strictly confined to a life of celibacy. From the circumstance of our being in a temple, as well as from our general habits of respect to persons filling sacred stations, we felt at first disposed to treat these Bodezes with attention, but this was looked upon as ridiculous by the chiefs, who seeing us bowing to them, begged we would take no further notice of them. Instead of being the class most respected, they are considered the lowest, and if not held in contempt, are at least neglected by all other ranks.
During all the time we were at table, the crowd pressed round the verandahs, and perched themselves upon the walls and house-tops in the vicinity, or wherever they could get a peep at us. The satisfaction here was mutual, as we were anxious to make the most of the opportunity, not knowing if we should ever be allowed to land again. After sitting two hours we rose, and were escorted to the boats in the same order as when we landed. An attempt had been made during the feast, when the whole party were in good humour, to prevail upon the old gentleman to sanction our taking a walk into the town; but the bare mention of such a thing sobered the whole party in an instant, and the subject was accordingly dropped. The sailors, who had been kept in the boats for fear of their doing mischief, had not been neglected by the Chief, who had sent them part of the feast, nor did it seem that they had any objection to the sackee. We looked anxiously on the right and left as we passed through the crowd, in hopes of seeing some of the women, but in this expectation we were disappointed. At a considerable distance indeed, on the opposite side of the harbour, we saw a group of women, several of whom came down to the causeway to obtain a better view of the boats as they passed. Six or eight young girls ran to the pier head, round some rocks near the end; they reached this spot just as we rowed past, but looked quite frightened at finding themselves so near us, and immediately drew back out of our sight. We fancied that we could discover a good deal of beauty in some of their faces, and that their figures were handsome; but as we had not seen a fair lady's face for nearly half a year before, our judgment in this case is not perhaps to be depended on. Ookooma and his associates put off to accompany us in one of their own boats, but as it blew hard, they came no farther than the pier head: Jeeroo, however, was sent along with us, to see that there were no stray sheep.
What is to follow is uncertain, but it is clear that we have made little progress of late, while fresh obstacles have been hourly rising against our landing; in the meantime, the Loo-chooans shew no little sagacity and kindness of disposition in supplying us liberally with all kinds of stock.
24th of September.—Last night and to-day it has blown a hard gale of wind, beginning at north north-east, and shifting to north-west, but the reefs and the land break its force, and enable us to ride in perfect security: in all probability it blew severely in the open sea. The barometer fell from 29.62, to 29.50, yesterday; in the evening it had reached 29.48, and this morning stood at 29.40. About four in the morning it began to rise rapidly, and the severity of the gale did not come on till it had risen a good deal. The thermometer both in the day and night stands at 82º, with very little variation, but the sky being constantly clouded, no observations could be made.
25th of September.—Jeeroo came on board this morning with a present of vegetables and fruit, and afterwards went on board the Alceste to join Ookooma and Jeema. They had preceded him with a present from the Chief, by whose desire they made a number of kind inquiries, and repeatedly expressed, in his name, surprise and satisfaction at our having been able to ride out the gale. They also apologized for not visiting us yesterday, which the gale had rendered impossible. It was represented in the conference to-day, that our limbs were getting quite stiff for want of exercise, and that it became absolutely necessary for us to land, on account of our health: they debated amongst themselves for some time, and then said that a final answer would be given to-morrow. They have quite forgotten their promise to send a pilot for the harbour to the northward: they wish also that we should forget it, since they change the subject whenever it is spoken of, and affect total ignorance of our meaning. The government probably think it best to keep us where we are, and therefore discourage our investigating the island any further.
Jeeroo, who begins to get quite familiar with us all, is a laughing good-humoured man, about thirty: he shakes every one cordially by the hand when he comes on board, and engages in all our amusements with great cheerfulness. He is very useful to us, because the anxiety he has to learn English makes him communicate freely the knowledge of his own language: thus there is little difficulty in fixing him over a glass of Constantia, upon which occasions he contributes largely to Mr. Clifford's vocabulary. Some of our words the Loo-chooans cannot pronounce; the letter l preceded by c appears the most difficult; they call Clifford "Criffar," and even this requires many efforts: not one of the natives has yet been able to make any thing of child; they call it shoidah, choiah, and chyad.
26th of September.—No boats have been near us to-day, and we might readily land if we chose it; but Captain Maxwell is resolved not to do so till he gets the consent of the natives.
27th of September.—As we were still prevented from going on shore, we amused ourselves by examining a reef which forms the north side of the anchorage. We found a field of coral about half a mile square, dry at low water, with the surf breaking very high on the outer edge, which lies exposed to the waves from the north. The surface of the rock is every where worn into small holes, which being left full of water as the tide goes out, are occupied by a number of beautiful blue fish. The coral is exceedingly hard, and though at many places it sticks up in sharp points, it requires a hammer of considerable weight to break it, and emits sparks like flint when struck; in a short time it entirely defaces the hammer. This extent of level space has suggested the idea of measuring a base on it in order to survey the anchorage, since there appears so little chance of our being allowed to land for this purpose on the beach.
While we were deliberating on this matter, we had a striking proof of the inconvenience to which we were likely to be exposed during this survey, by the tide rising and fairly washing us off. Notwithstanding this, we determined to commence next morning, and returned to make preparations, in high spirits at the prospect of an occupation, if not on terra firma, at least out of the ship, within whose sides we had been confined so long. On returning, we found that Captain Maxwell had arranged a party to visit the small island and reef which we were so close to on the 14th instant; the survey was therefore postponed.
Jeeroo sent us off some fresh fish to-day; some were red, and one or two blue: he came himself afterwards, and was happy to find us much gratified by his present. A formal message was sent to-day to the chiefs in attendance, stating that both ships were in want of fresh water, and that the boats must go on shore with casks to bring some off. In a short time after this message had been delivered, a number of canoes came alongside with large tubs of water; a strong proof of their alertness in getting rid of all our excuses for landing, and at the same time, it must be owned, of their readiness to supply our wants. An elderly gentleman, not a chief, visited us to-day, accompanied by his secretary. His appearance and manners being greatly in his favour, we paid him all the attention in our power. His wish was to be permitted to go all over the ship at his leisure; and in this way he examined every thing on board with far more attention than any body had done before him. His secretary, who was equally inquisitive, accompanied him in order to take notes. He employed himself for about six hours in examining the upper deck, and never quitted any thing till he understood its use. While he was thus occupied, he was attended by the sailors, who were pleased with his reverend appearance, and very readily assisted the old man in his enquiries.
It was interesting to observe, indeed, how early the gentle and engaging manners of all classes here won upon the sailors, no less than upon the officers. The natives from the first were treated with entire confidence; no watch was ever kept over them, nor were they excluded from any part of the ships; and not only was nothing stolen, but when any thing was lost, nobody even suspected for an instant, that it had been taken by them.
The old man next came down to the cabin, where he remained a long time examining the books and furniture, and occasionally engaging in conversation with Mr. Clifford, for whose Vocabulary he supplied many new words, and corrected others which had been written down erroneously. He would not accept any thing valuable, but was grateful for samples of rope, canvas, and cloth. This old gentleman renewed his examination of the brig next day; nor was it till the third day that he completed his survey.
