CHAPTER XII.-THE SITUATION OF THE ISLANDS NOW DISCOVERED.-THEIR NAMES.-CALLED DUCTIONS.-BIRDS.-FISH.-DOMESTIC ANIMALS.-PERSONS OF THE INHABITANTS.-THEIR DISPOSITION.-DRESS.-ORNAMENTS.-HABITATIONS. FOOD.-COOKERY.-AMUSEMENTS. It is worthy of observation, that the islands in the Pacific Ocean, which our late voyages have added to the geography of the globe, have been generally found lying in groups or clusters; the single intermediate islands, as yet discovered, being few in proportion to the others; though, probably, there are many more of them still unknown, which serve as steps between the several clusters. Of what number this newly-discovered archipelago consists must be left for future investigation. We saw five of them, whose names, as given to us by the natives, are Woahoo, Atooi, Oneeheow, Oreehoua, and Tahoora. The last is a small elevated island, lying four or five leagues from the south-east point of Oneeheow, in the direction of south, 69° W. We were told that it abounds with birds, which are its only inhabitants. We also got some information of the existence of a low uninhabited island in the neighbourhood, whose name is Tammata pappa. Besides these six, which we can distinguish by their names, it appeared, that the inhabitants of those with whom we had intercourse were acquainted with some other islands, both to the eastward and westward. I named the whole group the Sandwich Islands, in honour of the Earl of Sandwich. Those that I saw are situated between the latitude of 21° 30′ and 22° 15′ N., and between the longitude of 199° 20′ and 201° 30' East. Of Woahoo, the most easterly of these islands seen by us, which lies in the latitude of 21° 36′, we could get no other intelligence but that it is high land and is inhabited. We had opportunities of knowing some particulars about Oneeheow, which have been mentioned already. It lies several leagues to the westward of our anchoring-place at Atooi ; and is not above fifteen leagues in circuit. Its chief vegetable produce is yams, if we may judge from what was brought to us by the natives. They have salt, which they call patai; and is produced in salt ponds. With it they cure both fish and pork; and some salt fish which we got from them kept very well, and were found to be very good. This island is mostly low land, except the part facing Atooi, which rises directly from the sea to a good height; as does also the south-east point of it, which terminates in a round hill. It was on the west side of this point where our ships anchored. Of Oreehoua we know nothing more than that it is a small elevated island, lying close to the north side of Oneeheow. Atooi, which is the largest, being the principal scene of our operations, I shall now proceed to lay before my readers what information I was able to collect about it, either from actual observation while on shore, or from conversation with its inhabitants, who were perpetually on board the ships while we lay at anchor; and who, in general, could be tolerably well understood by those of us who had acquired an acquaintance with the dialects of the South Pacific Islands. It is, however, to be regretted that we should have been obliged so soon to leave a place which, as far as our opportunities of knowing reached, seemed to be highly worthy of a more accurate examination. Atooi, from what we saw of it, is at least ten leagues in length from east to west; from whence its circuit may nearly be guessed, though it appears to be much broader at the east than at the west point, if we may judge from the double range of hills which appeared there. The road, or anchoring-place, which we occupied, is on the south-west side of the island, about six miles from the west end, before a village which has the name of Wymoa. As far as we sounded, we found that the bank has a fine grey sand at the bottom, and is free from rocks, except a little to the eastward of the village, where there spits out a shoal on which are some rocks and breakers; but they are not far from shore. This road would be entirely sheltered from the trade-wind if the height of the land over which it blows did not alter its direction, and make it follow that of the coast; so that it blows at north-east on one side of the island, and at east-southeast, or south-east, on the other, falling obliquely upon the shore. Thus the road, though situated on the lee side of the island, is a little exposed to the trade-wind; but, notwithstanding this defect, is far from being a bad station, and much superior to those which necessity obliges ships daily to use, in regions where the winds are both more variable and more boisterous; as at Teneriffe, Madeira, the Azores, and elsewhere. The landing, too, is more easy than at most of those places; and, unless in very bad weather, always practicable. The water to be got in the neighbourhood is excellent, and easy to be conveyed to the boats. But no wood can be cut at any distance convenient enough to bring