A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xiii Part 6

To these six islands, Ulietea, Otaha, Bolabola, Huaneine, Tubai, and Maurua, as they lie contiguous to each other, I gave the names of _Society Islands_, but did not think it proper to distinguish them separately by any other names than those by which they were known to the natives.

They are situated between the lat.i.tude of 16 10' and 16 55' S. and between the longitude of 150 57' and 152 W. from the meridian of Greenwich. Ulietea and Otaha lie within about two miles of each other, and are both inclosed within one reef of coral rocks, so that there is no pa.s.sage for s.h.i.+pping between them. This reef forms several excellent harbours; the entrances into them, indeed, are but narrow, yet when a s.h.i.+p is once in, nothing can hurt her. The harbours on the east side have been described already; and on the west side of Ulietea, which is the largest of the two, there are three. The northermost, in which we lay, is called _Ohamaneno_: The channel leading into it is about a quarter of a mile wide, and lies between two low sandy islands, which are the northermost on this side; between, or just within the two islands, there is good anchorage in twenty-eight fathom, soft ground.

This harbour, though small, is preferable to the others, because it is situated in the most fertile part of the islands, and where fresh water is easily to be got. The other two harbours lie to the southward of this, and not far from the south end of the island: In both of them there is good anchorage, with ten, twelve, and fourteen fathom. They are easily known by three small woody islands at their entrance. The southermost of these two harbours lies within, and to the southward of the southermost of these islands, and the other lies between the two northermost. I was told that there were more harbours at the south end of this island, but I did not examine whether the report was true.

Otaha affords two very good harbours, one on the east side, and the other on the west. That on the east side is called Ohamene, and has been mentioned already; the other is called _Oherurua_, and lies about the middle of the south-west side of the island; it is pretty large and affords good anchorage in twenty and twenty-five fathom, nor is there any want of fresh water. The breach in the reef, that forms a channel into this harbour, is about a quarter of a mile broad, and, like all the rest, is very steep on both sides; in general there is no danger here but what is visible.

The island of Bolabola lies N.W. and by W. from Otaha, distant about four leagues; it is surrounded by a reef of rocks, and several small islands, in compa.s.s together about eight leagues. I was told, that on the south-west side of the island there is a channel through the reef into a very good harbour, but I did not think it worth while to examine it, for the reasons that have been just a.s.signed. This island is rendered very remarkable by a high craggy hill, which appears to be almost perpendicular, and terminates at the top in two peaks, one higher than the other.

The land of Ulietea and Otaha is hilly, broken, and irregular, except on the sea-coast, yet the hills look green and pleasant, and are in many places clothed with wood. The several particulars in which these islands and their inhabitants differ from what we had observed at Otaheite, have been mentioned in the course of the narrative.

We pursued our course without any event worthy of note till the 13th, about noon, when we saw land bearing S.E. which Tupia told us was an island called _Oheteroa_. About six in the evening, we were within two or three leagues of it, upon which I shortened sail, and stood off and on all night; the next morning stood in for the land. We ran to leeward of the island, keeping close in sh.o.r.e, and saw several of the natives, though in no great numbers, upon the beach. At nine o'clock I sent Mr Gore, one of my lieutenants, in the pinnace, to endeavour to land upon the island, and learn from the natives whether there was anchorage in a bay then in sight, and what land lay farther to the southward. Mr Banks and Dr Solander accompanied Mr Gore in this expedition, and as they thought Tupia might be useful, they took him with them.

As the boat approached the sh.o.r.e, those on board perceived the natives to be armed with long lances; as they did not intend to land till they got round a point which run out at a little distance, they stood along the coast, and the natives therefore very probably thought they were afraid of them. They had now got together to the number of about sixty, and all of them sat down upon the sh.o.r.e, except two, who were dispatched forward to observe the motions of those in the boat. These men, after walking abreast of her some time, at length leaped into the water, and swam towards her, but were soon left behind; two more then appeared, and attempted to board her in the same manner, but they also were soon left behind; a fifth man then ran forward alone, and having got a good way ahead of the boat before he took to the water, easily reached her. Mr Banks urged the officer to take him in, thinking it a good opportunity to get the confidence and good will of a people, who then certainly looked upon them as enemies, but he obstinately refused: This man therefore was left behind like the others, and so was a sixth, who followed him.