28th of September.—At sunrise we set out for Reef Island, which lies about six miles from the anchorage: we reached it in about an hour, but as it was low water, the coral was left almost bare for a considerable way out, and our large boat could not get near the beach. In this dilemma we took possession of a canoe which was at anchor, and in several trips all the party landed. Near a hut we saw about a dozen people who stood looking at us till we landed, and then ran away, leaving their tobacco-pipes, pouches, and various other things on the ground about the hut, in which we found a pot of boiled sweet potatoes and several jars of water. Having, in vain, tried to allay the apprehensions of the natives by waving to them, to induce them to approach us, we sat down to breakfast; which we had hardly done, when two of them, an old man and a boy, came to the door of our tent and prostrated themselves before us, apparently in great alarm, for they answered incoherently, "ooa" (yes) to every question we asked them. At last we raised the old man on his knees, but he would not quit this posture till we gave him a glass of rum, which re-assured him a little, and shortly afterwards he consented to stand on his legs. Having thus gradually gained confidence, he made signs that we had taken his canoe: upon which an order was given to the coxswain to restore it. He guessed immediately what was said, and in the joy of his heart was proceeding to prostrate himself again, but was stopped by our holding out buttons and some pieces of meat and bread to him, which he received in both hands, and touching his head each time with the presents, made three low obeisances and retired.
On rising from breakfast we found, near the tent, about a dozen natives, who, in most respects, resembled our friends at Napakiang, but were not so neatly dressed; and their hair, instead of being formed into a knot, was allowed to fly loose. During the morning the party amused themselves in various ways. Some took their guns and went in search of curlews and sea-snipes: others set out to explore the reefs; and two or three remained near the tent, for the purpose of making observations on the sun at noon; but as it became cloudy about this time, the latter party failed in their object. The rest were more successful; the sportsmen having shot some game for dinner; and the other party having found all things favourable for inspecting the reef.
The examination of a coral reef during the different stages of one tide, is particularly interesting. When the tide has left it for some time it becomes dry, and appears to be a compact rock, exceedingly hard and ragged; but as the tide rises, and the waves begin to wash over it, the coral worms protrude themselves from holes which were before invisible. These animals are of a great variety of shapes and sizes, and in such prodigious numbers, that, in a short time, the whole surface of the rock appears to be alive and in motion. The most common worm is in the form of a star, with arms from four to six inches long, which are moved about with a rapid motion in all directions, probably to catch food. Others are so sluggish, that they may be mistaken for pieces of the rock, and are generally of a dark colour, and from four to five inches long, and two or three round. When the coral is broken, about high water mark, it is a solid hard stone, but if any part of it be detached at a spot which the tide reaches every day, it is found to be full of worms of different lengths and colours, some being as fine as a thread and several feet long, of a bright yellow, and sometimes of a blue colour: others resemble snails, and some are not unlike lobsters in shape, but soft, and not above two inches long[10].
The growth of coral appears to cease when the worm is no longer exposed to the washing of the sea. Thus, a reef rises in the form of a cauliflower, till its top has gained the level of the highest tides, above which the worm has no power to advance, and the reef of course no longer extends itself upwards. The other parts, in succession, reach the surface, and there stop, forming in time a level field with steep sides all round. The reef, however, continually increases, and being prevented from going higher, extends itself laterally in all directions. But this growth being as rapid at the upper edge as it is lower down, the steepness of the face of the reef is still preserved. These are the circumstances which render coral reefs so dangerous in navigation; for, in the first place, they are seldom seen above the water; and, in the next, their sides are so steep, that a ship's bows may strike against the rock before any change of soundings has given warning of the danger.
The island at high water is formed into three parts, which at low water are joined by reefs; the whole being about two and a half or three miles from east to west, and tolerably clear of rocks on the south side; but on the north it is guarded by a semicircle of coral extending upwards of a mile from the shore. On the centre island is only one hut, which, as there was reason to believe it to be the actual abode of the inhabitants, it may be allowable to describe. The walls were sunk under ground, so that only the roof appeared from without, the inside was fifteen feet by six: the walls of neatly squared stones, being two feet high, and the roof in the middle about six or seven high, formed of a ridge pole supported in the centre by a forked stick; the rafters of rough branches were covered with reeds, and thatched over with the leaf of the wild pine, which grows on all the coral islands. The fire-place was at one end on a raised part of the floor, and the other end appeared to be the sleeping place. It was conjectured, that this wretched place could only be meant as a temporary residence of fishermen, whose nets we saw lying about; but the number of water jars and cooking utensils which we found in and about it, gave it the appearance of a fixed habitation.
It was almost dark when we quitted the island, and the tide carrying us out of our proper course, we missed the ships and grounded on the reefs near the town; but as the tide was flowing, we easily got off, and by coasting along, soon gained the anchorage.
Sunday, 29th of September.—This day is memorable, on account of its being the first on which we were permitted to land.
Yesterday, when we were absent at Reef Island, the chiefs had come on board to say that we might land, but that our walk must be confined to the beach, and that we were neither to enter the town, nor to go into the country. At one o'clock several of the chiefs came on board and accompanied us to the beach, where we landed amidst an immense crowd, and were handed along by Ookooma and the rest, who, in their desire to be civil, held us by the arms. The day, however, being excessively hot, and the sand deep, we found this troublesome, and begged leave to walk alone, to which they reluctantly consented, and we proceeded along the beach for a quarter of a mile.
Beginning to get tired of our walk, we stopped and expressed some surprise at such a reception, and told them how disagreeable it was to us to be in the sun at such an hour. But our remonstrances did not produce much effect, for, on our objecting particularly to the heat, they shewed us to a sort of cave in a rock on the beach, where they put down a mat and wished us to drink tea in the shade, since we disliked the sun. This could not be submitted to, however, and we told them that our object in landing was not to sit down on the beach to drink tea, but to walk about under the trees in order to recover our health, impaired by a long stay on board ship. They tried all their eloquence to persuade us that our walk, thus limited, was perfectly pleasant; till at length Captain Maxwell gave them to understand, that he wished to go to the top of the hills under the trees; but that, as he did not mean to advance a single step beyond what was approved of, he would return instantly to the ship if they persisted in confining him to the beach. A consultation was held upon this, during which, frequent reference was made to several elderly men, whose opinions appeared to have great weight. They did not wear the dress of chiefs, but, from all that passed, we suspected them to be persons about court, who had been sent to assist the councils of the local commission, without superseding its authority. They at last agreed to our going to the top of the hill, taking the precaution before we set out, of sending on a couple of runners, probably to give warning to the women who might be in that direction. About half way up the road, which winds along a steep face, there is a neatly-built well, supplied by a stream which runs along a carved water-course, and near it were three or four rudely carved stones about a foot long and four inches across, with slow matches and a small quantity of rice laid upon each. Mr. Clifford distinctly made out that this was meant as a religious offering, but its precise object could not be discovered, though it was conjectured that the guardian deity of the well might have some title to the honour. The side of the hill is cut into horizontal irregular terraces, which are cultivated with apparent care, and irrigated by means of ditches leading from the well. On gaining the brow of the hill which overlooks the anchorage, the chiefs stopped, but as we were within a few yards of the summit, where we saw a shady grove, we begged them to proceed, to which, after a short deliberation, they consented. By gaining this eminence, we commanded a view of an extensive valley more beautiful than any thing we had ever seen; and on the side opposite to us we saw the large building spoken of before, generally suspected to be the King's palace: our questions, however, on this subject were always answered in so evasive a manner, and with such apparent distress, that we seldom made any allusion either to it or to the King.
