BOOK III. TRANSACTIONS AT OTAHEITE, AND THE SOCIETY ISLANDS; AND PROSECUTION OF THE VOYAGE TO THE COAST OF NORTH AMERICA. N. CHAPTER I. HAVING taken our final leave of the Friendly Islands, I now resume my narrative of the voyage. In the evening of the 17th of July, at 8 o'clock, the body of Eooa bore NE. by N., distant three or four leagues. The wind was now at E., and blew a fresh gale. With it I stood to the S. till half-an-hour past 6 o'clock the next morning, when a sudden squall from the same direction took our ship aback; and before the sails could be trimmed on the other tack, the mainsail and top-gallant sails were much torn. The wind kept between the SW. and SE. on the 19th and 20th; afterward it veered to the ENE., and The night between the 20th and 21st an eclipse of the moon was observed. I continued to stretch to the ESE., with the wind at NE. and N., without meeting with anything worthy of note till 7 o'clock in the evening of the 29th, when we had a sudden and very heavy squall of wind from the N. At this time we were under single reefed topsails, courses, and stay-sails. Two of the latter were blown to pieces; and it was with difficulty that we saved the other sails. After this squall, we observed several lights moving about on board the Discovery, by which we concluded that something had given way; and the next morning we saw that her main-topmast had been lost. Both wind and weather continued very unsettled till noon this day, when the latter cleared up, and the former settled in the NW. quarter. At this time we were in the Latitude of 28° 6' S., and our Longitude was 198° 23' E. Here we saw some pintado birds, being the first since we left the land. On the 31st at noon Captain Clerke made a signal to speak with me. By the return of the boat which I sent on board his ship, he informed me that the head of the mainmast had been discovered to be sprung in such a manner as to render the rigging of another topmast very dangerous, and that therefore he must rig something lighter in its place. He also informed me that he had lost his maintopgallantyard, and that he neither had another nor a spar to make one on board. The Resolution's spritsail and topsail-yard, which I sent him, supplied this want. The next day we got up a jury topmast, on which he set a mizzen topsail, and this enabled him to keep way with the Resolution. The wind was fixed in the western board—that is, from the N. round by the W. to S., and I steered E. and NE., without meeting with anything remarkable, till 11 o'clock in the morning of the 8th of August, when the land was seen bearing NNE. nine or ten leagues distant. At first it appeared in detached hills, like so many separate islands, but as we drew nearer we found that they were all connected, and belonged to one and the same island. I steered directly for it, with a fine gale at SE. by S., and at half-past 6 o'clock in the afternoon it extended from N. by E to NNE. three-quarters E., distant three or four leagues. or The night was spent standing off and on, and at daybreak the next morning I steered for the NW., leeside of the island; and as we stood round its S. or SW. part, we saw it everywhere guarded by a reef of coral rock, extending in some places a full mile from the land, and a high surf beating upon it. Some thought that they saw land to the southward of this island, but as that was to the windward it was left undetermined. AUG. 1777.] THE ISLAND TOOBOUAI DISCOVERED. As we drew near we saw people on several parts of the coast, walking or running along shore, and in a little time after we had reached the leeside of the island we saw them launch two canoes, into which above a dozen men got, and paddled toward us. I now shortened sail, as well to give these canoes time to come up with us, as to sound for anchorage. At the distance of about half-a-mile from the reef we found from forty to thirty-five fathoms water, over a bottom of fine sand. Nearer in, the bottom was strewed with coral rocks. The canoes having advanced to about the distance of a pistol-shot from the ship, there stopped. Omai was employed, as he usually had been on such occasions, to use all his eloquence to prevail upon the men in them to come nearer, but no entreaties could induce them to trust themselves within our reach. They kept eagerly pointing to the shore with their paddles, and calling to us to go thither; and several of their countrymen who stood upon the beach held up something white, which we considered also as an invitation to land. We could very well have done this, as there was good anchorage without the reef, and a break or opening in it, from whence the canoes had come out, which had no surf upon it, and where, if there was not water for the ships, there was more than sufficient for the boats. But I did not think proper to risk losing the advantage of a fair wind for the sake of examining an island that appeared to be of little consequence. We stood in no need of refreshments, if I had been sure of meeting with them there; and having already been so unexpectedly delayed in my progress to the Society Islands, I was desirous of avoiding every possibility of further retardment. For this reason, after making several unsuccessful attempts to induce these people to come along side, I made sail to the north, and left them, but not without getting from them during their vicinity to our ship the name of their island, which they called Toobouai. It is situated in the Latitude of 22° 15' S., 641 Its and in 210° 37' E. Longitude. greatest extent in any direction, exclusive of the reef is not above five or six miles. After leaving this island, I steered to the N. with a fresh gale at E. by S., and at daybreak in the morning of the 12th we saw the island of Maitea. Soon after Otaheite made its appearance, and at noon it extended from SW. by W. to WNW., the point of Oheitepeha Bay, bearing W., about four leagues distant. steered for this bay, intending to anchor there, in order to draw what refreshments I could from the SE. part of the island before I went down to Matavai, from the neighbourhood of which station I expected my principal supply. We had a fresh gale easterly till 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when, being about a league from the bay, the wind suddenly died away, and was succeeded by baffling light airs from every