A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xv Part 45

On the 4th, at seven in the morning, we weighed, and, with a fresh gale at E.S.E., stood away for Annamooka, where we anch.o.r.ed next morning, nearly in the same station which we had so lately occupied.

I went on sh.o.r.e soon after, and found the inhabitants very busy in their plantations, digging up yams to bring to market; and, in the course of the day, about two hundred of them had a.s.sembled on the beach, and traded with as much eagerness, as during our late visit. Their stock appeared to have been recruited much, though we had returned so soon; but instead of bread-fruit, which was the only article we could purchase on our first arrival, nothing was to be seen now but yams, and a few plantains. This shews the quick succession of the seasons, at least of the different vegetables produced here, at the several times of the year. It appeared also that they had been very busy while we were absent in cultivating, for we now saw several large plantain fields, in places which we had so lately seen lying waste. The yams were now in the greatest perfection, and we procured a good quant.i.ty in exchanges for pieces of iron.

These people, in the absence of Toubou, whom we left behind us at Kotoo, with Poulaho and the other chiefs, seemed to be under little subordination. For we could not perceive this day that one man a.s.sumed more authority than another. Before I returned on board I visited the several places where I had sown melon seeds, and had the mortification to find that most of them were destroyed by a small ant; but some pine-apple plants, which I had also left, were in a thriving state.

About noon next day, Feenou arrived from Vavaoo. He told us, that several canoes, laden with hogs and other provisions, which had sailed with him from that island, had been lost, owing to the late blowing weather, and that every body on board them had perished. This melancholy tale did not seem to affect any of his countrymen who heard it, and, as to ourselves, we were by this time too well acquainted with his character to give much credit to such a story. The truth probably was, that he had not been able to procure at Vavaoo the supplies which he expected; or, if he got any there, that he had left them at Hepaee, which lay in his way back, and where he could not but receive intelligence that Poulaho had been with us; who, therefore, he knew, would, as his superior, have all the merit and reward of procuring them, though he had not any share of the trouble. The invention of this loss at sea was however well imagined, for there had lately been very blowing weather; insomuch, that the king, and other chiefs, who had followed us from Hepaee to Kotoo, had been left there, not caring to venture to sea when we did, but desired I might wait for them at Annamooka, which was the reason of my anchoring there this second time, and of my not proceeding directly to Tongataboo.

The following morning Poulaho, and the other chiefs who had been wind-bound with him, arrived. I happened, at this time, to be ash.o.r.e in company with Feenou, who now seemed to be sensible of the impropriety of his conduct, in a.s.suming a character that did not belong to him. For he not only acknowledged Poulaho to be King of Tongataboo, and the other isles, but affected to insist much on it, which, no doubt, was with a view to make amends for his former presumption. I left him to visit this greater man, whom I found sitting with a few people before him. But every one hastening to pay court to him, the circle increased pretty fast. I was very desirous of observing Feenou's behaviour on this occasion, and had the most convincing proof of his superiority, for he placed himself amongst the rest that sat before Poulaho, as attendants on his majesty. He seemed at first rather abashed, as some of us were present who had been used to see him act a different part; but he soon recovered himself. Some little conversation pa.s.sed between these two chiefs, which none of us understood, nor were we satisfied with Omai's interpretation of it. We were, however, by this time sufficiently undeceived as to Feenou's rank. Both he and Poulaho went on board with me to dinner, but only the latter sat at table. Feenou, having made his obeisance in the usual way, saluting his sovereign's foot with his head and hands, retired out of the cabin.[164] The king had before told us that this would happen, and it now appeared that Feenou could not even eat or drink in his royal presence.

[Footnote 164: Marks of profound respect, very similar to those paid by natives of the Friendly Islands to their sovereign, are also paid to the princ.i.p.al chiefs, or _Tamoles_, of the Caroline Islands, as appears from Father Cantova's account here transcribed. "Lorsqu'un _Tamole_ donne audience, il paroit a.s.sis sur une table elevee: les peuples s'inclinent devant lui jusqu'a terre; et du plus loin qu'ils arrivent, il marchent le corps tout courbe, et la tete presqu'entre les genoux, jusqu'a ce qu'ils soient aupres de sa personne; alors ils s'a.s.seyent a plate terre; et, les yeux baisses, il recoivent ses ordres avec le plus profond respect. Quand le _Tamole_ les congedie, ils se retirent, en se courbant de la meme maniere que quand ils sont venus, et ne se relevent que lorsqu'ils sont hors de sa presence. Ses paroles sont autant d'oracles qu'on revere; on rend a ses ordres une obeissance aveugle; enfin, on baise les mains et les pieds, quand on lui demande quelque grace."--_Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses_, _tom._ xv. p. 312, 313.--D.]