Here we remained under the trees for an hour, drinking tea and smoking pipes in company with all the chiefs, besides four or five of the old men mentioned before. We amused them by lighting their pipes with a burning glass; but one old gentleman, who suspected some trick, and did not join in the surprise shewn by the rest, held out his hand that it might be exposed to the focus; and he was soon undeceived, to the great amusement of the circle. The magnifying power of the glass engaged the attention of them all, but they were differently affected by it: a start and an exclamation of pleased surprise was the most usual effect; some laughed immoderately at every experiment, while others were made very grave by it, who had not been particularly serious before. Advantage was taken of the moment when their admiration of the glass was at the highest, to present it to Jeeroo, whose good-will it was thought expedient to conciliate: he had not expected this, and felt obliged to us for so public a mark of our esteem.
A man on horseback happening to ride by, it was gravely suggested to the chiefs that nothing would so materially contribute to the establishment of our health as this species of exercise; but they insisted upon treating our request as a mere joke. On the way back an attempt was made to vary the walk by turning to the left on reaching the brow of the hill, and so walking along the edge of the cliff to another road; the chiefs observed upon this that we should infallibly tumble down and kill ourselves; affecting, notwithstanding the absurdity of any such apprehensions, to be greatly distressed at our danger: so we turned back, after having had a short interview with an old man seated in a shed on the edge of the precipice. His white beard, which covered his breast, suited well with his sedate and contemplative air, and gave him much the aspect of a hermit. Our appearance did not in the least discompose him, nor did he take any notice of us till desired to do so by Ookooma; he then bowed slightly, but immediately resumed his fixed look, as if he had been quite alone.
As we drew near to the place where we had landed, our companions surprised us by an invitation to a feast, prepared, they said, on our account in a temple close to the shore. Here they gave us painted eggs, smoked salt pork, and various preparations of eggs and fish, with sweet cakes in numberless forms, besides tea, pipes, and sackee, a light kind of wine made hot. Nothing could be more cheerful than they all were to-day: they placed us on the floor at the upper end of the room, and, for some time, they would not allow us to move; but Mr. Clifford, who, from the progress he has made in their language, has become a great favourite, was invited to join a merry party in the verandah, to which they brought flowers, fruits, and every thing they could think of, in order to learn their English names, and give in return those of Loo-choo.
On reaching the boats, Jeeroo and two of his friends seemed disposed to go on board; they were accordingly invited to do so, which made him so happy, that he took a rudely-carved ivory ornament, in the shape of a monkey, from his tobacco-pouch, and gave it to me. Dinner was on table when they came on board, but there was time before taking my friends below, to intimate to the servants, that these gentlemen were going to dine with me, so that when we reached the cabin, three plates were laid in addition. They had probably not expected to find dinner ready for them on board, for they expressed surprise at these preparations having been made, and would not sit down for some time. When the covers were removed, they became silent, and looked on either hand for directions how to proceed. On being helped to soup, they did not stir till they saw us take spoons, in the management of which they shewed but little awkwardness. The knife and fork gave them more trouble, but they set seriously about acquiring a knowledge of their use, and, in a short time, found no difficulty.
Their grave propriety on this occasion is the more worthy of remark, from its standing in some measure opposed to our own behaviour under similar circumstances: for instance, when we first tried to eat with their chopsticks: on that occasion there was a sort of giggling embarrassment shewn by some of us, a contempt as it were of ourselves, for condescending to employ an effort to acquire the use of a thing apparently so unimportant. Their diminutive cups and odd dishes, too, sometimes excited mirth amongst us. Our Loo-choo friends, however, never committed themselves in this way; a difference of manners, which may arise from their looking upon us as their superiors, and vice versâ; but even admitting this, which we were sufficiently disposed to do, it is certainly no excuse for us.
On this occasion Jeeroo and his friends had evidently made up their minds to find every thing quite new, for all three made a slight involuntary exclamation when one of the covers was lifted up, and shewed a dish of their own sweet potatoes. They ate of every thing, using a great deal of salt, with the fineness and whiteness of which they were much pleased. A tart, however, being put on the table, they all objected at first to touching it; they would not say why: they were at length prevailed upon to taste it, which they had no sooner done, than they exclaimed that it was "masa! masa!" (good! good!) It was made of Scotch marmalade, and Jeeroo, in recommending it to his friends, told them it was "injássa, amása," (bitter, sweet), a union which they appeared not to have met with before. They drank wine with us, but said they feared it would make them tipsy; upon which we shewed them our mode of mixing it with water, which was evidently new to them, for they relished it so much in this form, that they were in a fair way of running unconsciously into the very excess which they dreaded. As soon as the cloth was removed, they rose, and went to walk about the ship: on our shewing a wish to accompany them, they intreated us to keep our seats.
During dinner, though it was the first they had ever seen in the European style, these people not only betrayed no awkwardness, but adopted our customs, such as drinking wine with each other, so readily, that we were frequently at a loss to determine whether they had but just learned these customs, or whether their own usages in these cases were similar to ours. As they pushed off in their boat they were asked to sing, which they did at once, and by their manner we suspected that the song had some allusion to us, but we could not make out the words.
30th of September.—During the whole of this morning we were engaged in the survey, accompanied by several of the midshipmen of both ships. We measured a base, and continued taking angles till the tide rose and drove us off.
1st of October.—As a free intercourse was now established with the natives at this place, and little doubt remained of our being able to gain their permission in a day or two for landing the Alceste's stores, it became an object to ascertain, without further delay, whether or not this anchorage was better than the harbour described by the natives as being a few miles only to the northward. While any apprehensions existed of our not being able to land here, it was not thought prudent to send the Lyra to look for that harbour, lest the chiefs should become still more suspicious of our intentions. At this moment, however, there was reason to believe that the chiefs wished the Alceste to remain where she was, and it was expected that any show of moving to another harbour would stimulate their exertions to render our present situation agreeable.
The Lyra was accordingly ordered to weigh this morning at daylight, for the purpose of examining the coast for ten or twelve leagues to the northward. We went out by a narrow passage through the reefs, and in the course of the morning beat up to Sugar Loaf Island. We did not land upon it, but passed near enough to see that it is richly cultivated on the lower parts, and that all the houses are collected into villages, shaded as usual by large trees round the bottom, and for one-third of the way up the sides of the peak. As this was our furthest point in the present survey, we tacked on reaching the Sugar Loaf, and coasted round the shores of a large square bay on the west side of the great island. The wind shifted gradually as we sailed along, blowing directly off the shore at every place, by which means we were enabled to complete the circuit of the bay before dark, after which we anchored in sixty-five fathoms water. Next morning we resumed our examination of the coast, but as the weather was fine, we hoisted out a boat and pulled close along the shore, while the brig kept her course at the distance of several miles. In this manner we traced the whole shore, till we came close to Napakiang, without seeing any port. We tried to land at several places, but were every where kept off by coral reefs stretching along the coast, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, and forming, to strangers at least, an impenetrable barrier. The canoes of the natives paddled away from us, and passed through the surf by passages which we were afraid to approach. We returned to the brig about two o'clock, and at three anchored in our former place at Napakiang.
