A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xiv Part 14

Next morning we paid a formal visit to Oreo, the chief of this part of the isle, carrying with us the necessary presents. We went through no sort of ceremony at landing, but were at once conducted to him. He was seated in his own house, which stood near the water side, where he and his friends received us with great cordiality. He expressed much satisfaction at seeing me again, and desired that we might exchange names, which I accordingly agreed to. I believe this is the strongest mark of friends.h.i.+p they can show to a stranger. He enquired after Tupia, and all the gentlemen, by name, who were with me when I first visited the island. After we had made the chief and his friends the necessary presents, we went on board with a hog, and some fruit, received from him in return; and in the afternoon he gave me another hog, still larger, without asking for the least acknowledgment.

Exchanges for fruit, &c. were mostly carried on alongside the s.h.i.+ps. I attempted to trade for these articles on sh.o.r.e, but did not succeed, as the most of them were brought in canoes from distant parts, and carried directly to the s.h.i.+ps.

After breakfast, on the 10th, Captain Furneaux and I paid the chief a visit; and we were entertained by him with such a comedy, or dramatic _heava_, as is generally acted in these isles. The music consisted of three drums, the actors were seven men, and one woman, the chief's daughter. The only entertaining part in the drama, was a theft committed by a man and his accomplice, in such a masterly manner, as sufficiently displayed the genius of the people in this vice. The theft is discovered before the thief has time to carry off his prize; then a scuffle ensues with those set to guard it, who, though four to two, are beat off the stage, and the thief and his accomplices bear away their plunder in triumph. I was very attentive to the whole of this part, being in full expectation that it would have ended very differently. For I had before been informed that _Teto_ (that is, the Thief) was to be acted, and had understood that the theft was to be punished with death, or a good _tiparahying_ (or beating), a punishment, we are told, they inflict on such as are guilty of this crime. Be this as it may, strangers are certainly excluded from the protection of this law; them they rob with impunity, on every occasion that offers. After the play was over, we returned on board to dinner; and in the cool of the evening took a walk on sh.o.r.e, where we learnt from one of the natives, that nine small islands, two of which were uninhabited, lay to the westward, at no great distance from hence.[1]

On the 11th, early in the morning, I had a visit from Oreo and his son, a youth about twelve years of age. The latter brought me a hog and some fruit; for which I made him a present of an axe, and dressed him in a s.h.i.+rt, and other things, which made him not a little proud of himself.

Having staid some hours, they went on sh.o.r.e; as I also did soon after, but to another part. The chief hearing I was on sh.o.r.e, came to the place where he found the boat, into which he put a hog and a quant.i.ty of fruit, without saying a word to any body, and, with some of his friends, came on board, and dined with us. After dinner I had a visit from Oo-oorou, the princ.i.p.al chief of the isle. He was introduced to us by Oreo, and brought with him, as a present, a large hog, for which I made him a handsome return. Oreo employed himself in buying hogs for me (for we now began to take of them), and he made such bargains as I had reason to be satisfied with. At length they all took leave, after making me promise to visit them next morning; which I accordingly did, in company with several of the officers and gentlemen. Oreo ordered an _heava_ to be acted for our entertainment, in which two very pretty young women were the actresses. This _heava_ was somewhat different from the one I saw before, and not so entertaining.

Oreo, after it was over, accompanied us on board, together with two of his friends.

The following day was spent much in the same manner; and early in the morning of the 14th, I sent Mr Pickersgill, with the Resolution's launch, and Adventure's cutter, to Otaha, to procure an additional supply of bananoes, and plantains, for a sea-store; for we could get little more of these articles at Ulietea than were sufficient for present consumption.

