Front matter (continued 3)

I was walking, back of the huts, over a level green spot, enclosed by cocoa-nut trees, when Lugoma came to me in great haste, and with a disturbed look beckoned me to come away, at the same time saying to Huzzy, that I must not go there: it was a place for the dead; my presence would disturb them, and bring spirits round his huts; I indulged his superstition, and walked off. Lugoma was about thirty years of age, of moderate stature, square built, with low forehead, and flat nose; having an expression of countenance that indicated intelligence and enterprize. Huzzy gave him the character of being very passionate, inveterate in his enmities, fierce and determined in his hostility, but firmly attached to his friends, and possessing a benevolent heart. He often became offended with Huzzy, in their ordinary occupation, and upon such occasions would use violent language, and sometimes threaten to kill him; but, when his passion subsided, would be very sorry for what he had said, and soothe Huzzy by telling him not to be afraid; he would not hurt him. Once, however, in working their canoe, when something went wrong, he raised a paddle and struck Huzzy with it, upon which, the poor fellow, slave as he was, gave way to his indignant feelings, and was in the act of repaying the chief's violence with interest, who, seeing that he had gone too far with the high-spirited white man, and that his life was menaced, begged him not to strike, declaring that he would never again raise his hand against him; and the quarrel was amicably settled by Huzzy's telling him, that if ever he did, he would kill him. From this story, I thought there might be some truth in the one which Huzzy told me was one day related to him by Lugoma's son, the boy that was in the boat with us. We had a mulatto lad on board of the schooner, and at the time our contemplated capture was spoken of amongst the natives, this little boy told Huzzy that his father was going to save the life of the mulatto boy, and then kill him as he was getting too large. The mulatto boy was a great favourite amongst the natives, and upon several occasions, quarrels had arisen amongst the chiefs who should have him, when in the presence of Lay or Huzzy they were debating the question of our capture.

The day was far advanced when we left Lugoma's Island, and stood along the shores of the islets to intercept the land party whom we met at no very great distance, making rapid marches. We landed to inform them of our success, and that their labour was at an end, in which they could not but rejoice with us, although they were extremely disappointed that they should not themselves have been the fortunate persons, after all the toil they had experienced in the search. We put off and made sail in both our boats, and as the canoes were all still upon the beach of the island from whence we had taken Lay, I intended to land and get his musket, which, in the hurry of our departure, he had forgotten. No sooner, however, did the natives see both our boats standing towards them, than they put off with all their canoes, and bore away directly before the wind. We made all sail in chase, but soon perceived that they were leaving us very fast; and, as night was coming on, we made the experiment of a few musket shots, fired over their heads, with the hope of bringing them to. Instead of answering the desired purpose, it served only to increase their alarm, and the weather becoming squally, we suffered them to depart without further pursuit. I had cause to regret that I had fired; for from the first discharge, poor Lugoma was in the greatest agony, for fear we were going to kill him, as well as the rest of the chiefs. All the explanations that Lay and Huzzy could make, and all their assurances of my friendship, could not quiet him. Several times he would have taken his son and jumped overboard, had we allowed him to do so. Whenever I went to the stern of the boat where he was sitting, he repeated to me again and again that he was my good friend, and that I must not kill him; my replying that I would not hurt him, that I was his friend, &c., had not the least effect; it only caused him again to repeat what he had before told me of, his being my friend, and that I must not kill him.

The numerous shoals of coral, with the violence of the wind, rendering it somewhat dangerous to run in the dark, I determined to come to for the night, as we were yet a long distance from the schooner. For this purpose, we stood in towards the place where, on the preceding night, we had met the exploring party. Lugoma no sooner found himself so near the shore, than he became more earnest than ever in his petition to be permitted to land with his son, although he was more than twenty miles from his home. I would have allowed him to leave us, had I not been apprehensive of the hostility of his countrymen; I knew not but by his aid in piloting them to our night's encampment, we might be surprised before morning, and my resolution to keep him was confirmed, when it was reported to me, by some omen who had landed from the other boat, that one or more natives had been seen near us, skulking through the bushes. We also determined, not to trust ourselves on shore, but to lay in the boat, and make an awning of our sails, to screen us from the heavy showers that were frequently coming over, in the best manner we could.—When we had finished our repast, we hauled off and anchored, but not to sleep. Our awning was but poorly calculated for shelter, and the showers that constantly succeeded each other, kept us too wet and cold for rest; besides this, I was frequently reminded of Lugoma's presence, who made me pay dearly for his detention. He would lay no where else than alongside of me, and during the whole night, not more than ten minutes elapsed at any one time, that he did not move his hand over my face, and when he thought my attention was sufficiently awakened, call out to me, "Hitera;" a word that signified he was my good friend, nor would he suffer me to rest a moment afterwards until I had replied to him "Hitera."

We were anchored but a short distance from the place where the chief mutineer of the Globe and his murderous companions had landed—where he had fallen by their hands, and where they, in their turn, had been killed by savages. It was a spot, calculated to revive, in the minds of Lay and Huzzy, the liveliest recollection of sorrows and sufferings, that no language could describe; and as we all wished to hear an account of the mutiny, and of the events that subsequently transpired, I desired Lay to favour us with the relation. Lay's narrative was as follows: "The first that I heard of discontent on board of the ship, was a few days previous to the mutiny. I went to the maintop-mast-head, where I found Comstock; after a few moment's conversation, he said to me, 'What shall we do, William? we have bad usage: shall we take the ship, or run away?' To this I did not make much of any answer. I do not now remember what I said; I was quite inexperienced, it being my first voyage. In the afternoon, or the next morning, I heard him talking to some of the men on the forecastle about running away with him when we arrived at Funning's Island, for which, I believe, we were then steering. This, I suppose, was for the purpose of sounding them, to find out their disposition, and who would join him in the mutiny.—From what we heard, we began to think that all was not right, and tried to get the news aft, but unfortunately did not succeed. In the afternoon, before the night on which the mutiny took place, we were on the main yard furling the mainsail, and I tried then to tell the second mate, but Paine or Comstock was between us, and I was afraid to say any thing. Comstock had, some days previous, taken his cutlass from the cabin into the forecastle; he was a boat-steerer, and used to eat in the cabin with the officers. I knew nothing more about it until twelve or one o'clock on the night that the mutiny took place; I was sleeping in the forecastle, when Rowland Coffin came and awoke me, saying I must come upon deck, they had taken the ship. I got up and went aft, where all the crew were mustered on the quarter-deck. When Comstock had told us what he had done, and what his regulations were, he said, that such as would not swear to stick by him, must go on the other side of the deck. I did not know how many were engaged in the mutiny, and believing that we should be killed if we did not swear, we all swore to stick by Comstock and obey his orders. He then told us to haul the third mate up out of the cabin; I was one that had to take hold of the rope made fast to him. We laid him in the gangway, and I thought he was dead; but when Comstock was throwing him overboard, he clung to the ship with his hands. Comstock told some one to bring an axe and cut his hands off, when he let go and went overboard. I saw him in the water astern, swimming after the ship for some time. We then made sail; Comstock was the only navigator on board. We first went to the Kingsmill Group, but did not like to stop there, as the natives were very numerous and thievish; besides, Comstock had shot one of them for stealing something; after which, he was afraid to stay amongst them. From Drummond's Island, of the Kingsmill Group, we came directly to the Mulgraves, and made this part of them, where we anchored and commenced landing the stores.

"The crew of the Globe consisted of between twenty-five and thirty; but the only persons engaged in the mutiny were Comstock, Paine, Oliver, and the black steward, (Lilliston, who was one of the mutineers he did not mention.) It was midnight, and previous to descending to the cabin, one of the number was placed as a sentinel at the cabin door, with an axe, Comstock saying to a young brother who was at the helm, that if he did not keep the ship in her course, he would kill him as soon as he came on deck. Comstock killed the captain by striking him on the forehead with an axe whilst he was sleeping, having first locked the mates up in their state-rooms, that they might not escape. He then went with the other mutineers, and, I believe, cut the throats of the first and second mates, and shot the third mate. I did not see any but the third mate, and was told that the others were thrown out of the cabin windows.