The departure of the Lyra had excited a great sensation on shore; the chiefs came off to inquire of Captain Maxwell where the "honee gua" (little ship) was; but he did not choose to satisfy them, except by saying that they had trifled with him so long, and refused to let him land his casks and stores with such obstinacy, that he must endeavour to find some more favourable place at which to refit his ship. The effect was exactly what he wished; they intreated him not to think of moving from Napakiang; offered him not only large boats to put his stores in, but said he should have store-rooms on shore for whatever he desired, while his ship was refitting. They moreover granted him permission to land with his officers, and to go to the top of the hill without being guarded as formerly.
On the Lyra's anchoring, the chiefs came on board in great agitation, desiring to know what we had discovered. As we had actually nothing to relate, there was little difficulty in keeping our secret. They accompanied me on board the Alceste when I went to make my report, but Captain Maxwell, having found the advantage he had already gained by keeping them in ignorance of his intentions, was nowise communicative. They now offered to allow his people to land for the purpose of washing their clothes, which they had before refused to do, and in short, were in a mood to grant any thing, provided we were willing to remain at this part of the island. They did not pretend that this was out of regard for us, and it was easy to see that they apprehended more trouble in managing us any where else than at this place. Amongst the arguments used by them to dissuade us from going to the other end of the island, they said it was inhabited by savages. It came out accidentally too, that in the event of the ship's actually proceeding to other parts of the island, the six chiefs were to accompany us: so that they were probably influenced by considerations of personal convenience to make every exertion to prevent our moving.
3d of October.—The Lyra's crew were allowed to go on shore to-day to wash their clothes, and amuse themselves by running about on the side of the hill. Two of the sailors of this party, who happened to be singing near the well, drew a number of natives round them, who expressed great pleasure at hearing their songs. At first the crowd consisted entirely of the peasantry, who listened with great attention, and never interrupted the sailors; but in about half an hour, a person of some rank, with a number of attendants, came up, and begged them to sing several of their songs over again: we could not find out who this person was, but it was probably one of the chiefs, some of whom are remarkably fond of our music.
4th of October.—The survey on the reef was completed to-day: the only inconvenience we had experienced here, was the limited time which the tide allowed us each day, otherwise the situation was well adapted for a base, from its commanding a view of all parts of the anchorage. During the progress of the principal survey, the young gentlemen sent by Captain Maxwell, in conjunction with the midshipmen of the Lyra, completed a survey of the reef itself. A native of a genteel appearance, but not in the dress of a chief, visited the Lyra to-day, and gave me a present of two pipes and two bags of sweet potatoes.
5th of October.—Captain Maxwell called for me this morning at sunrise, on his way to the shore. The chiefs had not expected us so early, and our only companion for some time was an old peasant, who now and then ran on before to give notice of our approach. Two well dressed people shortly afterwards came up, and continued with us during our walk, which at first lay along the beach, but afterwards led into the country; some exception was taken to this by our companions, but as no attention was paid to them, they desisted.
After walking about a mile, we passed through a grove of young trees, and found ourselves close to a village, which lies in the bottom of a glen highly cultivated, the houses being almost entirely hid by trees, of which the bamboo is the most conspicuous.
This village is surrounded by a close hedge, and every separate house also has an inclosure: some of the houses have attached to them neat arbours, formed of a light frame of bamboo covered with a variety of creepers. The rice fields are divided by small banks of earth, made to retain the water, and along the top of each bank there is a foot-path; the whole valley having much the air of a scene in India. A number of the villagers, accompanied by their children, came out to meet us, but there were no women amongst them: we passed on, as they were evidently averse to our entering the village.
On our way across the valley we were attracted by the appearance of a cottage, so buried in foliage as to be completely hid from our view till we were within a few paces of the door. It was surrounded by a slight fence of rods, about an inch apart, with a line of creepers along the top, and hanging down on both sides: a wicker gate admitted us, and we entered the house, which we found divided into two apartments, eight feet square, besides a small verandah at one end. The floors, which were made of slips of bamboo, were raised about six inches from the ground, and covered with a straw mat. The walls were five feet high, being neatly wattled with split bamboo, above which rose a pointed thatched roof. It was occupied by an old man, whom we appeared to have disturbed at breakfast, for cups and tea-things were arranged on the floor; he asked us to sit down, and gave us pipes and tea. The little apartment we were in was as neat as any thing we had ever seen: on one side there was a set of shelves, with cups, bowls, and cooking utensils; on the others were hung various implements of husbandry, with hats and various dresses, all clean and in order. Higher up was a sort of loft or garret, formed by bamboo poles, laid horizontally from the top of the walls; on this were placed various tools, nets, and baskets. The fire-place was in the middle of one side, and sunk below the level. On the outside, in the space between the house and the fence, there was a pigeon house and a poultry yard, and close to the little verandah spoken of before, there stood two spinning-wheels of a light and ingenious construction. All round on the outside of the fence, the trees were high and thick; and though the sun was above the hills, the house was completely shaded except at the end, where a small opening admitted the rays into the verandah. We staid some time with the old farmer, trying to express our admiration of the simplicity and beauty of his cottage, and then went up the opposite side of the valley.
Here we found a road like a dressed walk in a garden: following this, we passed through a series of beautiful groves of bamboo and other trees, till at length, after winding about a good deal, we came to a double row of tall pine trees, interspersed with many others whose names we did not know, so as to form a walk which must be shady at all hours of the day. This road we knew would lead to the town, and therefore when we had reached the highest point we turned to the right, and after a short walk reached the grove of trees which had been made the limit to our first walk on the 29th ultimo. At this place Captain Maxwell surprised the natives a good deal by shooting several birds on the wing, but they could not be prevailed upon to fire themselves, nor even to pull the trigger when no powder was in the pan.
6th of October.—After divine service to-day on board the Alceste, a long conference was held between Captain Maxwell and the five chiefs, when, after a good deal of discussion, it was agreed on their part to allow the Alceste's stores to be landed, for the purpose of getting at the leak. Our means of interpreting on these occasions are not the best that could be wished; but John, our Chinese, is nevertheless a keen fellow, and very ready with answers when pressed. We generally explain as fully as possible to John what our wishes are, and then leave him to communicate them the best way he can. An instance of his quickness occurred to-day, which seems worth mentioning. John had communicated to them, by Captain Maxwell's desire, that as the leak complained of was in the magazine, it would be necessary to land the powder: they debated a long time upon this, and then asked John "Why the powder was not put on board the little ship?" John, who was not aware of any good reason, affected to be surprised at this question, which he refused to interpret, saying that if Captain Maxwell thought such a measure right, he would surely not have waited till they suggested it. The light in which he had thus put the question, made them earnestly desire him not to mention any thing about it, declaring at the same time, that they would willingly give a place for the powder, and for any other stores which Captain Maxwell might wish to land.
To-day for the first time they talked unreservedly of the king, whose name even they had hitherto studiously avoided: they spoke freely of his majesty's having sent all the stock and vegetables with which we were daily supplied. Captain Maxwell, who of course was very desirous of opening a communication with the court, intimated his wish to pay his respects as soon as might be convenient. They heard this with apparent satisfaction, and signified that his request should be made known to the king. We are at a loss to discover what can have caused this change of manner. We can only conjecture, that perhaps the king, on hearing so many reports about us, may have become desirous of seeing us himself. At all events it is clear that some alteration in the instructions to the chiefs must have been made, otherwise they would have shewn their usual reserve when the king's name was mentioned, and would on no account have allowed us to talk of visiting him.