direction, and calms by turns. This lasted about two hours; then we had sudden squalls, with rain, from the east. These carried us before the bay, where we got a breeze from the land, and attempted in vain to work in, to gain the anchoring place; so that at last, about 9 o'clock, we were obliged to stand out and to spend the night at sea. When we first drew near the island several canoes came off to the ship, each conducted by two or three men. But as they were common fellows, Omai took no particular notice of them, nor they of him. They did not even seem to perceive that he was one of their countrymen, although they conversed with him for some time. At length a chief whom I had known before, named Ootee, and Omai's brother-in-law, who chanced to be now at this corner of the island, and three or four more persons, all of whom knew Omai before he embarked with Captain Furneaux, came board. Yet there was nothing either tender or striking in their meeting. On the contrary, there seemed to be a perfect indifference on both sides, till Omai, having taken his brother on Lima, the capital of Peru, was meant, and that these late visitors were Spaniards. We were informed that the first time they came they built a house, and left four men behind them down into the cabin, opened the drawer where he kept his red feathers, and gave him a few. This being presently known amongst the rest of the natives upon deck, the face of affairs was entirely turned, and Ootee, who-viz., two priests, a boy or servant, would hardly speak to Omai before, now begged that they might be "tayos, and exchange names. Omai accepted of the honour, and confirmed it with a present of red feathers, and Ootee, by way of return, sent ashore for a hog. But it was evident to every one of us that it was not the man, but his property, they were in love with. Had he not shown them his treasure of red feathers, which is the commodity in greatest estimation at the island, I question much whether they would have bestowed even a cocoa-nut upon him. Such was Omai's first reception among his countrymen. I own I never expected it would be otherwise, but still I was in hopes that the valuable cargo of presents with which the liberality of his friends in England had loaded him would be the means of raising him into consequence, and of making him respected and even courted by the first persons throughout the extent of the Society Islands. This could not but have happened had he conducted himself with any degree of prudence. But instead of it, I am sorry to say that he paid too little regard to the repeated advice of those who wished him well, and suffered himself to be duped by every designing knave. From the natives who came off to us in the course of this day we learned that two ships had twice been in Oheitepeha Bay since my last visit to this island, in 1774, and that they had left animals there such as we had on board. But on further inquiry we found they were only hogs, dogs, goats, one bull, and the male of some other animal, which from the imperfect description now given us we could not find out. They told us that these ships had come from a place called "Reema," by which we guessed that 1 Friends. and a fourth person, called Mateema, who was much spoken of at this time, carrying away with them when they sailed four of the natives; that in about ten months the same two ships returned, bringing back two of the islanders, the other two having died at Lima; and that after a short stay they took away their own people, but that the house which they had built was left standing. But The important news of red feathers being on board our ships having been conveyed on shore by Omai's friends, day had no sooner begun to break next morning than we were surrounded by a multitude of canoes crowded with people, bringing hogs and fruit to market. At first, a quantity of feathers not greater than what might be got from a tom-tit would purchase a hog of forty or fifty pounds weight. as almost everybody in the ships was possessed of some of this precious article in trade, it fell in its value above 500 per cent. before night. How ever, even then the balance was much in our favour; and red feathers continued to preserve their superiority over every other commodity. Some of the natives would not part with a hog unless they received an axe in exchange; but nails, and beads, and other trinkets, which during our former voyages had so great a run at this island, were now so much despised that few would deign so much as to look at them. There being but little wind all the morning, it was 9 o'clock before we could get to an anchor in the bay, where we moored with two bowers. Soon after we had anchored, Omai's sister came on board to see him. I was happy to observe that, much to the honour of them both, their meeting was marked with expressions of the tenderest affection, easier to be conceived than to be described. This moving scene having closed, and the AUG. 1777.] TRACES OF A VISIT MADE BY SPANIARDS. ship being properly moored, Omai and I went ashore. My first object was to pay a visit to a man whom my friend represented as a very extraordinary personage indeed, for he said that he was the god of Bolabola. We found him seated under one of those small awnings which they usually carry in their larger canoes. He was an elderly man, and had lost the use of his limbs, so that he was carried from place to place upon a hand-barrow. Some called him "Olla" or "Orra," which is the name of the god of Bolabola; but his own proper name was Etary. From Omai's account of this person I expected to have seen some religious adoration paid to him; but excepting some plantain trees that lay before him and upon the awning under which he sat, I could observe nothing by which he might be distinguished from their other chiefs. Omai presented to him a tuft of red feathers tied to the end of a small stick; but, after a little conversation on indifferent matters with this Bolabola man, his attention was drawn to an old woman, the sister of his mother. She was already at his feet, and had bedewed them plentifully with tears of joy. I left him with the old lady, in the midst of a number of people who had gathered round him, and went to take a view of the house said to be built by the strangers who had lately been here. I found it standing at a small distance from the beach. The wooden materials of which it was composed seemed to have been brought hither ready prepared, to be set up occasionally; for all the planks were numbered. It was divided into two small rooms; and in the inner one were a bedstead, a table, a bench, some old hats, and other trifles, of which the natives seemed to be very careful, as also of the house itself, which had suffered no hurt from the weather, a shed having been built over it. There were scuttles all around which served as air holes; and perhaps they were also meant to fire from with muskets, if ever this should be found necessary. At a little distance 643 from the front stood a wooden cross, on the transverse part of which was cut the following inscription: "Christus vincit." And on the perpendicular part (which confirmed our conjecture that the two ships were Spanish): "Carolus III. Imperat. 