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N A R R AT IV E
VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC
* A N D B E E RING'S STRAIT,
TO CO-OPERATE WITH
T H E POL. A. R. E. X P E D IT I O N S :
PERFORMED IN
HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP BLOSSOM,
UNDER THE COMMAND OF
CAPTAIN F. W. BEECHEY, R.N.
F.R.S., &c.
IN THE YEARs 1825, 26, 27, 28.
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LORDs commissionERs of
- THE ADMIRALTY.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.













1831.
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2 V,
TO THE KING.
IN availing myself of Your Majesty's gracious
permission to dedicate this work to Your Majesty,
feel that I am performing a most pleasing duty.
The claims of Your Majesty’s family on the gra-
| titude of the nation, for the efficient patronage they
have afforded to maritime discovery, require merely
to be alluded to, to ensure the attention of every
well-wisher to his country.
Under a less powerful Sovereign than your Royal
Father, the voyages of Cook and Vancouver, in all
probability, would never have been projected, and
could hardly have prospered; while it is certain
that the expeditions of Parry and Franklin owed
their chief distinction to the enlightened encourage-
ment of His late Majesty.
national renown—so extensively useful in diffusing
the blessings of civilization over distant and savage



vi DEDICATION.
-
lands—and so eminently beneficial to the cause of *
science and of commerce, could never have been
successfully accomplished, had not the character of
the Navy been habitually maintained at, perhaps,
the highest level which human exertion is capable
of reaching.
To produce this generous spirit, however, and to
preserve it entire when once created, there was
required, on the part of the Royal Family, some
signal example of personal sacrifice to the popular
service of the country. And although it would
be very presumptuous in any one to pretend to
-
estimate the advantages which the profession has
derived, in our own days, from Your Mºjº,
having condescended to become one of its working
members, there can be no doubt, that in all future
times, the British Navy will retain the salutary im-
pression, and cherish the remembrance of this high
honour.
May it please Your Majesty,
- Your Majesty's
most dutiful servant,
most grateful
and most faithful subject,
FREDERICK WILLIAM BEECHEY.


INTRODUCTION.
THE discovery of a north-west passage to the
Pacific had for some years occupied the attention
of the British government and of the public at large,
and several brilliant attempts had been made both
by sea and by land to ascertain the practicability of
its navigation, which, though conducted with a zeal
and perseverance that will transmit them to the
latest posterity, had, from insurmountable difficul-
ties, failed of success.
In 1824, His late Majesty having commanded that
another attempt should be made by way of Prince
Regent's Inlet, an expedition was equipped — the
last that sailed upon this interesting service — and
the command again conferred upon Captain Parry,
whose exploits have so deservedly earned him the
approbation of his country. At the same time
Captain Franklin, undaunted by his former perilous
expedition, and by the magnitude of the contem-
plated undertaking, having, with the promptness
and perseverance peculiar to his character, proposed
to connect his brilliant discoveries at the mouth of
the Coppermine River with the furthest known
point on the western side of America, by descending
the Mackenzie River, and, with the assistance of his
- l, 2
viii INTRODUCTION.
intrepid associate, Dr. Richardson, by coasting the
northern shore in opposite directions towards the
two previously discovered points, His late Majesty
was also pleased to command that this expedition
should be simultaneously undertaken.
From the nature of these services it was nearly
impossible that either of these expeditions could
arrive at the open sea in Beering's Strait, without
having nearly, if not wholly, exhausted their re-
sources ; and Captain Franklin’s party being, in ad-
dition, destitute of a conveyance to a place whence
it could return to Europe. To obviate these antici-
pated difficulties, his Majesty's government deter-
mined upon sending a ship to Beering's Strait to
await the arrival of the two expeditions.
As this vessel would traverse, in her route, a
portion of the globe hitherto little explored, and
as a considerable period must necessarily elapse be-
fore her presence would be required in the north,
it was intended to employ her in surveying and
exploring such parts of the Pacific as were within
her reach, and were of the most consequence to
navigation.
The vessel selected for this service was his Majes-
ty’s ship Blossom, of twenty-six guns, but on this
occasion mounting only sixteen ; and on the 12th
of January, 1825, I had the honour of being ap-
pointed to the command of her. The following
officers, most of them men distinguished for their
abilities, were placed under my orders, viz. –
Lieutenant, George Peard. Naturalist, . - George T. Lay.
Edw. Belcher, Super- Assistant Surgeon, Thomas Neilson.
Ditto, { numerary, and As- John Evans,
- - sistant Surveyor. Clerks, Chas. H. Osmer.

INTRODUCTION. ix
Dillo, . John Wainwright. --- John Crawley,
Master, . Thomas º Wolunteers, 1st Class, John Hockley.
Surgeon, . Alex. Collie. - J. Clarke Barlow,
Purser, . George Marsh. Pitt", 2d Class, Charles Lewis.
- J. F. Gould,” Gunner, - - John Richardson.
*...* { William Smyth, Boatswain, . - James Clarkson.
- James Wolfe. Carpenter, . - Thos. Garrett.
Midshipmen, John Rendall,
Richard B. Beechey.
To these were added such a number of seamen,
marines, and boys, as, with the exception of the
supernumeraries, would form a complement of a
hundred and ten persons; but in consequence of the
weakness of our crew when collected, I was per-
mitted to discharge ten of the most inefficient; a
reduction which, without sensibly diminishing the
strength of our crew, materially increased the dura-
tion of our stock of provisions, and in the sequel
proved of the most happy consequence.
The ship was partially strengthened, and other-
wise adapted to the service, by increasing her stow-
age. A boat was supplied, to be used as a tender,
and for this purpose she was made as large as the
space on the deck would allow. She was rigged as
a schooner, decked, and fitted in the most complete
manner, and reflected great credit upon Mr. Peake,
the master-shipwright of Woolwich dock-yard, who
modelled and built her.
To the usual allowance of provision was added a
variety of anti-scorbutics. Cloth, beads, cutlery, and
other articles of traffic, were put on board ; and two
fowling-pieces, embossed with silver, and fitted in
the most complete manner, were supplied as presents
to the kings of the Society and Sandwich Islands.
* This valuable young officer was obliged to quit the ship at
Rio Janeiro on account of his health.

X INTRODUCTION.
The College of Surgeons sent bottles of spirits for
the preservation of specimens, and the Horticultural
Society enhanced our extra stores with a box of
seeds properly prepared for keeping. -
The seamen were furnished with two suits of
clothes gratis, and were allowed the further privilege
of having six months' wages in advance.
In the equipment of all the expeditions of this
nature it has been the good fortune of the officers
engaged in them to meet with the utmost courtesy
and attention to their wishes from the departments
which have the power so materially to contribute to
their comfort ; and I take this opportunity of ex-
pressing my sincere thanks to Sir G. Cockburn and
the other Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty,
to Sir Thomas Byam Martin, and the Commission-
ers of the Navy and Victualling Boards, for the
readiness with which they at all times complied with
my requests.
Being in every respect ready, on the 19th May I
received the following instructions from the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty :-
“By the Commissioners for executing the office
of Lord High Admiral of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. &c.
“Whereas it is our intention that his majesty's
sloop Blossom, under your command, should be at
Beering's Strait in the Autumn of 1826, and, con-
tingently, in that of 1827, for the purpose of afford-
ing such assistance as may be required, either by
Captain Parry or Captain Franklin, should one or
both of those officers make their appearance in
that neighbourhood. You are hereby required and
directed to put to sea in the said sloop, so soon as in

INTRODUCTION. xi
every respect ready, and observe the following in-
structions for your guidance:—
“You are to proceed with all convenient expedi-
tion to Rio Janeiro, where you are to complete your
provisions and water; after which you are to make
the best of your way round Cape Horn, and endea-
vour to make Easter Island; from whence you are
to take your departure, steering for the Society
Islands, and passing near the spot where Gomez
Island appears in the charts, in order to ascertain
whether such island has any existence; and, in like
manner, whether Ducie's and Elizabeth Islands be
not one and the same. You will then proceed to
Pitcairn's Island at the south-eastern extremity of
the groupe of the Society Islands, or, as they are
sometimes called, the Georgian Islands, where you
will commence a survey of this groupe, proceeding
north-westerly to Otaheite. In the execution of
this survey it may be found most advisable to
anchor, if practicable, every evening, under one of
the islands, in order that the situation of the ship
may, by these means, be more secure, and that you
may be certain that none of them are passed by you
unobserved. If, however, you should experience
any difficulty in pursuing the route herein pointed
out, from the prevailing winds, you will make the
best of your way to Otaheite, and proceed from
thence in your survey to Pitcairn's Island. -
“During your stay among these or any other of
the islands of the Pacific which you may visit, you
are to use every possible endeavour to preserve an
amicable intercourse with the natives, and to caution
your officers and ship's company to avoid giving
offence or engaging in disputes with them ; and you
are to show them on all occasions every act of kind-

xii INTRODUCTION.
ness that may be in your power, taking care that
when any purchases, by barter or otherwise, are
made, an officer of the ship may always be present
to prevent disputes: and you are particularly to
impress on the minds of your officers and men the
necessity of being extremely guarded in their in-
tercourse with the females of those places, so as to
avoid exciting the jealousy of the men.
“Having completed the survey of this groupe of
islands, if you find that your time will admit of it,
you are to direct your course to the Navigator's
Islands, settling in your way thither the true posi-
tion of Suwarrow’s Islands; from whence, in your
progress to the northward, you will touch at Owhy-
hee, to deliver the despatches and packages address-
ed by the Foreign Office for his Majesty's consul at
that island, and to procure refreshments and water.
“You are, however, to be particularly careful not
to prolong your stay at any of those islands, so as
to retard your arrival at the appointed rendezvous
in Beering's Strait later than the 10th July, 1826;
which period, together with the rendezvous, has
been fixed by Captain Franklin and yourself, by a
memorandum, a copy of which is annexed, and we
desire and direct you to pay particular attention to
the various matters contained therein.
“You are to remain at the said appointed rendez-
vous until the end of October, or to as late a period
as the season will admit, without incurring the risk
of being obliged to winter there, provided you shall
hear nothing of Captain Franklin or his party; but
in the event of his joining, you are to receive him
and his party on board, and convey him either to
Kamtschatka, the Sandwich Islands, Panama, or to
China, as he may determine, in order to procure a

INTRODUCTION. xiii
further conveyance to England. If, however, you
should receive certain intelligence of Captain Parry
having passed through Beering's Strait into the Paci-
fic, you are in that case to proceed with the Blossom
round Cape Horn, and bring Captain Franklin and his
party to England; touching at Callao, and such other
ports on the western coast of South America as you
may deem proper for refreshments, intelligence, &c.
“In the former event, namely, of your leaving
Beering's Strait with Captain Franklin, but without
having obtained any intelligence of Captain Parry,
you are to complete your water and provisions at
the place to which you convey Captain Franklin ;
or in the event of your hearing nothing either of
Captains Franklin or Parry, previous to the season
obliging you to leave Beering's Strait in 1826, you
are to proceed to such place as you may deem most
eligible and convenient for completing your provi-
sions and water; taking care in either of the last-
mentioned cases to be again in Beering's Strait by
the 1st August, 1827, calling in your way thither
again at Owhyhee, at which place Captain Parry
has been directed to give the preference of touching
in his way homeward, for the purpose of affording
you intelligence of him. -
“If you should find that Captain Parry has pass-
ed, or should he pass after joining you, and that you
have heard nothing of Captain Franklin, you are,
nevertheless, to proceed to, or remain at (as the case
may be) Beering's Strait, in the autumn of 1827, as
already directed, following in all respects the direc-
tions already given for your conduct in the autumn
of 1826.
“In order that you may be put in full possession
of that part of our instructions to Captain Parry


xiv INTRODUCTION.
which relates to his arrival in Beering's Strait, we
enclose you here with an extract from them, as also
a copy of a “Memorandum, drawn up by Captain
Parry, and dated Hecla, Davis’ Strait, June, 1824;’
to both of which we desire to call your particular
attention, in order that you may govern your pro-
ceedings accordingly.
“Having remained in Beering's Strait as late in
the autumn of 1827 as the season will admit, and
without risking the chance of being obliged to winter
on account of the ice, you are to proceed to Eng-
land by the route before directed; reporting to our
secretary your arrival, and transmitting the jour-
nals of yourself and officers for our information.
“ In the prosecution of your voyage out, and
during your stay in the Pacific, you are to be parti-
cular in noticing the differences of longitude given
by your chronometers, from any one place to an-
other, which you may visit in succession.
“As we have appointed Mr. Tradescant Lay as
naturalist on the voyage, and some of your officers
are acquainted with certain branches of natural his-
tory, it is expected that your visits to the numerous
islands of the Pacific will afford the means of col-
lecting rare and curious specimens in the several
departments of this branch of science. You are to
cause it to be understood that two specimens, at
least, of each article are to be reserved for the pub-
lic museums; after which the naturalist and officers
will be at liberty to collect for themselves. You
will pay every attention in your power to the pre-
servation of the various specimens of natural his-
tory, and on your arrival in England transmit them
to this office; and if, on your arrival at any place
in the course of your voyage, you should meet with
INTRODUCTION. XV
a safe conveyance to England, you are to avail your-
self of it to send home any despatches you may
have, accompanied by journals, charts, drawings,
&c., and such specimens of natural history as may
have been collected. And you will, on each of your
visits to Owhyhee, deliver to his Majesty's consul at
that place duplicates of all your previous collections
and documents, to be transmitted by him, by the
first safe opportunity, to England.
“In the event of England becoming involved in
hostilities with any other power during your ab-
sence, you are, nevertheless, clearly to understand
that you are not on any account to commit any
hostile act whatsoever; the vessel you command be-
ing sent out only for the purpose of discovery and
science, and it being the practice of all civilized na-
tions to consider vessels so employed as excluded
from the operations of war: and, confiding in this
general feeling, we should trust that you would re-
ceive every assistance from the ships or subjects of
any foreign power which you may fall in with.
“On your return home you will proceed to Spit-
head, informing our secretary of your arrival.

“Given under our hands, the 11th of May, 1825.
“ MELVII.L.E.
W.M. JOHNSTONE HOPE.
G. COCKBURN.
G. CLERK.
W. R. K. DOUGLAS.
“ To Frederick William Beechey, Esq.
Commander of his Majesty's Sloop Blossom, at Spithead.
“ By command of their lordships.
“ J. W. CROKER,”
xvi INTRODUCTION.
MEMORANDUM ACCOMPANYING THE
INSTRUCTIONS.
“We deem it advisable that the ship should be
in Beering's Strait by the 10th of July, and that
she should remain at some appointed rendezvous
until the end of October, or to as late a period as
the season will admit, without incurring the risk of
being obliged to winter there.
“At present we know of but one place on the
eastern shore of the strait which we can recommend
as a rendezvous for both parties, viz. Kotzebue's
Sound; there it appears the ship may remain with
all winds. Desirable as it is to take up a more
northerly position than this, in order that the voy-
age of Captain Franklin's party in open boats may
be shortened; yet, admitting the possibility of deep
inlets on the coast, it is evident that the boats of
Captain Franklin would have more difficulty in
searching for the ship in them than in proceeding
at once to the above-mentioned sound; and the
certainty of finding the ship at a fixed point would
be more satisfactory to Captain Franklin.
“In order, however, to lessen as far as possible
the difficulties of the land party (still preserving the
fixed rendezvous), it is recommended that a party,’
well armed, and having a supply of provisions and
fuel, shall be left at Chamisso Island with a boat;
or, if it be necessary, the defences of the island may
be strengthened by the two forecastle guns, which,
with a strong boat's crew, will be sufficient to pro-
tect the only landing-place in the island against


INTRODUCTION. xvii
any force the natives can bring, should they be
hostile.*
“Leaving this party at the rendezvous, the Blos-
som may proceed to examine the coast, assisted by
her decked launch, keeping in-shore of her; and
signals can then be regularly placed on every con-
spicuous cape or height, according to the mode
agreed upon, for the purpose of directing Captain
Franklin's attention to bottles containing written
information, which will be buried at each station.
“ In this manner it is proposed, circumstances
permitting, to navigate from Kotzebue's Sound
northward, and then eastward as far as the state of
the ice will allow, following up every opening, and
never quitting the main shore. The distance to
which the ship can proceed to the eastward will be
limited by the lateness of the season, and the neces-
sity of avoiding the hazard of being beset in the ice
and obliged to winter.
“ Fog-signals and night-lights will of course be
established between the launch and the ship ; and
should the launch part company with the ship, it
will proceed to the last formed signal station, and
there await the junction of the ship; but if she does
not arrive there in five days, the launch is to pro-
secute the voyage along shore, in search of Captain
Franklin, but not to go so far as to put the cer-
tainty of returning to Chamisso Island by the 30th
of September at any risk, by which date the ship
will also have arrived there; and Captain Franklin
will proceed to the same place should he not have
met either the ship or launch before.

* This erroneous idea was suggested by Captain Kotzebue's
account of the island, arising no doubt from a bad translation.

xviii INTRODUCTION.
“ During the time the Blossom remains in Kot-
zebue Sound, a party will be directed to proceed
inland on a north course, if practicable, in order
that should the coast of the Polar Sea be within rea-
sonable distance, signals may be erected upon the
heights for Captain Franklin, whose party may by
this means be spared a long journey round the
N. W. promontory of America. At this and every
other station where information is deposited of Cap-
tain Beechey, it is advisable that a request in the
Russian language be also placed, that this informa-
tion be not taken away, or the signals disturbed.
“Since the transmission of the above, Captain
Franklin has received his instructions from Earl
Bathurst, the contents of which have been made
known to Captain Beechey, and the only addition
which we think necessary to make is, that in the
event of Captain Franklin arriving at an early pe-
riod at Icy Cape, or at the N. W. extremity of Ame-
rica, or in the longitude of Icy Cape (161° 42° W.)
and returning the same season to his former winter
quarters, he will, in the above-mentioned meridian,
erect a signal, and bury a bottle containing the
information of his having done so for Captain
Beechey's guidance.
(Signed) “JOHN FRANKLIN, Captain.
F. W. BEECHEY, Commander, His
Majesty's Sloop Blossom.
Woolwich, 10th February, 1825.”
After the receipt of these instructions, I took an
early opportunity of communicating to the officers
under my command the sentiments of their lord-
ships, contained in the twelfth paragraph. How
INTRODUCTION. xix
satisfactorily these expectations were fulfilled, must
appear from the manner in which their lordships
have marked their approbation of their conduct.
As commander of the expedition, however, I am
happy of an opportunity of again bearing testimony
to their diligence, and of expressing my thanks for
the assistance I derived during the voyage from
their exertions. They are especially due to my first
lieutenant, Mr. Peard, upon whom much additional
duty devolved, in consequence of my attention
being in some measure devoted to other objects of
the expedition: to Lieutenant Belcher and Mr.
Elson, the master, for their indefatigable attention
to the minor branches of surveying; and to the
former, again, for his assistance in geological re-
searches: to Lieutenant Wainwright for his astro-
nomical observations; to Mr. Collie, for his unre-
mitting attention to natural history, meteorology,
and geology; to Mr. James Wolfe, for his attendance
at the observatory and the construction of charts;
and, lastly, to Messrs. Smyth and Richard Beechey,
for the devotion of their leisure time to drawing.
On the return of the expedition to England, the
journals and papers of the officers were placed in
my hands by the Admiralty, with directions to pub-
lish an account of the voyage. I found those of
Messrs. Collie and Belcher to contain much useful
information on the above-mentioned branches of
science, and in other respects I have derived much
assistance from their remarks, and also from those in
the journals of Messrs. Evans, Smyth, and Beechey.
I have in general noticed these obligations in the
course of my narrative : but as this could not always
be done without inconvenience to the reader, I take


XX INTERODUCTION.
this opportunity of more fully expressing my ac-
knowledgments.
In the compilation I have endeavoured to com-
bine information useful to the philosopher with re-
marks that I trust may prove advantageous to the
seaman, and to convey to the general reader the im-
pressions produced upon my mind at the moment of
each occurrence. How far I have succeeded in ac-
quitting myself of the task my duty compelled me
to undertake, I must leave to the public to decide,
and shall conclude with expressing a hope that my
very early entry into the service may be taken in
extenuation of any faults they may discover.
The collections of botanical and other specimens
of natural history have been reserved for separate
volumes, being far too numerous to form part of an
appendix to the present narrative. His Majesty's
government having liberally appropriated a sum of
money to their publication, I hope, with the assist-
ance of several eminent gentlemen, who have kindly
and generously offered to describe them, shortly to
be able to present them to the public, illustrated by
engravings by the first artists. The botany, of which
the first number has already been published, is in the
hands of Dr. Hooker, professor of Botany, at Glas-
gow, who in addition to having devoted the whole
of his time to our collection, has borne with the nu-
merous difficulties and disappointments which have
attended the progress of the publication of this
branch of natural history, and my thanks on this
account are the more especially due to him in parti-
cular. The department which he has so kindly un-
dertaken will extend to ten numbers 4to.; making,
in the whole, about 500 pages, and 100 plates of
INTRODUCTION. xxi
plants, wholly new, or such as have been hitherto
imperfectly described.
The other branches of natural history are under
the care of Messrs. N. A. Vigors, Edward Bennett,
J. E. Gray, Richard Owen, Dr. Richardson, R. N.,
and Mr. T. Lay, the naturalist to the expedition,
and the geology of Professor Buckland and Captain
Belcher, R. N.; to all of whom I must express my
warmest thanks, for their cordial assistance, and for
the ready and handsome manner in which they have
taken upon themselves the task of describing and of
superintending the delineation of the various speci-
mens. Their contributions will form another 4to.
volume of species entirely new, or, as before, of such
as have been imperfectly described. The public in
general are not aware how much is due to these
gentlemen, without whose zeal and aid they would
be deprived of much useful knowledge; for, not-
withstanding the liberal assistance of his Majesty's
government, there is so little encouragement for
works of the above-mentioned description, that they
could not be published unless the contributions were
gratuitously offered to the publishers.

C O N TENTS
O F T H E F I R S T V O L U M E.
CHAPTER I.
Departure from England—Teneriffe—Sun eclipsed—Fernanda
Norhoma—Make the Coast of Brazil—Rio Janeiro–Passage round
Cape Horn—Conception—Valparaiso - . Page 1
CHAPTER II.
Leave the Coast of Chili–Visit Sala-y-Gomez–Easter Island
—Hostile Reception there—Description of the Inhabitants, Island,
&c.—Enter the dangerous Archipelago—Davis' Island—Eliza-
beth or Henderson's Island, its singular Formation—See Pit-
cairn Island - - - - - 35
CHAPTER III.
Pitcairn Island–Adams and Natives come off to the Ship—Adams's
Account of the Mutiny of the Bounty — Lieutenant Bligh sent
adrift in the Launch – Mutineers proceed to Tobouai– Hostile
Reception there — Proceed to Otaheite – Return to Tobouai–
Again quit it, and return to Otaheite — Christian determines to
proceed to Pitcairn Island — Lands there — Fate of the Ship—
Insurrection among the blacks — Murder of Christian and four of
the Mutineers – Adams dangerously wounded — Fate of the
remaining Mutineers - - - - 66

xxiv. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
Bounty Bay—Observatory landed—Manners, Customs, Occu-
pations, Amusements, &c. of the Natives—Village—Description
of the Island–Its produce—Marriage of Adams—Barge hoisted
out—Departure—General Description - - 96
CHAPTER V.
Visit Oeno Island—Description of it—Loss of a Boat and one
Seaman–Narrow escape of the Crew—Crescent Island–Gambier
Groupe—Visited by Natives on Rafts—Discover a Passage into
the Lagoon—Ship enters—Interview with the Natives—Anchor
off two Streams of Water—Visited by the Natives—Theft—Com-
munication with them suspended—Morai–Manner of preserving
the Dead—Idols and Places of Worship - - 137
CHAPTER VI.
Second interview with the Natives—Visit to the principal Village
– Bodies exposed to dry — Areghe or Chief— Lieutenant Wain-
wright attacked by Natives — Advantage of the Port — Further
Description of the Island, its Soil and Productions. - 1.69
CHAPTER VII.
Quit Gambier Islands—Visit Lord Hood's Island—Water-Spout
—Clermont Tonnere—Description of the Island and Natives, Ca-
noe, &c.—Serle Island—Whitsunday Island–Lagoon Island—
Thrum Cap Island–Egmont Island–Discover Barrow Island;
Description of it—Carysfort Island—Discover Cockburn Island—
Osnaburgh Island—Find the Wreck of the Matilda—Bligh's La-
goon Island—Discovery of Byam Martin Island–Meet a Party of
Chain Islanders there—Mystery attached to their History—Take
two of them on board the Ship—Gloucester Island—See Bow
Island - - - - - 197
CHAPTER VIII.
Boat sent to examine the Channel into Bow Island Lagoon
—Unexpected Interview between Tuwarri and his Brother—A
Pearl Brig at anchor in the Lagoon — Mystery attached to the


CONTENTS. XXV
Byam Martin Islanders dispelled —Their interesting History, ex-
tensive Wanderings and Sufferings—Sequel of Tuwarri's History
—Ship enters the Lagoon — Description of the Island — A short
Account of the Natives — Visit several other coral Islands, and
discover Melville and Croker Islands—Remarks on the Discoveries
of Cook, Wallis, Carteret, &c.—Peculiarities of the coral Islands
—Arrival at Otaheite - - - - 227
CHAPTER IX.
Proceedings at Otaheite—The Ship visited by the Queen Re-
gent, the Royal Family, and several Chiefs—Short Account of the
Chiefs since Captain Cook's Visit — Successful Issue of a Dispute
with the Government respecting the Detention of a trading Vessel
—Visit to the Queen Regent's House — Present Condition of the
Chiefs and of the Inhabitants—Superstitions—Trial of Natives for
Theft of the Ship's Stores—The King visits the Ship—Lake and
Morai of Mirapaye – Dance exhibited by a Party of New Zea-
landers — Considerations on the Effect of the Introduction of
Christianity - - - - - 267
CHAPTER X.
Departure from Otaheite—Arrival at Woahoo, Sandwich Islands
—Contrast between the two Countries—Visit the King and Pitt–
Departure—Oneehow—Passage to Kamschatka—Petropaulski–
Beering's Island — St. Lawrence Island — Esquimaux — King's
Island—Diomede Islands—Pass Beering's Strait—Arrive in Kot-
zebue Sound – Anchor off Chamisso Island — Ice Formation in
Escholtz Bay - - - - - 3.13
CHAPTER XI.
Quit Kotzebue Sound, and proceed to survey the Coast to the
Northward—Interviews with the Natives—Cape Thomson –Point
Hope—Current—Capes Sabine and Beaufort–Barrier of Ice—Icy
Cape – advanced Position of the Ship — Discover Cape Franklin,
Wainwright Inlet, Shoals off Icy Cape, &c.—Boat sent on an
Expedition along the Coast – Return of the Ship to Kotzebue
Sound–Interviews with the Esquimaux – Boat rejoins the Ship—
Important Results of her Expedition - - 356


xxvi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XII.
Interesting Narrative of the Boat Expedition—Point Barrow—
Near Approach to Captain Franklin—Beset by the Ice—Perilous
Situation and fortunate Release of the Barge—Terrific Gale—Re-
join the Ship—Further Examination of Kotzebue Sound—Discover
Buckland River—Mammoth Bones—Ice Formation—Approach of
Winter obliges the Ship to quit the Sound—Repass Beering's
Strait—Gale—Proceed to the Southward–Future Plans—Make
St. Paul's Island–Aleutian Islands– Pass through Oonemak
Channel–Arrive off San Francisco in California - 417

VOYAGE
To THE
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT.
CHAPTER. I.
Departure from England—Teneriffe—Sun eclipsed— Fernanda
Norhoma—Make the Coast of Brazil—Rio Janeiro–Passage
round Cape Horn—Conception—Valparaiso.
ON the 19th of May we weighed from Spithead,
and the following afternoon took our parting view
of the Devonshire coast, and steered out of the
Channel with a fair wind. For several days after-
wards our progress was impeded by boisterous wea-
ther, for which the approach to the Bay of Biscay
has long been proverbial. We however escaped to-
lerably well, and favourable breezes soon succeeding,
we advanced to the southward. - -
On the 30th we ascertained, by running over the
spot in a fine clear day, that a reef of rocks, named
the Eight Stones, did not exist in the situation
which it has for a number of years occupied in our
charts: the next morning we passed the Desertas,
and on the 1st of June were off Teneriffe.
VOI,. I. B
CHAP.
I.
May,
1825.
June.




