A
GENERAL
HISTORY AND COLLECTION
OF
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS,
ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER:
FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS
OF NAVIGATION, DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE,
BY SEA AND LAND,
FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY
ROBERT KERR, F.R.S. & F.A.S. EDIN.
ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS.
VOL. XVII.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH:
AND T. CADELL, LONDON.
1816
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XVII.
General Voyages and Travels of Discovery, &c.
Captain King's Journal of the Transactions on returning to the Sandwich Islands.
SECT. VI. General Account of the Sandwich Islands. Their Number, Names, and Situation. OWHYHEE. Its Extent, and Division into Districts. Account of its Coasts, and the adjacent Country. Volcanic Appearances. Snowy Mountains. Their Height determined. Account of a Journey into the Interior Parts of the Country. MOWEE. TAHOOHOWA. MOROTOI. RANAI. WOAHOO. ATOOI. ONEEHEOW. OREEHOUA. TAAOORA. Climate. Winds. Currents. Tides. Animals and Vegetables. Astronomical Observations.
SECT. VII. General Account of the Sandwich Islands continued. Of the Inhabitants. Their Origin. Persons. Pernicious effects of the Ava. Numbers. Disposition and Manners. Reasons for supposing them not Cannibals. Dress and Ornaments. Villages and Houses. Food. Occupations and Amusements. Addicted to Gaming. Their extraordinary Dexterity in Swimming. Arts and Manufactures. Curious Specimens of their Sculpture. Kipparee, or Method of Painting Cloth. Mats. Fishing Hooks. Cordage. Salt Pans. Warlike Instruments.
SECT. VIII. General Account of the Sandwich Islands continued. Government. People divided into three Classes. Power of Erreetaboo. Genealogy of the Kings of Owhyhee and Mowee. Power of the Chiefs. State of the inferior Class. Punishment of Crimes. Religion. Society of Priests. The Orono. Their Idols. Songs chanted by the Chiefs, before they drink Ava. Human Sacrifices. Custom of Knocking out the fore Teeth. Notions with regard to a future State. Marriages. Remarkable Instance of Jealousy. Funeral Rites.
Transactions during the second Expedition to the North, by the way of Kamtschatka; and on the Return Home by the way of Canton and the Cape of Good Hope.
SECT. I. Departure from Oneheeow. Fruitless Attempt to discover Modoopapappa. Course steered for Awatska Bay. Occurrences during that Passage. Sudden Change from Heat to Cold. Distress occasioned by the Leaking of the Resolution. View of the Coast of Kamtschatka. Extreme Rigour of the Climate. Lose Sight of the Discovery. The Resolution enters the Bay of Awatska. Prospect of the Town of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Party sent ashore. Their Reception by the Commanding-Officer of the Port. Message dispatched to the Commander at Bolcheretsk. Arrival of the Discovery. Return of the Messengers from the Commander. Extraordinary mode of Travelling. Visit from a Merchant and a German Servant belonging to the Commander.
SECT. II. Scarcity of Provisions and Stores at the Harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul; A Party set out to visit the Commander at Bolcheretsk. Passage up the River Awatska. Account of their Reception by the Toion of Karatchin. Description of Kamtschadale Dress. Journey on Sledges. Description of this Mode of Travelling. Arrival at Natcheekin. Account of Hot Springs. Embark on Bolchoireka. Reception at the Capital. Generous and hospitable Conduct of the Commander and the Garrison. Description of Bolcheretsk. Presents from the Commander. Russian and Kamtschadale Dancing. Affecting Departure from Bolcheretsk. Return to Saint Peter and Saint Paul's, accompanied by Major Behm, who visits the Ship. Generosity of the Sailors. Dispatches sent by Major Behm to Petersburg. His Departure and Character.
SECT. III. Continuation of Transactions in the Harbour of St Peter and St Paul. Abundance of Fish. Death of a Seaman belonging to the Resolution. The Russian Hospital put under the Care of the Ship's Surgeons. Supply of Flour and Cattle. Celebration of the King's Birth-day. Difficulties in Sailing out of the Bay. Eruption of a Volcano. Steer to the Northward. Cheepoonskoi Noss. Errors of the Russian Charts. Kamptschatskoi Noss. Island of St. Laurence. View, from the same Point, of the Coasts Asia and America, and the Islands of St. Diomede. Various Attempts to get to the North, between the two Continents. Obstructed by impenetrable Ice. Sea-horses and White Bears killed. Captain Clerke's Determination and future Designs.
SECT. IV. Fruitless Attempts to penetrate through Ice to the North-West. Dangerous Situation of the Discovery. Sea-horses killed. Fresh Obstructions from the Ice. Report of Damages, received by the Discovery. Captain Clerke's Determination to proceed to the Southward. Joy of the Ships' Crews on that Occasion. Pass Serdze Kamen. Return through Beering's Strait. Enquiry into the Extent of the North-East Coast of Asia. Reasons for rejecting Muller's Map of the Promontory of the Tschutski. Reasons for believing the Coast does not reach a higher Latitude than 70-2/3° North. General Observations on the Impracticability of a North-East or North-West Passage from the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean. Comparative View of the Progress made in the Years 1778 and 1779. Remarks on the Sea and Sea-coasts, North of Beering's Strait. History of the Voyage resumed. Pass the Island of St. Laurence. The Island of Mednoi. Death of Captain Clerke. Short Account of his Services.
SECT. V. Return to the Harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Promotion of Officers. Funeral of Captain Clerke. Damages of the Discovery repaired. Various other Occupations of the Ships' Crews. Letters from the Commander. Supply of Flour and Naval Stores from a Russian Galliot. Account of an Exile. Bear-hunting and Fishing Parties. Disgrace of the Serjeant. Celebration of the King's Coronation Day, and Visit from the Commander. The Serjeant reinstated. A Russian Soldier promoted at our Request. Remarks on the Discipline of the Russian Army. Church at Paratounca. Method of Bear-hunting. Farther Account of the Bears and Kamtschadales. Inscription to the Memory of Captain Clerke. Supply of Cattle. Entertainments on the Empress's Name Day. Present from the Commander. Attempt of a Marine to desert. Work out of the Bay. Nautical and Geographical Description of Awatska Bay. Astronomical Tables and Observations.
SECT. VI. General Account of Kamtschatka. Geographical Description. Rivers. Soil. Climate. Volcanoes. Hot Springs. Productions. Vegetables. Animals. Birds. Fish.
SECT. VII. General Account of Kamtschatka, continued. Of the Inhabitants. Origin of the Kamtschadales. Discovered by the Russians. Abstract of their History. Numbers. Present State. Of the Russian Commerce in Kamtschatka. Of the Kamtschadale Habitations, and Dress. Of the Kurile Islands. The Koreki. The Tschutski.
SECT. VIII. Plan of our future Proceedings. Course to the Southward, along the Coast of Kamtschatka. Cape Lopatka. Pass the Islands Shoomska and Paramousir. Driven to the Eastward of the Kuriles. Singular Situation with respect to the pretended Discoveries of former Navigators. Fruitless Attempts to reach the Islands North of Japan. Geographical Conclusions. View of the Coast of Japan. Run along the East Side. Pass two Japanese Vessels. Driven off the Coast by contrary Winds. Extraordinary Effect of Currents. Steer for the Bashees. Pass large Quantities of Pumice Stone. Discover Sulphur Island. Pass the Pratas. Isles of Lema, and Ladrone Island. Chinese Pilot taken on board the Resolution. Journals of the Officers and Men secured.
SECT. IX. Working up to Macao. A Chinese Comprador. Sent on Shore to visit the Portuguese Governor. Effects of the Intelligence we received from Europe. Anchor in the Typa. Passage up to Canton. Bocca Tygris. Wampu. Description of a Sampane. Reception at the English Factory. Instance of the suspicious Character of the Chinese. Of their Mode of trading. Of the City of Canton. Its Size. Population. Number of Sampanes. Military Force. Of the Streets and Houses. Visit to a Chinese. Return to Macao. Great Demand for the Sea-Otter Skins. Plan of a Voyage for opening a Fur-Trade on the Western Coast of America, and prosecuting further Discoveries in the Neighbourhood of Japan. Departure from Macao. Price of Provisions in China.
SECT. X. Leave the Typa. Orders of the Court of France respecting Captain Cook. Resolutions in consequence thereof. Strike Soundings on the Macclesfield Banks. Pass Pulo Sapata. Steer for Pulo Condore. Anchor at Pulo Condore. Transactions during our Stay. Journey to the principal Town. Receive a Visit from a Mandarin. Examine his Letters. Refreshments to be procured. Description, and present State of the Island. Its Produce. An Assertion of M. Sonnerat refuted. Astronomical and Nautical Observations.
SECT. XI. Departure from Pulo Condore. Pass the Straits of Banca. View of the Island of Sumatra. Straits of Sunda. Occurrences there. Description of the Island of Cracatoa. Prince's Island. Effects of the Climate of Java. Run to the Cape of Good Hope. Transactions there. Description of False Bay. Passage to the Orkneys. General Reflections.
[Vocabulary of the Language of Nootka, or King George's Sound. April, 1778.]
[APPENDIX, No. I. BYRON'S NARRATIVE.]
The Author's Preface.
Account of the Wager and her Equipment. Captain Kid's Death. Succeeded by Captain Cheap. Our Disasters commence with our Voyage. We lose Sight of our Squadron in a Gale of Wind. Dreadful Storm. Ship strikes.
We land on a wild Shore. No Appearance of Inhabitants. One of our Lieutenants dies. Conduct of a Part of the Crew who remained on the Wreck. We name the Place of our Residence Mount Misery. Narrative of Transactions there. Indians appear in Canoes off the Coast. Description of them. Discontents amongst our People.
Unfortunate Death of Mr Cozens. Improper Conduct of Captain Cheap. The Indians join us in a friendly Manner, but depart presently on account of the Misconduct of our Men. Our Number dreadfully reduced by Famine. Description of the various Contrivances used for procuring Food. Further Transactions. Departure from the Island.
Occurrences on our Voyage. We encounter bad Weather and various Dangers and Distresses. Leave a Part of our Crew behind on a desert Shore. A strange Cemetry discovered. Narrow Escape from Wreck. Return to Mount Misery. We are visited by a Chanos Indian Cacique, who talks Spanish, with whom we again take our Departure from the Island.
Navigation of the River. One of our Men dies from Fatigue. Inhumanity of the Captain. Description of our Passage through a horrible and desolate Country. Our Conductor leaves us, and a Party of our Men desert with the Boat. Dreadful Situation of the Remainder. The Cacique returns. Account of our Journey Overland. Kindness of two Indian Women. Description of the Indian Mode of Fishing. Cruel Treatment of my Indian Benefactress by her Husband.
The Cacique's Conduct changes. Description of the Indian Mode of Bird-fowling. Their Religion. Mr Elliot, our Surgeon, dies. Transactions on our Journey. Miserable Situation to which we are reduced.
We land on the Island of Chiloe. To our great Joy we at length discover Something having the Appearance of a House. Kindness of the Natives. We are delivered to the Custody of a Spanish Guard. Transactions with the Spanish Residents. Arrival at Chaco. Manners of the Inhabitants.
Adventure with the Niece of an old Priest at Castro. Superstition of the People. The Lima Ship arrives, in which we depart for Valparaiso, January 1743. Arrival at and Treatment there. Journey to Chili. Arrival at St. Jago. Generous Conduct of a Scotch Physician. Description of the City and of the People.
Account of the Bull Feasts and other Amusements. Occurrences during nearly two Years Residence. In December, 1744, we embark for Europe in the Lys French Frigate. The Vessel leaky. Dangerous Voyage. Narrow Escape from English Cruizers. Arrival in England. Conclusion
[APPENDIX, No. II. BULKELEY'S NARRATIVE.]
A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.
[PART III.]
[BOOK III.--continued]
[CHAPTER V.--Continued.]
CAPTAIN KING'S JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS ON RETURNING TO THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
SECTION VI.
General Account of the Sandwich Islands.--Their Number, Names, and Situation.--OWHYHEE.--Its Extent, and Division into Districts.--Account of its Coasts, and the adjacent Country.--Volcanic Appearances.--Snowy Mountains.--Their Height determined.--Account of a Journey into the Interior Parts of the Country.--MOWEE.--TAHOOROWA.--MOROTOI.--RANAI.-- WOAHOO.--ATOOI.--ONEEHEOW.--OBEEHOUA.--TAHOORA.--Climate.--Winds.-- Currents.--Tides.--Animals and Vegetables.--Astronomical Observations.[1]
[1] The general account of the Sandwich Islands given by Captain King, has been substantially confirmed by subsequent voyagers. Some additional particulars, not by any means very important, have resulted from their enquiries, from which, of course, it had been easy to have enlarged the present and two following sections, by supplementary notes. But no good end would be answered by such a practice in the present case, as the description in the text is abundantly complete for every important purpose, and as it is probable, that, in the course of this work, there will occur opportunities of communicating whatever is valuable in the narratives of more recent voyagers.--E.
As we are now about to take our final leave of the Sandwich Islands, it will not be improper to introduce here some general account of their situation and natural history, and of the manners and customs of the inhabitants.
This subject has indeed been, in some measure, preoccupied by persons far more capable of doing it justice than I can pretend to be. Had Captain Cook and Mr Anderson lived to avail themselves of the advantages which we enjoyed by a return to these islands, it cannot be questioned, that the public would have derived much additional information from the skill and diligence of two such accurate observers. The reader will therefore lament with me our common misfortune, which hath deprived him of the labours of such superior abilities, and imposed on me the task of presenting him with the best supplementary account the various duties of my station permitted me to furnish.
This group consists of eleven islands, extending in latitude from 18° 54' to 22° 15' N., and in longitude from 199° 36' to 205° 06' E. They are called by the natives, 1. Owhyhee. 2. Mowee. 3. Ranai, or Oranai. 4. Morotinnee, or Morokinnee. 5. Kahowrowee, or Tahoorowa. 6. Morotoi, or Morokoi. 7. Woahoo, or Oahoo. 8. Atooi, Atowi, or Towi, and sometimes Kowi.[2] 9. Neeheehow, or Oneeheow. 10. Oreehona, or Reehoua; and, 11. Tahoora; and are all inhabited, excepting Morotinnee and Tahoora. Besides the islands above enumerated, we were told by the Indians, that there is another called Modoopapapa,[3] or Komodoopapapa, lying to the W.S.W. of Tahoora, which is low and sandy, and visited only for the purpose of catching turtle and sea-fowl; and, as I could never learn that they knew of any others, it is probable that none exist in their neighbourhood.
[2] It is to be observed, that, among the windward islands, the k is used instead of the t, as Morokoi instead of Morotoi, &c.
[3] Modoo signifies island; papapa, flat. This island is called Tammatapappa by Captain Cook.
They were named by Captain Cook the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the EARL OF SANDWICH, under whose administration he had enriched geography with so many splendid and important discoveries; a tribute justly due to that noble person for the liberal support these voyages derived from his power, in whatever could extend their utility, or promote their success; for the zeal with which he seconded the views of that great navigator; and, if I may be allowed to add the voice of private gratitude, for the generous protection, which, since the death of their unfortunate commander, he has afforded all the officers that served under him.
Owhyhee, the easternmost, and by much the largest of these islands, is of a triangular shape, and nearly equilateral. The angular points make the north, east, and south extremities, of which the northern is in latitude 20° 17' N., longitude 204° 02' E.; the eastern in latitude 19° 34' N., longitude 205° 06' E.; and the southern extremity in latitude 18° 54' N., longitude 204° 15' E. Its greatest length, which lies in a direction nearly north and south, is 23-1/2 leagues; its breadth is 24 leagues; and it is about 255 geographical, or 293 English miles in circumference. The whole island is divided into six large districts; Amakooa and Aheedoo, which lie on the north-east side; Apoona and Kaoo on the south-east; Akona and Koaarra on the west.
The districts of Amakooa and Aheedoo are separated by a mountain called Mounah Kaah (or the mountain Kaah), which rises in three peaks, perpetually covered with snow, and may be clearly seen at 40 leagues distance.
To the north of this mountain the coast consists of high and abrupt cliffs, down which fall many beautiful cascades of water. We were once flattered with the hopes of meeting with a harbour round a bluff head, in latitude 20° 10' N., and longitude 204° 26' E.; but, on doubling the point, and standing close in, we found it connected by a low valley, with another high head to the north-west. The country rises inland with a gentle ascent, is intersected by deep narrow glens, or rather chasms, and appeared to be well cultivated and sprinkled over with a number of villages. The snowy mountain is very steep, and the lower part of it covered with wood.
The coast of Aheedoo, which lies to the south of Mouna Kaah, is of a moderate height, and the interior parts appear more even than the country to the north-west, and less broken by ravines. Off these two districts we cruised for almost a month; and, whenever our distance from shore would permit it, were sure of being surrounded by canoes laden with all kinds of refreshments. We had frequently a very heavy sea, and great swell on this side of the island; and as we had no soundings, and could observe much foul ground off the shore, we never approached nearer the land than two or three leagues, excepting on the occasion already mentioned.
The coast to the north-east of Apoona, which forms the eastern extremity of the island, is low and flat; the acclivity of the inland parts is very gradual, and the whole country covered with cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees. This, as far as we could judge, is the finest part of the island, and we were afterward told that the king had a place of residence here. At the south-west extremity the hills rise abruptly from the sea side, leaving but a narrow border of low ground toward the beach. We were pretty near the shore at this part of the island, and found the sides of the hills covered with a fine verdure; but the country seemed to be very thinly inhabited. On doubling the east point of the island, we came in sight of another snowy mountain, called Mouna Roa (or the extensive mountain), which continued to be a very conspicuous object all the while we were sailing along the south- east side. It is flat at the top, making what is called by mariners table- land; the summit was constantly buried in snow, and we once saw its sides also slightly covered for a considerable way down; but the greatest part of this disappeared again in a few days.
According to the tropical line of snow, as determined by Mr. Condamine, from observations taken on the Cordilleras, this mountain must be at least 16,020 feet high, which exceeds the height of the Pico de Teyde, or Peak of Teneriffe, by 724 feet, according to Dr. Heberden's computation, or 3,680, according to that of the Chevalier de Borda. The peaks of Mouna Kaah appeared to be about half a mile high; and as they are entirely covered with snow, the altitude of their summits cannot be less than 18,400 feet. But it is probable that both these mountains may be considerably higher. For in insular situations, the effects of the warm sea air must necessarily remove the line of snow in equal latitudes, to a greater height than where the atmosphere is chilled on all sides by an immense tract of perpetual snow.
The coast of Kaoo presents a prospect of the most horrid and dreary kind; the whole country appearing to have undergone a total change from the effects of some dreadful convulsion. The ground is every where covered with cinders, and intersected in many places with black streaks, which seem to mark the course of a lava that has flowed, not many ages back, from the mountain Roa to the shore. The southern promontory looks like the mere dregs of a volcano. The projecting head-land is composed of broken and craggy rocks, piled irregularly on one another, and terminating in sharp points.