Oreo, and some of his friends, paid me a pretty early visit this morning. I acquainted the chief, that I would dine with him, and desired he would order two pigs to be dressed after their manner, which he accordingly did, and, about one o'clock, I, and the officers and gentlemen of both s.h.i.+ps, went to partake of them. When we came to the chiefs house, we found the cloth laid; that is, green leaves were strewed thick on the floor. Round them we seated ourselves; presently one of the pigs came over my head souce upon the leaves, and immediately after the other; both so hot as hardly to be touched. The table was garnished round with hot bread-fruit and plantains, and a quant.i.ty of cocoa-nuts brought for drink. Each man being ready, with his knife in his hand, we turned to without ceremony; and it must be owned, in favour of their cookery, that victuals were never cleaner, nor better dressed. For, though the pigs were served up whole, and one weighed between fifty and sixty pounds, and the other about half as much, yet all the parts were equally well done, and eat much sweeter than if dressed in any of our methods. The chief and his son, and some other of his male friends, eat with us, and pieces were handed to others who sat behind: For we had a vast crowd about us; so that it might be truly said we dined in public. The chief never failed to drink his gla.s.s of Madeira whenever it came to his turn, not only now, but at all other times when he dined with us, without ever being once affected by it. As soon as we had dined, the boat's crew took the remainder; and by them, and those about them, the whole was consumed. When we rose up, many of the common people rushed in, to pick up the crumbs which had fallen, and for which they searched the leaves very narrowly. This leads me to believe, that though there is plenty of pork at these isles, but little falls to their share.

Some of our gentlemen being present when these pigs were killed and dressed, observed the chief to divide the entrails, lard, &c. into ten or twelve equal parts, and serve it out to certain people. Several daily attended the s.h.i.+ps, and a.s.sisted the butchers, for the sake of the entrails of the hogs we killed. Probably little else falls to the share of the common people. It however must be owned, that they are exceedingly careful of every kind of provision, and waste nothing that can be eaten by man; flesh and fish especially.

In the afternoon we were entertained with a play. Plays, indeed, had been acted almost every day since we had been here, either to entertain _us_, or for their own amus.e.m.e.nt, or perhaps both.[2]

Next morning produced some circ.u.mstances which fully prove the timorous disposition of these people. We were surprised to find that none of them came off to the s.h.i.+ps as usual. Two men belonging to the Adventure having staid on sh.o.r.e all night, contrary to orders, my first conjectures were, that the natives had stripped them, and were now afraid to come near us, lest we should take some step to revenge the insult; but in order to be better satisfied, Captain Furneaux and I went ash.o.r.e to Oreo's house, which we found quite empty; he and all his family gone, and the whole neighbourhood, in a manner, quite deserted. The two men belonging to the Adventure made their appearance, and informed us that they had been very civilly treated by the natives, but could give no account of the cause of their precipitate flight. All that we could learn from the very few that durst come near us, was, that severals were killed, others wounded by our guns, pointing out to us where the b.a.l.l.s went in and out of the body, &c.

This relation gave me a good deal of uneasiness for the safety of our people gone to Otaha, fearing that some disturbance had happened at that island. However, in order to be better informed, I determined, if possible, to see the chief himself. Accordingly we embarked in our boat, having one of the natives with us, and rowed along sh.o.r.e to the northward, the way we were told he was gone. We soon came in sight of the canoe in which he was; but before we could come up with her he had got on sh.o.r.e. We landed presently after, and found he was gone still farther. An immense crowd, however, waited our landing, who entreated me to follow him. One man offered to carry me on his back; but the whole story appearing rather more mysterious than ever, and being all unarmed, I did not choose to separate myself from the boat, but embarked again, and rowed after him. We soon came before the place where our guide told us he was, and put in the boat accordingly. It grounded at some distance from the sh.o.r.e, where we were met by a venerable old lady, wife to the chief. She threw herself into my arms, and wept bitterly, insomuch that it was not possible to get one plain word from her. With this old lady in my hand I went ash.o.r.e, contrary to the advice of my young man from Otaheite, who was more afraid than any of us, probably believing every word the people had told us. I found the chief seated under the shade of a house, before which was a large area, and surrounded by a vast number of people. As soon as I came to him, he threw his arms about me, and burst into tears, in which he was accompanied by all the women, and some of the men, so that the lamentation became general; astonishment alone kept me from joining with them. It was some time before I could get a word from any one; at last, all my enquiries gave me no other information, than that they were alarmed on account of our boats being absent, thinking that the people in them had deserted from us, and that I should take some violent means to recover them. For when we a.s.sured them that the boats would return back, they seemed cheerful and satisfied, and to a man, denied that any one was hurt, either of their own or our people, and so it afterwards proved. Nor did it appear that there was the least foundation for these alarms, nor could we ever find out by what means this general consternation first took its rise. After a stay of about an hour, I returned on board, three of the natives coming along with us, who proclaimed the peace as we rowed along sh.o.r.e to all they saw.