2 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
As I purposed touching at Santa Cruz, we imme-
J. diately hauled up for the land, and it was a fortu-
June,
1825.
nate circumstance that we did so, for so strong a
current set to the southward during the night, that
had we trusted to our reckoning, the port would
have been passed, and there would have been much
difficulty in regaining it. I mention the circum-
stance with a view of bringing into notice the great
southerly set that usually attends the passage of
ships from Cape Finisterre southward. From this
cape to Point Naga, our error in that direction, or
more correctly S. 33° W., was not less than ninety
miles. I do not stop to inquire into the cause of
this great tendency of the water to the equator,
which might probably be traced to the remote
effect of the trade-wind, but merely mention the
fact as a guide to persons who may pursue the same
route.
We approached the island on a fine sunny day,
but from a quarter that was highly unfavourable
for a view of the lofty Peak, which was almost hid
from us by intervening mountains. At four o'clock.
we came to an anchor in the roads of Santa Cruz,
and there found His Majesty's ship Wellesley, Cap-
tain, now Admiral Sir G. E. Hamond, Bart., on her
way to Rio Janeiro, with his Excellency Sir Charles
Stuart, the British Ambassador to the court of Bra-
zil. As soon as we had exchanged salutes with
the fort, we landed to procure the supplies the ship
required, with all despatch; and met with much
assistance and civility from Mr. Dupland, who was
acting in the absence of the Consul.
Santa Cruz, at the time of our arrival, was under
the government of Don Ysidore Uriarti, who very
--
-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 3
obligingly allowed me to pitch a tent in one of the
forts for the purpose of making observations, and
placed a guard of soldiers to keep watch over the
instruments. In Santa Cruz there is very little to
interest a stranger: when he has paraded some in-
ferior gardens which perpetuate the memory of the
Marquis de Brancifort, cast his eye round the in-
terior of the great church of San Francisco, where a
flag that once belonged to Lord Nelson will not
be allowed to escape his attention, and scanned a
monument erected to the Virgin Mary de la Can-
delaria, the patroness-saint of the island, he has seen
all that can offer an inducement to expose himself
to a dusty walk on a hot day, which he will be sure
to find in the month of June in this scattered town.
The Plaza Reale will amuse those persons who wish
to indulge their criticism on the manner and cos-
tume of the inhabitants, who assemble there in the
evening to Smoke their cigars, and enjoy the luxuri-
ous freshness of the air.
At Laguna the capital, visiters will find a better
town, a more fertile country, a climate several de-
grees cooler than that of Santa Cruz, and every
species of produce more abundant and forward than
at the port; and though the road is bad, few will
regret having encountered its difficulties. The ce-
lebrated Peak of Teyde is the great object of curi-
osity which engages the attention of travellers to
the Canary groupe, and we experienced much mor-
tification at not having it in our power to ascend it.
To have added our mite toward the determination
of its altitude by barometrical measurement, was a
consideration not overlooked ; but, circumstanced as
we were, it was not of sufficient importance to jus-
CHAP.
June,
1825.







B 2

4. VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-y-
June,
1825.
tify the detention of the ship; and we were obliged
to console ourselves with the hope that we should
shortly visit places less known, and where our time,
consequently, would be more usefully employed.
Teneriffe is an island which lies in the track of
all outward-bound ships from Europe, and most
voyagers have touched at it : being the first object
of interest they meet, their zeal is naturally more
excited there, than at any subsequent period of
their voyage: it is consequently better described
than almost any other island in the Atlantic, and
nothing is now left for a casual visiter, but to go over
the ground of his predecessors for his own gratifica-
tion or improvement. My observations for the de-
termination of the latitude and longitude of the place,
&c. were made in the Saluting Battery, but they
are omitted here, as I purpose, throughout these vo-
lumes, to avoid, as far as possible, the insertion of
figures and calculations, which, by the majority of
readers, are considered interruptions to the narrative,
and are interesting only to a few. On the 3rd, His
Majesty’s ship Wellesley sailed for Rio Janeiro with
His Excellency Sir Charles Stuart; and on the 5th,
having procured what supplies we required, we
weighed, and shaped a course for the same place.
From our anchorage we had been daily tantalized
with a glimpse only of the very summit of the
Peak, peeping over a nearer range of mountains, and
the hazy state of the weather on the day of our de-
parture made us fearful we should pass on without
beholding any more of it; but towards sunset,
when we had reached some miles from the coast, we
were most agreeably disappointed by a fair view of
this gigantic cone. The sun set behind it; and as
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 5
->
his beams withdrew, the mountain was thrown for-
ward, until it appeared not half its real distance.
Then followed a succession of tints, from the glow-
ing colours of a tropical sky, to the sombre purple
of the deepest valleys; varying in intensity with
every intermediate range, until a landscape was pro-
duced, which, for beauty of outline, and brilliancy
of colour, is rarely surpassed; and we acknowledged
ourselves amply repaid for our days of suspense.
Night soon closed upon the view ; and, directing
our compass to a well-known headland, we took our
last look at the island, which was the only one of
the Canary groupe we had seen : not on account of
our distance from them, but owing to that mass of
clouds which “navigators behold incessantly piled
over this Archipelago.” The breeze was fair, and
we rolled on, from day to day, with our awnings
spread; passing rapidly over the ground with a
fresh trade-wind, and daily increasing the heat and
humidity of our atmosphere : amused, occasionally
by day, with shoals of flying-fish starting from our
path, followed by their rapacious pursuers; and by
night, with the phosphoric flashing of the sea, and
the gradual rising of constellations not visible in our
native country.
Toward the termination of the trade, the wind
veered gradually to the eastward, and became fresh,
until noon of the 15th, when it suddenly ceased,
and the sea, foaming like breakers, beneath a black
thunder-cloud, warned us to take in our lighter
sails. We were presently taken aback with a vio-
lent gust of wind from the southward, and from
that time lost the north-east trade. As we ap-
proached its limit, the atmosphere gradually became
CHAP
I.
June,
1825.






6 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
June,
1825.
more charged with humidity, and the sky thicken-
ed with dark clouds, which, latterly, moved heavily
in all directions, pouring down torrents of rain.
On the 16th, the sun was eclipsed; and we made
many observations to determine the moment of con-
junction. In doing this, my attention was arrested
by a very unusual appearance. It consisted of a
luminous haze about the moon, as if the light
had been transmitted through an intervening atmo-
sphere. I made a sketch of it very soon afterwards,”
of which I was very glad, as a similar phenomenon,
I found, had been observed by M. Dolland in an-
other eclipse; and as the subject has since received
much interest from the circumstance of Aldebaran,
and Jupiter and his satellites, having been seen pro-
jected upon the disc of the moon. About the time
of the greatest obscuration, Leslie's photometer
stood at 27°, exactly half what it afterwards showed.
Between the intervals of observation, we amused
ourselves with making experiments with a burning
glass upon differently coloured cloths, in imitation
of those recorded in the Memoirs of the Astrono-
mical Society, and which will convey to the general
reader a more intelligible idea of the decrease of in-
tensity in the sun's rays at the time of the greatest
obscuration, than the observations with the photo-
meter, as well as of the readiness with which some
colours ignite in comparison with others : for in-
stance,
Black Blue Scarlet, Pea-Green
burned instantly ; required 3,7, 15,7: would not ignite.
* See the plate.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 7
After the eclipse, and when the sun was shining CHAP.
- I.
bright, \-y-'
Black Blue Scarlet, Pea-Green, Yellow, #.
burned instantly; instantly; 2°; 7,8; 4",3.
The results are the mean of several observations;
and the intervals, the number of seconds between
the rays being brought to a focus on the cloth, and
its ignition.
After losing the trade-wind, we went through
the usual ordeal of baffling winds and calms, with
oppressively hot moist weather, and heavy rains;
and then, on the 19th, in latitude 5° 30' N., got the
south-east trade, with which we pursued our course
towards the equator, and crossed it on the 24th, in
longitude 30° 2' West, much further from the meri-
dian of Greenwich than choice would have dictated.
Some anxiety was in consequence felt lest the cur-
rent, which here ran to the westward at the rate of
thirty miles a day, should sweep the ship so far to
leeward, as to prevent her weathering Cape St.
Roque, the north-eastern promontory of the Brazilian
coast, which would materially protract the passage,
by making it necessary to return to the variable winds
about the equator in order to regain the easting, as
it is almost impossible to make way against the rapid
current which sets past Cape St. Roque.
During the forenoon of the 26th, we observed
an unusual number of birds. To our companions,
the tropic bird, shearwaters, and Mother Carey's
chickens, were added gannets and boatswains: they
were conjectured to be the forerunners of land;
and, at three o’clock, the island of Fernanda Nor-
hona was seen from the deck, bearing southwest,
twelve leagues. When we had neared this island

8 VOYAGE TO THE
within six leagues, there was an irregular sea; but we
had no soundings at 351 fathoms' depth. Our obser-
vations reduced to the Peak, placed it eighteen miles
to the eastward of its position in the East India
Directory. Some squally weather, which occasion-
ally broke the ship off her course, increased our
anxiety; but we kept clean full, to pass as quickly
as possible the current, which here runs with great
rapidity.
On the 29th we had the satisfaction to find our-
selves to the southward of the promontory, and that
it would not be necessary to make a tack. The
wind, however, led us in with the coast of Brazil,
which was seen on the morning of the 8th. The
same evening we passed the shoal off Cape St.
Thomas—a danger which until very lately was erro-
neously placed upon the charts, and not sufficiently
marked to warn ships of the peril of approaching it.”
Thence, our course was for Cape Frio, a headland
which all vessels bound to Rio Janeiro should, on
several accounts, endeavour to make. In fine wea-
ther the south-east winds blow home to the cape,
and gradually fall into either the land or sea breeze,
according to the time of day, though the prevailing
wind off it is from the north-east : with either of
these winds, a ship can proceed to her port. The
southerly monsoon, which, while it blows, materially
facilitates the navigation along the coast to the
CHAP.
June,
1825.
July.
* A merchant-vessel on her way from Rio Janeiro to Bahia,
when about ten miles from the land, struck upon this shoal, and
beat over it, fortunately with the loss of her rudder only. She af.
terwards stood for five hours along the shoal, to the eastward, and
her master stated that the sea broke upon it out of sight of land.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 9
northward, scarcely affects the wind close in with CHAP.
the cape. The greatest interruptions to which they –-
are liable are from the pamperos, which in the win- i.
ter blow with great violence from the river Plate,
sweep past Rio Janeiro, extend to the before-
mentioned cape, and often beyond it, to a consider-
able offing. It was during the influence of one of
these gales that we approached Cape Frio, and had
no sooner opened the land on the western side of
the promontory, than we were met by a long rolling
swell from the south-west, gusts of wind, and un-
settled weather; and at noon encountered a violent
squall, attended by thunder and lightning, which
obliged us to take in every sail on the instant. To-
wards sunset the weather cleared up, and we saw
Cape Frio, N.W. by W., very distant.
Calms and baffling winds succeeded this boister-
ous weather, so that on the morning of the 11th we
were still distant from our port; and the daylight
was gone, and with it the sea-breeze, before we could
reach a place to drop our anchor. It, however, some-
times happens, fortunately for those who are late in
making the entrance of the harbour, that in the in-
terval between the sea and land breezes, gusts blow
off the eastern shore, and ships, by taking advantage
of them, and at the same time by keeping close over
on that side, may succeed in entering the port. This
was our case; and at nine at night we anchored
among the British squadron, under the command of
Rear-Admiral Sir George Eyre, who was the follow-
ing morning saluted with thirteen guns—a compli-
ment which would have been paid by the ships to
the authorities of the place, had it not been suspend-


I0 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-2
July
1825.
ed in consequence of his Imperial Highness requir-
ing certain forms on the occasion, with which his
Britannic Majesty’s government did not think it
right to comply.
The ship being in want of caulking, and the rig-
ging of a refit, previous to encountering the bois-
terous latitude of Cape Horn, these repairs were im-
mediately commenced, and the few stores expended
on the passage were replaced. While these services
were going forward, and observations were in pro-
gress for determining the geographical position of
the port, and for other scientific purposes, excursions
were made to the various places of interest in which
Rio Janeiro abounds : — Bota-Fogo, Braganza, the
Falls of Tejuca, and the lofty Corcovado, were suc-
cessively visited, and afforded amusement to the na-
turalist, the traveller, and the artist. Few places are
more worthy the description that has been given of
them by various authors, than those above men-
tioned; and they have been so frequently described
that they are familiar to every reader, and, as well as
the picturesque scenery of Rio Janeiro itself, are
quite proverbial. Indeed there is little left in the
vicinity of this magnificent port, of which the de-
scription will possess the merit of novelty.
The observations which were made during our
stay in Rio Janeiro will be found in the Appendix
to the quarto edition. It may, however, be interest-
ing to insert here the height of the Peak of Corco-
vado, a singularly shaped mass of granite which over-
looks the placid waters of Bota-Fogo, as the measure-
ments hitherto given are at variance with each other,
and as it is a subject which has caused many discus-
sions among the good people who live in its vicinity.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 11
Our first measurement was with barometers, which, calculated
by Mr. Daniel's new formula, gave the base of the flag-staff
on the Peak, above half-tide - - - 2308 feet.
The next, by trigonometrical measurement, gave 2306
On my return to the same place three years after-
wards, I repeated the observations, which gave the
height as follows:—
By barometrical measurement - - - 229.1% º feet.
By trigonometrical measurement . - - 23054t
The Sugar Loaf by the first base in 1825 was 1286
by the second base in 1828 was 1299f
The astronomical observations were made at an
observatory erected in Mr. May's garden at Gloria,
an indulgence for which I feel particularly indebted
to that gentleman, as well as for other civilities which
I received from him during my stay at the place.
On the 13th of August we sailed from Rio Ja-
neiro for the Pacific: a passage interesting from the
difficulties which sometimes attend it, and from its
possessing the peculiarity of producing the greatest
change of climate in the shortest space of time.
The day after we left the port, we encountered a
* This differs sixteen feet from the first result, which may partly
be owing to the barometers, on this occasion, not being in such
good order as at first: the amount, however, is so small as almost
to need no apology, particularly as the observations were made on
days as opposite as possible to each other — the first in drizzling
rain, the last on a clear sunshining day—whereby the formula was
put to the severest trial.
film this operation I was assisted by the late Captain Henry Fors-
ter, R.N. an officer well known to the scientific world, with whom
I had the pleasure to become acquainted at this place.
| The difference in these measurements is, no doubt, owing to
there being no object on the summit of the hill sufficiently defined
for the purpose of observation, and it is almost impossible to
ascend it.
-
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-2
July
1825.

August.
12 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-2
August,
1825.
dangerous thunder-storm, which commenced in the
evening, and lasted till after midnight: during this
time the sheet lightning was vivid and incessant,
and the forked frequently passed between the masts.
The wind varied so often, that it was with the
greatest difficulty the sails were prevented coming
aback; and it blew so hard that it was necessary to
lower the close-reefed topsails on the cap. Shortly
after midnight, a vivid flash of lightning left five
meteors upon the mast-heads and topsail yard-arms,
but did no damage: they were of a bluish cast,
burnt about a quarter of an hour, and then disap-
peared. The weather almost immediately after-
wards moderated, and the thunder cloud passed
away.
We had afterwards light and variable winds, with
which we crept down to the southward, until the
night of the 25th, when being nearly abreast of the
River Plate, a succession of pamperos” began, and
continued until the 2nd of September, with their
usual characteristics, of thunder and lightning, with
hail and sunshine between. On the 9th, soundings
were obtained in 75 fathoms off the Falkland
Islands; but no land was seen at the time, in con-
sequence of misty weather. We here again ex-
perienced a short though heavy gale. As it was
against us, we turned our proximity to the land to
good account, by seeking shelter under its lee, strik-
Sept.
* These are heavy gusts of wind which blow off the heated plains
(or pampas) lying between the foot of the Cordillera Mountains and
the sea. In the River Plate, and near the coast, they are very
violent and dangerous, from the sudden manner in which they
occur. Their force diminishes as the distance from the coast
increases.




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 13
ing soundings upon a sandy bottom, from 50 to 80
fathoms, the depth increasing with the distance
from the coast. The weather moderated on the day
following, and we saw the land, from S. 25° W.
to S. 56° W., eight or nine leagues distant: the
wind, at the same time, became favourable, and car-
ried us past the Islands during the night. The
eastern point of these Islands (Cape St. Vincent),
by such observations as we were able to make, ap-
pears to be correctly placed in the charts. The po-
sition I have assigned to it will be seen in the table
at the end of the work.
From the Falkland Islands we stood to the south-
ward; and after two short gales from the westward,
made Cape Horn on the 16th, bearing N. 40°W.
six or seven leagues. This was quite an unexpect-
ed event, as a course had been shaped the day be-
fore to pass it at a distance of seventy miles. It
appeared, however, by the noon observation, that a
current had drifted the ship fifty miles to the north-
ward in the twenty-four hours, a circumstance
which might have been attended with very serious
consequences had the weather been thick; and
ships in passing the Strait le Maire will do well to
be on their guard against a like occurrence.* The
view of this celebrated promontory, which has cost
navigators, from the earliest period of its discovery
to the present time, so much difficulty to double,
was highly gratifying to all on board, and especially
so to those who had never seen it before; yet it was
a pleasure we would all willingly have exchanged
* For remarks on the currents, and observations on the winds,
in the vicinity of Cape Horn, the reader is referred to the Nautical
Remarks in the quarto edition. -
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-2
Sept.
1825.

14 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. for the advantage of being able to pursue an unin-
u" terrupted course along the shore of Tierra del Fu-
i. ego, which the flattering prospect of the preceding
day led us to expect, and which, had it not been for
the northerly current, would have been effected with
ease. The disappointment was of course very great,
particularly as the wind at the moment was more
favourable for rounding the cape than it usually is.
In the evening, the Islands of Diego Ramirez
were seen on the weather bow; and nothing re-
mained but to pursue the inner route, at the risk of
being caught upon a lee-shore with a gale of wind,
or stand back to the south-eastward, and lose in one
day what it would require perhaps a week to re-
cover. We adopted the former alternative, and
passed the Islands as close as it was prudent in a
dark night, striking soundings in deep water upon
an uneven bottom.
The next morning, the small groupe of Ildefonzo
Islands was distant six miles on the lee-beam, and
the mainland of Tierra del Fuego appeared behind
it, in lofty ranges of mountains streaked with snow.
The cape mistaken for Cape Horn by Lord Anson
bore N. 49° E., and the promontory designated York
Minster by Captain Cook, W. by N. The coast was
bold, rocky, and much broken, and every here and
there deeply indented, as if purposely to afford a re-
fuge from the pitiless gales which occasionally beat
upon it. The general appearance of the landscape
was any thing but exhilarating to persons recently
removed from the delightful scenery of Rio Janeiro;
and we were particularly struck with the contrast
between the romantic and luxurious scenery of that
place and the bleak coast before us, where the snow,
-










PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 15
filling the valleys and fissures, gave the barren pro-
jections a darker hue and a more rugged outline
than they in reality possessed.
As we drew in with the land, the water became
discoloured, and specifically lighter than that in the
offing, whence it was concluded that some rivers
emptied themselves into the sea in the vicinity. In
the evening it became necessary to stand off the
coast; and we experienced the disadvantages of the
offing, by getting into the stream of the easterly
current, and by the increase of both wind and sea.”
We stood to the westward again as soon as it could
be done; and on the 26th were fifty leagues due
west of Cape Pillar, a situation from which there is
no difficulty in making the remainder of the passage.
We now, for a time at least, bade adieu to the
shores of Tierra del Fuego, whose coast and climate
we quitted with far more favourable impressions
than those under which they were approached.
This, I think, will be the case with every man-of-war
that passes it, excepting the few that may be parti-
cularly unfortunate in their weather; for early navi-
gation has stamped it with a character which will
ever be coupled with its name, notwithstanding its
terrors are gradually disappearing before the pro-
gressive improvement in navigation. It must be
admitted we were much favoured: few persons,
probably, who effect the passage, will have it in
* It is a curious fact, that on this day, at a distance of only
fifty leagues from where we were, it blew a strong gale of wind,
with a high sea, which washed away the bulwark of a fine brig, the
Hellespont, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Parker, R. N., to
whom I am indebted for this and other interesting information on
the winds and currents encountered by him in his passage.
CHAP,
I.
Sept.
1825,

I6 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\*~~
Sept.
1825.
their power to say they were only a week from the
meridian of Cape Horn to a station fifty leagues due
west of Cape Pillar, and that during that time there
was more reason to complain of light winds and
calms, than the heavy gales which proverbially visit
these shores.
Navigators distinguish the passages round Cape
Horn by the outer and inner; some recommending
one, some the other; and doubtless both have their
advantages and disadvantages. It would be very
uninteresting here to discuss the merits of either, as
the question has been sufficiently considered else-
where; and it would, in my opinion, be equally
useless, as very few persons follow the advice of
their predecessors in a matter of this nature, but
pursue that course which from circumstances may
seem most advantageous at the moment; and this
will ever be the case where such a difference of
opinion exists. What I had to say on this subject
has been published in the Nautical Remarks to the
quarto edition.
In describing the passage round Cape Horn, I
have omitted to mention some particulars on the
days on which they occurred, in order that they
might not interrupt the narrative. As we ap-
proached the Falkland Islands from Rio Janeiro,
some penguins were seen upon the water in latitude
47° S., at a distance of three hundred and forty
miles from the nearest land; a fact which either
proves the common opinion, that this species never
stray far from land, to be in error, or that some un-
known land exists in the vicinity. As their situa-
tion was not far from the parallel in which the long-
sought Ile Grande of La Roche was said to have









PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 17
been seen, those who are wedded to the common
opinion above alluded to, may yet fancy such an
island has existence; although it is highly impro-
bable that it should have escaped the observation,
not only of those who purposely went in search of
it, but of the numerous ships also which have of late
made the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Another opinion, not quite so general, (but which I
have heard repeatedly expressed with reference to
the coast of California), is, that of aquatic birds con-
fining their flight within certain limits, so that a
person who has paid attention to the subject will
know by the birds that are about him, without see-
ing the land, what part of the coast he is off. My
own experience does not enable me to offer any
remarks on the subject, except in the instance of the
St. Lawrence Islands, in Beering's Strait, the vici-
nity to which is always indicated by the Crested
Auk (alca crestatella). But the following fact may
be serviceable in adding weight to the opinion, pro-
vided it were not accidental; and if so, it may still
be useful in calling the attention of others to the
subject. Off the River Plate, we fell in with the
dusky albatross (diomedia fulginosa), and as we pro-
ceeded southward, they became very numerous; but
on reaching the latitude of 51° S. they all quitted
us. We rounded the cape; and on regaining the
same parallel of 51° S. on the opposite side, they
again came round us, and accompanied the ship up
the Chili coast. The pintados were our constant
attendants the whole way.
From the time of our leaving England, the tem-
perature of the surface of the sea had been registered
every two hours. Off Cape Horn, I caused it to be
VOL. I. C -
CHAP.
I.
\-v-2
Sept.
1825.


