Volume 15 / Part 3 / Book 3 — CHAPTER II. (continued 2)

At one part of the reef, which looks into, or bounds, the lake that is within, there was a large bed of coral, almost even with the surface, which afforded, perhaps, one of the most enchanting prospects that nature has any where produced. Its base was fixed to the shore, but reached so far in that it could not be seen; so that it seemed to be suspended in the water, which deepened so suddenly, that at the distance of a few yards there might be seven or eight fathoms. The sea was at this time quite unruffled; and the sun shining bright, exposed the various sorts of coral in the most beautiful order; some parts branching into the water with great luxuriance; others lying collected in round balls, and in various other figures;--all which were greatly heightened by spangles of the richest colours, that glowed from a number of large clams, which were every where interspersed: But the appearance of these was still inferior to that of the multitude of fishes that glided gently along, seemingly with the most perfect security. The colours of the different sorts were the most beautiful that can be imagined, the yellow, blue, red, black, etc. far exceeding any thing that art can produce. Their various forms, also, contributed to increase the richness of this submarine grotto, which could not be surveyed without a pleasing transport, mixed however with regret, that a work so stupendously elegant should be concealed in a place where mankind could seldom have an opportunity of rendering the praises justly due to so enchanting a scene.[156]

[Footnote 156: How beautifully does Captain Cook's description illustrate those lines of Dr Young--

Gray has a similar thought in His inimitable elegy, which every reader will immediately recollect. Can it be imagined, that nature, which does nothing in vain, nor indeed without a reference to the being who is eminently signalized as lord of the lower creation, has been at pains to decorate these spots, but in anticipation, if one may use the expression, of the praise and enjoyment which their loveliness will some time or other occasion? He that remembers the nature and formation of the coral isles in the southern-ocean, will at once conjecture that the Great Architect is raising up the materials of a new world, which, from aught we can yet perceive, will not less indicate his power and goodness than that which we now inhabit. How readily, then, can imagination fashion out the future destiny of our globe, on the supposition that the conflagration by which its presently inhabited portions are expected to be destroyed, shall not be so complete as to annihilate it from the universe! Or, believing what is usually understood, by that event, on the authority of scripture, how clearly can reason deduce from present appearances certain minor, but nevertheless immense, changes, which it may undergo previous to this final dissolution! But the reader, it is probable, will not chuse to venture on so terrific an excursion, and there is a motive for caution with respect to it, with which it may not be amiss to apprise the too zealous enquirer. The fact is, that none of the causes which we know to be now operating on our globe, seem at all adequate to account for all the changes it has already undergone. We may, therefore, very fairly infer, that an indefinite allowance must be granted to exterior interference of some sort or other, the agency of which may altogether subvert whatever is now known to exist.--See Cuvier's Essay, lately published at Edinburgh.--E.]

There were no traces of inhabitants having ever been here, if we except a small piece of a canoe that was found upon the beach, which, probably, may have drifted from some other island. But, what is pretty extraordinary, we saw several small brown rats on this spot, a circumstance, perhaps, difficult to account for, unless we allow that they were imported in the canoe of which we saw the remains.

After the boats were laden I returned on board, leaving Mr Gore, with a party, to pass the night on shore, in order to be ready to go to work early the next morning.

That day, being the 15th, was accordingly spent as the preceding one had been, in collecting and bringing on board food for the cattle, consisting chiefly of palm-cabbage, young cocoa-nut trees, and the tender branches of the wharra tree. Having got a sufficient supply of these by sun-set, I ordered every body on board. But having little or no wind, I determined to wait, and to employ the next day by endeavouring to get some cocoa-nuts for our people from the next island to leeward, where we could observe that those trees were in much greater abundance than upon that where we had already landed, and where only the wants of our cattle had been relieved.

With this view I kept standing off and on all night, and in the morning, between eight and nine o'clock, I went with the boats to the W. side of the island, and landed with little difficulty. I immediately set the people with me to work to gather cocoa-nuts, which we found in great abundance. But to get them to our boats was a tedious operation, for we were obliged to carry them at least half a mile over the reef up to the middle in water. Omai, who was with me, caught, with a scoop net, in a very short time, as much fish as served the whole party on shore for dinner, besides sending some to both ships. Here were also great abundance of birds, particularly men-of-war and tropic birds, so that we fared sumptuously. And it is but doing justice to Omai to say, that in these excursions to the uninhabited islands he was of the greatest use; for he not only caught the fish, but dressed these, and the birds we killed, in an oven with heated stones, after the fashion of his country, with a dexterity and good-humour that did him great credit. The boats made two trips before night, well laden: With the last I returned on board, leaving Mr Williamson, my third lieutenant, with a party of men, to prepare another lading for the boats, which I proposed to send next morning.

I accordingly dispatched them at seven o'clock; and they returned laden by noon. No time was lost in sending them back for another cargo; and they carried orders for every body to be on board by sunset. This being complied with, we hoisted in the boats and made sail to the westward, with a light air of wind from the N.

We found this islet near a half larger than the other, and almost entirely covered with cocoa-palms, the greatest part of which abounded with excellent nuts, having often both old and young on the same tree. They were, indeed, too thick in many places to grow with freedom. The other productions were, in general, the same as at the other islet. Two pieces of board, one of which was rudely carved, with an elliptical paddle, were found on the beach. Probably these had belonged to the same canoe, the remains of which were seen on the other beach, as the two islets are not above half a mile apart. A young turtle had also been lately thrown ashore here; as it was still full of maggots. There were fewer crabs than at the last place; but we found some scorpions, a few other insects, and a greater number of fish upon the reefs. Amongst these were some large eels, beautifully spotted, which, when followed, would raise themselves out of the water, and endeavour with an open mouth to bite their pursuers. The other sorts were chiefly parrot-fish, snappers, and a brown spotted rock-fish, about the size of a haddock, so tame, that instead of swimming away, it would remain fixed and gaze at us. Had we been in absolute want, a sufficient supply might have been had; for thousands of the clams, already mentioned, stuck upon the reef, some of which weighed two or three pounds. There were, besides, some other sorts of shell-fish, particularly the large periwinkle. When the tide flowed several sharks came in over the reef, some of which our people killed, but they rendered it rather dangerous to walk in the water at that time.

The party who were left on shore with Mr Williamson, were a good deal pestered (as Mr Gore's had been) with musquitoes in the night. Some of them, in their excursions, shot two curlews, exactly like those of England, and saw some plovers, or sand-pipers, upon the shore; but in the wood no other bird, besides one or two of the cuckoos that were seen at Wenooa-ette.

Upon the whole, we did not spend our time unprofitably at this last islet, for we got there about twelve hundred cocoa-nuts, which were equally divided amongst the whole crew, and were, doubtless, of great use to them, both on account of the juice and of the kernel. A ship, therefore, passing this way, if the weather be moderate, may expect to succeed as we did. But there is no water upon either of the islets where we landed. Were that article to be had, and a passage could be got into the lake, as we may call it, surrounded by the reef, where a ship could anchor, I should prefer this to any of the inhabited islands, if the only want were refreshment. For the quantity of fish that might be procured would be sufficient, and the people might roam about unmolested by the petulance of any inhabitants.

The nine or ten low islets, comprehended under the name of Palmerston's Island, may be reckoned the heads or summits of the reef of coral rock that connects them together, covered only with a thin coat of sand, yet clothed, as already observed, with trees and plants, most of which are of the same sorts that are found on the low grounds of the high islands of this ocean.

There are different opinions amongst ingenious theorists concerning the formation of such low islands as Palmerston's. Some will have it, that in remote times these little separate heads or islets were joined, and formed one continued and more elevated tract of land, which the sea, in the revolution of ages, has washed away, leaving only the higher grounds; which, in time also, will, according to this theory, share the same fate. Another conjecture is, that they have been thrown up by earthquakes, and are the effect of internal convulsions of the globe. A third opinion, and which appears to me as the most probable one, maintains, that they are formed from shoals or coral banks, and, of consequence, increasing. Without mentioning the several arguments made use of in support of each of these systems, I shall only describe such parts of Palmerston's Island as fell under my own observation when I landed upon it.

The foundation is every where a coral rock; the soil is coral sand, with which the decayed vegetables have but in a few places intermixed, so as to form any thing like mould. From this a very strong presumption may be drawn, that these little spots of land are not of very ancient date, nor the remains of larger islands now buried in the ocean; for, upon either of these suppositions, more mould must have been formed, or some part of the original soil would have remained. Another circumstance confirmed this doctrine of the increase of these islets. We found upon them, far beyond the present reach of the sea even in the most violent storms, elevated coral rocks, which, on examination, appeared to have been perforated in the same manner that the rocks are that now compose the outer edge of the reef. This evidently shews that the sea had formerly reached so far; and some of these perforated rocks were almost in the centre of the land.