"Not many days after the mutiny, the black steward was detected in the cabin loading a pistol which was forbidden on pain of death; and on being asked by Comstock what he intended doing with it, he replied, at first, "Nothing;" but, when questioned more closely, he said that he had heard Smith and some one else say, they intended to take the ship. Smith and the other person named by the steward, were called up by Comstock, and asked if they had threatened to take the ship; to which they replied in the negative, insisting that they had never intimated or intended any thing of the kind. Comstock declared that such an offence could not go unpunished, and that the steward must be tried by a court martial; he thereupon told the steward to choose one man, and said that he would choose another, and that the two should sentence the steward to such punishment as the offence merited. The two men were accordingly chosen, the steward selecting Rowland Coffin for his advocate, and Comstock, Paine for his. After hearing the evidence, and deliberating for a short time, they found the steward guilty, and sentenced him to be hung at the yard-arm until he was dead. Immediately afterwards, all hands were called to witness the execution; and the steward was taken forward and given fourteen seconds to make his peace with God.[9] The foretop-mast steering sail haulyards were overhauled down and tied round the steward's neck, and Comstock, after making every body take hold of the haulyards, held the fourteen second glass in one hand, and his cutlass in the other. When the glass was out, he gave the signal for the people to run away with the haulyards, by striking the ship's bell with his cutlass, and, in a moment, the criminal was run up to the yard-arm.

"After the death of the officers, Comstock made us all live in the cabin with him, where the mutineers used to sing, and carouse, and tell over the story of the murder, and what they had dreamed. Paine and Oliver, who could scarcely ever sleep, spoke with horror of their dreams, and of ghosts that appeared to them at night; but Comstock always made light of it, and appeared to exult in what he had done. He said once, that the captain came to him with his wounded and bloody head, and showed him what he had done, when he told the captain to depart and never come again, or he would kill him a second time.

"After our arrival here, we made a raft of two whale-boats and some spars, and on the first or second day, landed thirty or forty barrels of beef and pork, sails, rigging, and a variety of other articles, when Comstock having pitched a tent on shore, commenced with the mechanics to work on a whale-boat that he was going to raise upon and make larger. Paine was displeased with his doing this so soon, and sent word to him that he had better discharge the ship, and then work upon the boats. This greatly enraged Comstock, who hailed the ship for a boat, and on her being sent to him, came on board. There he and Paine had a violent quarrel, and Paine dared him to take a musket and go on shore with him and fight it out, which Comstock refused to do. When he landed, being afraid that Paine and Oliver would kill him if he slept in the tent, he went off to pass the night with the natives; in his absence, Paine and Oliver agreed to shoot him when he came back; accordingly, on the following morning, he was seen coming along the beach alone, "and when he had arrived within good gun-shot, they commenced firing at him; without changing his pace, he continued to advance, and drawing his cutlass, called out to Paine to stop firing and he would make peace with him; Paine, however, continued to fire, and, at the third or fourth discharge, Comstock fell lifeless upon his face, a ball having pierced his heart. Fearing that he might not be quite dead, and perhaps would get up again, Paine ran up to him with an axe, and cut off the back of his neck. He was buried close to the tent, in the manner he had often expressed a wish to be, with all his clothes on, and his cutlass hung to his side. Upon first landing, he had fixed upon a site for a town, and amongst other public buildings that he contemplated erecting, was a church, for which he had selected what he considered an eligible situation.

"The natives were all the time so very friendly, that we were not in the least afraid of them. A great many of them came to our tent every day, and some of them were there day and night, eating, drinking, and sleeping with us. Paine had a girl that he brought from another islet, who did not like to stay with us, and would run away whenever she got an opportunity; he fired muskets at her several times, and at last, used to keep her by putting her in irons.

A few days after the ship ran away, some of the natives, who had been at the tent, stole from us a number of tools. Paine gave four or five of our people muskets without cartridges, and sent them to the natives, a great many of whom were assembled not far off, for the stolen articles. The natives refused to give them up, and soon began to throw stones at our people, who, knowing that they had not the means of resisting, began to retreat; the natives pursued them, throwing stones, and one of the party, Rowland Jones, either fell or was knocked down by his pursuers, who came up immediately afterwards and killed him. When the party returned to the tent, Paine, who had taken the command after Comstock's death, ordered all the muskets brought to him, and locked them up. We were all in or about the tent, when a few hours afterwards the natives came there as usual, but in greater numbers. After they had been there a little while, some one remarked, 'I am afraid they are going to kill us; they have all got spears, or stones, or sticks in their hands.' Upon this, Paine said he believed we were all taken, but that he was safe. The words were scarcely out of his mouth, when the natives commenced the massacre, knocking our people on the head with stones and clubs, and sticking spears in them. An old man and his wife laid hold of me, one on each side, and led me a little way off in the bushes, where, I thought they were going to kill me, but where they only held me fast and protected me from the violence of several who came and wanted to kill me. I saw two of the natives lead Paine off a little way, and thought they were going to save his life; but they proceeded only a few yards, when one of them took up a stone and struck him on the head; he attempted to run, but a second blow brought him down, and they immediately afterwards killed him. Oliver, I did not see; but the natives told me that he ran a short distance, when he was overtaken and killed in the bushes. A Sandwich Islander that was with us, got to the water, and was overtaken and killed there."

"Were there any women at the massacre?"

"Oh, yes, and children too. The women seemed to take as active a part as the men. I saw one old woman run a spear in the back of one man, who was held by two natives, with a degree of violence that seemed far beyond her strength. I thought that all but myself were killed until the following evening. I had been taken to the islet where your schooner is anchored, and where all the chiefs were assembled, when they brought Huzzy, to show me that there was one living besides myself. After an interview of a few hours, Huzzy was taken away to live with Lugoma, who had saved his life, and I was taken to live with the old man who had saved mine. He was so very poor that I scarcely ever got enough to eat of the coarsest native food. I had to labour very hard, although I suffered constantly from hunger, which soon made me weak and extremely wretched. At last, the high chief took compassion upon me, and made me live with him; after which, I had always plenty to eat, and was at liberty to work or not, as I pleased. He was very kind to me in every respect. They have always brought Huzzy to me, or taken me to see him once a fortnight, or once a month, and suffered us to pass the day together."

Here Lay's narrative ended. Huzzy told us, that during his residence with Lugoma, his time had been spent principally on the water, going with him in his canoe, which required two to work it. Lugoma was a great fisherman, and distinguished amongst the chiefs for his industry and enterprising character. He would always have enough to eat, if he had to steal it. When Huzzy would complain to him of the hard and laborious life that he led, Lugoma would always reply, that if he would eat he must work. There seems to be no doubt, that the natives saved the lives of these young men from no other motive than that of making them slaves, and availing themselves of the advantage of their labour.

At the dawn of day, we prepared to depart for the schooner, and in getting up our anchor, which was a kedge, weighing upwards of a hundred pounds, we found that it was hooked to a bunch of coral at the bottom, from which all our efforts failed to move it. As soon as Lugoma saw our difficulty, he told his son to go down and clear the anchor. The little fellow jumped into the water, which was about three fathoms deep, and in a few moments came up, making motions for us to haul away. He had disengaged the kedge, and we had no further trouble in getting it up. It is a universal practice amongst the natives, whenever they wish to anchor, to take a line from the end of the canoe, and tie it to a tree of coral at the bottom.

The chief persisted in his desire to leave us, saying he was still afraid I would kill him; and as I had no object in taking him with me against his will, I consented to his departure, presenting him with some seeds, the culture of which I caused to be explained to him, as also the value of the fruit. Our return on board was welcomed by every body. We had now accomplished the object of our visit, and the islands were altogether so void of interest, except for their novel formation, and the singular habits of the natives, that we were well content to leave them and return to some other place more congenial to the feelings of civilized men. Before we left, however, we wished to see the chiefs, and after representing the impropriety of their conduct toward the white men who had sought an asylum upon their islands, point out the course they must in future pursue towards such as might again visit them. On the morning of December the first, none of the chiefs or people residing upon the islet abreast of us having returned, the mother of the high chief was directed to send for her son to come back, and bring with him the rest of the chiefs, without delay. I made a visit to the chief's village, where I found but few inhabitants, most of whom were women and children. It was situated on the side of the island opposite to us, and bordering upon the inland sea. It was not extensive, but a beautiful and romantic spot; the grove of cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees, through which were scattered the huts of the natives, ran about a hundred yards back from the inland sea to a wild thicket that passes through the centre of the islet, in length two or three hundred yards. Here I found the largest canoe that I had yet seen. It was large enough to carry fifty men, but being old, leaked so badly, that the high chief was compelled to leave it behind, in his flight, with all the rest.