18 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
T.
Sept.
1825.
tried every hour, under an impression that it might
apprise us of our approach to floating ice, when,
from the darkness of the night, or foggy weather,
it could not be seen ; a plan I would recommend
being adopted, as it may be useful, notwithstanding
its fallibility; for though ice in detached masses,
when drifting fast with the wind, extends its influence
a very short way in the direction of its course : yet
on the other hand, its effect may be felt a consider-
able distance in its wake. We had only one warn-
ing of this nature, by a decrease of temperature of
four degrees, which lasted about an hour. The
temperature of the sea, at the greatest depth our
lines would reach, was not below 39°, 2. Off the
Falkland Islands, it was the same at 854 fathoms
as at 603 fathoms. The lowest temperature of the
air was 26°. The current, which at a distance from
the land runs fast to the eastward to the discomfi-
ture of ships bound in the opposite direction, near
the coast to the westward of Cape Horn, at first
entirely ceased, and afterwards took a contrary
course. There is much reason to believe that it
continues this north-westerly course, and ultimately
falls into the northerly current so prevalent along
the coast of Chili.
The wind was now favourable for making pro-
gress to the northward. My instructions did not
direct me to proceed to any port on the coast of
Chili, but circumstances rendered it necessary to
put into one of them, and I selected Conception as
being the most desirable for our purpose.
The weather had for a long time been cloudy :
but on this night a clear sky presented to our view
a comet of unusual magnitude and brilliancy, situ-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 19
ated to the S. E. of the square formed by stop Ceti.
The head had a bluish cast, and increased in lustre
towards its nucleus, where indeed it was so bright,
that with our small telescopes it appeared to be a
star; but this was evidently a deception, as Mr.
Herschell, who made some interesting and satisfac-
tory observations on the same comet, found on turn-
ing his twenty feet reflector upon it, that the star-
like appearance of the nucleus was only an illusion.*
The tail extended between 9" and 10" of arc in a
N. W. direction, and gradually increased in width
from the nucleus till near its termination. We
made a number of measurements to ascertain its
place, and continued them every night afterwards
on which the comet appeared; but as its orbit has
been calculated from far more accurate observations,
and ours were necessarily made with stars unequally
affected by refraction, which involves a laborious
reduction, besides the abstruse calculation for deter-
mining its orbit, I have not given them a place.
On the following night we noticed distinctly the
bifurcation of the tail represented in the Memoirs
of the Astronomical Society. The branches were
of unequal length, and the lower one diverged from
the nucleus, at an angle of about 40".
On the 6th we made the island of Mocha, on the
coast of Chili, a place once celebrated as a resort of the
Buccaneers, who anchored off it for the useful supplies
which in their days it furnished. Its condition was
then certainly very different from the present: seve-
ral Indian chiefs and a numerous population resided
there, and it was well stocked with cattle, sheep,
* See Memoir Ast. Soc, vol. ii. p. 2.
CHAP.
I.
Oct. 4.
1825,


C 2
20 VOYAGE TO THE

CHAP.
I.
\-y-
October,
1825.
hogs, and poultry. At present it is entirely de-
serted, except by horses and hogs, both of which,
Captain Hall states, are used as fresh stock by
whaling ships in the Pacific. The Indians appear
to have been generally very cordial with their vi-
siters, exchanging the produce of the island for
cutlery and trinkets. They, however, apparently
without provocation, attacked Sir Francis Drake,
and wounded him and all his boat’s crew. In 1690
the island was found deserted by Captain Strong,
and it has since remained uninhabited. The cause
of this is not known, though I was informed in
Chili, that it was in consequence of the frequent
depredations committed by vessels that touched at
the island.
We quitted Mocha, passed the Island of St.
Mary, which must not be approached on account
of sunken rocks, and anchored at Talcahuana, the
sea-port of Conception, on the 8th, fifty-six days
from Rio Janeiro. Here we found the British
squadron, under the command of Captain Maling,
from whom I received every assistance and atten-
tion. Our arrival off the port was on one of those
bright days of sunshine which characterize the
summer of the temperate zone on the western side
of America. The cliffs of Quiriquina, an island si-
tuated in the entrance of the harbour, were covered
with birds, curiously arranged in rows along the va-
rious strata; and on the rocks were numberless seals
basking in the sun, either making the shores re-echo
with their discordant noise, or so unmindful of all
that was passing, as to allow the birds to alight
upon them and peck their oily skin without offer-
ing any resistance.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 2I
The sea-port of Conception is a deep, commodious
bay, well protected from northerly winds by the
fertile little island above-mentioned, lying at its en-
trance: there is a passage on either side of it, but
the eastern is the only one in use, the other being
very narrow and intricate. The land on the eastern
and western sides of the bay is high, well wooded,
and on the latter very steep ; on the former it slopes
from the mountains toward the sea with gentle un-
dulations. Several villages are situated along the
shore on both sides, but principally on the eastern.
Around these hamlets, some diminutive patches of
a more lively green than the surrounding country,
show the very limited extent to which cultivation
is carried; of which we had further proof as we pro-
ceeded up the bay, by witnessing groups of both
sexes up to their middle in the sea, collecting their
daily subsistence from beds of choros and other
shell-fish.
Talcahuana we found to be a miserable little town,
extending along the beach, and up a once fertile
valley; divided into streets and squares, but much
dilapidated, dusty, and in some places overgrown
with grass. A thousand inmates occupied these
wretched dwellings, who acknowledged the supre-
macy of a governor, poor, but independant; and
intrusted their spiritual concerns to the care of
a patriot priest. In the principal square stood a
church, in character with the rest of the buildings;
and in front of it a belfry, which for some time past
must have endangered the life of the bellman. His
occupation, however, was less laborious than in
other catholic countries, as it was here called into
action but once in seven days; and was then at-
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-
October,
1825.

22 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-N-
October,
1825.
*
tended to only by the female part of the inha-
bitants.
It was painful to compare the present circum-
stances of this place with the prosperity that once
prevailed, and impossible to look upon the unhappy
inhabitants without feelings of pity at the state to
which they were reduced. The other villages in the
bay were in a very similar condition; and one,
Tombé, where there was formerly an extensive salt-
petre manufactory, was entirely deserted.
The day after my arrival, I accompanied the cap-
tains of the squadron, and Mr. Nugent the consul-
general, to Conception, pursuant to an invitation we
received from the Intendente to visit that city. Its
distance from Talcahuana is about three leagues.
The road, at first, leads over a steep hill to the east-
ward of the town, the summit of which commands
an excellent view of the natural advantages of de-
fence which the peninsula of Talcahuana possesses,
and shows how formidable it might become under
judicious management. The royalists were not ig-
norant of this, and during the turbulent times of
emancipation, sought shelter amongst them, cut
ditches, and threw up temporary works of defence,
all of which are now nearly effaced by the heavy
rains that visit this country at particular periods of
the year. At the back of this range of hills, the
country is flat and occasionally swampy, and con-
tinues so, with very little interruption, to the Collé
de Chepé, a small eminence, whence a stranger ob-
tains the first view of the river Bio Bio and the
city. The intendente met us about a mile outside
the town, and accompanied us to his residence,
where we experienced a most cordial and hospitable
reception.










PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 23
ſ
Conception, during its prosperity, has been de-
scribed by the able pens of Juan de Ulloa, La Pe-
rouse, and others; and since its misfortunes, by a
well-known naval author, who has admirably pic-
tured the ruin and desolation which the city at that
time must have presented. Much of his descrip-
tion would have correctly applied to the time of our
visit; but, generally speaking, there was a decided
improvement in every department. The panic oc-
casioned by the daring associates of the outlaw Be-
navides, Peneleo and Pinchero, was beginning to
subside. These chiefs, unable to make head against
the people when united, had of late confined their
depredations to the immediate vicinity of their
strong holds among the mountains: the peasants
had returned to the cultivation of the soil; looms
were active in various parts of the town; and di-
lapidations were gradually disappearing before cum-
brous brickwork and masonry. Commerce was con-
sequently beginning to revive; there were several
merchant-vessels in the port; and the Quadra, once
“silent as the dead,” now resounded with the voices
of muleteers conducting the exports and imports of
the country.
The tranquil and improving condition of the state
was further evinced by the equipment of an expedi-
tion against the island of Chiloe, which still main-
tained its allegiance to the mother country. The
preparations appeared to give general satisfaction in
Conception, and recruits were daily inlisting, and
training in the Presidio. I peeped through the gate
one morning, and saw these tyros in arms going
through the ordeal of the awkward squad. They
were half Indians, without shoes or stockings, and
with heads like mushrooms. Their appearance, how-
CHAP.
I
October,
1825.

24 VOYAGE TO THE -
CHAP.
I.
October,
1825.
ever, was immaterial: they were the troops on which
the people placed their dependence, which the result
of the expedition did not disappoint; and the effect
upon their minds was equally exhilarating. Hither-
to obliged to act on the defensive against a few pi-
ratical Indian chiefs, they now found themselves
lending their troops to carry on a warfare in a dis-
tant province. Such was the prosperous state of af-
fairs at the time of our arrival; and the highest ex-
pectations pervaded all classes of Society.
The town of Conception occupies nearly a square
mile of ground. It is situated on the north side of
the river Bio Bio, and is distant from it about a
quarter of a mile. Its site was chosen in 1763,
about twelve years after the old city of Penco was
destroyed by an earthquake, or rather by an inunda-
tion, occasioned by a tremendous reaction of the sea.
Such a catastrophe, it might be supposed, would be
sufficient to deter the inhabitants from again build-
ing on low ground; nevertheless, the present city is
erected on a spot scarcely more elevated than the
other, and the river, when high, washes the thres-
hold of the nearest houses. It has no defences;
and is also very badly situated in this respect, be-
ing commanded by a range of hills close behind it.
Benavides was fully aware of this, and constructed
a battery upon the eminence, which still bears his
name: but the guns are spiked, and the fort is in
ruins.
During the late incursions, we were told, that the
mode of repelling an attack was to collect the inha-
bitants in the squares, and barricade the streets lead-
ing out of them, with whatever came first to hand:
the musketry and the muzzles of the field-pieces


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 25 .
were then thrust through these temporary bulwarks, "A".
and a fire opened upon the assailants. This was a S--
sufficiently secure defence against the Indians, but º
it is easy to imagine what would have been the
effect of a few well-placed cannon upon a crowd of
persons so collected. -
In the selection of the site of the new city, the
advantage of the river Bio Bio was, no doubt, the
great consideration; and when inland navigation is
as well understood in that country as in some others,
it will be of the greatest importance, though its
numerous shoals must occasion serious difficulties.
Part of the produce of the interior is now brought
down upon rafts, which, not being able to return,
are broken up and sold for timber. There is a ferry-
boat over the river for the accommodation of per-
sons who wish to pass from Conception to the In-
dian country, and sufficiently large to carry cattle or
horses. The natives cross in punts, but have so
much difficulty in stemming the current and avoid-
ing banks and shallows, that, though the extreme
distance is only a mile, they are sometimes an hour
and a half performing the passage. Although the
Spaniards nominally possessed territory far to the
southward of this river, yet it in reality formed their
boundary, and until very lately it was unsafe for an
European to venture far upon that side, on account
of straggling parties of the Indians.” The mouth
of the Bio Bio is circumscribed by banks, which
have progressively risen, to 210 yards; and even this

* I have been informed that since this period (1825), the Inten-
dente has a magnificent estate on that side of the river, that the
Indians are quiet, and that Conception has undergone great im-
provement.
26 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-2
October
1825.
narrow stream is divided by a rock one-third of the
way across it. If the plan of the entrance be cor-
rect in the chart annexed to La Perouse's Voyage, the
formation of these banks has been very rapid, and
has altered the channel of the river.
The population of Conception is about 6500 per-
sons. The inhabitants, the labouring class at least,
have a particularly healthy look. The men have
hard features and strong sinewy limbs, and the
women and children are fatter than would be agree-
able to most persons: short stature, dark hair and
eyes, and pretty Indian features, are the characteris-
tics of their persons. They are subject to but few
diseases; and for these they have their own remedies,
consisting principally of medicinal herbs, with which
the country abounds, and in the preparation of
which they are well skilled. Fevers, occasioned by
cold and dampness, are the most common complaints.
In the streets of Conception I did not see a single
Cripple, a very rare circumstance in Spanish towns;
nor were we molested by beggars, beyond a few
troublesome boys beseeching alms; and this arose
more from impudence, and a determination to try
their luck, than from any real necessity: in secret,
however, there are not wanting persons who, if op-
portunity offered, would not only solicit charity,
but enforce their demand with a pistol or a stiletto.
On meeting the Indians in an unfrequented part of
the country, it is particularly necessary to be upon
your guard; for these half-civilized barbarians are
generally intoxicated, and care very little about
insulting or maltreating strangers even in the heart
of the town, much less when alone in the country.
A regiment of Araucaneans is embodied in the army

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 27
of the state, and quartered in the town: they retain
their own weapons, and continue their own tactics.
A specimen of their extraordinary and barbarous
warfare was exhibited at Conception during our
stay.
Since the trade of Chili has been thrown open, a
remarkable change in the costume of the inhabitants,
and also in the furniture of their houses, has taken
place; and an Englishman may now see with pride
the inferior manufactures of his own country prized,
to the exclusion of the costly gold and silver tissue
stuffs of Spain, which, Perouse observes, were en-
tailed in families like diamonds, and descended from
the great-grandmother to the children of the third
and fourth generation. Even the national musical
instrument, the guitar, has fallen into neglect, and
has been supplanted by the English piano-forte. It
would have been better for the lower orders of so-
ciety, of which a large portion of the population of
Conception consists, if the use of this simple instru-
ment had been retained ; for it is well known, in
foreign countries, how many hours of innocent
mirth are beguiled in the happy circles it assembles
around the cottage doors ; and how many idle cha-
racters its fascination deters from indulging in less
innocent occupations, to which the Chilians are
equally prone with other nations; though I am by
no means an advocate for its being prized to the
extent it once was by the Portuguese, who, after a
battle in which they were defeated, left 14,000 gui-
tars upon the field.*
The entertainments most frequented in Concep-
* Mengiana, tom, i.
CHAP.
I.
\-N-
October
1825.

28 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-
October
1825.
tion are cock-fighting and billiards. All classes of
society assemble at the pit, and if there be no fight,
will light their cigars, and chat whole hours away,
in the hope of a match being made up, and are dis-
persed only by the approach of night. The English
cocks are most esteemed, and are sometimes valued
at a hundred dollars arpiece (twenty guineas). The
Chilian spurs cut as well as thrust, and greatly
shorten the cruel exhibition. Some of the gover-
mors are said to have imposed a tax on these esta-
blishments for their own private advantage, but
without the authority of the laws.
Of the country round Conception I have little to
say, except that it has undergone a great change
since the days of its prosperity. In the parallel of
37" on the western side of a great continent, a luxu-
riant soil may be expected to produce an abundant
vegetation. This district has, in consequence, been
famous for its grain, vines, fruits, esculent roots, &c.,
and for its pasture lands, on which formerly were
reared immense herds of cattle, and horses of the
finest breed. But the effects of the disturbed state
of the country are as manifest here as in the differ-
ent parts of the city. At present, as much arable
land as is absolutely necessary for the support of the
inhabitants is cleared, and no more ; and even its
produce is but scantily enjoyed by the lower classes
on the coast, who are obliged to subsist almost en-
tirely upon shell-fish. The soil, if attended to, will
give an abundant return: wheat, barley, Indian corn,
beans, pease, potatoes, and arrow-root ; grapes, ap-
ples, pears, currants, strawberries, and olives, are the
common produce of the country. From the latter
a fine oil is extracted ; but the fruit is too rank to


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 29
be eaten at table, except by the natives. The arrow-
root is of a good quality, and very cheap. In the
ravines and moist places, the panque (gunmera scabra)
grows luxuriantly and strong: it is a very useful
root, and serves for several purposes; a pleasant and
cooling drink is extracted from it, which is deemed
beneficial in feverish complaints; its root furnishes
a liquid serviceable in tanning, and superior to any
of the barks of South America; when made into tarts,
it is scarcely inferior to the rhubarb, for which it is
sometimes mistaken; and it is eaten in strips after
dinner, with cheese and wine, &c. Several European
shrubs and herbaceous plants grow here, but more
luxuriantly than in our own country; among these
were hemlock, flax, chickweed, pimpernel, water-
cresses, and a species of elder.
The wines which were formerly so much esteemed,
and carried along the coast to the northward, are now
greatly deteriorated, and in the sea-port much adul-
terated. There is a great variety of them, and in
general they are very intoxicating. The only palat-
able kind I tasted was made from the vines on the
estate of General Friere, and for which I was in-
debted to the liberality of the governor, as there was
none to be purchased. This wine, though agreeable
to the English palate, is not in such estimation with
the Chilians as one that has a strong empyreumatic
flavour. It acquires this in the process of heating,
or rather of boiling, the fruit, which is done with a
view to extract a larger proportion of the juice than
could be obtained by the ordinary means, and to
produce a mellowness which age only could other-
wise give. Cici and mattee are still in use, though
less so than formerly ; and indeed it appeared to me
CHAP.
T.
October
1825.

30 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. that the Chilians were fast getting rid of all their
-- old customs, of which the drinking of mattee is one.
October - - - -
. After passing a very pleasant time in the society
of the Intendente, we took our leave, and returned
to the port. Our occupations there were divided
between astronomical observations, making a survey
of the bays of Conception and St. Vincent, and
equipping the ship for sea.
I had some hesitation in procuring coal for our
sea stock of fuel; not that the article was become
scarce, but on account of the enormous price to which
the owner thought proper on this occasion to raise
it. Captain Hall states, that when he was at this
place, the Penco coal, which was the best, was sold
for twelve shillings a ton, all expenses included; but
the same quantity was now valued at nine dollars,
besides the labour of digging and carrying. This
arose from a report that some mines which had been
recently discovered were about to be worked, which
would occasion a great and permanent demand for
the material. The coal is of a very inferior quality,
and fit only for the forge. Hitherto, however, ex-
periment has been made only upon that which is
near the surface: when the mines are worked, if
they ever be, a better quality, in all probability, will
be obtained. Talcahuana and Penco are, I believe,
the only places where coal has yet been discovered
near Conception. Were this article of a good qua-
lity and reasonable, there would be a great demand
for it at Valparaiso, and among the several squadrons
upon the station; and it would probably be well
worth the experiment of the owner to search a little
deeper in the earth, and ascertain the nature of the
lower strata. These veins occur in red sandstone

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 31
2.
formation, and do not appear at the surface to be
very extensive, or to promise any very large supply
of fuel. This observation applies only to that part
of the coast which lies in the vicinity of Conception
and the port, a large proportion of which is composed
of diluvial depositions.
We are informed by a visiter to this country,
that limestone is found at Conception, and is used
by the inhabitants for whitewashing their houses :
but this is evidently a mistake, as the natives col-
lect shells, and calcine them for that purpose; be-
sides, in no part of the bay or vicinity of Concep-
tion could we perceive limestone, or even hear of its
existence. A gentleman pointed out a place to the
northward of Tomé Bay, where, he said, it occurred;
but, on examination, only clay-slate, chert, and green-
stone were found.
As the geology of Conception will appear in an-
other place, I shall merely observe here, that in the
secondary sand-stone a variety of petrifactions occur,
of wood, shells, and bones, formed by an infiltration
of siliceous and calcareous matter. The little island
of Quiriquina presents alternate horizontal strata of
pebbles, sand-stone, and petrified substances, princi-
pally of wood, and vertebral and other bones of the
whale. On the opposite shore a fossil nautilus was
found, which measured three feet in diameter. Upon
the beach, in several parts of the bay, there are ridges
of magnetic iron-sand which the waves have thrown
up: they are seen adhering together, apparently by
mutual attraction.
The abundance of shell-fish in Conception entices
a great many birds within the bay. The shore is
occasionally thronged with them and the shags
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-
October
1825.

32 voy AGE TO THE
CHAP.
I
--~
October,
1825.
sometimes fly in an unbroken line of two miles and
more in length. The quebranta huessos, the black-
backed gull, a species of tern, and two or three
species of pelican, one of which pursues its food in a
very entertaining manner. It first soars to a great
height, and then suddenly darts into the sea, splash-
ing the water in all directions: in a few seconds, it
emerges and resumes its lofty flight until again
attracted by its prey, when it plunges into the sea
as before ; and thus the flock, for these birds are
gregarious, ranges over the whole bay, performing
all its motions in concert and with a surprising ra-
pidity. The penguin is also here, and a very large
species of duck, the female of which has a callosity
on the shoulder of each wing, and is very excellent
eating; a species of colymbus with lobed toes; cur-
lews, sea-pies, horned plovers, a beautiful species of
chaverey, with iridescent plumage; the oyster-eater,
or razor-bill, and sanderlings; turkey buzzards, the
condor, several species of hawks, owls, black-birds,
and wood-pigeons, the latter of which are very large
and good to eat ; a very beautiful species of duck,
frequenting the marshes and lakes between Talca-
huana and Conception; partridges, a species of wood-
pecker, a dark-brown fringilla, with a beautiful scar-
let breast, a species of loxia, turdus, hirundo, ampe-
lis, not remarkable for their plumage, and numerous
flocks of green parrots, which the Chilian Spaniard,
who eats almost every kind of bird, has no objection
to place upon his table. The domesticated fowls
are the same here as in Europe. The reptiles are
few, and not venomous : small lizards are extremely
common on the rocks, and among the trees. There
are one or two species of snakes; a large one resem-









PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 33
bling the common English adder is frequent, and a
small green snake was caught by one of the officers.
The fish are not very numerous, only coming into
the bay with a particular wind. The number of
whales which guard the entrance, and the shoals of
seals, grampuses, and porpoises, which crowd the
bay, must destroy a great many. Shell-fish are an
exception to this scarcity, and being very large,
form no small portion of the food of those inhabi-
tants who live on the borders of the bay. Besides
the choros, a large muscle, and locas (concho lepus),
mentioned by Ulloa, there are several other small
species which are more esteemed than the large
choros, a number of razor, and some venus-shells.
Large sea-eggs are highly prized, and, like the
others, eaten raw. The smaller shell-fish are, various
sorts of limpets, turbos, neritas, murex, and some
others : there are also a great many crabs.
In the survey of the Bay of Conception a shoal
was discovered by Lieutenant Belcher on the Penco
side, which is probably that upon which a vessel
struck some time previous, but which the boats of
the squadron could not afterwards find. It was
necessary to make some alteration in the position of
the Belen bank, from the manner in which it is laid
down in the Spanish charts, and the shoal said to
occur off the sandy point of Quiriquina does not in
fact exist. The western entrance was thoroughly
examined, and found to be quite safe, though very
narrow, and should only be used in all cases of
difficulty in weathering Paxaros Niños, with a north-
erly wind. The bay of St. Vincent does not appear
to me to afford security to any vessel of more than
a hundred tons with a strong westerly wind; and I
WOL. I. D
CHAP.
I.
\-Y-'
October,
1825.

34 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
I.
\s-Y-'
October,
1825.
would advise no large ship to put in there under
such circumstances, if she could possibly avoid it.
Further information on the subject will be found
among the Nautical Remarks.
Conception, as a place of refreshment, in every
way answered our expectations: fresh beef, poultry,
good water, vegetables, and wood are to be had :
they happened to be dear at the time of our visit,
but no doubt, if the country remains tranquil, they
will be both cheap and more abundant.
On the 20th our operations were completed ; but
a strong northerly wind prevented our putting to
sea, and we anchored under the little island of Qui-
riquina. This is a very secure stopping place, and,
in the winter season, a better anchorage to refit a
ship at, than that off Talcahuana. It is small, and
a ship must lie very close to the shore. After two
days of contrary wind, we put to sea on the 24th,
and three days afterwards anchored at Valparaiso,
in the hope of receiving some supplies which we
could not procure at Conception; but being disap-
pointed in their arrival, on the 29th we weighed,
and took our final leave of the coast.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 35
CHAPTER II.
Leave the Coast of Chili–Visit Sala-y-Gomez–Easter Island–
Hostile Reception there—Description of the Inhabitants, Island,
&c.—Enter the dangerous Archipelago—Davis' Island—Eliza-
beth or Henderson's Island, its singular Formation—See Pit-
cairn Island.
ON leaving Valparaiso, my intention was, if pos-
sible, to pass within sight of Juan Fernandez, in
order to determine its position; but finding the wind
would not allow us to approach sufficiently near
even to see it, we kept away for the island of Sala-y-
Gomez, and with the view of making this part of
the voyage useful, the ship's course was directed
between the tracks of Vancouver and Malespina on
the south side, and many other navigators on the
north, who, engaged in pursuits similar to our own,
had run down the parallels of 27° and 28° S. in
search of the land discovered by Davis. These pa-
rallels, during the summer months, are subject to
light and variable airs; and we, in consequence,
made very slow progress, particularly as we ap-
proached the meridian of the island, where it be-
came necessary to adopt the precaution of lying-to
every night, that the object of our search might not
be passed unobserved.
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.

I) 2.
36 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
When the nights were clear, we continued our
observations on the comet. On the 30th the coma
had increased to the enormous length of 24°; the
nucleus was larger and more brilliant than before;
and the ray, before mentioned as forming part of
the coma, was more distinct, and apparently at a
greater angle with it than when first seen.
The day after we quitted the coast of Chili, all
the birds left us; even the pintados, which had been
our constant attendants for upwards of 5000 miles,
deserted us on this occasion. We afterwards saw
very little on the wing, I believe nothing, except a
wandering albatross, until we approached the island
of Sala-y-Gomez.
In the Pacific, in particular, the navigator should
not be inattentive to the presence or absence of
birds, as they will generally be found in the vicinity
of islands, and especially of such as are uninhabited
and of coral formation. On the 14th, several tropic
birds, boatswains, and gannets, flew round the ship,
and were hailed as an omen which did not deceive
us, for at daylight, on the following morning, the
island of Sala-y-Gomez was seen from the mast-
head, bearing N. N.W., fifteen miles distant.
We shortly closed with this isolated spot, and
found its extent much less than has been stated.
It is, indeed, scarcely more than a heap of rugged
stones, which the elements appear to have thrown
together, and in a gale of wind would not be distin-
guished amidst the spray. The rocks, except such
parts as have been selected for roosting places by
the sea-gulls, are of a dark-brown colour. Upon a
small flat spot there was a moss-like vegetation,
and near it a few logs of wood, or planks, which the

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 37
imagination might convert into the remains of some
miserable vessel whose timbers had there found a
resting-place. Though several vessels have been
missing in these seas, we have no intelligence of any
having been wrecked here. Sala-y-Gomez, when he
discovered the island, imagined he found the frame
of a vessel upon it, and in all probability the wood
which we saw was the same ; but whether it was so
or not, our curiosity and desire to land were fully
awakened, though we were disappointed by the high
breakers which rolled over every part of the shore.
We remained some time under the lee of the
island, narrowly scrutinizing it with our telescopes,
but without adding to our information. During
this time the ship was surrounded by sharks and
bonitos, but none were taken, nor were our fisher-
men more fortunate at the bottom. The feathery
tribe,” disturbed from their roost, came fearlessly
around us; we shot several, and in the stomach of a
pelican a volcanic pebble was found, which some of
us conjectured to have been gathered upon the island,
and thence inferred its particular formation.
Sala-y-Gomez, when first seen, has the appearance
of three rocks: its direction is N.W. and S. E.; and
it is something less than half a mile in length, and a
fifth of a mile in width. Some sunken rocks lie off
the N. E. and S. E. points: in other directions the
island may be approached within a quarter of a
mile. N. 50° W. mile there are soundings; in
46 fathoms sand and coral ; and N. 33' W. 1% mile,
140 fathoms gray sand. A reference to the geogra-
phical table will show the position of the island, and
* Phaeton ethereus, Pelicanus leucocephalus, sterna stolida, and
a small dove-coloured term. - -
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
l625.