Notwithstanding the dismal aspect of this part of the island, there are many villages scattered over it, and it certainly is much more populous than the verdant mountains of Apoona. Nor is this circumstance hard to be accounted for. As these islanders have no cattle, they have consequently no use for pasturage, and therefore naturally prefer such ground as either lies more convenient for fishing, or is best suited to the cultivation of yams and plantains. Now amidst these ruins, there are many patches of rich soil, which are carefully laid out in plantations, and the neighbouring sea abounds with a variety of most excellent fish, with which, as well as with other provisions, we were always plentifully supplied. Off this part of the coast we could find no ground, at less than a cable's length from the shore, with a hundred and sixty fathoms of line, excepting in a small bight to the eastward of the south point, where we had regular soundings of fifty and fifty-eight fathoms over a bottom of fine sand. Before we proceed to the western districts, it may be necessary to remark, that the whole east side of the island, from the northern to the southern extremity, does not afford the smallest harbour or shelter for shipping.
The south-west parts of Akona are in the same state with the adjoining district of Kaoo; but farther to the north, the country has been cultivated with great pains, and is extremely populous.
In this part of the island is situated Karakakooa Bay, which has been already described. Along the coast nothing is seen but large masses of slag, and the fragments of black scorched rocks; behind which, the ground rises gradually for about two miles and a half, and appears to have been formerly covered with loose burnt stones. These the natives have taken the pains of clearing away, frequently to the depth of three feet and upward; which labour, great as it is, the fertility of the soil amply repays. Here in a rich ashy mould, they cultivate sweet potatoes and the cloth-plant. The fields are enclosed with stone-fences, and are interspersed with groves of cocoa-nut trees. On the rising ground beyond these, the bread-fruit trees are planted, and flourish with the greatest luxuriance.
Koaara extends from the westernmost point to the northern extremity of the island; the whole coast between them forming an extensive bay, called Toe- yah-yah, which is bounded to the north by two very conspicuous hills. Toward the bottom of this bay there is foul corally ground, extending upward of a mile from the shore, without which the soundings are regular, with good anchorage, in twenty fathoms. The country, as far as the eye could reach, seemed fruitful and well inhabited, the soil being in appearance of the same kind with the district of Kaoo; but no fresh water is to be got here.
I have hitherto confined myself to the coasts of this island, and the adjacent country, which is all that I had an opportunity of being acquainted with from my own observation. The only account I can give of the interior parts, is from the information I obtained from a party, who set out on the afternoon of the 26th of January, on an expedition up the country, with an intention of penetrating as far as they could; and principally of reaching, if possible, the snowy mountains.
Having procured two natives to serve them as guides, they left the village about four o'clock in the afternoon, directing their course a little to the southward of the east. To the distance of three or four miles from the bay, they found the country as before described; the hills afterward rose with a more sudden ascent, which brought them to the extensive plantations that terminate the view of the country, as seen from the ships.
These plantations consist of the tarrow[4], or eddy root, and the sweet potatoe, with plants of the cloth tree, neatly set out in rows. The walls that separate them are made of the loose burnt stones, which are got in clearing the ground; and being entirely concealed by sugar-canes, planted close on each side, make the most beautiful fences that can be conceived. The party stopped for the night at the second hut they found amongst the plantations, where they judged themselves to be about six or seven miles from the ships. They described the prospect from this spot as very delightful; they saw the ships in the bay before them; to the left a continued range of villages, interspersed with groves of cocoa-nut trees, spreading along the sea-shore; a thick wood stretching out of sight behind them; and to the right an extent of ground, laid out in regular and well- cultivated plantations, as far as the eye could reach.
[4] Both the sweet potatoes, and the tarrow, are here planted four feet from each other; the former was earthed up almost to the top of the stalk, with about half a bushel of light mould; the latter is left bare to the root, and the mould round it is made in the form of a basin, in order to hold the rain-water, as this root requires a certain degree of moisture. It has been before observed, that the tarrow, at the Friendly and Society Islands, was always planted in low and moist situations, and generally where there was the convenience of a rivulet to flood it. It was imagined that this mode of culture was absolutely necessary; but we now found, that, with the precaution above-mentioned, it succeeds equally well in a drier situation; indeed, we all remarked, that the tarrow of the Sandwich Islands is the best we had ever tasted. The plantains are not admitted in these plantations: but grow amongst the bread-fruit trees.
Near this spot, at a distance from any other dwelling, the natives pointed out to them the residence of a hermit, who, they said, had formerly been a great chief and warrior, but had long ago quitted the shores of the island, and now never stirred from his cottage. They prostrated themselves as they approached him, and afterward presented to him a part of such provisions as they had brought with them. His behaviour was easy and cheerful; he scarce shewed any marks of astonishment at the sight of our people, and though pressed to accept some of our curiosities, he declined the offer, and soon withdrew to his cottage. He was described as by far the oldest person any of the party had ever seen, and judged to be, by those who computed his age at the lowest, upward of 100 years old.
As our people had imagined the mountain not to be more than ten or twelve miles from the bay, and consequently that they should reach it with ease early the next morning, an error into which its great height had probably led them, they were now much surprised to find the distance scarce perceptibly diminished. This circumstance, together with the uninhabited state of the country they were going to enter, made it necessary to procure a supply of provisions; and for that purpose they dispatched one of their guides back to the village. Whilst they were waiting his return, they were joined by some of Kaoo's servants, whom that benevolent old man had sent after them, as soon as he heard of their journey, laden with refreshments, and authorised, as their route lay through his grounds, to demand and take away whatever they might have occasion for.
Our travellers were much astonished to find the cold here so intense; but having no thermometer with them, could judge of it only by their feelings, which, from the warm atmosphere they had left, must have been a very fallacious measure. They found it, however, so cold, that they could get but little sleep, and the natives none at all; both parties being disturbed, the whole night, by continued coughing. As they could not, at this time, be at any very considerable height, the distance from the sea being only six or seven miles, and part of the road on a very moderate ascent, this extraordinary degree of cold must be ascribed to the easterly wind blowing fresh over the snowy mountains.
Early on the 27th they set out again, and filled their calibashes at an excellent well about half a mile from their hut. Having passed the plantations, they came to a thick wood, which they entered by a path made for the convenience of the natives, who go thither to fetch the wild or horse-plantain, and to catch birds. Their progress now became very slow, and attended with much labour; the ground being either swampy, or covered with large stones; the path narrow, and frequently interrupted by trees lying across it, which it was necessary to climb over, the thickness of the underwood on both sides making it impossible to pass round them. In these woods they observed, at small distances, pieces of white cloth fixed on poles, which they supposed to be land-marks for the division of property, as they only met with them where the wild plantains grew. The trees, which are of the same kind with those we called the spice-tree at New Holland, were lofty and straight, and from two to four feet in circumference.
After they had advanced about ten miles in the wood, they had the mortification to find themselves, on a sudden, within sight of the sea, and at no great distance from it; the path having turned imperceptibly to the southward, and carried them to the right of the mountain, which it was their object to reach. Their disappointment was greatly increased by the uncertainty they were now under of its true bearings, since they could not, at this time, get a view of it from the top of the highest trees. They, therefore, found themselves obliged to walk back six or seven miles to an unoccupied hut, where they had left three of the natives and two of their own people, with the small stock that remained of their provisions. Here they spent the second night; and the air was so very sharp, and so little to the liking of their guides, that, by the morning, they had all departed, except one.
The want of provisions now making it necessary to return to some of the cultivated parts of the island, they quitted the wood by the same path they had entered it; and, on their arrival at the plantations, were surrounded by the natives, of whom they purchased a fresh stock of necessaries; and prevailed upon two of them to supply the place of the guides that were gone away. Having obtained the best information in their power, with regard to the direction of their road, the party, being now nine in number, marched along the skirts of the wood for six or seven miles, and then entered it again by a path that bore to the eastward. For the first three miles they passed through a forest of lofty spice-trees, growing on a strong rich loam; at the back of which they found an equal extent of low shrubby trees, with much thick underwood, on a bottom of loose burnt stones. This led them to a second forest of spice-trees, and the same rich brown soil, which was again succeeded by a barren ridge of the same nature with the former. This alternate succession may, perhaps, afford matter of curious speculation to naturalists. The only additional circumstance I could learn relating to it was, that these ridges appeared, as far as they could be seen, to run in directions parallel to the sea-shore, and to have Mouna Roa for their centre.
In passing through the woods they found many canoes half-finished, and here and there a hut; but saw none of the inhabitants. Having penetrated near three miles into the second wood, they came to two huts, where they stopped, exceedingly fatigued with the day's journey, having walked not less than twenty miles, according to their own computation. As they had met with no springs, from the time they left the plantation-ground, and began to suffer much from the violence of their thirst, they were obliged, before the night came on, to separate into parties, and go in search of water; and, at last, found some left by rain in the bottom of an unfinished canoe, which, though of the colour of red wine, was to them no unwelcome discovery. In the night, the cold was still more intense than they had found it before; and though they had wrapped themselves up in mats and cloths of the country, and kept a large fire between the two huts, they could yet sleep but very little, and were obliged to walk about the greatest part of the night. Their elevation was now probably pretty considerable, as the ground on which they had travelled had been generally on the ascent.
On the 29th, at day-break, they set out, intending to make their last and utmost effort to reach the snowy mountain; but their spirits were much depressed, when they found they had expended the miserable pittance of water they had found the night before. The path, which extended no farther than where canoes had been built, was now at an end; and they were therefore obliged to make their way as well as they could; every now and then climbing up into the highest trees, to explore the country round. At eleven o'clock, they came to a ridge of burnt stones, from the top of which they saw the snowy mountain, appearing to be about twelve or fourteen miles from them.
It was here deliberated, whether they should proceed any further, or rest satisfied with the view they now had of Mouna Rao. The road, ever since the path ceased, had become exceedingly fatiguing; and every step they advanced was growing still more so. The deep chinks, with which the ground was every where broken, being slightly covered with moss, made them stumble at almost every step; and the intermediate space was a surface of loose burnt stones, which broke under their feet like potsherds. They threw stones into several of these chinks, which, by the noise they made, seemed to fall to a considerable depth, and the ground sounded hollow under their feet. Besides these discouraging circumstances, they found their guides so averse to going on, that they believed, whatever their own determinations might have been, they could not have prevailed on them to remain out another night. They therefore at last agreed to return to the ships, after taking a view of the country, from the highest trees which the place afforded. From this elevation they saw themselves surrounded, on all sides, with wood toward the sea; they could not distinguish, in the horizon, the sky from the water; and between them and the snowy mountain, was a valley about seven or eight miles broad, above which the mountain appeared only as a hill of a moderate size.
They rested this night at a hut in the second wood, and, on the 30th, before noon, they had got clear of the first, and found themselves about nine miles to the north-east of the ships, toward which they directed their march through the plantations. As they passed along, they did not observe a single spot of ground that was capable of improvement left unplanted; and indeed it appeared, from their account, hardly possible for the country to be cultivated to greater advantage for the purposes of the inhabitants, or made to yield them a larger supply of necessaries for their subsistence. They were surprised to meet with several fields of hay; and, on enquiring to what uses it was applied, were told, it was designed to cover the young tarrow grounds, in, order to preserve them from being scorched by the sun. They saw a few scattered huts amongst the plantations, which served for occasional shelter to the labourers; but no villages at a greater distance than four or five miles from the sea. Near one of them, about four miles from the bay, they found a cave, forty fathoms long, three broad, and of the same height. It was open at both ends; the sides were fluted, as if wrought with a chisel, and the surface glazed over, probably by the action of fire.
Having given this account of the most material circumstances that occurred on the expedition to the snowy mountain, I shall now return to the other islands that remain to be described.
The island next in size and nearest in situation to Owhyhee, is Mowee, which lies at the distance of eight leagues N.N.W. from the, former, and is one hundred and forty geographical miles in circumference. A low isthmus divides it into two circular peninsulas, of which that to the east is called Whamadooa, and is double the size of the western peninsula called Owhyrookoo. The mountains in both rise to an exceeding great height, having been seen by us at the distance of upward of thirty leagues. The northern shores, like those of Owhyhee, afford no soundings; and the country presents the same appearance of verdure and fertility. To the south-east, between this and the adjacent isles, we had regular depths with a hundred and fifty fathoms, with a sandy bottom. From the west point, which is low, runs a shoal, stretching out toward Ranai, to a considerable distance; and to the southward of this is a fine spacious bay, with a sandy beach, shaded with cocoa-nut trees. It is probable that good anchorage might be found here, with shelter from the prevailing winds, and that the beach affords a convenient place for landing. The country behind presents a most romantic appearance. The hills rise almost perpendicularly, in a great variety of peaked forms; and their steep sides, and the deep chasms between them, are covered with trees, amongst which those of the bread-fruit were observed particularly to abound. The tops of these hills are entirely bare, and of a reddish brown colour. We were informed by the natives that there is a harbour to the southward of the east point, which they affirmed to be superior to that of Karakakooa; and we were also told, that, on the north- west side, there was another harbour, called Keepookeepoo.
Tahoorowa is a small island lying off the S.W. part of Mowee, from which it is distant three leagues. This island is destitute of wood, and the soil seems to be sandy and barren. Between Tahowrowa and Mowee lies the small uninhabited island Morrotinnee.
Morotoi is only two leagues and a half from Mowee to the W.N.W. The south- western coast, which was the only part near which we approached, is very low, but the land rises backward to a considerable height; and, at the distance from which we saw it, appeared to be entirely without wood. Its produce, we are told, consists chiefly of yams. It may, probably, have fresh water, and on the south and west sides, the coast forms several bays that promise good shelter from the trade-winds.
Ranai is about three leagues distant from Mowee and Morotoi, and lies to the S.W. of the passage between these islands. The country to the S. is high and craggy; but the other parts of the island had a better aspect, and appeared to be well inhabited. We were told that it produces very few plantains and bread-fruit trees; but that it abounds in roots, such as yams, sweet potatoes, and tarrow.
Woahoo lies to the N.W. of Morotoi, at the distance of about seven leagues. As far as we could judge from the appearance of the N.E. and N.W. parts, (for we saw nothing of the southern side,) it is by far the finest island of the whole group. Nothing can exceed the verdure of the hills, the variety of wood and lawn, and rich cultivated vallies, which the whole face of the country displayed. Having already given a description of the bay, formed by the N. and W. extremities, in which we came to an anchor, I have only to observe, that in the bight of the bay, to the S. of the anchoring- place, we found rocky foul ground, two miles from the shore. Should the ground tackling of a ship be weak, and the wind blow strong from the N., to which quarter the road is entirely open, this circumstance might be attended with some danger; but with good cables there would be little risk, as the ground from the anchoring-place, which is opposite to the valley through which the river runs to the N. point, is a fine sand.
Atooi lies to the N.W. of Woahoo, and is distant from it about twenty-five leagues. The face of the country to the N.E. and N.W., is broken and ragged, but to the S. it is more even; the hills rise with a gentle slope from the seaside, and, at some distance back, are covered with wood. Its productions are the same with those of the other islands; but the inhabitants far surpass all the neighbouring islanders in the management of their plantations. In the low grounds, adjoining to the bay where we lay at anchor, these plantations were divided by deep and regular ditches; the fences were made with a neatness approaching to elegance, and the roads through them were thrown up and finished in a manner that would have done credit to any European engineer.
Oneeheow lies five leagues to the westward of Atooi. The eastern coast is high, and rises abruptly from the sea, but the rest of the island consists of low ground, excepting a round bluff head on the S.E. point. It produces abundance of yams, and of the sweet root called Tee, but we got from it no other sort of provisions.
Oreehow aad Tahoora are two small islands in the neighbourhood of Oneeheow. The former is a single high hummock, joined by a reef of coral rocks to the northern extremity of Oneeheow. The latter lies to the S.W., and is uninhabited.
The climate of the Sandwich islands differs very little from that of the West India islands, which lie in the same latitude. Upon the whole, perhaps, it may be rather more temperate. The thermometer on shore in Karakakooa Bay, never rose higher than 88°, and that but one day; its mean height at noon was 83°. In Wymoa Bay, its mean height at noon was 76°, and when out at sea 75°. The mean height of the thermometer at noon, in Jamaica, is about 86°, at sea 80°.
Whether they be subject to the same violent winds and hurricanes, we could not discover, as we were not there in, any of the stormy months. However, as the natives gave us no positive testimony of the fact, and no traces of their effects were any where visible, it is probable that, in this respect, they resemble the Society and Friendly islands, which are, in a great measure, free from these dreadful visitations.
During the four winter months that we remained amongst these islands, there was more rain, especially in the interior parts, than usually falls during the dry season in the islands of the West Indies. We generally saw clouds collecting round the tops of the hills, and producing rain to leeward; but after they are separated from the land by the wind, they disperse and are lost, and others succeed in their place. This happened daily at Owhyhee; the mountainous parts being generally enveloped in a cloud; successive showers falling in the inland country, with fine weather, and a clear sky at the sea-shore.
The winds in general were from E.S.E. to N.E.; though they sometimes varied a few points each way to the N. and S, but these were light, and of short duration. In the harbour of Karakakooa we had a constant land and sea- breeze every day and night.
The currents seemed very uncertain, sometimes setting to windward, and at other times to leeward, without any regularity. They did not appear to be governed by the winds, nor any other cause that I can assign; they frequently set to windward against a fresh breeze.
The tides are very regular, flowing and ebbing six hours each. The flood comes from the eastward; and it is high water, at the full and change of the moon, forty-five minutes past three, apparent time. Their greatest rise is two feet seven inches; and we always observed the water to be four inches higher when the moon was above the horizon, than when it was below.
The quadrupeds in these, as in all the other islands that have been discovered in the South Sea, are confined to three sorts, dogs, hogs, and rats. The dogs are of the same species with those of Otaheite, having short crooked legs, long backs, and pricked ears. I did not observe any variety in them, except in their skins, some having long and rough hair, and others being quite smooth. They are about the size of a common turnspit, exceedingly sluggish in their nature, though perhaps this may be more owing to the manner in which they are treated, than to any natural disposition in them. They are in general fed and left to herd with the hogs; and I do not recollect one instance in which a dog was made a companion in the manner we do in Europe. Indeed the custom of eating them is an inseparable bar to their admission into society; and, as there are neither beasts of prey in the island, nor objects of chase, it is probable that the social qualities of the dog, its fidelity, attachment, and sagacity, will remain unknown to the natives.
The number of dogs in these islands did not appear to be nearly equal, in proportion, to those in Otaheite. But on the other hand, they abound much more in hogs; and the breed is of a larger and weightier kind. The supply of provisions of this kind which we got from them was really astonishing. We were near four months, either cruising off the coast, or in harbour at Owhyhee. During all this time, a large allowance of fresh pork was constantly served to both crews, so that our consumption was computed at about sixty puncheons of five hundred weight each. Besides this, and the incredible waste which, in the midst of such plenty, was not to be guarded against, sixty puncheons more were salted for sea-store. The greatest part of this supply was drawn from the island of Owhyhee alone, and yet we could not perceive that it was at all drained, or even that the abundance had any way decreased.