Thus matters were again restored to their former footing, and the next morning they came off to the s.h.i.+ps as usual. After breakfast, Captain Furneaux and I paid the chief a visit; we found him at his own house perfectly easy, insomuch that he and some of his friends came on board and dined with us. I was now told that my Otaheitean young man, Poreo, had taken a resolution to leave me. I have just mentioned _before_, his being with us when I followed Oreo, and his advising me not to go on sh.o.r.e.

He was so much afraid at that time, that he remained in the boat till he heard all matters were reconciled; then he came out, and presently after, met with a young woman, for whom he had contracted a friends.h.i.+p. Having my powder-horn in keeping, he came and gave it to one of my people who was by me, and then went away with her, and I saw him no more.

In the afternoon, our boats returned from Otaha, pretty well laden with plantains, an article we were most in want of. They made the circuit of the island, conducted by one of the Earees, whose name was Boba, and were hospitably entertained by the people, who provided them with victuals and lodging. The first night, they were entertained with a play, the second, their repose was disturbed by the natives stealing their military chest.

This put them on making reprisals, by which means they recovered the most of what they had lost.

Having now got on board a large supply of refreshments, I determined to put to sea the next morning, and made the same known to the chief, who promised to see me again before we departed. At four o'clock we began to unmoor; and as soon as it was light, Oreo, his son, and some of his friends, came aboard. Many canoes also came off with fruit and hogs, the latter they even begged of us to take from them, calling out _Tiyo boa atoi_.--I am your friend, take my hog, and give me an axe. But our decks. were already so full of them, that we could hardly move, having, on board both s.h.i.+ps, between three and four hundred. By the increase of our stock, together with what we had salted and consumed, I judge that we got at this island 400 or upwards; many, indeed, were only roasters, others again weighed one hundred pounds, or upwards, but the general run was from forty to sixty. It is not easy to say how many we might have got, could we have found room for all that were offered us.

The chief, and his friends, did not leave me till we were under sail, and before he went away, pressed me much to know, if I would not return, and when? Questions which were daily put to me by many of these islanders. My Otaheitean youth's leaving me proved of no consequence, as many young men of this island voluntarily offered to come away with us. I thought proper to take on board one, who was about seventeen or eighteen years of age, named Oedidee, a native of Bolabola, and a near relation of the great Opoony, chief of that island. Soon after we were out of the harbour, and had made sail, we observed a canoe following us, conducted by two men; whereupon I brought-to, and they presently came alongside, having brought me a present of roasted fruit and roots from Oreo. I made them a proper return before I dismissed them, and then set sail to the west, with the Adventure in company.

[1] "The accounts of the situation and distances of these isles, were so various and so vague, that we could by no means depend upon them, for we never met with any man who had visited them; however, they served to convince us, that the natives of the Society Isles have sometimes extended their navigation farther than its present limits, by the knowledge they have of several adjacent countries. Tupaya (Tupia), the famous man who embarked at Taheitee in the Endeavour, had enumerated a much more considerable list of names, and had actually drawn a map of their respective situations and magnitudes, of which Lieutenant Pickersgill obligingly communicated a copy to me. In this map we found all the names now mentioned, except two; but if his drawing had been exact, our s.h.i.+ps must have sailed over a number of the islands which he had laid down. It is therefore very probable, that the vanity of appearing more intelligent than he really was, had prompted him to produce this fancied chart of the South Sea, and perhaps to invent many of the names of islands in it, which amounted to more than fifty."--G.F.