1774." On the other side of the post I preserved the memory of the prior visits of the English by inscribing: Georgius Tertius Rex, 1769, 1773, 1774, & 1777." The natives pointed out to us, near the foot of the cross, the grave of the Commodore of the two ships, who had died here while they lay in the bay the first time. His name, as they pronounced it, was Oreede. Whatever the intentions of the Spaniards in visiting this island might be, they seemed to have taken great pains to ingratiate themselves with the inhabitants; who upon every occasion mentioned them with the strongest expressions of esteem and veneration. I met with no chief of any considerable note on this occasion excepting the extraordinary personage above described. Waheiadooa, the sovereign of Tiaraboo (as this part of the island is called), was now absent; and I afterwards found that he was not the same person, though of the same name, with the chief whom I had seen here during my last voyage, but his brother, a boy of about ten years of age, who had succeeded upon the death of the elder Waheiadooa, about twenty months before our arrival. We also learned that the celebrated Oberca was dead, but that Otoo and all our other friends were living. When I returned from viewing the house and cross erected by the Spaniards, I found Omai holding forth to a large company; and it was with some difficulty that he could be got away to accompany me on board, where I had an important affair to settle. On our landing [on the 17th] we first visited Etary, who, carried on a hand-barrow, attended us to a large house, where he was set down, and we seated ourselves on each side of him. I caused a piece of Tongataboo cloth to be spread out before us, on which I laid the presents I intended to make. Presently the young chief came, attended by his mother and several principal men, who all seated themselves at the other end of the cloth, facing us. Then a man who sat by me made a speech, consisting of short and separate sentences, part of which was dictated by those about him. He was answered by one from the opposite side, near the chief. Etary spoke next, then Omai; and both of them were answered from the same quarter. These orations were entirely about my arrival, and connections with them. The person who spoke last told me, amongst other things, that the men of "Reema,' that is, the Spaniards, had desired them not to suffer me to come into Oheitepeha Bay if I should return any more to the island, for that it belonged to them; but that they were so far from paying any regard to this request, that he was authorised now to make a formal surrender of the province of Tiaraboo to me, and everything in it; which marks very plainly that these people are no strangers to the policy of accommodating themselves to present circumstances. At length the young chief was directed by his attendants to come and embrace me; and by way of confirming this treaty of friendship we exchanged names. The ceremony being closed, he and his friends accompanied me on board to dinner. Omai had prepared a "maro," composed of red and yellow feathers, which he intended for Otoo, the King of the whole island; and, considering where we were, it was a present of very great value. I said all that I could to persuade him not to produce it now, wishing him to keep it on board till an opportunity should offer of presenting it to Otoo with his own hands. But he had too good an opinion of the honesty and fidelity of his countrymen to take my advice. Nothing would serve him but to carry it ashore on this occasion, and to give it to Waheiadooa, to be by him forwarded to Otoo, in order to its being added to the royal "maro." He thought by this management that he should oblige both chiefs; whereas he highly disobliged the one whose favour was of the most consequence to him, without gaining any reward from the other. What I had foreseen happened; for Waheiadooa kept the 'maro" for himself, and only sent to Otoo a very small piece of feathers, not the twentieth part of what belonged to the magnificent present. On the 19th this young chief made me a present of ten or a dozen hogs, a quantity of fruit, and some cloth. In the evening we played off some fireworks, which both astonished and entertained the numerous spectators. This day some of our gentlemen in their walks found what they were pleased to call a Roman Catholic chapel. Indeed, from their account, this was not to be doubted, for they described the altar and every other constituent part of such a place of worship. However, as they mentioned at the same time that two men who had the care of it would not suffer them to go in, I thought that they might be mistaken, and had the curiosity to pay a visit to it myself. The supposed chapel proved to be a "toopapaoo," in which the remains of the late Waheiadooa lay as it were in state. It was in a pretty large house, which was enclosed with a low palisade. The "toopapaoo" was uncommonly neat, and resembled one of those little houses, or awnings, belonging to their large canoes. haps it had originally been employed for that purpose. It was covered, and hung round with cloth and mats of different colours so as to have a pretty effect. There was one piece of scarlet broad-cloth four or five yards in length conspicuous among the other ornaments, which no doubt had been a present from the Spaniards. This cloth, and a few tassels of feathers which our gentlemen supposed to be silk, suggested to them the idea of a Per |