it from, unless the natives could be prevailed upon to part with the few etooa trees (for so they call the Cordia sebastina), that grow about their villages, or a sort called dooe dooe, that grow farther up the country. The land, as to its general apppearance, does not, in the least, resemble any of the islands we have hitherto visited within the tropic, on the south side of the equator; if we except its hills near the centre, which are high, but slope gently to the sea, or lower lands. Though it be destitute of the delightful borders of Otaheite, and of the luxuriant plains of Tongataboo, covered with trees, which at once afford a friendly shelter from the scorching sun, and an enchanting prospect to the eye, and food for the natives, which may be truly said to drop from the trees into their mouths, without the laborious task of rearing; though, I say, Atooi be destitute of these advantages, its possessing a greater quantity of gently-rising land renders it, in some measure, superior to the above favourite islands, as being more capable of improvement. The height of the land within, the quantity of clouds which we saw, during the whole time we staid, hanging over it, and frequently on the other parts, seems to put it beyond all doubt, that there is a sufficient supply of water; and that there are some running streams which we did not see, especially in the deep valleys, at the entrance of which the villages commonly stand. From the wooded part to the sea, the ground is covered with an excellent sort of grass, about two feet high, which grows sometimes in tufts, and, though not very thick at the place where we were, seemed capable of being converted into plentiful crops of fine hay. But not even å shrub grows naturally on this extensive space. In the break, or narrow valley, through which we had our road to the morai, the soil is of a brownish black colour, somewhat loose; but as we advanced upon the high ground, it changed to a reddish brown, more stiff and clayey, though, at this time, brittle from its dryness. It is most probably the same all over the cultivated parts; for what adhered to most of the potatoes bought by us, which, no doubt, came from very different spots, was of this sort. Its quality, however, may be better understood from its products than from its appearance. For the vale, or moist ground, produces taro, of a much larger size than any we had ever seen; and the higher ground furnishes sweet potatoes, that often weigh ten, and sometimes twelve or fourteen pounds; very few being under two or three. The temperature of the climate may be easily guessed from the situation of the island. Were we to judge of it from our experience, it might be said to be very variable; for, according to the generally received opinion, it was now the season of the year when the weather is supposed to be most settled, the sun being at its greatest annual distance. The heat was, at this time, very moderate; and few of those inconveniences which many tropical countries are subject to, either from heat or moisture, seem to be experienced here, as the habitations of the natives are quite close; and they salt both fish and pork, which keep well, contrary to what has usually been observed to be the case, when this operation is attempted in hot countries. Neither did we find any dews of consequence, which may, in some measure, be accounted for, by the lower part of the country being destitute of trees. The rock that forms the sides of the valley, and which seems to be the same with that seen by us at different parts of the coast, is a greyish-black ponderous stone; but honeycombed, with some very minute shining particles, and some spots of a rusty colour interspersed. The last gives it often a reddish cast, when at a distance. It is of an immense depth, but seems divided into strata, though nothing is interposed. For the large pieces always broke off to a determinate thickness, without appearing to have adhered to those below them. Other stones are probably much more various than in the southern islands. For, during our short stay, besides the lapis lydius, which seems common all over the South Sea, we found a species of cream-coloured whetstone, sometimes variegated with blacker or whiter veins, as marble; or in pieces, as breccia; and common writing-slate, as well as a coarser sort; but we saw none of them in their natural state; and the natives brought some pieces of a coarse whitish pumice-stone. We got also a brown sort of hæmatites, which, from being strongly attracted by the magnet, discovered the quantity of metal that it contained, and seems to belong to the second species of Constredt, though Linnæus has placed it amongst his intractabilia. But its variety could not be discovered; for what we saw of it, as well as the slates and whetstones, was cut artificially. Besides the vegetable articles bought by us as refreshments, amongst which were, at least, five or six varieties of