[2] Some of our readers might be profited, perhaps, by considering the moral of the following incident, which occurred at this play.--"Among the spectators we observed several of the prettiest women of this country; and one of them was remarkable for the whitest complexion we had ever seen on all these islands. Her colour resembled that of white wax a little sullied, without having the least appearance of sickness, which that hue commonly conveys; and her fine black eyes and hair contrasted so well with it, that she was admired by us all. She received at first a number of little presents, which were so many marks of homage paid at the shrine of beauty; but her success, instead of gratifying, only sharpened her love of trinkets, and she incessantly importuned every one of us, as long as she suspected we had a single bead left. One of the gentlemen fortunately happened to have a little padlock in his hand, which she begged for as soon as she had perceived it. After denying it for some time, he consented to give it her, and locked it in her ear, a.s.suring her that was its proper place. She was pleased for some time; but finding it too heavy, desired him to unlock it. He flung away the key, giving her to understand, at the same time, that he had made her the present at her own desire, and that if she found it enc.u.mbered her, she should bear it as a punishment for importuning us with her pet.i.tions. She was disconsolate upon this refusal, and weeping bitterly, applied to us all to open the padlock; but if we had been willing, we were not able to comply with her request, for want of the key. She applied to the chief, and he as well as his wife, son, and daughter, joined in praying for the release of her ear: They offered cloth, perfume-wood, and hogs, but all in vain. At last a small key was found to open the padlock, which put an end to the poor girl's lamentation, and restored peace and tranquillity among all her friends. Her adventure had, however, this good effect, that it cured her, and some of her forward country-women, of this idle habit of begging."--G.F.

SECTION XIV.

_An Account of a Spanish s.h.i.+p visiting Otaheite; the present State of the Islands; with some Observations on the Diseases and Customs of the Inhabitants; and some Mistakes concerning the Women corrected._

I shall now give some farther account of these islands; for, although I have been pretty minute in relating the daily transactions, some things, which are rather interesting, have been omitted.

Soon after our arrival at Otaheite, we were informed that a s.h.i.+p about the size of the Resolution, had been in at Owhaiurua harbour, near the S.E. end of the island, where she remained about three weeks; and had been gone about three months before we arrived. We were told that four of the natives were gone away with her, whose names were Debedebea, Paoodou, Tanadooee, and Opahiah. At this time, we conjectured this was a French s.h.i.+p, but, on our arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, we learnt she was a Spaniard, which had been sent out from America.[1] The Otaheiteans complained of a disease communicated to them by the people in this s.h.i.+p, which they said affected the head, throat, and stomach, and at length killed them. They seemed to dread it much, and were continually enquiring if we had it. This s.h.i.+p they distinguished by the name of _Pahai no Pep-pe_ (s.h.i.+p of Peppe), and called the disease _Apa no Pep-pe_, just as they call the venereal disease _Apa no Pretane_ (English disease), though they, to a man, say it was brought to the isle by M. de Bougainville; but I have already observed that they thought M. de Bougainville came from _Pretane_, as well as every other s.h.i.+p which has touched at the isle.