When the boat had got round the point, she perceived that all her followers had desisted from the pursuit: She now opened a large bay, at the bottom of which appeared another body of men, armed with long lances like the first. Here our people prepared to land, and pushed towards the sh.o.r.e, a canoe at the same time putting off to meet them. As soon as it came near them, they lay upon their oars, and calling out to them, told them that they were friends, and that if they would come up they would give them nails, which were held up for them to see: After some hesitation they came up to the boat's stern, and took some nails that were offered them with great seeming satisfaction; but in less than a minute they appeared to have formed a design of boarding the boat, and making her their prize: Three of them suddenly leaped into it, and the others brought up the canoe, which the motion in quitting her had thrown off a little, manifestly with a design to follow their a.s.sociates, and support them in their attempt. The first that boarded the boat, entered close to Mr Banks, and instantly s.n.a.t.c.hed his powder-horn out of his pocket: Mr Banks seized it, and with some difficulty wrenched it out of his hand, at the same time pressing against his breast in order to force him over-board, but he was too strong for him, and kept his place: The officer then snapped his piece, but it missed fire, upon which he ordered some of the people to fire over their heads; two pieces were accordingly discharged, upon which they all instantly leaped into the water: One of the people, either from cowardice or cruelty, or both, levelled a third piece at one of them as he was swimming away, and the ball grazed his forehead; happily, however, the wound was very slight, for he recovered the canoe, and stood up in her as active and vigorous as the rest. The canoe immediately stood in for the sh.o.r.e, where a great number of people, not less than two hundred, were now a.s.sembled. The boat also pushed in, but found the land guarded all round with a shoal, upon which the sea broke with a considerable surf; it was therefore thought advisable by the officer to proceed along sh.o.r.e in search of a more convenient landing-place: In the mean time, the people on board saw the canoe go on sh.o.r.e, and the natives gather eagerly round her to enquire the particulars of what had happened. Soon after, a single man ran along the sh.o.r.e, armed with his lance, and when he came a-breast of the boat he began to dance, brandish his weapon, and call out in a very shrill tone, which Tupia said was a defiance from the people. The boat continued to row along the sh.o.r.e, and the champion followed it, repeating his defiance by his voice and his gestures; but no better landing-place being found than that where the canoe had put the natives onsh.o.r.e, the officer turned back with a view to attempt it there, hoping, that if it should not be practicable, the people would come to a conference either on the shoals or in their canoes, and that a treaty of peace might be concluded with them.

As the boat rowed slowly along the sh.o.r.e back again, another champion came down, shouting defiance, and brandis.h.i.+ng his lance: His appearance was more formidable than that of the other, for he wore a large cap made of the tail feathers of the tropic bird, and his body was covered with stripes of different coloured cloth, yellow, red, and brown. This gentleman also danced, but with much more nimbleness and dexterity than the first; our people therefore, considering his agility and his dress, distinguished him by the name of _Harlequin_. Soon after a more grave and elderly man came down to the beach, and hailing the people in the boat, enquired who they were, and from whence they came; Tupia answered in their own language, from Otaheite: The three natives then walked peaceably along the sh.o.r.e till they came to a shoal, upon which a few people were collected; here they stopped, and after a short conference, they all began to pray very loud: Tupia made his responses, but continued to tell us that they were not our friends. When their prayer, or, as they call it, their _Poorah_, was over, our people entered into a parley with them, telling them, that if they would lay by their lances and clubs, for some had one and some the other, they would come on sh.o.r.e, and trade with them for whatever they would bring: They agreed, but it was only upon condition that we would leave behind us our musquets: This was a condition which, however equitable it might appear, could not be complied with, nor indeed would it have put the two parties upon an equality, except their numbers had been equal. Here then the negotiation seemed to be at an end; but in a little time they ventured to come nearer to the boat, and at last came near enough to trade, which they did very fairly, for a small quant.i.ty of their cloth and some of their weapons; but as they gave our people no hope of provisions, nor indeed any thing else except they would venture through a narrow channel to the sh.o.r.e, which, all circ.u.mstances considered, they did not think it prudent to do, they put off the boat and left them.

With the s.h.i.+p and the boat we had now made the circuit of the island, and finding that there was neither harbour nor anchorage about it, and that the hostile disposition of the people would render landing impracticable, without bloodshed, I determined not to attempt it, having no motive that could justify the risk of life.

The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island; the bottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainly be seen at the depth of five-and-twenty fathom, which is one hundred and fifty feet.

This island is situated in the lat.i.tude of 22 27' S. and in the longitude of 150 47' W. from the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteen miles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous nor fertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in these seas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make their weapons, called in their language _etoa_; many plantations of it were seen along the sh.o.r.e, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouring islands, by a reef.

The people seemed to be l.u.s.ty and well-made, rather browner than those we had left: Under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad as the hand, the edges of which formed not a straight but an indented line: They had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round their arms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body.

Their dress was very different from any that we had seen before, as well as the cloth of which it was made. The cloth was of the same materials as that which is worn in the other islands, and most of that which was seen by our people was dyed of a bright but deep yellow, and covered on the outside with a composition like varnish, which was either red, or of a dark lead-colour; over this ground it was again painted in stripes of many different patterns, with wonderful regularity, in the manner of Our striped silks in England; the cloth that was painted red was striped with black, and that which was painted lead-colour with white. Their habit was a short jacket of this cloth, which reached about as low as their knees; it was of one piece, and had no other making than a hole in the middle of it, st.i.tched round with long st.i.tches, in which it differed from all that we had seen before: Through this hole the head was put, and what hung down was confined to their bodies by a piece of yellow cloth or sash, which, pa.s.sing round the neck behind, was crossed upon the breast, and then collected round the waist like a belt, which pa.s.sed over another belt of red cloth, so that they made a very gay and warlike appearance; some had caps of the feathers of the tropic bird, which have been before described, and some had a piece of white or lead-coloured cloth wound about the head like a small turban, which our people thought more becoming.

