Volume 16 / Part 3 — CHAPTER III. TRANSACTIONS AT OTAHEITE, AND THE SOCIETY ISLANDS; AND PROSECUTION OF THE VOYAGE TO THE COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. (continued 5)

The taboo also prevails in Atooi in its full extent, and seemingly with much more rigour than even at Tongataboo. For the people here always asked, with great eagerness and signs of fear to offend, whether any particular thing, which they desired to see, or we were unwilling to shew, was taboo, or, as they pronounced the word, tafoo? The maia, ruä, or forbidden articles at the Society Islands, though doubtless the same thing, did not seem to be so strictly observed by them, except with respect to the dead, about whom we thought them more superstitious than any of the others were. But these are circumstances with which we are not as yet sufficiently acquainted to be decisive about; and I shall only just observe, to shew the similitude in other matters connected with religion, that the priests, or tahounas, here, are as numerous as at the other islands; if we may judge, from our being able, during our short stay, to distinguish several saying their poore or prayer.

But whatever resemblance we might discover, in the general manners of the people of Atooi to those of Otaheite, these, of course, were less striking than the coincidence of language, indeed, the languages of both places may be said to be almost, word for word, the same. It is true, that we sometimes remarked particular words to be pronounced exactly as we had found at New Zealand and the Friendly Islands; but, though all the four dialects are indisputably the same, these people, in general, have neither the strong guttural pronunciation of the former, nor a less degree of it, which also distinguishes the latter; and they have not only adopted the soft mode of the Otaheitans, in avoiding harsh sounds, but the whole idiom of their language; using not only the same affixes and suffixes to their words, but the same measure and cadence in their songs; though, in a manner, somewhat less agreeable. There seems, indeed, at first hearing, some disagreement to the ear of a stranger; but it ought to be considered, that the people of Otaheite, from their frequent connections with the English, had learnt it, in some measure, to adapt themselves to our scanty knowledge of their language, by using not only the most common, but even corrupted expressions, in conversation with us; whereas, when they conversed among themselves, and used the several parts necessary to propriety of speech, they were scarcely at all understood by those amongst us, who had made the greatest proficiency in their vocabulary. A catalogue of words was collected at Atooi by Mr Anderson, who lost no opportunity of making our voyage useful to those who amuse themselves in tracing the migrations of the various tribes or families that have peopled the globe, by the most convincing of all arguments, that drawn from affinity of language.

SECTION XIII.

Observations made at the Sandwich Islands, on the Longitude, Variation of the Compass and Tides.—Prosecution of the Voyage.—Remarks on the Mildness of the Weather, as far as the Latitude 44° North.—Paucity of Sea Birds, in the Northern Hemisphere.—Small Sea Animals described.—Arrival on the Coast of America.—Appearance of the Country.—Unfavourable Winds and boisterous Weather.—Remarks on Martin de Aguilar's River, and Juan de Fuca's pretended Strait.—An Inlet discovered, where the Ships anchor.—Behaviour of the Natives.

After the Discovery had joined us, we stood away to the northward, close hauled, with a gentle gale from the east; and nothing occurring, in this situation, worthy of a place in my narrative, the reader will permit me to insert here the nautical observations which I had opportunities of making relative to the islands we had left; and which we had been fortunate enough to add to the geography of this part of the Pacific Ocean.

The longitude of the Sandwich Islands was determined by seventy-two sets of lunar observations; some of which were made while we were at anchor in the road of Wymoa; others before we arrived, and after we left it, and reduced to it by the watch or time-keeper. By the mean result of these observations, the longitude of the road is

200° 13' 0" East.

Time-keeperGreenwich rate,200° 0' 0"

Ulietea rate,200° 21' 0"

The latitude of the road, by the

mean of two meridian observations 21° 56' 15" North.

of the sun

The observations for the variation of the compass did not agree very well among themselves. It is true, they were not all made exactly in the same spot. The different situations, however, could make very little difference. But the whole will be seen, by casting an eye on the following table.

Time.Latitude.Longitude.Compass.EastMean

variation.Variation.

Jan. 18th. A.M.21° 12'200° 41'Gregory's 10° 10' 10"

Knight's9° 20' 5"90° 51' 38"

Martin's 10° 4' 40"

19th. P.M.21° 51'200° 20'Knight's10° 2' 10"10° 37' 10"

Gregory's11° 12' 30"

28th. A.M.21° 22'199° 56'Gregory's9° 1' 20"

Knight's9° 1' 25"9° 26' 57"

Martin's10° 18' 5"

28th. P.M.21° 36'199° 50'Gregory's11° 21' 15"

Knight's10° 40' 0"11° 12' 50"

Martin's11° 37' 50"

Means of the21° 29'200° 12' 10° 17' 11"

above

On January 18. 21° 12' 200° 41' the north end of the needle dipped 42° 1' 7".