Near the high chief's hut, we came to consecrated ground. It was the place of burial for the royal dead. It was but a small space, comprehended within the circumference of a few yards, and at the head of each grave stood a cocoa-nut tree, bound round with dry leaves,—a mark that prohibited the use of the fruit. We were accompanied by a son of the high chief, a child about twelve years old, who desired us not to tread on the graves of his ancestors. Two graves were pointed out, as those of chiefs, who had been highly distinguished, beside which stood the aged trunks of cocoa-nut trees, that indicated the period of their demise to have been very distant. At one of the huts we saw a domestic fowl, which, when I expressed a wish to purchase, the chief's son, whose name was Ladro, immediately presented me. We afterwards saw a number of others running wild in the thickets. They were small, and looked like what is called the bantam. The natives never eat them, giving, as the reason for it, that they are not cleanly in their food. On our return, Lay took me to a place, where, after the massacre, he had buried a Spanish dollar. It was still there, and he took it with him as a memento of his captivity. We passed several springs of water, to which the women are banished at a certain period.

We met with a native, whom Lay knew, and who, assuming the native dress, went through the violent motions and gestures of a Mulgrave man, engaged in battle. It was an indescribable mixture of the frightful and ludicrous. I was apprehensive that it would offend the native: but he laughed with us at the representation, and said, it was very good. On the following morning, December the second, we were disappointed in not seeing the chiefs. The captain went again to the high chief's mother, who made some excuse for their not appearing, and declared, that they would positively be up that night by moonlight. He told her to send to them again, and say, if they were not there on the morrow, he would go after them, and the consequence might be serious. The old woman seemed very much alarmed at hearing such language, and promised a faithful compliance on the part of her son. It had the desired effect, as on the following morning, December the third, the chiefs all presented themselves on the shore, near our anchorage. The captain, taking Lay and Huzzy with him, went on shore to meet them. They told him, by way of opening the interview, that they were in his power, and ready to obey all his commands. He required of them to restore a whale boat that belonged to the Globe, a swivel, they had taken from the white men, and Lay's musket, to all of which they cheerfully assented. He then gave them, as a proof of his friendship, some cotton handkerchiefs, axes, and a variety of other articles, of much more value to them than those he had taken. He told them, that white men would never come there to hurt them, and that they must always be kind and friendly to them, whenever ships should hereafter visit their island. That, if other white men should ever be similarly situated to those they had killed, they must take care of them, and at some future time they would be rewarded for it. They promised faithfully to do all that they were told, and regretted having killed our countrymen. We gave them a pair of pigs, male and female, which we told them to take great care of, and increase the number as much as possible, forbidding them, on pain of our displeasure, to kill any until we should again return, which might be at no very distant period, although it was uncertain when. The surgeon's grave was made a sacred spot by the high chief, and every thing about it was to be held in the same reverence as the burial-place of his forefathers. The high chief was instructed, through the interpreters, in the manner of cultivating the fruits and vegetables, the seeds of which we had given him in great variety. Some we planted, and all was to be under his especial care. The use of the various kinds was explained to him, as well as their importance to ships, that might visit his islands, which would give him in return for them, axes, or whatever else was most valuable to him.

On the fourth of December, I obtained a boat, and set off on a visit to Lugoma, who, contrary to his promise, had not yet been on board. I took Huzzy with me, knowing that it would delight the chief to see him. We met with a variety of obstacles in our passage, through the inland sea, and did not arrive at the islet of the chief until the second day after our departure. We stood into his bay in the midst of a heavy shower, notwithstanding which, as soon as he saw us, himself and son ran down to the shore to meet us, and waded up to the middle in the water, extending their arms towards us, full of roasted fish, of which he had taken a large quantity on the preceding day. Both of them called to Huzzy, with repeated expressions of their happiness at seeing him, and, in a moment after we struck the shore, the whole tribe of old women welcomed us, with their joyful exclamations. As soon as we were out of the boat, each one in turn clung round Huzzy's neck, and embraced him in the kindest manner. In several different huts were large piles of fish, amounting to some thousands, which had been roasted to preserve them. Lugoma offered at once to accommodate us for the night, saying, he had an abundance of room in his huts for us to sleep, and plenty of fish for us to eat. The weather was squally and wet, which induced me to accept his offer. I wished, also, to witness the manner in which he caught fish in such quantities, and another opportunity might not offer before I left the islands.

As soon as the shower was over, which lasted for two or three hours, Lugoma went out, and employed himself busily collecting and breaking up dry wood, and arranging his ovens of stones, that all might be in readiness to cook the fish as soon they were taken out of the water. There was a considerable shoal extending out from the shore, opposite to his huts, upon which the fish, in their migrations along the islets came in great numbers. At the outer edge of this shoal he had sunk, a few feet below the surface of the water, a long line of cocoa-nut leaves, which were dry, and of a reddish colour. One end of the line of leaves was taken to the shore, and made fast, where there was a pen, built of stone. The line was then taken round upon the shoal semi-circularly, encompassing a considerable portion of it, and the space between the other end of the line and the shore left quite open. When a school of fish is seen, the natives intercept them, driving them through this open space, and, pressing forward, finally into the stone pen, from which they are taken with nets. After all the arrangements were made, Lugoma and another native, waded out beyond the line of leaves, to watch the schools of fish, but, unfortunately, he allowed them all to escape; and, as well as ourselves, seemed to be a good deal disappointed with his bad success. What appeared to be most remarkable about this method of catching fish, is that, after they are inclosed, they will not pass under the cocoa-nut leaves, although there is a depth of several feet water between them and the bottom. Lugoma took me to the place where he had planted the water-melon seeds, I gave him at the time of our parting. He had cleared and mellowed the ground with care, preparatory to planting the seeds, which were already up, and looked thrifty. I bestowed upon him a great deal of praise, and planted a variety of other seeds, of fruit and vegetables, of which he promised to have an abundant supply for me, when I should again return. When night came, and the hour of repose was at hand, I was perplexed with the difficulty of providing for our security against surprise or treachery, without giving Lugoma reason to suppose that we did not confide in his friendship, which I knew he would infer, from any particular watchfulness on our part. I did not believe that we had reason to apprehend danger from Lugoma or any one else, but as we were exposed to it, and had the means of security, I was determined not to run any risk. Three of the men were sent to sleep in the boat, anchored off a short distance from the shore, and which Lugoma was told no one must approach. The rest were directed to bring their arms on shore, and keep a lookout through the night, in rotation. When the arrangement was made, and we had all lain down, except the man that was standing sentry, Lugoma saw him, and asked, if there was not room enough for him to lay down. We answered evasively several times, with a view to satisfy the uneasiness he expressed, lest he should be thought wanting in any respect in hospitality; but were at last obliged to tell him, that the man was keeping watch, to see that no one came to hurt us. His mortification was evident, as he remarked, in reply, that no one would come to his island to hurt us. We expressed our full confidence in his friendship, giving him the further information, that it was our custom always to have some one on the look-out. Lugoma arranged mats upon the floors of his huts for us all, and invited me to lay down on one side of him, having his wife and daughter on the other side. It blew and rained hard all night, but the morning was clear and pleasant. We set off on a visit to an islet a few miles beyond that of Lugoma. He offered to go with us, and dive for a large shell-fish, found there; but as we could not take him, without incommoding ourselves, we declined his company. The islet was so uninteresting, as hardly to repay us for the trouble of going to it. It was covered with a thick growth of hard red wood, common to most of the low islands, and wild bup. We soon took our departure from it, and returned to Lugoma's islet, at an early hour of the day.

For the first time, at the Mulgraves', I observed, in one of Lugoma's huts, a drum, resembling those of Nooaheeva, but of small dimensions. I supposed it was an instrument of music, and in compliance with my request, Lugoma readily consented to play on it. Calling his daughter to him, he bade her thump upon it with her hands, whilst he sung, in time with the music, a few short lines, throwing himself in a variety of attitudes, alternately extending one arm, with great vigour, and drawing the other to his breast. Upon inquiring what was the subject of his song, he told me, through Huzzy, that it was the massacre of the white men,—a rudeness, I did not expect,—even from the untutored Lugoma. I declined any further display of his musical powers. When we were preparing to return on board, Lugoma came to me several times, saying, that I might just as well cut his throat, as to lake Huzzy away from him. "I have no one," said he, with a distressed look, "that is equally capable of assisting me, to work my canoe, and now, he is going away with his musket, my enemies can come and kill me." Finding, at last, that he could not prevail upon us to leave Huzzy, he said, we must bring him back very soon. That, if we were long absent, we should not find him living. He said, that we must bring him clothes, like ours; guns and axes; and that we should share the government of his islet with him, promising to have an abundant supply for us, of all the fruits and vegetables we had planted.