38 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
\-Y-2
Nov.
1825.
latitude, shall be found, such persons as are curi.
I shall here only remark, that Captain Kotzebue's
latitude is nine miles in error, which perhaps may
be a typographical mistake.
From hence we bore away to the westward, with
the intention of passing near the situation of an
island named Washington and Coffin, reported to
have been discovered by an American ship. At
sunset we were within four leagues of the spot,
with a perfectly clear sky and horizon, but could
see nothing of it; nor had we any indication of
land in the immediate vicinity, but rather the con-
trary, as the birds which had followed us from Sala-
y-Gomez had quitted the ship some time before. As
the night was fine, and the moon gave sufficient
light to discover in time any danger that might lie
in the route of the ship, the course was continued
toward Easter Island, and daylight appeared with-
out any thing being seen. Had such an island been
in existence, and answered the description of that
upon which Davis was so near losing his vessel,
geographers would not have been long in reconcil-
ing their opinions on the subject of his discovery :
as, in all probability, they would have waived their
objection to its distance from Copiapo, in considera-
tion of its identity.
The subject of this supposed discovery has been
often discussed; and where the data are so unsatis-
factory as to allow one party to choose the Islands
of Felix and Ambrose for the land in question, and
the other, Easter Island, two places nearly 1600
miles apart, they are not likely to be speedily recon-
ciled, unless two islands exactly answering the de-
scription given by Davis, and situated in the proper


PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 39
ously disposed on this subject will find it ably treat-
ed by the late Captain Burney, R. N., in his account
of the Buccaneers.
Without entering into a question which presents
so many difficulties, I shall merely observe, that,
considering the rapid current that exists in the vi-
cinity of the Galapagos, and extends, though with
diminished force, throughout the trade wind, the
error in Davis's reckoning is not more than might
have happened to any dull sailing vessel circum-
stanced as his was. To substantiate this, I shall
advert to four instances out of many others which
might be named. In a short run from Juan Fer-
nandez to Easter Island, Behrens, who was with
Roggewein, was drifted 318 geographical miles to
the westward of his supposed situation. The Blos-
som, in passing over the same ground, in the short
space of eighteen days experienced a set of 270
miles ; and on her passage from Acapulco to Valpa-
raiso of 401 miles: and again M. La Perouse, on his
arrival at the Sandwich Islands from Conception,
touching at Easter Island on his way, found a simi-
lar error of 300 miles in the course of that passage.
It is fair to presume that the passage of Davis from
the Galapagos to Easter Island was longer than that
of either of the abovementioned vessels; and con-
sequently it is but reasonable to allow him a greater
error, particularly as the first part of his route was
through a much stronger current. But taking the
error in the Blossom's reckoning as a fair amount,
and applying it to the distance given by Wafer,
there will remain only 204 miles unaccounted for
between it and the real position of Easter Island,
which from the foregoing considerations, added to
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.


40 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
S-S-
Nov.
1825.
the manner in which reckonings were formerly kept,
does not appear to me to exceed the limit that might
reasonably be ascribed to those causes.
M. La Perouse was of opinion that the islands of
Felix and Ambrose were those under discussion,
and in order to reconcile their distance from Co-
. piapo with that given by Wafer, he has imputed to
him the mistake of a figure in his text, without
considering that it would have been next to impos-
sible for Davis to have pursued a direct course from
the Galapagos to those islands, (especially at the sea-
son in which his voyage was made), but on the con-
trary that he would be compelled to make a circuit
which would have brought him much nearer to
Easter Island; and that Davis acquainted Dampier
with the situation of his discovery, which agreed
with that contained in Wafer’s account. The alte-
ration in a figure, it must be admitted, is rather ar-
bitrary, as it has nothing to support it but the cir-
cumstance of the number of islands being the same.
A mistake certainly might have occurred, but in
the admission of it either party may claim it as an
advantage by interpreting the presumed error in a
way which would support their own opinions.
At four o’clock in the afternoon of the 16th
of November, Easter Island was seen from the
mast head, bearing N. 78° W. (Mag.) fourteen or
sixteen leagues, and we were consequently very
nearly in the situation of the long looked for, small,
sandy island, which, had it existed within reason-
able limits of its supposed place, could not have
escaped our observation. Nothing of it however
was seen, nor had we any indication of the vicinity
of such a spot as we proceeded, though we must


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 41
have actually passed over the place assigned to it. "º".
Easter Island had at first the appearance of being --~
divided into two, rather flat at the top, with round- i.
ed capes; the north-eastern of which is distinguish-
ed by two hillocks. To avoid over-running the dis-
tance, the ship was hove to at night, and at day-
light on the following morning we bore up for the
northern shore of the island. I preferred that side,
as it had been but partially examined by Captain
Cook, and not at all by M. La Perouse.
As we approached, we observed numerous small
craters rising above the low land, and near the N.E.
extremity, one of considerable extent, with a deep
chasm in its eastern side. None of these were in
action, nor indeed did they appear to have been so for
a very long time, as, with the exception of the one
above-mentioned, they were covered with verdure.
The N. E. promontory, already noticed as having two
small hillocks upon it, was composed of horizontal
strata, apparently of volcanic origin; and near it,
some patches of earth, sloping down to the cliff,
were supposed to consist of red scoriae. The hills,
and exposed parts of the earth, were overgrown
with a short burnt-up grass, which gave the surface
a monotonous and arid aspect; but the valleys were
well cultivated, and showed that the island required
only a due proportion of moisture and labour to
produce a luxuriant vegetation.
Passing along the northern shore, we saw several
of those extensive habitations which M. La Perouse
has described, situated in a valley surrounded by
groves of banana trees and other patches of cultiva-
tion. The larger huts were placed near the wood,
and the smaller ones close together outside them,


42 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
Nearer the sea-shore, which here forms a bay, was a
morai, surmounted by four images standing upon a
long low platform, precisely answering the descrip-
tion and representation of one given by Perouse;
and also an immense enclosure of stones, and several
large piles, which, as well as the images, were capped
with something white, a circumstance noticed both
by Captain Cook and M. Perouse.
The greatest attention appeared to be paid to the
cultivation of the soil. Such places as were not
immediately exposed to the scorching rays of the
sun were laid out in oblong strips, taking the direc-
tion of the ravines; and furrows were ploughed at
right angles to them, for the purpose of intercepting
the streams of water in their descent. Near the
middle of the small bay just mentioned, there was
an extinguished crater, the side of which, fronting
the sea, had fallen in. The natives, availing them-
selves of this natural reservoir for moisture, in which
other parts of the island are so deficient, had culti-
vated the soil in its centre, and reared a grove of
banana-trees, which, as we passed, had a very pleas-
ing effect. The natives lighted fires, and followed
the ship along the coast, their numbers increasing at
every step. Some had a white cloth thrown loosely
over their shoulders, but by far the greater number
were naked, with the exception of the maro.
When the ship had arrived off the N.W. point of
the island, she was hove to for the purpose of taking
observations; and a boat was lowered to examine
the bays, and obtain soundings near the shore. Im-
mediately she put off, the natives collected about
the place where they supposed she would land. The
sea broke heavily upon the rocks, and some of them
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 43
apprehending the boat would be damaged, waved CHAP.
their cloaks to caution her against making the at- ~~
tempt to land: while others, eager to reach her, iš.
plunged into the sea, and so surrounded her that she
was obliged to put about to get rid of them. They
all showed a friendly disposition, and we began
to hope that they had forgotten the unpardonable
conduct of the American master, who carried seve-
ral of the islanders away by force to colonize Masa-
fuera.
Immediately the noon observation was obtained,
we ran along the western side of the island, towards
the bay in which Cook and Perouse had both an-
chored. The natives, as before, followed along the
coast, and lighted fires in different directions, the
largest of which was opposite the landing-place.
With a view to ascertain the feeling of the inhabit-
ants, and, if possible, to establish an amicable inter-
course with them, I desired Lieutenant Peard to
proceed with two boats to the shore, and by presents
and kindness to endeavour to conciliate the people
and to bring off what fruit and vegetables he could.
Lieutenant Wainwright was directed to accompany
him ; and though I did not apprehend any hostility,
yet, as a precautionary measure, I armed the boats,
and placed two marines in each. Their strength
was further increased by several of the officers, and
the naturalist. Thus equipped, they rowed for the
landing-place in Cook’s Bay, while the ship remained
at a short distance. The islanders were collected in
great numbers, and were seen running to and fro,
exhibiting symptoms of expectation and delight.
Some few, however, were observed throwing large
stones at a mark behind a bank erected near the beach.


44 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
As the boats approached, the anxiety of the na-
tives was manifested by shouts, which overpowered
the voices of the officers: and our boats, before they
gained the beach, were surrounded by hundreds of
swimmers, clinging to the gunwale, the stern, and
the rudder, until they became unmanageable. They
all appeared to be friendly disposed, and none came
empty-handed. Bananas, yams, potatoes, sugar-cane,
nets, idols, &c. were offered for sale, and some were
even thrown into the boat, leaving their visiters to
make what return they chose. Among the swim-
mers there were a great many females, who were
equally or more anxious to get into the boats than
the men, and made use of every persuasion to induce
the crew to admit them. But to have acceded to
their entreaties would have encumbered the party,
and subjected them to depredations. As it was, the
boats were so weighed down by persons clinging to
them, that for personal safety the crew were com-
pelled to have recourse to sticks to keep them off, at
which none of the natives took offence, but regained
their position the instant the attention of the persons
in the boat was called to some other object. Just
within the gunwale there were many small things
which were highly prized by the swimmers; and
the boats being brought low in the water by the
crowd hanging to them, many of these articles were
stolen, notwithstanding the most vigilant attention
on the part of the crew, who had no means of reco-
vering them, the marauders darting into the water,
and diving the moment they committed a theft.
The women were no less active in these piracies than
the men; for if they were not the actual plun-
derers, they procured the opportunity for others,

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 45
by engrossing the attention of the seamen by their
caresses and ludicrous gestures.
In proceeding to the landing-place, the boats had
to pass a small isolated rock which rose several feet
above the water. As many females as could possibly
find room crowded upon this eminence, pressing
together so closely, that the rock appeared to be a
mass of living beings. Of these Nereids three or
four would shoot off at a time into the water, and
swim with the expertness of fish to the boats to try
their influence on their visiters. One of them, a
very young girl, and less accustomed to the water
than her companions, was taken upon the shoulders
of an elderly man, conjectured to be her father, and
was, by him, recommended to the attention of one
of the officers, who, in compassion, allowed her a
seat in his boat. She was young, and exceedingly
pretty ; her features were small and well made, her
eyes dark, and her hair black, long, and flowing;
her colour, deep brunette. She was tattooed in
arches upon the forehead, and, like the greater part
of her countrywomen, from the waist downward to
the knee in narrow compact blue lines, which at a
short distance had the appearance of breeches. Her
only covering was a small triangular maro, made of
grass and rushes; but this diminutive screen not
agreeing with her ideas of propriety in the novel
situation in which she found herself, she remedied
the defect by unceremoniously appropriating to that
use a part of one of the officers' apparel, and then
commenced a song not altogether inharmonious.
Far from being jealous of her situation, she aided all
her countrywomen who aspired to the same seat of
honour with herself, by dragging them out of the
CHAP.
II.
\-Y-
Nov.
1825.

46 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
water by the hair of the head; but unkind as it
might appear to interfere to prevent this, it was
necessary to do so, or the boats would have been
filled and unmanageable. -
As our party passed, the assemblage of females
on the rock commenced a song, similar to that
chaunted by the lady in the boat ; and accompanied
it by extending their arms over their heads, beating
their breasts, and performing a variety of gestures,
which showed that our visit was acceptable, at least
to that part of the community. When the boats
were within a wading distance of the shore, they
were closely encompassed by the natives ; each
bringing something in his hand, however small, and
almost every one importuning for an equivalent in
return. All those in the water were naked, and
only here and there, on the shore, a thin cloak of
the native cloth was to be seen. Some had their
faces painted black, some red; others black and
white, or red and white, in the ludicrous manner
practised by our clowns; and two demon-like mon-
sters were painted entirely black. It is not easy to
imagine the picture that was presented by this mot-
ley crowd, unrestrained by any authority or consi-
deration for their visiters, all hallooing to the extent -
of their lungs, and pressing upon the boats with all
sorts of grimaces and gestures.
It was found impossible to land where it was at
first intended : the boats, therefore, rowed a little to
the northward, followed by the multitude, and there
effected a disembarkation, aided by some of the
natives, who helped the party over the rocks with
one hand, while they picked their pockets with the
other. It was no easy matter to penetrate the dense






PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 47
multitude, and much less practicable to pursue a
thief through the labyrinth of figures that thronged
around. The articles stolen were consequently as
irretrievably lost here, as they were before in the
hands of the divers. It is extremely difficult, on
such occasions, to decide which is the best line of
conduct to adopt: whether to follow Captain Cook's
rigid maxim of never permitting a theft when clearly
ascertained to go unpunished ; or to act as Perouse
did with the inhabitants of Easter Island, and suffer
every thing to be stolen without resistance or re-
monstrance. Perhaps the happy medium of shutting
the eyes to those it is not necessary to observe, and
punishing severely such as it is imperative to notice,
will prove the wisest policy. --
Among the foremost of the crowd were two men,
crowned with pelican's feathers, who, if they were
not chiefs, assumed an authority as such, and with
the two demons above mentioned attempted to clear
the way by striking at the feet of the mob; careful,
however, so to direct their blows, that they should
not take effect. Without their assistance, it would
have been almost impossible to land: the mob cared
very little for threats: a musket presented at them
had no effect beyond the moment it was levelled,
and was less efficacious than some water thrown
upon the bystanders by those persons who wished
to forward the views of our party.
The gentleman who disembarked first, and from
that circumstance probably was considered a person
of distinction, was escorted to the top of the bank
and seated upon a large block of lava, which was the
prescribed limit to the party’s advance. An endea-
vour was then made to form a ring about him ; but
CHAP.
II.

Nov.
1825.

48 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
it was very difficult, on account of the Islanders
crowding to the place all in expectation of receiving
something. The applicants were impatient, noisy,
and urgent: they presented their bags, which they
had carefully emptied for the purpose, and signified
their desire that they should be filled: they practised
every artifice, and stole what they could in the most
careless and open manner: some went even farther,
and accompanied their demands by threats. About
this time one of the natives, probably a chief, with a
cloak and head-dress of feathers, was observed from
the ship hastening from the huts to the landing-
place, attended by several persons with short clubs.
This hostile appearance, followed by the blowing of
the conch-shell, a sound which Cook observes he
never knew to portend good, kept our glasses for a
while riveted to the spot. To this chief it is sup-
posed, for it was impossible to distinguish amongst
the crowd, Mr. Peard made a handsome present,
with which he was very well pleased, and no ap-
prehension of hostilities was entertained. It hap-
pened, however, that the presents were expended
and this officer was returning to the boat for a fresh
supply, when the natives, probably mistaking his
intentions, became exceedingly clamorous, and the
confusion was further increased by a marine endea-
vouring to regain his cap, which had been snatched
from his head. The natives took advantage of the
confusion, and redoubled their endeavours to pilfer,
which our party were at last obliged to repel by
threats, and sometimes by force. At length they
became so audacious that there was no longer any
doubt of their intentions, or that a system of open
plunder had commenced; which, with the appear-







PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 49
ance of clubs and sticks, and the departure of the
women, induced Mr. Peard, very judiciously, to
order his party into the boats. This seemed to be
the signal for an assault: the chief who had received
the present threw a large stone, which struck Mr.
Peard forcibly upon the back, and was immediately
followed by a shower of missiles which darkened the
air. The natives in the water and about the boats
instantly withdrew to their comrades, who had run
behind a bank out of the reach of the muskets,
which former experience alone could have taught
them to fear, for none had yet been fired by us.
The stones, each of which weighed about a pound,
fell incredibly thick, and with such precision that
several of the seamen were knocked down under the
thwarts of the boat, and every person was more or
less wounded, except the female to whom Lieute-
nant Wainwright had given protection, who, as if
aware of the skilfulness of her countrymen, sat un-
concerned upon the gunwale, until one of the officers,
with more consideration for her safety than she her-
self possessed, pushed her overboard, and she swam
ashore. A blank cartridge was at first fired over the
heads of the crowd; but forbearance, which with
Savages is generally mistaken for cowardice or in-
ability, only augmented their fury. The showers of
stones were if possible increased, until the personal
safety of all rendered it necessary to resort to severe
measures. The chief, still urging the islanders on,
very deservedly, and perhaps fortunately, fell a vic-
tim to the first shot that was fired in defence. Ter-
rified by this example, the natives kept closer under
their bulwark; and though they continued to throw
stones, and occasioned considerable difficulty in ex-
VOIL. I. E.
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.

50 VOYAGE TO THE

CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
tricating the boats, their attacks were not so effectual
as before, nor sufficient to prevent the embarkation
of the crew, all of whom were got on board.
Several dangerous contusions were received in
the affair, but fortunately no lives were lost on
our part; and it was the opinion of the officer com-
manding the party, that the treacherous chief was
the only victim on that of the islanders, though
some of the officers thought they observed another
man fall. Considering the manner in which the
party were surrounded, and the imminent risk to
which they were exposed, it is extraordinary that so
few of the natives suffered; and the greatest credit
is due to the officers and crews of both boats for
their forbearance on the occasion.
After this unfortunate and unexpected termina-
tion to our interview, I determined upon quitting
the island, as nothing of importance was to be gain-
ed by remaining, which could be put in competition
with the probable loss of lives that might attend an
attempt at reconciliation. The disappointment it
occasioned was great to us, who had promised our-
selves much novelty and enjoyment; but the loss to
the public is trifling, as the island has been very
well described by Roggewein, Cook, Perouse, Kot-
zebue, and others, and the people appeared, in all
material points, the same now as these authors have
painted them. With regard to supplies, nothing
was to be gained by staying; for after Cook had
traversed the island, he came to the conclusion that
few places afford less convenience for shipping.
“As every thing must be raised by dint of labour,
it cannot be supposed the inhabitants plant much
more than is sufficient for themselves; and as they
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 5]
are few in number, they cannot have much to spare
to supply the wants of strangers.”
The population of Easter Island has been variously
stated: Roggewein declares several thousands sur-
rounded the boats: Cook reckoned it at six or seven
hundred; Mr. Forster, who was with him, at nine
hundred; M. la Perouse, at two thousand: my offi-
cers estimated it at about fifteen hundred. If a
mean of these be taken, it will leave 1260, which is,
perhaps, near the truth; for it may be presumed,
that in an island of such limited extent, and which
does not increase its productions or personal comforts,
and where sexual intercourse is unrestrained, the
population will remain much the same.
One of the authors of Roggewein's Voyage repre-
sents the inhabitants of this island as giants, which,
if his assertion be true, makes it evident that, like
the Patagonians, they have degenerated very rapid-
ly. Cook remarks that he did not see a man that
would measure 6 feet; and our estimate of the ave-
rage height of the people was 5 feet 74 inches. They
are a handsome race, the women in particular. The
fine oval countenances and regular features of the
men, the smooth, high-rounded foreheads, the ra-
ther small and somewhat sunken dark eye, and the
even rows of ivory-white teeth, impressed us with
the similarity of their features to the heads brought
from New Zealand. The colour of their skin is lighter
than that of the Malays. The general contour of the
body is good: the limbs are not remarkable for
muscularity, but formed more for activity than
strength. The hair is jet black, and worn mode-
rately short. One man of about fifty years of age,
the only exception that was noticed, had his hair
CHAP.
II.

Nov.
1825.

E 2

52 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. over the forehead of a reddish-ash gray. The beards
-— of such as had any were black; but many had none,
... or only a few hairs on the chin. None of the men
had whiskers, which seemed to be rather a subject
of regret with them, and they appeared envious of
such of our party as had them, who were obliged to
submit to the ordeal of having them stroked and
twisted about for the admiration and amusement of
their new acquaintances. Both sexes still retain the
hideous practice of perforating the lobes of the ears,
though the custom is not so general with the men
as formerly. The aperture, when distended, which
is done by a leaf rolled up and forced through it, is
about an inch and a quarter in diameter. The
lobe, deprived of its ear-ring, hangs dangling against
the neck, and has a very disagreeable appearance,
particularly when wet. It is sometimes so long as
to be greatly in the way; to obviate which, they pass .
the lobe over the upper part of the ear, or more rarely,
fasten one lobe to the other, at the back of the head.
The lips, when closed, form nearly a line, showing
very little of the fleshy part, and giving a character
of resolution to the countenance. The nose is aqui-
line and well-proportioned; the eyes small and dark
brown or black; the chin small and rather prominent;
and the tongue disproportionably large, and, on its
upper surface, of a diseased white appearance.
Tattooing or puncturing the skin is here practised
to a greater extent than formerly, especially by the
females, who have stained their skin in imitation of
blue breeches; copied, no doubt, from some of their
visiters, who frequently tuck up their trowsers to
the knee in passing through the water. The decep-
tion, which, at a short distance, completely deceives
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 53
the eye, is produced by a succession of small blue CHAP.
lines, beginning at the waist and extending down- S->
ward to the knee. Besides this, some of them tattoo i.
their foreheads in arched lines, as well as the edges of
their ears, and the fleshy part of their lips. The
males tattoo themselves in curved lines of a dark
Berlin blue colour upon the upper part of the throat,
beginning at the ear, and sloping round below the
under jaw. The face is sometimes nearly covered
with lines similar to those on the throat, or with an
uninterrupted colouring, excepting two broad stripes
on each side, at right angles to each other. Most of
their lips were also stained. Others had different
parts of their bodies variously marked, but in the
greater number it was confined to a small space.
All the lines were drawn with much taste, and car-
ried in the direction of the muscle in a manner very
similar to the New Zealanders. These people have
had so little communication with Europeans, or have
benefited so little by it, that we did not perceive
any European cloth among them; and the cloth
mulberry-tree, which grows upon their island, pro-
duces so small a supply, that part of the inhabitants
necessarily go naked: the larger portion however
wear a maro, made either of fine Indian cloth of a
reddish colour, of a wild kind of parsley, or of a spe-
cies of sea-weed.
Their weapons are short clubs of a flattened oval
form, tapering toward the handle, and a little curved.
The straw hats mentioned both by Cook and Perouse
appeared to be no longer used. One man only had
his head covered; and that with a tattered felt hat,
which he must have obtained from some former
visiters. A ramrod, which had probably been pro-




54 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
cured in the same way, was also seen among them.
We noticed three boats hauled up on the shore to
the northward of the landing-place, resembling the
drawing in Perouse's Voyage, but the natives did
not attempt to launch them.
Roggewein and Perouse were of opinion that
these people lived together in communities, a whole
village inhabiting one extensive hut, and that pro-
perty was in common. The former idea was pro-
bably suggested by the very capacious dwellings
which are scattered over the island; and the conjec-
ture may be correct, though it is certain that there
are a far greater number of small huts, sufficient to
contain one family only; but with regard to the Sup-
position that property is common, it seems very
doubtful whether the land would be so carefully
divided by rows of stones if that were the case.
Some circumstances which occurred at the landing-
place, during our visit, certainly favoured the pre-
sumption of its being so. One of the natives offered
an image for sale, and being disappointed in the
price he expected, refused to part with it; but a by-
stander, less scrupulous, snatched it from him with-
out ceremony, and parted with it for the original
offer without a word of remonstrance from his
countryman. Others again threw their property
into the boats, without demanding any immediate
return; taking for granted, it may be presumed,
that they would reap their reward when a distribu-
tion of the property obtained should take place.
But this state of society is so unnatural that, how-
ever appearances may sanction the belief, I am dis-
posed to doubt it. One strong fact in support of
my opinion was the unceremonious manner in which

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 55
the apparent proprietor of a piece of ground planted
with potatoes drove away the mob, who, with very
little consideration for the owner, were taking the
crop out of the earth to barter with our party.
The Island, though situated nearer the Continent
of America than any other of the Archipelago to
which it belongs, has been less frequently visited;
and unfortunately for its inhabitants, some of those
visits have rather tended to retard than to advance
its prosperity, or improve its moral condition; and
they afford a striking example of the necessity of an
extensive intercourse with mankind, before a limited
community can emerge from barbarism to a state of
civilization. One consolation for this privation is
their exemption from those complaints by which
some of the ill-fated natives of these seas have so
dreadfully suffered. -
The gigantic busts which excited the surprise of
the first visiters to the island, have suffered so much,
either from the effects of time, or maltreatment of
the natives, that the existence of any of them at pre-
sent is questionable. At first they were dispersed
generally over the whole island: when Cook visited
it there were but two on the western side near the
landing-place: Kotzebue found only a square pedes-
tal in the same place: and now a few heaps of rub-
bish only, occupy a spot where it is doubtful whe-
ther one of them was erected or not. When it is
considered how great must have been the labour
bestowed upon these images before they were hewn
from the quarries with the rude stone implements of
the Indians, and before such huge masses of rock
could be transported to, and erected on, so many
parts of the island, it is nearly positive that they
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.