Their arms were long lances, made of the etoa, the wood of which is very hard; they were well polished and sharpened at one end: some were near twenty feet long, though not more than three fingers thick; they had also a weapon which was both club and pike, made of the same wood, about seven feet long; this also was well polished, and sharpened at one end into a broad point. As a guard against these weapons, when they attack each other, they have matts folded up many times, which they place under their clothes from the neck to the waist: The weapons themselves indeed are capable of much less mischief than those of the same kind which we saw at the other islands, for the lances were there pointed with the sharp bone of the stingray that is called the sting, and the pikes were of much greater weight. The other things that we saw here were all superior in their kind to any we had seen before; the cloth was of a better colour in the dye, and painted with greater neatness and taste; the clubs were better cut and polished, and the canoe, though a small one, was very rich in ornament, and the carving was executed in a better manner: Among other decorations peculiar to this canoe, was a line of small white feathers, which bung from the head and stern on the outside, and which, when we saw them, were thoroughly wetted by the spray.

Tupia told us, that there were several islands lying at different distances, and in different directions from this, between the south and the north-west; and that at the distance of three days sail to the north-east, there was an island called _Manua_, Bird-island: He seemed, however, most desirous that we should sail to the westward, and described several islands in that direction which he said he had visited: He told us that he had been ten or twelve days in going thither, and thirty in coming back, and that the _pahie_ in which he had made the voyage, sailed much faster than the s.h.i.+p: Reckoning his pahie therefore to go at the rate of forty leagues a-day, which from my own observation I have great reason to think these boats will do, it would make four hundred leagues in ten days, which I compute to be the distance of Boscawen and Keppel's Islands, discovered by Captain Wallis, westward of Ulietea, and therefore think it very probable that they were the islands he had visited.[47] The farthest island that he knew any thing of to the southward, he said, lay at the distance of about two days sail from Oteroah, and was called _Moutou_; but he said that his father had told him there were islands to the southward of that: Upon the whole, I was determined to stand southward in search of a continent, but to spend no time in searching for islands, if we did not happen to fall in with them during our course.

[Footnote 47: These and other islands since discovered in the South Sea, will be properly laid down in a map to be afterwards given. The chart that accompanied the preceding volume was restricted to the state of geographical knowledge at the time of publis.h.i.+ng Hawkesworth's work, and is, of coa.r.s.e, imperfect. But it was judged unadvisable to antic.i.p.ate recent information.--E.]

SECTION XXI.

_The Pa.s.sage from Oteroah to New Zealand; Incidents which happened on going a-sh.o.r.e there, and while the s.h.i.+p lay in Poverty Bay_.

We sailed from Oteroah on the 15th of August, and on Friday the 25th we celebrated the anniversary of our leaving England, by taking a Ches.h.i.+re cheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for this occasion, and tapping a cask of porter, which proved to be very good, and in excellent order. On the 29th, one of the sailors got so drunk, that the next morning he died: We thought at first that he could not have come honestly by the liquor, but we afterwards learnt that the boatswain, whose mate he was, had in mere good-nature given him part of a bottle of rum.

On the 30th we saw the comet: At one o'clock in the morning it was a little above the horizon in the eastern part of the heavens; at about half an hour after four it pa.s.sed the meridian, and its tail subtended an angle of forty-two degrees. Our lat.i.tude was 38 20' S., our longitude, by log, 147 6' W., and the variation of the needle, by the azimuth, 7 9' E. Among others that observed the comet, was Tupia, who instantly cried out, that as soon as it should be seen by the people of Bolabola, they would kill the inhabitants of Ulietea, who would with the utmost precipitation fly to the mountains.

On the 1st of September, being in the lat.i.tude of 40 22' S. and longitude 147 29' W, and there not being any signs of land, with a heavy sea from the westward, and strong gales, I wore, and stood back to the northward, fearing that we might receive such damage in our sails and rigging, as would hinder the prosecution of the voyage.

On the next day, there being strong gales to the westward, I brought-to, with the s.h.i.+p's head to the northward; but in the mooring of the 3d, the wind being more moderate, we loosened the reef of the mainsail, set the top-sails, plied to the westward.

We continued our course till the 19th, when our lat.i.tude being 29 and our longitude 159 29', we observed the variation to be 8 32' E. On the 24th, being in lat.i.tude 33 18', longitude 162 51', we observed a small piece of seaweed, and a piece of wood covered with barnacles: The variation here was 10 48' E.

On the 27th, being in lat.i.tude 28 59', longitude 169 5, we saw a seal asleep upon the water, and several bunches of sea-weed. The next day we saw more seaweed in bunches, and on the 29th, a bird, which we thought a land bird; it somewhat resembled a snipe, but had a short bill. On the 1st of October, we saw birds innumerable, and another seal asleep upon the water; it is a general opinion that seals never go out of soundings, or far from land, but those that we saw in these seas prove the contrary. Rock-weed is, however, a certain indication that, land is not far distant. The next day, it being calm, we hoisted out the boat to try whether there was a current, but found none. Our lat.i.tude was 37 10', longitude 172 54' W. On the 3d, being in lat.i.tude 36 56', longitude 17327', we took up more sea-weed, and another piece of wood covered with barnacles. The next day we saw two more seals, and a brown bird, about as big as a raven, with some white feathers under the wing.

Mr Gore told us, that birds of this kind were seen in great numbers about Falkland's Islands, and our people gave them the name of Port-Egmont hens.

On the 5th, we thought the water changed colour, but upon casting the lead, had no ground with 180 fathom. In the evening of this day, the variation was 12 50' E., and while we were going nine leagues it increased to 14 2'.