At eight o'clock next morning we weighed and steered for Tongataboo, having a gentle breeze at N.E. About fourteen or fifteen sailing-vessels, belonging to the natives, set out with us, but every one of them outrun the s.h.i.+ps considerably. Feenou was to have taken his pa.s.sage in the Resolution, but preferred his own canoe, and put two men on board to conduct us to the best anchorage. We steered S. by W. by compa.s.s.

At five in the afternoon we saw two small islands bearing W., about four leagues distant. Our pilots called the one Hoonga Hapaee, and the other Hoonga Tonga. They lie in the lat.i.tude of 20 36', and ten or eleven leagues from the W. point of Annamooka, in the direction of S. 46 W.

According to the account of the islanders on board, only five men reside upon Hoonga Hapaee, and Hoonga Tonga is uninhabited; but both of them abound with sea-fowl.

We continued the same course till two o'clock next morning, when, seeing some lights ahead, and not knowing whether they were on sh.o.r.e, or on board the canoes, we hauled the wind, and made a short trip each way till daybreak. We then resumed our course to the S. by W.; and presently after saw several small islands before us, and Eooa and Tongataboo beyond them. We had, at this time, twenty-five fathoms water, over a bottom of broken coral and sand. The depth gradually decreased as we drew near the isles above mentioned, which lie ranged along the N.E.

side of Tongataboo. By the direction of our pilots we steered for the middle of it, and for the widest s.p.a.ce between the small isles which we were to pa.s.s, having our boats ahead employed in sounding. We were insensibly drawn upon a large flat, upon which lay innumerable coral rocks, of different depths, below the surface of the water.

Notwithstanding all our care and attention to keep the s.h.i.+p clear of them, we could not prevent her from striking on one of these rocks. Nor did the Discovery, though behind us, escape any better. Fortunately, neither of the s.h.i.+ps stuck fast, nor received any damage. We could not get back without increasing the danger, as we had come almost before the wind. Nor could we cast anchor, but with the certainty of having our cables instantly cut in two by the rocks. We had no other resource but to proceed. To this, indeed, we were encouraged, not only by being told, but by seeing, that there was deeper water between us and the sh.o.r.e. However, that we might be better informed, the moment we found a spot where we could drop the anchor, clear of rocks, we came-to, and sent the masters with the boats to sound.

Soon after we had anch.o.r.ed, which was about noon, several of the inhabitants of Tongataboo came off in their canoes to the s.h.i.+ps. These, as well as our pilots, a.s.sured us that we should find deep water farther in, and a bottom free from rocks. They were not mistaken; for about four o'clock the boats made the signal for having found good anchorage. Upon this we weighed, and stood in till dark, and then anch.o.r.ed in nine fathoms, having a fine, clear, sandy bottom.

During the night we had some showers of rain, but toward the morning the wind s.h.i.+fted to the S. and S.E., and brought on fair weather. At day-break we weighed, and, working in to the sh.o.r.e, met with no obstructions, but such as were visible and easily avoided.

While we were plying up to the harbour, to which the natives directed us, the king kept sailing round us in his canoe. There were, at the same time, a great many small canoes about the s.h.i.+ps. Two of these, which could not get out of the way of his royal vessel, he run quite over, with as little concern as if they had been bits of wood. Amongst many others who came on board the Resolution, was Otago, who had been so useful to me when I visited Tongataboo during my last voyage, and one Toubou, who, at that time, had attached himself to Captain Furneaux.

Each of them brought a hog and some yams, as a testimony of his friends.h.i.+p; and I was not wanting, on my part, in making a suitable return.

At length, about two in the afternoon, we arrived at our intended station. It was a very snug place, formed by the sh.o.r.e of Tongataboo on the S.E. and two small islands on the E. and N.E. Here we anch.o.r.ed in ten fathoms water, over a bottom of oozy sand, distant from the sh.o.r.e one-third of a mile.

SECTION VII.