56 VOYAGE TO THE
º
II.
Nov.
1825.
were actuated by religious motives in their construc-
tion ; and yet, if it were so, why were these objects
of adoration suffered to go to decay by succeeding
generations? Is it that the religious forms of the
islanders have changed, or that the aborigines have
died off, and been succeeded by a new race 2 – Pit-
cairn Island affords a curious example of a race of
men settling upon an island, erecting stone images
upon its heights, and either becoming extinct or
having abandoned it; and some circumstances con-
nected with Easter Island occur, independent of
that above alluded to, in favour of the presumption
that the same thing may also have taken place there.
The most remarkable of these facts is, that the pre-
sent generation are so nearly allied in language and
customs to many islands in the South Sea, as to
leave no doubt of their having migrated from some
of them, = and yet in none of these places are there
images of such extraordinary dimensions, or indeed
in any way resembling them. The Easter Islanders
have, besides, small wooden deities similar to those
used by the inhabitants of the other islands just
mentioned.
That there had been recent migrations from some of
the islands to the westward, about Roggewein's time,
may be inferred from the natives having recognised
the animals on board his ship, and from their having
hogs tattooed upon their arms and breasts; whereas
there was not a quadruped upon the island at the
time, nor has any one except the rat ever been seen
there. Another curious fact connected with this
island is, that when it was first discovered it abound-
ed in woods and forests, and palm branches were
presented as emblems of peace; but fifty years after-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 57
wards, when visited by Captain Cook, there were no
traces of them left. The revolution that has taken
place in La Dominica, one of the Marquesa Islands,
affords another instance of this kind: when first
visited by Mendana, in 1595, it exhibited an en-
chanting aspect: “vast plains displayed a smiling
verdure, and divided hills, crowned with tufted
woods,” &c.; but in 1774 it was found by Captain
Cook to have so completely altered its features, that
Marchand ascribes the change to one of those great
“convulsions of nature, which totally disfigure every
part of the surface of the globe, over which its
ravages extend.” Easter Island is studded with vol-
canos, and an eruption may have driven the natives
into the sea, or have so torn up the soil and vege-
tation, that they could no longer subsist upon it.
I cannot say a word on the success that has at-
tended the humane efforts of the much-lamented
Perouse, who planted many useful fruit-trees and
seeds upon the island; but there is every reason to
believe they have perished, or shared the fate of the
vines at Otaheite, as they brought us no fruits or
roots beyond what he found there on his arrival.
Perhaps a tuft of trees in a sheltered spot at the back
of Cook's Bay, which had the appearance of Orange-
trees, are the offspring of his benevolent care and
attention. Cook had no opportunity of benefiting
the islanders in this way ; but he planted in them a
warm and friendly feeling towards strangers, and
his usual rectitude and generous treatment taught
them a lesson of which Perouse felt the good effects,
and which possibly might have existed until now,
but for the interference of a few unprincipled mas-
ters of vessels, who have unfortunately found their
CHAP.
II
Nov.
1825.


58 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
way to the island; and I fear these communications
are more frequent than is generally supposed.
The island is 2000 miles from the coast of Chili,
and 1500 from the nearest inhabited islands, Pitcairn
Island excepted, which has been peopled by Euro-
peans. A curious inquiry therefore suggests itself:
in what manner has so small a place, and so distantly
situated from any other, received its population ?
particularly as every thing favours the probability
of its inhabitants having migrated from the west-
ward, in opposition to the prevalent wind and cur-
rent. Captain Cook obtained considerable know-
ledge upon this subject at Wateo; and I shall here-
after be able to offer something in support of the
theory entertained by that celebrated navigator.
Cook and Perouse differ in a very trifling degree
from each other, and also from us in the geographi-
cal position of Easter Island. The longitude by
Cook is 109° 46'20" W., and deducting 18' 30", in
consequence of certain corrections made at Fetegu
Island, leaves 109° 27' 50" W. That by Perouse, al-
lowing the longitude of Conception to be 72° 56' 30"
W., is 109° 32' 10" W.; and our own is 109° 24′ 54."
W. The island is of a triangular shape: its length
is exactly nine miles from N. W. to S. E., nine and
three quarters from W. N. W. to E. S. E., and
thirteen from N. E. to S. W. The highest part of
it is 1200 feet, and in clear weather it may be seen
at sixteen or eighteen leagues distance. The geo-
graphical description by M. Bernizet, who was en-
gineer in the Astrolabe, is exact: the views of the
land are a little caricatured, but the angular mea-
surements are perfectly correct. Further remarks
on the coast and anchorage will be found in the
Nautical Memoir.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 59
We quitted Easter Island with a fresh N. E.
wind, and bore away for the next island placed
upon the chart. On the 19th, during a calm, some
experiments were made on the temperature of the
water at different depths. As the line was hauling
in, a large sword-fish bit at the tin case which con-
tained our thermometer, but, fortunately, he failed
in carrying it off. On the 27th, in lat. 25° 36' S.,
long. 115° 06' W., many sea-birds were seen; but
there was no other indication of land. From the
time of our quitting Easter Island light and varia-
ble winds greatly retarded the progress of the ship,
until the 24th, in lat. 26°20' S., and long. 116° 30'
W., when we got the regular trade-wind, and
speedily gained the parallel of Ducie's Island, which
it was my intention to pursue, that the island might
by no possibility be passed. In the forenoon of the
28th we saw a great many gulls and tern ; and at
half-past three in the afternoon the island was de-
seried right a-head. We stood on until sunset, and
shortened sail within three or four miles to wind-
ward of it.
Ducie's Island is of coral formation, of an oval
form, with a lagoon or lake, in the centre, which is
partly inclosed by trees, and partly by low coral
flats scarcely above the water's edge. The height
of the soil upon the island is about twelve feet,
above which the trees rise fourteen more, making
its greatest elevation about twenty-six feet from the
level of the sea. The lagoon appears to be deep,
and has an entrance into it for a boat, when the wa-
ter is sufficiently smooth to admit of passing over
the bar. It is situated at the south-east extremity,
to the right of two eminences that have the appear-
ance of sand-hills. The island lies in a north-east
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.

60 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
II.
Nov.
1825.
and south-west direction, — is one mile and three
quarters long, and one mile wide. No living things,
birds excepted, were seen upon the island; but its
environs appeared to abound in fish, and sharks were
very numerous. The water was so clear over the
coral, that the bottom was distinctly seen when no
soundings could be had with thirty fathoms of line;
in twenty-four fathoms, the shape of the rocks at
the bottom was clearly distinguished. The coral-
lines were of various colours, principally white, sul-
phur, and lilac, and formed into all manner of
shapes, giving a lively and variegated appearance to
the bottom ; but they soon lost their colour after
being detached.
By the soundings round this little island it ap-
peared, for a certain distance, to take the shape of a
truncated come having its base downwards. The
north-eastern and south-western extremities are fur-
nished with points which project under water with
less inclination than the sides of the island, and
break the sea before it can reach the barrier to the
little lagoon formed within. It is singular that
these buttresses are opposed to the only two quar-
ters whence their structure has to apprehend danger;
that on the north-east, from the constant action of
the trade-wind, and that on the other extremity,
from the long rolling swell from the south-west, so
prevalent in these latitudes; and it is worthy of ob-
servation, that this barrier, which has the most pow-
erful enemy to oppose, is carried out much farther,
and with less abruptness, than the other. -
The sand-mounds raised upon the barrier are con-
fined to the eastern and north-western sides of the
lagoon, the south-western part being left low, and









PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 61
broken by a channel of water. On the rocky sur-
face of the causeway, between the lake and the sea,
lies a stratum of dark rounded particles, probably
coral, and above it another, apparently composed of
decayed vegetable substances. A variety of ever-
green trees take root in this bank, and form a ca-
nopy almost impenetrable to the sun's rays, and pre-
sent to the eye a grove of the liveliest green.
As soon as we had finished our observations on
Ducie's Island, and completed a plan of it, we made
sail to the westward. The island soon neared the
horizon, and when seven miles distant ceased to be
visible from the deck. For several days afterwards
the winds were so light, that we made but slow
progress; and as we lay-to every night, in order
that nothing might be passed in the dark, our daily
run was trifling. On the 30th, we saw a great num-
ber of white tern, which at sun-set directed their
flight to the N. W. At noon on the 2d of Decem-
ber, flocks of gulls and tern indicated the vicinity of
land, which a few hours afterwards was seen from
the mast-head at a considerable distance. At day-
light on the 3rd, we closed with its south-western
end, and despatched two boats to make the circuit
of the island, while the ship ranged its northern
shore at a short distance, and waited for them off a
sandy bay at its north-west extremity.
We found that the island differed essentially from
all others in its vicinity, and belonged to a peculiar
formation, very few instances of which are in exist-
ence. Wateo and Savage Islands, discovered by
Captain Cook, are of this number, and perhaps also
Malden Island, visited by Lord Byron in the Blonde.
The island is five miles in length, and one in breadth,
CHAP.
II.
\-y-/
Nov.
1825.

62 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. and has a flat surface nearly eighty feet above the sea.
--~ On all sides, except the north, it is bounded by per-
#. pendicular cliffs about fifty feet high, composed en-
tirely of dead coral, more or less porous, honeycomb-
ed at the surface, and hardening into a compact cal-
careous substance within, possessing the fracture of
secondary limestone, and has a species of millepore
interspersed through it. These cliffs are consider-
ably undermined by the action of the waves, and
some of them appear on the eve of precipitating
their superincumbent weight into the sea; those
which are less injured in this way present no alter-
nate ridges or indication of the different levels which
the sea might have occupied at different periods,
but a smooth surface, as if the island, which there is
every probability has been raised by volcanic agency,
had been forced up by one great subterraneous con-
vulsion. The dead coral, of which the higher part
of the island consists, is nearly circumscribed by
ledges of living coral, which project beyond each
other at different depths; on the northern side of
the island the first of these had an easy slope from
the beach to a distance of about fifty yards, when
it terminated abruptly about three fathoms under
water. The next ledge had a greater descent, and
extended to two hundred yards from the beach,
with twenty-five fathoms water over it, and there
ended as abruptly as the former, a short distance
beyond which no bottom could be gained with 200
fathoms of line. Numerous echini live upon these
ledges, and a variety of richly coloured fish play
over their surface, while some cray-fish inhabit the
deeper sinuosities. The sea rolls in successive break-
ers over these ledges of coral, and renders landing










PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 63
upon them extremely difficult. It may, however,
be effected by anchoring the boat, and veering her
close into the surf, and then, watching the opportu-
nity, by jumping upon the ledge, and hastening to
the shore before the succeeding roller approaches.
In doing this great caution must be observed, as the
reef is full of holes and caverns, and the rugged way
is strewed with sea-eggs, which inflict very painful
wounds; and if a person fall into one of these hol-
lows, his life will be greatly endangered by the
points of coral catching his clothes and detaining
him under water. The beach, which appears at a
distance to be composed of a beautiful white sand,
is wholly made up of small broken portions of the
different species and varieties of coral, intermixed
with shells of testaceous and crustaceous animals.
Insignificant as this island is in height, compared
with others, it is extremely difficult to gain the
summit, in consequence of the thickly interlacing
shrubs which grow upon it, and form so dense a
covering, that it is impossible to see the cavities in
the rock beneath. They are at the same time too
fragile to afford any support, and the traveller often
sinks into the cavity up to his shoulder before his
feet reach the bottom. The soil is a black mould of
little depth, wholly formed of decayed vegetable
matter, through which points of coral every now
and then project.
The largest tree upon the island is the pandanus,
though there is another tree very common, nearly
of the same size, the wood of which has a great re-
semblance to common ash, and possesses the same
properties. We remarked also a species of budleia,
which was nearly as large and as common, bearing
CHAP:
II.
Dec.
1825.

64 VOYAGE TO THE
** fruit. It affords but little wood, and has a reddish
-º- bark of considerable astringency: several species of
išš, this genus are to be met with among the Society
Islands. There is likewise a long slender plant with
a stem about an inch in diameter, bearing a beauti-
ful pink flower, of the class and order hexandria
monogynia. We saw no esculent roots, and, with
the exception of the pandanus, no tree that bore
fruit fit to eat.
This island, which on our charts bears the name
of Elizabeth, ought properly to be called Hender-
son's Island, as it was first named by Captain Hen-
derson of the Hercules of Calcutta. Both these ves-
sels visited it, and each supposing it was a new dis-
covery, claimed the merit of it on her arrival the
next day at Pitcairn Island, these two places lying
close together. But the Hercules preceded the for-
mer several months. To neither of these vessels,
however, is the discovery of the land in question to
be attributed, as it was first seen by the crew of the
Essex, an American whaler, who accidentally fell in
with it after the loss of their vessel. Two of her
seamen, preferring the chance of finding subsistence
on this desolate spot to risking their lives in an open
boat across the wide expanse which lies between it
and the coast of Chili, were, at their own desire, left
behind. They were afterwards taken off by an
English whaler that heard of their disaster at Valpa-
raiso from their surviving shipmates.”
* The extraordinary fate of the Essex has been recorded in a
pamphlet published in New York by the mate of that vessel, but
of the veracity of which every person must consult his own judg-
ment. As all my readers may not be in possession of it, I shall
briefly state that it describes the Essex to have been in the act of












PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 65
It appears from their narrative that the island
possessed no spring ; and that the two men procured
a supply of water at a small pool which received
the drainings from the upper part of the island, and
was just sufficient for their daily consumption.
In the evening we bore away to the westward,
and at one o’clock in the afternoon of the 4th of
December we saw Pitcairn Island bearing S.W. by
W. W. at a considerable distance. -
catching whales, when one of these animals became enraged, and
attacked the vessel by swimming against it with all its strength. The
steersman, it is said, endeavoured to evade the shock by managing
the helm, but in vain. The third blow stove in the bows of the
ship, and she went down in a very short time, even before some
of the boats that were away had time to get on board. Such
of the crew as were in the ship contrived to save themselves in
the boats that were near, and were soon joined by their astonished
shipmates, who could not account for the sudden disappearance
of their vessel; but found themselves unprovided with every
thing necessary for a sea-voyage, and several thousand miles
from any place whence they could hope for relief. The boats,
after the catastrophe, determined to proceed to Chili, touching
at Ducie's Island in their way. They steered to the southward,
and, after considerable sufferings, landed upon an island which
they supposed to be that above mentioned, but which was, in fact,
Elizabeth Island. Not being able to procure any water here, they
continued their voyage to the coast of Chili, where two boats out of
the three arrived, but with only three or four persons in them. The
third was never heard of; but it is not improbable that the wreck of
a boat and four skeletons which were seen on Ducie's Island by a
merchant vessel were her remains and that of her crew. Had
these unfortunate persons been aware of the situation of Pitcairn
Island, which is only ninety miles from Elizabeth Island, and to
leeward of it, all their lives might have been saved.
VOI. I. F
CHAP.
II.
\-N-7
Dec.
1825.

66 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
CHAPTER III.
Pitcairn Island—Adams and Natives come off to the Ship—Adams'
Account of the mutiny of the Bounty—Lieutenant Bligh sent
adrift in the Launch–Mutineers proceed to Tobouai–Hostile
Reception there—Proceed to Otaheite—Return to Tobouai–
Again quit it, and return to Otaheite—Christian determines to
proceed to Pitcairn Island—Lands there—Fate of the Ship—
Insurrection among the blacks–Murder of Christian and four of
the Mutineers—Adams dangerously wounded—Fate of the
remaining Number.
THE interest which was excited by the announce-
G. ment of Pitcairn Island from the mast-head brought
T)ec.
1825.
every person upon deck, and produced a train of
reflections that momentarily increased our anxiety
to communicate with its inhabitants ; to see and
partake of the pleasures of their little domestic cir-
cle; and to learn from them the particulars of every
transaction connected with the fate of the Bounty :
but in consequence of the approach of night this
gratification was deferred until the next morning,
when, as we were steering for the side of the island
on which Captain Carteret has marked soundings,
in the hope of being able to anchor the ship, we had
the pleasure to see a boat under sail hastening to-
ward us. At first the complete equipment of this
boat raised a doubt as to its being the property of




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 67
the islanders, for we expected to see only a well-
provided canoe in their possession, and we therefore
concluded that the boat must belong to some whale-
ship on the opposite side ; but we were soon agree-
ably undeceived by the singular appearance of her
crew, which consisted of old Adams and all the
young men of the island.
Before they ventured to take hold of the ship,
they inquired if they might come on board, and
upon permission being granted, they sprang up the
side and shook every officer by the hand with un-
disguised feelings of gratification.
The activity of the young men outstripped that
of old Adams, who was consequently almost the last
to greet us. He was in his sixty-fifth year, and was
unusually strong and active for his age, notwith-
standing the inconvenience of considerable corpu-
lency. He was dressed in a sailor's shirt and trousers
and a low-crowned hat, which he instinctively held
in his hand until desired to put it on. He still re-
tained his sailor's gait, doffing his hat and smoothing
down his bald forehead whenever he was addressed
by the officers. -
It was the first time he had been on board a ship
of war since the mutiny, and his mind naturally
reverted to scenes that could not fail to produce a
temporary embarrassment, heightened, perhaps, by
the familiarity with which he found himself ad-
dressed by persons of a class with those whom he
had been accustomed to obey. Apprehension for his
safety formed no part of his thoughts: he had receiv-
ed too many demonstrations of the good feeling that
existed towards him, both on the part of the British
government and of individuals, to entertain any
CHAP.
III.
\-e-Y-2
Dec.
1825.

F 2
68 VOYAGE TO THE
alarm on that head ; and as every person endea-
voured to set his mind at rest, he very soon made
himself at home.* -
The young men, ten in number, were tall, robust,
and healthy, with good-natured countenances, which
would any where have procured them a friendly
reception ; and with a simplicity of manner and a
fear of doing wrong which at once prevented the
possibility of giving offence. Unacquainted with
the world, they asked a number of questions which
would have applied better to persons with whom
they had been intimate, and who had left them but
a short time before, than to perfect strangers ; and
inquired after ships and people we had never heard
of. Their dress, made up of the presents which had
been given them by the masters and seamen of mer-
chant ships, was a perfect caricature. Some had on
long black coats without any other article of dress
except trousers, some shirts without coats, and others
waistcoats without either ; none had shoes or stock-
ings, and only two possessed hats, neither of which
seemed likely to hang long together. -
They were as anxious to gratify their curiosity
about the decks, as we were to learn from them the
state of the colony, and the particulars of the fate of
the mutineers who had settled upon the island,
which had been variously related by occasional visit-
ers; and we were more especially desirous of ob-
taining Adams' own narrative; for it was peculiarly
interesting to learn from one who had been impli-
cated in the mutiny, the facts of that transaction,
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
* Since the MS. of this narrative was sent to press, intelligence
of Adams' death has been communicated to me by our Consul at
the Sandwich Islands.









PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 69
now that he considered himself exempt from the
penalties of his crime.
I trust that, in renewing the discussion of this
affair, I shall not be considered as unnecessarily
wounding the feelings of the friends of any of the
parties concerned; but it is satisfactory to show, that
those who suffered by the sentence of the court-mar-
tial were convicted upon evidence which is now cor-
roborated by the statement of an accomplice who
has no motive for concealing the truth. The fol-
lowing account is compiled almost entirely from
Adams' narrative, signed with his own hand, of
which the following is a fac-simile.
But to render the narrative more complete, I have
added such additional facts as were derived from the
inhabitants, who are perfectly acquainted with every
incident connected with the transaction. In pre-
senting it to the public, I vouch, only, for its being
a correct statement of the abovementioned autho-
rities.
His Majesty's ship Bounty was purchased into
the service, and placed under the command of Lieu-
tenant Bligh in 1787. She left England in Decem-
ber of that year, with orders to proceed to Otaheite,”
* This word has since been spelled Tahiti, but as I have a vene-
ration for the name as it is written in the celebrated Voyages of
Captain Cook—a feeling in which I am sure I am not singular—I
shall adhere to his orthography.
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.


70 VOYAGE TO THE -
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
and transport the bread fruit of that country to the
British settlements in the West Indies, and to bring
also some specimens of it to England. Her crew
consisted of forty-four persons, and a gardener. She
was ordered to make the passage round Cape Horn,
but after contending a long time with adverse gales,
in extremely cold weather, she was obliged to bear
away for the Cape of Good Hope, where she under-
went a refit, and arrived at her destination in Octo-
ber, 1788. Six months were spent at Otaheite, col-
lecting and stowing away the fruit, during which
time the officers and seamen had free access to the
shore, and made many friends, though only one of
the seamen formed any alliance there.
In April, 1789, they took leave of their friends at
Otaheite, and proceeded to Anamooka, where Lieu-
tenant Bligh replenished his stock of water, and took
on board hogs, fruit, vegetables, &c., and put to sea
again on the 26th of the same month. Throughout
the voyage, Mr. Bligh had repeated misunderstand-
ings with his officers, and had on several occasions
given them and the ship's company just reasons for
complaint. Still, whatever might have been the
feelings of the officers, Adams declares there was no
real discontent among the crew ; much less was there
any idea of offering violence to their commander.
The officers, it must be admitted, had much more
cause for dissatisfaction than the seamen, especially
the master and Mr. Christian. The latter was a pro-
tegé of Lieutenant Bligh, and unfortunately was
under some obligations to him of a pecuniary nature,
of which Bligh frequently reminded him when any
difference arose, Christian, excessively annoyed at
the share of blame which repeatedly fell to his lot,
in common with the rest of the officers, could ill
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 71
endure the additional taunt of private obligations;
and in a moment of excitation told his commander
that sooner or later a day of reckoning would arrive.
The day previous to the mutiny a serious quarrel
occurred between Bligh and his officers, about some
cocoa-nuts which were missed from his private
stock; and Christian again fell under his com-
mander's displeasure. The same evening he was in-
vited to supper in the cabin, but he had not so soon
forgotten his injuries as to accept of this ill-timed
civility, and returned an excuse.
Matters were in this state on the 28th of April,
1789, when the Bounty, on her homeward voyage,
was passing to the southward of Tofoa, one of the
Friendly Islands. It was one of those beautiful
nights which characterize the tropical regions, when
the mildness of the air and the stillness of nature
dispose the mind to reflection. Christian, pondering
over his grievances, considered them so intolerable,
that any thing appeared preferable to enduring them,
and he determined, as he could not redress them,
that he would at least escape from the possibility of
their being increased. Absence from England, and
a long residence at Otaheite, where new connexions
were formed, weakened the recollection of his native
country, and prepared his mind for the reception of
ideas which the situation of the ship and the serenity
of the moment particularly favoured. His plan,
strange as it must appear for a young officer to
adopt, who was fairly advanced in an honourable
profession, was to set himself adrift upon a raft, and
make his way to the island then in sight. As quick
in the execution as in the design, the raft was soon
constructed, various useful articles were got toge-
ther, and he was on the point of launching it, when
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.

72 VOYAGE TO THE -
CHAP.
IIl.
\-Y-2
IDec.
1825.
a young officer, who afterwards perished in the Pan-
dora, to whom Christian communicated his inten-
tion, recommended him, rather than risk his life on
so hazardous an expedition, to endeavour to take
possession of the ship, which he thought would not
be very difficult, as many of the ship's company
were not well disposed towards the commander, and
would all be very glad to return to Otaheite, and
reside among their friends in that island. This
daring proposition is even more extraordinary than
the premeditated scheme of his companion, and, if
true, certainly relieves Christian from part of the
odium which has hitherto attached to him as the sole
instigator of the mutiny.”
It however accorded too well with the disposition
of Christian's mind, and, hazardous as it was, he de-
termined to co-operate with his friend in effecting
it, resolving, if he failed, to throw himself into the
sea; and that there might be no chance of being
saved, he tied a deep sea lead about his neck, and
concealed it within his clothes.
Christian happened to have the morning watch,
and as soon as he had relieved the officer of the
deck, he entered into conversation with Quintal, the
only one of the seamen who, Adams said, had form-
ed any serious attachment at Otaheite; and after
expatiating on the happy hours they had passed
there, disclosed his intentions. Quintal; after some
consideration, said he thought it a dangerous at-
tempt, and declined taking a part. Vexed at a re-
obtained.
* This account, however, differs materially from a note in Mar-
shall's Naval Biography, Vol. ii. Part ii. p. 778: unfortunately this
volume was not published when the Blossom left England, or more
satisfactory evidence on this, and other points, might have been
However, this is the statement of Adams.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 73
pulse in a quarter where he was most sanguine of
success, and particularly at having revealed senti-
ments which if made known would bring him to an
ignominious death, Christian became desperate, ex-
hibited the lead about his neck in testimony of his
own resolution, and taxed Quintal with cowardice,
declaring it was fear alone that restrained him.
Quintal denied this accusation; and in reply to
Christian's further argument that success would re-
store them all to the happy island, and the con-
nexions they had left behind, the strongest persua-
sion he could have used to a mind somewhat pre-
pared to acquiesce, he recommended that some one
else should be tried—Isaac Martin for instance, who
was standing by. Martin, more ready than his
shipmate, emphatically declared, “ He was for it;
it was the very thing.” Successful in one instance,
Christian went to every man of his watch, many of
whom he found disposed to join him, and before
daylight the greater portion of the ship's company
were brought over.
Adams was sleeping in his hammock, when Sum-
ner, one of the seamen, came to him, and whispered
that Christian was going to take the ship from her
commander, and set him and the master on shore.
On hearing this, Adams went upon deck, and found
every thing in great confusion; but not then liking
to take any part in the transaction, he returned to
his hammock, and remained there until he saw
Christian at the arm-chest, distributing arms to all
who came for them ; and then seeing measures had
proceeded so far, and apprehensive of being on the
weaker side, he turned out again and went for a
cutlass. -
All those who proposed to assist Christian being
CHAP.
III.
Dec
1825.


74 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
armed, Adams, with others, were ordered to secure
the officers, while Christian and the master-at-arms
proceeded to the cabin to make a prisoner of Lieu-
tenant Bligh. They seized him in his cot, bound
his hands behind him, and brought him upon deck.
He remonstrated with them on their conduct, but
received only abuse in return, and a blow from the
master-at-arms with the flat side of a cutlass. He
was placed near the binnacle, and detained there,
with his arms pinioned, by Christian, who held him
with one hand, and a bayonet with the other. As
soon as the lieutenant was secured, the sentinels
that had been placed over the doors of the officers’
cabins were taken off; the master then jumped
upon the forecastle, and endeavoured to form a
party to retake the ship; but he was quickly se-
cured, and sent below in confinement.
This conduct of the master, who was the only
officer that tried to bring the mutineers to a sense
of their duty, was the more highly creditable to
him, as he had the greatest cause for discontent,
Mr. Bligh having been more severe to him than to
any of the other officers.
About this time a dispute arose, whether the lieu-
tenant and his party, whom the mutineers resolved
to set adrift, should have the launch or the cutter;
and it being decided in favour of the launch, Chris-
tian ordered her to be hoisted out. Martin, who, it
may be remembered, was the first convert to Chris-
tian's plan, foreseeing that with the aid of so large a
boat the party would find their way to England, and
that their information would in all probability lead
to the detection of the offenders, relinquished his
first intention, and exclaimed, “If you give him the


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 75
launch, I will go with him; you may as well give
him the ship.” He really appears to have been in
earnest in making this declaration, as he was after-
wards ordered to the gangway from his post of com-
mand over the lieutenant, in consequence of having
fed him with a shaddock, and exchanged looks with
him indicative of his friendly intentions. It also
fell to the lot of Adams to guard the lieutenant,
who observing him stationed by his side, exclaimed,
“And you, Smith,” are you against me?” To which
Adams replied that he only acted as the others did
—he must be like the rest. Lieutenant Bligh, while
thus secured, reproached Christian with ingratitude,
reminded him of his obligations to him, and begged
he would recollect he had a wife and family. To
which Christian replied, that he should have thought
of that before. -
The launch was by this time hoisted out ; and the
officers and seamen of Lieutenant Bligh's party hav-
ing collected what was necessary for their voyage, f
were ordered into her. Among those who took
their seat in the boat was Martin, which being no-
ticed by Quintal, he pointed a musket at him, and
declared he would shoot him unless he instantly re-
turned to the ship, which he did. The armourer
and carpenter's mates were also forcibly detained, as
they might be required hereafter. Lieutenant Bligh
was then conducted to the gangway, and ordered to
descend into the boat, where his hands were un-
bound, and he and his party were veered astern,
* Adams went by the name of Alexander Smith in the Bounty.
t Consisting of a small cask of water, 150lbs. of bread, a small
quantity of rum and wine, a quadrant, compass, some lines, rope,
canvas, twine, &c.
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.