But the strongest proof of the increase, and from the cause we have assigned, was the gentle gradation observable in the plants round the skirts of the islands; from within a few inches of high-water mark to the edge of the wood. In many places, the divisions of the plants of different growths were very distinguishable, especially on the lee or west side. This I apprehend to have been the operation of extraordinary high tides, occasioned by violent, accidental gales from the westward, which have heaped up the sand beyond the reach of common tides. The regular and gentle operation of these latter, again, throw up sand enough to form a barrier against the next extraordinary high tide or storm, so as to prevent its reaching as far as the former had done, and destroying the plants that may have begun to vegetate from cocoa-nuts, roots, and seed brought thither by birds, or thrown up by the sea. This, doubtless, happens very frequently, for we found many cocoa-nuts, and some other things, just sprouting up, only a few inches beyond where the sea reaches at present, in places where it was evident they could not have had their origin from those farther in, already arrived at their full growth. At the same time, the increase of vegetables will add fast to the height of this new-created land, as the fallen leaves and broken branches are, in such a climate, soon converted into a true black mould or soil.[157]

[Footnote 157: Mr Anderson, in his journal, mentions the following particulars relative to Palmerston's Island, which strongly confirm Captain Cook's opinion about its formation. "On the last of the two islets, where we landed, the trees, being in great numbers, had already formed, by their rotten parts, little risings or eminences, which in time, from the same cause, may become small hills. Whereas, on the first islet, the trees being less numerous, no such thing had as yet happened. Nevertheless, on that little spot the manner of formation was more plainly pointed out; for, adjoining to it was a small isle, which had doubtless been very lately formed, as it was not as yet covered with any trees, but had a great many shrubs, some of which were growing among pieces of coral that the sea had thrown up. There was still a more sure proof of this method of formation a little farther on, where two patches of sand, about fifty yards long, and a foot or eighteen inches high, lay upon the reef, but not as yet furnished with a single bush or tree."--D.

In a former volume we quoted a passage from Dr Forster's observations respecting the formation of coral islands. Captain Flinders gives a similar account in vol. ii. p. 114, of his voyage, drawn up from his own observations on Half-way Island, on the north coast of Terra Australis. It is too long for this place. The reader will find it transcribed, together with Forster's, in the notes to the translation of Cuvier's work, already referred to.--E.]

Perhaps there is another cause, which, if allowed, will accelerate the increase of these islands as much as any other, and will also account for the sea having receded from those elevated rocks before mentioned. This is the spreading of the coral bank, or reef, into the sea, which, in my opinion, is continually, though imperceptibly, effected. The waves receding, as the reef grows in breadth and height, leave a dry rock behind, ready for the reception of the broken coral and sand, and every other deposit necessary for the formation of land fit for the vegetation of plants.

In this manner, there is little doubt, that in time the whole reef will become one island; and, I think, it will extend gradually inward, either from the increase of the islets already formed, or from the formation of new ones upon the beds of coral within the inclosed lake, if once they increase so as to rise above the level of the sea.

After leaving Palmerston's Island, I steered W., with a view to make the best of my way to Annamooka. We still continued to have variable winds, frequently between the N. and W., with squalls, some thunder, and much rain. During these showers, which were generally very copious, we saved a considerable quantity of water; and finding that we could get a greater supply by the rain in one hour than we could get by distillation in a month, I laid aside the still as a thing attended with more trouble than profit.

The heat, which had been great for about a month, became now much more disagreeable in this close rainy weather; and, from the moisture attending it, threatened soon to be noxious, as the ships could not be kept dry, nor the skuttles open, for the sea. However, it is remarkable enough, that though the only refreshment we had received since leaving the Cape of Good Hope was that at New Zealand, there was not as yet a single person on board sick from the constant use of salt food, or vicissitude of climate.

In the night between the 24th and 25th we passed Savage Island, which I had discovered in 1774; and on the 28th, at ten o'clock in the morning, we got sight of the islands which lie to the eastward of Annamooka, bearing N. by W. about four or five leagues distant. I steered to the S. of these islands, and then hauled up for Annamooka, which, at four in the afternoon, bore N.W. by N., Fallafajeea S.W. by S., and Komango N. by W., distant about five miles. The weather being squally, with rain, I anchored, at the approach of night, in fifteen fathoms deep water, over a bottom of coral-sand and shells, Komango bearing N.W. about two leagues distant.

SECTION IV.

Intercourse with the Natives of Komango, and other Islands.--Arrival at Annamooka.--Transactions there.--Feenou, a principal Chief, from Tongataboo, comes on a Visit.--The Manner of his Reception in the Island, and on board.--Instances of the pilfering Disposition of the Natives.--Some Account of Annamooka.--The Passage from it to Hapaee.

Soon after we had anchored, (April 28) two canoes, the one with four, and the other with three men, paddled toward us, and came alongside without the least hesitation. They brought some cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, plantains, and sugar-cane, which they bartered with us for nails. One of the men came on board; and when these canoes had left us, another visited us; but did not stay long, as night was approaching. Komango, the island nearest to us, was, at least, five miles off; which shews the hazard these people would run, in order to possess a few of our most trifling articles. Besides this supply from the shore, we caught, this evening, with hooks and lines, a considerable quantity of fish.

Next morning, at four o'clock, I sent Lieutenant King, with two boats, to Komango, to procure refreshments; and, at five, made the signal to weigh, in order to ply up to Annamooka, the wind being unfavourable at N.W.

It was no sooner day-light, than we were visited by six or seven canoes from different islands, bringing with them, besides fruits and roots, two pigs, several fowls, some large wood-pigeons, small rails, and large violet-coloured coots. All these they exchanged with us for beads, nails, hatchets, etc. They had also other articles of commerce; such as pieces of their cloth, fish-hooks, small baskets, musical reeds, and some clubs, spears, and bows. But I ordered, that no curiosities should be purchased, till the ships should be supplied with provisions, and leave given for that purpose. Knowing also, from experience, that, if all our people might trade with the natives, according to their own caprice, perpetual quarrels would ensue, I ordered that particular persons should manage the traffic both on board and on shore, prohibiting all others to interfere. Before mid-day, Mr King's boat returned with seven hogs, some fowls, a quantity of fruit and roots for ourselves, and some grass for the cattle. His party was very civilly treated at Komango. The inhabitants did not seem to be numerous; and their huts, which stood close to each other, within a plantain wall, were but indifferent. Not far from them was a pretty large pond of fresh water, tolerably good; but there was not any appearance of a stream. With Mr King, came on board the chief of the island, named Touboulangee; and another, whose name was Taipa. They brought with them a hog, as a present to me, and promised more the next day.

As soon as the boats were aboard, I stood for Annamooka; and the wind being scant, I intended to go between Annamooka-ette,[158] and the breakers to the S.E. of it. But, on drawing near, we met with very irregular soundings, varying, every cast, ten or twelve fathoms. This obliged me to give up the design, and to go to the southward of all; which carried us to leeward, and made it necessary to spend the night under sail. It was very dark; and we had the wind, from every direction, accompanied with heavy showers of rain. So that, at day-light the next morning, we found ourselves much farther off than we had been the evening before; and the little wind that now blew, was right in our teeth.

[Footnote 158: That is, Little Annamooka.]

We continued to ply, all day, to very little purpose; and, in the evening, anchored in thirty-nine fathoms water; the bottom coral rocks, and broken shells; the west point of Annamooka bearing E.N.E., four miles distant. Touboulangee and Taipa kept their promise, and brought off to me some hogs. Several others were also procured by bartering, from different canoes that followed us; and as much fruit as we could well manage. It was remarkable, that, during the whole day, our visitors from the islands would hardly part with any of their commodities to any body but me. Captain Clerke did not get above one or two hogs.

At four o'clock next morning, I ordered a boat to be hoisted out, and sent the master to sound the S.W. side of Annamooka; where there appeared to be a harbour, formed by the island on the N.E., and by small islets, and shoals, to the S.W. and S.E. In the mean time, the ships were got under sail, and wrought up to the island. When the master returned, he reported, that he had sounded between Great and Little Annamooka, where he found ten and twelve fathoms depth of water, the bottom coral sand; that the place was very well sheltered from all winds; but that there was no fresh water to be found, except at some distance inland; and that, even there, little of it was to be got, and that little not good. For this reason only, and it was a very sufficient one, I determined to anchor on the north side of the island, where, during my last voyage, I had found a place fit both for watering and landing.