Were it not for this a.s.sertion of the natives, and none of Captain Wallis's people being affected with the venereal disease, either while they were at Otaheite, or after they left it, I should have concluded that long before these islanders were visited by Europeans, this or some disease which is near akin to it, had existed amongst them. For I have heard them speak of people dying of a disorder which we interpreted to be the pox before that period. But, be this as it will, it is now far less common amongst them, than it was in the year 1769, when I first visited these isles. They say they can cure it, and so it fully appears, for, notwithstanding most of my people had made pretty free with the women, very few of them were afterwards affected with the disorder; and those who were, had it in so slight a manner, that it is easily removed. But among the natives, whenever it turns to a pox, they tell us it is incurable. Some of our people pretend to have seen some of them who had this last disorder in a high degree, but the surgeon, who made it his business to enquire, could never satisfy himself in this point. These people are, and were, before Europeans visited them, very subject to scrophulous diseases, so that a seaman might easily mistake one disorder for another.[2]

The island of Otaheite, which, in the years 1767 and 1768, as it were, swarmed with hogs and fowls, was now so ill supplied with these animals, that hardly any thing could induce the owners to part with them. The few they had at this time, among them, seemed to be at the disposal of the kings. For while we lay at Oaitipiha Bay, in the kingdom of Tiarrabou, or lesser peninsula, every hog or fowl we saw we were told belonged to Waheatoua; and all we saw in the kingdom of Opoureonu, or the greater peninsula, belonged to Otoo. During the seventeen days we were at this island, we got but twenty-four hogs, the half of which came from the two kings themselves; and, I believe, the other half were sold us by their permission or order. We were, however, abundantly supplied with all the fruits the island produces, except bread-fruit, which was not in season either at this or the other isles. Cocoa-nuts and plantains were what we got the most of; the latter, together with a few yams and other roots, were to us a succedaneum for bread. At Otaheite we got great plenty of apples, and a fruit like a nectarine, called by them _Aheeva_. This fruit was common to all the isles; but apples we got only at Otaheite, and found them of infinite use to the s...o...b..tic people. Of all the seeds that have been brought to those islands by Europeans, none have succeeded but pumpkins; and these they do not like, which is not to be wondered at.

The scarcity of hogs at Otaheite may be owing to two causes; first, to the number which have been consumed, and carried off by the s.h.i.+pping which have touched here of late years; and, secondly, to the frequent wars between the two kingdoms. We know of two since the year 1767; at present a peace subsists between them, though they do not seem to entertain much friends.h.i.+p for each other. I never could learn the cause of the late war, nor who got the better in the conflict. In the battle, which put an end to the dispute, many were killed on both sides. On the part of Opoureonu, fell Toutaha, and several other chiefs, who were mentioned to me by name. Toutaha lies interred in the family Marai at Oparree; and his mother, and several other women who were of his household, are now taken care of by Otoo, the reigning prince--a man who, at first, did not appear to us to much advantage. I know but little of Waheatoua of Tiarrabou. This prince, who is not above twenty years of age, appeared with all the gravity of a man of fifty. His subjects do not uncover before him, or pay him any outward obeisance as is done to Otoo; nevertheless, they seem to shew him full as much respect, and he appeared in rather more state. He was attended by a few middle-aged, or elderly men, who seemed to be his counsellors. This is what appeared to me to be the then state of Otaheite. The other islands, that is, Huaheine, Ulietea, and Otaha, were in a more flouris.h.i.+ng state than they were when I was there before. Since that time, they had enjoyed the blessing of peace; the people seemed to be as happy as any under heaven; and well they may, for they possess not only the necessaries, but many of the luxuries of life in the greatest profusion; and my young man told me that hogs, fowls, and fruits, are in equal plenty at Bola-bola, a thing which Tupia would never allow. To clear up this seeming contradiction, I must observe, that the one was prejudiced against, and the other in favour of, this isle.

The produce of the islands, the manners and customs of the natives, &c.

having been treated at large in the narrative of my former voyage, it will be unnecessary to take notice of these subjects in this, unless where I can add new matter, or clear up any mistakes which may have been committed.