76 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825,
and kept there while the ship stood towards the
island. During this time Lieutenant Bligh re-
quested some muskets, to protect his party against
the natives; but they were refused, and four cut-
lasses thrown to them instead. When they were
about ten leagues from Tofoa, at Lieutenant Bligh's
request, the launch was cast off, and immediately
“ Huzza for Otaheite” echoed throughout the
Bounty.
There now remained in the ship, Christian, who
was the mate, Heywood, Young, and Stewart, mid-
shipmen, the master-at-arms, and sixteen seamen,
besides the three artificers, and the gardener; form-
ing in all twenty-five. -
In the launch were the lieutenant, master, sur-
geon, a master's mate, two midshipmen, botanist,
three warrant-officers, clerk, and eight seamen, mak-
ing in all nineteen; and had not the three persons
above mentioned been forcibly detained, the captain
would have had exactly half the ship's company.
It may perhaps appear strange to many, that with
so large a party in his favour, Lieutenant Bligh
made no attempt to retake the vessel; but the mu-
tiny was so ably conducted that no opportunity was
afforded him of doing so; and the strength of the
crew was decidedly in favour of Christian. Lieu-
tenant Bligh's adventures and sufferings, until he
reached Timor, are well known to the public, and
need no repetition. -
The ship, having stood some time to the W. N.
W., with a view to deceive the party in the launch,
was afterwards put about, and her course directed as
near to Otaheite as the wind would permit. In a
few days they found some difficulty in reaching
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 77
that island, and bore away for Tobouai, a small island
about 300 miles to the southward of it, where they
agreed to establish themselves, provided the natives,
who were numerous, were not hostile to their pur-
pose. Of this they had very early intimation, an
attack being made upon a boat which they sent
to sound the harbour. She, however, effected her
purpose; and the next morning the Bounty was
warped inside the reef that formed the port, and
stationed close to the beach. An attempt to land
was next made; but the natives disputed every foot
of ground with spears, clubs, and stones, until they
were dispersed by a discharge of cannon and mus-
ketry. On this they fled to the interior, and re-
fused to hold any further intercourse with their
visiters.
The determined hostility of the natives put an
end to the mutineers’ design of settling among them
at that time; and, after two days' fruitless attempt
at reconciliation, they left the island and proceeded
to Otaheite. Tobouai was, however, a favourite
spot with them, and they determined to make an-
other effort to settle there, which they thought
would yet be feasible, provided the islanders could
be made acquainted with their friendly intentions.
The only way to do this was through interpreters,
who might be procured at Otaheite; and in order
not to be dependent upon the natives of Tobouai for
wives, they determined to engage several Otaheitan
women to accompany them. They reached Otaheite
in eight days, and were received with the greatest
kindness by their former friends, who immediately
inquired for the captain and his officers. Christian
and his party having anticipated inquiries of this
CHAP.
III.
V-y-'
Dec.
1825.

78 VOYAGE TO THE
nature, invented a story to account for their absence,
and told them that Lieutenant Bligh having found
an island suitable for a settlement, had landed there
with some of his officers, and sent them in the ship
to procure live stock and whatever else would be
useful to the colony, and to bring besides such of the
natives as were willing to accompany them.* Sa-
tisfied with this plausible account, the chiefs sup-
plied them with every thing they wanted, and even
gave them a bull and cow which had been confided
to their care, the only ones, I believe, that were on
the island. They were equally fortunate in finding
several persons, both male and female, willing to
accompany them ; and thus furnished, they again
sailed for Tobouai, where, as they expected, they
were better received than before, in consequence of
being able to communicate with the natives through
their interpreters.
Experience had taught them the necessity of
making self-defence their first consideration, and a
fort was consequently commenced, eighty yards
square, surrounded by a wide ditch. It was nearly
completed, when the natives, imagining they were
going to destroy them, and that the ditch was in-
tended for their place of interment, planned a general
attack when the party should proceed to work in the
morning. It fortunately happened that one of the
CHAP.
III.
T)ec.
1825.
* In the Memoir of Captain Peter Heywood, in Marshall's Naval
Biography, it is related that the mutineers availing themselves of a
fiction which had been created by Lieutenant Bligh respecting
Captain Cook, stated that they had fallen in with him, and that he
had sent the ship back for all the live stock that could be spared,
in order to form a settlement at a place called Wytootacke, which
Bligh had discovered in his course to the Friendly Islands.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 79
natives who accompanied them from Otaheite over-
heard this conspiracy, and instantly swam off to the
ship and apprised the crew of their danger. Instead,
therefore, of proceeding to their work at the fort, as
usual, the following morning, they made an attack
upon the natives, killed and wounded several, and
obliged the others to retire inland.
Great dissatisfaction and difference of opinion now
arose among the crew : some were for abandoning
the fort and returning to Otaheite; while others
were for proceeding to the Marquesas; but the
majority were at that time for completing what they
had begun, and remaining at Tobouai. At length
the continued state of suspense in which they were
kept by the natives made them decide to return to
Otaheite, though much against the inclination of
Christian, who in vain expostulated with them on
the folly of such a resolution, and the certain detec-
tion that must ensue.
The implements being embarked, they proceeded
therefore a second time to Otaheite, and were again
well received by their friends, who replenished their
stock of provision. During the passage Christian
formed his intention of proceeding in the ship to
some distant uninhabited island, for the purpose of
permanently settling, as the most likely means of
escaping the punishment which he well knew awaited
him in the event of being discovered. On commu-
nicating this plan to his shipmates he found only a
few inclined to assent to it; but no objections were
offered by those who dissented, to his taking the
ship; all they required was an equal distribution
of such provisions and stores as might be useful.
Young, Brown, Mills, Williams, Quintal, M'Coy,
CHAP.
III.
\º-,-)
Dec.
1825.

80 VOYAGE TO THE
Martin, Adams, and six natives (four of Otaheite
and two of Tobouai) determined to follow the fate
of Christian. Remaining, therefore, only twenty-
four hours at Otaheite, they took leave of their com-
rades, and having invited on board several of the
women with the feigned purpose of taking leave, the
cables were cut and they were carried off to sea.”
The mutineers now bade adieu to all the world,
save the few individuals associated with them in
exile. But where that exile should be passed, was
yet undecided: the Marquesas Islands were first
mentioned, but Christian, on reading Captain Car-
teret's account of Pitcairn Island, thought it better
adapted to the purpose, and accordingly shaped a
course thither. They reached it not many days af-
terwards; and Christian, with one of the seamen,
landed in a little nook, which we afterwards found
very convenient for disembarkation. They soon tra-
versed the island sufficiently to be satisfied that it
was exactly suited to their wishes. It possessed
water, wood, a good soil, and some fruits. The an-
chorage in the offing was very bad, and landing for
boats extremely hazardous. The mountains were so
difficult of access, and the passes so narrow, that
they might be maintained by a few persons against
an army; and there were several caves, to which, in
case of necessity, they could retreat, and where, as
long as their provision lasted, they might bid defi-
ance to their pursuers. With this intelligence they
returned on board, and brought the ship to an
CHAP.
III.
\-Y-2
Dec.
1825.
* The greater part of the mutineers who remained at Otaheite
were taken by his Majesty's ship Pandora, which was purposely
sent out from England after Lieutenant Bligh's return.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT, 81
anchor in a small bay on the northern side of the
island, which I have in consequence named “ Bounty
Bay,” where every thing that could be of utility
was landed, and where it was agreed to destroy the
ship, either by running her on shore, or burning her.
Christian, Adams, and the majority, were for the
former expedient; but while they went to the fore-
part of the ship, to execute this business, Mathew
Quintal set fire to the carpenter's store-room. The
vessel burnt to the water's edge, and then drifted
upon the rocks, where the remainder of the wreck
was burnt for fear of discovery. This occurred on
the 23d January, 1790.
Upon their first landing they perceived, by the
remains of several habitations, morais, and three or
four rudely sculptured images, which stood upon
the eminence overlooking the bay where the ship
was destroyed, that the island had been previously
inhabited. Some apprehensions were, in conse-
quence, entertained lest the natives should have
secreted themselves, and in some unguarded mo-
ment make an attack upon them ; but by degrees
these fears subsided, and their avocations proceede
without interruption. p.
A suitable spot of ground for a village was fixed
upon, with the exception of which the island was
divided into equal portions, but to the exclusion of
the poor blacks, who being only friends of the sea-
men, were not considered as entitled to the same
privileges. Obliged to lend their assistance to the
others in order to procure a subsistence, they thus,
from being their friends, in the course of time
became their slaves. No discontent, however, was
manifested, and they willingly assisted in the culti-
VOL. I. G.
CHAP.
III.
\-Y-'
Dec.
1825.









82 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
\-Y-2
T)ec.
1825.
vation of the soil. In clearing the space that was
allotted to the village, a row of trees was left be-
tween it and the sea, for the purpose of concealing
the houses from the observation of any vessels that
might be passing, and nothing was allowed to be
erected that might in any way attract attention.
Until these houses were finished, the sails of the
Bounty were converted into tents, and when no
longer required for that purpose, became very ac-
ceptable as clothing. Thus supplied with all the
necessaries of life, and some of its luxuries, they felt
their condition comfortable even beyond their most
sanguine expectation, and every thing went on
peaceably and prosperously for about two years, at
the expiration of which Williams, who had the mis-
fortune to lose his wife about a month after his ar-
rival, by a fall from a precipice while collecting birds'
eggs, became dissatisfied, and threatened to leave
the island in one of the boats of the Bounty, unless
he had another wife; an unreasonable request, as it
could not be complied with, except at the expense
of the happiness of one of his companions: but Wil-
liams, actuated by selfish considerations alone, per-
sisted in his threat, and the Europeans not willing
to part with him, on account of his usefulness as an
armourer, constrained one of the blacks to bestow
his wife upon the applicant. The blacks, outrageous
at this second act of flagrant injustice, made com-
mon cause with their companion, and matured a
plan of revenge upon their aggressors, which, had it
succeeded, would have proved fatal to all the Euro-
peans. Fortunately, the secret was imparted to the
women, who ingeniously communicated it to the
white men in a song, of which the words were,

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 83
“Why does black man sharpen axe? to kill white
man.” The instant Christian became aware of the
plot, he seized his gun and went in search of the
blacks, but with a view only of showing them that
their scheme was discovered, and thus by timely in-
terference endeavouring to prevent the execution of
it. He met one of them (Ohoo) at a little distance
from the village, taxed him with the conspiracy,
and, in order to intimidate him, discharged his gun,
which he had humanely loaded with powder only.
Ohoo, however, imagining otherwise, and that the
bullet had missed its object, derided his unskilful-
ness, and fled into the woods, followed by his ac-
complice Talaloo, who had been deprived of his
wife. The remaining blacks, finding their plot dis-
covered, purchased pardon by promising to murder
their accomplices, who had fled, which they after-
wards performed by an act of the most odious
treachery. Ohoo was betrayed and murdered by
his own nephew ; and Talaloo, after an ineffectual
attempt made upon him by poison, fell by the hands
of his friend and his wife, the very woman on whose
account all the disturbance began, and whose inju-
ries Talaloo felt he was revenging in common with
his own.
Tranquillity was by these means restored, and
preserved for about two years; at the expiration of
which, dissatisfaction was again manifested by the
blacks, in consequence of oppression and ill treat-
ment, principally by Quintal and M'Coy. Meeting
with no compassion or redress from their masters, a
second plan to destroy their oppressors was matured,
and, unfortunately, too successfully executed.
It was agreed that two of the blacks, Timoa and
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.

G 2 -
84 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
man, who, from being the reputed ringleader of the
dren to dinner.” The white men being yet too strong
Nehow, should desert from their masters, provide
themselves with arms, and hide in the woods, but
maintain a frequent communication with the other
two, Tetaheite and Menalee; and that on a certain
day they should attack and put to death all the
Englishmen, when at work in their plantations.
Tetaheite, to strengthen the party of the blacks on
this day, borrowed a gun and ammunition of his
master, under the pretence of shooting hogs, which
had become wild and very numerous; but instead of
using it in this way, he joined his accomplices, and
with them fell upon Williams and shot him. Mar-
tin, who was at no great distance, heard the report
of the musket, and exclaimed, “Well done we
shall have a glorious feast to-day !” supposing that
a hog had been shot. The party proceeded from
Williams' toward Christian's plantation, where Me-
nalee, the other black, was at work with Mills and
M'Coy ; and, in order that the suspicions of the
whites might not be excited by the report they had
heard, requested Mills to allow him (Menalee) to
assist them in bringing home the hog they pre-
tended to have killed. Mills agreed; and the four,
being united, proceeded to Christian, who was work-
ing at his yam-plot, and shot him. Thus fell a
mutiny, has obtained an unenviable celebrity, and
whose crime, if any thing can excuse mutiny, may
perhaps be considered as in some degree palliated, by
the tyranny which led to its commission. M'Coy,
hearing his groans, observed to Mills, “there was
surely some person dying ;” but Mills replied, “It
is only Mainmast (Christian's wife) calling her chil-












PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 85
for the blacks to risk a conflict with them, it was ne-
cessary to concert a plan, in order to separate Mills
and M'Coy. Two of them accordingly secreted
themselves in M'Coy's house, and Tetaheite ran and
told him that the two blacks who had deserted were
stealing things out of his house. M'Coy instantly
hastened to detect them, and on entering was fired
at ; but the ball passed him. M'Coy immediately
communicated the alarm to Mills, and advised him
to seek shelter in the woods; but Mills, being quite
satisfied that one of the blacks whom he had made
his friend would not suffer him to be killed, deter-
mined to remain. M'Coy, less confident, ran in
search of Christian, but finding him dead, joined
Quintal (who was already apprised of the work of
destruction, and had sent his wife to give the alarm
to the others), and fled with him to the woods.
Mills had scarcely been left alone, when the two
blacks fell upon him, and he became a victim to his
misplaced confidence in the fidelity of his friend.
Martin and Brown were next separately murdered
by Menalee and Tenina; Menalee effecting with a
maul what the musket had left unfinished. Tenina,
it is said, wished to save the life of Brown, and fired
at him with powder only, desiring him, at the same
time, to fall as if killed ; but, unfortunately rising
too soon, the other black, Menalee, shot him.
Adams was first apprised of his danger by Quin-
tal's wife, who, in hurrying through his plantation,
asked why he was working at such a time 2 Not
understanding the question, but seeing her alarmed,
he followed her, and was almost immediately met
by the blacks, whose appearance exciting suspicion,
he made his escape into the woods. After remain-
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.


86 VOYAGE TO THE
* ing there three or four hours, Adams, thinking all
S-- was quiet, stole to his yam-plot for a supply of pro-
#. visions; his movements however did not escape the
vigilance of the blacks, who attacked and shot him
through the body, the ball entering at his right
shoulder, and passing out through his throat. He
fell upon his side, and was instantly assailed by
one of them with the butt end of the gun; but he
parried the blows at the expense of a broken finger.
Tetaheite then placed his gun to his side, but it
fortunately missed fire twice. Adams, recovering a
little from the shock of the wound, sprang on his
legs, and ran off with as much speed as he was able,
and fortunately outstripped his pursuers, who seeing
him likely to escape, offered him protection if he
would stop. Adams, much exhausted by his wound,
readily accepted their terms, and was conducted to
Christian's house, where he was kindly treated.
Here this day of bloodshed ended, leaving only four
Englishmen alive out of nine. It was a day of
emancipation to the blacks, who were now masters
of the island, and of humiliation and retribution to
the whites.
Young, who was a great favourite with the
women, and had, during this attack, been secreted
by them, was now also taken to Christian's house.
The other two, M'Coy and Quintal, who had always
been the great oppressors of the blacks, escaped to
the mountains, where they supported themselves
upon the produce of the ground about them.
The party in the village lived in tolerable tran-
quillity for about a week; at the expiration of
which, the men of colour began to quarrel about the
right of choosing the women whose husbands had
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 87
been killed; which ended in Menalee's shooting
Timoa as he sat by the side of Young's wife, ac-
companying her song with his flute. Timoa not
dying immediately, Menalee reloaded, and delibe-
rately despatched him by a second discharge. He
afterwards attacked Tetaheite, who was condoling
with Young's wife for the loss of her favourite
black, and would have murdered him also, but for
the interference of the women. Afraid to remain
longer in the village, he escaped to the mountains
and joined Quintal and M'Coy, who, though glad
of his services, at first received him with suspicion.
This great acquisition to their force enabled them to
bid defiance to the opposite party; and to show
their strength, and that they were provided with
muskets, they appeared on a ridge of mountains,
within sight of the village, and fired a volley which
so alarmed the others that they sent Adams to say,
if they would kill the black man, Menalee, and
return to the village, they would all be friends
again. The terms were so far complied with that
Menalee was shot ; but, apprehensive of the since-
rity of the remaining blacks, they refused to return
while they were alive.
Adams says it was not long before the widows of
the white men so deeply deplored their loss, that
they determined to revenge their death, and con-
certed a plan to murder the only two remaining
men of colour. Another account, communicated by
the islanders, is, that it was only part of a plot
formed at the same time that Menalee was murdered,
which could not be put in execution before. How-
ever this may be, it was equally fatal to the poor
blacks. The arrangement was, that Susan should
CHAP.
III.
\-y-
Dec.
1825.

88 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP,
III.
iDec.
1825.
murder one of them, Tetaheite, while he was sleep-
ing by the side of his favourite; and that Young
should at the same instant, upon a signal being
given, shoot the other, Nehow. The unsuspecting
Tetaheite retired as usual, and fell by the blow of
an axe; the other was looking at Young loading
his gun, which he supposed was for the purpose of
shooting hogs, and requested him to put in a good
charge, when he received the deadly contents.
In this manner the existence of the last of the
men of colour terminated, who, though treacherous
and revengeful, had, it is feared, too much cause
for complaint. The accomplishment of this fatal
scheme was immediately communicated to the two
absentees, and their return solicited. But so many
instances of treachery had occurred, that they would
not believe the report, though delivered by Adams
himself, until the hands and heads of the deceased
were produced, which being done, they returned to
the village. This eventful day was the 3d Octo-
ber, 1793. There were now left upon the island,
Adams, Young, M'Coy, and Quintal, ten women,
and some children. Two months after this period,
Young commenced a manuscript journal, which
affords a good insight into the state of the island,
and the occupations of the settlers. From it we
learn, that they lived peaceably together, building
their houses, fencing in and cultivating their grounds,
fishing, and catching birds, and constructing pits for
the purpose of entrapping hogs, which had become
very numerous and wild, as well as injurious to the
yam-crops. The only discontent appears to have
been among the women, who lived promiscuously
with the men, frequently changing their abode.













PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 89
Young says, March 12, 1794, “Going over to
borrow a rake, to rake the dust off my ground, I saw
Jenny having a skull in her hand: I asked her
whose it was 2 and was told it was Jack Williams's.
I desired it might be buried: the women who were
with Jenny gave me for answer, it should not. I
said it should; and demanded it accordingly. I was
asked the reason why I, in particular, should insist
on such a thing, when the rest of the white men did
not? I said, if they gave them leave to keep the
skulls above ground, I did not. Accordingly when
I saw M'Coy, Smith, and Mat. Quintal, I acquainted
them with it, and said, I thought that if the girls
did not agree to give up the heads of the five white
men in a peaceable manner, they ought to be taken
by force, and buried.” About this time the women
appear to have been much dissatisfied; and Young's
journal declares that, “ since the massacre, it has
been the desire of the greater part of them to get
some conveyance, to enable them to leave the island.”
This feeling continued, and on the 14th April, 1794,
was so strongly urged, that the men began to build
them a boat; but wanting planks and nails, Jenny,
who now resides at Otaheite, in her zeal tore up the
boards of her house, and endeavoured, though with-
out success, to persuade some others to follow her
example.
On the 13th August following, the vessel was
finished, and on the 15th she was launched; but, as
Young says, “according to expectation she upset,”
and it was most fortunate for them that she did so :
for had they launched out upon the ocean, where
could they have gone? or what could a few igno-
rant women have done by themselves, drifting upon
CHAP:
III.
Dec.
1825.







90 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
the waves, but ultimately have fallen a sacrifice to
their folly? However, the fate of the vessel was a
great disappointment, and they continued much dis-
satisfied with their condition; probably not without
some reason, as they were kept in great subordina-
tion, and were frequently beaten by M'Coy and
Quintal, who appear to have been of very quarrel-
some dispositions; Quintal in particular, who pro-
posed “not to laugh, joke, or give any thing to any
of the girls.”
On the 16th August they dug a grave, and buried
the bones of the murdered people; and on October
3d, 1794, they celebrated the murder of the black
men at Quintal’s house. On the 11th November,
a conspiracy of the women to kill the white men in
their sleep was discovered; upon which they were
all seized, and a disclosure ensued; but no punish-
ment appears to have been inflicted upon them, in
consequence of their promising to conduct them-
selves properly, and never again to give any cause
“even to suspect their behaviour.” However,
though they were pardoned, Young observes, “We
did not forget their conduct; and it was agreed
among us, that the first female who misbehaved
should be put to death; and this punishment was to
be repeated on each offence until we could discover
the real intentions of the women.” Young appears
to have suffered much from mental perturbation in
consequence of these disturbances; and observes of
himself on the two following days, that “he was
bothered and idle.”
The suspicions of the men induced them, on the
15th, to conceal two muskets in the bush, for the
use of any person who might be so fortunate as to

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 91
escape, in the event of an attack being made. On Cº.
the 30th November, the women again collected and --
attacked them; but no lives were lost, and they re- .
turned on being once more pardoned, but were again
threatened with death the next time they misbe-
haved. Threats thus repeatedly made, and as often
unexecuted, as might be expected, soon lost their
effect, and the women formed a party whenever
their displeasure was excited, and hid themselves in
the unfrequented parts of the island, carefully pro-
viding themselves with fire-arms. In this manner
the men were kept in continual suspense, dreading
the result of each disturbance, as the numerical
strength of the women was much greater than their
OWI). -
On the 4th of May, 1795, two canoes were begun,
and in two days completed. These were used for
fishing, in which employment the people were fre-
quently successful, supplying themselves with rock-
fish and large mackarel. On the 27th of December
following, they were greatly alarmed by the appear-
ance of a ship close in with the island. Fortunately
for them there was a tremendous surf upon the
rocks, the weather wore a very threatening aspect,
and the ship stood to the S.E., and at noon was out
of sight. Young appears to have thought this a
providential escape, as the sea for a week after was
“smoother than they had ever recollected it since
their arrival on the island.”
So little occurred in the year 1796, that one page
records the whole of the events; and throughout
the following year there are but three incidents
worthy of notice. The first, their endeavour to
procure a quantity of meat for salting ; the next,



92 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
\-Y-2
Dec.
1825.
maining few, that they resolved never again to touch
their attempt to make syrup from the tee-plant
(dracaena terminalis) and sugar-cane; and the third,
a serious accident that happened to M'Coy, who fell
from a cocoa-nut tree and hurt his right thigh,
sprained both his ancles and wounded his side. The
occupations of the men continued similar to those
already related, occasionally enlivened by visits to
the opposite side of the island. They appear to have
been more sociable; dining frequently at each other's
houses, and contributing more to the comfort of the
women, who, on their part, gave no ground for un-
easiness. There was also a mutual accommodation
amongst them in regard to provisions, of which a
regular account was taken. If one person was suc-
cessful in hunting, he lent the others as much meat
as they required, to be repaid at leisure; and the
same occurred with yams, taros, &c., so that they
lived in a very domestic and tranquil state.
It unfortunately happened that M'Coy had been
employed in a distillery in Scotland; and being
very much addicted to liquor, he tried an experi-
ment with the tee-root, and on the 20th April, 1798,
succeeded in producing a bottle of ardent spirit.
This success induced his companion, Mathew Quin-
tal, to “alter his kettle into a still,” a contrivance
which unfortunately succeeded too well, as frequent
intoxication was the consequence, with M'Coy in
particular, upon whom at length it produced fits of
delirium, in one of which, he threw himself from a
cliff and was killed. The melancholy fate of this
man created so forcible an impression on the re-
spirits; and Adams, I have every reason to believe,
to the day of his death kept his vow.










PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 93
The journal finishes nearly at the period of M'Coy's
death, which is not related in it: but we learned
from Adams, that about 1799 Quintal lost his wife
by a fall from the cliff while in search of birds' eggs;
that he grew discontented, and, though there were
several disposable women on the island, and he had
already experienced the fatal effects of a similar
demand, nothing would satisfy him but the wife of
one of his companions. Of course neither of them
felt inclined to accede to this unreasonable indul-
gence; and he sought an opportunity of putting
them both to death. He was fortunately foiled in
his first attempt, but swore he would repeat it.
Adams and Young having no doubt he would fol-
low up his resolution, and fearing he might be more
successful in the next attempt, came to the conclu-
sion, that their own lives were not safe while he was
in existence, and that they were justified in putting
him to death, which they did with an axe.
Such was the melancholy fate of seven of the
leading mutineers, who escaped from justice only to
add murder to their former crimes; for though
some of them may not have actually imbrued their
hands in the blood of their fellow-creatures, yet all
were accessary to the deed. -
As Christian and Young were descended from
respectable parents, and had received educations
suitable to their birth, it might be supposed that
they felt their altered and degraded situation much
more than the seamen who were comparatively well
off: but if so, Adams says, they had the good sense
to conceal it, as not a single murmur or regret es-
caped them ; on the contrary, Christian was always
cheerful, and his example was of the greatest service
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.