It was not above a league distant; and yet we did not reach it till five o'clock in the afternoon, being considerably retarded by the great number of canoes that continually crowded round the ships, bringing to us abundant supplies of the produce of their island. Amongst these canoes there were some double ones, with a large sail, that carried between forty and fifty men each. These sailed round us, apparently, with the same ease as if we had been at anchor. There were several women in the canoes, who were, perhaps, incited by curiosity to visit us; though, at the same time, they bartered as eagerly as the men, and used the paddle with equal labour and dexterity; I came to an anchor in eighteen fathoms water, the bottom coarse coral sand; the island extending from E. to S.W.; and the W. point of the westernmost cove S.E., about three quarters of a mile distant. Thus I resumed the very same station which I had occupied when I visited Annamooka three years before; and, probably, almost in the same place where Tasman, the first discoverer of this, and some of the neighbouring islands, anchored in 1643.

The following day, while preparations were making for watering, I went ashore, in the forenoon, accompanied by Captain Clerke, and some of the officers, to fix on a place where the observatories might be set up, and a guard be stationed; the natives having readily given us leave. They also accommodated us with a boat-house, to serve as a tent, and shewed us every other mark of civility. Toobou, the chief of the island, conducted me and Omai to his house. We found it situated on a pleasant spot, in the centre of his plantation. A fine grass-plot surrounded it, which, he gave us to understand, was for the purpose of cleaning their feet, before they went within doors. I had not, before, observed such an instance of attention to cleanliness at any of the places I had visited in this ocean; but, afterward, found that it was very common at the Friendly Islands. The floor of Toobou's house was covered with mats; and no carpet, in the most elegant English drawing-room, could be kept neater. While we were on shore, we procured a few hogs, and some fruit, by bartering; and, before we got on board again, the ships were crowded with the natives. Few of them coming empty-handed, every necessary refreshment was now in the greatest plenty.

I landed again in the afternoon, with a party of marines; and, at the same time, the horses, and such of the cattle as were in a weakly state, were sent on shore. Every thing being settled to my satisfaction, I returned to the ship at sunset, leaving the command upon the island to Mr King. Taipa, who was now become our fast friend, and who seemed to be the only active person about us, in order to be near our party in the night, as well as the day, had a house brought, on men's shoulders, a full quarter of a mile, and placed close to the shed which our party occupied.

Next day, our various operations on shore began. Some were employed in making hay for the cattle; others in filling our water-casks at the neighbouring stagnant pool; and a third party in cutting wood. The greatest plenty of this last article being abreast of the ships, and in a situation the most convenient for getting it on board, it was natural to make choice of this. But the trees here, which our people erroneously supposed to be manchineel, but were a species of pepper, called faitanoo by the natives, yielded a juice of a milky colour, of so corrosive a nature, that it raised blisters on the skin, and injured the eyes of our workmen. They were, therefore, obliged to desist at this place, and remove to the cove, in which our guard was stationed, and where we embarked our water. Other wood, more suitable to our purposes, was there furnished to us by the natives. These were not the only employments we were engaged in, for Messrs King and Bayly began, this day, to observe equal altitudes of the sun, in order to get the rate of the timekeepers. In the evening, before the natives retired from our post, Taipa harangued them for some time. We could only guess at the subject; and judged, that he was instructing them how to behave toward us, and encouraging them to bring the produce of the island to market. We experienced the good effects of his eloquence, in the plentiful supply of provisions which, next day, we received.

Nothing worth notice happened on the 4th and 5th, except that, on the former of these days, the Discovery lost her small bower-anchor, the cable being cut in two by the rocks. This misfortune made it necessary to examine the cables of the Resolution, which were found to be unhurt.

On the 6th, we were visited by a great chief from Tongataboo, whose name was Feenou, and whom Taipa was pleased to introduce to us as King of all the Friendly Isles. I was now told, that, on my arrival, a canoe had been dispatched to Tongataboo with the news; in consequence of which, this chief immediately passed over to Annamooka. The officer on shore informed me, that when he first arrived, all the natives were ordered out to meet him, and paid their obeisance by bowing their heads as low as his feet, the soles of which they also touched with each hand, first with the palm, and then with the back part. There could be little room to suspect that a person, received with so much respect, could be any thing less than the king.

In the afternoon, I went to pay this great man a visit, having first received a present of two fish from him, brought on board by one of his servants. As soon as I landed, he came up to me. He appeared to be about thirty years of age, tall, but thin, and had more of the European features, than any I had yet seen here. When the first salutation was over, I asked if he was the king. For, notwithstanding what I had been told, finding he was not the man whom I remembered to have seen under that character during my former voyage, I began to entertain doubts. Taipa officially answered for him, and enumerated no less than one hundred and fifty-three islands, of which, he said, Feenou was the sovereign. After a short stay, our new visitor, and five, or six of his attendants, accompanied me on board. I gave suitable presents to them all, and entertained them in such a manner, as I thought would be most agreeable.

In the evening, I attended them on shore in my boat, into which the chief ordered three hogs to be put, as a return for the presents he had received from me. I was now informed of an accident which had just happened, the relation of which will convey some idea of the extent of the authority exercised here over the common people. While Feenou was on board my ship, an inferior chief, for what reason our people on shore did not know, ordered all the natives to retire from the post we occupied. Some of them having ventured to return, he took up a large stick, and beat them most unmercifully. He struck one man on the side of the face, with so much violence, that the blood gushed out of his mouth and nostrils; and, after lying some time motionless, he was, at last, removed from the place, in convulsions. The person who had inflicted the blow, being told that he had killed the man, only laughed at it; and, it was evident, that he was not in the least sorry for what had happened. We heard, afterward, that the poor sufferer recovered.

The Discovery having found again her small bower anchor, shifted her birth on the 7th; but not before her best bower cable had shared the fate of the other. This day I had the company of Feenou at dinner; and also the next day, when he was attended by Taipa, Toubou, and some other chiefs. It was remarkable, that none but Taipa was allowed to sit at table with him, or even to eat in his presence. I own that I considered Feenou as a very convenient guest, on account of this etiquette. For, before his arrival, I had, generally, a larger company than I could well find room for, and my table overflowed with crowds of both sexes. For it is not the custom at the Friendly Islands, as it is at Otaheite, to deny to their females the privilege of eating in company with the men.

The first day of our arrival at Annamooka, one of the natives had stolen, out of the ship, a large junk axe. I now applied to Feenou to exert his authority to get it restored to me; and so implicitly was he obeyed, that it was brought on board while we were at dinner. These people gave us very frequent opportunities of remarking what expert thieves they were. Even some of their chiefs did not think this profession beneath them. On the 9th, one of them was detected carrying out of the ship, concealed under his clothes, the bolt belonging to the spun-yarn winch; for which I sentenced him to receive a dozen lashes, and kept him confined till he paid a hog for his liberty. After this, we were not troubled with thieves of rank. Their servants, or slaves, however, were still employed in this dirty work; and upon them a flogging seemed to make no greater impression, than it would have done upon the main-mast. When any of them happened to be caught in the act, their masters, far from interceding for them, would often advise us to kill them. As this was a punishment we did not choose to inflict, they generally escaped without any punishment at all; for they appeared to us to be equally insensible of the shame and of the pain of corporal chastisement. Captain Clerke, at last, hit upon a mode of treatment, which, we thought, had some effect. He put them under the hands of the barber, and completely shaved their heads; thus pointing them out as objects of ridicule to their countrymen, and enabling our people to deprive them of future opportunities for a repetition of their rogueries, by keeping them at a distance.

Feenou was so fond of associating with us, that he dined on board every day; though, sometimes, he did not partake of our fare. On the 10th, some of his servants brought a mess, which had been dressed for him on shore. It consisted of fish, soup, and yams. Instead of common water to make the soup, cocoa-nut liquor had been made use of, in which the fish had been boiled or stewed; probably in a wooden vessel, with hot stones; but it was carried on board in a plantain leaf. I tasted of the mess, and found it so good, that I, afterward, had some fish dressed in the same way. Though my cook succeeded tolerably well, he could produce nothing equal to the dish he imitated.

Finding that we had quite exhausted the island of almost every article of food that it afforded, I employed the 11th in moving off, from the shore, the horses, observatories, and other things that we had landed, as also the party of marines who had mounted guard at our station, intending to sail, as soon as the Discovery should have recovered her best bow anchor. Feenou, understanding that I meant to proceed directly to Tongataboo, importuned me strongly to alter this plan, to which he expressed as much aversion, as if he had some particular interest to promote by diverting me from it. In preference to it, he warmly recommended an island, or rather a group of islands, called Hepaee, lying to the N.E. There, he assured us, we could be supplied plentifully with every refreshment, in the easiest manner; and, to add weight to his advice, he engaged to attend us thither in person. He carried his point with me; and Hepaee was made choice of for our next station. As it had never been visited by any European ships, the examination of it became an object with me.