The birds of these islands are as beautiful as any we have seen during the voyage, and are numerous, though not various. There are four, which seem to belong to the trochili, or honey-suckers of Linnæus; one of which is something larger than a bullfinch; its colour is a fine glossy black, the rump, vent, and thighs, a deep yellow. It is called by the natives hoohoo. Another is of an exceedingly bright scarlet colour; the wings black, and edged with white, and the tail black; its native name is eeeeve. A third, which seems to be either a young bird, or a variety of the foregoing, is variegated with red, brown, and yellow. The fourth is entirely green, with a tinge of yellow, and is called akaiearooa. There is a species of thrush, with a grey breast, and a small bird of the flycatcher kind; a rail, with very short wings and no tail, which, on that account, we named rallus ecaudatus. Ravens are found here, but they are very scarce; their colour is dark-brown, inclining to black, and their note is different from the European. Here are two small birds, both of one genus, that are very common; one is red, and generally seen about the cocoa-nut trees, particularly when they are in flower, from whence it seems to derive great part of its subsistence, the other is green; the tongues of both are long and ciliated, or fringed at the tip. A bird with a yellow head, which, from the structure of its beak, we called a parroquet, is likewise very common. It however by no means belongs to that tribe, but greatly resembles the lexia flavicans, or yellowish cross-bill of Linnæus.
Here are also owls, plovers of two sorts, one very like the whistling plover of Europe; a large white pigeon; a bird with a long tail, whose colour is black, the vent and feathers under the wing (which is much longer than is usually seen in the generality of birds, except the birds of paradise) are yellow; and the common water or darker hen.
Their vegetable productions are nearly the same with the rest of the South Sea islands. I have before mentioned. that the tarrow root is much superior to any we had before tasted, and that we attributed this excellence to the dry method of cultivating it. The bread-fruit trees thrive here, not in such abundance, but produce double the quantity of fruit they do on the rich plains of Otaheite. The trees are nearly of the same height, but the branches begin to strike out from the trunk much lower, and with greater luxuriance. Their sugar-canes are also of a very unusual size. One of them was brought to us at Atooi, measuring eleven inches and a quarter in circumference, and having fourteen feet eatable.
At Oneeheow they brought us several large roots of a brown colour, shaped like a yam, and from six to ten pounds in weight. The juice, which it yields in great abundance, is very sweet, and of a pleasant taste, and was found to be an excellent substitute for sugar. The natives are very fond of it, and use it as an article of their common diet; and our people also found it very palatable and wholesome. We could not learn to what species of plant it belonged, having never been able to procure the leaves; but it was supposed, by our botanists, to be the root of some kind of fern.
Agreeably to the practice of Captain Cook, I shall subjoin an abstract of the astronomical observations which were made at the observatory in Karakakooa Bay, for determining its latitude and longitude, and for finding the rate and error of the time-keeper. To these are subjoined the mean variation of the compass, the dip of the magnetic needle, and a table of the latitude and longitude of the Sandwich Islands.
The latitude of the observatory, deduced
from meridian zenith distances of the
sun, eleven stars to the south, and four
stars to the north of the zenith 19° 28' 0" N.
The longitude of the observatory, deduced
from 253 sets of lunar observations;
each set consisting of six observed
distances of the moon from the
sun or stars; 14 of the above sets were
only taken at the observatory, 105 sets
being taken whilst cruising off Owhyhee,
and 134 sets when at Atooi and
Oneeheow, all these being reduced to
the observatory, by means of the timekeeper 204° 0' 0" E.
The longitude of the observatory, by the
time-keeper, on the 19th January,
1779, according to its rate, as found
at Greenwich 214° 7' 15' E.
The longitude of the observatory, by the
time-keeper, on the 19th January,
1779, according to its rate, corrected
at different places, and last at Samganoodha
Harbour, in Oonalaschka 203° 37' 22" E.
The daily rate of the time-keeper losing
on mean time, was 9",6; and, on the
2d February, 1779, it was 14^h 41' 1"
too slow for mean time.
The variation of the compass, by azimuths,
observed on shore with four
different compasses 8 6 0 E.
The variation of the compass, by azimuths,
observed on board the Resolution,
with four different compasses 7 32 0 E.
Dip of the north /Balanced needle\ 40 22 30 E.
pole of the magnetic | |
needle on | Unbalanced, or |
shore, with \ plain needle / 40 41 15 E.
Dip of the north /Balanced needle\ 41 50 0 E.
pole of the magnetic | |
needle on | Unbalanced | 40 30 5 E.
board, with \ needle /
A Table of the Latitude and Longitude of the Sandwich Islands.
Latitude. Longitude.
/The north point 20° 17' 204° 2'
Owhyhee | South point 18 55 204 15
| East point 19 35 205 6
\Karakakooa Bay 19 28 204 0
/East point 20 50 204 4
Mowee < South point 20 34 203 48
\West point 20 54 203 24
Morokinnee 20 39 203 33
Tahoorowa 20 38 203 27
Kanai. South point 20 46 203 8
Morotoi. West point 21 10 202 46
Woahoo. Anchoring-place. 21 43 202 9
Atooi. Wymoa Bay 21 57 200 20
Oneeheow. Anchoring-place. 21 50 199 45
Oreehoua 22 2 199 52
Tahoora 21 43 199 56
SECTION VII.
General Account of the Sandwich Islands continued.--Of the Inhabitants.-- Their Origin.--Persons.--Pernicious Effects of the Ava.--Numbers.-- Disposition and Manners.--Reasons for supposing them not Cannibals.--Dress and Ornaments.--Villages and Houses.--Food.--Occupations and Amusements.-- Addicted to Gaming.--Their extraordinary Dexterity in Swimming.--Arts and Manufactures.--Curious Specimens of their Sculpture.--Kipparee, or Method of Painting Cloth.--Mats.--Fishing Hooks.--Cordage.--Salt Pans.--Warlike Instruments.
The inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands are undoubtedly of the same race with those of New Zealand, the Society and Friendly Islands, Easter Island, and the Marquesas; a race that possesses, without any intermixture, all the known lands between the latitudes of 47° S. and 20° N., and between the longitudes of 184° and 260° E. This fact, which, extraordinary as it is, might be thought sufficiently proved by the striking similarity of their manners and customs, and the general resemblance of their persons, is established, beyond all controversy, by the absolute identity of their language.
From what continent they originally emigrated, and by what steps they have spread through so vast a space, those who are curious in disquisitions of this nature, may perhaps not find it very difficult to conjecture. It has been already observed, that they bear strong marks of affinity to some of the Indian tribes that inhabit the Ladrones and Caroline islands; and the same affinity may again be traced amongst the Battas and Malays. When these events happened, is not so easy to ascertain; it was probably not very lately, as they are extremely populous, and have no tradition of their own origin, but what is perfectly fabulous; whilst, on the other hand, the unadulterated state of their general language, and the similarity which still prevails in their customs and manners, seem to indicate that it could not have been at any very distant period.[5]
[5] The nice and highly interesting subject now adverted to, it is evident, will require a very extensive and cautious enquiry, and cannot possibly be discussed in the small compass allotted to notes. See Forster's Observations. But additional information has been obtained since the time of that author.--E.
The natives of these islands are in general above the middle size, and well made; they walk very gracefully, run nimbly, and are capable of bearing great fatigue; though, upon the whole, the men are somewhat inferior, in point of strength and activity, to the Friendly islanders, and the women less delicately limbed than those of Otaheite. Their complexion is rather darker than that of the Otaheitans, and they are not altogether so handsome a people. However, many of both sexes had fine open countenances, and the women, in particular, had good eyes and teeth, and a sweetness and sensibility of look, which rendered them very engaging. Their hair is of a brownish black, and neither uniformly straight, like that of the Indians of America, nor uniformly curling, as amongst the African negroes, but varying in this respect like the hair of Europeans. One striking peculiarity in the features of every part of this great nation, I do not remember to have seen any where mentioned; which is, that even in the handsomest faces, there is always a fulness of the nostrils, without any flatness or spreading of the nose, that distinguishes them from Europeans. It is not improbable that this may be the effect of their usual mode of salutation, which is performed by pressing the ends of their noses together.
The same superiority that is observable in the persons of the Erees, through all the other islands, is found also here. Those whom we saw were, without exception, perfectly well formed; whereas the lower sort, besides their general inferiority, are subject to all the variety of make and figure that is seen in the populace of other countries. Instances of deformity are more frequent here than in any of the other islands. Whilst we were cruising off Owhyhee, two dwarfs came on board, one an old man, four feet two inches high, but exactly proportioned, and the other a woman, nearly of the same height. We afterward saw three natives who were hump- backed, and a young man born without hands or feet. Squinting is also very common amongst them; and a man who, they said, had been born blind, was brought to us to be cured. Besides these particular imperfections, they are, in general, very subject to boils and ulcers, which we attributed to the great quantity of salt they eat with their flesh and fish. The Erees are very free from these complaints, but many of them suffer still more dreadful effects from the immoderate use of the ava. Those who were the most affected by it, had their bodies covered with a white scurf, their eyes red and inflamed, their limbs emaciated, the whole frame trembling and paralytic, accompanied with a disability to raise the head. Though this drug does not appear universally to shorten life, as was evident from the cases of Terreeoboo, Kaoo, and some other chiefs, who were very old men, yet it invariably brings on an early and decrepid old age. It is fortunate that the use of it is made one of the peculiar privileges of the chiefs. The young son of Terreeoboo, who was about twelve years old, used to boast of his being admitted to drink ava, and shewed us, with great triumph, a small spot in his side that was growing scaly.
There is something very singular in the history of this pernicious drug. When Captain Cook first visited the Society Islands, it was very little known among them. On his second voyage, he found the use of it very prevalent at Ulietea, but it had still gained very little ground at Otaheite. When we were last there, the dreadful havoc it had made was beyond belief, insomuch, that the captain scarce knew many of his old acquaintances. At the Friendly Islands, it is also constantly drunk by the chiefs, but so much diluted with water, that it does not appear to produce any bad effects. At Atooi, also, it is used with great moderation, and the chiefs are, in consequence, a much finer set of men there than in any of the neighbouring islands. We remarked, that, by discontinuing the use of this root, the noxious effects of it soon wore off. Our good friends, Kaireekeea and old Kaoo, were persuaded by us to refrain from it, and they recovered amazingly during the short time we afterward remained in the island.
It may be thought extremely difficult to form any probable conjectures respecting the population of islands, with many parts of which we are but imperfectly acquainted. There are, however, two circumstances that take away much of this objection; the first is, that the interior parts of the country are entirely uninhabited; so that, if the number of the inhabitants along the coast be known, the whole will be pretty accurately determined. The other is, that there are no towns of any considerable size; the habitations of the natives being pretty equally dispersed in small villages round all their coasts. It is on this ground that I shall venture at a rough calculation of the number of persons in this group of islands.
The bay of Karakakooa, in Owhyhee, is three miles in extent, and contains four villages of about eighty houses each, upon an average, in all three hundred and twenty; besides a number of straggling houses, which may make the whole amount to three hundred and fifty. From the frequent opportunities I had of informing myself on this head, I am convinced that six persons to a house is a very moderate allowance; so that, on this calculation, the country about the bay contains two thousand one hundred souls. To these may be added fifty families, or three hundred persons, which I conceive to be nearly the number employed in the interior parts of the country amongst their plantations, making in all two thousand four hundred. If, therefore, this number be applied to the whole extent of the coast round the island, deducting a quarter for the uninhabited parts, it will be found to contain one hundred and fifty thousand. By the same mode of calculation, the rest of the islands will be found to contain the following numbers:--
Owhyhee 150,000
Mowee 65,400
Woahoo 60,200
Atooi 54,000
Moroloi 36,000
Oneeheow 10,000
Ranai 20,400
Preehoua 4,000
Total of inhabitants 400,000
I am pretty confident, that in this calculation I have not exceeded the truth in the total amount. If we compare the numbers supposed to be in Owhyhee, with the population of Otaheite, as settled by Dr. Forster, this computation will be found very low. The proportion of coast in the latter island is to that of Owhyhee, only as one to three; the number of inhabitants at Otaheite he states to be one hundred and twenty-one thousand five hundred; though, according to his own principles, it should be double that amount. Again, if we compare it with the medium population of the countries in Europe, the proportion will be in favour of the latter nearly as two to one.[6]
[6] There is good reason to imagine that most of the early voyagers into the South Sea, have exaggerated the numbers of the inhabitants in the various groups of islands they met with. The present calculation, most readers will believe, is beyond the truth. Certain however it is, that almost all the recent accounts are at variance with such astonishing estimates as were formerly made. But, on the other hand, Mr. Pinkerton's assertion, that "it is probable there are not above 300,000 souls in all Australasia and Polynesia," (Geog. 3d ed. 2d vol. p. 172,) must appear so extraordinary when considered in opposition to them, as at once to convey the notion of a bold adventure. Yet even this admits of some degree of probability, from the account formerly given, of the immense decrease in the population of Otaheite. Altogether the subject is imperfectly understood, and labours under peculiar difficulties; we ought to listen with some hesitation, therefore, to all assertions respecting it.--E.
Notwithstanding the irreparable loss we suffered from the sudden resentment and violence of these people, yet, in justice to their general conduct, it must be acknowledged, that they are of the most mild and affectionate disposition; equally remote from the extreme levity and fickleness of the Otaheitans, and the distant gravity and reserve of the inhabitants of the Friendly Islands. They appear to live in the utmost harmony and friendship with one another. The women, who had children, were remarkable for their tender and constant attention to them; and the men would often lend their assistance in those domestic offices, with a willingness that does credit to their feelings.
It must however be observed, that they fall very short of the other islanders, in that best test of civilization, the respect paid to the women. Here they are not only deprived of the privilege of eating with the men, but the best sorts of food are tabooed, or forbidden them. They are not allowed to eat pork, turtle, several kinds of fish, and some species of the plantains; and we were told that a poor girl got a terrible beating for having eaten, on board our ship, one of these interdicted articles. In their domestic life, they appear to live almost entirely by themselves, and though we did not observe any instances of personal ill treatment, yet it was evident they had little regard or attention paid them.
The great hospitality and kindness with which we were received by them, have been already frequently remarked; and indeed they make the principal part of our transactions with them. Whenever we came on shore, there was a constant struggle who should be most forward in making us little presents, bringing refreshments, or shewing some other mark of their respect. The old people never failed of receiving us with tears of joy; seemed highly gratified with being allowed to touch us, and were constantly making comparisons between themselves and us, with the strongest marks of humility. The young women were not less kind and engaging, and till they found, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to prevent it, that they had reason to repent of our acquaintance, attached themselves to us without the least reserve.
In justice however to the sex, it must be observed, that these ladies were probably all of the lower class of the people; for I am strongly inclined to believe, that excepting the few whose names are mentioned in the course of our narrative, we did not see any woman of rank during our stay amongst them.
Their natural capacity seems, in no respect, below the common standard of mankind. Their improvements in agriculture, and the perfection of their manufactures, are certainly adequate to the circumstances of their situation, and the natural advantages they enjoy. The eager curiosity with which they attended the armourer's forge, and the many expedients they had invented, even before we left the islands, for working the iron they had procured from us, into such forms as were best adapted to their purposes, were strong proofs of docility and ingenuity.
Our unfortunate friend, Kaneena, possessed a degree of judicious curiosity, and a quickness of conception, which was rarely met with amongst these people. He was very inquisitive after our customs and manners, asked after our king, the nature of our government, our numbers, the method of building our ships, our houses, the produce of our country, whether we had wars, with whom, and on what occasions, and in what manner they were carried on, who was our God, and many other questions of the same nature, which indicated an understanding of great comprehension.
We met with two instances of persons disordered in their minds; the one a man at Owhyhee, the other a woman at Oneeheow. It appeared, from the particular attention and respect paid to them, that the opinion of their being inspired by the Divinity, which obtains among most of the nations of the east, is also received here.
Though the custom of eating the bodies of their enemies be not known, by positive evidence, to exist in any of the South Sea islands, except New Zealand, yet it is extremely probable, that it was originally prevalent in them all. The sacrificing human victims, which seems evidently to be a relic of this horrid practice, still obtains universally amongst these islanders; and it is easy to conceive, why the New Zealanders should retain the repast, which was probably the last act of these shocking rites, longer than the rest of their, tribe, who were situated in more mild and fruitful climates. As the inhabitants of the Sandwich islands certainly bear a nearer resemblance to those of New Zealand, both in their persons and disposition, than to any other people of this family, so it was strongly suspected by Mr. Anderson, that, like them, they still continue to feast on human flesh. The evidence on which he founds this opinion, has been stated very fully in the tenth section of the third chapter; but, as I always entertained great doubts of the justice of his conclusions, it may not be improper to take this occasion of mentioning the grounds on which I venture to differ from him. With respect to the information derived from the natives themselves, I shall only observe, that great pains were taken, by almost every officer on board, to come at the knowledge of so curious a circumstance; and that except in the two instances mentioned by Mr. Anderson, we found them invariably denying the existence of any such custom amongst them. It must be allowed, that Mr. Anderson's knowledge of their language, which was superior to that of any other person in either ship, ought certainly to give his opinion great weight; at the same time, I must beg leave to remark, that being present when he examined the man who had the small piece of salted flesh wrapped in cloth, it struck me very forcibly, that the signs he made use of meant nothing more, than that it was intended to be eat, and that it was very pleasant or wholesome to the stomach. In this opinion I was confirmed, by a circumstance which came to our knowledge, after the death of my worthy and ingenious friend, viz. that almost every native of these islands carried about with him, either in his calibash, or wrapped up in a piece of cloth, and tied about his waist, a small piece of raw pork, pork, highly salted, which they considered as a great delicacy, and used now and then to taste of. With respect to the confusion the young lad was in, (for he was not more than sixteen or eighteen years of age,) no one could have been surprised at it, who had seen the eager and earnest manner in which Mr. Anderson questioned him.
The argument drawn from the instrument made with sharks' teeth, and which is nearly of the same form with those used at New Zealand for cutting up the bodies of their enemies, is much more difficult to controvert. I believe it to be an undoubted fact, that this knife, if it may be so called, is never used by them in cutting the flesh of other animals. However, as the custom of offering human sacrifices, and of burning the bodies of the slain, is still prevalent here, it is not improbable that the use of this instrument is retained in those ceremonies. Upon the whole, I am strongly inclined to think, and particularly from this last circumstance, that the horrid practice in question, has but lately ceased amongst these and other islands of the South Sea. Omai, when pressed on this subject, confessed that in the rage and fury of revenge, they would sometimes tear the flesh of their enemies that were slain with their teeth; but positively denied that they ever eat it. This was certainly approaching as near the fact as could be; but, on the other hand, the denial is a strong proof that the practice has actually ceased; since in New Zealand, where it still exists, the inhabitants neyer made the smallest scruple of confessing it.[7]
[7] We have elsewhere had occasion to take notice of the fact of human sacrifices and cannibalism, forming an essential particular in the history of all the South Sea islanders. It is unnecessary to occupy a moment's attention in farther enquiry respecting it, as perhaps no question, in the circle of philosophical research, has received more complete solution by the testimony of credible witnesses. He that shall attempt to controvert their evidence, will have need of all the effrontery and invincibility to truth that ever stamped the forehead or hardened the heart of a polemist.--E.