94 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.
in exciting his companions to labour. He was na-
turally of a happy, ingenuous disposition, and won
the good opinion and respect of all who served un-
der him; which cannot be better exemplified than
by his maintaining, under circumstances of great
perplexity, the respect and regard of all who were
associated with him up to the hour of his death;
and even at the period of our visit, Adams, in speak-
ing of him, never omitted to say, “ Mr. Christian.”
Adams and Young were now the sole survivors
out of the fifteen males that landed upon the island.
They were both, and more particularly Young, of a
serious turn of mind; and it would have been won-
derful, after the many dreadful scenes at which they
had assisted, if the solitude and tranquillity that en-
sued had not disposed them to repentance. Dur-
ing Christian's lifetime they had only once read the
church service, but since his decease this had been
regularly done on every Sunday. They now, how-
ever, resolved to have morning and evening family
prayers, to add afternoon service to the duty of the
Sabbath, and to train up their own children, and
those of their late unfortunate companions, in piety
and virtue.
In the execution of this resolution Young's edu-
cation enabled him to be of the greatest assistance;
but he was not long suffered to survive his repent-
ance. An asthmatic complaint, under which he had
for some time laboured, terminated his existence
about a year after the death of Quintal, and Adams
was left the sole survivor of the misguided and un-
fortunate mutineers of the Bounty. The loss of his
last companion was a great affliction to him, and
was for some time most severely felt. It was a


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 95
catastrophe, however, that more than ever disposed
him to repentance, and determined him to execute
the pious resolution he had made, in the hope of ex-
piating his offences.
His reformation could not, perhaps, have taken
place at a more propitious moment. Out of nine-
teen children upon the island, there were several be-
tween the ages of seven and nine years; who, had
they been longer suffered to follow their own inclina-
tions, might have acquired habits which it would have
been difficult if not impossible for Adams to eradi-
cate. The moment was therefore most favourable
for his design, and his laudable exertions were at-
tended by advantages both to the objects of his care
and to his own mind, which surpassed his most san-
guine expectations. He, nevertheless, had an ar-
duous task to perform. Besides the children to
be educated, the Otaheitan women were to be con-
verted; and as the example of the parents had a
powerful influence over their children, he resolved
to make them his first care. Here also his labours
succeeded; the Otaheitans were naturally of a tract-
able disposition, and gave him less trouble than he
anticipated: the children also acquired such a thirst
after scriptural knowledge, that Adams in a short
time had little else to do than to answer their in-
quiries and put them in the right way. As they
grew up, they acquired fixed habits of morality and
piety; their colony improved; intermarriages oc-
curred: and they now form a happy and well-regu-
lated society, the merit of which in a great degree
belongs to Adams, and tends to redeem the former
errors of his life.
CHAP.
III.
Dec.
1825.

96 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
\-Y-2
T)ec.
1825.
CHAPTER IV.
Bounty Bay–Observatory landed—Manners, Customs, Occupa-
tions, Amusements, &c. of the Natives—Village—Description
of the Island–Its produce—Marriage of Adams—Barge hoisted
out—Departure—General Description.
HAVING detailed the particulars of the mutiny in
the Bounty, and the fate of the most notorious of
the ring-leaders, and having brought the history of
Pitcairn Island down to the present period, I shall
return to the party who had assembled on board the
ship to greet us on our arrival. -
The Blossom was so different, or to use the ex-
pression of our visiters, “so rich,” compared with
the other ships they had seen,” that they were con-
stantly afraid of giving offence or committing some
injury, and would not even move without first ask-
ing permission. This diffidence gave us full occu-
pation for some time, as our restless visiters, anxious
to see every thing, seldom directed their attention
long to any particular object, or remained in one
position or place. Having no latches to their doors,
they were ignorant of the manner of opening ours;
and we were consequently attacked on all sides with
* It was so long since the visit of the Briton and Tagus that they
had forgotten their appearance. -















tº
Z
H
Z
<!
|-1.


PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 97
“Please may I sit down or get up, or go out of the
cabin?” or “Please to open or shut the door.” Their
applications were, however, made with such good
nature and simplicity that it was impossible not to
feel the greatest pleasure in paying attention to
them. They very soon learnt the christian name of
every officer in the ship, which they always used in
conversation instead of the surname, and wherever a
similarity to their own occurred, they attached them-
selves to that person as a matter of course.
It was many hours after they came on board be-
fore the ship could get near the island, during which
time they so ingratiated themselves with us that we
felt the greatest desire to visit their houses; and
rather than pass another night at sea we put off in
the boats, though at a considerable distance from the
land, and accompanied them to the shore. We fol-
lowed our guides past a rugged point surmounted
by tall spiral rocks, known to the islanders as St.
Paul's rocks, into a spacious iron-bound bay, where
the Bounty found her last anchorage. In this bay,
which is bounded by lofty cliffs almost inaccessible,
it was proposed to land. Thickly branched ever-
greens skirt the base of these hills, and in Summer
afford a welcome retreat from the rays of an almost
vertical sun. In the distance are seen several high
pointed rocks which the pious highlanders have
named after the most zealous of the Apostles, and
outside of them is a square basaltic islet. Formida-
ble breakers fringe the coast, and seem to present an
insurmountable barrier to all access.
We here brought our boats to an anchor, in con-
sequence of the passage between the sunken rocks be-
ing much too intricate, and we trusted ourselves to
VOL. I. H -
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.
98 VOYAGE TO THE
cº the natives, who landed us, two at a time, in their
Jº — whale-boat. The difficulty of landing was more than
*... repaid by the friendly reception we met with on the
beach from Hannah Young, a very interesting young
woman, the daughter of Adams. In her eagerness
to greet her father, she had outrun her female com-
panions, for whose delay she thought it necessary in
the first place to apologize, by saying they had all
been over the hill in company with John Buffet to
look at the ship, and were not yet returned. It ap-
peared that John Buffet, who was a seafaring man,
ascertained that the ship was a man of war, and
without knowing exactly why, became so alarmed
for the safety of Adams that he either could not or
would not answer any of the interrogations which
were put to him. This mysterious silence set all
the party in tears, as they feared he had discovered
something adverse to their patriarch. At length his
obduracy yielded to their entreaties; but before he
explained the cause of his conduct, the boats were
seen to put off from the ship, and Hannah imme-
diately hurried to the beach to kiss the old man's
cheek, which she did with a fervency demonstrative
of the warmest affection. Her apology for her com-
panions was rendered unnecessary by their appear-
ance on the steep and circuitous path down the
mountain, who, as they arrived on the beach, suc-
cessively welcomed us to their island, with a sim-
plicity and sincerity which left no doubt of the
truth of their professions.
They almost all wore the cloth of the island: their
dress consisted of a petticoat, and a mantle loosely
thrown over the shoulders, and reaching to the an-
cles. Their stature was rather above the common
-


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 99
height; and their limbs, from being accustomed
to work and climb the hills, had acquired unusual
muscularity; but their features and manners were
perfectly feminine. Their complexion, though
fairer than that of the men, was of a dark gipsy
hue, but its deep colour was less conspicuous, by
being contrasted with dark glossy hair, which
hung down over their shoulders in long wav-
ing tresses, nicely oiled : in front it was tastefully
turned back from the forehead and temples, and
was retained in that position by a chaplet of small
red or white aromatic blossoms, newly gathered
from the flower-tree (morinda citrifolia), or from the
tobacco plant; their countenances were lively and
good-natured, their eyes dark and animated, and
each possessed an enviable row of teeth. Such was
the agreeable impression of their first appearance,
which was heightened by the wish expressed simul-
taneously by the whole group, that we were come
to stay several days with them. As the sun was
going down, we signified our desire to get to the
village and to pitch the observatory before dark, and
this was no sooner made known, than every instru-
ment and article found a carrier.
We took the only pathway which leads from the
landing-place to the village, and soon experienced
the difficulties of the ascent, which the distant ap-
pearance of the ground led us to anticipate. To the
natives, however, there appeared to be no obstacles:
women as well as men bore their burthens over the
most difficult parts without inconvenience; while
we, obliged at times to have recourse to tufts of
shrubs or grass for assistance, experienced serious
delay, being also incommoded by the heat of the
CHAP.
IV.
S-N-2
T)ec.
1825.

H 2
100 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825,
weather, and by swarms of house-flies which infest
the island, and are said to have been imported there
by H. M. S. Briton.
As soon as we had gained the first level, our
party rested on some large stones that lay half buri-
ed in long grass on one side of a ravine, from which
the blue sky was nearly concealed by the overlap-
ping branches of palm-trees. Here, through the
medium of our female guides, who, furnished with
the spreading leaves of the tee-plant, drove away
our troublesome persecutors, we obtained a respite
from their attacks.
Having refreshed ourselves, we resumed our jour-
ney over a more easy path ; and after crossing two
valleys, shaded by cocoa-nut trees, we arrived at the
village. It consisted of five houses, built upon a
cleared piece of ground sloping to the sea, and com-
manding a distant view of the horizon, through a
break in an extensive wood of palms. While the
men assisted to pitch our tent, the women employed
themselves in preparing our dinner, or more proper-
ly supper, as it was eight o'clock at night.
The manner of cooking in Pitcairn's Island is
similar to that of Otaheite, which, as some of my
readers may not recollect, I shall briefly describe.
An oven is made in the ground, sufficiently large to
contain a good-sized pig, and is lined throughout
with stones nearly equal in size, which have been
previously made as hot as possible. These are
covered with some broad leaves, generally of the
tee-plant, and on them is placed the meat. If it be
a pig, its inside is lined with heated stones, as well
as the oven; such vegetables as are to be cooked are
then placed round the animal: the whole is care-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. IOI
fully covered with leaves of the tee, and buried be-
neath a heap of earth, straw, or rushes and boughs,
which, by a little use, becomes matted into one
mass. In about an hour and a quarter the animal is
sufficiently cooked, and is certainly more thorough-
ly done than it would be by a fire.
By the time the tent was up and the instruments
secured, we were summoned to a meal cooked in
this manner, than which a less sumptuous fare would
have satisfied appetites rendered keen by long absti-
nence and a tiresome journey. Our party divided
themselves that they might not crowd one house in
particular: Adams did not entertain; but at Chris-
tian's I found a table spread with plates, knives, and
forks; which, in so remote a part of the world, was
an unexpected sight. They were, it is true, far from
uniform ; but by one article being appropriated for
another, we all found something to put our portion
upon; and but few of the natives were obliged to
substitute their fingers for articles which are indis-
pensable to the comfort of more polished life. The
smoking pig, by a skilful dissection, was soon por-
tioned to every guest, but no one ventured to put
its excellent qualities to the test until a lengthened
Amen, pronounced by all the party, had succeeded
an emphatic grace delivered by the village parson.
“ Turn to" was then the signal for attack, and as it
is convenient that all the party should finish their
meal about the same time, in order that one grace
might serve for all, each made the most of his time.
In Pitcairn's Island it is not deemed proper to touch
even a bit of bread without a grace before and after
it, and a person is accused of inconsistency if he
leaves off and begins again. So strict is their obser-
CHAP.
IV.
T)ec.
1825.

102 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.
vance of this form, that we do not know of any
instance in which it has been forgotten. On one
occasion I had engaged Adams in conversation, and
he incautiously took the first mouthful without hav-
ing said his grace; but before he had swallowed it,
he recollected himself, and feeling as if he had com-
mitted a crime, immediately put away what he had
in his mouth, and commenced his prayer.
Welcome cheer, hospitality, and good-humour,
were the characteristics of the feast; and never was
their beneficial influence more practically exemplified
than on this occasion, by the demolition of nearly all
that was placed before us. With the exception of
some wine we had brought with us, water was the
only beverage. This was placed in a large jug at
one end of the board, and when necessary, was passed
round the table—a ceremony at which, in Pitcairn's
Island in particular, it is desirable to be the first par-
taker, as the gravy of the dish is invariably mingled
with the contents of the pitcher: the natives, who
prefer using their fingers to forks, being quite in-
different whether they hold the vessel by the handle
or by the spout. Three or four torches made with
doodoe nuts (aleurites triloba), strung upon the
fibres of a palm-leaf, were stuck in tin pots at the
end of the table, and formed an excellent substitute
for candles, except that they gave a considerable
heat, and cracked, and fired, somewhat to the dis-
comfiture of the person whose face was near them.
Notwithstanding these deficiencies, we made a
very comfortable and hearty supper, heard many
little anecdotes of the place, and derived much
amusement from the singularity of the inquiries of
our hosts. One regret only intruded itself upon the
















PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 103
general conviviality, which we did not fail to men-
tion, namely, that there was so wide a distinction
between the sexes. This was the remains of a
custom very common among the South-sea Islands,
which in some places is carried to such an extent,
that it imposes death upon the woman who shall eat
in the presence of her husband; and though the
distinction between man and wife is not here carried
to that extent, it is still sufficiently observed to ex-
clude all the women from table, if there happens to
be a deficiency of seats. In Pitcairn's Island, they
have settled ideas of right and wrong, to which they
obstinately adhere; and, fortunately, they have im-
bibed them generally from the best source.
In the instance in question, they have, however,
certainly erred; but of this they could not be per-
suaded, nor did they, I believe, thank us for our in-
terference. Their argument was, that man was
made first, and ought, consequently, on all occasions,
to be served first—a conclusion which deprived us
of the company of the women at table, during the
whole of our stay at the island. Far from consider-
ing themselves neglected, they very good-naturedly
chatted with us behind our seats, and flapped away
the flies, and by a gentle tap, accidentally or play-
fully delivered, reminded us occasionally of the
honour that was done us. The conclusion of our
meal was the signal for the women and children to
prepare their own, to whom we resigned our seats,
and strolled out to enjoy the freshness of the night.
It was late by the time the women had finished,
and we were not sorry when we were shown to the
beds prepared for us. The mattress was composed
of palm-leaves, covered with native cloth; the sheets
CHAP.
IV.
Lec.
1825.

104 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
were of the same material; and we knew, by the
crackling of them, that they were quite new from
the loom, or beater. The whole arrangement was
extremely comfortable, and highly inviting to re-
pose, which the freshness of the apartment, rendered
cool by a free circulation of air through its sides,
enabled us to enjoy without any annoyance from
heat or insects. One interruption only disturbed
our first sleep; it was the pleasing melody of the
evening hymn, which, after the lights were put out,
was chaunted by the whole family in the middle of
the room. In the morning also we were awoke by
their morning hymn, and family devotion. As we
were much tired, and the sun’s rays had not yet
found their way through the broad opening of the
apartment, we composed ourselves to rest again ;
and on awaking found that all the natives were gone
to their several occupations,—the men to offer what
assistance they could to our boats in landing, carry-
ing burthens for the seamen, or to gather what fruits
were in season. Some of the women had taken our
linen to wash; those whose turn it was to cook for
the day were preparing the oven, the pig, and the
yams; and we could hear, by the distant reiterated
strokes of the beater,” that others were engaged
in the manufacture of cloth. By our bedside had
already been placed some ripe fruits; and our hats
were crowned with chaplets of the fresh blossom of
the nono, or flower-tree (morinda citrifolia), which
the women had gathered in the freshness of the
morning dew. On looking round the apartment,
though it contained several beds, we found no par-
IDec.
1825.
* This is an instrument used for the manufacture of their cloth.

















PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 105
tition, curtain, or screens; they had not yet been
considered necessary. So far, indeed, from conceal-
ment being thought of, when we were about to get
up, the women, anxious to show their attention, as-
sembled to wish us a good morning, and to inquire
in what way they could best contribute to our com-
forts, and to present us with some little gift, which
the produce of the island afforded. Many persons
would have felt awkward at rising and dressing be-
fore so many pretty black-eyed damsels assembled
in the centre of a spacious room ; but by a little
habit we overcame this embarrassment; and found
the benefit of their services in fetching water as we
required it, and substituting clean linen for such as
we pulled off.
It must be remembered, that with these people,
as with the other islanders of the South Seas, the
custom has generally been to go naked, the maro
with the men excepted, and with the women the
petticoat, or kilt, with a loose covering over the
bust, which, indeed, in Pitcairn's Island, they are
always careful to conceal ; consequently, an expo-
sure to that extent carried with it no feeling what-
ever of indelicacy; or, I may safely add, that the
Pitcairn's Islanders would have been the last persons
to incur the charge.
We assembled at breakfast about noon, the usual
eating hour of the natives, though they do not con-
fine themselves to that period exactly, but take
their meal whenever it is sufficiently cooked; and
afterwards availed ourselves of their proffered ser-
vices to show us the island, and under their guidance
first inspected the village, and what lay in its imme-
diate vicinity. In an adjoining house we found two
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825,

106 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
T)ec.
1825.
young girls seated upon the ground, employed in
the laborious exercise of beating out the bark of the
cloth-tree, which they intended to present to us, on
our departure, as a keepsake. The hamlet consisted
of five cottages, built more substantially than neatly,
upon a cleared patch of ground, sloping to the north-
ward, from the high land of the interior to the cliffs
which overhang the sea, of which the houses com-
mand a distant view in a northern direction. In
the N. E. quarter, the horizon may also be seen
peeping between the stems of the lofty palms, whose
graceful branches nod like ostrich plumes to the
refreshing trade-wind. To the northward, and north-
westward, thicker groves of palm-trees rise in an
impenetrable wood, from two ravines which traverse
the hills in various directions to their summit.
Above the one, to the westward, a lofty mountain
rears its head, and toward the sea terminates in a
fearful precipice filled with caverns, in which the
different sea-fowl find an undisturbed retreat. Im-
mediately round the village are the small enclosures
for fattening pigs, goats, and poultry ; and beyond
them, the cultivated grounds producing the banana,
plantain, melon, yam, taro, Sweet potatoes, appai,
tee, and cloth plant, with other useful roots, fruits,
and shrubs, which extend far up the mountain and
to the southward; but in this particular direction
they are excluded from the view by an immense
banyan tree, two hundred paces in circumference,
whose foliage and branches form of themselves a
canopy impervious to the rays of the sun. Every
cottage has its out-house for making cloth, its
baking-place, its sty, and its poultry-house.
Within the enclosure of palm-trees is the cemetery

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 107
where the few persons who had died on the island,
together with those who met with violent deaths,
are deposited. Besides the houses above mentioned,
there are three or four others built upon the plan-
tations beyond the palm groves. One of these,
situated higher up the hill than the village, belonged
to Adams, who had retired from the bustle of the
hamlet to a more quiet and sequestered spot, to
enjoy the advantages of an elevated situation, so
desirable in warm countries ; and in addition to
these again there are four other cottages to the east-
ward which belong to the Youngs and Quintals.
All these cottages are strongly built of wood in
an oblong form, and thatched with the leaves of the
palm-tree bent round the stem of the same branch,
and laced horizontally to rafters, so placed as to give
a proper pitch to the roof. The greater part have
an upper story, which is appropriated to sleeping,
and contain four beds built in the angles of the
room, each sufficiently large for three or four per-
sons to lie on. They are made of wood of the
cloth-tree, and are raised eighteen inches above the
floor; a mattress of palm-leaves is laid upon the
planks, and above it three sheets of the cloth-plant,
which form an excellent substitute for linen. The
lower room generally contains one or more beds, but
is always used as their eating-room, and has a broad
table in one part, with several stools placed round
it. The floor is elevated above a foot from the
ground, and, as well as the sides of the house, is
made of stout plank, and not of bamboo, or stone, as
stated by Captain Folger; indeed they have not a
piece of bamboo on the island; nor have they any
mats. The floor is a fixture, but the sideboards are
ſ - -
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.

108 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
\-->
Dec.
1825.
let into a groove in the supporters, and can be re-
moved at pleasure, according to the state of the
weather, and the whole side may, if required, be
laid open. The lower room communicates with the
upper by a stout ladder in the centre, and leads up
through a trap-door into the bedroom.
From the village several pathways (for roads
there are none) diverge, and generally lead into the
valleys, which afford a less difficult ascent to the
upper part of the island than the natural slope of
the hills; still they are very rugged and steep, and
in the rainy season so slippery that it is almost im-
possible for any person, excepting the natives, to
traverse them with safety. We selected one which
led over the mountain to the landing-place, on the
opposite side of the island, and visited the several
plantations upon the higher grounds, which extend
towards the mountain with a gentle slope. Here
the mutineers originally built their summer-houses,
for the purpose of enjoying the breeze and over-
looking the yam grounds, which are more produc-
tive than those lower down. Near these plantations
are the remains of some ancient morais; and a spot
is pointed out as the place where Christian was
first buried. By a circuitous and, to us, difficult
path, we reached the ridge of the mountain, the
height of which is 1109 feet above the sea; this is
the highest part of the island. The ridge extends
in a north and south direction, and unites two small
peaks: it is so narrow as to be in many parts scarcely
three feet wide, and forms a dangerous pass between
two fearful precipices. The natives were so accus-
tomed to climb these crags that they unconcernedly
skipped from point to point like the hunters of cha-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 109
mois; and young Christian actually jumped upon
the very peak of a cliff, which was so small as to be
scarcely sufficient for his feet to rest upon, and from
which any other person would have shuddered even
to look down upon the beach, lying many hundred
feet at its base. At the northern extremity of this
ridge is a cave of some interest, as being the intend-
ed retreat of Christian, in the event of a landing
being effected by any ship sent in pursuit of him,
and where he resolved to sell his life as dearly as
he could. In this recess he always kept a store
of provisions, and near it erected a small hut, well
concealed by trees, which served the purpose of a
watchhouse. So difficult was the approach to this
cave, that even if the party were successful in cross-
ing the ridge, as long as his ammunition lasted, he
might have bid defiance to any force. An unfre-
quented and dangerous path leads from this place
to a peak which commands a view of the western
and southern coasts: at this height, on a clear day,
a perfect map of the bottom is exhibited by the dif-
ferent coloured waters. On all points the island is
terminated by cliffs, or rocky projections: off which
lie scattered numerous fragments of rock, rising
like so many black pinnacles amid the surf, which
on all sides rolls in upon the shore.
We descended by a less abrupt slope than that by
which we advanced, and took our way through yam
grounds to a ravine which brought us to the village.
The path leading down this ravine is, in many places,
so precipitous, that we were constantly in danger of
slipping and rolling into the depths below, which
the assistance of the natives alone prevented.
While we were thus borrowing help from others,
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.

| 10 - VOYAGE TO THE
** and grasping every tuft of grass and bough that
--~ offered its friendly support, we were overtaken by a
|... group of chubby little children, trudging uncon-
cernedly on, munching a water melon, and balancing
on their heads calabashes of water, which they had
brought from the opposite side of the island. They
smiled at our helplessness as they passed, and we felt
their innocent reproof; but we were still unpractised
in such feats, while they, from being trained to
them, had acquired a footing and a firmness which
habit alone can produce.
It was dark when we reached the houses, but we
found by a whoop which echoed through the woods,
that we were not the last from home. This whoop,
peculiar to the place, is so shrill, that it may be heard
half over the island, and the ear of the natives is so
quick, that they will catch it when we could dis-
tinguish nothing of the kind. By the tone in which
it is delivered, they also know the wants of the per-
son, and who it is. These shrill sounds, which we
had just heard, informed us, and those who were at
the village, that a party had lost their way in the
woods. A blazing beacon was immediately made,
which, together with a few more whoops to direct
the party, soon brought the absentees home. Their
perfection in these signals will be manifest from the
following anecdote: I was one day crossing the
mountain which intersects the island with Christian;
we had not long parted with their whale-boat on the
western side of the island, and were descending a
ravine amidst a thicket of trees, when he turned
round and said, “The whale-boat is come round to
Bounty Bay;” at which I was not a little surprised,
as I had heard nothing, and we could not see through







PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. III
the wood; but he said he heard the signal; and
when we got down it proved to be the case.
In this little retreat there is not much variety,
and the description of one day's occupation serves
equally for its successor. The dance is a recreation
very rarely indulged in ; but as we particularly re-
quested it, they would not refuse to gratify us. A
large room in Quintal's house was prepared for the
occasion, and the company were ranged on one side
of the apartment, glowing beneath a blazing string
of doodoe nuts; the musicians were on the other,
under the direction of Arthur Quintal. He was
seated upon the ground, as head musician, and had
before him a large gourd, and a piece of musical
wood (porou), which he balanced nicely upon his
toes, that there might be the less interruption to its
vibrations. He struck the instrument alternately
with two sticks, and was accompanied by Dolly,
who performed very skilfully with both hands upon
a gourd, which had a longitudinal hole cut in one
end of it; rapidly beating the orifice with the palms
of her hands, and releasing it again with uncommon
dexterity, so as to produce a tattoo, but in perfect
time with the other instrument. A third performed
upon the Bounty's old copper fish-kettle, which
formed a sort of bass. To this exhilarating music,
three grown-up females stood up to dance, but with
a reluctance which showed it was done only to oblige
us, as they consider such performances an inroad
upon their usual innocent pastimes. The figure
consisted of such parts of the Otaheitan dance as
were thought most decorous, and was little more
than a shuffling of the feet, sliding past each other,
and snapping their fingers; but even this produced,
CIHAP.
IV.
Dec.
}825.