The 12th and the 13th were spent in attempting the recovery of Captain Clerke's anchor, which, after much trouble, was happily accomplished; and on the 14th, in the morning, we got under sail, and left Annamooka.

This island is somewhat higher than the other small isles that surround it; but, still, it cannot be admitted to the rank of those of a moderate height, such as Mangeea and Wateeoo. The shore, at that part where our ships lay, is composed of a steep, rugged, coral rock, nine or ten feet high, except where there are two sandy beaches, which have a reef of the same sort of rock extending cross their entrance to the shore, and defending them from the sea. The salt-water lake that is in the centre of the island, is about a mile and a half broad; and round it the land rises like a bank, with a gradual ascent. But we could not trace its having any communication with the sea. And yet, the land that runs across to it, from the largest sandy beach, being flat and low, and the soil sandy, it is most likely that it may have, formerly, communicated that way. The soil on the rising parts of the island, and especially toward the sea, is either of a reddish clayey disposition, or a black, loose mould; but there is, no where, any stream of fresh water.

The island is very well cultivated, except in a few places; and there are some others, which, though they appear to lie waste, are only left to recover the strength exhausted by constant culture; for we frequently saw the natives at work upon these spots, to plant them again. The plantations consist chiefly of yams and plantains. Many of them are very extensive, and often inclosed with neat fences of reed, disposed obliquely across each other, about six feet high. Within these we often saw other fences of less compass, surrounding the houses of the principal people. The breadfruit, and cocoa-nut trees, are interspersed with little order, but chiefly near the habitations of the natives; and the other parts of the island, especially toward the sea, and about the sides of the lake, are covered with trees and bushes of a most luxuriant growth; the last place having a great many mangroves, and the first a vast number of the faitanoo trees already mentioned. There seem to be no rocks or stones, of any kind, about the island, that are not coral, except in one place, to the right of the sandy beach, where there is a rock twenty or thirty feet high, of a calcareous stone, of a yellowish colour, and a very close texture. But even about that place, which is the highest part of the land, are large pieces of the same coral rock that composes the shore.

Besides walking frequently up into the country, which we were permitted to do without interruption, we sometimes amused ourselves in shooting wild-ducks, not unlike the widgeon, which are very numerous upon the salt lake, and the pool where we got our water. In these excursions, we found the inhabitants had often deserted their houses to come down to the trading place, without entertaining any suspicion, that strangers, rambling about, would take away, or destroy, any thing that belonged to them. But though, from this circumstance, it might be supposed that the greater part of the natives were sometimes collected at the beach, it was impossible to form any accurate computation of their number; as the continual resort of visitors from other islands, mixing with them, might easily mislead one. However, as there was never, to appearance, above a thousand persons collected at one time, it would, perhaps, be sufficient to allow double that number for the whole island.

To the N. and N.E. of Annamooka, and in the direct track to Hepaee, whither we were now bound, the sea is sprinkled with a great number of small isles. Amidst the shoals and rocks adjoining to this group, I could not be assured that there was a free or safe passage for such large ships as ours, though the natives sailed through the intervals in their canoes. For this substantial reason, when we weighed anchor from Annamooka, I thought it necessary to go to the westward of the above islands, and steered N.N.W., toward Kao[159] and Toofoa, the two most westerly islands in sight, and remarkable for their great height. Feenou, and his attendants, remained on board the Resolution till near noon, when he went into the large sailing canoe, which had brought him from Tongataboo, and stood in amongst the cluster of islands above mentioned, of which we were now almost abreast; and a tide or current from the westward had set us, since our sailing in the morning, much over toward them.

[Footnote 159: As a proof of the great difficulty of knowing accurately the exact names of the South Sea Islands, as procured from the natives, I observe that what Captain Cook calls Aghao, Mr Anderson calls Kao; and Tasman's drawing, as I find it in Mr Dalrymple's Collection of Voyages, gives the name of Kayhay to the same island. Tasman's and Captain Cook's Amattafoa, is, with Mr Anderson, Tofoa. Captain Cook's Komango, is Tasman's Amango. There is scarcely an instance, in which such variations are not observable. Mr Anderson's great attention to matters of this sort being, as we learn from Captain King, well known to every body on board, and admitted always by Captain Cook himself, his mode of spelling has been adopted.--D.]

They lie scattered, at unequal distances, and are, in general, nearly as high as Annamooka; but only from two or three miles, to half a mile in length, and some of them scarcely so much. They have either steep rocky shores like Annamooka, or reddish cliffs; but some have sandy beaches extending almost their whole length. Most of them are entirely clothed with trees, amongst which are many cocoa palms, and each forms a prospect like a beautiful garden placed in the sea. To heighten this, the serene weather we now had contributed very much; and the whole might supply the imagination with an idea of some fairy land realized. It should seem, that some of them, at least, may have been formed, as we supposed Palmerston's Island to have been; for there is one, which, as yet, is entirely sand, and another, on which there is only one bush, or tree.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, being the length of Kotoo, the westernmost of the above cluster of small islands, we steered to the north, leaving Toofoa and Kao on our larboard, keeping along the west side of a reef of rocks, which lie to the westward of Kotoo, till we came to their northern extremity, round which we hauled in for the island. It was our intention to have anchored for the night; but it came upon us before we could find a place in less than fifty-five fathoms water; and rather than come-to in this depth, I chose to spend the night under sail.

We had, in the afternoon, been within two leagues of Toofoa, the smoke of which we saw several times in the day. The Friendly Islanders have some superstitious notions about the volcano upon it, which they call Kollofeea, and say it is an Otooa, or divinity. According to their account, it sometimes throws up very large stones; and they compare the crater to the size of a small islet, which has never ceased smoking in their memory; nor have they any tradition that it ever did. We sometimes saw the smoke rising from the centre of the island, while we were at Annamooka, though at the distance of at least ten leagues. Toofoa, we were told, is but thinly inhabited, but the water upon it is good.

At day-break the next morning, being then not far from Kao, which is a vast rock of a conic figure, we steered to the east, for the passage between the islands Footooha and Hafaiva, with a gentle breeze at S.E. About ten o'clock, Feenou came on board, and remained with us all day. He brought with him two hogs, and a quantity of fruit; and, in the course of the day, several canoes, from the different islands round us, came to barter quantities of the latter article, which was very acceptable, as our stock was nearly expended. At noon, our latitude was 19° 49' 45" S., and we had made seven miles of longitude from Annamooka; Toofoa bore N., 88° W.; Kao N., 71° W.; Footooha N., 89° W.; and Hafaiva S. 12° W.

After passing Footooha, we met with a reef of rocks; and, as there was but little wind, it cost us some trouble to keep clear of them. This reef lies between Footooha and Neeneeva, which is a small low isle, in the direction of E.N.E. from Footooha, at the distance of seven or eight miles. Footooha is a small island, of middling height, and bounded all round by a steep rock. It lies S. 67° E., distant six leagues from Kao, and three leagues from Kotoo, in the direction of N. 33° E. Being past the reef of rocks just mentioned, we hauled up for Neeneeva, in hopes of finding anchorage; but were again disappointed, and obliged to spend the night, making short boards. For, although we had land in every direction, the sea was unfathomable.

In the course of this night, we could plainly see flames issuing from the volcano upon Toofoa, though to no great height.

At day-break in the morning of the 16th, with a gentle breeze at S.E., we steered N.E. for Hepaee, which was now in sight; and we could judge it to be low land, from the trees only appearing above the water. About nine o'clock we could see it plainly forming three islands, nearly of an equal size; and soon after, a fourth to the southward of these, as large as the others. Each seemed to be about six or seven miles long, and of a similar height and appearance. The northernmost of them is called Haanno, the next Foa, the third Lefooga, and the southernmost Hoolaiva; but all four are included, by the natives, under the general name Hepaee.

The wind scanting upon us, we could not fetch the land, so that we were forced to ply to windward. In doing this, we once passed over some coral rocks, on which we had only six fathoms water; but the moment we were over them, found no ground with eighty-fathoms of line. At this time, the isles of Hepaee bore, from N., 50° E., to S., 9 W. We got up with the northernmost of these isles by sunset; and there found ourselves in the very same distress, for want of anchorage, that we had experienced the two preceding evenings; so that we had another night to spend under sail, with land and breakers in every direction. Toward the evening, Feenou, who had been on board all day, went forward to Hepaee, and took Omai in the canoe with him. He did not forget our disagreeable situation; and kept up a good fire, all night, by way of a land-mark.