On the next day, Friday, October the 6th, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing W. by N. and stood directly for it; in the evening it could just be discerned from the deck, and appeared large. The variation this day was, by azimuth and amplitude, 15 4' 1/2 E., and by observation made of the sun and moon, the longitude of the s.h.i.+p appeared to be 180 55' W., and by the medium of this, and subsequent observations, there appeared to be an error in the s.h.i.+p's account of her longitude during her run from Otaheite of 3 16', she being so much to the westward of the longitude resulting from the log. At midnight I brought to and sounded, but had no ground with one hundred and seventy fathom.

On the 7th it fell calm, we therefore approached the land slowly, and in the afternoon, when a breeze sprang up, we were still distant seven or eight leagues. It appeared still larger as it was more distinctly seen, with four or five ranges of hills, rising one over the other, and a chain of mountains above all, which appeared to be of an enormous height. This land became the subject of much eager conversation; but the general opinion seemed to be that we had found the _terra australis incognita_. About five o'clock we saw the opening of a bay, which seemed to run pretty far inland, upon which we hauled our wind and stood in for it; we also saw smoke ascending from different places on sh.o.r.e. When night came on, however, we kept plying off and on till day-light, when we found ourselves to the leeward of the bay, the wind being at north: We could now perceive that the hills were clothed with wood, and that some of the trees in the valleys were very large. By noon we fetched in with the south-west point; but not being able to weather it, tacked and stood off: At this time we saw several canoes standing cross the bay, which in a little time made to sh.o.r.e, without seeming to take the least notice of the s.h.i.+p; we also saw some houses, which appeared to be small, but neat; and near one of them a considerable number of the people collected together, who were sitting upon the beach, and who, we thought, were the same that we had seen in the canoes. Upon a small peninsula, at the north-east head, we could plainly perceive a pretty high and regular paling, which inclosed the whole top of a hill; this was also the subject of much speculation, some supposing it to be a park of deer, others an inclosure for oxen and sheep. About four o'clock in the afternoon we anch.o.r.ed on the north-west side of the bay, before the entrance of a small river, in ten fathom water, with a fine sandy bottom, and at about half a league from the sh.o.r.e. The sides of the bay are white cliffs of a great height; the middle is low land, with hills gradually rising behind, one towering above another, and terminating in the chain of mountains which appeared to be far inland.

In the evening I went on sh.o.r.e, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with the pinnace and yawl and a party of men. We landed abreast of the s.h.i.+p, on the east side of the river, which was here about forty yards broad; but seeing some natives on the west side, whom I wished to speak with, and finding the river not fordable, I ordered the yawl in to carry us over, and left the pinnace at the entrance. When we came near the place where the people were a.s.sembled, they all ran away; however, we landed, and leaving four boys to take care of the yawl, we walked up to some huts which were about two or three hundred yards from the water-side. When we had got some distance from the boat, four men, armed with long lances, rushed out of the woods, and running up to attack the boat, would certainly have cut her off, if the people in the pinnace had not discovered them, and called to the boys to drop down the stream: The boys instantly obeyed; but being closely pursued by the Indians, the c.o.c.kswain of the pinnace, who had the charge of the boats, fired a musket over their heads; at this they stopped and looked round them, but in a few minutes renewed the pursuit, brandis.h.i.+ng their lances in a threatening manner: The c.o.c.kswain then fired a second musket over their heads, but of this they took no notice; and one of them lifting up his spear to dart it at the boat, another piece was fired, which shot him dead. When he fell, the other three stood motionless for some minutes, as if petrified with astonishment; as soon as they recovered, they went back, dragging after them the dead body, which, however, they soon left, that it might not enc.u.mber their flight. At the report of the first musket we drew together, having straggled to a little distance from each other, and made the best of our way back to the boat; and crossing the river, we soon saw the Indian lying dead upon the ground.

Upon examining the body, we found that he had been shot through the heart: He was a man of the middle size and stature; his complexion was brown, but not very dark; and one side of his face was tattowed in spiral lines of a very regular figure: He was covered with a fine cloth, of a manufacture altogether new to us, and it was tied on exactly according to the representation in Valentyn's Account of Abel Tasman's Voyage, vol. 3, part 2, page 50, his hair also was tied in a knot on the top of his head, but had no feather in it.[48] We returned immediately to the s.h.i.+p, where we could hear the people on sh.o.r.e talking with great earnestness, and in a very loud tone, probably about what had happened, and what should be done.

[Footnote 48: Abel Tasman was sent out by the Dutch East India Company in 1642, to take surveys of the new-found countries, and, if possible, to make discoveries. The account of his voyage was published in Low Dutch, by Dirk Rembrant. A French translation of it was given by Thevenot, in the 4th part of his collection, published at Paris, 1673, an abridgement of which was inserted in Harris's collection. Though curious and considerably important, his observations were long disregarded; and in particular, his discovery of New Zealand or Staaten Land, as he called it in honour of the States General, seems to have been either discredited or held immaterial or overlooked, till this voyage of Captain Cook obtained for it the notice it deserved. Then, as is not unusual, it attracted undue consideration and importance. Mr Finkerton has re-published the account of this voyage in his collection.