plantains, the island produces bread-fruit, though it seems to be scarce, as we saw only one tree, which was large, and had some fruit upon it. There are also a few cocoa-palms; yams, as we were told, for we saw none; the kappe of the Friendly Islands, or Virginian arum; the etooa tree, and sweet-smelling gardenia, or cape jasmine. We saw several trees of the dooe dooe, so useful at Otaheite, as bearing the oily nuts which are stuck upon a kind of skewer and burnt as candles. Our people saw them used, in the same manner, at Oneeheow. We were not on shore at Atooi but in the day-time, and then we saw the natives wearing these nuts, hung on strings, round the neck. There is a species of sida, or Indian mallow, somewhat altered by the climate, from what we saw at Christmas Island; the Morinda citrifolia, which is called none; a species of convolvulus; the ava, or intoxicating pepper; and great numbers of gourds. These last grow to a very large size, and are of a vast variety of shapes, which probably is effected by art. Upon the dry sand, about the village, grew a plant that we had never seen in these seas, of the size of a common thistle, and prickly, like that; but bearing a fine flower, almost resembling a white poppy. This, with another small one, were the only uncommon plants which our short excursion gave us an opportunity of observing. The scarlet birds, already described, which were brought for sale, were never met with alive; but we saw a single small one, about the size of a canary-bird, of a deep crimson colour; a large owl; two large brown hawks, or kites; and a wild duck. The natives mentioned the names of several other birds; amongst which we knew the atoo, or blueish heron; and the torata, a sort of whimbrel, which are known by the same names at Otaheite; and it is probable that there are a great many sorts, judging by the quantity of fine yellow, green, and very small, velvet-like, black feathers used upon the cloaks, and other ornaments, worn by the inhabitants. Fish, and other marine productions, were, to appearance, not various; as, besides the small mackerel, we only saw common mullets; a sort of a dead white, or chalky colour; a small, brownish rock-fish, spotted with blue; a turtle, which was penned up in a pond; and three or four sorts of fish salted. The few shell-fish that we saw were chiefly converted into ornaments, though they neither had beauty nor novelty to recommend them. The hogs, dogs, and fowls, which were the only tame or domestic animals that we found here, were all of the same kind that we met with at the South Pacific islands. There were also small lizards; and some rats, resembling those seen at every island at which we had as yet touched. The inhabitants are of a middling stature, firmly made, with some exceptions, neither remarkable for a beautiful shape, nor for striking features, which rather express an openness and good-nature, than a keen, intelligent disposition. Their visage, especially amongst the women, is sometimes round; but others have it long; nor can we say that they are distinguished, as a nation, by any general cast of countenance. Their colour is nearly of a nutbrown, and it may be difficult to make a nearer comparison, if we take in all the different hues of that colour; but some individuals are darker. The women have been already mentioned, as being little more delicate than the men in their formation; and I may say that, with a very few exceptions, they have little claim to those peculiarities that distinguish the sex in other countries. There is, indeed, a more remarkable equality in the size, colour, and figure of both sexes, than in most places I have visited. However, upon the whole, they are far from being ugly, and appear to have few natural deformities of any kind. Their skin is not very soft, nor shining; perhaps for want of oiling, which is practised at the southern islands; but their eyes and teeth are, in general, very tolerable. The hair, for the greatest part, is straight, though in some, frizzling; and though its natural colour be commonly black, it is stained, as at the Friendly and other islands. We saw but few instances of corpulence; and these oftener among the women than the men; but it was chiefly amongst the latter that personal defects were observed, though, if any of them can claim a share of beauty, it was most conspicuous amongst the young men. They are vigorous, active, and most expert swimmers; leaving their canoes upon the most trifling occasion; diving under them, and swimming to others though at a great distance. It was very common to see women, with infants at the breast, when the surf was so high that they could not land in the canoes, leap overboard, and without endangering their little ones, swim to the shore, through a sea that looked dreadful. They seem to be blest with a frank, cheerful disposition; and were I to draw any comparisons, I should say, that they are equally free from the fickle