The inhabitants of these islands differ from those of the Friendly Isles, in suffering, almost universally, their beards to grow. There were indeed a few, amongst whom was the old king, that cut it off entirely; and others that wore it only upon the upper lip. The same variety, in the manner of wearing the hair, is also observable here, as among the other islanders of the South Sea; besides which, as far as we know, they have a fashion peculiar to themselves. They cut it close on each side the head, down to the ears, leaving a ridge of about a small hand's breadth, running from the forehead to the neck; which, when the hair is thick and curling, has the form of the crest of the ancient helmet. Others wear large quantities of false hair, flowing down their backs in long ringlets, like the figure of the inhabitants of Horn Island, as seen in Dalrymple's Voyages; and others, again, tie it into a single round bunch on the top of the head, almost as large as the head itself, and some into five or six distinct bunches. They daub their hair with a grey clay, mixed with powdered shells, which they keep in balls, and chew into a kind of soft paste, when they have occasion to make use of it. This keeps the hair smooth, and in time changes it to a pale yellow colour.
Both sexes wear necklaces, made of strings of small variegated shells; and an ornament, in the form of the handle of a cup, about two inches long, and half an inch broad, made of wood, stone, or ivory, finely polished, which is hung about the neck by fine threads of twisted hair, doubled sometimes an hundred fold. Instead of this ornament, some of them wear on their breast a small human figure made of bone, suspended in the same manner.
The fan, or fly-flap, is also an ornament used by both sexes. The most ordinary kind are made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut, tied loose in bunches to the top of a smooth polished handle. The tail-feathers of the cock, and of the tropic-bird, are also used in the same manner; but the most valuable are those which have the handle made of the arm or leg bones of an enemy slain in battle, and which are preserved with great care, and handed down from father to son, as trophies of inestimable value.
The custom of tattowing the body, they have in common with the rest of the natives of the South Sea islands; but it is only at New Zealand and the Sandwich Islands, that they tattow the face. There is also this difference between the two last, that in the former it is done in elegant spiral volutes, and in the latter in straight lines, crossing each, other at right angles. The hands and arms of the women are also very neatly marked, and they have a singular custom amongst them, the meaning of which we could never learn, that of tallowing the tip of the tongues of the females.
From some information we received, relative to the custom of tattowing, we were inclined to think, that it is frequently intended as a sign of mourning on the death of a chief, or any other calamitous event. For we were often, told, that such a particular mark was in memory of such a chief, and so of the rest. It may be here too observed, that the lowest class are often tattowed with a mark, that distinguishes them as the property of the several chiefs to whom they belong.[8]
[8] Here, then, we have two reasons for the practice of tattowing, in addition to those which we enumerated in the account of Cook's first voyage, provided only that Captain King's information can he relied on. The first of these, it may be remarked, is so extremely similar to the practice of wounding or cutting the body for the dead, which has prevailed so extensively, that we can have no difficulty in allowing the full force of the observation. But, with respect to the second, one may incline to demur, on the ground of the improbability that such a state of servitude as it implies, could exist in so apparently primitive a condition of society. This, however, is not difficult of explanation, as the reader will find in the following section, from which one may safely infer, that the government of the Sandwich islands is by no means one which requires for its exhibition, the innocence, the liberty, and equality of the golden age. Some conclusion may hence be drawn as to the probable origin and antiquity of these islanders. But it is obvious that we are far from possessing sufficient data to enable us to enter satisfactorily on the discussion of the topic.--E.
The dress of the men generally consists only of a piece of thick cloth called the maro, about ten or twelve inches broad, which they pass between the legs, and tie round the waist. This is the common dress of all ranks of people. Their mats, some of which are beautifully manufactured, are of various sizes, but mostly about five feet long and four broad. These they throw over their shoulders, and bring forward before; but they are seldom used, except in time of war, for which purpose they seem better adapted than for ordinary use, being of a thick and cumbersome texture, and capable of breaking the blow of a stone, or any blunt weapon. Their feet are generally bare, except when they have occasion to travel over the burnt stones, when they secure them with a sort of sandal, made of cords, twisted from the fibres of the cocoa-nut. Such is the ordinary dress of these islanders; but they have another, appropriated to their chiefs, and used on ceremonious occasions, consisting of a feathered cloak and helmet, which, in point of beauty and magnificence, is perhaps nearly equal to that of any nation in the world. As this dress has been already described with great accuracy and minuteness, I have only to add, that these cloaks are made of different lengths, in proportion to the rank of the wearer, some of them reaching no lower than the middle, others trailing on the ground. The inferior chiefs have also a short cloak, resembling the former, made of the long tail-feathers of the cock, the tropic and man-of-war birds, with a broad border of the small red and yellow feathers, and a collar of the same. Others again are made of feathers entirely white, with variegated borders. The helmet has a strong lining of wicker-work, capable of breaking the blow of any warlike instrument, and seems evidently designed for that purpose.
These feathered dresses seemed to be exceedingly scarce, appropriated to persons of the highest rank, and worn by the men only. During the whole time we lay in Karakakooa Bay, we never saw them used but on three occasions; in the curious ceremony of Terreeoboo's first visit to the ships; by some chiefs, who were seen among the crowd on shore when Captain Cook was killed, and afterward when Eappo brought his bones to us.
The exact resemblance between this habit, and the cloak and helmet formerly worn by the Spaniards, was too striking not to excite our curiosity to enquire, whether there were any probable grounds for supposing it to have been borrowed from them. After exerting every means in our power of obtaining information on this subject, we found that they had no immediate knowledge of any other nation whatever, nor any tradition remaining among them of these islands having been ever visited before by such ships as ours. But, notwithstanding the result of these enquiries, the uncommon form of this habit appears to me a sufficient proof of its European origin, especially when added to another circumstance, that it is a singular deviation from the general resemblance in dress, which prevails amongst all the branches of this tribe, dispersed through the South Sea. We were driven indeed, by this conclusion, to a supposition of the shipwreck of some Buccaneer, or Spanish ship, in the neighbourhood of these islands. But when it is recollected, that the course of the Spanish trade from Acapulco to the Manillas is but a few degrees to the southward of the Sandwich Islands in their passage out, and to the northward on their return, this supposition will not appear in the least improbable.[9]
[9] Mr Playfair in his Geography, vol. vi. p. 839, asserts, that the Sandwich islands were first discovered by Gaetano, a Spanish navigator, in 1542; but he does not assign his authority, or give any clue for which the position may be verified. The fact is certainly probable, as Captain King seems to admit; and supposing it so, we can easily conceive that the distance of time from the period of the discovery above stated, would be quite sufficient to account for the natives having no tradition of such a visit. Even a much shorter period would be adequate for the total loss of almost any event in the current history of a people, who had no other method of preserving it than the impression it made on the senses, and to whom there was no excitement to impress it on the memories of succeeding generations, arising from the importance of the circumstances connected with it. The possession of iron, indeed, supposing it traced to this source, may be alleged too valuable, to have admitted such total forgetfulness of the event which occasioned it. But this difficulty readily resolves into a general remark, that even in more fortunate situations, the authors and occasions of many discoveries and inventions are soon lost sight of, in the more interesting experience of the utility that commends them. Men, in fact, are always much more anxious to avail themselves of the advantages which genius or accident has presented to their notice, than careful to testify gratitude by ascertaining and perpetuating the original sources to which they have been indebted. A case, not indeed quite parallel, instantly occurs to recollection. How few persons are there in this island, who have the smallest conception, to whom it is they are indebted for the introduction of that valuable vegetable the potatoe? The incident, no doubt, is recorded in the history of our country. But is there one in a thousand to whom the article is so familiar, that knows whence it came; or is it conceivable, that, without such a record, any individual of the present generation would have doubted for a moment that it was indigenous to Britain? We might multiply such examples almost without end. But the reader may like better to amuse himself with an enquiry into the extent of common ignorance and indifference.--E.
The common dress of the women bears a close resemblance to that of the men. They wrap round the waist a piece of cloth, that reaches half way down the thighs; and sometimes in the cool of the evening they appeared with loose pieces of fine cloth, thrown over their shoulders, like the women of Otaheite. The pau is another dress very frequently worn by the younger part of the sex. It is made of the thinnest and finest sort of cloth, wrapt several times round the waist, and descending to the leg, so as to have exactly the appearance of a full short petticoat. The hair is cut short behind, and turned up before, as is the fashion among the Otaheiteans and New Zealanders; all of whom differ, in this respect, from the women of the Friendly Islands, who wear their hair long. We saw, indeed, one woman in Karakakooa Bay, Whose hair was arranged in a very singular manner; it was turned up behind, and brought over the forehead, and then doubled back, so as to form a sort of a shade to the face, like a small bonnet.
Their necklaces are made of shells, or of a hard shining red berry. Besides which, they wear wreaths of dried flowers of the Indian mallow; and another beautiful ornament called eraie, which is generally put about the neck, but is sometimes tied like a garland round the hair, and sometimes worn in both these ways at once. It is a ruff, of the thickness of a finger, made in a curious manner, of exceedingly small feathers, woven so close together as to form a surface as smooth as that of the richest velvet. The ground was generally of a red colour, with alternate circles of green, yellow, and black. Their bracelets, which were also of great variety, and very peculiar kinds, have been already described.
At Atooi, some of the women wore little figures of the turtle, neatly formed of wood or ivory, tied on their fingers in the manner we wear rings. Why this animal is thus particularly distinguished, I leave to the conjectures of the curious. There is also an ornament, made of shells, fastened in rows on a ground of strong netting, so as to strike each other when in motion; which both men and women, when they dance, tie either round the arm or the ankle, or below the knee. Instead of shells, they sometimes make use of dog's teeth, and a hard red berry, resembling that of the holly.
There remains to be mentioned another ornament (if such it may be called), which is a kind of mask, made of a large gourd, with holes cut in it for the eyes and nose. The top was stuck full of small green twigs, which, at a distance, had the appearance of an elegant waving plume; and from the lower part hung narrow stripes of cloth, resembling a beard. We never saw these masks worn but twice, and both times by a number of people together in a canoe, who came to the side of the ship, laughing and drolling, with an air of masquerading. Whether they may not likewise be used as a defence for the head against stones, for which, they seem best designed; or in some of their public games; or be merely intended for the purposes of mummery, we could never inform ourselves.
It has already been remarked, in a few instances, that the natives of the Sandwich Islands approach nearer to the New Zealanders in their manners and customs, than to either of their less distant neighbours of the Society or Friendly Islands. This is in nothing more observable than in their method of living together in small towns or villages, containing from about one hundred to two hundred houses, built pretty close together, without any order, and having a winding path leading through them. They are generally flanked, toward the sea, with loose detached walls, which, probably, are meant both for the purposes of shelter and defence. The figure of their houses has been already described. They are of different sizes, from eighteen feet by twelve, to forty-five by twenty-four. There are some of a larger kind, being fifty feet long and thirty broad, and quite open at one end. These, they told us, were designed for travellers or strangers, who were only making a short stay.
In addition to the furniture of their houses, which has been accurately described by Captain Cook, I have only to add, that at one end are mats on which they sleep, with wooden pillows, or sleeping stools, exactly like those of the Chinese. Some of the better sort of houses have a courtyard before them, neatly railed in, with smaller houses built round it, for their servants. In this area they generally eat, and sit during the day- time. In the sides of the hills, and among the steep rocks, we also observed several holes or caves, which appeared to be inhabited; but as the entrance was defended with wicker-work, and we also found, in the only one that was visited, a stone-fence running across it within, we imagine they are principally designed for places of retreat, in case of an attack from an enemy.
The food of the lower class of people consists principally of fish and vegetables, such as yams, sweet-potatoes, tarrow, plantains, sugar-canes, and bread-fruit. To these the people of a higher rank add the flesh of hogs and dogs, dressed in the same manner as at the Society Islands. They also eat fowls of the same domestic kind with ours; but they are neither plentiful nor much esteemed by them. It is remarked by Captain Cook, that the bread-fruit and yams appeared scarce amongst them, and were reckoned great rarities. We found this not to be the case on our second visit; and it is therefore most probable, that, as these vegetables were generally planted in the interior parts of the country, the natives had not had time to bring them down to us during the short stay we made at Wymoa Bay. Their fish, they salt, and preserve in gourd-shells; not, as we at first imagined, for the purpose of providing against any temporary scarcity, but from the preference they give to salted meats. For we also found, that the Erees used to pickle pieces of pork in the same manner, and esteemed it a great delicacy.
Their cookery is exactly of the same sort with that already described in the accounts that have been published of the other South Sea islands; and though Captain Cook complains of the sourness of their tarrow puddings, yet, in justice to the many excellent meals they afforded us in Karakakooa Bay, I must be permitted to rescue them from this general censure, and to declare, that I never eat better even in the Friendly Islands. It is however remarkable, that they had not got the art of preserving the bread- fruit, and making the sour paste of it called Maihee, as at the Society Islands; and it was some satisfaction to as, in return for their great kindness and hospitality, to have it in our power to teach them this useful secret. They are exceedingly cleanly at their meals; and their mode of dressing both their animal and vegetable food was universally allowed to be greatly superior to ours. The chiefs constantly begin their meal with a dose of the extract of pepper-root, brewed after the usual manner. The women eat apart from the men, and are tabooed, or forbidden, as has been already mentioned, the use of pork, turtle, and particular kinds of plantains. However, they would eat pork with us in private; but we could never prevail upon them to touch the two last articles.
The way of spending their time appears to be very simple, and to admit of little variety. They rise with the sun; and, after enjoying the cool of the evening, retire to rest a few hours after sun-set. The making of canoes and mats forms the occupations of the Erees; the women are employed in manufacturing cloth; and the Towtows are principally engaged in the plantations and fishing. Their idle hours are filled up with various amusements. Their young men and women are fond of dancing; and on more solemn occasions, they have boxing and wrestling matches, after the manner of the Friendly Islands; though, in all these respects, they are much inferior to the latter.
Their dances have a much nearer resemblance to those of the New Zealanders than of the Otaheiteans or Friendly Islanders. They are prefaced with a slow, solemn song, in which all the party join, moving their legs, and gently striking their breasts, in a manner, and with attitudes, that are perfectly easy and graceful; and so far they are the same with the dancers of the other Society Islands. When this has lasted about ten minutes, both the tune and motions gradually quicken, and end only by their inability to support the fatigue; which part of the performance is the exact counterpart of that of the New Zealanders; and (as it is among them) the person who uses the most violent action, and holds out the longest, is applauded as the best dancer. It is to be observed, that, in this dance, the women only take a part; and that the dancing of the men is nearly of the same kind with what we saw of the small parties at the Friendly Islands; and which may, perhaps, with more propriety, be called the accompaniment of songs, with corresponding and graceful motions of the whole body. Yet, as we were spectators of boxing exhibitions, of the same kind with those we were entertained with at the Friendly Islands, it is probable that they had likewise their grand ceremonious dances, in which numbers of both sexes assisted.
Their music is also of a ruder kind, having neither flutes nor reeds, nor instruments of any other sort, that we saw, except drums of various sizes. But their songs, which they sung in parts,[10] and accompany with a gentle motion of the arms, in the same manner as the Friendly Islanders, had a very pleasing effect.
[10] As this circumstance, of their singing in parts, has been much doubted by persons eminently skilled in music, and would be exceedingly curious if it were clearly ascertained, it is to be lamented that it cannot be more positively authenticated.
Captain Burney, and Captain Phillips, of the marines, who both have a tolerable knowledge of music, have given it as their opinion, that they did sing in parts; that is to say, that they sung together in different notes, which formed a pleasing harmony.
These gentlemen have fully testified, that the Friendly Islanders undoubtedly studied their performances before they were exhibited in public; that they had an idea of different notes being useful in harmony; and also, that they rehearsed their compositions in private, and threw out the inferior voices, before they ventured to appear before those who were supposed to be judges of their skill in music.
In their regular concerts each man had a bamboo, which was of a different length and gave a different tone; these they beat against the ground, and each performer, assisted by the note given by this instrument, repeated the same note, accompanying it by words, by which means it was rendered sometimes short and sometimes long. In this manner they sing in chorus, and not only produced octaves to each other, according to their different species of voice, but fell on concords, such as were not disagreeable to the ear.
Now, to overturn this fact, by the reasoning of persons who did not hear these performances, is rather an arduous task. And yet there is great improbability, that any uncivilized people should, by accident, arrive at this degree of perfection in the art of music, which, we imagine, can only be attained by dint of study, and knowledge of the system and theory upon which musical composition is founded. Such miserable jargon as our country psalm-singers practise, which may be justly deemed the lowest class of counterpoint, or singing in several parts, cannot be acquired, in the coarse manner in which it is performed in the churches, without considerable time and practice. It is therefore scarcely credible, that a people, semi-barbarous, should naturally arrive at any perfection in that art, which it is much doubted, whether the Greeks and Romans, with all their refinements in music, ever attained, and which the Chinese, who have been longer civilized than any people on the globe, have not yet found out.
If Captain Burney (who, by the testimony of his father, perhaps the greatest musical theorist of this or any other age, was able to have done it) had written down, in European notes, the concords that these people sing; and if these concords had been such as European ears could tolerate, there would have been no longer doubt of the fact; but, as it is, it would, in my opinion, be a rash judgment to venture to affirm, that they did or did not understand counterpoint; and therefore I fear that this curious matter must be considered as still remaining undecided.
It is very remarkable that the people of these islands are great gamblers. They have a game very much like our draughts; but if one may judge from the number of squares, it is much more intricate. The board is about two feet long, and is divided into two hundred and thirty-eight squares, of which there are fourteen in a row; and they make use of black and white pebbles, which they move from square to square.
There is another game, which consists in hiding a stone under a piece of cloth, which one of the parties spreads out, and rumples in such a manner that the place where the stone lies is difficult to be distinguished. The antagonist, with a stick, then strikes the part of the cloth where he imagines the stone to be; and as the chances are, upon the whole, considerably against his hitting it, odds, of all degrees, varying with the opinion of the skill of the parties, are laid on the side of him who hides.
Besides these games, they frequently amuse themselves with racing matches between the boys and girls; and here, again, they wager with great spirit. I saw a man in a most violent rage, tearing his hair, and beating his breast, after losing three hatchets at one of these races, which he had just before purchased from us with half his substance.
Swimming is not only a necessary art, in which both their men and women are more expert than any people we had hitherto seen, but a favourite diversion amongst them. One particular mode, in which they sometimes amused themselves with this exercise, in Karakakooa Bay, appeared to us most perilous and extraordinary, and well deserving a distinct relation.