At one o'clock we went on shore to look at the place assigned by the chiefs for the reception of the Alceste's stores. It is an oblong inclosure, sixty yards by forty, surrounded by a wall twelve feet high, rather well built with squared coral: the entrance is by a large gate on the south side, from which there extends raised gravel walks, with clipped hedges, the intermediate spaces being laid out in beds, like a garden. The temple in which we were feasted on the day of our first visit, occupies one corner of the inclosure; it is completely shaded by a grove of trees, which also overhang the wall. In that part of the garden directly opposite to the gate, at the upper end of the walk there is a smaller temple, nearly hid by the branches of several large banyan trees; and before it, at the distance of ten or twelve paces, a square awkward looking building, with a raised terrace round it. The temple first spoken of is divided by means of shifting partitions into four apartments, and a verandah running all round, having a row of carved wooden pillars on its outer edge to support the roof, which extends considerably beyond it. The floor of the verandah is two feet from the ground, the roof is sloping and covered with handsome tiles, those forming the eaves being ornamented with flowers and various figures in relief; there are also several out-houses, and a kitchen communicating with them by covered passages. In one of the inner apartments, at the upper end, there is a small recess containing a green shrub, in a high narrow flower-pot, having a Chinese inscription on a tablet hanging above it on the wall. On another side of the same room, there hangs the picture of a man rescuing a bird from the paws of a cat; the bird seems to have been just taken from a cage, which is tumbling over, with two other birds fluttering about in the inside: it is merely a sketch, but is executed in a spirited manner. In one of the back apartments we find three gilt images, eighteen inches high, with a flower in a vase before them. The roof of the temple within is ten feet high, and all the cornices, pillars, &c. are neatly carved into flowers and the figures of various animals. The ground immediately round it is divided into a number of small beds, planted with different shrubs and flowers; and on a pedestal of artificial rock, in one of the walks close to it, is placed a clay vessel of an elegant form, full of water, with a wooden ladle swimming on the top. On a frame near one of the out-houses, hangs a large bell, three feet high, of an inelegant shape, resembling a long bee-hive; the sides are two inches thick, and richly ornamented: its tone is uncommonly fine.
It was determined to appropriate part of the large temple to the use of the sick and their attendants; the assistant surgeon of the Alceste taking one room, and the gunner, who was to have the whole inclosure in his charge, another. The small temple at the upper end, being a retired spot, was fixed upon for the Lyra's observatory; the square building in the centre seemed well adapted for a magazine. At the gate a notice was hung up, both in English and Loo-choo, signifying that no person was to enter without a written pass from Captain Maxwell, or from one of the chiefs.
7th and 8th of October.—These days have been occupied in carrying the arrangements of Sunday into effect. It was very interesting to observe the care which the natives took of the sick, whom they assisted all the way from the beach to the temple; a number of people attended to support such of them as had barely strength enough to walk. When they were safely lodged, eggs, milk, fowls, and vegetables, were brought to them; and whenever any of them were tempted by the beauty of the scenery to walk out, several of the natives were ready to accompany them.
The powder was landed, and Mr. Holman, the gunner of the frigate, began the operation of drying it on hides spread in the sun round the magazine. The cows and other stock were also landed. One of the cows calved that night, to the surprise of every body, and the great joy of the natives, who took a great fancy to the little bull born amongst them. Mr. Mayne, the master of the Alceste, took up his quarters in the temple, in order to be near his observatory, which was in the centre of the garden. The stores of all kinds were sent on shore from the Alceste, which produced an apparent confusion, and the chiefs, seeing so many valuable things lying about, began to fear that they would be taken away; at least, it was supposed that they had such an apprehension, for the wall of the temple was immediately fenced in by a sort of net-work of long bamboo poles, the ends of which were fixed in the ground at the foot of the wall on the outside, and the tops made to cross one another four or five feet above the wall. This contrivance, instead of rendering the place more secure, made it more accessible; but as our opinion was not asked, and we had no apprehensions of theft, we let them proceed in their own way.
Mrs. Loy, wife of the boatswain of the Alceste, was the only female in our squadron, and as such excited no small interest at this place. She was a perfectly well behaved person, and sufficiently neat in her dress, but without great pretensions to good looks. The natives, who from the first paid her much attention, shewed at all times their desire of granting her every indulgence. They even went so far as to say she might go into the city; but, upon consulting with her husband, who was apprehensive of some accident, she declined it. When this circumstance became known to us, we easily convinced the boatswain that no mischief could possibly arise from trusting his wife amongst such kind people; but Mrs. Loy could not be persuaded of this; and thus was lost the only opportunity of seeing the town which occurred during all our stay.
Two of the natives have been studying English with great assiduity, and with considerable success. One is called Mádera, the other Anya. They carry note books in imitation of Mr. Clifford, in which they record in their own characters every word they learn. They are both keen fellows, and are always amongst the strangers. From the respect occasionally paid to them, it is suspected that their rank is higher than they give out, and that their object in pretending to be people of ordinary rank, is to obtain a more free intercourse with all classes on board the ships. Mádera, by his liveliness and his propriety of manners, has made himself a great favourite; he adopts our customs with a sort of intuitive readiness, sits down to table, uses a knife and fork, converses, and walks with us, in short, does every thing that we do, quite as a matter of course, without any apparent effort or study. He is further recommended to us by the free way in which he communicates every thing relating to his country; so that as he advances in English, and we in Loo-choo, he may be the means of giving us much information. As an instance of his progress in English, it may be mentioned, that one day he came on board the Lyra, and said, "The Ta-yin speak me, 'you go ship, John come shore;'" by which we understood that Captain Maxwell had sent him on board the brig for the interpreter. This was about three weeks after our arrival.
[Illustration: PRIEST and GENTLEMAN of LOO-CHOO.]
Most of the natives have acquired a little English, so that Mr. Clifford has now no difficulty in finding people willing to instruct him, and to take pains in correcting his pronunciation. One of his teachers, called Yáckabee Oomeejeéro, will not permit him to write down a single word till he has acquired the exact Loo-choo sound: but he is like the rest in shewing an invincible objection to giving any information about the women. He admits that he is married, and gives the names of his sons: but when his wife or daughters are alluded to, he becomes uneasy, and changes the subject. On Mr. Clifford's gravely telling him that he believed there were no women on the island, he was thrown off his guard, and answered hastily, that he had both a wife and daughter, but instantly checking himself, turned the conversation another way. On the picture of an English lady being shewn to him, he commended it highly, saying, at the same time, "Doochoo innágo whoóco oorung" (Loo-choo women are not handsome.) This old gentleman is a better teacher than scholar; he calls the letter L "airoo;" veal, "bairoo;" flail, "frayroo;" in which instances of mispronunciation, we may recognize a difficulty not uncommon amongst English children.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: This circumstance is by no means common, and therefore cannot be depended on. In fine weather these reefs give no warning whatever, and a ship on approaching them ought invariably to have a boat a-head.]
[Footnote 7: Chin-chin in the corrupt dialect of Canton, means the ceremony of salutation, which consists in the action of holding up the closed hands, pressed together before the face, and bowing at the same time.]
[Footnote 8: Ta-whang-tee is Chinese for Emperor, King.]