As I had some reason to believe, that amongst their religious customs, human sacrifices were sometimes considered as necessary, I went one day to a _Marai_ in Matavai, in company with Captain Furneaux; having with us, as I had upon all other occasions, one of my men who spoke their language tolerably well, and several of the natives, one of whom appeared to be an intelligent sensible man. In the _Marai_ was a _Tupapow_, on which lay a corpse and some viands; so that every thing promised success to my enquiries. I began with asking questions relating to the several objects before me, if the plantains, &c. were for the _Eatua_? If they sacrificed to the _Eatua_, hogs, dogs, fowls, &c.? To all of which he answered in the affirmative. I then asked, If they sacrificed men to the _Eatua_? He answered _Taata eno_; that is, bad men they did, first _Tipperahy_, or beating them till they were dead. I then asked him, If good men were put to death in this manner? His answer was No, only _Taata eno_. I asked him if any _Earees_ were? He said, they had hogs to give to the _Eatua_, and again repeated _Taatu eno_. I next asked, If _Towtows_, that is, servants or slaves, who had no hogs, dogs, or fowls, but yet were good men, if they were sacrificed to the _Eatua_? His answer was No, only bad men. I asked him several more questions, and all his answers seemed to tend to this one point, that men for certain crimes were condemned to be sacrificed to the G.o.ds, provided they had not wherewithal to redeem themselves. This, I think, implies, that on some occasions, human sacrifices are considered as necessary, particularly when they take such men as have, by the laws of their country, forfeited their lives, and have nothing to redeem them; and such will generally be found among the lower cla.s.s of people.

The man of whom I made these enquiries, as well as some others, took some pains to explain the whole of this custom to us; but we were not masters enough of their language to understand them. I have since learnt from Omai, that they offer human sacrifices to the Supreme Being. According to his account, what men shall be so sacrificed, depends on the caprice of the high priest, who, when they are a.s.sembled on any solemn occasion, retires alone into the house of G.o.d, and stays there some time. When he comes out, he informs them, that he has seen and conversed with their great G.o.d (the high priest alone having that privilege), and that he has asked for a human sacrifice, and tells them that he has desired such a person, naming a man present, whom, most probably, the priest has an antipathy against. He is immediately killed, and so falls a victim to the priest's resentment, who, no doubt (if necessary), has address enough to persuade the people that he was a bad man. If I except their funeral ceremonies, all the knowledge that has been obtained of their religion, has been from information: And as their language is but imperfectly understood, even by those who pretend to the greatest knowledge of it, very little on this head is yet known with certainty.[3]

The liquor which they make from the plant called _Ava ava_, is expressed from the root, and not from the leaves, as mentioned in the narrative of my former voyage. The manner of preparing this liquor is as simple as it is disgusting to an European. It is thus: Several people take some of the root, and chew it till it is soft and pulpy, then they spit it out into a platter or other vessel, every one into the same; when a sufficient quant.i.ty is chewed, more or less water is put to it, according as it is to be strong or weak; the juice, thus diluted, is strained through some fibrous stuff like fine shavings; after which it is fit for drinking, and this is always done immediately. It has a pepperish taste, drinks flat, and rather insipid. But, though it is intoxicating I only saw one instance where it had that effect, as they generally drink it with great moderation, and but little at a time. Sometimes they chew this root in their mouths, as Europeans do tobacco, and swallow their spittle; and sometimes I have seen them eat it wholly.

At Ulietea they cultivate great quant.i.ties of this plant. At Otaheite but very little. I believe there are but few islands in this sea, that do not produce more or less of it; and the natives apply it to the same use, as appears by Le Mair's account of Horn Island, in which he speaks of the natives making a liquor from a plant in the same manner as above mentioned.