The surf, which breaks on the coast round the bay, extends to the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards from the shore, within which space the surges of the sea, accumulating from the shallowness of the water, are dashed against the beach with prodigious violence. Whenever, from stormy weather, or any extraordinary swell at sea, the impetuosity of the surf is increased to its utmost height, they choose that time for this amusement, which is performed in the following manner: Twenty or thirty of the natives, taking each a long narrow board, rounded at the ends, set out together from the shore. The first wave they meet they plunge under, and, suffering it to roll over them, rise again beyond it, and make the best of their way, by swimming out into the sea. The second wave is encountered in the same manner with the first; the great difficulty consisting in seizing the proper moment of diving under it, which, if missed, the person is caught by the surf, and driven back again with great violence; and all his dexterity is then required to prevent himself from being dashed against the rocks. As soon as they have gained, by these repeated efforts, the smooth water beyond the surf, they lay themselves at length on their board, and prepare themselves for their return. As the surf consists of a number of waves, of which every third is remarked to be always much larger than the others, and to flow higher on the shore, the rest breaking in the intermediate space, their first object is to place themselves on the summit of the largest surge, by which they are driven along with amazing rapidity toward the shore. If, by mistake, they should place themselves on one of the smaller waves, which breaks before they reach the land, or should not be able to keep their plank in a proper direction on the top of the swell, they are left exposed to the fury of the next, and, to avoid it, are obliged again to dive, and regain the place from which they set out. Those who succeed in their object of reaching the shore, have still the greatest danger to encounter. The coast being guarded by a chain of rocks, with here and there a small opening between them, they are obliged to steer their board through one of these, or, in case of failure, to quit it before they reach the rocks, and, plunging under the wave, make the best of their way back again. This is reckoned very disgraceful, and is also attended with the loss of the board, which I have often seen, with great terror, dashed to pieces, at the very moment the islander quitted it. The boldness and address with which we saw them perform these difficult and dangerous manoeuvres, were altogether astonishing, and is scarcely to be credited.[11]
[11] An amusement somewhat similar to this, at Otaheite, has been elsewhere described.
An accident, of which I was a near spectator, shews at how early a period they are so far familiarized to the water, as both to lose all fears of it, and to set its dangers at defiance. A canoe being overset, in which was a woman with her children, one of them an infant, who, I am convinced, was not more than four years old, seemed highly delighted with what had happened, swimming about at its ease, and playing a hundred tricks, till the canoe was put to rights again.
Besides the amusements I have already mentioned, the young children have one, which was much played at, and shewed no small degree of dexterity. They take a short stick, with a peg sharpened at both ends, running through one extremity of it, and extending about an inch on each side; and throwing up a ball, made of green leaves, moulded together, and secured with twine, they catch it on the point of the peg; and immediately throwing it up again from the peg, they turn the stick round, and thus keep catching it on each peg alternately, without missing it, for a considerable time. They are not less expert at another game of the same nature, tossing up in the air, and catching, in their turns, a number of these balls; so that we frequently saw little children thus keep in motion five at a time. With this latter play the young people likewise divert themselves at the Friendly Islands.
The great resemblance which prevails in the mode of agriculture and navigation, amongst all the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, leaves me very little to add on those heads. Captain Cook has already described the figure of the canoes we saw at Atooi. Those of the other islands were precisely the same; and the largest we saw was a double canoe, belonging to Terreeoboo, which measured seventy feet in length, three and a half in depth, and twelve in breadth; and each was hollowed out of one tree.
The progress they have made in sculpture, their skill in painting cloth, and their manufacturing of mats, have been all particularly described. The most curious specimens of the former, which we saw during our second visit, are the bowls in which the chiefs drink ava. These are usually about eight or ten inches in diameter, perfectly round, and beautifully polished. They are supported by three, and sometimes four small human figures, in various attitudes. Some of them rest on the hands of their supporters, extended over the head; others on the head and hands; and some on the shoulders. The figures, I am told, are accurately proportioned, and neatly finished, and even the anatomy of the muscles, in supporting the weight, well expressed.
Their cloth is made of the same materials, and in the same manner, as at the Friendly and Society Islands. That which is designed to be painted, is of a thick and strong texture, several folds being beat and incorporated together; after which it is cut in breadths, about two or three feet wide, and is painted in a variety of patterns, with a comprehensiveness and regularity of design that bespeaks infinite taste and fancy. The exactness with which the most intricate patterns are continued is the more surprising, when we consider that they have no stamps, and that the whole is done by the eye, with pieces of bamboo-cane dipped in paint; the hand being supported by another piece of the cane, in the manner practised by our painters. Their colours are extracted from the same berries, and other vegetable substances, as at Otaheite, which have been already described by former voyagers.
The business of painting belongs entirely to the women, and is called kipparee; and it is remarkable that they always gave the same name to our writing. The young women would often take the pen out of our hands, and shew us that they knew the use of it as well as we did; at the same time telling us that our pens were not so good as theirs. They looked upon a sheet of written paper as a piece of cloth striped after the fashion of our country; and it was not without the utmost difficulty that we could make them understand that our figures had a meaning in them which theirs had not.
Their mats are made of the leaves of the pandanus; and, as well as their cloths, are beautifully worked in a variety of patterns, and stained of different colours. Some have a ground of pale green, spotted with squares or rhomboids of red; others are of a straw colour, spotted with green; and others are worked with beautiful stripes, either in straight or waving lines of red and brown. In this article of manufacture, whether we regard the strength, fineness, or beauty, they certainly excel the whole world.
Their fishing-hooks are made of mother-of-pearl, bone, or wood, pointed and barbed with small bones or tortoise-shell. They are of various sizes and forms, but the most common are about two or three inches long, and made in the shape of a small fish, which serves as a bait, having a bunch of feathers tied to the head or tail. Those with which they fish for sharks are of a very large size, being generally six or eight inches long. Considering the materials of which these hooks were made, their strength and neatness are really astonishing; and, in fact, we found them, upon trial, much superior to our own.
The line which they use for fishing, for making nets, and for other domestic purposes is of different degrees of fineness, and is made of the bark of the touta, or cloth-tree; neatly and evenly twisted, in the same manner as our common twine; and may be continued to any length. They have a finer sort, made of the bark of a small shrub, called areemah; and the finest is made of human hair; but this last is chiefly used for things of ornament. They also make cordage of a stronger kind, for the rigging of their canoes, from the fibrous coatings of the cocoa-nuts. Some of this we purchased for our own use, and found it well adapted to the smaller kinds of the running rigging. They likewise make another sort of cordage, which is flat, and exceedingly strong, and used principally in lashing the roofing of their houses, or whatever they wish to fasten tight together. This last is not twisted like the former sorts, but is made of the fibrous strings of the cocoa-nut's coat, plaited with the fingers, in the manner our sailors make their points for the reefing of sails.
The gourds, which grow to so enormous a size, that some of them are capable of containing from ten to twelve gallons, are applied to all manner of domestic purposes; and in order to fit them the better to their respective uses, they have the ingenuity to give them different forms, by tying bandages round them during their growth. Thus some of them are of a long cylindrical form, as best adapted to contain their fishing-tackle; others are of a dish form, and these serve to hold their salt and salted provisions, their puddings, vegetables, &c. which two sorts have neat close covers, made likewise of the gourd; others, again, are exactly in the shape of a bottle with a long neck, and in these they keep their water. They have likewise a method of scoring them with a heated instrument, so as to give them the appearance of being painted in a variety of neat and elegant designs.
Amongst their arts, we must not forget that of making salt, with which we were amply supplied during our stay at these islands, and which was perfectly good of its kind. Their salt-pans are made of earth, lined with clay; being generally six or eight feet square, and about eight inches deep. They are raised upon a bank of stones near to high-water mark, from whence the salt-water is conducted to the foot of them in small trenches, out of which they are filled, and the sun quickly performs the necessary process of evaporation. The salt we procured at Atooi and Oneeheow, on our first visit, was of a brown and dirty sort; but that which we afterward got in Karakakooa Bay was white, and of a most excellent quality, and in great abundance. Besides the quantity we used in salting pork, we filled all our empty casks, amounting to sixteen puncheons, in the Resolution only.
Their instruments of war are spears, daggers, called pahooas, clubs, and slings. The spears are of two sorts, and made of a hard solid wood, which has much the appearance of mahogany. One sort is from six to eight feet in length, finely polished, and gradually increasing in thickness from the extremity till within about half a foot of the point, which tapers suddenly, and is furnished with four or six rows of barbs. It is not improbable that these might be used in the way of darts. The other sort, with which we saw the warriors at Owhyhee and Atooi mostly armed, are twelve or fifteen feet long, and, instead of being barbed, terminate toward the point like their daggers.
The dagger, or pahooa, is made of heavy black wood, resembling ebony. Its length is from one to two feet, with a string passing through the handle, for the purpose of suspending it to the arm.
The clubs are made indifferently of several sorts of wood. They are of rude workmanship, and of a variety of shapes and sizes.
The slings have nothing singular about them; and in no respect differ from our common slings, except that the stone is lodged on a piece of matting instead of leather.
SECTION VIII.
General Account of the Sandwich Islands, continued.--Government.--People divided into three Classes,--Power of Erreetaboo.--Genealogy of the Kings of Owhyhee and Mowee.--Power of the Chiefs.--State of the inferior Class. --Punishment of Crimes.--Religion.--Society of Priests.--The Orono.--Their Idols.--Songs chanted by the Chiefs, before they drink Ava.--Human Sacrifices.--Custom of knocking out the fore Teeth.--Notions with regard to a future State.--Marriages.--Remarkable Instance of Jealousy.--Funeral Rites.
The people of these islands are manifestly divided into three classes. The first are the Erees, or chiefs, of each district, one of which is superior to the rest, and is called at Owhyhee Eree-taboo, and Eree- moee. By the first of these words they express his absolute authority; and by the latter, that all are obliged to prostrate themselves (or put themselves to sleep, as the word signifies) in his presence. The second class are those who appear to enjoy a right of property without authority. The third are the towtows, or servants, who have neither rank nor property.
It is not possible to give any thing like a systematical account of the subordination of these classes to each other, without departing from that strict veracity, which, in works of this nature, is more satisfactory than conjectures, however ingenious. I will, therefore, content myself with relating such facts as we were witnesses to ourselves, and such accounts as we thought could be depended upon; and shall leave the reader to form from them his own ideas of the nature of their government.
The great power and high rank of Terreeoboo, the Eree-taboo of Owhyhee, was very evident, from the manner in which he was received at Karakakooa, on his first arrival. All the natives were seen prostrated at the entrance of their houses; and the canoes, for two days before, were tabooed, or forbidden to go out, till he took off the restraint. He was at this time just returned from Mowee, for the possession of which he was contending in favour of his son Teewarro, who had married the daughter and only child of the late king of that island, against Tabeeterree, his surviving brother. He was attended, in this expedition, by many of his warriors; but whether their service was voluntary, or the condition on which they hold their rank and property, we could not learn.
That he collects tribute from the subordinate chiefs, we had a very striking proof in the instance of Kaoo, which has been already related in our transactions of the 2d and 3d of February.
I have before mentioned, that the two most powerful chiefs of these islands, are, Terreeoboo of Owhyhee, and Perreeorannee of Wohahoo; the rest of the smaller isles being subject to one or other of these; Mowee, and its dependencies, being at this time claimed, as we have just observed, by Terreeoboo, for Teewarro, his son and intended successor; Atooi and Oneeheow being governed by the grandsons of Perreorannee.
The following genealogy of the Owhyhee and Mowee kings, which I collected from the priests, during our residence at the morai, in Karakakooa Bay, contains all the information I could procure relative to the political history of these islands.
This account reaches to four chiefs, predecessors of the present; all of whom they represent to have lived to an old age. Their names and successions are as follows:
First, Poorahoo Awhykaia was king of Owhyhee, and had an only son called Neerooagooa. At this time Mowee was governed by Mokoakea, who had also an only son, named Papikaneeou.
Secondly, Neerooagooa had three sons, the eldest named Kahavee; and Papikaneeou, of the Mowee race, had an only son, named Kaowreeka.
Thirdly, Kahavee had an only son, Kayenewee a mummow; and Kaowreeka, the Mowee king, had two sons, Maiha-maiha, and Taheeterree; the latter of whom is now, by one party, acknowledged chief of Mowee.
Fourthly, Kayenewee a mummow had two sons, Terreeoboo and Kaihooa; and Maiha-maiha, king of Mowee, had no son, but left a daughter called Roaho.
Fifthly, Terreeoboo, the present king of Owhyhee, had a son, named Teewarro, by Rora-rora, the widow of Maiha-maiha, late king of Mowee; and this son has married Roaho, his half-sister, in whose right he claims Mowee and its appendages.
Taheeterree, the brother of the late king, supported by a considerable party, who were not willing that the possessions should go into another family, took up arms, and opposed the rights of his niece.
When we were first off Mowee, Terreeoboo was there with his warriors, to support the claims of his wife, his son, and daughter-in-law, and had fought a battle with the opposite party, in which Taheeterree was worsted. We afterwards understood that matters had been compromised, and that Taheeterree is to have the possession of the three neighbouring islands during his life; that Teewarro is acknowledged the chief of Mowee, and will also succeed to the kingdom of Owhyhee on the death of Terreeoboo; and also to the sovereignty of the three Islands contiguous to Mowee, on the death of Taheeterree. Teewarro has been lately married to his half-sister, and, should he die without issue, the government of these islands descends to Maiha-maiha, whom we have often had occasion to mention, he being the son of Kaihooa, the deceased brother of Terreeoboo. Should he also die without issue, they could not tell who would succeed; for the two youngest sons of Terreeoboo, one of whom he appears to be exceedingly fond of, being born of a woman of no rank, would, from this circumstance, be debarred all right of succession. We had not an opportunity of seeing queen Rora-rora, whom Terreeoboo had left behind at Mowee; but we have already had occasion to take notice, that he was accompanied by Kanee-kabareea, the mother of the two youths, to whom he was much attached.
From this account of the genealogy of the Owhyhee and Mowee monarchs, it is pretty clear that the government is hereditary; which also makes it very probable, that the inferior titles, and property itself, descend in the same course. With regard to Perreeorannee, we could only learn that he is an Ere-taboo; that he was invading the possession of Taheeterree, but on what pretence we were not informed; and that his grandsons governed the islands to leeward.
The power of the Erees over the inferior classes of people appears to be very absolute. Many instances of this occurred daily during our stay amongst them, and have been already related. The people, on the other hand, pay them the most implicit obedience; and this state of servility has manifestly had a great effect in debasing both their minds and bodies. It is, however, remarkable, that the chiefs were never guilty, as far at least as came within my knowledge, of any acts of cruelty or injustice, or even of insolent behaviour toward them; though, at the same time, they exercised their power over one another in the most haughty and oppressive manner. Of this I shall give two instances. A chief of the lower order had behaved with great civility to the master of the ship, when he went to examine Karakakooa Bay, the day before the ship first arrived there; and, in return, I afterward carried him on board, and introduced him to Captain Cook, who invited him to dine with us. While we were at table, Pareea entered, whose face but too plainly manifested his indignation at seeing our guest in so honourable a situation. He immediately seized him by the hair of the head, and was proceeding to drag him out of the cabin, when the captain interfered, and, after a great deal of altercation, all the indulgence we could obtain, without coming to a quarrel with Pareea, was, that our guest should be suffered to remain, being seated upon the floor, whilst Pareea filled his place at the table. At another time, when Terreeoboo first came on board the Resolution, Maiha-maiha, who attended him, finding Pareea on deck, turned him out of the ship in the most ignominious manner; and yet Pareea we certainly knew to be a man of the first consequence.
How far the property of the lower class is secured against the rapacity and despotism of the great chiefs, I cannot say, but it should seem that it is sufficiently protected against private theft, or mutual depredation; for not only their plantations, which are spread over the whole country, but also their houses, their hogs, and their cloth, were left unguarded, without the smallest apprehensions. I have already remarked, that they not only separate their possessions by walls in the plain country, but that, in the woods likewise, wherever the horse-plantains grow, they make use of small white flags, in the same manner, and for the same purpose of discriminating property, as they do bunches of leaves at Otaheite. All which circumstances, if they do not amount to proofs, are strong indications that the power of the chiefs, where property is concerned, is not arbitrary, but at least so far circumscribed and ascertained, as to make it worth the while for the inferior orders to cultivate the soil, and to occupy their possessions distinct from each other.
With respect to the administration of justice, all the information we could collect was very imperfect and confined. Whenever any of the lowest class of people had a quarrel amongst themselves, the matter in dispute was referred to the decision of some chief, probably the chief of the district, or the person to whom they appertained. If an inferior chief had given cause of offence to one of a higher rank, the feelings of the latter at the moment seemed the only measure of his punishment. If he had the good fortune to escape the first transports of his superior's rage, he generally found means, through the mediation of some third person, to compound for his crime by a part or the whole of his property and effects. These were the only facts that came to our knowledge on this head.
The religion of these people resembles, in most of its principal features, that of the Society and Friendly Islands. Their morais, their whattas, their idols, their sacrifices, and their sacred songs, all of which they have in common with each other, are convincing proofs that their religious notions are derived from the same source. In the length and number of their ceremonies, this branch indeed far exceeds the rest; and though in all these countries there is a certain class of men, to whose care the performance of their religious rites is committed, yet we never met with a regular society of priests, till we discovered the cloisters of Kakooa in Karakakooa Bay. The head of this order was called Orono; a title which we imagined to imply something highly sacred, and which, in the person of Omeeah, was honoured almost to adoration. It is probable, that the privilege of entering into this order (at least as to the principal offices in it) is limited to certain families. Omeeah, the Orono, was the son of Kaoo, and the uncle of Kaireekeea, which last presided, during the absence of his grandfather, in all religious ceremonies at the morai. It was also remarked, that the child of Omeeah, an only son, about five years old, was never suffered to appear without a number of attendants, and such other marks of care and solicitude as we saw no other like instance of. This seemed to indicate that his life was an object of the greatest moment, and that he was destined to succeed to the high rank of his father.
It has been mentioned, that the title of Orono, with all its honours, was given to Captain Cook; and it is also certain that they regarded us generally as a race of people superior to themselves, and used often to say that great Eatoua dwelled in our country. The little image, which we have before described as the favourite idol on the morai in Karakakooa Bay, they call Koonooraekaiee, and said it was Terreeoboo's god, and that he also resided amongst us.
There are found an infinite variety of these images both on the morais, and within and without their houses, to which they give different names; but it soon became obvious to us in how little estimation they were held, from their frequent expressions of contempt of them, and from their even offering them to sale for trifles. At the same time there seldom failed to be some one particular figure in favour, to which, whilst this preference lasted, all their adoration was addressed. This consisted in arraying it in red cloth, beating their drums, and singing hymns before it, laying bunches of red feathers, and different sorts of vegetables, at its feet, and exposing a pig or a dog to rot on the whatta, that stood near it.