[Footnote 9: Chopsticks are two pieces of ivory or wood, about a foot in length, of the thickness of a quill; they serve in China instead of a knife and fork, and are held in the right hand. Until the difficult art of holding them is attained, they are perfectly useless. The Chief at this feast, seeing that we made little progress, ordered sharp pointed sticks to be brought, which he good humouredly recommended our using instead of the chopsticks.]
[Footnote 10: A large collection, which was at this time made of these
Zoophites, was unfortunately lost in the Alceste.]
CHAPTER III.
The Lyra sent to survey the Island of Loo-choo—Discovery of Port
Melville—Description of that Harbour, and the Villages on its
Banks—Lyra nearly wrecked—Interview with Natives at the South
Point—Return to Napakiang—Behaviour of the Natives at a Seaman's
Funeral—Mádera's Character and Conduct—Sociable Habits of the
Natives—Dinner given to the Chiefs of the Island by Captain
Maxwell—Mádera's Behaviour on this Occasion—Two Women seen—A Lady
of Rank visits the Boatswain's Wife—Captain Maxwell fractures his
Finger—Loo-choo Surgeon—Concern of the Natives—Visit of the
Prince—Discussion about the King of Loo-choo's Letter—Mádera
appears in a new Character—Feast given by the Prince—List of
Supplies given to the Ships—Behaviour of the Prince on taking
Leave—Preparations for Departure—Mádera's Distress—Last Interview
with the Chiefs—Brief Memorandums upon the Religion, Manners, and
Customs of Loo-choo—Advice to a Stranger visiting this Island.
As soon as the survey of Napakiang anchorage was completed, and a perfectly good understanding established with the natives, it was determined to make a survey of the whole island, and the Lyra was ordered upon this service. She were absent about a week, during which period the general chart of the island was constructed. It will be obvious to every one acquainted with the subject, that, in so short a time, a very exact survey of the coast of an island nearly sixty miles long could not have been made: yet, as the weather was in general fine, and other circumstances favourable, the chart will be found sufficiently correct for most practical purposes. As the chart and the nautical and hydrographical details are given in the Appendix, I propose at present to relate only such particulars of the cruise as seem likely to interest the general reader.
9th of October.—At daybreak we got under weigh and stood to sea through a passage discovered by the boats; it was so extremely narrow, that the least deviation from the course brought us close to the rocks. We were regulated in steering by two marks on the land, which lie in the same straight line with the centre of the passage; these it is necessary to keep always together: but not conceiving that such nicety was required while sailing out, the marks were allowed to separate, by which we found ourselves in a minute or two within a few yards of a coral reef, the ragged tops of which were distinctly seen two or three feet below the surface, whilst, at the same time, the leadsman on the opposite side sounded in nine fathoms. This early proof of the danger of navigating amongst coral, by teaching us the necessity of extreme caution, was of great importance to us in our future operations.
As the coast lying between Napakiang and the Sugar Loaf had already been examined, we proceeded at once round that island, which, from its having the same aspect on every bearing, and being quite different in shape from any land in this quarter, is an excellent land-mark for navigators. The natives call it Eegooshcoond, or castle[11]. The English name was given, I believe, by Captain Broughton.
Having rounded this peak and stood in for the north-west side of the Great Loo-choo, where there is a deep bight, a small island was observed close in shore, behind which it was thought there might be shelter for ships; the coast, however, being unknown to us, it was not thought safe to carry the brig very close in, and a boat was therefore dispatched with an officer to reconnoitre: he returned at eight o'clock to say that there was a harbour in the main land, the entrance to which lay on the inside of the small island mentioned before; but that the passages were narrow and winding, and that a more careful examination was necessary before the brig could venture in.
11th of October.—In the morning we again stood in, using the precaution of sending a boat a-head to sound the way; when we had nearly reached the entrance we anchored, and proceeded in three boats to examine the harbour discovered last night. As it was near noon when we passed the small island, we landed and observed the meridian altitude of the sun; after which we entered the harbour in the main island, by an intricate passage of about a quarter of a mile in length, and at one place not two hundred yards wide. Here we found ourselves in a circular bason upwards of half a mile across, with deep water, and completely sheltered from all winds. On its western shore we saw a large and beautiful village almost hid amongst trees, with a high wooded range behind it stretching to the south. The eastern shore was low and laid out in salt fields, with a few huts here and there. At first sight this bason did not appear to have any outlet except by the one we had examined; but on rowing to its upper or southern side, we found that it joined by a narrow channel with another harbour still larger, and if possible more beautiful than the first, for here the land was high on both sides, and richly wooded from top to bottom. Proceeding onwards through this bason, which had all the appearance of an inland lake, we came to another outlet, not above a hundred yards wide, formed by cliffs rising abruptly out of the water to the height of a hundred feet. Both sides being covered with trees, which almost met overhead, the space below was rendered cool and pleasant, and the water, thus sheltered from every wind, was as smooth as glass. We rowed along for some time by various windings through this fairy scene in total uncertainty of what was to come next, and at last, after advancing about three miles, it opened into an extensive lake several miles in length, studded with numerous small islands.
The depth of water in the lake varied from four to six fathoms; but in the narrow neck which connects it with the sea the depth is from ten to twenty fathoms, being deepest at the narrowest parts. Ships might ride in any part of this extraordinary harbour, in perfect safety during the most violent tempests: and the shores are so varied, that every purpose of re-equipment might be served. At some places natural wharfs are formed by the rocks, and eight and ten fathoms water close to them. Ships might lie alongside these places, or might heave down by them: there are also shallow spots on which ships might be careened. Many of the cliffs are hollowed into caves, which would answer for storehouses; and in the numerous lawns on both sides encampments might be formed of any number of people.
We rowed directly across, and landed at the southern side at the foot of a wooded range of hills, which forms the southern boundary of the lake. As no road was observed, it was resolved to go directly up the hill, and, in about an hour, after a good deal of scrambling amongst the bushes and long grass, we gained the top, where we found a neat pathway with a ditch on each side, and a hedge growing on the top of the mound, formed of the earth from the ditch; it resembled not a little an English lane. Without knowing where this might take us to, we followed it, in the hope of meeting some of the people, but in this we were disappointed. Yet this place must, at times, be frequented, as we observed a number of similar paths leading to the right and left.
The trees on this range of hills are low, and of no great beauty; the fir is the most common, but we did not know the names of the rest. After walking about a mile, our path took an abrupt turn down the brow of the hill, and appeared to lead to a large village at some distance. The view from this elevation was very satisfactory, as it enabled us to check our rough eye draught of the harbour and coast. The road down the hill was so steep that it was just possible to stand upon it, being inclined, as was conjectured on the spot, at an angle of 45º. At the foot of the hill there was a little cottage, consisting of two parts, made of wattled rattans, connected by a light open bamboo roof, so covered with a large leaved creeper as to afford a complete shelter from the sun. The cottage, which was thatched, was enveloped in creepers, encircled by the usual rattan fence at two or three yards distance. One of the wings was occupied by goats; the other, which was dark, seemed to belong to the people, who had deserted it on our approach. There being only a small hole in the wall to admit light and air, and to allow the smoke to escape, every thing inside was black and dirty. Two spears hung on one side, which, upon enquiry afterwards, we were told were for striking fish.