As soon as the day-light returned, being then close in with Foa, we saw it was joined to Haanno, by a reef running even with the surface of the sea, from the one island to the other. I now dispatched a boat to look for anchorage. A proper place was soon found; and we came-to, abreast of a reef, being that which joins Lefooga to Foa (in the same manner that Foa is joined to Haanno), having twenty-four fathoms depth of water; the bottom coral sand. In this station, the northern point of Hepaee, or the north end of Haanno, bore N., 16° E. The southern point of Hepaee, or the south end of Hoolaiva, S., 29° W.; and the north end of Lefooga, S., 65° E. Two ledges of rocks lay without us; the one bearing S., 50° W.; and the other W. by N. 1/2 N., distant two or three miles. We lay before a creek in the reef, which made it convenient landing at all times; and we were not above three quarters of a mile from the shore.

SECTION V.

Arrival of the Ships at Hepaee, and friendly Reception there.--Presents and Solemnities on the Occasion.--Single Combats with Clubs.--Wrestling and Boxing Matches.--Female Combatants.--Marines exercised.--A Dance performed by Men.--Fireworks exhibited.--The Night-entertainments of Singing and Dancing particularly described.

By the time we had anchored, (May 17) the ships were filled with the natives, and surrounded by a multitude of canoes, filled also with them. They brought from the shore, hogs, fowls, fruit, and roots, which they exchanged for hatchets, knives, nails, beads, and cloth. Feenou and Omai having come on board, after it was light, in order to introduce me to the people of the island, I soon accompanied them on shore, for that purpose, landing at the north part of Lefooga, a little to the right of the ship's station.

The chief conducted me to a house, or rather a hut, situated close to the sea-beach, which I had seen brought thither, but a few minutes before, for our reception. In this, Feenou, Omai, and myself, were seated. The other chiefs, and the multitude, composed a circle, on the outside, fronting us; and they also sat down. I was then asked, How long I intended to stay? On my saying, Five days, Taipa was ordered to come and sit by me, and proclaim this to the people. He then harangued them, in a speech mostly dictated by Feenou. The purport of it, as I learnt from Omai, was, that they were all, both old and young, to look upon me as a friend, who intended to remain with them a few days; that, during my stay, they must not steal any thing, nor molest me any other way; and that it was expected, they should bring hogs, fowls, fruit, etc. to the ships, where they would receive, in exchange for them, such and such things, which he enumerated. Soon after Taipa had finished this address to the assembly, Feenou left us. Taipa then took occasion to signify to me, that it was necessary I should make a present to the chief of the island, whose name was Earoupa. I was not unprepared for this, and gave him such articles as far exceeded his expectation. My liberality to him brought upon me demands, of the same kind, from two chiefs of other isles who were present; and from Taipa himself. When Feenou returned, which was immediately after I had made the last of these presents, he pretended to be angry with Taipa for suffering me to give away so much; but I looked upon this as a mere finesse; being confident that he acted in concert with the others. He now took his seat again, and ordered Earoupa to sit by him, and to harangue the people as Taipa had done, and to the same purpose; dictating, as before, the heads of the speech.

These ceremonies being performed, the chief, at my request, conducted me to three stagnant pools of fresh water, as he was pleased to call it: And, indeed, in one of these the water was tolerable, and the situation not inconvenient for filling our casks. After viewing the watering-place, we returned to our former station, where I found a baked hog, and some yams, smoking hot, ready to be carried on board for my dinner. I invited Feenou, and his friends, to partake of it; and we embarked for the ship; but none but himself sat down with us at the table. After dinner I conducted them on shore; and, before I returned on board, the chief gave me a fine large turtle, and a quantity of yams. Our supply of provisions was copious; for, in the course of the day, we got, by barter, alongside the ship, about twenty small hogs, beside fruit and roots. I was told, that on my first landing in the morning, a man came off to the ships, and ordered every one of the natives to go on shore. Probably this was done with a view to have the whole body of inhabitants present at the ceremony of my reception; for when that was over, multitudes of them returned again to the ships.

Next morning early, Feenou, and Omai, who scarcely ever quitted the chief, and now slept on shore, came on board. The object of the visit was to require my presence upon the island. After some time, I accompanied them; and, upon landing, was conducted to the same place where I had been seated the day before; and where I saw a large concourse of people already assembled. I guessed that something more than ordinary was in agitation; but could not tell what, nor could Omai inform me.

I had not been long seated, before near a hundred of the natives appeared in sight, and advanced, laden with yams, bread-fruit, plantains, cocoa-nuts, and sugar-canes. They deposited their burdens, in two heaps, or piles, upon our left, being the side they came from. Soon after, arrived a number of others from the right, bearing the same kind of articles, which were collected into two piles upon that side. To these were tied two pigs, and six fowls; and to those upon the left, six pigs, and two turtles. Earoupa seated himself before the several articles upon the left; and another chief before those upon the right; they being, as I judged, the two chiefs who had collected them, by order of Feenou, who seemed to be as implicitly obeyed here, as he had been at Annamooka; and, in consequence of his commanding superiority over the chiefs of Hepaee, had laid this tax upon them for the present occasion.

As soon as this munificent collection of provisions was laid down in order, and disposed to the best advantage, the bearers of it joined the multitude, who formed a large circle round the whole. Presently after, a number of men entered this circle, or area, before us, armed with clubs, made of the green branches of the cocoa-nut tree. These paraded about for a few minutes, and then retired; the one half to one side, and the other half to the other side; seating themselves before the spectators. Soon after, they successively entered the lists, and entertained us with single combats. One champion, rising up and stepping forward from one side, challenged those of the other side, by expressive gestures, more than by words, to send one of their body to oppose him. If the challenge was accepted, which was generally the case, the two combatants put themselves in proper attitudes, and then began the engagement, which continued till one or other owned himself conquered, or till their weapons were broken. As soon as each combat was over, the victor squatted himself down facing the chief, then rose up, and retired. At the same time, some old men, who seemed to sit as judges, gave their plaudit in a few words; and the multitude, especially those on the side to which the victor belonged, celebrated the glory he had acquired in two or three huzzas.

This entertainment was, now and then, suspended for a few minutes. During these intervals there were both wrestling and boxing matches. The first were performed in the same manner as at Otaheite; and the second differed very little from the method practised in England. But what struck us with most surprise, was, to see a couple of lusty wenches step forth, and begin boxing; without the least ceremony, and with as much art as the men. This contest, however, did not last above half a minute, before one of them gave it up. The conquering heroine received the same applause from the spectators which they bestowed upon the successful combatants of the other sex. We expressed some dislike at this part of the entertainment; which, however, did not prevent two other females from entering the lists. They seemed to be girls of spirit, and would certainly have given each other a good drubbing, if two old women had not interposed to part them. All these combats were exhibited in the midst of, at least, three thousand people, and were conducted with the greatest good humour on all sides; though some of the champions, women as well as men, received blows, which, doubtless, they must have felt for some time after.

As soon as these diversions were ended, the chief told me, that the heaps of provisions on our right hand were a present to Omai; and that those on our left hand, being about two-thirds of the whole quantity, were given to me. He added, that I might take them on board whenever it was convenient; but that there would be no occasion to set any of our people as guards over them, as I might be assured, that not a single cocoa-nut would be taken away by the natives. So it proved; for I left every thing behind, and returned to the ship to dinner, carrying the chief with me; and when the provisions were removed on board, in the afternoon, not a single article was missing. There was as much as loaded four boats; and I could not but be struck with the munificence of Feenou; for this present far exceeded any I had ever received from any of the sovereigns of the various islands I had visited in the Pacific Ocean. I lost no time in convincing my friend, that I was not insensible of his liberality; for, before he quitted my ship, I bestowed upon him such of our commodities, as, I guessed, were most valuable in his estimation. And the return I made was so much to his satisfaction, that, as soon as he got on shore, he left me still indebted to him, by sending me a fresh present, consisting of two large hogs, a considerable quantity of cloth, and some yams.

Feenou had expressed a desire to see the marines go through their military exercise. As I was desirous to gratify his curiosity, I ordered them all ashore, from both ships, in the morning of the 20th. After they had performed various evolutions, and fired several vollies, with which the numerous body of spectators seemed well pleased, the chief entertained us, in his turn, with an exhibition, which, as was acknowledged by us all, was performed with a dexterity and exactness, far surpassing the specimen we had given of our military manoeuvres. It was a kind of a dance, so entirely different from any thing I had ever seen, that, I fear, I can give no description that will convey any tolerable idea of it to my readers. It was performed by men; and one hundred and five persons bore their parts in it. Each of them had in his hand an instrument neatly made, shaped somewhat like a paddle, of two feet and a half in length, with a small handle, and a thin blade; so that they were very light. With these instruments they made many and various flourishes, each of which was accompanied with a different attitude of the body, or a different movement. At first, the performers ranged themselves in three lines; and, by various evolutions, each man changed his station in such a manner, that those who had been in the rear came into the front. Nor did they remain long in the same position; but these changes were made by pretty quick transitions. At one time they extended themselves in one line; they, then, formed into a semicircle; and, lastly, into two square columns. While this last movement was executing, one of them advanced, and performed an antic dance before me; with which the whole ended.