_Friendly Reception at Tongataboo.--Manner of distributing a baked Hog and Kava to Poulaho's Attendants.--The Observatory, &c. erected.--The Village where the Chiefs reside, and the adjoining Country, described.--Interviews with Mareewagee, and Toobou, and the King's Son.--A grand Haiva, or Entertainment of Songs and Dances, given by Mareewagee.--Exhibition of Fireworks.--Manner of Wrestling and Boxing.--Distribution of the Cattle.--Thefts committed by the Natives.--Poulaho, and the other Chiefs, confined on that Account.--Poulaho's Present and Haiva._

Soon after we had anch.o.r.ed, having first dined, I landed, accompanied by Omai and some of the officers. We found the king waiting for as upon the beach. He immediately conducted us to a small neat house, situated a little within the skirts of the wood, with a fine large area before it.

This house, he told me, was at my service during our stay at the island; and a better situation we could not wish for.

We had not been long in the house before a pretty large circle of the natives were a.s.sembled before us, and seated upon the area. A root of the _kava_ plant being brought, and laid down before the king, he ordered it to be split into pieces, and distributed to several people of both s.e.xes, who began the operation of chewing it, and a bowl of their favourite liquor was soon prepared. In the mean time, a baked hog, and two baskets of baked yams, were produced, and afterward divided into ten portions. These portions were then given to certain people present; but how many were to share in each I could not tell. One of them, I observed, was bestowed upon the king's brother, and one remained undisposed of, which, I judged, was for the king himself, as it was a choice bit. The liquor was next served out, but Poulaho seemed to give no directions about it. The first cup was brought to him, which he ordered to be given to one who sat near him. The second was also brought to him, and this he kept. The third was given to me, but their manner of brewing having quenched my thirst, it became Omai's property. The rest of the liquor was distributed to different people, by direction of the man who had the management of it. One of the cups being carried to the king's brother, he retired with this, and with his mess of victuals.

Some others also quitted the circle with their portions, and the reason was, they could neither eat nor drink in the royal presence; but there were others present, of a much inferior rank, of both s.e.xes, who did both. Soon after most of them withdrew, carrying with them what they had not eat of their share of the feast.

I observed that not a fourth part of the company had tasted either the victuals or the drink; those who partook of the former I supposed to be of the king's household. The servants who distributed the baked meat and the _kava_, always delivered it out of their hand sitting, not only to the king but to every other person. It is worthy of remark, though this was the first time of our landing, and a great many people were present who had never seen us before, yet no one was troublesome, but the greatest good order was preserved throughout the whole a.s.sembly.

Before I returned on board, I went in search of a watering-place, and was conducted to some ponds, or rather holes, containing fresh water, as they were pleased to call it. The contents of one of these indeed were tolerable, but it was at some distance inland, and the supply to be got from it was very inconsiderable. Being informed that the little island of Pangimodoo, near which the s.h.i.+ps lay, could better furnish this necessary article, I went over to it next morning, and was so fortunate as to find there a small pool that had rather fresher water than any we had met with amongst these islands. The pool being very dirty, I ordered it to be cleaned; and here it was that we watered the s.h.i.+ps.

As I intended to make some stay at Tongataboo, we pitched a tent in the forenoon, just by the house which Poulaho had a.s.signed for our use. The horses, cattle, and sheep, were afterward landed, and a party of marines, with their officer, stationed there as a guard. The observatory was then set up, at a small distance from the other tent; and Mr King resided on sh.o.r.e, to attend the observations, and to superintend the several operations necessary to be conducted there. For the sails were carried thither to be repaired; a party was employed in cutting wood for fuel, and plank for the use of the s.h.i.+ps; and the gunners of both were ordered to remain on the spot, to conduct the traffic with the natives, who thronged from every part of the island with hogs, yams, cocoa-nuts, and other articles of their produce. In a short time our land post was like a fair, and the s.h.i.+ps were so crowded with visitors, that we had hardly room to stir upon the decks.

Feenou had taken up his residence in our neighbourhood; but he was no longer the leading man. However we still found him to be a person of consequence, and we had daily proofs of his opulence and liberality, by the continuance of his valuable presents. But the king was equally attentive in this respect, for scarcely a day pa.s.sed without receiving from him some considerable donation. We now heard that there were other great men of the island whom we had not as yet seen. Otago and Toobou, in particular, mentioned a person named Mareewagee, who, they said, was of the first consequence in the place, and held in great veneration, nay, if Omai did not misunderstand them, superior even to Poulaho, to whom he was related; but being old, lived in retirement, and therefore would not visit us. Some of the natives even hinted that he was too great a man to confer that honour upon us. This account exciting my curiosity, I this day mentioned to Poulaho that I was very desirous of waiting upon Mareewagee; and he readily agreed to accompany me to the place of his residence the next morning.