In a bay to the southward of Karakakooa, a party of our gentlemen were conducted to a large house, in which they found the black figure of a man, resting on his fingers and toes, with his head inclined backward, the limbs well formed, and exactly proportioned, and the whole beautifully polished. This figure the natives call Maee; and round it were placed thirteen others of rude and distorted shapes, which they said were the Eatooas of several deceased chiefs, whose names they recounted. The place was full of whattas, on which lay the remains of their offerings. They likewise give a place in their houses to many ludicrous and some obscene idols, like the Priapus of the ancients.
It hath been remarked by former voyagers, that, both among the Society and Friendly Islanders, an adoration is paid to particular birds; and I am led to believe that the same custom prevails here; and that, probably, the raven is the object of it, from seeing two of these birds tame at the village of Kakooa, which they told me were Eatooas; and, refusing every thing I offered for them, cautioned me, at the same time, not to hurt or offend them.
Amongst their religious ceremonies may be reckoned the prayers and offerings made by the priests before their meals. Whilst the ava is chewing, of which they always drink before they begin their repast, the person of the highest rank takes the lead in a sort of hymn, in which he is presently joined by one, two, or more of the company; the rest moving their bodies, and striking their hands gently together, in concert with the singers. When the ava is ready, cups of it are handed about to those who did not join in the song, which they keep in their hands till it is ended; when, uniting in one loud response, they drink off their cup. The performers of the hymn are then served with ava, who drink it after a repetition of the same ceremony; and if there be present one of a very superior rank, a cup is, last of all, presented to him, which, after chanting some time alone, and being answered by the rest, and pouring a little out on the ground, he drinks off. A piece of the flesh that is dressed is next cut off, without any selection of the part of the animal, which, together with some of the vegetables, being deposited at the foot of the image of the Eatooa, and a hymn chanted, their meal commences. A ceremony of much the same kind is also performed by the chiefs, whenever they drink ava between their meals.
Human sacrifices are more frequent here, according to the account of the natives themselves, than in any other islands we visited. These horrid rites are not only had recourse to upon the commencement of war, and preceding great battles and other signal enterprises, but the death of any considerable chief calls for a sacrifice of one or more Towtows, according to his rank; and we were told, that ten men were destined to suffer on the death of Terreeoboo. What may, if any thing possibly can, lessen, in some small degree, the horror of this practice is, that the unhappy victims have not the most distant intimation of their fate. Those who are fixed upon to fall, are set upon with clubs wherever they happen to be, and, after being dispatched, are brought dead to the place, where the remainder of the rites are completed. The reader will here call to his remembrance the skulls of the captives that had been sacrificed at the death of some great chief, and which were fixed on the rails round the top of the morai at Kakooa. We got a farther piece of intelligence upon this subject at the village of Kowrowa; where, on our enquiring into the use of a small piece of ground, inclosed with a stone-fence, we were told that it was an Here-eere, or burying-ground of a chief; and there, added our informer, pointing to one of the corners, lie the tangata and waheene taboo, or the man and woman who were sacrificed at his funeral.
To this class of their customs may also be referred that of knocking out their fore-teeth. Scarce any of the lower people, and very few of the chiefs, were seen, who had not lost one or more of them; and we always understood that this voluntary punishment, like the cutting off the joints of the finger at the Friendly Islands, was not inflicted on themselves from the violence of grief on the death of their friends, but was designed as a propitiatory sacrifice to the Eatooa, to avert any danger or mischief to which they might be exposed.
We were able to learn but little of their notions with regard to a future state. Whenever we asked them whither the dead were gone? we were always answered, that the breath, which they appeared to consider as the soul, or immortal part, was gone to the Eatooa; and, on pushing our enquiries farther, they seemed to describe some particular place, where they imagined the abode of the deceased to be; but we could not perceive that they thought, in this state, either rewards or punishments awaited them.
Having promised the reader an explanation of what was meant by the word taboo, I shall, in this place, lay before him the particular instances that fell under our observation of its application and effects. On our enquiring into the reasons of the interdiction of all intercourse between us and the natives, the day preceding the arrival of Terreeoboo, we were told that the bay was tabooed. The same restriction took place, at our request, the day we interred the bones of Captain Cook. In these two instances the natives paid the most implicit and scrupulous obedience, but whether on any religious principle, or merely in deference to the civil authority of their chiefs, I cannot determine. When the ground near our observatories, and the place where our masts lay, were tabooed, by sticking small wands round them, this operated in a manner not less efficacious. But though this mode of consecration was performed by the priests only, yet still, as the men ventured to come within the space, when invited by us, it should seem that they were under no religious apprehensions, and that their obedience was limited to our refusal only. The women could, by no means, be induced to come near us; but this was probably on account of the morai adjoining, which they are prohibited, at all times, and in all the islands of those seas, from approaching. Mention hath been already made, that women are always tabooed, or forbidden to eat certain kind of meats. We also frequently saw several at their meals, who had the meat put into their mouths by others; and, on our asking the reason of this singularity, were told that they were tabooed, or forbidden to feed themselves. This prohibition, we understood, was always laid on them after they had assisted at any funeral, or touched a dead body, and also on other occasions. It is necessary to observe, that on these occasions they apply the word taboo indifferently both to persons and things. Thus they say, the natives were tabooed, or the bay was tabooed, and so of the rest. This word is also used to express any thing sacred, or eminent, or devoted. Thus the king of Owhyhee was called Eree- taboo, a human victim tangata-taboo; and, in the same manner, among the Friendly Islanders, Tonga, the island where the king resides, is named Tonga-taboo.
Concerning their marriages, I can afford the reader little farther satisfaction than informing him, that such a relation or compact exists amongst them. I have already had occasion to mention, that at the time Terreeoboo had left his queen Rora-rora at Mowee, he was attended by another woman, by whom he had children, and to whom he was very much attached; but how far polygamy, properly speaking, is allowed, or how far it is mixed with concubinage, either with respect to the king, the chiefs, or among the inferior orders, too few facts came to our knowledge to justify any conclusions. It hath also been observed, that, except Kaneekabareea, and the wife of the Orono, with three women whom I shall have occasion hereafter to mention, we never saw any female of high rank. From what I had an opportunity of observing of the domestic concerns of the lowest class, the house seemed to be under the direction of one man and woman, and the children in the like state of subordination as in civilized countries.
It will not be improper, in this place, to take notice, that we were eye- witnesses of a fact, which, as it was the only instance we saw of any thing like jealousy among them, shews, at the same time, that not only fidelity, but a degree of reserve, is required from the married women of consequence. At one of the entertainments of boxing, Omeeah was observed to rise from his place two or three times, and to go up to his wife with strong marks of displeasure, ordering her, as it appeared to us from his manner, to withdraw. Whether it was, that being very handsome, he thought she drew too much of our attention, or without being able to determine what other reason he might have for his conduct, it is but justice to say, that there existed no real cause of jealousy. However, she kept her place, and when the entertainment was over, joined our party, and, soliciting some trifling presents, was given to understand that we had none about us, but that if she would accompany us toward our tent, she should return with such as she liked best. She was accordingly walking along with us, which Omeeah observing, followed in a violent rage, and seizing her by the hair, began to inflict, with his fists, a severe corporeal punishment. This sight, especially as we had innocently been the cause of it, gave us much concern; and yet we were told, that it would be highly improper to interfere between man and wife of such high rank. We were, however, not left without the consolation of seeing the natives at last interpose, and had the farther satisfaction of meeting them together the next day, in perfect good humour with each other; and, what is still more singular, the lady would not suffer us to remonstrate with her husband on his treatment of her, which we were much inclined to do, and plainly told us, that he had done no more than he ought.
Whilst I was ashore at the observatory at Karakakooa Bay, I had twice an opportunity of seeing a considerable part of their funeral rites. Intelligence was brought me of the death of an old chief in a house near our observatories, soon after the event happened. On going to the place, I found a number of people assembled, and seated round a square area, fronting the house in which the deceased lay, whilst a man, in a red- feathered cap, advanced from an interior part of the house to the door, and, putting out his head, at almost every moment uttered a most lamentable howl, accompanied with the most singular grimaces and violent distortions of his face that can be conceived. After this had passed a short time, a large mat was spread upon the area, and two men and thirteen women came out of the house, and sate themselves down upon it, in three equal rows; the two men and three of the women being in front. The necks and hands of the women were decorated with, feathered ruffs; and broad green leaves, curiously scolloped, were spread over their shoulders. At one corner of this area, near a small hut, were half a dozen boys, waving small white banners, and the tufted wands, or taboo sticks which, have been often mentioned, who would not permit us to approach them. This led me to imagine that the dead body might be deposited in this little hut; but I afterwards understood, that it was in the house where the man in the red cap opened the rites, by playing his tricks at the door. The company just mentioned being seated on the mat, began to sing a melancholy tune, accompanied with a slow and gentle motion of the body and arms. When this had continued some time, they raised themselves on their knees, and, in a posture between kneeling and sitting, began by degrees to move their arms and their bodies with great rapidity, the tune always keeping pace with their motions. As these last exertions were too violent to continue long, they resumed, at intervals, their slower movements; and, after this performance had lasted an hour, more mats were brought and spread upon the area, and four or five elderly women, amongst whom I was told was the dead chief's wife, advanced slowly out of the house, and seating themselves in the front of the first company, began to cry and wail most bitterly; the women in the three rows behind joining them, whilst the two men inclined their heads over them in a very melancholy and pensive attitude. At this period of the rites, I was obliged to leave them to attend at the observatory; but returning within half an hour, found them in the same situation. I continued with them till late in the evening, and left them proceeding, with little variation, as just described; resolving, however, to attend early in the morning, to see the remainder of the ceremony. On my arrival at the house, as soon as it was day, I found, to my mortification, the crowd dispersed, and every thing quiet; and was given to understand, that the corpse was removed; nor could I learn in what manner it was disposed of. I was interrupted in making farther enquiries for this purpose, by the approach of three women of rank, who, whilst their attendants stood near them with their fly-flaps, sat down by us, and, entering into conversation, soon made me comprehend that our presence was a hindrance to the performance of some necessary rites. I had hardly got out of sight, before I heard their cries and lamentations; and meeting them a few hours afterward, I found they had painted the lower part of their faces perfectly black.
The other opportunity I had of observing these ceremonies, was in the case of an ordinary person; when, on hearing some mournful female cries issue from a miserable-looking hut, I ventured into it, and found an old woman with her daughter, weeping over the body of an elderly man, who had but just expired, being still warm. The first step they took was to cover the body with cloth, after which, lying down by it, they drew the cloth over themselves, and then began a mournful kind of song, frequently repeating, Aweh medooah! Aweh tanee! Oh my father! Oh my husband! A younger daughter was also at the same time lying prostrate, in a corner of the house, covered over with black cloth, repeating the same words. On leaving this melancholy scene, I found at the door a number of their neighbours collected together, and listening to their cries with profound silence. I was resolved not to miss this opportunity of seeing in what manner they dispose of the body; and, therefore, after satisfying myself before I went to bed that it was not then removed, I gave orders that the sentries should walk backward and forward before the house, and, in case they suspected any measures were taking for the removal of the body, to give me immediate notice. However, the sentries had not kept a good look-out, for in the morning I found the body was gone. On enquiring what they had done with it, they pointed toward the sea; indicating most probably thereby, that it had been committed to the deep, or perhaps that it had been carried beyond the bay, to some burying-ground in another part of the country. The chiefs are interred in the morais, or He-ree-erees, with the men sacrificed on the occasion, by the side of them; and we observed that the morai, where the chief had been buried, who, as I have already mentioned, was killed in the cave after so stout a resistance, was hung round with red cloth.
[CHAPTER VI.]
TRANSACTIONS DURING THE SECOND EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH, BY THE WAY OF KAMTSCHATKA; AND ON THE RETURN HOME BY THE WAY OF CANTON AND THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
SECTION I.
Departure from Oneeheow--Fruitless Attempt to discover Modoopapappa.-- Course steered for Awatska Bay.--Occurrences during that Passage.--Sudden Change from Heat to Cold.--Distress occasioned by the leaking of the Resolution.--View of the Coast of Kamtschatka.--Extreme Rigour of the Climate.--Lose Sight of the Discovery.--The Resolution enters the Bay of Awatska.--Prospect of the Town of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.--Party sent ashore.--Their Reception by the Commanding-Officer of the Port.--Message dispatched to the Commander at Bolcheretsk.--Arrival of the Discovery.--Return of the Messengers from the Commander.--Extraordinary Mode of Travelling.--Visit from a Merchant and a German Servant belonging to the Commander.
On the 15th of March, at seven in the morning, we weighed anchor, and passing to the north of Tahoora, stood on to the south-west, in hopes of falling in with the island of Modoopapappa, which, we were told by the natives, lay in that direction, about five hours sail from Tahoora. At four in the afternoon, we were overtaken by a stout canoe, with ten men, who were going from Oneeheow to Tahoora, to kill tropic and man-of-war birds, with which that place was said to abound. It has been mentioned before, that the feathers of these birds are in great request, being much used in making their cloaks and other ornamental parts of their dress.
At eight, having seen nothing of the island, we hauled the wind to the northward till midnight, and then tacked, and stood on a wind to the south- east till day-light next morning, at which time Tahoora bore E.N.E., five or six leagues distant. We afterward steered W.S.W, and made the Discovery's signal to spread four miles upon our starboard-beam. At noon our latitude was 21° 27', and our longitude 198° 42'; and having stood on till five, in the same direction, we made the Discovery's signal to come under our stern, and gave over all hopes of seeing Modoopapappa. We conceived that it might probably lie in a more southerly direction from Tahoora, than that in which we had steered; though, after all, it is possible that we might have passed it in the night, as the islanders described it to be very small, and almost even with the surface of the sea.
The next day we steered west; it being Captain Clerke's intention to keep as near as possible in the same parallel of latitude, till we should make the longitude of Awatska Bay, and afterward to steer due north for the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in that bay, which was also appointed for our rendezvous in case of separation. This track was chosen on account of its being, as far as we knew, unexplored; and we were not without hopes of falling in with some new island on our passage.
We had scarcely seen a bird since our losing sight of Tahoora, till the 18th in the afternoon, when, being in the latitude of 21° 12', and the longitude of 194° 45', the appearance of a great many boobies, and some man-of-war birds, made us keep a sharp look-out for land. Toward evening the wind lessened, and the north-east swell, which, on the 16th and 17th, had been so heavy as to make the ships labour exceedingly, was much abated. The next day we saw no appearance of land; and at noon, we steered a point more to the southward, viz. W. by S., in the hopes of finding the trade- winds, (which blew almost invariably from the E. by N.,) fresher as we advanced within the tropic. It is somewhat singular that, though we saw no birds in the forenoon, yet toward evening we had again a number of boobies and man-of-war birds about us. This seemed to indicate that we had passed the land from whence the former flights had come, and that we were approaching some other low island.[12]
[12] It is highly probable that there are several small islands or rocks in the vicinity of this track, the discovery of which would at least benefit navigation. Thus we are told by Captain Krusenstern, an authority to which we are always glad to appeal, that he saw in latitude 17°, and longitude 169° 30', an extraordinary number of birds, that hovered round his ship in flocks of upwards of a hundred, from which he inferred his having passed near some island, which served as a resting place for them. In confirmation of this opinion, he informs us, that La Perouse in 1786, and an English merchantman in 1796, discovered west of the Sandwich Islands, the first in the parallel of 22°, and the latter in that of 18°, two small rocky islands both extremely dangerous; and that the Nero in her passage from America to China in 1805, found near this place a very dangerous sand island, viz. in 173° 35' 45" W., and 26° 2' 48" N. It is perhaps to be regretted, that Krusenstern, who, a few days after the date of the remark now quoted, crossed Captain Clerke's course, should have so resolutely endeavoured, as he says he did, and that too with tolerable success, not to approach the track of that officer nearer than by a hundred or a hundred and twenty miles. It is evident, that, within a smaller distance, he might have made some useful discovery, without, in any measure, endangering his own reputation, as a mere follower in the footsteps of others. Here it may be added, that his course was more northerly than Clerke's, and that he did not experience any of those swells so soon complained of by Captain King.--E.
The wind continued very moderate, with fine weather, till the 23d, when it freshened from the N.E. by E., and increased to a strong gale, which split some of our old sails, and made the running rigging very frequently give way. This gale lasted twelve hours; it then became more moderate, and continued so till the 25th at noon, when we entirely lost it, and had only a very light air.
On the 26th, in the morning, we thought we saw land to the W.S.W.; but, after running about sixteen leagues in that direction, we found our mistake; and night coming on, we again steered W. Our latitude, at this time, was 19° 45', which was the greatest southing we made in this run; our longitude was 183°, and variation 12° 45' E. We continued in this course, with little alteration in the wind, till the 29th, when it shifted to the S.E. and S.S.E., and, for a few hours in the night, it was in the W.; the weather being dark and cloudy, with much rain. We had met, for some days past, several turtles, one of which was the smallest I ever saw, not exceeding three inches in length. We were also accompanied by man-of-war birds, and boobies of an unusual kind, being quite white, except the tip of the wing, which was black, and easily mistaken, at first sight, for gannets.
The light winds which we had met with for some time past, with the present unsettled state of the weather, and the little appearance of any change for the better, induced Captain Clerke to alter his plan of keeping within the tropical latitudes; and accordingly, at six this evening, we began to steer N.W. by N., at which time our latitude was 20° 23', and our longitude 180° 40'. During the continuance of the light winds, which prevailed almost constantly ever since our departure from the Sandwich Islands, the weather was very close, and the air hot and sultry; the thermometer being generally at 80°, and sometimes at 83°. All this time we had a considerable swell from the N.E.; and in no period of the voyage did the ships roll and strain so violently.
In the morning of the 1st of April, the wind changed from the S.E. to the N.E. by E., and blew a fresh breeze till the morning of the 4th, when it altered two points more to the E., and by noon increased to a strong gale, which lasted till the afternoon of the 5th, attended with hazy weather. It then again altered its direction to the S.E., became more moderate, and was accompanied by heavy showers of rain. During all this time, we kept steering to the N.W. against a slow, but regular current from that quarter, which caused a constant variation from our reckoning by the log, of fifteen miles a day. On the 4th, being then in the latitude 26° 17', and longitude 173° 30', we passed prodigious quantities of what sailors call Portuguese men-of-war (holothuria physalis), and were also accompanied with a great number of sea-birds, amongst which we observed, for the first time, the albatross and sheerwater.
On the 6th, at noon, we lost the trade-wind, and were suddenly taken aback, with the wind from the N.N.W. At this time our latitude was 29° 50', and our longitude 170° l'. As the old running ropes were constantly breaking in the late gales, we reeved what new ones we had left, and made such other preparations as were necessary for the very different climate with which we were now shortly to encounter. The fine weather we met with between the tropics had not been idly spent. The carpenters found sufficient employment in repairing the boats. The best bower-cable had been so much damaged by the foul ground in Karakakooa Bay, and whilst we were at anchor off Oneeheow, that we were obliged to cut forty fathoms from it; in converting of which, with other old cordage into spunyarn, and applying it to different uses, a considerable part of the people were kept constantly employed by the boatswain. The airing of sails and other stores, which, from the leakiness of the decks and sides of the ships, were perpetually subject to be wet, had now become a frequent as well as a laborious and troublesome part of our duty.