The musical instruments consisted of two drums, or rather two hollow logs of wood, from which some varied notes were produced, by beating on them with two sticks. It did not, however, appear to me, that the dancers were much assisted or directed by these sounds, but by a chorus of vocal music, in which all the performers joined at the same time. Their song was not destitute of pleasing melody; and all their corresponding motions were executed with so much skill, that the numerous body of dancers seemed to act, as if they were one great machine. It was the opinion of every one of us, that such a performance would have met with universal applause on a European theatre; and it so far exceeded any attempt we had made to entertain them, that they seemed to pique themselves upon the superiority they had over us. As to our musical instruments, they held none of them in the least esteem, except the drum; and even that they did not think equal to their own. Our French horns, in particular, seemed to be held in great contempt; for neither here, nor at any other of the islands, would they pay the smallest attention to them.

In order to give them a more favourable opinion of English amusements, and to leave their minds fully impressed with the deepest sense of our superior attainments, I directed some fireworks to be got ready; and, after it was dark, played them off in the presence of Feenou, the other chiefs, and a vast concourse of their people. Some of the preparations we found damaged; but others of them were in excellent order, and succeeded so perfectly, as to answer the end I had in view. Our water and sky-rockets, in particular, pleased and astonished them beyond all conception; and the scale was now turned in our favour.

This, however, seemed only to furnish them with an additional motive to proceed to fresh exertions of their very singular dexterity; and our fireworks were no sooner ended, than a succession of dances, which Feenou had got ready for our entertainment, began. As[160] a prelude to them, a band of music, or chorus of eighteen men, seated themselves before us, in the centre of the circle, composed by the numerous spectators, the area of which was to be the scene of the exhibitions. Four or five of this band had pieces of large bamboo, from three to five or six feet long, each managed by one man, who held it nearly in a vertical position, the upper end open, but the other end closed by one of the joints. With this close end, the performers kept constantly striking the ground, though slowly, thus producing different notes, according to the different lengths of the instruments, but all of them of the hollow or base sort; to counteract which, a person kept striking quickly, and with two sticks, a piece of the same substance, split, and laid along the ground, and, by that means, furnishing a tone as acute as those produced by the others were grave. The rest of the band, as well as those who performed upon the bamboos, sung a slow and soft air, which so tempered the harsher notes of the above instruments, that no bye-stander, however accustomed to hear the most perfect and varied modulation of sweet sounds, could avoid confessing the vast power, and pleasing effect, of this simple harmony.

[Footnote 160: Mr Andersen's account of the night dances being much fuller than Captain Cook's, the reader will not be displeased that it has been adopted.--D.]

The concert having continued about a quarter of an hour, twenty women entered the circle. Most of them had, upon their heads, garlands of the crimson flowers of the China rose, or others; and many of them had ornamented their persons with leaves of trees, cut with a deal of nicety about the edges. They made a circle round the chorus, turning their faces toward it, and began by singing a soft air, to which responses were made by the chorus in the same tone; and these were repeated alternately. All this while, the women accompanied their song with several very graceful motions of their hands toward their faces, and in other directions at the same time, making constantly a step forward, and then back again, with one foot, while the other was fixed. They then turned their faces to the assembly, sung some time, and retreated slowly in a body, to that part of the circle which was opposite the hut where the principal spectators sat. After this, one of them advanced from each side, meeting and passing each other in the front, and continuing their progress round, till they came to the rest. On which, two advanced from each side, two of whom also passed each other, and returned as the former; but the other two remained, and to these came one, from each side, by intervals, till the whole number had again formed a circle-about the chorus.

Their manner of dancing was now changed to a quicker measure, in which they made a kind of half turn by leaping, and clapped their hands, and snapped their fingers, repeating some words in conjunction with the chorus. Toward the end, as the quickness of the music increased, their gestures and attitudes were varied with wonderful vigour and dexterity; and some of their motions, perhaps, would, with us, be reckoned rather indecent. Though this part of the performance, most probably, was not meant to convey any wanton ideas, but merely to display the astonishing variety of their movements.

To this grand female ballet, succeeded one performed by fifteen men. Some of them were old; but their age seemed to have abated little of their agility or ardour for the dance. They were disposed in a sort of circle, divided at the front, with their faces not turned out toward the assembly, nor inward to the chorus; but one half of their circle faced forward as they had advanced, and the other half in a contrary direction. They, sometimes, sung slowly, in concert with the chorus; and, while thus employed, they also made several very fine motions with their hands, but different from those made by the women, at the same time inclining the body to either side alternately by raising one leg, which was stretched outward, and resting on the other; the arm of the same side being also stretched fully upward. At other times they recited sentences in a musical tone, which were answered by the chorus; and, at intervals, increased the measure of the dance, by clapping the hands, and quickening the motions of the feet, which, however, were never varied. At the end, the rapidity of the music, and of the dancing, increased so much, that it was scarcely possible to distinguish the different movements; though one might suppose the actors were now almost tired, as their performance had lasted near half an hour.

After a considerable interval, another act, as we may call it, began. Twelve men now advanced, who placed themselves in double rows fronting each other, but on opposite sides of the circle; and, on one side, a man was stationed, who, as if he had been a prompter, repeated several sentences, to which the twelve new performers, and the chorus, replied. They then sung slowly; and afterward danced and sung more quickly, for about a quarter of an hour, after the manner of the dancers whom they had succeeded.

Soon after they had finished, nine women exhibited themselves, and sat down fronting the hut where the chief was. A man then rose, and struck the first of these women on the back, with both fists joined. He proceeded, in the same manner, to the second and third; but when he came to the fourth, whether from accident or design I cannot tell, instead of the back, he struck her on the breast. Upon this a person rose instantly from the crowd, who brought him to the ground with a blow on the head; and he was carried off without the least noise or disorder. But this did not save the other five women from so odd a discipline, or perhaps necessary ceremony; for a person succeeded him, who treated them in the same manner. Their disgrace did not end here; for when they danced, they had the mortification to find their performance twice disapproved of, and were obliged to repeat it. This dance did not differ much from that of the first women, except in this one circumstance, that the present set sometimes raised the body upon one leg, by a sort of double motion, and then upon the other alternately, in which attitude they kept snapping their fingers; and, at the end, they repeated, with great agility, the brisk movements, in which the former group of female dancers had shewn themselves so expert.

In a little tine, a person entered unexpectedly, and said something in a ludicrous way, about the fireworks that had been exhibited, which extorted a burst of laughter from the multitude. After this, we had a dance composed of the men, who attended, or had followed, Feenou. They formed a double circle (i.e. one within another) of twenty-four each, round the chorus, and began a gentle soothing song, with corresponding motions of the hands and head. This lasted a considerable time, and then changed to a much quicker measure, during which they repeated sentences, either in conjunction with the chorus, or in answer to some spoken by that band. They then retreated to the back part of the circle, as the women had done, and again advanced, on each side, in a triple row, till they formed a semicircle, which was done very slowly, by inclining the body on one leg, and advancing the other a little way, as they put it down. They accompanied this with such a soft air as they had sung at the beginning; but soon changed it to repeat sentences in a harsher tone, at the same time quickening the dance very much, till they finished with a general shout and clap of the hands. The same was repeated several times; but, at last, they formed a double circle, as at the beginning, danced, and repeated very quickly, and finally closed with several very dexterous transpositions of the two circles.

The entertainments of this memorable night concluded with a dance, in which the principal people present exhibited. It resembled the immediately preceding one, in some respects, having the same number of performers, who began nearly in the same way; but their ending, at each interval, was different; for they increased their motions to a prodigious quickness, shaking their heads from shoulder to shoulder, with such force, that a spectator, unaccustomed to the sight, would suppose, that they ran a risk of dislocating their necks. This was attended with a smart clapping of the hands, and a kind of savage holla! or shriek, not unlike what is sometimes practised in the comic dances on our European theatres. They formed the triple semicircle, as the preceding dancers had done; and a person, who advanced at the head on one side of the semicircle, began by repeating something in a truly musical recitative, which was delivered with an air so graceful, as might put to the blush our most applauded performers. He was answered in the same manner, by the person at the head of the opposite party. This being repeated several times, the whole body, on one side, joined in the responses to the whole corresponding body on the opposite side, as the semicircle advanced to the front; and they finished, by singing and dancing as they had begun.