The tides at the Sandwich Islands are so inconsiderable, that, with the great surf which broke against the shore, it was hardly possible to tell, at any time, whether we had high or low water, or whether it ebbed or flowed. On the south side of Atooi, we generally found a current setting to the westward, or north-westward. But when we were at anchor off Oneeheow, the current set nearly north-west and south-east, six hours one way and six the other, and so strong as to make the ships tend, though the wind blew fresh. This was certainly a regular tide; and, as far as I could judge, the flood came from the north-west.

I now return to the progress of our voyage. On the 7th, being in the latitude of 29° N. and in the longitude of 200° E. the wind veered to S.E. This enabled us to steer N.E. and E.; which course we continued, till the 12th, when the wind had veered round by the S. and W. to N.E. and E.N.E. I then tacked and stood to the northward, our latitude being 30° N. and our longitude 206° 15' E. Notwithstanding our advanced latitude, and its being the winter season, we had only begun, for a few days past, to feel a sensation of cold in the mornings and evenings. This is a sign of the equal and lasting influence of the sun's heat, at all seasons, to 30° on each side the line. The disproportion is known to become very great after that. This must be attributed almost entirely to the direction of the rays of the sun, independent of the bare distance, which is by no means equal to the effect.

On the 19th, being now in the latitude of 37° N. and in the longitude of 206° E. the wind veered to S.E.; and I was enabled again to steer to the E. inclining to the N. We had, on the 25th, reached the latitude of 42° 30', and the longitude of 219°; and then we began to meet with the rock-weed, mentioned by the writer of Lord Anson's voyage, under the name of sea-leek, which the Manilla ships generally fall in with. Now and then a piece of wood also appeared. But if we had not known that the continent of North America was not far distant, we might, from the few signs of the vicinity of land hitherto met with, have concluded, that there was none within some thousand leagues of us. We had hardly seen a bird, or any other oceanic animal, since we left Sandwich Islands.

During a calm, on the morning of the 2d, some parts of the sea seemed covered with a kind of slime, and some small sea-animals were swimming about. The most conspicuous of which were of the gelatinous or medusa kind, almost globular; and another sort smaller, that had a white or shining appearance, and were very numerous. Some of these last were taken up, and put into a glass cup with some salt water, in which they appeared like small scales or bits of silver, when at rest, in a prone situation. When they began to swim about, which they did, with equal ease, upon their backs, sides, or belly, they emitted the brightest colours of the most precious gems, according to their position with respect to the light. Sometimes they appeared quite pellucid, at other times assuming various tints of blue, from a pale sapphirine to a deep violet colour; which were frequently mixed with a ruby or opaline redness; and glowed with a strength sufficient to illuminate the vessel and water. These colours appeared most vivid when the glass was held to a strong light; and mostly vanished on the subsiding of the animals to the bottom, when they had a brownish cast. But, with candle light, the colour was, chiefly, a beautiful pale green, tinged with a burnished gloss; and, in the dark, it had a faint appearance of glowing fire. They proved to be a new species of oniscus, and, from their properties, were, by Mr Anderson, (to whom we owe this account of them), called oniscus fulgens; being probably an animal which has a share in producing some sorts of that lucid appearance, often observed near ships at sea in the night. On the same day two large birds settled on the water, near the ship. One of these was the procellaria maxima (the quebrantahuessos), and the other, which was little more than half the size, seemed to be of the albatross kind. The upper part of the wings, and tip of the tail, were black, with the rest white; the bill yellowish; upon the whole not unlike the sea-gull, though larger.

We had variable light airs and calms till eight o'clock in the evening, when a breeze sprung up at S.W. With it I stood to the N.W., under an easy sail, waiting for day-light, to range along the coast. But at four, next morning, the wind shifted to N.W., and blew in squalls, with rain. Our course was N.E. till near ten o'clock, when, finding that I could make no progress on this tack, and seeing nothing like a harbour, I tacked, and stood off S.W. At this time Cape Foulweather bore N.E. by N. about eight leagues distant. Toward noon the wind veered more to the westward, and the weather became fair and clear; so that we were enabled to make lunar observations. Having reduced all those that we had made since the 19th of last month to the present ones, by the time-keeper, amounting in the whole to seventy-two sets, their mean result determined the longitude to be 235° 15' 26" E., which was 14' 11" less than what the time-keeper gave. This longitude is made use of for settling that of the coast; and I have not a doubt of its being within a very few miles of the truth.

Our difficulties now began to increase. In the evening the wind came to the N.W., blowing in squalls, with hail and sleet; and the weather being thick and hazy, I stood out to sea till near noon the next day, when I tacked, and stood in again for the land, which made its appearance at two in the afternoon, bearing E.N.E. The wind and weather continued the same; but, in the evening, the former veered more to the W. and the latter grew worse, which made it necessary to tack and stand off till four the next morning, when I ventured to stand in again.

At four in the afternoon we saw the island, which, at six, extended from N.E. 1/2 E. to S.E. by S. about eight leagues distant. In this situation we tacked, and sounded; but a line of a hundred and sixty fathoms did not reach the ground. I stood off till midnight, then stood in again; and at half-past six we were within three leagues of the land, which extended from N. by E. 1/2 E. to S. 1/2 E.; each extreme about seven leagues distant. Seeing no signs of a harbour, and the weather being still unsettled, I tacked, and stretched off S.W. having then fifty-five fathoms water, over a muddy bottom.