Accordingly, we set out pretty early in the pinnace, and Captain Clerke joined me in one of his own boats. We proceeded round, that is, to the eastward of the little isles that form the harbour, and then, turning to the S., according to Poulaho's directions, entered a s.p.a.cious bay or inlet, up which we rowed about a league, and landed amidst a considerable number of people, who received us with a sort of acclamation, not unlike our huzzaing. They immediately separated, to let Poulaho pa.s.s, who took us into a small inclosure, and s.h.i.+fted the piece of cloth he wore for a new piece, neatly folded, that was carried by a young man. An old woman a.s.sisted in dressing him, and put a mat over his cloth, as we supposed, to prevent its being dirtied when he sat down. On our now asking him where Mareewagee was, to our great surprise, he said he had gone from the place to the s.h.i.+p just before we arrived. However, he desired us to walk with him to a _malaee_, or house of public resort, which stood about half a mile up the country. But when we came to a large area before it, he sat down in the path, and desired us to walk up to the house. We did so, and seated ourselves in front, while the crowd that followed us filled up the rest of the s.p.a.ce. After sitting a little while, we repeated our enquiries, by means of Omai, Whether we were to see Mareewagee? But receiving no satisfactory information, and suspecting that the old chief was purposely concealed from us, we went back to our boats much piqued at our disappointment; and when I got on board I found that no such person had been there. It afterward appeared, that in this affair we had laboured under some gross mistakes, and that our interpreter Omai had either been misinformed, or, which is more likely, had misunderstood what was told him about the great man, on whose account we had made this excursion.

The place we went to was a village, most delightfully situated on the bank of the inlet, where all, or most of the princ.i.p.al persons of the island reside, each having his house in the midst of a small plantation, with lesser houses, and offices for servants. These plantations are neatly fenced round; and, for the most part, have only one entrance.

This is by a door, fastened on the inside by a prop of wood, so that a person has to knock before he can get admittance. Public roads, and narrow lanes, lie between each plantation, so that no one trespa.s.seth upon another. Great part of some of these inclosures is laid out in gra.s.s-plots, and planted with such things as seem more for ornament than use; but hardly any were without the _kava_ plant, from which they make their favourite liquor. Every article of the vegetable produce of the island abounded in others of these plantations; but these, I observed, are not the residence of people of the first rank. There are some large houses near the public roads, with s.p.a.cious smooth gra.s.s-plots before them, and uninclosed. These, I was told, belonged to the king; and probably they are the places where their public a.s.semblies are held. It was to one of these houses, as I have already mentioned, that we were conducted soon after our landing at this place.

About noon, the next day, this Mareewagee, of whom we had heard so much, actually came to the neighbourhood of our post on sh.o.r.e, and with him a very considerable number of people of all ranks. I was informed, that he had taken this trouble on purpose to give me an opportunity of waiting upon him; having probably heard of the displeasure I had shewn on my disappointment the day before. In the afternoon, a party of us, accompanied by Feenou, landed, to pay him a visit. We found a person sitting under a large tree near the sh.o.r.e, a little to the right of the tent. A piece of cloth, at least forty yards long, was spread before him, round which a great number of people of both s.e.xes were seated. It was natural to suppose that this was the great man, but we were undeceived by Feenou, who informed us that another, who sat on a piece of mat, a little way from this chief, to the right hand, was Mareewagee, and he introduced us to him, who received us very kindly, and desired us to sit down by him. The person who sat under the tree, fronting us, was called Toobou; and, when I have occasion to speak of him afterward, I shall call him old Toobou, to distinguish him from his namesake, Captain Furneaux's friend. Both he and Mareewagee had a venerable appearance.

The latter was a slender man, and, from his appearance, seemed to be considerably above threescore years of age; the former was rather corpulent, and almost blind with a disorder of his eyes, though not so old.

Not expecting to meet with two chiefs on this occasion, I had only brought on sh.o.r.e a present for one. This I now found myself under a necessity of dividing between them; but it happened to be pretty considerable, and both of them seemed satisfied. After this, we entertained them for about an hour with the performance of two French horns and a drum. But they seemed most pleased with the firing off a pistol, which Captain Clerke had in his pocket. Before I took my leave, the large piece of cloth was rolled up, and, with a few cocoa-nuts, presented to me.