These two last dances were performed with so much spirit, and so great exactness, that they met with universal approbation. The native spectators, who, no doubt, were perfect judges whether the several performances were properly executed, could not withhold their applauses at some particular parts; and even a stranger, who never saw the diversion before, felt similar satisfaction, at the same instant. For though, through the whole, the most strict concert was observed, some of the gestures were so expressive, that it might be said, they spoke the language that accompanied them; if we allow that there is any connection between motion and sound. At the same time, it should be observed, that though the music of the chorus, and that of the dancers, corresponded, constant practice in these favourite amusements of our friends, seems to have a great share in effecting the exact time they keep in their performances. For we observed, that if any of them happened accidentally to be interrupted, they never found the smallest difficulty in recovering the proper place of the dance or song. And their perfect discipline was in no instance more remarkable, than in the sudden transitions they so dexterously made from the ruder exertions, and harsh sounds, to the softest airs, and gentlest movements.[161]

[Footnote 161: In a former note, it was observed, that the songs and dances of the Caroline Islanders, in the North Pacific, bear a great resemblance to those of the inhabitants of Wateeoo. The remark may be now extended to those of the Friendly Islanders, described at large in this chapter. That the reader may judge for himself, I have selected the following particulars from Father Cantova's account. "Pendant la nuit, au clair de la lune, ils s'assemblent, de temps en temps, pour chanter & danser devant la maison de leur Tumole. Leurs danses se font au son de la voix, car ils n'ont point d'instrument de musique. La beauté de la danse, consiste dans l'exacte uniformité des mouvemens du corps. Les hommes, separés des femmes, se postent vis-à-vis les uns des autres; après quoi, ils remuent la tête, les bras, les mains, les pieds, en cadence. Leur tête est couverte de plumes, on de fleurs;--et l'on voit, attachées à leurs oreilles, des feuilles de palmier tissues avec assez d'art--Les femmes, de leur coté,--se regardant les unes les autres, commencent un chant pathétique & langoureux, accompagnant le son de leur voix du mouvement cadencé de la tête & des bras."--Lettres Edifiantes & Curiesues, tom. xv. p. 314, 315.--D.]

The place where the dances were performed was an open space amongst the trees, just by the sea, with lights, at small intervals, placed round the inside of the circle. The concourse of people was pretty large, though not equal to the number assembled in the forenoon, when the marines exercised. At that time, some of our gentlemen guessed there might be present about five thousand persons; others thought there were more; but they who reckoned that there were fewer, probably, came nearer the truth.

SECTION VI.

Description of Lefooga.--Its cultivated State.--Its Extent.--Transactions there.--A female Oculist.--Singular Expedients for shaving off the Hair.--The Ships change their Station.--A remarkable Mount and Stone.--Inscription of Hoolaiva.--Account of Poulaho, King of the friendly Islands.--Respectful Manner in which he is treated by his People.--Departure from the Hapaee Islands.--Some Account of Kotoo.--Return of the Ships to Annamooka.--Poulaho and Feenou meet.--Arrival at Tongataboo.

Curiosity on both sides being now sufficiently gratified by the exhibition of the various entertainments I have described, I began to have time to look about me. Accordingly, next day (May 21) I took a walk into the island of Lefooga, of which I was desirous to obtain some knowledge. I found it to be, in several respects, superior to Annamooka. The plantations were both more numerous and more extensive. In many places, indeed, toward the sea, especially on the east side, the country is still waste, owing perhaps to the sandy soil, as it is much lower than Annamooka, and its surrounding isles. But toward the middle of the island the soil is better; and the marks of considerable population, and of improved cultivation, were very conspicuous. For we met here with very large plantations, inclosed in such a manner that the fences, running parallel to each other, form fine spacious public roads, that would appear ornamental in countries where rural conveniences have been carried to the greatest perfection. We observed large spots covered with the paper mulberry-trees; and the plantations, in general, were well stocked with such roots and fruits as are the natural produce of the island. To these I made some addition, by sowing the seeds of Indian corn, melons, pumpkins, and the like. At one place was a house, four or five times as large as those of the common sort, with a large area of grass before it; and I take it for granted, the people resort thither on certain public occasions. Near the landing-place we saw a mount, two or three feet high, covered with gravel; and on it stood four or five small huts, in which the natives told us the bodies of some of their principal people had been interred.

The island is not above seven miles long, and in some places not above two or three broad. The east side of it, which is exposed to the trade-wind, has a reef running to a considerable breadth from it, on which the sea breaks with great violence. It is a continuation of this reef that joins Lefooga to Foa, which is not above half a mile distant; and at low water the natives can walk upon this reef, which is then partly dry from the one island to the other. The shore itself is either a coral rock, six or seven feet high, or a sandy beach, but higher than the west side, which in general is not more than three or four feet from the level of the sea, with a sandy beach its whole length.

When I returned from my excursion into the country, and went on board to dinner, I found a large sailing canoe fast to the ship's stern. In this canoe was Latooliboula, whom I had seen at Tongataboo during my last voyage, and who was then supposed by us to be the king of that island. He sat in the canoe with all that gravity, by which, as I have mentioned in my journal,[162] he was so remarkably distinguished at that time; nor could I, by any entreaties, prevail upon him now to come into the ship. Many of the islanders were present, and they all called him Areekee, which signifies king. I had never heard any one of them give this title to Feenou, however extensive his authority over them, both here and at Annamooka, had appeared to be, which had all along inclined me to suspect that he was not the king, though his friend Taipa had taken pains to make me believe he was. Latooliboula remained under the stern till the evening, when he retired in his canoe to one of the islands. Feenou was on board my ship at the same time; but neither of these great men took the least notice of the other.

[Footnote 162: The name of this extraordinary personage is there said to be Kohagee too Fallangou, which cannot, by the most skilful etymologist, be tortured into the least most distant resemblance of Latooliboula. It is remarkable that Captain Cook should not take any notice of his having called the same person by two names so very different. Perhaps we may account for this, by supposing one to be the name of the person, and the other the description of his title or rank. This supposition seems well founded, when we consider that Latoo, in the language of these people, is sometimes used to signify a great chief; and Dr Forster, in his Observations, p. 378, 379, and elsewhere, speaks of the sovereign of Tongataboo under the title of their Latoo. This very person is called by Dr Forster, p. 370, Latoo-Nipooroo, which furnishes a very striking instance of the variations of our people in writing down the same word as pronounced by the natives. However, we can easily trace the affinity between Nipooroo and Liboula, as the changes of the consonants are such as are perpetually made upon hearing a word pronounced to which our ears have not been accustomed. Mr Anderson here agrees with Captain Cook in writing Latooliboula.--D.]

Nothing material happened the next day, except that some of the natives stole a tarpaulin, and other things, from off the deck. They were soon missed, and the thieves pursued, but a little too late. I applied, therefore, to Feenou, who, if he was not king, was at least vested with the highest authority here to exert it, in order to have my things restored. He referred me to Earoupa, who put me off from time to time, and at last nothing was done.

In the morning of the 23d, as we were going to unmoor, in order to leave the island, Feenou, and his prime minister Taipa, came alongside in a sailing canoe, and informed me that they were setting out for Vavaoo, an island which they said lies about two days sail to the northward of Hepaee. The object of their voyage, they would have me believe, was to get for me an additional supply of hogs, and some red-feathered caps for Omai to carry to Otaheite, where they are in high esteem. Feenou assured me that he should be back in four or five days, and desired me not to sail till his return, when he promised he would accompany me to Tongataboo. I thought this a good opportunity to get some knowledge of Vavaoo, and proposed to him to go thither with the ships. But he seemed not to approve of the plan; and, by way of diverting me from it, told me that there was neither harbour nor anchorage about it. I therefore consented to wait, in my present station, for his return, and he immediately set out.

The next day, our attention was for some time taken up with a report, industriously spread about by some of the natives, that a ship like ours had arrived at Annamooka since we left it, and was now at anchor there. The propagators of the report were pleased to add, that Toobou, the chief of that island, was hastening thither to receive these new comers; and as we knew that he had actually left us, we were the more ready to believe there might be some foundation for the story of this unexpected arrival. However, to gain some farther information, I went on shore with Omai, in quest of the man who, it was said, had brought the first account of this event from Annamooka. We found him at the house of Earoupa, where Omai put such questions to him as I thought necessary; and the answers he gave were so clear and satisfactory, that I had not a doubt remaining. But, just about this time, a chief of some note, whom we well knew, arrived from Annamooka, and declared that no ship was at that island, nor had been, since our leaving it. The propagator of the report, finding himself detected in a falsehood, instantly withdrew, and we saw no more of him. What end the invention of this tale could answer was not easy to conjecture, unless we suppose it to have been artfully contrived, to get us removed from the one island to the other.