Tasman discovered New Zealand on the 13th September, 1642, but did not land on it, an unfortunate event having given him a total distrust of the natives. Some of them, after a good deal of backwardness and seeming fear, ventured to go on board the Heenskirk, which was the consort of his own vessel, named the Zee-Haan. Tasman, not liking their appearance, and being apprehensive of their hostile intentions, sent seven of his men to put the people of that vessel on their guard. The savages attacked them, killed three, and forced the others to seek their lives by swimming. This occasioned his giving the name of the Bay of Murderers, to the place where it happened. The rough weather prevented him from taking vengeance.--E.]

In the morning we saw several of the natives where they had been seen the night before, and some walking with a quick pace towards the place where we had landed, most of them unarmed; but three or four with long pikes in their hands. As I was desirous to establish an intercourse with them, I ordered three boats to be manned with seamen and marines, and proceeded towards the sh.o.r.e, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, the other gentlemen, and Tupia; about fifty of them seemed to wait for our landing, on the opposite side of the river, which we thought a sign of fear, and seated themselves upon the ground: At first, therefore, myself, with only Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia, landed from the little boat, and advanced towards them; but we had not proceeded many paces before they all started up, and every man produced either a long pike, or a small weapon of green talc, extremely well polished, about a foot long, and thick enough to weigh four or five pounds: Tupia called to them in the language of Otaheite; but they answered only by flouris.h.i.+ng their weapons, and making signs to us to depart; a musket was then fired wide of them, and the ball struck the water, the river being still between, us: They saw the effect, and desisted from their threats; but we thought it prudent to retreat till the marines could be landed. This was soon done; and they marched, with a jack carried before them, to a little bank, about fifty yards from the water-side; here they were drawn up, and I again advanced, with Mr Banks and Dr Solander; Tupia, Mr Green, and Mr Monkhouse, being with us. Tupia was again directed to speak to them, and it was with great pleasure that we perceived he was perfectly understood, he and the natives speaking only different dialects of the same language. He told them that we wanted provision and water, and would give them iron in exchange, the properties of which he explained as well as he was able. They were willing to trade, and desired that we would come over to them for that purpose: To this we consented, provided they would lay by their arms; which, however, they could by no means be persuaded to do. During this conversation, Tupia warned us to be upon our guard, for that they were not our friends: We then pressed them in our turn to come over to us; and at last one of them stripped himself, and swam over without his arms: He was almost immediately followed by two more, and soon after by most of the rest, to the number of twenty or thirty; but these brought their arms with them. We made them all presents of iron and heads; but they seemed to set little value upon either, particularly the iron, not having the least idea of its use; so that we got nothing in return but a few feathers: They offered indeed to exchange their arms for ours, and, when we refused, made many attempts to s.n.a.t.c.h them out of our hands. As soon as they came over, Tupia repeated his declaration, that they were not our friends, and again warned us to be upon our guard; their attempts to s.n.a.t.c.h our weapons, therefore, did not succeed; and we gave them to understand by Tupia, that we should be obliged to kill them if they offered any farther violence. In a few minutes, however, Mr Green happening to turn about, one of them s.n.a.t.c.hed away his hanger, and retiring to a little distance, waved it round his head with a shout of exultation: The rest now began to be extremely insolent, and we saw more coming to join them from the opposite side of the river. It was therefore become necessary to repress them, and Mr Banks fired at the man who had taken the hanger with small shot, at the distance of about fifteen yards: When the shot struck him, he ceased his cry; but instead of returning the hanger, continued to flourish it over his head, at the same time slowly retreating to a greater distance. Mr Monkhouse seeing this, fired at him with ball, and he instantly dropped. Upon this the main body, who had retired to a rock in the middle of the river upon the first discharge, began to return; two that were near to the man who had been killed, ran up to the body, one seized his weapon of green talc, and the other endeavoured to secure the hanger, which Mr Monkhouse had but just time to prevent. As all that had retired to the rock were now advancing, three of us discharged our pieces, loaded only with small shot, upon which they swam back for the sh.o.r.e; and we perceived, upon their landing, that two or three of them were wounded. They retired slowly up the country, and we re-embarked in our boats.

As we had unhappily experienced that nothing was to be done with these people at this place, and finding the water in the river to be salt, I proceeded in the boats round the head of the bay in search of fresh water, and with a design, if possible, to surprise some of the natives, and take them on board, where by kind treatment and presents I might obtain their friends.h.i.+p, and by their means establish an amicable correspondence with their countrymen.