The next morning old Toobou returned my visit on board the s.h.i.+p. He also visited Captain Clerke; and if the present we made to him the evening before was scanty, the deficiency was now made up. During this time Mareewagee visited our people ash.o.r.e, and Mr King shewed to him, every thing we had there. He viewed the cattle with great admiration, and the cross-cut saw fixed his attention for some time.

Toward noon Poulaho returned from the place where we had left, him two days before, and brought with him his son, a youth about twelve years of age. I had his company at dinner; but the son, though present, was not allowed to sit down with him. It was very convenient to have him for my guest. For when he was present, which was generally the case while we stayed here, every other native was excluded from the table, and but few of them would remain in the cabin. Whereas, if by chance it happened that neither he nor Feenou were on board, the inferior chiefs would be very importunate to be of our dining party, or to be admitted into the cabin at that time, and then we were so crowded that we could not sit down to a meal with any satisfaction. The king was very soon reconciled to our manner of cookery. But still I believe he dined thus frequently with me more for the sake of what we gave him to drink, than for what we set before him to eat. For he had taken a liking to our wine, could empty his bottle as well as most men, and was as cheerful over it. He now fixed his residence at the house, or _malaee_, by our tent; and there he entertained our people this evening with a dance. To the surprise of every body the unwieldy Poulaho endeavoured to vie with others in that active amus.e.m.e.nt.

In the morning of the 15th I received a message from old Toobou that he wanted to see me ash.o.r.e. Accordingly Omai and I went to wait upon him.

We found him, like an ancient patriarch, seated under the shade of a tree, with a large piece of the cloth, made in the island, spread out at full length before him, and a number of respectably looking people sitting round it. He desired us to place ourselves by him; and then he told Omai, that the cloth, together with a piece of red feathers, and about a dozen cocoa-nuts, were his present to me. I thanked him for the favour, and desired he would go on board with me, as I had nothing on sh.o.r.e to give him in return.

Omai now left me, being sent for by Penlaho; and soon after Feenou came, and acquainted me that young Fattafaihe, Poulaho's son, desired to see me. I obeyed the summons, and found the prince and Omai sitting under a large canopy of the finer sort of cloth, with a piece of the coa.r.s.er sort spread under them and before them, that was seventy-six yards long, and seven and a half broad. On one side was a large old boar, and on the other side a heap of cocoa-nuts. A number of people were seated round the cloth, and amongst them I observed Mareewagee, and others of the first rank. I was desired to sit down by the prince; and then Omai informed me, that he had been instructed by the king to tell me, that, as he and I were friends, he hoped that his son might be joined in this friends.h.i.+p, and that, as a token of my consent, I would accept of his present. I very readily agreed to the proposal; and it being now dinner time, I invited them all on board.

Accordingly, the young prince, Mareewagee, old Toobou, three or four inferior chiefs, and two respectable old ladies of the first rank, accompanied me. Mareewagee was dressed in a new piece of cloth, on the skirts of which were fixed six pretty large patches of red feathers.

This dress seemed to have been made on purpose for this visit; for, as soon as he got on board, he put it off, and presented it to me; having, I guess, heard that it would be acceptable, on account of the feathers.

Every one of my visitors received from me such presents, as, I had reason to believe, they were highly satisfied with. When dinner came upon table, not one of them would sit down, or eat a bit, of any thing that was served up. On expressing my surprise at this, they were all _taboo_, as they said; which word has a very comprehensive meanings but, in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden. Why they were laid under such restraints, at present, was not explained. Dinner being over, and, having gratified their curiosity, by shewing to them every part of the s.h.i.+p, I then conducted them ash.o.r.e.

As soon as the boat reached the beach, Feenou, and some others, instantly stepped out. Young Fattafaihe following them, was called back by Mareewagee, who now paid the heir-apparent the same obeisance, and in the same manner, that I had seen it paid to the king. And when old Toobou, and one of the old ladies, had shewn him the same marks of respect, he was suffered to land. This ceremony being over, the old people stepped from my boat into a canoe that was waiting to carry them to their place of abode.