When he and the old women had taken an affectionate leave of Huzzy, he requested me to take two or three females in my boat, with their baskets of fish, which were intended as a present to the high chief, and land them upon the islet where he lived. We consented to do so, and, after landing them, arrived on board late in the afternoon, the schooner having run down to the Globe's anchorage, where she was now lying.

On the following morning Lugoma made his appearance on the beach, with his little son, having landed with his canoe upon the opposite side of the narrow islet. A boat was sent to bring them off. The chief stared wildly round, astonished, and wondering at every thing he saw. He was very timid, and, notwithstanding our kind reception, appeared to feel extremely doubtful of his safety. His confidence was in a measure gained, however, when we gave him an axe, a piece of cotton handkerchiefs, and some other trifles; and he left us, reminding me of my promise to return. Not long after his departure we got underway, and ran back to the residence of the chiefs, where, at ten, A.M., we came to in our old anchorage.

The captain went on shore, and at two, P.M., December the eighth, returned on board with the high chief, and two others. They were shown every thing about the deck, but without awakening much apparent curiosity. We then beat to quarters, and let them see what a formidable appearance we made, arrayed for battle,—an appearance, truly ridiculous to one accustomed to the imposing effect of a fine ship of war, and calculated to excite our risibility, notwithstanding the seeming gravity we assumed for the occasion. The captain asked the high chief, if he did not wish to hear one of the cannon fired, to which he answered evasively, unwilling, I suppose, to acknowledge his fears, as he had been a great warrior in his time. The captain then told him, that he would have one of them fired, if he was not afraid, which brought the chief to a confession, that he dared not hear it. The chiefs brought a number of presents for the Tamon,[10] as they called the captain, consisting principally of mats.

When they became tired of remaining on board, and expressed a wish to be sent on shore, we gratified them, and got underway. The high chief's son, who had visited me a number of times before, and to whom I had made presents of trifling value, but important to him, came on board with his father, and expressed a wish to go with me. His father gave his consent, being perfectly willing that he should go; but as there was great probability an opportunity would never offer for him to return, I thought it would be cruel to take him from his native islands, where, in his father's inheritance, he would be so well provided for.

It was late in the evening when we got underway, at the Mulgraves, for the last time. We had surveyed all that part of the islands intervening between our first anchorage and the Globe's landing, and now steered to the eastward by the bearings we had previously taken. Squalls of wind and heavy rain coming on, we soon lost sight of the land. The loud roaring of the surf, off the extreme north-eastern point, as well as the heavy swell that set in immediately afterwards, apprised us that we had cleared the group. The land was in sight from the mast-head, in the morning, when we ran down for the eastern end of the island, where we had first anchored, and at a convenient distance run along upon the weather side, taking hearings at the end of every base of three or four miles. Near the centre of the windward part of the group we passed a wide opening into the inland sea, not far from which was a reef of considerable extent, where a very high surf was breaking. Within a short distance of the reef, we saw the bottom plainly in ten fathoms water. There was no place on the weather side of the islands, where it was possible to land with any degree of safety. After passing the extreme northern point we steered off, with the trending of the land W. by S.; and, at sun-down, were up with the island, from whence I had taken Lay, having sailed nearly round the group. Here we hove to for the night.

The group of Mulgrave Islands, as they are called, form a circular chain of narrow strips of land, which are no where more than half a mile wide, inclosing within the circle an inland sea, one hundred and forty miles in circumference, filled with shoals and reefs of coral. It is every where bounded on the sea-side, by a bank of coral, that protects it from the violence of the ocean. This bank generally extends but a short distance from the shore, when it goes off into unfathomable water. At the chief's islet, where we buried the surgeon, it was wider than at any other place about the group, being upwards of a cable's length, which, for a low coral island, may be considered good anchorage. The whole circle is broken alternately into clumps, a few feet above the water, of level and low coral reefs, some of which are above high-water mark, and some sufficiently low to afford a passage for boats. The clumps vary in length, but none of them are more than two miles long, without an interruption of a dry or drowned reef. They are covered with a thick growth of bushes, and trees of small size, except where the cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees rear their tall heads, and wide-spreading branches. Wherever these grow, the underwood disappears, and the place has the appearance of an old forest, cleared for a pleasure ground, where a few trees have been left standing, for the advantage of their shade.

The bread-fruit tree is of two kinds. One is the same as that, which is found at the Society, Sandwich, and many other islands of the Pacific. This has no seed, and can only be produced by cuttings from the tree, or shoots, that spring up from the roots. The other kind is seminal, and very much superior to the first. It was not the bread-fruit season, when we were at the Mulgraves, and much to our regret, we could not obtain any of the seeds of this rare and valuable plant. This tree, in general, attains a size considerably larger than that of the common bread-fruit. The leaf of the bread-fruit tree strongly resembles that of the fig, and any one, who has seen the latter, would immediately recognise it, by the resemblance, and the fine rich foliage it bears, when growing luxuriantly. This is by far the most important production of the Mulgrave Islands. When the fruit is not blasted, as sometimes happens, there is a great plenty for the inhabitants. It lasts, however, only for a few weeks; and it is to be presumed, that the natives have no way of preserving it, in a dried or baked state, as is practised with many of the South Sea Islanders, none having been seen by us during our stay. The cocoa-nut tree is next in value to the natives. Of this food there is an ample supply, unless the fruit is blasted. When the bread-fruit and cocoa-nut, both fail in the same year, the natives experience great distress, and are reduced to the necessity of living upon a fruit, they call bup. It is commonly used by the poorest people, and in small quantities by the chiefs at all times. It grows upon almost all the islands in the West Pacific; but, when wild, is much inferior to that growing on the trees, which have a clear open space around them.

Lay lived upon the wild bup for a considerable time after the massacre, when residing with the poor old man, who saved his life, and before the high chief took compassion on him. It has a sweet taste, like the juice of a green corn-stalk. Bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and bup, is the only food of the inhabitants of the Mulgrave Islands, except at the season of the year, when great numbers of fish are taken. The industrious and enterprising have an abundant supply at that period; but it is only whilst the season lasts, as they are not in the practice of preserving them. The bup-tree is the most remarkable of all the vegetable productions of the Mulgrave Islands. To shipwrecked seamen, it might be the means of sustaining life, when no other food could be found, and, as it is a never-failing resource, it ought to be generally known amongst those, who navigate the Pacific Ocean. The tree generally grows from twenty to thirty feet high,—sometimes singly, but more frequently in small clusters. The diameter of the body rarely exceeds six inches. It has a hard thick bark, but the wood is spongy, like that of the cocoa-nut tree. It stands on from half a dozen to a dozen roots or prongs, by which it is propped up two or three feet from the ground. The fruit is an exact resemblance of a pine-apple. Its smell, when ripe, is at first agreeable, but, so powerful, that it soon becomes offensive. The taste of the ripe fruit has much the same effect—agreeable at first, like a mellow, sweet apple, but cloying and nauseous to the stomach, when taken in any quantity. The ripe fruit is never eaten by the natives of the Mulgraves. When green, it is not considered in a state to be eaten, until a beard, which grows out alongside of the stem, has acquired a length of four or five inches. It may then be taken from the tree, and eaten raw, or roasted between hot stones. The soft part of the seeds (if I may so call them) is alone palatable, the other part being hard and tough. The manner of eating it is, to twist the soft part off with the teeth, whereby the juice is expressed. There was but little about the islands that would excite the interest of either the botanist or naturalist. We saw but few flowers or plants. The islands were swarming with a species of small rat, that had a tuft of hair upon its tail. The natives spoke of them as being very troublesome. By throwing a small quantity of food upon the ground, near one of the huts, dozens of them could be collected together in a few moments.

When one of the natives is sick, the friends collect at the hut, where he is lying, and chant over him, to appease the offended spirit that has afflicted him. The same prescription is given for all diseases, which is a tea, made from an herb found upon the island. If death takes place, the friends of the deceased assemble, and mourn over the body, keeping it until it becomes very offensive. Frequently, in the midst of their most bitter mourning and lamentation, some of the mourners will intentionally say or do something calculated to excite mirth, when they all burst out into immoderate laughter, as if their mourning were the affectation of children, and as soon as the humorous excitement has passed over, again relapse into their mournful strain of howling and chaunting. When the body can be kept no longer, and the day of interment arrives, the grave is dug, and the corpse taken upon sticks, and carried to it by the friends of the deceased, followed by a large concourse, who move along without order, and some one occasionally breaks in upon their solemnity by a humorous trick, which gives rise to others, and sets them all laughing. This is soon again succeeded by mourning. The body is lowered into the grave, and covered up, when a little canoe, with a sail to it, and laden with small pieces of cocoa-nut or other food, having been previously prepared, is taken to the sea-shore on the leeward part of the island, and sent off, with a fair wind, to bear far away from the island the spirit of the deceased, that it may not afterwards disturb the living. This ceremony is considered indispensably necessary, and is never neglected. At the head of the grave a cocoa-nut is planted, the tree that springs from which, is held sacred, and its fruits never eaten, in times of the greatest famine. Their burial places are usually a short distance back of the houses, and the females are strictly prohibited from going to them.