Great injustice has been done the women of Otaheite, and the Society isles, by those who have represented them, without exception, as ready to grant the last favour to any man who will come up to their price. But this is by no means the case; the favours of married women, and also the unmarried of the better sort, are as difficult to be obtained here, as in any other country whatever. Neither can the charge be understood indiscriminately of the unmarried of the lower cla.s.s, for many of these admit of no such familiarities. That there are prost.i.tutes here, as well as in other countries, is very true, perhaps more in proportion, and such were those who came on board the s.h.i.+ps to our people, and frequented the post we had on sh.o.r.e. By seeing these mix indiscriminately with those of a different turn, even of the first rank, one is at first inclined to think that they are all disposed the same way, and that the only difference is in the price. But the truth is, the woman who becomes a prost.i.tute does not seem, in their opinion, to have committed a crime of so deep a dye as to exclude her from the esteem and society of the community in general. On the whole, a stranger who visits England might, with equal justice, draw the characters of the women there, from those which he might meet with on board the s.h.i.+ps in one of the naval ports, or in the purlieus of Covent-Garden and Drury-Lane. I must however allow, that they are all completely versed in the art of coquetry, and that very few of them fix any bounds to their conversation. It is therefore no wonder that they have obtained the character of libertines.

To what hath been said of the geography of these isles, in the narrative of my former voyage, I shall now only add, that we found the lat.i.tude of Oaiti-piha Bay, in Otaheite, to be 17 43' 26" south, and the longitude 0 21' 25" 1/2 east from Point Venus; or 149 13' 24" west from Greenwich. The difference both of lat.i.tude and longitude, between Point Venus and Oaiti- piha, is greater than I supposed it to be, when I made the circuit of the island in 1769, by two miles, and 4-3/4 miles respectively. It is therefore highly probable, that the whole island is of a greater extent than I, at that time, estimated it to be. The astronomers set up their observatory, and made their observations on Point Venus, the lat.i.tude of which they found to be 17 29' 13" south. This differs but two seconds from that which Mr Green and I found; and its longitude, viz. 149 34' 49" 1/2 west, for any thing that is yet known to the contrary, is as exact.

Mr Kendal's watch was found to be gaining on mean time 8" 863 per day, which is only 0" 142 less than at Queen Charlotte's Sound, consequently its error in longitude was trifling.

[1] "We heard that about the time mentioned by the natives, Don Juan de Langara y Huarte, sent out from the port of Callao in Peru, had visited Otaheite, but what the particulars of that voyage are, has never transpired."--G.F.

[2] We antic.i.p.ated such an opinion in a former volume, and cannot refrain quoting the following observations in support of it.--"The question, which has been agitated between the French and English navigators, concerning the first introduction of this evil to Otaheite, might be decided very favourably for them both, by supposing the disease to have existed there previous to their arrival. The argument, that some of Captain Wallis's people received the infection, does not seem to controvert this supposition, but only proves, that the women, who prostrated themselves to his men, were free from it; which was, perhaps, owing to a precaution of the natives, who might be apprehensive of exposing themselves to the anger of the strangers, by conferring such a desperate gift upon them. M. de Bougainville, with the politeness of a well-bred man, doubts whether the disease existed at Otaheite previous to his arrival or not; the English seaman a.s.serts his opinion as facts in positive terms. We heard, however, of another disease of a different nature, whilst we stayed upon the island; and which they called _o-pay-no-Peppe_, (the sore of Peppe), adding that it was brought by the s.h.i.+p which they designed by that name, and which, according to different accounts, had either been two, three, or four months before us at Otaheite. By the account of the symptoms, it seemed to be a kind of leprosy. Nothing is more easy than to imagine, how the strangers (Spaniards) who visited Otaheite in that s.h.i.+p, might be erroneously charged with introducing that disease. In order to give rise to a general error of this sort, it is sufficient that it broke out nearly about the time of their arrival, and that some distant connections between them and the persons affected could be traced.

This is the more probable, as it is certain, that there are several sorts of leprous complaints existing among the inhabitants, such as the elephantiasis, which resembles the yaws; also an eruption over the whole skin, and, lastly, a monstrous rotting ulcer, of a most loathsome appearance. However, all these very seldom occur, and especially the last; for the excellence of their climate, and the simplicity of their vegetable food, which cannot be too much extolled, prevent not only these, but almost all dangerous and deadly disorders."--G.F.

[3] The reader will be abundantly supplied with information respecting the fact of human sacrifices being used at this island, when he comes to the account of the third voyage performed by Cook.--E.