To my great regret, I found no place where I could land, a dangerous surf every where beating upon the sh.o.r.e; but I saw two canoes coming in from the sea, one under sail, and the other worked with paddles. I thought this a favourable opportunity to get some of the people into my possession without mischief, as those in the canoe were probably fishermen, and without arms, and I had three boats full of men. I therefore disposed the boats so as most effectually to intercept them in their way to the sh.o.r.e; the people in the canoe that was paddled perceived us so soon, that by making to the nearest land with their utmost strength, they escaped us; the other sailed on till she was in the midst of us, without discerning what we were; but the moment she discovered us, the people on board struck their sail, and took to their paddles, which they plied so briskly that she out-ran the boat. They were however within hearing, and Tupia called out to them to come along-side, and promised for us that they should come to no hurt: They chose, however, rather to trust to their paddles than our promises, and continued to make from us with all their power. I then ordered a musquet to be fired over their heads, as the least exceptionable expedient to accomplish my design, hoping it would either make them surrender or leap into the water. Upon the discharge of the piece, they ceased paddling; and all of them, being seven in number, began to strip, as we imagined to jump overboard; but it happened otherwise. They immediately formed a resolution not to fly, but to fight; and when the boat came up, they began the attack with their paddles, and with stones and other offensive weapons that were in the boat, so vigorously, that we were obliged to fire upon them in our own defence: Four were unhappily killed, and the other three, who were boys, the eldest about nineteen, and the youngest about eleven, instantly leaped into the water; the eldest swam with great vigour, and resisted the attempts of our people to take him into the boat by every effort that he could make: He was however at last overpowered, and the other two were taken up with less difficulty. I am conscious that the feeling of every reader of humanity will censure me for having fired upon these unhappy people, and it is impossible that, upon a calm review, I should approve it myself. They certainly did not deserve death for not chusing to confide in my promises; or not consenting to come on board my boat, even if they had apprehended no danger; but the nature of my service required me to obtain a knowledge of their country, which I could no otherwise effect than by forcing my way into it in a hostile manner, or gaining admission through the confidence and good-will of the people. I had already tried the power of presents without effect; and I was now prompted, by my desire to avoid further hostilities, to get some of them on board, as the only method left of convincing them that we intended them no harm, and had it in our power to contribute to their gratification and convenience. Thus far my intentions certainly were not criminal; and though in the contest, which I had not the least reason to expect, our victory might have been complete without so great an expence of life, yet in such situations, when the command to fire has been given, no man can restrain its excess, or prescribe its effect.[49]

[Footnote 49: It seems impossible to justify the transaction. Let conscience and the law of nature speak. Palliating circ.u.mstances may be allowed their full influence, but still there will remain enough in the deed, to spot the memory of our great and certainly humane navigator.

The life of man is the most sacred property under the heavens--its value is perhaps incalculable by any other means than an appeal to the consciousness of its dignity and importance, which every one who enjoys it possesses. It is worse than vain to set about considering the comparative value of different lives, in order to ascertain the momentum of the guilt of violating them in particular instances; and thus to depreciate the existence of savages, by comparing their habits, their manners, their enjoyments, and sufferings, with those of civilized people. A man's life is always valuable to himself, in the proportion of what he would give to secure and prolong it. Is not this the basis of the law, which excuses homicide when committed in self-defence? Does not that law imply the equality of lives in all cases, without disparagement of rank, station, or circ.u.mstances? Yet even that law, recognised in all countries worthy of notice for their intelligence and cultivation, required something of the nature of a purgation of the person, whom it at the same time absolved of the deadly guilt of the action. Dr Hawkesworth, in his General Introduction, which it was quite unnecessary to give entire in this work, argues the question of the lawfulness of such aggression as has been mentioned, on the abstract principle that the advantages of discoveries overbalance the evils attendant on the making of them. But admitting all that he says on the subject, which is _something_ more than he proves--admitting, in _this_ case, that the end justifies the means--still it may be contended with _propriety_, that those who have been entrusted with such commands are amenable to the fundamental laws of humanity and all good governments--Let it be proved that they have not exceeded their instructions, or availed themselves of a concession only problematically and in fact eventually just, to use force and deal out slaughter in conferring their favours. Let there be no relaxation of the solemnity and imposing aspect of the law in such cases, whatever there be of its retributive severity. Sailors in general, and our own in particular, as we may see even in the course of this narrative, are not to be trusted with the smallest discretionary power, where the lives of _naked_ men are concerned. The obvious contrast is too much for their pride; mercifulness of disposition does not mitigate its pungency. An abatement in the rigour of the law unfortunately flatters their prejudices, and loosens the tie by which their pa.s.sions are feebly bound under a sense of duty and fear. The consequences are shocking and unavoidable. Abrogate entirely from these at all times unthinking men, the liberty of judgment as to the worth of life--let there be but one law for an Englishman and a savage--declare by the voice of justice, that though their skins have not the same hue, and though their hair be differently turned on their heads, yet their blood is the same, and that He that made one made the other also, and has the same interest in both. Such principles would facilitate discoveries, and would render them blessings. The maxims and the Conduct of William Penn, a name, a.s.sociated, as it no doubt is, with ideas of something extravagant, and perhaps with the opinion of something impracticable, nevertheless so dear and encouraging to humanity, are worthy of being set up in letters of gold before the eyes of all generations. "Whoever, (was his enactment for the regulation of intercourse with the natives of the country still bearing his name), whoever shall hurt, wrong, or offend any Indian, shall incur the same penalty as if he had offended in like manner against his fellow planter." He treated these savages as his brethren, and he made them such. They pledged themselves "to live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the sun and moon should endure"--nor did they violate their faith. It is lamentable to be constrained to join with Voltaire in saying, "this is the only treaty ever concluded betwixt Christians, and Savages that was not ratified by an oath; and the only one that never was broken!" Penn outlived the storms and malice of more than half a century of persecutions, and died in peace at the age of seventy-two. Who does not think of the _murder_ of Cook, with a feeling of _something more than common regret_ for the loss of a great and most estimable man!--E.]