Their marriages are conducted with but little ceremony. If a man fancies a female for his wife, he makes the proposal to her, which, if agreeable, he applies to her friends. They meet, and hold a consultation, as to the propriety of the match, and decide whether it shall take place. If the man's suit is denied, nothing more is said on the subject. When united, they are said to be very faithful, and jealous of each other's chastity. Lay or Huzzy related an occurrence, that took place during their residence on the islands, which shows how keenly a sense of injury is felt by them, and that jealousy sometimes inspires them with the most ferocious and deadly revenge. A young man had taken a young woman for a wife, whom he supposed to be a virgin. In a very short time after she went to live with him, however, it was evident that she was pregnant, and before the period which nature has prescribed had elapsed, gave birth to a child. The indignant husband took the infant from its mother's arms, and in her presence dashed its head upon a stone in front of his hut. It was an act for which, under other circumstances, he would have suffered death, by a custom of the islands, forbidding the destroying of human life; and, as the female was of superior rank to the man, being the daughter of a chief, it was believed that he would be punished. Her friends were loud in their calls for justice upon the offender, until a council of the chiefs was called, and the matter brought before them.

After an investigation, the chiefs were satisfied, that the woman had grossly imposed upon her husband, whom they suffered to depart without censure. It is permitted to the men to have as many wives as they can get; but as food is very scarce, and they find it difficult to support one, there are few, even of the chiefs, who have more. The high chief was the only exception to this remark at the time of our visit. He had six, one of whom was a particular favourite.

Latuano, the high chief of the Mulgraves, was called the greatest warrior that the islands had produced for a long time. He told us that in one of his wars he was driven from his islands, and remained (I think) fourteen days at sea in his canoe, most of the time out of sight of land. He steered for an island, which, according to the tradition of his countrymen, lay to the west of the Mulgraves, and, after a great deal of suffering, arrived there in safety. The high chief of this isle (south Pedder's Island) received him with kindness, and after he had visited thirteen different islands of the group,[11] sent him back to the Mulgraves with a fleet of canoes, and a great many men. He arrived there in safety, conquered his enemies, and at the time of our visit was tributary to the chief of Pedder's Island, who had given him a daughter or grand-daughter in marriage. They told us that every few years the chief of Pedder's Island, who is very powerful and very wise, sends a fleet of canoes to the Mulgraves, for tribute. Lay and Huzzy were to have been sent to him, as also the Globe's whaleboat and swivel. I was particularly struck with Latuanos' strong resemblance to General Bolivar. His stature was about the same, and his face bore the same marks of care and serious thought, when his attention was not awakened to any particular thing; and, when animated by conversation, the same vivid expression beamed from his fine features, and sparkling black eyes. I could not but think, when I was looking at him, that if he and General Bolivar could be placed near to each other, similarly dressed, it would be difficult to tell which was the Indian chief, and which the patriot hero.

The high chief is absolute in his authority, but, in the administration of justice, particularly where the life of an individual is concerned, he is influenced in passing judgment by the opinion of the chiefs of most consequence.[12] Like all other men, whether civilized or uncivilized, they have different grades of rank in their society, from the high chief down to the farthest remove of relationship to royalty. The different islets that are inhabited, are partitioned off to different chiefs, who acknowledge their subordination to the high chief, by sending him a part of whatever grows, or is taken within the limits of their government. They send him a portion of their cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, and bup, and of the fish or birds, that may be caught by themselves or any of their people. The high chief requires this for the support of his numerous family. Besides his wives and children, he usually keeps a large number of men about him, who go in his canoe, and perform other essential duties in his service. Several of the principal chiefs are also in attendance, and live with him constantly. In his family, there is no ceremony, to remind the common people of their lowly condition. They all eat, drink, and sleep alike. In dress, there is nothing to distinguish the chiefs from the common people, except that the former sometimes wear a mat that comes down to the knee, of straw, and finely wrought. This, however, I believe, is only worn upon particular occasions.

The men wear bunches of grass hanging down before and behind, such as I have described at our first anchorage, being about the size and appearance of a horse's tail. Those in most common use, were of a reddish colour; but a few of them were white. The bark of which they are made is taken from a long running vine. The boys go quite naked until they are ten or twelve years old, when a dress similar to that of the men is put on them. Their ornaments consist of shell bracelets and necklaces, and sometimes a string of thorn is put round the head; flowers, when they can be obtained, are often used instead of shells. Many of the men, and some of the women have large slits in their ears, through which they put rolls of leaves from one to two inches in diameter. The women wear beautiful white straw mats, of elegant workmanship, about two feet square, and sometimes larger, bordered round the edge, from one to two inches, with black diamond figures, worked in with coloured straw, died with the husk of the cocoa-nut. They usually wear two of these mats, one of which is behind and the other before, tied round the waist with a beautiful round cord of braided straw. The ornaments of the women are the same as those worn by the men. They have no manner of worship. They acknowledge the existence of a Great Spirit whom they call Kenneet, and who, they say, can make them sick and kill them: they look for nothing good from him, and, so far as I could learn, have no idea of rewards and punishments after death. They have a sort of conjurers amongst them, for whose art they entertain great reverence, and in whom they place a strict reliance. To them they apply in all cases of great emergency. Their art consists in having a large bunch of straws, which they fold double and tie in a great many different ways; if, after the straws are thus folded, doubled, and tied, they can be drawn out without being in any manner entangled the one with the other, the omen is propitious; but otherwise, the contemplated undertaking is relinquished. On the following morning it is again resorted to, and so on until success is promised. It must never be tried but in the morning, and only once on the same day. The morning I took Lay from the natives, the chiefs had recourse to this art before they would allow him to speak to us; they were promised good fortune, otherwise he would have been concealed from us. He who cannot perform the mysteries of this art, is not allowed to drink from the same cup with him who can.

They had a great aversion to hearing us whistle, particularly in their houses, and would invariably run up to any of our people when they were whistling, and with a fearful look, beg them to stop; saying, it would bring spirits about the house that would make them sick and kill them. If one of them has wronged another who has died, or if they were enemies, he never eats without throwing away a portion[13] of his food to appease the ghost of the departed.

At a meeting we had with the chiefs on shore, the captain remarked an old man in the circle, whose name and character he asked of Lay or Huzzy; being replied to, he said, in a stern manner that he did not like his face, meaning that he looked like a bad man. The old fellow, seeing himself the subject of conversation, asked the interpreter what the captain was saying about him. On being told, his countenance expressed the utmost dismay, and in a day or two afterwards, he died. There was not a native on the islands with whom Lay or Huzzy conversed, that did not believe the captain's dislike killed the old man. They seemed to entertain the most singular notions of the captain's supernatural powers.

For the purpose of ascertaining what idea the high chief entertained of a God, the captain asked him several questions, to which his answers were vague and unsatisfactory. He thought he had conceived the right one, when he asked the chief who he thought made it thunder. After a moment's hesitation, he looked at the captain and replied, "I suppose you can make it thunder." This was as satisfactory as any thing he could be made to express. Thunder he believed was produced by the agency of a being superior to himself, and the captain he conceived to be infinitely his superior.

Not long after the massacre of the white men, the natives were visited by a disease that caused their limbs to swell, and produced great distress amongst them; it was before unknown, and they ascribed it to Lay and Huzzy, who, they believed, had the power to afflict them in that manner, and had done it to be revenged for the death of their countrymen. They finally charged them with it, and threatened to kill them, which, in all probability they would have done, but for their superstitious fear of some greater evil.

Their huts are not, generally, more than ten by fifteen feet, and from ten to fifteen feet high. They are divided into two apartments, upper and lower; the lower is open all round, without any thatching; the floor is raised a little above the adjacent ground, and covered over with small pieces of the cleanest and whitest coral that can be found. The rafters and small sticks that are laid across them for the thatching, are secured by twine made from the outer husk of cocoa-nut, with which the thatching is also secured. The thatch is the leaves of palm or cocoa-nut. The ceiling of the lower room is generally so low, that one must bend almost double to get into it, and if you remain, it must be in a lying or sitting posture. The garret has a floor of sticks thickly interwoven with leaves; it is higher than the ground floor, and has an air of comfort. The natives keep their provisions in it, and all such things as they would preserve from the rats. They also sleep there in wet weather. In the floor, a hole is left just large enough for a person to crawl through, and so far from the sides that the rats cannot get to it.