Besides these cares, which had regard only to the ships themselves, there were others, which had for their object the preservation of the health of the crews, that furnished a constant occupation to a great number of our hands. The standing orders, established by Captain Cook, of airing the bedding, placing fires between deck, washing them with vinegar, and smoking them with gunpowder, were observed without any intermission. For some time past, even the operation of mending the sailors' old jackets had risen into a duty both of difficulty and importance. It may be necessary to inform those who are unacquainted with the disposition and habits of seamen, that they are so accustomed in ships of war to be directed in the care of themselves by their officers, that they lose the very idea of foresight, and contract the thoughtlessness of infants. I am sure, that if our people had been left to their own discretion alone, we should have had the whole crew naked, before the voyage had been half finished. It was natural to expect, that their experience, during our voyage to the north last year, would have made them sensible of the necessity of paying some attention to these matters; but if such reflections ever occurred to them, their impression was so transitory, that upon our return to the tropical climates, their fur-jackets, and the rest of their cold country clothes, were kicked about the decks as things of no value; though it was generally known in both ships, that we were to make another voyage toward the Pole. They were of course picked up by the officers; and being put into casks, restored about this time to the owners.
In the afternoon we observed some of the sheathing floating by the ship; and on examination found that twelve or fourteen feet had been washed off from under the larboard bow, where we supposed the leak to have been, which ever since our leaving Sandwich Islands, had kept the people almost constantly at the pumps, making twelve inches water an hour. This day we saw a number of small crabs, of a pale blue colour; and had again, in company, a few albatrosses and sheerwaters. The thermometer in the night- time sunk eleven degrees; and although it remained as high as 59°, yet we suffered much from the cold, our feelings being as yet by no means reconciled to that degree of temperature.
The wind continued blowing fresh from the N. till the 8th in the morning, when it became more moderate, with fair weather, and gradually changed its direction to the E., and afterward to the S.
On the 9th, at noon, our latitude was 32° 16', our longitude 166° 40', and the variation 8° 30' E. And on the 10th, having crossed the track of the Spanish galleons from the Manillas to Acapulco, we expected to have fallen in with the island of Rica de Plata, which, according to De Lisle's chart, in which the route of those ships is laid down, ought to have been in sight; its latitude, as there given, being 33° 30' N., and its longitude 166° E. Notwithstanding we were so far advanced to the northward, we saw this day a tropic-bird, and also several other kinds of sea-birds, such as puffins, sea-parrots, sheerwaters, and albatrosses.
On the 11th, at noon, we were in latitude 35° 30', longitude 165° 45'; and during the course of the day, had sea-birds as before, and passed several bunches of sea-weed. About the same time, the Discovery passed a log of wood; but no other signs of land were seen.
The next day the wind came gradually round to the east, and increased to so strong a gale, as obliged us to strike our top-gallant yards, and brought us under the lower sails, and the main top-sail close-reefed. Unfortunately we were upon that tack, which was the most disadvantageous for our leak. But as we had always been able to keep it under with the hand-pumps, it gave us no great uneasiness till the 13th, about six in the afternoon, when we were greatly alarmed by a sudden inundation, that deluged the whole space between decks. The water, which had lodged in the coal-hole, not finding a sufficient vent into the well, had forced up the platforms over it, and in a moment set every thing afloat. Our situation was indeed exceedingly distressing; nor did we immediately see any means of relieving ourselves. A pump, through the upper decks into the coal-hole, could answer no end, as it would very soon have been choaked up by the small coals; and to bale the water out with buckets was become impracticable, from the number of bulky materials that were washed out of the gunner's store-room into it, and which, by the ship's motion, were tossed violently from side to side. No other method was therefore left, but to cut a hole through the bulk-head (or partition) that separated the coal-hole from the fore-hold, and by that means to make a passage for the body of water into the well. However, before that could be done, it was necessary to get the casks of dry provisions out of the forehold, which kept us employed the greatest part of the night; so that the carpenters could not get at the partition till the next morning. As soon as the passage was made, the greatest part of the water emptied itself into the well, and enabled us to get out the rest with buckets. But the leak was now so much increased, that we were obliged to keep one half of the people constantly pumping and baling, till the noon of the 15th. Our men bore with great cheerfulness this excessive fatigue, which was much increased by their having no dry place to sleep in; and on this account we began to serve their full allowance of grog.
The weather now becoming more moderate, and the swell less heavy, we were enabled to clear away the rest of the casks from the fore-hold, and to open a sufficient passage for the water to the pumps. This day we saw a greenish piece of drift-wood, and fancying the water coloured, we sounded, but got no bottom with a hundred and sixty fathoms of line. Our latitude at noon this day was 41° 52', longitude 161° 15', variation 6° 30' E.; and the wind soon after veering to the northward, we altered our course three points to the west.
On the 16th at noon, we were in the latitude of 42° 12', and in the longitude of 160° 5'; and as we were now approaching the place where a great extent of land is said to have been seen by De Gama, we were glad of the opportunity which the course we were steering gave, of contributing to remove the doubts, if any should be still entertained, respecting the falsehood of this pretended discovery. For it is to be observed, that no one has ever yet been able to find who John de Gama was, when he lived, or what year this pretended discovery was made.
According to Mr Muller, the first account of it given to the public was in a chart published by Texeira, a Portuguese geographer, in 1649, who places it ten or twelve degrees to the north-east of Japan, between the latitudes of 44° and 45°; and announces it to be land seen by John de Gama, the Indian, in a voyage from China to New Spain. On what grounds the French geographers have since removed it five degrees to the eastward, does not appear; except we suppose it to have been done in order to make room for another discovery made by the Dutch, called Company's Land; of which we shall have occasion to speak hereafter.
During the whole day the wind was exceedingly unsettled, being seldom steady to two or three points, and blowing in fresh gusts, which were succeeded by dead calms. These were not unpromising appearances; but after standing off and on the whole of this day, without seeing anything of the land, we again steered to the northward, not thinking it worth our while to lose time in search of an object, the opinion of whose existence had been already pretty generally exploded. Our people were employed the whole of the 16th, in getting their wet things dry, and in airing the ships below.
We now began to feel very sharply the increasing inclemency of the northern climate. In the morning of the 18th, our latitude being 45° 40', and our longitude 160° 25', we had snow and sleet, accompanied with strong gales from the S.W. This circumstance will appear very remarkable, if we consider the season of the year, and the quarter from which the wind blew. On the 19th, the thermometer in the day-time remained at the freezing point, and at four in the morning fell to 29°. If the reader will take the trouble to compare the degree of heat, during the hot sultry weather we had at the beginning of this month, with the extreme cold which we now endured, he will conceive how severely so rapid a change must have been felt by us.
In the gale of the 18th, we had split almost all the sails we had bent, which being our second best suit, we were now reduced to make use of our last and best set. To add to Captain Clerke's difficulties, the sea was in general so rough, and the ships so leaky, that the sail-makers had no place to repair the sails in, except his apartments, which in his declining state of health was a serious inconvenience to him.
On the 20th at noon, being in latitude 49° 45' N., and longitude 161° 15' E., and eagerly expecting to fall in with the coast of Asia, the wind shifted suddenly to the north, and continued in the same quarter the following day. However, although it retarded our progress, yet the fair weather it brought was no small refreshment to us. In the forenoon of the 21st we saw a whale and a land-bird; and in the afternoon the water looking muddy, we sounded, but got no ground with an hundred and forty fathoms of line. During the three preceding days, we saw large flocks of wild fowl, of a species resembling ducks. This is usually considered as a proof of the vicinity of land, but we had no other signs of it since the 16th, in which time we had run upwards of an hundred and fifty leagues.
On the 22d the wind shifted to the N.E., attended with misty weather. The cold was exceedingly severe, and the ropes were so frozen that it was with difficulty we could force them through the blocks. At noon, the latitude, by account, was 51° 38', longitude 160° 7'; and on comparing our present position with that given to the southern parts of Kamtschatka in the Russian charts, Captain Clerke did not think it prudent to run on toward the land all night. We therefore tacked at ten, and having found, had ground agreeably to our conjectures, with seventy fathoms of line.
On the 23d, at six in the morning, being in latitude 52° 09', and longitude 160° 07', on the fog clearing away, the land appeared in mountains covered with snow; and extending from N. 3/4 E., to S.W.; a high conical rock, bearing S.W., 3/4 W., at three or four leagues distance. We had no sooner taken this imperfect view, than we were again covered with a thick fog. Being now, according to our maps, only eight leagues from the entrance of Awatska Bay, as soon as the weather cleared up we stood in to take a nearer view of the land; and a more dismal and dreary prospect I never beheld. The coast appears strait and uniform, having no inlets or bays; the ground from the shore rises in hills of a moderate elevation, behind which are ranges of mountains, whose summits were lost in the clouds. The whole scene was entirely covered with snow, except the sides of some of the cliffs which rose too abruptly from the sea for the snow to lie upon them.
The wind continued blowing very strong from the N.E., with thick hazy weather and sleet, from the 24th to the 28th. During the whole time, the thermometer was never higher than 30 1/2°. The ship appeared to be a complete mass of ice; the shrowds were so incrusted with it, as to measure in circumference more than double their usual size; and, in short, the experience of the oldest seaman among us had never met with any thing like the continued showers of sleet, and the extreme cold which we now encountered. Indeed, the severity of the weather, added to the great difficulty of working the ships, and the labour of keeping the pumps constantly going, rendered the service too hard for many of the crew, some of whom were frostbitten, and others laid up with bad colds. We continued all this time standing four hours on each tack, having generally soundings of sixty fathoms, when about three leagues from the land, but none at twice that distance. On the 25th we had a transient view of the entrance of Awatska Bay; but, in the present state of the weather, we were afraid of venturing into it. Upon our standing off again we lost sight of the Discovery; but, as we were now so near the place of rendezvous, this gave us no great uneasiness.
On the 28th in the morning, the weather at last cleared, and the wind fell to a light breeze from the same quarter as before. We had a fine warm day; and, as we now began to expect a thaw, the men were employed in breaking the ice from off the rigging, masts, and sails, in order to prevent its falling on our heads. At noon, being in the latitude of 52° 44', and the longitude of 159°, the entrance of Awatska Bay bore N.W., distant three or four leagues; and, about three in the afternoon, a fair wind sprung up from the southward, with which we stood in, having regular soundings, from twenty-two to seven fathoms.
The mouth of the bay opens in a N.N.W. direction. The land, on the south side, is of a moderate height; to the northward it rises into a bluff head, which is the highest part of the coast. In the channel between them, near the N.E. side, lie three remarkable rocks; and farther in, near the opposite coast, a single detached rock of a considerable size. On the north head there is a look-out house, which, when the Russians expect any of their ships, upon the coast, is used as a light-house. There was a flag- staff on it, but we saw no sign of any person being there.
Having passed the mouth of the bay, which is about four miles long, we opened a large circular bason of twenty-five miles in circumference; and, at half past four, came to an anchor in six fathoms water, being afraid of running foul on a shoal, or some sunk rocks, which are said by Muller[13] to lie in the channel of the harbour of St Peter and St Paul. The middle of the bay was full of loose ice, drifting with the tide; but the shores were still entirely blocked up with it. Great flocks of wild-fowl were seen of various species; likewise ravens, eagles, and large flights of Greenland pigeons. We examined every corner of the bay with our glasses, in search of the town of St Peter and St Paul; which, according to the accounts given us at Oonalashka, we had conceived to be a place of some strength and consideration. At length we discovered on a narrow point of land to the N.N.E., a few miserable log-houses, and some conical huts, raised on poles, amounting in all to about thirty; which, from their situation, notwithstanding all the respect we wished to entertain for a Russian ostrog, we were under the necessity of concluding to be Petropaulowska. However, in justice to the generous and hospitable treatment we found here, I shall beg leave to anticipate the reader's curiosity, by assuring him that our disappointment proved to be more of a laughable than a serious nature. For, in this wretched extremity of the earth, situated beyond every thing that we conceived to be most barbarous and inhospitable, and, as it were, out of the very reach of civilization, barricadoed with ice, and covered with summer snow, in a poor miserable port, far inferior to the meanest of our fishing towns, we met with feelings of humanity, joined to a greatness of mind, and elevation of sentiment, which would have done honour to any nation or climate.
[13] Voyages made by the Russians from Asia to America, &c., translated from the German, by T. Jeffereys, p. 37.
During the night much ice drifted by us with the tide, and at day-light I was sent with the boats to examine the bay, and deliver the letters we had brought from Oonalashka to the Russian commander. We directed our course toward the village I have just mentioned, and having proceeded as far as we were able with the boats, we got upon the ice, which, extended near half a mile from the shore. Mr Webber, and two of the seamen, accompanied me, whilst the master took the pinnace and cutter to finish the survey, leaving the jolly-boat behind to carry us back.
I believe the inhabitants had not yet seen either the ship or the boats; for even after we had got on the ice, we could not perceive any signs of a living creature in the town. By the time we had advanced a little way on the ice, we observed a few men hurrying backward and forward, and presently after a sledge drawn by dogs, with one of the inhabitants in it, came down to the sea-side, opposite to us. Whilst we were gazing at this unusual sight, and admiring the great civility of this stranger, which we imagined had brought him to our assistance, the man, after viewing us for some time very attentively, turned short round, and went off with great speed toward the ostrog. We were not less chagrined than disappointed at his abrupt departure, as we began to find our journey over the ice attended not only with great difficulty, but even with danger. We sunk at every step almost knee-deep in the snow, and though we found tolerable footing at the bottom, yet the weak parts of the ice not being discoverable, we were constantly exposed to the risk of breaking through it. This accident at last actually happened to myself; for, stepping on quickly over a suspicious spot, in order to press with less weight upon it, I came upon a second, before I could stop myself, which broke under me, and in I fell. Luckily I rose clear of the ice, and a man that was a little way behind with a boat-hook, throwing it to me, I laid it across some loose pieces near me, and by that means was enabled to get upon firm ice again.
As we approached the shore, we found the ice, contrary to our expectations, more broken than it had been before. We were, however, again comforted by the sight of another sledge coming toward us; but instead of proceeding to our relief, the driver stopt short, and began to call out to us. I immediately held up to him Ismyloff's letters; upon which he turned about, and set off back again full speed; followed, I believe, not with the prayers of any of our party. Being at a great loss what conclusions to draw from this unaccountable behaviour, we continued our march toward the ostrog, with great circumspection, and when we had arrived within a quarter of a mile of it, we perceived a body of armed men marching toward us. That we might give them as little alarm, and have as peaceable an appearance as possible, the two men who had boat-hooks in their hands, were ordered into the rear, and Mr Webber and myself marched in front. The Russian party, consisting of about thirty soldiers, was headed by a decent- looking person with a cane in his hand. He halted within a few yards of us, and drew up his men in a martial and good order. I delivered to him Ismyloff's letters, and endeavoured to make him understand, as well as I could (though I afterward found in vain), that we were English, and had brought the papers from Oonalashka. After having examined us attentively, he began to conduct us toward the village, in great silence and solemnity, frequently halting his men, to form them in different manners, and make them perform several parts of their manual exercise, probably with a view to shew us, that if we had the temerity to offer any violence, we should have to deal with men who were not ignorant of their business.
Though I was all this time in my wet clothes, shivering with cold, and sufficiently inclined to the most unconditional submission, without having my fears violently alarmed, yet it was impossible not to be diverted with this military parade, notwithstanding it was attended with the most unseasonable delay. At length we arrived at the house of the commanding- officer of the party, into which we were ushered; and after no small stir in giving orders, and disposing of the military without doors, our host made his appearance, accompanied by another person, whom we understood to be the secretary of the port. One of Ismyloff's letters was now opened, and the other sent off by a special messenger to Bolcheretsk, a town on the west side of the peninsula of Kamtschatka, where the Russian commander of this province usually resides.
It is very remarkable, that they had not seen the ship the preceding day, when we came to anchor in the bay, nor indeed this morning, till our boats were pretty near the ice. The panic with which the discovery had struck them, we found had been very considerable. The garrison was immediately put under arms. Two small field-pieces were placed at the entrance of the commander's house, and pointed toward our boats; and shot, powder, and lighted matches, were all ready at hand.
The officer, in whose house we were at present entertained, was a serjeant, and the commander of the ostrog. Nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of his behaviour, after he recovered from the alarm occasioned by our arrival. We found the house insufferably hot, but exceedingly neat and clean. After I had changed my clothes, which the serjeant's civility enabled me to do, by furnishing me with a complete suit of his own, we were invited to sit down to dinner, which I have no doubt was the best he could procure; and, considering the shortness of time he had to provide it, was managed with some ingenuity. As there was not time to prepare soup and bouilli, we had in their stead some cold beef, sliced, with hot water poured over it. We had next a large bird roasted, of a species with which I was unacquainted, but of a very excellent taste. After having eaten a part of this, it was taken off, and we were served with fish dressed two different ways; and soon after the bird again made its appearance, in savory and sweet pates. Our liquor, of which I shall have to speak hereafter, was of the kind called by the Russians quass, and was much the worst part of the entertainment. The serjeant's wife brought in several of the dishes herself, and was not permitted to sit down at table. Having finished our repast, during which it is hardly necessary to remark, that our conversation was confined to a few bows, and other signs of mutual respect, we endeavoured to open to our host the cause and objects of our visit to this port. As Ismyloff had probably written to them on the same subject, in the letters we had before delivered, he appeared very readily to conceive our meaning; but as there was unfortunately no one in the place that could talk any other language except Russian or Kamtschadale, we found the utmost difficulty in comprehending the information he meant to convey to us. After some time spent in these endeavours to understand one another, we conceived the sum of the intelligence we had procured to be, that though no supply, either of provisions or naval stores, was to be had at this place, yet that these articles were in great plenty at Bolcheretsk; that the commander would most probably be very willing to give us what we wanted; but that till the serjeant had received orders from him, neither he nor his people, nor the natives, could even venture to go on board the ship.
It was now time for us to take our leave; and, as my clothes were still too wet to put on, I was obliged to have recourse again to the serjeant's benevolence, for his leave to carry those I had borrowed of him on board. This request was complied with very cheerfully; and a sledge, drawn by five dogs, with a driver, was immediately provided for each of our party. The sailors were highly delighted with this mode of conveyance; and what diverted them still more was, that the two boat-hooks had also a sledge appropriated to themselves. These sledges are so light, and their construction so well adapted to the purposes for which they are intended, that they went with great expedition, and perfect safety, over the ice, which it would have been, impossible for us, with all our caution, to have passed on foot.