CHAPTER II.

FROM OUR DEPARTURE FROM THE SOCIETY ISLES, TO OUR RETURN TO AND LEAVING THEM THE SECOND TIME.

SECTION I.

_Pa.s.sage from Ulietea to the Friendly Islands, with an Account of the Discovery of Hervey's Island, and the Incidents that happened at Middleburg._

After leaving Ulietea, as before mentioned, I steered to the west, inclining to the south, to get clear of the tracts of former navigators, and to get into the lat.i.tude of the islands of Middleburgh and Amsterdam; for I intended to run as far west as these islands, and to touch there if I found it convenient, before I hauled up for New Zealand. I generally lay-to every night, lest we might pa.s.s any land in the dark. Part of the 21st and 22d the wind blew from N.W., attended with thunder, lightning, and rain, having a large swell from S.S.E. and S., which kept up for several days,-- an indication that no land was near us in that direction.

On the 23d, at ten o'clock in the morning, land was seen from the top-mast head, and at noon from the deck, extending from S. by W. to S.W. by S. We hauled up for it with the wind at S.E., and found it to consist of two or three small islets, connected together by breakers like most of the low isles in the sea, lying in a triangular form, and about six leagues in circuit. They were clothed with wood, among which were many cocoa-nut trees. We saw no people, or signs of inhabitants; and had reason to think there were none. The situation of this isle, which is in the lat.i.tude of 19 18' S., longitude 158 54' W., is not very different from that a.s.signed by Mr Dalrymple to La Dezena. But as this is a point not easily determined, I named it Hervey's Island, in honour of the Honourable Captain Hervey of the navy, one of the lords of the Admiralty, and afterwards Earl of Bristol.

As the landing on this isle, if practicable, would have caused a delay which I could ill spare at this time, we resumed our course to the west; and on the 25th we again began to use our sea-biscuits, the fruit which had served as a succedaneum being all consumed; but our stock of fresh pork still continued, each man having as much every day as was needful. In our route to the west we now and then saw men-of-war and tropic birds, and a small sea-bird, which is seldom seen but near the sh.o.r.es of the isles; we, therefore, conjectured that we had pa.s.sed some land at no great distance.

As we advanced to the west, the variation of the compa.s.s gradually increased, so that on the 29th, being in the lat.i.tude of 21 26' S., longitude 170 40' W., it was 10 45' E.

At two o'clock p.m. on the 1st of October, we made the island of Middleburg, bearing W.S.W.; at six o'clock it extended from S.W, by W. to N.W., distant four leagues, at which time another land was seen in the direction of N.N.W. The wind being at S.S.E., I hauled to the south, in order to get round the south end of the island before the morning; but at eight o'clock a small island was seen lying off it, and not knowing but they might be connected by a reef, the extent of which we must be ignorant of, I resolved to spend the night where we were. At day-break the next morning, we bore up for the S.W. side of Middleburg, pa.s.sing between it and the little isle above mentioned, where we found a clear channel two miles broad.[1]

After ranging the S.W. side of the greater isle, to about two-thirds of its length, at the distance of half a mile from the sh.o.r.e, without seeing the least prospect of either anchorage or landing-place, we bore away for Amsterdam, which we had in sight. We had scarcely turned our sails before we observed the sh.o.r.es of Middleburg to a.s.sume another aspect, seeming to offer both anchorage and landing. Upon this we hauled the wind, and plied in under the island. In the mean time, two canoes, each conducted by two or three men, came boldly alongside; and some of them entered the s.h.i.+p without hesitation. This mark of confidence gave me a good opinion of these islanders, and determined me to visit them, if possible.[2] After making a few trips, we found good anchorage, and came to in twenty-five fathoms water, and gravel bottom, at three cables' length from the sh.o.r.e. The highest land on the island bore S.E. by E.; the north point N.E. 1/2 E., and the west S. by W. 1/2 W., and the island of Amsterdam extending from N.