Their canoes display the greatest ingenuity, and I have no doubt, that in a civilized country, they would be ranked amongst the rarest specimens of human industry, unassisted but by the rudest implements. The model is most singular, and differs from all that I have ever seen in use, either in the European or American world. Its construction is so remarkable, and in many respects so inconvenient, that it seems improbable the model should have had its origin in any other cause than the want of suitable timber for a more perfect structure. The depth of a Mulgrave canoe, of common size, is four or five feet; its length from thirty to forty. It is so narrow that a man can scarcely stand in it; perfectly flat on one side, and round on the other. It is sharp at both ends. The mast is from twelve to twenty-five feet long, and the sail, (a straw mat,) which is bent to a small yard, is very large in proportion to the canoe. They always sail on the flat side, and have the mast a little inclined forward. It is supported by shrouds and a guy at either end, which is used at pleasure to give the mast its proper inclination. In beating to windward, instead of tacking as we do, and presenting the other side of the boat to the wind, they bring the other end of the boat to it, making that the bow which was before the stern. Amidships there are several light spars extending about ten feet over the round side, and four over the other. Across these are smaller sticks, which are securely lashed above and below, and over them is made a platform. Upon that part of it which extends over the flat side, they have a small thatched cabin, in which they store whatever they wish to preserve from getting wet, or would conceal from observation. The other part of the platform is intended to keep the canoe from being upset; and when hard pressed with carrying sail, several men will sometimes get on it, to keep the canoe upright. They move through the water with astonishing velocity, and, in turning to windward, no boats can surpass them. Although the natives had no other tools to work with than what they made of shells, previous to the visit of the Globe, every article of their workmanship is neat, and as highly polished as though it had been wrought with steel. In the construction of their canoes, the keel-stern and sternpost are solid pieces of hard wood, upon which they are built up of small pieces laid one above the other, and closely seized on with the line of cocoa-husk. The seams are neither caulked or payed, and the canoe consequently leaks so much as to require one man to bail constantly. The steerage is very laborious; they have no rudder, and the only means by which they steer, is with a long flat paddle held in the hands of the helmsman. To steer a large canoe in blowing weather, requires the utmost strength of six or eight men. Upon the outriggers or platforms, and along the masts, they arrange their spears, which are always taken with them, even upon the most ordinary occasions. The canoes are also always ballasted with a quantity of round stones, weighing about a pound each, which forms a material part of their armament. Our carpenter was several days at work upon the canoe of the high chief, caulking and graving her. When he had completed his work, the high chief, after expressing his gratification, earnestly solicited the captain to leave him on the island; he said that he would always provide him an abundance to eat, and that no one should ever hurt him. This, according to the high chief's standard, was the most ample reward that he could promise for useful services.

The people of the Mulgraves are in general of moderate stature, and well made. Their complexion is not so dark as that of the natives of the Duke of Clarence and Byron's Island, and their features more comely. They appeared to us like a different race of men. They have not the flat noses and thick lips of the low islanders, except that two or three persons we saw would come under that description. Their hair is long and invariably combed out with great neatness, and tied on the top of their heads. Their deportment is modest and manly, and after one becomes a little accustomed to their dress, they have always an air of gentility. They have a fine majestic walk, which one would hardly suppose, when it is considered that their way is everywhere paved with sharp coral.

After we had given them the pigs, it was amusing to see with what apparent pleasure they carried them about in their arms, nursing them with as much care and tenderness, as though they had been children, whilst the pigs, unused to such treatment, were kicking and scratching the naked bodies of the poor natives, and squealing away most lustily. We had to interfere to keep the pigs from being killed with kindness, and finally prevailed upon the chief to forbid their being petted in this style. It is not improbable that, in a few years, the whalers that may have occasion to cruise, in the vicinity of these islands, will find an abundant supply. It is hoped, however, that until they become numerous, no navigator who may chance to touch there, will encourage the natives to diminish their number.

At 4, A.M., on the 9th of December, we took our departure from the Mulgrave Islands, and stood to the westward. At daylight, we had lost sight of the group, and at 10, A.M., made South Pedder's Island. Having stood a little too far to the southward, we were all day beating up to weather the N.E. point, where, at sun-down, we hove to in the hope that on the following morning we should be able to effect a landing, and get a sight of the great chief, so celebrated amongst the people we had just left. On the 11th of December, having passed all the early part of the day searching in vain for anchorage, we hove to, a little after meridian, opposite to a considerable bay, upon the shore of which was a native village, and large forests of cocoa-nut trees. The captain took Huzzy in the gig, and, followed by another boat, pulled in over a wide coral bank to the village. A few people were attracted to the shore by the appearance of our boats. They immediately conducted the captain to the chief, who was seated on a mat in the open air, in front of his hut. He seemed but little moved at the unexpected appearance of his visitors. He was a very old man, and had a long white beard that came down upon his breast. The natives stood round in respectful silence, as the old chief addressed the captain, whom he soon distinguished as the person of highest rank amongst the strangers. He spoke the same language as the inhabitants of the Mulgraves, and Huzzy was forbidden to let him know that he was understood, but to listen attentively to what he was saying to those around him. For a time his intercourse with the captain was carried on by signs, and Huzzy overheard him say to the natives, standing by, "Don't disturb them yet. Wait until to-morrow, and see what they are going to do. They will look round here to see what they can find, trade a little, and go on board of their vessel, to sleep, and to-morrow they will come again." When the captain told Huzzy to address some questions to the chief in his own language, it seemed to operate as quickly as an electric shock upon the natives, who stared wildly around at him, and at each other, with looks of the utmost astonishment. The chief partially lost his gravity in the sensation it produced, being not less surprised than his subjects. He asked Huzzy, before answering the question put to him, where he had learned to speak the language of Pedder's Island. Huzzy replied, that he had learned it at the Mulgrave Islands, where he had been for two years. The old chief said, that he had been informed of two white men being there, and was then fitting out a fleet of canoes to send after them. He expressed a great deal of disappointment, that we had taken them away, saying, he would have had them brought to his own island, and treated them well. He asked, if Lay was also on board of the vessel. The captain had taken on shore a present for the chief, and a number of trifles, that he thought might be acceptable to the natives. Our people endeavoured to obtain a quantity of cocoa-nuts and bup, of which there was the greatest abundance; but the natives parted with their fruit very reluctantly. When finally the captain addressed the chief, upon the subject of giving or selling us a supply, he said,—No! that his island was thickly inhabited, and produced no more food than was necessary for his people. That, if we were in want of cocoa-nuts and bup, there were other islands, not far to the westward, where there was an abundance, and but few people, and he advised our going there as speedily as possible. Upon being asked, if he had ever seen white men before, he replied,—Yes; that a long time ago there came a large vessel, in which there were white men, who brought their forge on shore, where they remained for several days. This, he said, was the only instance. The young women were all sent away, and concealed in the thickets, or upon a distant part of the island, where they remained during the whole day.

Amongst other presents made by the captain to the high chief, was a battle-axe,—to him an article of the greatest value. He received it, however, with reluctance, expressing his regret, that he had it not in his power to make a suitable return for so valuable a consideration, accompanying his apology with a small present of mats, cocoa-nuts, and a preparation of the ripe bup, that had an agreeable sweet taste. It was after dark when our party left the village, and went to the beach to embark. They had already left the shore a few yards, when some natives came running down, and called for them to return, saying, the chief had another mat for the captain. They landed, when they were told, that the mat was in the village, and that Huzzy must go for it. The captain, not choosing to send for the mat, put off again. In a few moments two or three other messengers came running to the beach, calling for the boat to return. When she had pulled in a few yards from the shore, they said that the chief wanted Huzzy to go up to the village for the mat, and that he did not wish to keep the axe, which he had sent back to the captain, unwilling, as we supposed, to lay himself under so great an obligation as its acceptance implied. The captain refused to take the axe, telling the messenger to say to his chief, that what we had given, we never took back, and, with this, left the shore and returned on board. The tide had risen considerably over the coral bank, and the party found the surf somewhat dangerous in returning, having their boats nearly filled with water.

The dress and general appearance of these people, as well as their language, was the same as that of the natives of the Mulgraves. Their canoes were also the same. We saw only three or four with sails, which were hauled upon the beach. The power of the great chief must, therefore, consist in his dominion over other islands to the northward and westward of him, where there is an almost connected chain for several hundred miles, and from which, when he undertakes an important enterprise, he must, in a great measure, draw his resources. It was probably with the object of collecting forces for the great chief, that Latuano visited so many islands during his exile from his own, and to which he was at last restored by foreign aid.