On coming to our boats, we found them surrounded by a party of the natives, smaller in stature than our friends at Napakiang, and shewing less curiosity: probably their surprise at our sudden appearance had not subsided sufficiently to allow of their indulging curiosity in detail. A large party of them watched attentively while a musket was loaded, and when pointed over their heads in the air, they seemed aware that something was going to happen, but from their not shrinking or removing out of the way, it seemed they knew not what. When it was fired, the whole party fell as if they had been shot, but rose instantly again, and looking to the right and left of each other, indulged in a timorous laugh. A cartridge was given to one man, with which he was nearly blowing himself up by placing it on his lighted pipe. The officer of the boat informed us that a gentleman had come to him and offered his horse to ride; he had dismounted for that purpose, but the horse was frightened, and would not suffer the officer to get upon him. We saw this person riding along when we were at the top of the hill; he called out to us repeatedly, probably to offer his horse, but we thought he wished to dissuade us from walking over the hill, and accordingly took no notice of him.
In the meantime Mr. Clifford, who had been unwell, and felt unequal to the labour of climbing the hill, proceeded in one of the boats towards a large village on the eastern side of the lake. He was met by a number of the inhabitants, whose dress and appearance were inferior to what we had been accustomed to see at Napakiang; on his asking them in Loo-choo for some water, they gave it cheerfully; but they shewed little curiosity, and the party which followed wherever he went, seemed to have no other object than to prevent disturbance. They made no objection to his going into the village, where he saw in one inclosure a complete farm-yard. The principal house was closed, but to the offices there was free access. In the stable were two handsome bay ponies; there was also a well stocked pig-sty, and a poultry-house. In another quarter stood a mill for husking corn, consisting of a grooved solid cylinder of wood, fitting neatly into a hollow cylinder, the sides of which were also grooved; near this lay a hand flour-mill and several baskets of cotton. In another part of the court was a granary erected on posts about six feet above the ground, having billets of fire-wood piled below it. At another place, under a tree in the village, he saw a blacksmith's anvil fixed in a block; the forge was of masonry, having an air hole, but the bellows was wanting.
In the centre of the village stood a building like a temple, surrounded by a stone wall. It was filled with elegant vases of different shapes and sizes, closed up and ranged in rows on the floor; the verandah encircling the building was also covered with vases. According to the account of the natives, the remains of the dead are deposited in these jars. Round the building bamboo poles were placed so as to lean against the thatched roof, having notches cut in them, to which bundles of flowers were hung, some fresh, others decayed, apparently funereal offerings; but their exact import Mr. Clifford was not able to learn. The elegant shape of the vases, and the tasteful way in which they were arranged, with the flowers hanging all round, gave to this cemetery an air of cheerfulness, which we are in the habit of thinking unsuitable to a depository of the dead.
This village, which is at the head of a bay, is sheltered from the north wind by a row of trees between it and the beach; behind it is sheltered by a range of hills. A broad road runs between it and the water; trees are planted among the houses, so as nearly to conceal them. In the middle of the village near the cemetery, in an open square, there is a cluster of granaries like the one described above; the walls are made of wattled rattan, and overhang the lower part.
Mr. Clifford tried in vain to see the Chief of the village; but either there was no such person, or he was out of the way: the inhabitants pointed out a man on horseback as a Chief, who passed on to another village; this was probably the same man who offered his horse to Mr. Hall, the officer of the boat. Mr. Clifford went to the top of the range behind the village, and afterwards into the valley on the other side, which he found highly cultivated.
From the heights we saw that the large space which was at first considered a lake, communicates with the sea to the north-eastward, as well as by the narrow passage through which we had come, but there was not time to allow of its being fully examined. As we returned by the narrow straits, we called at some of the small villages on the eastern side. At one of these, the people of the village, headed by a man who appeared to be superior to the rest, came towards the boat, and stopped for some minutes at the distance of fifty yards; after which, appearing to have gained confidence, they came on, with the old man in front, carrying a green bough in his hand. He would not come close, however, till invited by Mr. Clifford in Loo-choo to look at the boat; he then advanced and presented his bough, in return for which we broke a branch from a tree, and gave it to him with the same formality he had used towards us. Soon after this exchange was made, they left us, and went to examine the boat, to fishermen always an object of great interest.
On our entering the village we were met by a man who appeared to be the principal person of the place; he was very polite, shewed us through the village, and took us over his garden, where he had some sugar-cane growing; this we admired very much, upon which he ordered one of the finest of the canes to be taken up by the roots and presented to us; we immediately gave him a few buttons off our jackets, with which he was quite pleased. On its beginning to rain while we were in the garden, he invited us into his house, which, from the walls being of wattled cane, looked like a large basket. Rude pictures and carved wood-work figures were hanging on the walls, together with some inscriptions in Chinese characters.
On returning to the lower harbour of all, we went to the large village before spoken of, which is by far the most finished of any that we have seen on this island. The streets are regular and clean swept; each house has a neat cane wall, as well as a screen before the door; plantain and other trees are growing so thickly in the inside of the fence, that they completely shade the house. Near the beach were several large houses, in which a number of people were seated writing: on going up to them they gave us tea and cakes, and afterwards allowed us to go over the village without restraint; they were curious to know whether the brig was coming into the harbour or not, and if so, how many days we meant to stay; they expressed neither pleasure nor regret when we said that we were not coming in. In front of the village, and parallel with the beach, there is a splendid avenue thirty feet wide, formed by two rows of large trees, whose branches join overhead, and effectually screen the walk from the sun; here and there are placed wooden benches, and at some places stone seats are fixed near the trees: this space, which is about a quarter of a mile long, is probably used as a public walk.
A range of hills of a semicircular form embraces the village, and limits its extent: at most places it is steep, but at the point where the north end joins the harbour, there is an overhanging cliff about eighty feet high, the upper part of which extends considerably beyond the base; at eight or ten yards from the ground on this inclined face, a long horizontal gallery has been hewn out of the solid rock: it communicates with a number of small square excavations still deeper in the rock, for the reception of the vases containing the bones of the dead.
The trees and creepers on the edge of the precipice hung down so as to meet the tops of those which grew below, and thus a screen was formed which threw the gallery into deep shade: every thing here being perfectly still, the scene was very solemn and imposing. It took us somewhat by surprise, for nothing in its external appearance indicated the purpose to which the place was appropriated: happening to discover an opening amongst the trees and brushwood, and resolving to see what it led to, we entered by a narrow path winding through the grove. The liveliness of the scenery without, and the various amusements of the day, had put us all into high spirits, but the unexpected and sacred gloom of the scene in which we suddenly found ourselves had an instantaneous effect in repressing the mirth of the whole party.
This village is called Oonting, and is certainly the same that is alluded to by the chiefs, and which we formerly wrote down Winching and Oonching.
This excellent harbour, which we discovered, has been named Port
Melville, in honour of Lord Viscount Melville, First Lord of the
Admiralty.
It was quite dark when we reached the brig. As a heavy swell was rolling in, no time was lost in getting under weigh, but before we could succeed in running well off the reefs, the wind suddenly changed, and the weather, which before had been fine, became so dark and squally, that we almost lost sight of the shore. Our situation was now very critical, for we had just sufficient knowledge of the coast, to be sensible how extremely dangerous it was; and the wind, which blew directly on the shore, came in such violent gusts, that there was every reason to apprehend the loss of our topmasts; to reef the sails was impossible, as the delay which this operation must have caused would have been fatal. While things were in this state, it became necessary to tack, but owing to the heavy and irregular swell, the brig came round again against our will, and before the sails could be properly trimmed, she had gone stern foremost almost to the verge of the reef, on which the sea was breaking to a great height. Had this occurred a second time, nothing could have prevented our being wrecked. After beating about in this awkward predicament for two hours, the wind shifted a little, and enabled us to stretch off clear of all danger.