The wind, as I have observed, had veered to S.W. in the evening; but it was very unsettled, and blew in squalls, with snow showers. In one of these, at midnight, it shifted at once to W.N.W. and soon increased to a very hard gale, with heavy squalls, attended with sleet or snow. There was no choice now; and we were obliged to stretch to the southward, in order to get clear of the coast. This was done under courses and two close-reefed top-sails; being rather more sail than the ships could safely bear; but it was necessary to carry it to avoid the more pressing danger of being forced on shore. This gale continued till eight o'clock in the morning of the 18th; when it abated, and I stood in again for the land. We had been forced a considerable way backward; for at the time of our tacking, we were in the latitude of 42° 45', and in the longitude of 233° 30'.

The wind continued at W. and N.W.; storms, moderate weather, and calms, succeeding each other by turns, till the morning of the 21st; when, after a few hours calm, a breeze sprung up at S.W. This bringing with it fair weather, I steered north-easterly, in order to fall in with the land, beyond that part of it where we had already so unprofitable been tossed about for the last fortnight. In the evening, the wind veered to the westward; and at eight o'clock the next morning, we saw the land, extending from N.E. to E. nine leagues distant. At this time we were in the latitude of 47° 5' N. and in the longitude of 235° 10' E.

I stood off to the southward till midnight, when I tacked, and steered to the N.W. with a gentle breeze at S.W. intending to stand in for the land as soon as day-light should appear. But, by that time, we were reduced to two courses and close-reefed top-sails, having a very hard gale, with rain, right on shore; so that, instead of running in for the land, I was glad to get an offing, or to keep that which we had already got. The south-west wind was, however, but of short continuance; for in the evening it veered again to the west. Thus had we perpetually strong west and north-west winds to encounter. Sometimes, in an evening, the wind would become moderate, and veer to the southward; but this was always a sure prelude to a storm, which blew the hardest at S.S.E. and was attended with rain and sleet. It seldom lasted above four or six hours, before it was succeeded by another gale from the N.W. which, generally, brought with it fair weather. It was, by the means of these southerly blasts, that we were enabled to get to the north-west at all.

At length, at nine o'clock in the morning of the 29th, as we were standing to the N.E. we again saw the land, which, at noon, extended from N.W. by W. to E.S.E. the nearest part about six leagues distant. Our latitude was now 49° 29' N. and our longitude 232° 29' E. The appearance of the country differed much from that of the parts which we had before seen; being full of high mountains, whose summits were covered with snow. But the valleys between them, and the grounds on the sea coast, high as well as low, were covered to a considerable breadth with high, straight trees, that formed a beautiful prospect as of one vast forest. The south-east extreme of the land formed a low point off which are many breakers, occasioned by sunken rocks. On this account it was called Point Breakers. It lies in the latitude of 49° 15' N., and in the longitude of 233° 20' E., and the other extreme in about the latitude of 50°, and the longitude of 232°. I named this last Woody Point. It projects pretty much out to the S.W. and is high land. Between these two points the shore forms a large bay, which I called Hope Bay; hoping, from the appearance of the land, to find in it a good harbour. The event proved that we were not mistaken.

As we drew nearer the coast, we perceived the appearance of two inlets; one in the N.W., and the other in the N.E. corner of the bay. As I could not fetch the former, I bore up for the latter; and passed some breakers, or sunken rocks, that lay a league or more from the shore. We had nineteen and twenty fathoms water half a league without them; but as soon as we had passed them, the depth increased to thirty, forty, and fifty fathoms, with a sandy bottom; and farther in we found no ground with the greatest length of line. Notwithstanding appearances, we were not yet sure that there were any inlets; but as we were in a deep bay, I had resolved to anchor, with a view to endeavour to get some water, of which, by this time, we were in great want. At length, as we advanced, the existence of the inlet was no longer doubtful. At five o'clock we reached the west point of it, where we were becalmed for some time. While in this situation, I ordered all the boats to be hoisted out to tow the ships in. But this was hardly done, before a fresh breeze sprung up again at N.W. with which we were enabled to stretch up into an arm of the inlet, that was observed by us to run into the N.E. There we were again becalmed, and obliged to anchor in eighty-five fathoms water, and so near the shore as to reach it with a hawser. The wind failed the Discovery before she got within the arm, where she anchored, and found only seventy fathoms.

Though our visitors behaved very peaceably, and could not be suspected of any hostile intention, we could not prevail upon any of them to come on board. They shewed great readiness, however, to part with any thing they had, and took from us whatever we offered them in exchange, but were more desirous of iron than of any other of our articles of commerce; appearing to be perfectly acquainted with the use of that metal. Many of the canoes followed us to our anchoring-place; and a group, of about ten or a dozen of them, remained alongside the Resolution most part of the night.

These circumstances gave us a reasonable ground of hope, that we should find this a comfortable station to supply all our wants, and to make us forget the hardships and delays experienced during a constant succession of adverse winds and boisterous weather, almost ever since our arrival upon the coast of America.