At eight in the evening, we made sail to the northward and westward, with a fresh breeze from the eastward. The weather was clear, and we stood on under easy sail all night. Early in the morning land was discovered, bearing nearly west, and soon afterwards more land was seen to the north. The last was Ibbitson's Island, and appeared to be separate from that discovered first. It is not improbable, however, that they are connected by coral reefs, that were too distant from us to be observed.

The land was all low, and had the appearance of the Mulgraves and other coral islands. At meridian, we hove to, and put off in two boats. Having passed to leeward of the island, we crossed a drowned reef, that extended as far as the eye could reach to the N.W., when we found ourselves in an inland sea, which was extensive and quite smooth. That part of the island where we landed was about five miles long, and a quarter of a mile wide. Upon the margin of the inland sea, there were a number of huts, but when we landed, not an inhabitant could be seen. The huts had evidently been but recently occupied. The island was covered abundantly with cocoa-nut and bup trees, and a few of the bread-fruit were here and there to be seen. On the shore of the inland sea the water was smooth and unruffled, and the humble but neat dwellings of the natives, scattered about amongst the cocoa forests, presented a scene of quiet and repose, peculiarly soothing to the mind, contrasted with the eternal war of breakers on the ocean side. We had not been long on shore before we found a few old people, who had concealed themselves in the bushes, and, although they were at first afraid of us, they became less timid, and increased in number, when we had presented them with some pieces of iron, and a few old buttons. In return, they gave us mats, fishing-nets, cocoa-nuts, and bup, with the last of which they filled our boat. Their dress and language was the same as at the Mulgraves, and their habitations and canoes were also the same. Amongst all these islands, the natives ascend the cocoa-nut trees, in the way I have described at the Marquesas. Here we saw several very old people, some of whom had lost all their teeth,—a circumstance we had not before remarked in any of these islands. There were also two or three cripples, who were not less remarkable, being the first we had seen. All the females were very old, and, upon inquiring the cause, they replied, that the young men had sent the young women away, for fear they would be given presents. Two or three large sail canoes came from a great distance over the inland sea, and approached us without fear. The natives told us that they had never seen white men before.

The captain landed upon a different island from myself, and the natives, having fled from their habitations as they did upon the island where I landed, he sent a few old people, that were found, commanding all the inhabitants to return to their homes, and, fearing his displeasure, in a few minutes their huts were occupied in the same manner as though the white-faced strangers had not appeared amongst them.

At five, P.M., we returned to the schooner, with our boats laden with fruit, and soon afterwards made sail, shaping our course for the Sandwich Islands. We were favoured with south easterly trades, blowing in fresh gales for a number of days, which rendered our passage materially shorter than it would probably have been otherwise. But what was still less to have been expected than a south-east trade in the northern tropic, was a strong current, that set us at the rate of thirty to forty miles a day, N.E. from the latitude of sixteen to twenty-five north. Part of the time that we experienced this strong current, the wind was blowing a double-reefed top-sail breeze from East and E.N.E., differing only from two to four points with the opposite direction of the current. When we arrived in the latitude of twenty-three degrees north, the trades left us, and the winds became variable. At meridian of December the 24th, we were, by our calculation, thirty miles from an island, said to have been discovered recently by a whaler, and which we made to bear from us E. by N. Our latitude observed was twenty-five degrees fifty-seven minutes, N. Longitude, by chronometer, one hundred and eighty-six degrees twenty-seven minutes, W. We ran off to the eastward all the following day, and at meridian, December 25th, observed, in latitude twenty-six degrees, N.; longitude one hundred and eighty-three degrees twenty minutes W., without having seen the slightest indications of land.

On Christmas day, we gave the crew a dinner of turtle, which were still fat, and very delicious. We had fed them occasionally upon bup and other vegetation, that was found upon the islands.

December the 27th, we came within the vicinity of another new discovery of a whaler, and at meridian, had it bearing, by our calculation, S.E. ten miles. We ran for it until six, P.M., December 28th, when no appearance of land being in sight, we hove about, and stood to the northward, for a newly discovered reef, which, at meridian, bore from us, by calculation N. by E., distant one hundred miles. Latitude observed, twenty-six degrees ten minutes N.; longitude, by chronometer, one hundred and seventy-six degrees fifty-one minutes, W. The reef for which we were now steering was called, by the discoverer, Clark's Reef. It was said to extend sixty miles, in a south-west and north-easterly direction, and we thought it impossible that it should escape our observation, if laid down any where near the given latitude and longitude.

At nine, P.M., December the 30th, we were within twenty-five miles of the centre of the reef, by our calculation, and as it was blowing a gale, and we were scudding before it with an unusually high sea, we hove to for the night. At three, A.M., we again made sail, and ran for the centre of the reef. At meridian, December the 31st, the centre of it was still twenty miles from us, bearing N. E. by N. From meridian to one, P.M., we steered N. by E., and then bore up, and steered east all the rest of the twenty-four hours, without seeing the reef or any indications of it. At meridian, observed, in latitude twenty-six degrees forty-seven minutes, N.; longitude, by chronometer, one hundred and seventy-two degrees eleven minutes, W.

We continued on to the eastward, with the hope of falling in with two islands and a reef, of another whaler's discovery. Our confidence in their given latitude and longitude, however, was quite destroyed by frequent disappointments, and we now looked for their discoveries, as we would have sought for lands, known only in the tradition of the natives of some unfrequented island, with the hope of finding them, but with little expectation of success. It happened with these, as with all the rest of the new discoveries we had looked for. We passed within a few miles of the latitude, and ran down from one to two degrees of longitude, without observing any thing that indicated the vicinity of land.

On the second of January, 1826, we ran off to the southward of east for Ballard's Island. During the middle of the day, the sea, from being very heavy, became comparatively smooth, and continued so for sixty miles, when the heavy swell again set in from the westward, as before.

At three, P.M., on the fourth of January, a rock was reported from the mast-head, eight leagues from us. It proved to be Ballard's Island, as it is called. At eight on the following morning, we passed within two hundred yards of it. It is about two or three hundred yards in circumference, and rises two hundred feet from the sea. On one side it has a considerable inclination, where seals had crawled up, and several were basking in the sun, almost to the very top. Large flocks of birds were perched upon its ragged sides, or wending their flight around it. Not the least sign of vegetation was any where to be seen. Near its base, was a small rock, from ten to twenty feet above the water level. Ballard's Rock rises in three equi-distant peaks, the centre of which is the highest, and all of them, to the very base, are white with bird-lime. A high surf breaks all around it. Our observations placed it in north latitude, twenty-five degrees two minuses; west longitude, one hundred and sixty-seven degrees fifty minutes.

On the evening of January the fifth, the weather became squally, with constant flashes of lightning and distant thunder. From south to west, and N.W., the heavens were obscured with a heavy black cloud, which rose with great rapidity. We furled all sail. When the cloud ascended our zenith, it became perfectly calm, and a roaring was heard in the air for several minutes, like that of wind through the tops of pines, when hail-stones of an unusual size began to fall upon our deck, accompanied with very sharp lightning and heavy thunder. The hail was of short duration, and passed over without a breath of wind.

The nearest of the Sandwich Group was Bird Island, for which we steered, and on the ninth of January, at eight in the morning (having the preceding night been enveloped in fog) it was discovered close to us. We tacked and stood close in with the south-west side, where was a small sand-beach, fifty to a hundred yards long.

The captain, taking the Globe's whale-boat, went in shore to fish, but seeing a few seal upon the sand beach, was induced to land. It soon afterwards became squally and blew with great violence. The surf upon the beach rose with the wind, and, when the captain, after a short examination of the island, attempted to return, he found it impossible to launch his boat through the surf, and was reduced to the necessity of passing the night upon the island. It blew a gale and rained in torrents all night. The captain and his boat's crew took shelter in a cavern upon the sea-shore, where they had not been long by a comfortable fire they had made, when, by the rising of the tide the sea broke in upon them, and they with difficulty escaped to the side of the rocks, and thence upon the sand-beach. The island was high and almost perpendicular, and with the floods that fell and rushed down its steep sides, rocks of a large size were disengaged from their beds, and came tumbling down in every direction, to the great peril of the captain and his boat's crew, sufficiently uncomfortable from the torrents of water that were falling and driving upon the gale. After a little search, they found an asylum in a cave at the side of a mountain, where they passed the night. In the morning, when they ascended the mountain, the schooner was no where to be seen. It was high and steep, and she had beat up within a few miles of the island and passed their line of sight. Their disappointment and chagrin was inexpressible, supposing, from the schooner's not being in sight, she had been driven off, and that it would be a considerable time before she could return, and afford them that relief their situation so much required, being very much fatigued and exhausted from their exposure. At day-light, the weather cleared and the wind moderated. We beat up and hove to off the sand-beach nearly as soon as the boat we had sent with refreshments.