In my walk on the 25th, I happened to step into a house, where a woman was dressing the eyes of a young child, who seemed blind, the eyes being much inflamed, and a thin film spread over them. The instruments she used were two slender wooden probes, with which she had brushed the eyes so as to make them bleed. It seems worth mentioning, that the natives of these islands should attempt an operation of this sort, though I entered the house too late to describe exactly how this female oculist employed the wretched tools she had to work with.

I was fortunate enough to see a different operation going on in the same house, of which I can give a tolerable account. I found there another woman shaving a child's head, with a shark's tooth, stuck into the end of a piece of stick. I observed that she first wetted the hair with a rag dipped in water, applying her instrument to that part which she had previously soaked. The operation seemed to give no pain to the child, although the hair was taken off as close as if one of our razors had been employed. Encouraged by what I now saw, I soon after tried one of these singular instruments upon myself, and found it to be an excellent succedaneum. However, the men of these islands have recourse to another contrivance when they shave their beards. The operation is performed with two shells, one of which they place under a small part of the beard, and with the other, applied above, they scrape that part off. In this manner they are able to shave very close. The process is, indeed, rather tedious, but not painful; and there are men amongst them who seemed to profess this trade. It was as common, while we were here, to see our sailors go ashore to have their beards scraped off, after the fashion of Hepaee, as it was to see their chiefs come on board to be shaved by our barbers.

Finding that little or nothing of the produce of the island was now brought to the ships, I resolved to change our station, and to wait Feenou's return from Vavaoo, in some other convenient anchoring-place, where refreshments might still be met with. Accordingly, in the forenoon of the 26th, we got under sail, and stood to the southward along the reef of the island, having fourteen and thirteen, fathoms water, with a sandy bottom. However, we met with several detached shoals. Some of them were discovered by breakers, some by the water upon them appearing discoloured, and others by the lead. At half past two in the afternoon having already passed several of these shoals, and seeing more of them before us, I hauled into a bay that lies between the S. end of Lefooga and the N. end of Hoolaiva, and there anchored in seventeen fathoms water, the bottom a coral sand; the point of Lefooga bearing S.E. by E. a mile and a half distant. The Discovery did not get to an anchor till sunset. She had touched upon one of the shoals, but backed off again without receiving any damage.

As soon as we had anchored, I sent Mr Bligh to sound the bay where we were now stationed; and myself, accompanied by Mr Gore, landed on the southern part of Lefooga, to examine the country, and to look for fresh water. Not that we now wanted a supply of this article, having filled all the casks at our late station; but I had been told that this part of the island could afford us some preferable to any we had got at the former watering-place. This will not be the only time I shall have occasion to remark that these people do not know what good water is. We were conducted to two wells, but the water in both of them proved to be execrable, and the natives, our guides, assured us that they had none better.

Near the S. end of the island, and on the W. side, we met with an artificial mount. From the size of some trees that were growing upon it, and from other appearances, I guessed that it had been raised in remote times. I judged it to be about forty feet high, and the diameter of its summit measured fifty feet. At the bottom of this mount stood a stone, which must have been hewn out of coral rock. It was four feet broad, two and a half thick, and fourteen high; and we were told by the natives present that not above half its length appeared above ground. They called it Tangata Arekee,[163] and said that it had been set up, and the mount raised, by some of their forefathers, in memory of one of their kings, but how long since they could not tell.

[Footnote 163: Tangata, in their language, is man; Arekee, king.]

Night coming on, Mr Gore and I returned on board; and, at the same time, Mr Bligh got back from sounding the bay, in which he found from fourteen to twenty fathoms water, the bottom for the most part sand, but not without some coral rocks. The place where we now anchored is much better sheltered than that which we had lately come from; but between the two is another anchoring station, much better than either. Lefooga and Hoolaiva are divided from each other by a reef of coral rocks, which is dry at low water; so that one may walk at that time from the one to the other, without wetting a foot. Some of our gentlemen, who landed in the latter island, did not find the least mark of cultivation, or habitation, upon it, except a single hut, the residence of a man employed to catch fish and turtle. It is rather extraordinary that it should be in this deserted state, communicating so immediately with Lefooga, which is so perfectly cultivated; for though the soil is quite sandy, all the trees and plants found in a natural state on the neighbouring islands, are produced here with the greatest vigour. The E. side of it has a reef like Lefooga, and the W. side has a bending at the N. part, where there seems to be good anchorage. Uninhabited as Hoolaiva is, an artificial mount, like that at the adjoining island, has been raised upon it, as high as some of the surrounding trees.

At day-break, next morning, I made the signal to weigh; and as I intended to attempt a passage to Annamooka, in my way to Tongataboo, by the S.W. amongst the intervening islands, I sent the master in a boat to sound before the ships. But before we could get under sail the wind became unsettled, which made it unsafe to attempt a passage this way till we were better acquainted with it. I therefore lay fast, and made the signal for the master to return; and afterward sent him and the master of the Discovery, each in a boat, with instructions to examine the channels, as far as they could, allowing themselves time to get back to the ships before the close of the day.

About noon a large sailing canoe came under our stern, in which was a person named Futtafaihe, or Poulaho, or both, who, as the natives then on board told us, was King of Tongataboo, and of all the neighbouring islands that we had seen or heard of. It was a matter of surprise to me to have a stranger introduced under this character, which I had so much reason to believe really belonged to another. But they persisted in their account of the supreme dignity of this new visitor; and now, for the first time, they owned to me, that Feenou was not the king, but only a subordinate chief, though of great power, as he was often sent from Tongataboo to the other islands on warlike expeditions, or to decide differences. It being my interest, as well as my inclination, to pay court to all the great men, without making enquiry into the validity of their assumed titles, I invited Poulaho on board, as I understood he was very desirous to come. He could not be an unwelcome guest, for he brought with him, as a present to me, two good fat hogs, though not so fat as himself, if weight of body could give weight in rank and power, he was certainly the most eminent man in that respect we had seen; for, though not very tall, he was very unwieldy, and almost shapeless with corpulence. He seemed to be about forty years of age, had straight hair, and his features differed a good deal from those of the bulk of his people. I found him to be a sedate, sensible man. He viewed the ship, and the several new objects, with uncommon attention, and asked many pertinent questions, one of which was, What could induce us to visit these islands? After he had satisfied his curiosity in looking at the cattle, and other novelties which he met with upon deck, I desired him to walk down into the cabin. To this some of his attendants objected, saying, that if he were to accept of that invitation, it must happen, that people would walk over his head, which could not be permitted. I directed my interpreter Omai, to tell them that I would obviate their objection, by giving orders that no one should presume to walk upon that part of the deck which was over the cabin. Whether this expedient would have satisfied them was far from appearing, but the chief himself, less scrupulous in this respect than his attendants, waved all ceremony, and walked down without any stipulation. He now appeared to be as solicitous himself, as his people were, to convince us that he was king, and not Feenou, who had passed with us as such; for he soon perceived that we had some doubts about it, which doubts Omai was not very desirous of removing. The closest connection had been formed between him and Feenou, in testimony of which they had exchanged names; and therefore he was not a little chagrined, that another person now put in his claim to the honours which his friend had hitherto enjoyed.

Poulaho sat down with us to dinner, but he ate little, and drank less. When we rose from the table, he desired me to accompany him ashore. Omai was asked to be of the party, but he was too faithfully attached to Feenou to shew any attention to his competitor, and therefore excused himself. I attended the chief in my own boat, having first made presents to him of such articles as I could observe he valued much, and were even beyond his expectation to receive. I was not disappointed in my view of thus securing his friendship, for the moment the boat reached the beach, and before he quitted her, he ordered two more hogs to be brought, and delivered to my people to be conveyed on board. He was then carried out of the boat by some of his own people, upon a board resembling a hand-barrow, and went and seated himself in a small house near the shore, which seemed to have been erected there for his accommodation. He placed me at his side, and his attendants, who were not numerous, seated themselves in a semicircle before us, on the outside of the house. Behind the chief, or rather on one side, sat an old woman, with a sort of fan in her hand, whose office it was to prevent his being pestered with the flies.

The several articles which his people had got, by trading on board the ships, were now displayed before him. He looked over them all with attention, enquired what they had given in exchange, and seemed pleased with the bargains they had made. At length he ordered every thing to be restored to the respective owners, except a glass bowl, with which he was so much pleased that he reserved it for himself. The persons who brought these things to him, first squatted themselves down before him, then they deposited their several purchases, and immediately rose up and retired. The same respectful ceremony was observed in taking them away, and not one of them presumed to speak to him standing. I stayed till several of his attendants left him, first paying him obeisance, by bowing the head down to the sole of his foot, and touching or tapping the same with the upper and under side of the fingers of both hands. Others, who were not in the circle, came, as it seemed, on purpose, and paid him this mark of respect and then retired, without speaking a word. I was quite charmed with the decorum that was observed. I had no where seen the like, not even amongst more civilized nations.