I was not sorry to be present on this occasion, as I was thus furnished with the most unequivocal proofs of the supreme dignity of Poulaho and his son, over the other princ.i.p.al chiefs. Indeed, by this time, I had acquired some certain information about the relative situations of the several great men, whose names have been so often mentioned. I now knew, that Mareewagee and old Toobou were brothers. Both of them were men of great property in the island, and seemed to be in high estimation with the people; the former, in particular, had the very honourable appellation given to him, by every body, of _Motooa Tonga_; that is to say, Father of Tonga, or of his country. The nature of his relations.h.i.+p to the king was also no longer a secret to us; for we now understood, that he was his father-in-law; Poulaho having married one of his daughters, by whom he had this son; so that Mareewagee was the prince's grandfather. Poulaho's appearance having satisfied us, that we had been under a mistake in considering Feenou as the sovereign of these islands, we had been, at first, much puzzled about his real rank; but that was, by this time, ascertained. Feenou was one of Mareewagee's sons; and Tooboueitoa was another.

On my landing, I found the king, in the house adjoining to our tent, along with our people who resided on sh.o.r.e. The moment I got to him, he bestowed upon me a present of a large hog and a quant.i.ty of yams. About the dusk of the evening, a number of men came, and, having sat down in a round group, began to sing in concert with the music of bamboo drums, which were placed in the centre.[165] There were three long ones, and two short. With these they struck the ground endwise, as before described. There were two others, which lay on the ground, side by side, and one of them was split or s.h.i.+vered; on these a man kept beating with two small sticks. They sung three songs while I stayed; and, I was told, that, after I left them, the entertainment lasted till ten o'clock. They burnt the leaves of the _wharra_ palm for a light; which is the only thing I ever saw them make use of for this purpose.

[Footnote 165: The same sort of evening concert is performed round the house of the chief, or _Tamole_, at the Caroline Islands. "Le _Tamole_ ne s'endort qu'au bruit d'un concert de musique que forme une troupe de jeunes gens, qui s'a.s.semblent le soir, autour de sa maison, et qui chantent, a leur maniere, certaines poesies."--_Lettres Edifiantes & Curieuses_, tom, xv. p. 314.--D.]

While I was pa.s.sing the day in attendance on these great men, Mr Anderson, with some others, made an excursion into the country, which furnished him with the following remarks: "To the westward of the tent, the country is totally uncultivated for near two miles, though quite covered with trees and bushes, in a natural state, growing with the greatest vigour. Beyond this is a pretty large plain, on which are some cocoa-trees, and a few small plantations that appear to have been lately made; and, seemingly, on ground that has never been cultivated before.

Near the creek, which runs to the westward of the tent, the land is quite flat, and partly overflowed by the sea every tide. When that retires, the surface is seen to be composed of coral rock, with holes of yellowish mud scattered up and down; and toward the edges, where it is a little firmer, are innumerable little openings, from which issue as many small crabs, of two or three different sorts, which swarm upon the spot, as flies upon a carcase; but are so nimble, that, on being approached, they disappear in an instant, and baffle even the natives to catch any of them.

At this place is a work of art, which shews that these people are capable of some design, and perseverance, when they mean to accomplish any thing. This work begins, on one side, as a narrow causeway, which, becoming gradually broader, rises, with a gentle ascent, to the height of ten feet, where it is five paces broad, and the whole length seventy-four paces. Joined to this is a sort of circus, whose diameter is thirty paces, and not above a foot or two higher than the causeway that joins it, with some trees planted in the middle. On the opposite side, another causeway of the same sort descends; but this is not above forty paces long, and is partly in ruin. The whole is built with large coral stones, with earth on the surface, which is quite overgrown with low trees and shrubs; and, from its decaying in several places, seems to be of no modern date. Whatever may have been its use formerly, it seems to be of none now; and all that we could learn of it from the natives was, that it belonged to Poulaho, and is called _Etchee_.

On the 16th, in the morning, after visiting the several works now carrying on ash.o.r.e, Mr Gore and I took a walk into the country; in the course of which nothing remarkable appeared, but our having opportunities of seeing the whole process of making cloth, which is the princ.i.p.al manufacture of these islands, as well as of many others in this ocean. In the narrative of my first voyage, a minute description is given of this operation, as performed at Otaheite; but the process, here, differing in some particulars, it may be worth while to give the following account of it:

The manufacturers, who are females, take the slender stalks or trunks of the paper-mulberry, which they cultivate for that purpose, and which seldom grow more than six or seven feet in height, and about four fingers in thickness. From these they strip the bark, and sc.r.a.pe off the outer rind with a muscle-sh.e.l.l. The bark is then rolled up, to take off the convexity which it had round the stalk, and macerated in water for some time (they say, a night). After this, it is laid across the trunk of a small tree squared, and beaten with a square wooden instrument, about a foot long, full of coa.r.s.e grooves on all sides; but, sometimes, with one that is plain. According to the size of the bark, a piece is soon produced; but the operation is often repeated by another hand, or it is folded several times, and beat longer, which seems rather intended to close than to divide its texture. When this is sufficiently effected, it is spread out to dry; the pieces being from four to six, or more, feet in length, and half as broad. They are then given to another person, who joins the pieces, by smearing part of them over with the viscous juice of a berry, called _tooo_, which serves as a glue. Having been thus lengthened, they are laid over a large piece of wood, with a kind of stamp, made of a fibrous substance pretty closely interwoven, placed beneath. They then take a bit of cloth, and dip it in a juice, expressed from the bark of a tree, called _kokka_, which they rub briskly upon the piece that is making. This, at once, leaves a dull brown colour, and a dry gloss upon its surface; the stamp, at the same time, making a slight impression, that answers no other purpose, that I could see, but to make the several pieces, that are glued together, stick a little more firmly. In this manner they proceed, joining and staining by degrees, till they produce a piece of cloth, of such length and breadth as they want; generally leaving a border, of a foot broad, at the sides, and longer at the ends, unstained. Throughout the whole, if any parts of the original pieces are too thin, or have holes, which is often the case, they glue spare bits upon them, till they become of an equal thickness. When they want to produce a black colour, they mix the soot procured from an oily nut, called _dooedooe_, with the juice of the _kokka_, in different quant.i.ties, according to the proposed depth of the tinge. They say, that the black sort of cloth, which is commonly most glazed, makes a cold dress, but the other a warm one; and, to obtain strength in both, they are always careful to join the small pieces lengthwise, which makes it impossible to tear the cloth in any direction but one.

On our return from the country, we met with Feenou, and took him, and another young chief, on board to dinner. When our fare was set upon the table, neither of them would eat a bit; saying, that they were _taboo avy_. But, after enquiring how the victuals had been dressed, having found that no _avy_ (water) had been used in cooking a pig; and some yams, they both sat down, and made a very hearty meal; and, on being a.s.sured that there was no water in the wine, they drank of it also. From this we conjectured, that, on some account or another, they were, at this time, forbidden to use water; or, which was more probable, they did not like the water we made use of, it being taken up out of one of their bathing-places. This was not the only time of our meeting with people that were _taboo avy_; but, for what reason, we never could tell with any degree of certainty.

Next day, the 17th, was fixed upon by Mareewagee, for giving a grand _Haiva_, or entertainment, to which we were all invited. For this purpose a large s.p.a.ce had been cleared, before the temporary hut of this chief, near our post, as an area where the performances were to be exhibited. In the morning, great mult.i.tudes of the natives came in from the country, every one carrying a pole, about six feet long, upon his shoulder; and at each end of every pole, a yam was suspended. These yams and poles were deposited on each side of the area, so as to form two large heaps, decorated with different sorts of small fish, and piled up to the greatest advantage. They were Mareewagee's present to Captain Clerke and me; and it was hard to say, whether the wood for fuel, or the yams for food, were of most value to us. As for the fish, they might serve to please the sight, but were very offensive to the smell; part of them having been kept two or three days, to be presented to us on this occasion.

Every thing being thus prepared, about eleven o'clock they began to exhibit various dances, which they call _mai_. The music[166] consisted, at first, of seventy men as a chorus, who sat down; and amidst them were placed three instruments, which we called drums, though very unlike them. They are large cylindrical pieces of wood, or trunks of trees, from three to four feet long, some twice as thick as an ordinary sized man, and some smaller, hollowed entirely out, but close at both ends, and open only by a c.h.i.n.k, about three inches broad, running almost the whole length of the drums; by which opening, the rest of the wood is certainly hollowed, though the operation must be difficult. This instrument is called _naffa_; and, with the c.h.i.n.k turned toward them, they sit and beat strongly upon it, with two cylindrical pieces of hard wood, about a foot long, and as thick as the wrist; by which means they produce a rude, though loud and powerful sound. They vary the strength and rate of their beating, at different parts of the dance; and also change the tones, by beating in the middle, or near the end, of their drum.

[Footnote 166: Mr Anderson's description of the entertainments of this day being much fuller than Captain Cook's, it has been adopted, as on a former occasion.--D.]