When the captain saw the schooner approaching close in with the island, he made a last effort to launch his boat. They succeeded in getting her into the breakers, but the first heavy roller that broke under them severed the boat amid-ships, and the captain upon one end of her and a man that could not swim on the other, were hove up safely on the beach by the succeeding wave. The rest of the boat's crew were good swimmers, and also landed in safety. Our boat was not far off when this occurred, and anchoring as near as possible to the shore, the men, all but one, swam off to her through the surf. The only way we could devise to get the captain and seaman off, was to float a cork-jacket on shore, at the end of a line, which being put on by the captain and seaman, alternately, and a rope tied round them, they were hauled through the surf without any other injury than swallowing a quantity of salt-water.

Bird's Island is an uninhabited rock, about a league in circumference, and the highest part from five to eight hundred feet above the ocean. Where our boat landed, is the only spot where a landing could be effected, and upon that side alone it has an inclination by which it may be ascended. Every where else it is perpendicular, and at a distance, looks like the work of art. It has a scanty vegetation.

At five, P.M., January the 11th, we made sail for the island of Oahoo, with a fine breeze from the westward and pleasant weather. At daylight, on the following morning, we saw the small island of Onehow, and soon afterwards, the highland of Atooi. During the whole day, we were coming up with and sailing along on the west side of Atooi, moving at the rate of eight and nine miles per hour. Of a clear day, it may be seen at least fifty or sixty miles. We did not approach nearer to it than eight or ten. It had the appearance, at that distance, of beautiful table-land, being every where very regular and of nearly the same altitude. Towards evening, on the 12th of January, we made the island of Oahoo, and should have been at anchor in Onavoora on the following day had we passed between Atooi and Oahoo, but from some mistake about the prevailing winds on the opposite side of Oahoo, we continued on round the north end of it, and did not anchor at Onavoora until the sixteenth. Two or three American merchant vessels were lying there, with which we exchanged salutes. The Dolphin was the first American man-of-war that ever entered a harbour of the Sandwich Islands, and the firing of the guns, and the report widely circulated that an American man-of-war had arrived, brought the inhabitants from far and near to the shore of the harbour to witness the novel sight. Several of our countrymen, who were traders here, and had been expecting us for some time, came on board to offer their congratulations, and invite us on shore to partake of their hospitality. It was highly gratifying to us upon landing, to meet nearly all of our countrymen residing at the Island, who came down, en masse, to the beach, to welcome us on shore, in the most kind and friendly manner. We were a little disappointed, however, when we came to look round and found that none of the missionaries had partaken in the general sentiment. They were also our countrymen, and from the character of benevolence and philanthropy they had assumed to themselves, we had a right to expect they would have been amongst the first to hail us with a welcome to their lonely abode. We expected, indeed, that they would not only have received us as countrymen, but as friends, whose kindness, and sympathy would be highly acceptable to them in their peculiar situation.

From the shore we were escorted to a large frame building called the wooden-house, then occupied by our countryman, Captain Wilds, where a handsome dinner was prepared, to which every luxury was added that could be obtained from the shipping or the shore. We were much surprised on landing, to find a rabble of naked and half-naked natives, amounting to many hundreds, as we had been taught to believe, from the various information we had received, that their condition was much improved, and that they were far advanced in civilization. They were of all ages, and formed a more varied and fantastic group than I had any where seen, even where no degree of civilization had taken place, from an intercourse with white men. Some of them were quite naked; some had their native dress of tappa cloths; some had on cotton shirts, some a pair of old trowsers, and some nothing but an old jacket. Many of them had adorned their heads with wreaths of red and yellow flowers, and some their necks and wrists with necklaces and bracelets of shells. They expressed the greatest pleasure at seeing us, shouting and crowding around, so that we could not get along without pushing them out of the way. In appearance, a comparison of them with the natives of the Marquesas or Mulgrave Islands, would have been greatly to their disadvantage. On the following day, we were again invited to dine at the same place, where we met a second time with our countrymen, and interchanged with them those sentiments of friendship and sympathy that naturally arise on meeting in a strange land, and which are felt by Americans with peculiar force. It appeared to us that they could not sufficiently express their gratification at seeing us at Oahoo, by the most unremitted attention, for they continued to feast and give us parties every day for more than a week, and until our various and pressing duties made it inconvenient for us to partake of them. On the first sabbath after our arrival, I went to the place of worship appointed by the missionaries for the natives. A large building, formerly occupied for this purpose, had been destroyed a short time previous to our arrival, and as they had now no house sufficiently large to contain the whole congregation, the place appointed for worship was an extensive enclosure in the rear of a large frame building, which is occupied as the dwelling of the young king. Within this enclosure, was assembled about a thousand people, as I supposed, seated on the ground. Some of them were dressed in silks, cottons, and calicoes, and others were in their native dress, being quite naked, except about the waist. They were in the open air, without any protection from the sun, which was pouring its vertical rays upon them. Mr. Bingham, the head of the mission, was addressing them in the language of the island, and when he saw me at the outer edge of the circle, very kindly beckoned me to come round where the queen dowager was seated. He was standing there himself. A native was holding an umbrella over his head, and around him were seated all the chief men and women, some in chairs, and some of them on the ground. With one or two exceptions, they were all people of uncommon size. Some of them were quite neatly dressed, but others had displayed a most whimsical and ridiculous fancy. When I came near Cahumanu, who was the favourite wife of the departed and highly distinguished Tamahamaha, she extended her hand to me and bade one of her attendants bring me a chair. The service lasted about an hour, when the assemblage dispersed, and the natives ran away as much pleased as so many children let loose from school. At the close of the service, I promised myself so much politeness on the part of the distinguished personages present, as to receive from some of them an invitation to go into their houses, as I was in the uniform of a foreign officer; but in this I was altogether disappointed. I had the satisfaction of speaking, for a few minutes, with Mr. Bingham, whose attention was soon called from me by the presence of some chief, with whom he wished to exchange a salutation, and after recognizing two or three of the chiefs present whom I had seen before, I was suffered to depart without receiving any further notice.

On Monday, I made a call of ceremony on the high chief Boque, who was one of the attendants of the late king Rio Rio, on his visit to the king of England. He was a man of about thirty years of age, upwards of six feet, and stout in proportion. He had a flat nose and thick lips, but the general expression of his face was that of benevolence and good nature—an expression truly characteristic, according to the testimony of those who have had an opportunity of knowing him well. We found him sitting in a chair at a table, with a desk before him, upon which he was making pot-hooks after a copy, having just commenced learning to write. He got up and shook hands with us, as did also his wife, who was seated on some mats at the other end of the hut. Boque was dressed in a coarse linen shirt and trowsers, having a pair of heavy shoes on his feet, without any stockings. Queen Boque was nearly as large as her husband, and looked a good deal like him. She had on a plain white muslin cap and dress, neither of which were very clean or neatly put on. It was, however, in as good taste as could be expected in so rude a state of society, but I thought it less becoming than would have been her native dress. She invited us to be seated, and made an attempt at politeness, such as she had seen practised in England, having accompanied her husband thither. The hut was an oblong building, about sixty by forty feet. Its simple structure was the same that has been in use in the islands from time immemorial, being poles laid over crotches, upon which the rafters rested, and differing in nothing from the habitations of the poorest people, except that the crotches, poles, and rafters, were longer, and there were more of them. It was thatched from the top all the way to the ground, with a thick covering of grass. The interior was all in one apartment, from the top of the rafters to the hard beaten ground floor. There was nothing ornamental, and no superfluous furniture. A bedstead standing in one corner, with some pieces of white tappa cloth of the island for curtains, whereon was laid a pile of mats for a bed; two or three piles of mats laying along near the centre of the hut, raised one or two feet from the floor, by being piled one above the other, for beds or lounging places; two or three old chairs; a plain table of small dimensions, and a dressing-case with a mirror in it, was all of Boque's furniture, either useful or ornamental. Besides these may be mentioned a few hollow gourds for poye, (a favourite food of the Sandwich Islanders, made from the tarrow,) hanging at the side of the hut.