On our return, we found the boats towing the ship toward the village; and at seven we got close to the ice, and moored with the small bower to the N.E., and best bower to the S.W.; the entrance of the bay bearing S. by E., and S. 3/4 E.; and the ostrog N., 1/4 E., distant one mile and a half. The next morning the casks and cables were got upon the quarter-deck, in order to lighten the ship forward; and the carpenters were set to work to stop the leak, which had given us so much trouble daring our last run. It was found to have been occasioned by the falling of some sheathing from the larboard-bow, and the oakum between the planks having been washed out. The warm weather we had in the middle of the day, began to make the ice break away very fast, which, drifting with the tide, had almost filled up the entrance of the bay. Several of our gentlemen paid their visits to the serjeant, by whom they were received with great civility; and Captain Clerke sent him two bottles of rum, which he understood would be the most acceptable present he could make him, and received in return some fine fowls of the grouse kind, and twenty trouts. Our sportsmen met with but bad success; for though the bay swarmed with flocks of ducks of various kinds, and Greenland pigeons, yet they were so shy that they could not come within shot of them.
In the morning of the 1st of May, seeing the Discovery standing into the bay, a boat was immediately sent to her assistance; and in the afternoon she moored close by us. They told us, that after the weather cleared up on the 28th, they found themselves to leeward of the bay; and that when they got abreast of it the following day, and saw the entrance choked up with ice, they stood off, after firing guns, concluding we could not be here; but finding afterward it was only loose drift ice, they had ventured in. The next day the weather was so very unsettled, attended with heavy showers of snow, that the carpenters were not able to proceed in their work. The thermometer stood at 28° in the evening, and the frost was exceedingly severe in the night.
The following morning, on our observing two sledges drive into the village, Captain Clerke sent me on shore, to enquire whether any message was arrived from the commander of Kamtschatka, which, according to the serjeant's account, might now be expected, in consequence of the intelligence that had been sent of our arrival. Bolcheretsk, by the usual route, is about one hundred and thirty-five English miles from Saint Peter and Saint Paul's. Our dispatches were sent off in a sledge drawn by dogs, on the 29th, about noon. And the answer arrived, as we afterward found, early this morning; so that they were only a little more than three days and a half in performing a journey of two hundred and seventy miles.
The return of the commander's answer was, however, concealed from us for the present; and I was told, on my arrival at the serjeant's, that we should hear from him the next day. Whilst I was on shore, the boat which had brought me, together with another belonging to the Discovery, were set fast in the ice, which a southerly wind had driven from the other side of the bay. On seeing them entangled, the Discovery's launch had been sent to their assistance, but shared the same fate; and in a short time the ice had surrounded them near a quarter of a mile deep. This obliged us to stay on shore till evening, when, finding no prospect of getting the boats off, some of us went in sledges to the edge of the ice, and were taken off by boats sent from the ship, and the rest staid on shore all night.
It continued to freeze hard during the night; but before morning, on the 4th, a change of wind drifted away the floating ice, and set the boats at liberty, without their having sustained the smallest damage.
About ten o'clock in the forenoon, we saw several sledges driving down to the edge of the ice, and sent a boat to conduct the persons who were in them on board. One of these was a Russian merchant, from Bolcheretsk, named Fedositch, and the other a German, called Port, who had brought a letter from Major Behm, the commander of Kamtschatka, to Captain Clerke. When they got to the edge of the ice, and saw distinctly the size of the ships, which lay within about two hundred yards from them, they appeared to be exceedingly alarmed; and, before they would venture to embark, desired two of our boat's crew might be left on shore as hostages for their safety. We afterward found, that Ismyloff, in his letter to the commander, had misrepresented us, for what reasons we could not conceive, as two small trading boats; and that the serjeant, who had only seen the ships at a distance, had not in his dispatches rectified the mistake.
When they arrived on board, we still found, from their cautious and timorous behaviour, that they were under some unaccountable apprehensions; and an uncommon degree of satisfaction was visible in their countenances, on the German's finding a person amongst us with whom he could converse. This was Mr Webber, who spoke that language perfectly well; and at last, though with some difficulty, convinced them that we were Englishmen and friends. Mr Port, being introduced to Captain Clerke, delivered to him the commander's letter, which was written in German, and was merely complimental, inviting him and his officers to Bolcheretsk, to which place the people who brought it were to conduct us. Mr Port, at the same time acquainted him, that the major had conceived a very wrong idea of the size of the ships, and of the service we were engaged in; Ismyloff, in his letter, having represented us as two small English packet boats, and cautioned him to be on his guard; insinuating, that he suspected us to be no better than pirates. In consequence of this letter, he said there had been various conjectures formed about us at Bolcheretsk; that the major thought it most probable we were on a trading scheme, and for that reason had sent down a merchant to us; but that the officer, who was second in command, was of opinion we were French, and come with some hostile intention, and was for taking measures accordingly. It had required, he added, all the major's authority to keep the inhabitants from leaving the town, and retiring up into the country, to so extraordinary a pitch had their fears risen from their persuasion that we were French.
Their extreme apprehensions of that nation were principally occasioned by some circumstances attending an insurrection that had happened at Bolcheretsk, a few years before, in which the commander had lost his life. We were informed, that an exiled Polish officer, named Beniowski, taking advantage of the confusion into which the town was thrown, had seized upon a galliot, then lying at the entrance of the Bolchoireka, and had forced on board a number of Russian sailors, sufficient to navigate her; that he had put on shore a part of the crew at the Kourile Islands, and among the rest, Ismyloff, who, as the reader will recollect, had puzzled us exceedingly at Oonalashka, with the history of this transaction; though, for want of understanding his language, we could not often make out all the circumstances attending it; that he passed in sight of Japan; made Luconia; and was there directed how to steer to Canton; that arriving there, he had applied to the French, and had got a passage in one of their India ships to France; and that most of the Russians had likewise returned to Europe in French ships, and had afterward found their way to Petersburg. We met with three of Beniowski's crew in the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul; and from them we learnt the circumstances of the above story.
On our arrival at Canton, we received a farther corroboration, of the facts from the gentlemen of the English factory; who told us, that a person had arrived there in a Russian galliot, who said he came from Kamtschatka, and that he had been furnished by the French factory with a passage to Europe.[14]
[14] It hath since appeared, from the Account of Kerguelen's Voyage, that this extraordinary person, who had entered into the French service, was commander of a new settlement at Madagascar, when Kerguelen touched there in 1774.
We could not help being much diverted with the fears and apprehensions of these good people, and particularly with the account Mr Port gave us of the serjeant's wary proceedings the day before. On seeing me come on shore, in company with some other gentlemen, he had made him and the merchant, who arrived in the sledges we had seen come in the morning, hide themselves in his kitchen, and listen to our conversation with one another, in hopes that by this means they might discover whether we were really English or not.
As we concluded, from the commission and dress of Mr Port, that he might probably he the commander's secretary, he was received as such, and invited, with his companion, the merchant, to dine with Captain Clerke; and though we soon began to suspect, from the behaviour of the latter toward him, that he was only a common servant, yet this being no time to sacrifice our little comforts to our pride, we prevented an explanation, by not suffering the question to be put to him; and, in return for the satisfaction we reaped from his abilities as a linguist, we continued to let him live on a footing of equality with us.
SECTION II.
Scarcity of Provisions and Stores at the Harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.--A Party set out to visit the Commander at Bolcheretsk.--Passage up the River Awatska.--Account of their Reception by the Toion of Karatchin.-- Description of a Kamtschadale Dress.--Journey on Sledges.--Description of this Mode of Travelling.--Arrival at Natcheekin.--Account of Hot Springs.--Embark on the Bolchoireka.--Reception at the Capital.--Generous and hospitable Conduct of the Commander and the Garrison.--Description of Bolcheretsk.--Presents from the Commander.--Russian and Kamtschadale Dancing.--Affecting Departure from Bolcheretsk.--Return to Saint Peter and Saint Paul's, accompanied by Major Behm, who visits the Ships.--Generosity of the Sailors.--Dispatches sent by Major Behm to Petersburg.--His Departure, and Character.
Being now enabled to converse with the Russians, by the aid of our interpreter, with tolerable facility, our first enquiries were directed to the means of procuring a supply of fresh provisions and naval stores; from the want of which latter article, in particular, we had been for some time in great distress. On enquiry, it appeared, that the whole stock of live cattle, which the country about the bay could furnish, amounted only to two heifers; and these the serjeant very readily promised to procure us. Our applications were next made to the merchant, but we found the terms upon which he offered to serve us so exorbitant, that Captain Clerke thought it necessary to send an officer to visit the commander at Bolcheretsk, and to enquire into the price of stores at that place. As soon as this determination was communicated to Mr Port, he dispatched an express to the commander to inform him of our intentions, and at the same time to clear us from the suspicions that were entertained with respect to the designation and purposes of our voyage.
Captain Clerke having thought proper to fix on me for this service, I received orders, together with Mr Webber, who was to accompany me as interpreter, to be ready to set out the next day. It proved, however, too stormy, as did also the 6th, for beginning a journey through so wild and desolate a country; but on the 7th, the weather appearing more favourable, we set out early in the morning in the ship's boats, with a view to reach the entrance of the Awatska at high water, on account of the shoals with which the mouth of that river abounds; here the country boats were to meet us, and carry us up the stream.
Captain Gore was now added to our party, and we were attended by Messrs Port and Fedositsch, with two cossacks, and were provided by our conductors with warm furred clothing; a precaution which we soon found very necessary, as it began to snow briskly just after we set out. At eight o'clock, being stopped by shoal water, about a mile from the mouth of the river, some small canoes, belonging to the Kamtschadales, took up us and our baggage, and carried us over a spit of sand, which is thrown up by the rapidity of the river, and which they told us was continually shifting. When we had crossed this shoal, the water again deepened, and here we found a commodious boat, built and shaped like a Norway yawl, ready to convey us up the river, together with canoes for our baggage.
The mouth of the Awatska is about a quarter of a mile broad, and, as we advanced, it narrowed very gradually. After we had proceeded a few miles, we passed several branches, which, we were told, emptied themselves into other parts of the bay; and that some of those on the left hand flowed into the Paratounca river. Its general direction from the bay, for the first ten miles, is to the north, after which it turns to the westward; this bend excepted, it preserves for the most part a straight course; and the country through which it flows, to the distance of near thirty miles from the sea, is low and flat, and subject to frequent inundations. We were pushed forward by six men, with long poles, three at each end of the boat, two of whom were cossacks, the others Kamtschadales, and advanced against a strong stream, at the rate, as well as I could judge, of about three miles an hour. Our Kamtshadales bore this severe labour with great stoutness for ten hours, during which we stopped only once, and that for a short time, whilst they took some little refreshment. As we had been told, at our first setting out in the morning, that we should easily reach an ostrog, called Karatchin, the same night, we were much disappointed to find ourselves, at sunset, fifteen miles from that place. This we attributed to the delay occasioned in passing the shoals we had met with, both at the entrance of the river, and in several other places as we proceeded up it; for our boat being the first that had passed up the river, the guides were not acquainted with the situation of the shifting sand-banks, and unfortunately the snow not having yet begun to melt, the shallowness of the river was at its extreme.
The fatigue our men had already undergone, and the difficulty of navigating the river, which would have been much increased by the darkness of the night, obliged us to give up all thoughts of continuing our journey that evening. Having therefore found a place tolerably sheltered, and cleared it of the snow, we erected a small marquée, which we had brought with us; and, by the assistance of a brisk fire, and some good punch, passed the night not very unpleasantly. The only inconvenience we laboured under was, the being obliged to make the fire at some distance from us. For, although the ground was to all appearance dry enough before, yet when the fire was alighted, it soon thawed all the parts round it into an absolute puddle. We admired much the alertness and expedition with which the Kamtschadales erected our marquée, and cooked our provisions; but what was most unexpected, we found they had brought with them their tea-kettles; considering it as the greatest of hardships not to drink tea two or three times a day.
We set out as soon as it was light in the morning, and had not advanced far, before we were met by the Toion, or chief of Karatchin, who had been apprised of our coming, and had provided canoes that were lighter, and better contrived for navigating the higher parts of the river. A commodious vessel, consisting of two canoes, lashed close together with cross spars, lined with bear-skins, and furnished with fur-cloaks, was also provided for us. We now went on very rapidly, the Toion's people being both stout and fresh, and remarkable for their expertness in this business. At ten we got to the ostrog, the seat of his command, where we were received at the water-side by the Kamtschadale men and women, and some Russian servants belonging to Fedositsch, who were employed in making canoes. They were all dressed out in their best clothes. Those of the women were pretty and gay, consisting of a full loose robe of white nankeen, gathered close round the neck, and fastened with a collar of coloured silk. Over this they wore a short jacket without sleeves, made of different-coloured nankeens, and petticoats of a slight Chinese silk. Their shirts, which had sleeves down to the wrist, were also of silk; and coloured silk handkerchiefs were bound round their heads, concealing entirely the hair of the married women, whilst those who were unmarried brought the handkerchief under the hair, and suffered it to flow loose behind.
This ostrog was pleasantly situated by the side of the river, and consisted of three log-houses, three jourts, or houses made under ground, and nineteen balagans, or summer habitations. We were conducted to the tent of the Toion, who was a plain decent man, born of a Russian woman, by a Kamtschadale father. His house, like all the rest in this country, was divided into two apartments. A long narrow table, with a bench round it, was all the furniture we saw in the outer; and the household stuff of the inner, which was the kitchen, was not less simple and scanty. But the kind attention of our host, and the hearty welcome we received, more than compensated for the poverty of his lodgings.
His wife proved an excellent cook, and served us with fish and game of different sorts, and various kinds of heath-berries, that had been kept since the last year. Whilst we were at dinner in this miserable hut, the guests of a people, with whose existence we had before been scarce acquainted, and at the extremity of the habitable globe, a solitary, half- worn pewter spoon, whose shape was familiar to us, attracted our attention; and, on examination, we found it stamped on the back with the word London. I cannot pass over this circumstance in silence, out of gratitude for the many pleasant thoughts, the anxious hopes, and tender remembrances it excited in us. Those who have experienced the effects that long absence and extreme distance from their native county produce on the mind, will readily conceive the pleasure such trifling incidents can give. To the philosopher and politician they may perhaps suggest reflections of a different nature.[15]
[15] Mr Dugald Stewart has not neglected to avail himself of this incident, to illustrate his observations on the power which certain perceptions or impressions on the senses possess to awaken associations.--E.
We were now to quit the river, and perform the next part of our journey on sledges; but the thaw had been too powerful in the day-time to allow us to set out till the cold of the evening had again made the surface of the snow hard and firm. This gave us an opportunity of walking about the village, which was the only place we had yet seen free from snow since we landed in this country. It stood upon a well-wooded flat, about a mile and a half in circumference. The leaves were just budding, and the verdure of the whole scene was strongly contrasted with the sides of the surrounding hills, which were still covered with snow. As the soil appeared to me very capable of producing all the common sorts of garden vegetables, I was greatly surprised not to find the smallest spot any where cultivated. If to this we add, that none of the inhabitants were possessed of cattle of any sort, nothing can be well conceived more wretched than their situation must be during the winter months.[16] They were at this time removing from their jourts into their balagans, which afforded us an opportunity of examining both these sorts of habitations; and they will be hereafter more particularly described. The people invited us into their houses with great good humour; a general air of cheerfulness and content was every where visible, to which the approaching change of season might probably not a little contribute.
[16] Even so lately as Captain Krusenstern's visit, the number of horned cattle at Saint Peter and Saint Paul's amounted to no more than ten cows and as many young heifers; of course, he remarks, there was no butter, and very little milk. But it is his opinion, that it would be extremely easy to support some hundred head there, as the place abounds in the finest grass. Elsewhere he informs us, that it is calculated there are about six hundred cattle in the whole of Kamtschatka; a number which, for obvious reasons, he thinks may and ought to be increased.--E.
On our return to the Toion's, we found supper prepared for us, which differed in nothing from our former repast; and concluded with our treating the Toion and his wife with some of the spirits we had brought with us, made into punch. Captain Gore, who had great generosity on all occasions, having afterward made them some valuable presents, they retired to the kitchen, leaving us in possession of the outward room, where, spreading our bear-skins on the benches, we were glad to get a little repose, having settled with our conductors to resume our journey as soon as the ground should be judged fit for travelling.
About nine o'clock the same evening we were awakened by the melancholy howlings of the dogs, which continued all the time our baggage was lashing upon the sledges; but as soon as they were yoked, and we were all prepared to set out, this changed into a light cheerful yelping, which, entirely ceased the instant they marched off. But before we set out, the reader may expect to be made more particularly acquainted with this curious mode of travelling.
The body of the sledge is about four feet and a half long, and a foot wide, made in the form of a crescent, of light tough wood, strongly bound together with wicker-work; which, in those belonging to the better sort of people, is elegantly stained of a red and blue colour, and the seat covered with bear-skins, or other furs. It is supported by four legs, about two feet high, which rest on two long flat pieces of wood, five or six inches broad, extending a foot at each end beyond the body of the sledge. These are turned up before in the manner of a skate, and shod with the bone of some sea-animal. The fore-part of the carriage is ornamented with thongs of leather and tassels of coloured cloth; and from the cross-bar, to which the harness is joined, are hung links of iron, or small bells, the jingling of which they conceive to be encouraging to the dogs. They are seldom used to carry more than one person at a time, who sits aside, resting his feet on the lower part of the sledge, and carrying his provisions and other necessaries, wrapped up in a bundle, behind him. The dogs are usually five in number, yoked two and two, with a leader. The reins, not being fastened to the head of the dogs, but to the collars, have little power over them, and are therefore generally hung upon the sledge, whilst the driver depends entirely on their obedience to his voice for the direction of them. With this view, the leader is always trained up with a particular degree of care and attention; some of them rising to a most extraordinary value on account of their docility and steadiness; insomuch, that for one of these, I am well assured, forty roubles (or ten pounds) was no unusual price. The driver is also provided with a crooked stick, which answers the purpose both of whip and reins; as, by striking it into the snow, he is enabled to moderate the speed of the dogs, or even to stop them entirely; and when they are lazy, or otherwise inattentive to his voice, he chastises them by throwing it at them. Upon these occasions their dexterity in picking it up again is very remarkable, and forms the principal difficulty of their art. But it is indeed not surprising that they should labour to be skilful in a practice upon which their safety so materially depends. For they say, that if the driver should happen to lose his stick, the dogs will instantly perceive it; and unless their leader be of the most sober and resolute kind, they will immediately run a-head full speed, and never stop till they are quite spent. But as that will not be the case soon, it generally happens that either the carriage is overturned, and dashed to pieces against the trees, or they hurry down some precipice, and are all buried in the snow. The accounts that were given us of the speed of these dogs, and of their extraordinary patience of hunger and fatigue, were scarcely credible, if they had not been supported by the best authority. We were indeed ourselves witnesses of the great expedition with which the messenger, who had been dispatched to Bolcheretsk with the news of our arrival, returned to the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, though the snow was at this time exceedingly soft. But I was informed, by the commander of Kamtschatka, that this journey was generally performed in two days and a half; and that he had once received an express from the latter place in twenty-three hours.