As soon as the poor wretches whom we had taken out of the water were in the boat, they squatted down, expecting no doubt instantly to be put to death: We made haste to convince them of the contrary, by every method in our power; we furnished them with clothes, and gave them every other testimony of kindness that could remove their fears and engage their good-will. Those who are acquainted with human nature will not wonder, that the sudden joy of these young savages at being unexpectedly delivered from the fear of death, and kindly treated by those whom they supposed would have been their instant executioners, surmounted their concern for the friends they had lost, and was strongly expressed in their countenance and behaviour. Before we reached the s.h.i.+p, their suspicions and fears being wholly removed, they appeared to be not only reconciled to their situation but in high spirits, and upon being offered some bread when they came on board, they devoured it with a voracious appet.i.te. They answered and asked many questions, with great appearance of pleasure and curiosity; and when our dinner came, they expressed an inclination to taste every thing that they saw: They seemed best pleased with the salt pork, though we had other provisions upon the table. At sun-set, they eat another meal with great eagerness, each devouring a large quant.i.ty of bread, and drinking above a quart of water. We then made them beds upon the lockers, and they went to sleep with great seeming content. In the night, however, the tumult of their minds having subsided, and given way to reflection, they sighed often and loud. Tupia, who was always upon the watch to comfort them, got up, and by soothing and encouragement, made them not only easy but cheerful; their cheerfulness was encouraged, so that they sung a song with a degree of taste that surprised us: The tune was solemn and slow, like those of our Psalms, containing many notes and semitones. Their countenances were intelligent and expressive, and the middlemost, who seemed to be about fifteen, had an openness in his aspect, and an ease in his deportment, which were very striking: We found that the two eldest were brothers, and that their names were _Tuahourange_ and _Koikerange_; the name of the youngest was _Maragovete_. As we were returning to the s.h.i.+p, after having taken these boys into the boat, we picked up a large piece of pumice stone floating upon the water; a sure sign that there either is, or has been a volcano in this neighbourhood.

In the morning, they all seemed to be cheerful, and eat another enormous meal; after this we dressed them, and adorned them with bracelets, anclets, and necklaces, after their own fas.h.i.+on, and the boat being hoisted out, they were told that we were going to set them ash.o.r.e: This produced a transport of joy; but upon perceiving that we made towards our first landing-place near the river, their countenances changed, and they entreated with great earnestness that they might not be set ash.o.r.e at that place, because they said, it was inhabited by their enemies, who would kill them and eat them. This was a great disappointment to me; because I hoped the report and appearance of the boys would procure a favourable reception for ourselves. I had already sent an officer on sh.o.r.e with the marines and a party of men to cut wood, and I was determined to land near the place; not, however, to abandon the boys, if, when we got ash.o.r.e, they should be unwilling to leave us, but to send a boat with them in the evening to that part of the bay to which they pointed, and which they called their home. Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia were with me, and upon our landing with the boys, and crossing the river, they seemed at first to be unwilling to leave us; but at length they suddenly changed their mind, and, though not without a manifest struggle, and some tears, they took their leave: When they were gone, we proceeded along a swamp, with a design to shoot some ducks, of which we saw great plenty, and four of the marines attended us, walking abreast of us upon a bank that overlooked the country. After we had advanced about a mile, these men called out to us and told us, that a large body of the Indians was in sight, and advancing at a great rate.

Upon receiving this intelligence, we drew together, and resolved to make the best of our way to the boats; we had scarcely begun to put this into execution, when the three Indian boys started suddenly from some bushes, where they had concealed themselves, and again claimed our protection: we readily received them, and repairing to the beach as the clearest place, we walked briskly towards the boats. The Indians were in two bodies; one ran along the bank which had been quitted by the marines, the other fetched a compa.s.s by the swamp, so that we could not see them: When they perceived that we had formed into one body, they slackened their pace, but still followed us in a gentle walk: That they slackened their pace, was for us, as well as for them, a fortunate circ.u.mstance; for when we came to the side of the river, where we expected to find the boats that were to carry us over to the wooders, we found the pinnace at least a mile from her station, having been sent to pick up a bird which had been shot by the officer on sh.o.r.e, and the little boat was obliged to make three trips before we could all get over to the rest of the party. As soon as we were drawn up on the other side, the Indians came down, not in a body as we expected, but by two or three at a time, all armed, and in a short time their number increased to about two hundred: As we now despaired of making peace with them, seeing that the dread of our small arms did not keep them at a distance, and that the s.h.i.+p was too far off to reach the place with a shot, we resolved to re-embark, lest our stay should embroil us in another quarrel, and cost more of the Indians their lives. We therefore advanced towards the pinnace which was now returning, when one of the boys suddenly cried out, that his uncle was among the people who had marched down to us, and desired us to stay and talk with them: We complied, and a parley immediately commenced between them and Tupia; during which the boys held up every thing we had given them as tokens of our kindness and liberality; but neither would either of the boys swim over to them, or any of them to the boys. The body of the man who had been killed the day before, still lay exposed upon the beach; the boys seeing it lie very near us, went up to it, and covered it with some of the clothes that we had given them; and soon after a single man, unarmed, who proved to be the uncle of Maragovete, the youngest of the boys, swam over to us, bringing in his hand a green branch, which we supposed, as well here as at Otaheite, to be an emblem of peace. We received his branch by the hands of Tupia, to whom he gave it, and made him many presents; we also invited him to go on board the s.h.i.+p, but he declined it; we therefore left him, and expected that his nephew, and the two other young Indians, would have staid with him, but to our great surprise, they chose rather to go with us. As soon as we had retired, he went and gathered another green branch, and with this in his hand, he approached the dead body which the youth had covered with part of his clothes, walking sideways, with many ceremonies, and then throwing it towards him. When this was done, he returned to his companions, who had sat down upon the sand to observe the issue of his negociation: They immediately gathered round him, and continued in a body above an hour, without seeming to take any farther notice of us. We were more curious than they, and observing them with our gla.s.ses from on board the s.h.i.+p, we saw some of them cross the river upon a kind of raft, or catamarine, and four of them carry off the dead body which had been covered by the boy, and over which his uncle had performed the ceremony of the branch, upon a kind of bier, between four men: The other body was still suffered to remain where it had been first left.