12th of October.—It blew so hard that we kept out at sea clear of the shore.
13th of October.—As the weather had become moderate, we stood in, and determined the position of five islands which lie to the northward of Port Melville.
14th of October.—During this day the whole of the east side of the great island was explored. The north and north-east sides are high, and destitute of cultivation; nearly in the middle, on this side, there is a deep indenture on the coast, and the wind being such as to admit of sailing out again, we ran in under low sail with the usual precautions; notwithstanding which we were very nearly on the reefs, for the water shoaled suddenly from twenty-four to eight fathoms; and although the brig was instantly tacked, the soundings as she came round were only five fathoms, and to leeward of us the ragged tops of a rock just level with the surface were discovered at the distance of only fifty yards. In exploring such places there ought to be a boat on each bow, as well as one a-head. The coast from this bay to the south point of the island has a belt of coral reefs at the distance of ten and fifteen miles from the shore, and therefore cannot be approached by a ship without great danger. The extreme south point is comparatively clear of coral; we therefore anchored off it at sunset, proposing to land next day to determine its position. We found the iron cables of great use when anchoring amongst coral reefs.
15th of October.—It blew hard last night, but in the forenoon it moderated sufficiently to allow of our landing. We ascertained the latitude of the extreme south point with precision, and made several other observations, all circumstances being favourable.
We had scarcely landed when the natives began to assemble in groups on the top of the cliffs, and in a short time they came down to us, most of them carrying long poles in their hands; we were sufficiently aware of their inoffensive character to have no apprehension of their intentions, otherwise their appearance would have been somewhat formidable. There was no person of rank among them; they were communicative and full of curiosity, which difference in manner from the inhabitants on the shores of Port Melville may have arisen from these people knowing something of us by reports from Napakiang, which is not above ten miles distant. It was to be expected that we should have become a topic of discourse at so short a distance, and probably what was said of us would be favourable, or at all events such as would excite curiosity rather than fear. Most of these people had fish spears tatooed on their arms in the form of a trident, with rude barbs. When drawn on the right arm it is called "Oódeemaw;" when on the left, "Toóga." This is the only instance we have met with of this practice. Our curiosity was farther excited by the appearance of these spears, from the circumstance of our never having seen any warlike weapon on this island; but the people invariably called them "Eéo stitchee" (fish spear). Several of the tallest of these people were measured, but none were above five feet six inches; they are, however, strong limbed and well proportioned. One of them wore a ring on his finger, which is the only instance we have met with of any ornament being worn at Loo-Choo. The ring finger is called in the Loo-choo language, "Eébee gánnee," finger of the ring; and it seems a fair inference from this, that amongst some part of the community rings are habitually worn; probably by the women. The coast here is formed of cliffs, about seventy or eighty feet high, with numerous caverns hollowed out by the waves. The pools of water left by the tide were full of beautiful fish of a great variety of colours.
16th of October.—In the morning we weighed and stood to the westward, among the group of islands called Amakírrima by the natives. At one of these there seemed at first sight to be a harbour for ships; but on sending the boats to explore, it proved only safe for small vessels being filled in every part with coral. On our way across from the south point of the great island to the Amakírrimas, we passed near a coral reef exactly circular, and half a mile in diameter; it is just level with the water's edge at half ebb, so that in fine weather the sea does not break upon any part of it. As it is upwards of seven miles from any land, and lies directly in the passage towards Napakiang, it is exceedingly dangerous, and ought not to be approached in the night by a stranger.
At four o'clock we anchored in our old place in-shore of the Alceste. As we stood towards the anchorage we could see the coral from the mast-head so distinctly as to be able to trace the forms of all the reefs as we passed among them. This can rarely be done, although the water is always clear, because an unusual degree of smoothness in the surface is requisite to make the rocks visible; and the sun must also shine upon the water at a particular angle. A stranger cannot therefore calculate upon having the danger pointed out in this way; but when such circumstances do occur they may be taken advantage of to check the surveys of reefs made in boats.
We find things at Napakiang nearly as we left them; the best understanding seems to exist between Captain Maxwell and the chiefs. Every body is allowed to walk about and do as he likes. The frigate has been bountifully supplied with stock and vegetables; and the sick on shore are rapidly recovering under the kind care of the natives, who take a peculiar interest in their comfort.
A young man belonging to the Alceste had died during our absence. When the natives were informed of this circumstance, they requested permission to make the grave, and begged Captain Maxwell to point out a place for this purpose. Captain Maxwell said that no situation could be more appropriate than under the grove of trees near the temple, a spot already rendered sacred by many Loo-choo tombs.
Next day the body was carried to the grave with all the formalities usual on such occasions, Captain Maxwell, according to custom, walking last, with the officers and crew before him. The ready politeness of the natives was never more strikingly displayed than now; for perceiving that those who were of the highest rank walked in the rear, they considered that their station must of course be in front; and they accordingly placed themselves at the head of the procession, and preserved throughout the ceremony the most profound silence. They were all dressed in white robes, which we have reason to believe is their mourning.
On the next day the natives requested leave to raise a tomb over the grave; this was of course agreed to, and when it was completed, they performed their own funeral service over it, by sacrificing a large hog, and burning a quantity of spirits. Jeeroo officiated on this occasion, and when he had done, he carried the hog to the sick in the hospital.
The chiefs also gave directions for a small square stone to be smoothed and prepared for an epitaph; which being traced upon the stone by Mr. Taylor, the clergyman of the Alceste, was carved very neatly by the natives. The epitaph, after mentioning the name and age of the deceased, stated briefly, that he and his companions in his Britannic majesty's ships Alceste and Lyra, had been kindly treated by the inhabitants of this island. When the purport of the writing was interpreted to the chiefs, they appeared very much gratified at our acknowledging their attentions.
18th of October.—Our friends expressed much pleasure on meeting us again, particularly Jeeroo, who seems to take great interest in our concerns: he carried us up to the sailor's tomb, where we were joined by Ookooma, Jeema, and some of the others, who unaffectedly expressed their sorrow for this man's untimely fate. I found my people who had been landed previous to our sailing on the survey, much recovered, and very grateful for the kindness of the natives. Milk, eggs, meat, and vegetables, had been brought to them every day, and whenever they felt disposed to walk they were accompanied by one or two of the natives, who took their arms on coming to rough ground, and often helped them up the steep side of the hill behind the hospital, to a pleasant grassy spot on the summit, where the natives lighted pipes for them: in short, I suppose sailors were never so caressed before.
The chiefs were anxious to know what we had been doing during the week in which we had been absent. From an apprehension that they might be displeased at our having instituted a regular examination of the whole island, we said we had been looking at the harbour they had spoken of; they immediately mentioned the village of Oonting, and asked how we liked it. But they guessed that we had been round the island, from seeing that we returned by the south, though we had sailed to the north; they said repeatedly, that the island was very small, appearing to be anxious to depreciate it; our reply of course was, that it was very large and beautiful.