levity which distinguishes the natives of Otaheite, and the sedate cast observable amongst many of those of Tongataboo. They seem to live very sociably in their intercourse with one another; and, except the propensity to thieving, which seems WOMAN OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. innate in most of the people we have visited in this ocean, they were exceedingly friendly to us. And it does their sensibility no little credit, without flattering ourselves, that when they saw the various articles of our European manufacture, they could not help expressing their surprise, by a mixture of joy and concern, that seemed to apply the case, as a lesson of humility, to themselves; and, on all occasions, they appeared deeply impressed with a consciousness of their own inferiority; a behaviour which equally exempts their national character from the preposterous pride of the more polished Japanese, and of the ruder Greenlander. It was a pleasure to observe with how much affection the women managed their infants, and how readily the men lent their assistance to such a tender office; thus sufficiently distinguishing themselves from those savages who esteem a wife and child as things rather necessary than SANDWICH ISLANDER IN HIS FULL DRESS CAP AND CLOAK. desirable, or worthy of their notice. From the numbers which we saw collected at every village, as we sailed past, it may be supposed that the inhabitants of this island are pretty numerous. Any computation that we make can be only conjectural. But that some notion may be formed, which shall not greatly err on either side, I should suppose that, including the straggling houses, there might be, upon the whole island, sixty such villages, as that before which we anchored; and that, allowing five persons to each house, there would be, in every village, five hundred; or thirty thousand upon the island. This number is, certainly, not exaggerated; for we had som times three thousand persons, at least, upon the beach; when it could not be supposed that above a tenth part of the inhabitants were present. The common dress, both of the women and of the men, has been already described. The first have often much larger pieces of cloth wrapped round them, reaching from just below the breasts to the hams, or lower; and several were seen with pieces thrown loosely about the shoulders, which covered the greatest part of the body; but the children, when very young, are quite naked. They wear nothing upon the head; but the hair, in both sexes, is cut in differ- are so long that they reach far down the back, we FASHIONS OF HAIR AMONG THE SANDWICH ISLANDERS. observed, were artificially fixed upon the head, over their own hair It is remarkable that, contrary to the general practice of the islands we had hitherto discovered in the Pacific Ocean, the people of the Sandwich Islands have not their ears perforated, nor have they the least idea of wearing ornaments in them. Both sexes, nevertheless, adorn themselves with necklaces made of bunches of small black cord, like our hatstring, often above a hundred-fold, exactly like those of Wateeoo; only that instead of the two little balls, on the middle before, they fix a small bit of wood, stone, or shell, about two inches long, with a broad hook, turning forward at its lower part, well polished. They have, likewise, necklaces of many strings of very small shells, or of the dried flowers of the Indian mallow. And, sometimes, a small human image of bone, about three inches long, neatly polished, is hung round the neck. The women also wear bracelets of a single shell, pieces of black wood, with bits of ivory interspersed, and well polished, fixed by a string drawn very close through them; or others of hogs' teeth, laid parallel to each other, with the concave part outward, and the points cut off, fastened together as the former; some of which, made only of large boars' tusks, are very elegant. The men, sometimes, wear plumes of the tropicbird's feathers, stuck in their heads; or those of cocks, fastened round neat polished sticks, two feet long, commonly decorated at the lower part with oora; and, for the same purpose, the skin of a white dog's tail is sewed over a stick, with its tuft at the end. They also frequently wear on the head a kind of ornament, of a finger's thickness, or more, covered with red and yellow feathers, curiously varied, and tied behind; and on the arm, above the elbow, a kind of broad shell-work, grounded upon network. BRACELETS. The men are frequently punctured, though not in any particular part, as the Otaheiteans, and those of Tongataboo. Sometimes there are a few marks upon their hands or arms, and The print of Horn Island, which we meet with in Mr. Dalrymple's account of Le Maire and Schouten's voyages, represents some of the natives of that island with such long tails, hanging from their heads, as are here described. See Dalrymple's Voya e to the South Pacific, vol. ii. p. 58. |