After dinner, I directed Tupia to ask the boys, if they had now any objection to going ash.o.r.e, where we had left their uncle, the body having been carried off, which we understood was a ratification of peace: They said, they had not; and the boat being ordered, they went into it with great alacrity: When the boat, in which I had sent two mids.h.i.+pmen, came to land, they went willingly ash.o.r.e; but soon after she put off, they returned to the rocks, and wading into the, water, earnestly entreated to be taken on board again; but the people in the boat, having positive orders to leave them, could not comply. We were very attentive to what happened on sh.o.r.e, and keeping a constant watch with our gla.s.ses, we saw a man pa.s.s the river upon another raft, and fetch them to a place where forty or fifty of the natives were a.s.sembled, who closed round them, and continued in the same place till sun-set: Upon looking again, when we saw them in motion, we could plainly distinguish our three prisoners, who separated themselves from the rest, came down to the beach, and having waved their hands three times towards the s.h.i.+p, ran nimbly back and joined their companions, who walked leisurely away towards that part which the boys had pointed to as their dwelling-place; we had therefore the greatest reason to believe that no mischief would happen to them, especially as we perceived that they went off in the clothes we had given them.

After it was dark, loud voices were heard on sh.o.r.e in the bottom of the bay as usual, of which we could never learn the meaning.[50]

[Footnote 50: It is remarked in the account of Tasman's voyage, that the people of this island had very hoa.r.s.e, rough, strong voices.--E.]

SECTION XXII.

_A Description of Poverty Bay, and the Face of the adjacent Country. The Range from thence to Cape Turnagain, and back to Tolaga, with some Account of the People and the Country, and several Incidents that happened on that Part of the Coast_.

The next morning, at six o'clock, we weighed, and stood away from this unfortunate and inhospitable place, to which I gave the name of _Poverty Bay_, and which by the natives is called _Taoneroa_, or Long Sand, as it did not afford us a single article that we wanted except a little wood.

It lies in lat.i.tude 38 42' S. and longitude 181 36' W.; it is in the form of an horse-shoe, and is known by an island lying close under the north-east point: The two points which form the entrance are high, with steep white cliffs, and lie a league and a half, or two leagues, from each other, N.E. by E. and S.W. by W.; the depth of water in the bay is from twelve to five fathom, with a sandy bottom and good anchorage; but the situation is open to the wind between the south and east: Boats can go in and out of the river at any time of the tide in fine weather; but as there is a bar at the entrance, no boat can go either in or out when the sea runs high: The best place to attempt it, is on the north-east side, and it is there practicable when it is not so in any other part.

The sh.o.r.e of the bay, a little within its entrance, is a low flat sand; behind which, at a small distance, the face of the country is finely diversified by hills and valleys, all clothed with wood, and covered with verdure. The country also appears to be well inhabited, especially in the valleys leading up from the bay, where we daily saw smoke rising in clouds one behind another to a great distance, till the view terminated in mountains of a stupendous height.

The south-west point of the bay I named _Young Nick's Head_, after Nicholas Young, the boy who first saw the land; at noon, it bore N.W. by W. distant about three or four leagues, and we were then about three miles from the sh.o.r.e. The main-land extended from N.E. by N; to south, and I proposed to follow the direction of the coast to the southward as far as the lat.i.tude of 40 or 41; and then, if I met with no encouragement to proceed farther, to return to the northward.

In the afternoon we lay becalmed, which the people on sh.o.r.e perceiving, several canoes put off, and came within less than a quarter of a mile of the vessel; but could not be persuaded to come nearer, though Tupia exerted all the powers of his lungs and his eloquence upon the occasion, shouting, and promising that they should not be hurt. Another canoe was now seen coming from Poverty Bay, with only four people on board, one of whom we well remembered to have seen in our first interview upon the rock. This canoe, without stopping or taking the least notice of the others, came directly alongside of the s.h.i.+p, and with very little persuasion, we got the Indians on board. Their example was soon followed by the rest, and we had about us seven canoes, and about fifty men. We made them all presents with a liberal hand; notwithstanding which, they were so desirous to have more of our commodities, that they sold us every thing they had, even the clothes from their backs, and the paddles from their boats. There were but two weapons among them, these were the instruments of green talc, which were shaped somewhat like a pointed battledore, with a short handle and sharp edges; they were called _Patoo-Patoo_, and were well contrived for close-fighting, as they would certainly split the thickest scull at a single blow.