II 2 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV,
Dec.
1825.
--~~
at times, considerable laughter from the female spec-
tators, perhaps from some association of ridiculous
ideas, which we, as strangers, did not feel; and no
doubt had our opinion of the performance been con-
sulted, it would have essentially differed from theirs.
They did not long continue these diversions, from
an idea that it was too great a levity to be continued
long; and only the three beforementioned ladies
could be prevailed upon to exhibit their skill. One
of the officers, with a view of contributing to the
mirth of the colonists, had obligingly brought his
violin on shore, and, as an inducement for them to
dance again, offered to play some country dances
and reels, if they would proceed; but they could
not be tempted to do so. They, however, solicited
a specimen of the capabilities of the instrument,
which was granted, and, though very well executed,
did not give the satisfaction which we anticipated.
They had not yet arrived at a state of refinement to
appreciate harmony, but were highly delighted with
the rapid motion of the fingers, and always liked
to be within sight of the instrument when it was
played. They were afterwards heard to say, that
they preferred their own simple musical contrivance
to the violin. They did not appear to have the least
ear for music : one of the officers took considerable
pains to teach them the hundredth psalm, that they
might not chaunt all the psalms and hymns to the
same air; but they did not evince the least aptitude
or desire to learn it.
The following day was devoted to the completion
of our view of the island, of which the natives were
anxious we should see every part. We accordingly
set out with the same guides by a road which


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. I13
brought us to “the Rope,” a steep cliff, so called
from its being necessary to descend it by a rope. It
is situated at the eastern end of the island, and over-
looks a small sandybay lined with rocks, which render
it dangerous for a boat to attempt to land there.
At the foot of “the Rope” were found some
stone axes, and a hone, the manufacture of the abori-
gines, and upon the face of a large rock were some
characters very rudely engraved, which we copied ;
they appeared to have been executed by the Boun-
ty’s people, though Adams did not recollect it. To
the left of “ the Rope” is a peak of considerable
height, overlooking Bounty Bay. Upon this emi-
nence the mutineers, on their arrival, found four
images, about six feet in height, placed upon a plat-
form ; and, according to Adams's description, not
unlike the morais at Easter Island, excepting that
they were upon a much smaller scale. One of these
images, which had been preserved, was a rude repre-
sentation of the human figure to the hips, and was
hewn out of a piece of red lava.
Near this supposed morai, we were told that hu-
man bones and stone hatchets were occasionally dug
up, but we could find only two bones, by which we
might judge of the stature of these aborigines.
These were an os femoris and a part of a cranium
of an unusual size and thickness. The hatchets, of
which we obtained several specimens, were made of
a compact basaltic lava, not unlike clinkstone, very
hard and capable of a fine polish. In shape they
resembled those used at Otaheite, and by all the
islanders of these seas that I have seen. A large
stone bowl was also found, similar to those used at
Otaheite, and two stone huts. That this island
VOL. I. I
CHAP
IV.
*~~
Dec.
1825.













114 VOYAGE TO THE
* should have been inhabited is not extraordinary,
\-- when it is remembered that Easter Island, which is
#. much more distant from the eastern world, was so,
though nothing is known of the fate of the people.
From these images, and the large piles of stones
on heights to which they must have been dragged
with great labour, it may be concluded that the
island was inhabited a considerable time ; and from
bones being found always buried under these piles,
and never upon the surface, we may presume that
those who survived quitted the island in their ca-
noes to seek an asylum elsewhere.
Having this day seen every part of the island, we
had no further desire to ramble ; and as the weather
did not promise to be very fair, I left the observatory
in the charge of Mr. Wolfe, and embarked, accom-
panied by old Adams. Soon after he came on board
it began to blow, and for several days afterwards the
wind prevented any communication with the shore.
The natives during this period were in great appre-
hension : they went to the top of the island every
morning to look for the ship ; and once, when she
was not to be seen, began to entertain the most
serious doubts whether Adams would be returned
to them; but he, knowing we should close the island
as soon as the weather would permit, was rather
glad of the opportunity of remaining on board, and
of again associating with his countrymen. And
although he had passed his sixty-fifth year, joined
in the dances and songs of the forecastle, and was
always cheerful.
On the 16th the weather permitted a boat to be
sent on shore, and Adams was restored to his anxious
friends. Previous to quitting the ship, he said it


PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 115
would add much to his happiness if I would read
the marriage ceremony to him and his wife, as he
could not bear the idea of living with her without
its being done. He had long wished for the arrival
of a ship of war to set his conscience at rest on that
point. Though Adams was aged, and the old wo-
man had been blind and bed-ridden for several years,
he made such a point of it, that it would have been
cruel to refuse him. They were accordingly the
next day duly united, and the event noted in a
register by John Buffet.
The islanders were delighted at having us again
among them, and expressed themselves in the warm-
est terms. We soon found, through our intercourse
with these excellent people, that they had no wants
excepting such as had been created by an intercourse
with vessels, which have from time to time supplied
them with European articles. Nature has been ex-
tremely bountiful to them; and necessity has taught
them how to apply her gifts to their own particular
uses. Still they have before them the prospect of
an increasing population, with limited means of sup-
porting it. Almost every part of the island capable
of cultivation has been turned to account; but what
would have been the consequences of this increase,
had not an accident discovered their situation, it is
not difficult to foresee; and a reflecting mind will
naturally trace in that disclosure the benign inter-
ference of the same hand which has raised such a
virtuous colony from so guilty a stock. Adams
having contemplated the situation which the island-
ers would have been reduced to, begged, at our first
interview, that I would communicate with the go-
vernment upon the subject, which was done; and I
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.
I 2

116 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
\-Y-
Dec.
1825.
am happy to say that, through the interference of
the Admiralty and Colonial Office, means have been
taken for removing them to any place they may
choose for themselves; and a liberal supply of useful
articles has recently been sent to them.*
Some books of travels which were left from time
to time on the island, and the accounts they had
heard of foreign countries from their visiters, has
created in the islanders a strong desire to travel,
so much so that they one day undertook a voyage
in their whale-boat to an island which they learnt
was not very far distant from their own ; but
fortunately for them, as the compass on which they
relied, one of the old Bounty's, was so rusty as to
be quite useless, their curiosity yielded to discretion,
and they returned before they lost sight of their
native soil. -
The idea of passing all their days upon an island
only two miles long, without seeing any thing of
the world, or, what was a stronger argument, with-
out doing any good in it, had with several of them
been deeply considered. But family ties, and an ar-
dent affection for each other, and for their native
soil, had always interposed to prevent their going
away singly. George Adams, however, having no
wife to detain him, but, on the contrary, reasons for
wishing to employ his thoughts on subjects foreign
to his home, was very anxious to embark in the
Blossom ; and I would have acceded to his wishes,
had not his mother wept bitterly at the idea of part-
ing from him, and imposed terms touching his re-
turn to the island to which I could not accede. It
was a sore disappointment to poor George, whose
* I have been informed since that they have changed their
mind, and are at present contented with their situation.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 117
case forms a striking instance of the rigid manner
in which these islanders observe their word.
Wives upon Pitcairn Island, it may be imagin-
ed, are very scarce, as the same restrictions with re-
gard to relationship exist as in England. George,
in his early days, had fallen in love with Polly
Young, a girl a little older than himself; but
Polly, probably at that time liking some one else,
and being at the age when young ladies' expecta-
tions are at the highest, had incautiously said, she
never would give her hand to George Adams. He,
nevertheless, indulged a hope that she would one
day relent; and to this end was unremitting in his
endeavours to please her. In this expectation he
was not mistaken; his constancy and attentions,
and, as he grew into manhood, his handsome form,
which George took every opportunity of throwing
into the most becoming attitudes before her, softened
Polly's heart into a regard for him, and, had nothing
passed before, she would willingly have given him
her hand. But the vow of her youth was not to be
got over, and the love-sick couple languished on from
day to day, victims to the folly of early resolutions.
The weighty case was referred for our considera-
tion; and the fears of the party were in some mea-
sure relieved by the result, which was, that it would
be much better to marry than to continue unhappy,
in consequence of a hasty determination made be-
fore the judgment was matured; they could not,
however, be prevailed on to yield to our decision,
and we left them unmarried.*
Another instance of a rigid performance of pro-
mise was exemplified in old Adams, who is anxious
CHAP.
IV.
* They have since been united, and have two children.
Dec.
1825.


118 VOYAGE TO THE
cº, that his own conduct should form an example to the
--~ rising generation.
*... In the course of conversation, he one day said he
would accompany me up the mountain, if there was
nobody else near; and it so happened, that on the
only day I had leisure to go the young men were
all out of the way. Adams, therefore, insisted upon
performing his engagement, though the day was
extremely hot, and the journey was much too labo-
rious, in any weather, for his advanced period of
life. He nevertheless set out, adding, “I said I
would go, and so I will ; besides, without example
precept will have but little effect.” At the first
valley he threw off his hat, handkerchief, and jacket,
and left them by the side of the path; at the se-
cond his trousers were cast aside into a bush; and
had he been alone, or provided with a maro, his
shirt would certainly have followed: thus disen-
cumbered, he boldly led the way, which was well
known to him in earlier days; but it was so long
since he had trodden it, that we met with many
difficulties. At length we reached the top of the
ridge, which we were informed was the place where
M'Coy and Quintal had appeared in defiance of
the blacks. Adams felt so fatigued that he was
now glad to lie down. The breeze here blew so
hard and cold, that a shirt alone was of little use,
and had he not been inured to all the changes of
atmosphere, the sudden transition upon his aged
frame must have been fatal.
During the period we remained upon the island
we were entertained at the board of the natives,
sometimes dining with one person, and sometimes
with another: their meals, as I have before stated,
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 119
were not confined to hours, and always consisted of ºp.
baked pig, yams, and taro, and more rarely of sweet
potatoes.
The productions of the island being very limited,
and intercourse with the rest of the world much re-
stricted, it may be readily supposed their meals can-
not be greatly varied. However, they do their best
with what they have, and cook it in different ways,
the pig excepted, which is always baked. There are
several goats upon the island, but they dislike their
flesh, as well as their milk. Yams constitute their
principal food; these are boiled, baked, or made into
pillihey (cakes), by being mixed with cocoa nuts;
or bruised and formed into a soup. Bananas are
mashed, and made into pancakes, or, like the yam,
united with the milk of the cocoa-nut, into pillihey,
and eaten with molasses, extracted from the tee-
root. The taro-root, by being rubbed, makes a
very good substitute for bread, as well as the bana-
nas, plantains, and appai. Their common beverage
is pure water, but they made for us a tea, extract-
ed from the tee-plant, flavoured with ginger, and
sweetened with the juice of the sugar-cane. When
alone, this beverage and fowl soup are used only
for such as are ill. They seldom kill a pig, but live
mostly upon fruit and vegetables. The duty of
saying grace was performed by John Buffet, a re-
cent settler among them, and their clergyman ; but
if he was not present, it fell upon the eldest of the
company. They have all a great dislike to spirits,
in consequence of M'Coy having killed himself by
too free an indulgence in it; but wine in modera-
tion is never refused. With this simple diet, and
being in the daily habit of rising early, and taking a
S-N-
Dec.
1825.


120 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
\e-Y-
Dec.
1825.
great deal of exercise in the cultivation of their
grounds, it was not surprising that we found them
so athletic and free from complaints. When illness
does occur, their remedies are as simple as their
manner of living, and are limited to salt water, hot
ginger tea, or abstinence, according to the nature of
the complaint. They have no medicines, nor do
they appear to require any, as these remedies have
hitherto been found sufficient.
After their noontide meal, if their grounds do not
require their attention, and the weather be fine, they
go a little way out to sea in their canoes, and catch
fish, of which they have several kinds, large and
sometimes in abundance; but it seldom happens
that they have this time to spare; for the cultiva-
tion of the ground, repairing their boats, houses, and
making fishing-lines, with other employments, gene-
rally occupy the whole of each day. At sunset they
assemble at prayers as before, first offering their
Orison and thanksgiving, and then chaunting hymns.
After this follows their evening meal, and at an
early hour, having again said their prayers, and
chaunted the evening hymn, they retire to rest;
but before they sleep, each person again offers up a
short prayer upon his bed.
Such is the distribution of time among the grown
people; the younger part attend at school at regular
hours, and are instructed in reading, writing, and
arithmetic. They have very fortunately found an
able and willing master in John Buffet, who be-
longed to a ship which visited the island, and was
so infatuated with their behaviour, being himself
naturally of a devout and serious turn of mind, that
he resolved to remain among them ; and in addition
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 19]
to the instruction of the children, has taken upon
himself the duty of clergyman, and is the oracle of
the community.” During the whole time I was
with them, I never heard them indulge in a joke, or
other levity, and the practice of it is apt to give
offence: they are so accustomed to take what is said
in its literal meaning, that irony was always consi-
dered a falsehood, in spite of explanation. They
could not see the propriety of uttering what was not
strictly true, for any purpose whatever.
The Sabbath-day is devoted entirely to prayer,
reading, and serious meditation. No boat is allowed
to quit the shore, nor any work whatever to be done,
cooking excepted, for which preparation is made the
preceding evening. I attended their church on this
day, and found the service well conducted ; the
prayers were read by Adams, and the lessons by
Buffet, the service being preceded by hymns. The
greatest devotion was apparent in every individual,
and in the children there was a seriousness unknown
in the younger part of our communities at home.
In the course of the Litany they prayed for their
sovereign and all the royal family with much appa-
rent loyalty and sincerity. Some family prayers,
which were thought appropriate to their particular
case, were added to the usual service; and Adams,
fearful of leaving out any essential part, read in ad-
dition all those prayers which are intended only as
substitutes for others. A sermon followed, which
was very well delivered by Buffet; and lest any
part of it should be forgotten or escape attention,
it was read three times. The whole concluded with
* Another seaman has settled amongst them, and is married to
one of Adams' daughters; but he is not liked.
CHAP.
IV.
\-Y-2
Dec.
1825..


122 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
T)ec.
1825. .
hymns, which were first sung by the grown people,
and afterwards by the children. The service thus
performed was very long; but the neat and cleanly
appearance of the congregation, the devotion that
animated every countenance, and the innocence and
simplicity of the little children, prevented the at-
tendance from becoming wearisome. In about half
an hour afterwards we again assembled to prayers,
and at sunset service was repeated; so that, with
their morning and evening prayers, they may be
said to have church five times on a Sunday.
Marriages and christenings are duly performed
by Adams. A ring which has united every person
on the island is used for the occasion, and given
according to the prescribed form. The age at which
this is allowed to take place, with the men, is after
they have reached their twentieth, and with the
women, their eighteenth year.
All which remains to be said of these excellent
people is, that they appear to live together in perfect
harmony and contentment; to be virtuous, religious,
cheerful, and hospitable, beyond the limits of pru-
dence; to be patterns of conjugal and parental affec-
tion ; and to have very few vices. We remained
with them many days, and their unreserved man-
ners gave us the fullest opportunity of becom-
ing acquainted with any faults they might have
possessed.
In the equipment of the Blossom a boat was built
purposely for her by Mr. Peake of Woolwich dock-
yard, upon a model highly creditable to his professional
ability, and finished in the most complete manner.
As we were now about to enter a sea crowded with
islands which rise abruptly to the surface, without
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 123
any soundings to give warning of their vicinity, this
little vessel was likely to be of the greatest service,
not only in a minute examination of the shore, but,
by being kept a-head of the ship during the night,
to give notice of any danger that might lie in her
route. She was accordingly hoisted out while we
were off this island, and stowed and provisioned for
six weeks. I gave the command of her to Mr. El-
son, the master, an officer, well qualified to perform
the service I had in view ; having with him Mr. R.
Beechey, midshipman, and a crew of eight seamen
and marines. Instructions were given to Mr. Elson
for his guidance, and proper rendezvous appointed
in case of separation. We first experienced the uti-
lity of this excellent sea-boat, in bringing off water
from the shore through seas which in ordinary cases
would have proved serious obstacles; and had there
not been so much surf upon the rocks, that the casks
could only be got through it by the natives swim-
ming out with them, we should in a short time have
completed our stock of water. This process, how-
ever, was very harassing to them, who, besides this
arduous task, had to bring the water from a distance
in calabashes; so, that with the utmost despatch,
our daily supply scarcely equalled the consumption,
and we were compelled to trust to the hope of being
more fortunate at some other island.
During the period of our stay in the vicinity of
the island, we scarcely saw the sun, and I began to
despair of being able to fix our position with suf-
ficient accuracy. On the 20th, however, the clouds
cleared away, and the night was passed in obtaining
lunar distances with stars east and west of the moon,
several meridional altitudes, and transits which, com-
CHAP.
IV.
IDec.
1825.


I 24 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. pared with those taken the first night the instru-
--~ ment was put up, gave good rates to the chronome-
!... ters. Our labours having thus terminated more
successfully than we expected, we hastened our
embarkation, which took place on the 21st. In re-
turn for the kindness we experienced from the
islanders, we made them presents of articles the
most useful to them which we could spare, and they
were furnished with a blue cloth suit each from the
extra clothing put on board for the ship's company,
and the women with several pieces of gowns and
handkerchiefs, &c.
When we were about to take leave, our friends
assembled to express their regret at our departure.
All brought some little present for our acceptance,
which they wished us to keep in remembrance of
them ; after which they accompanied us to the
beach, where we took our leave of the female part
of the inhabitants. Adams and the young men
pushed off in their own boat to the ship, determined
to accompany us to sea as far as they could with
safety. They continued on board, unwilling to
leave us, until we were a considerable distance from
land, when they shook each of us feelingly by the
hand, and, amidst expressions of the deepest concern
at our departure, wished us a prosperous voyage,
and hoped that we might one day meet again. As
soon as they were clear of the ship they all stood up
in their boat, and gave us three hearty cheers, which
were as heartily returned. As the weather became
foggy, the barge towed them towards the shore, and
we took a final leave of them, unconscious until the
moment of separation of the warm interest their
situation and good conduct had created in us.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 125
The Pitcairn islanders are tall, robust, and healthy.
Their average height is five feet ten inches; the
tallest person is six feet and one quarter of an inch ;
and the shortest of the adults is five feet nine inches
and one-eighth. Their limbs are well-proportioned,
round, and straight; their feet turning a little in-
wards. The boys promise to be equally as tall as
their fathers; one of them whom we measured was,
at eight years of age, four feet one inch ; and an-
other, at nine years, four feet three inches. Their
simple food and early habits of exercise give them a
muscular power and activity not often surpassed.
It is recorded among the feats of strength which
these people occasionally evince, that two of the
strongest on the island, George Young and Edward
Quintal, have each carried, at one time, without in-
convenience, a kedge anchor, two sledge hammers,
and an armourer's anvil, amounting to upwards of
six hundred weight; and that Quintal, at another
time, carried a boat twenty-eight feet in length.
Their activity on land has been already mentioned.
I shall merely give another instance which has
been supplied by Lieutenant Belcher, who was ad-
mitted to be the most active among the officers on
board, and who did not consider himself behind-
hand in such exploits. He offered to accompany
one of the natives down a difficult descent, in spite
of the warnings of his friend that he was unequal to
the task. They, however, commenced the perilous
descent, but Mr. Belcher was obliged to confess his
inability to proceed, while his companion, perfectly
assured of his own footing, offered him his hand,
and undertook to conduct him to the bottom, if he
would depend on him for safety. In the water they
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.

126 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. are almost as much at home as on land, and can
--~ remain nearly a whole day in the sea. They fre-
... quently swam round their little island, the circuit
of which is at the least seven miles. When the sea
beat heavily on the island they have plunged into
the breakers, and swam to sea beyond them. This
they sometimes did pushing a barrel of water before
them, when it could be got off in no other way, and
in this manner we procured several tons of water
without a single cask being stove.
Their features are regular and well-looking, with-
out being handsome. Their eyes are bright and
generally hazel, though in one or two instances they
are blue, and some have white speckles on the iris;
the eyebrows being thin, and rarely meeting. The
nose, somewhat flat, and rather extended at the nos-
trils, partakes of the Otaheitan form, as do the lips,
which are broad, and strongly sulcated. Their ears
are moderately large, and the lobes are invariably
united to the cheek; they are generally perforated
when young, for the reception of flowers, a very
common custom among the natives of the South Sea
Islands. The hair, in the first generation, is, with
one exception only, deep black, sometimes curly, but
generally straight; they allow it to grow long, keep
it very clean, and always well supplied with cocoa-
nut oil. Whiskers are not common, and the beards
are thin. The teeth are regular and white; but are
often, in the males, disfigured by a deficiency in
enamel, and by being deeply furrowed across. They
have generally large heads, elevated in the line of the
occiput. A line passed above the eyebrows, over the
ears, and round the back of the head, in a line with
the occipital spine, including the hair, measured
1825.








PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 127
twenty-two inches; another, twenty-one inches and
three-quarters; and in Polly Young, surnamed Big-
head, twenty-three inches, the hair would make a
difference of about three-quarters of an inch. The
coronal region is full; the forehead of good height
and breadth, giving an agreeable openness to the
countenance; the middle of the coronal suture is
rather raised above the surrounding parts. Their
complexion, in the first generation, is, in general, a
dark gipsy hue: there are, however, exceptions to
this; some are fairer, and others, Joseph Christian in
particular, much darker.”
The skin of these people, though in such robust
health, compared with our own, always felt cold;
and their pulses were considerably lower than ours.
Mr. Collie examined several of them : in the fore-
noon he found George Young's only sixty; three
others, in the afternoon, after dinner, were sixty-
eight, seventy-two, and seventy-six; while those of
the officers who stood the heat of the climate best
were above eighty. Constant exposure to the sun,
and early training to labour, make these islanders
look at least eight years older than they really
8.Te.
The women are nearly as muscular as the men,
and taller than the generality of their sex. Polly
Young, who is not the tallest upon the island, mea-
sured five feet nine inches and a half. Accustomed
to perform all domestic duties, to provide wood for
cooking, which is there a work of some labour, as it
* This man was idiotic, and differed so materially from the others
in colour that he is in all probability the offspring of the men of
colour who accompanied the mutineers to the island, and who, un-
less he be one, have left no progeny. -
CHAP.
IV.
\-Y-
Dec.
1825.

128 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
T}ec.
1825.
must be brought from the hills, and sometimes to
till the ground, their strength is in proportion to
their muscularity; and they are no less at home in
the water than the men.
The food of the islanders consists almost entirely
of vegetable substances. On particular occasions,
such as marriages or christenings, or when visited by
a ship, they indulge in pork, fowls, and fish. Al-
though, as has already been mentioned, they disco-
vered a method of distilling a spirit from the tee-
root, the miseries it entailed on them have taught
them to discontinue the use of it, and to confine
themselves strictly to water, of which, during meals,
they partake freely, but they seldom use it at other
times. The spirit, which was first distilled by
M'Coy, and led to such fatal consequences, bears
some affinity to peat-reeked whisky.
The treatment of their children differs from that
of our own country, as the infant is bathed three
times a day in cold water, and is sometimes not
weaned for three or four years; but as soon as that
takes place it is fed upon “popoe,” made with ripe
plantains and boiled taro rubbed into a paste. Upon
this simple nourishment children are reared to a more
healthy state than in other countries, and are free
from fevers and other complaints peculiar to the
greater portion of the world. Mr. Collie remarks in
his journal, that nothing is more extraordinary in the
history of the island than the uniform good health of
the children; the teething is easily got over, they
have no bowel complaints, and are exempt from
those contagious diseases which affect children in
large communities. He offered to vaccinate the
children as well as all the grown persons; but they











PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 129
deemed the risk of infection to be too small to ren-
der that operation necessary.
In rainy weather, and after the occasional visits of
vessels, the islanders are more affected with plethora
and boils than at other periods; to the former the
whole population appear to be inclined, but they are
usually relieved from its effects by bleeding at the
nose; and, without searching for the real cause, they
have imbibed a belief that these diseases are con-
tagious, and derived from a communication with
their visiters, although there may not be a single case
of the kind on board the ship. The result naturally
leads to such a conclusion; but a little reflection
ought to have satisfied them, that a deviation from
their established habits, an unusual indulgence in
animal food, and additional clothing, were of them-
selves sufficient to account for the maladies. They
are, however, unaccustomed to trace effects to latent
causes. Hence they assert, that the Briton left them
headaches and flies; a whaler infected with the
scurvy (for which several of her crew pursued the
old remedy of burying the people up to the necks in
the earth) left them a legacy of boils and other sores;
and though we had no diseases on board the Blos-
som, they fully expected to be affected by some cu-
taneous disorder after our departure; and even attri-
buted some giddiness and headaches that were felt
during our stay to infection from the ship's company.
The women have all learned the art of midwifery :
parturition generally takes place during the night-
time; the duration of labour is seldom longer than
five hours, and has not yet in any case proved fatal.
There is no instance of twins, nor of a single miscar-
riage, except from accident.
VOL. I. K
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.

130 , VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.
We found upon Pitcairn Island, cocoa-nuts, bread-
fruit (artocarpus incisa), plantains (musa paradaisa-
ca), bananas (musa sapientum), water-melons (cucur-
bita citrullus), pumpkins (cucurbita pépo), potatoes
(solanum esculentum), sweet potatoes (convolvulus ba-
tatas), yams (dioscoria sativum), taro (caladium escu-
/entum), peas, yappai” (arum costatum), sugar-cane,
ginger, turmeric, tobacco, tee-plant* (dracaena ter-
minalis), doodoe” (aleurites triloba), nono” (morinda
citrofolia), another species of morinda, parau” (hibis-
cus tiliaceus), fowtoo” (hibiscus tricuspis), the cloth-
tree (broussonetia papyrifera), pawalla” (pandanus
odoratissimus 2), toonena” (?), and banyan-tree. A
species of metrosideros, and several species of ferns.
The first twelve of these form the principal food
of the inhabitants. The sugar-cane is sparingly cul-
tivated; they extract from it a juice which is used
to flavour the tea of such as are ill, by pounding the
cane, and boiling it with a little ginger and cocoa-
nut grated into a pulp, as a substitute for milk. In
this manner a pleasant beverage is produced.
The tee-plant is very extensively cultivated. Its
leaves, which are broad and oblong, are the common
food of hogs and goats, and serve the natives for
wrappers in their cooking. The root affords a very
saccharine liquor, resembling molasses, which is ob-
tained by baking in the ground; it requires two or
three years after it is planted to arrive at the proper
size for use, being then about two inches and a half
in diameter; it is long, fusiform, and beset with
fibres: from this root they also make a tea, which
when flavoured with ginger is not unpleasant. The
* * Native names.—A more correct account of the botany will be
published by Dr. Hooker, Professor of Botany, &c. of Glasgow.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. I31
doodoe is a large tree, with a handsome blossom, and **
supplies ornaments for the ears and hair, and nuts -->
containing a considerable quantity of oil, which, by ſº.
being strung upon sticks, serve the purpose of can-
dles. The porou and fowtoo are trees which supply
them with fishing-lines, rope, and cord of all sorts.
The tree is stripped of the bark while the sap is in
full circulation, and dried; a fibrous substance is
then procured from it, which is twisted for use; but
it is not strong, and is very perishable. -
The cloth-tree is pre-eminently useful; and here,
as in all places in the South-Seas where it grows,
supplies the natives with clothing. The manner
in which the cloth is manufactured has been fre-
quently described, and needs no repetition. There
is, however, a fashion in the beater, some preferring
a broad, others a very closely ribbed garment ; for
which purpose they have several of these instru-
ments with large and small grooves. If the cloth is
required to be brown, the inner bark of which the
cloth is made is wrapped in banana leaves, and put
aside for about four days; it is then beaten into a
thick doughy substance, and again left till ferment-
ation is about to take place, when it is taken out,
and finally beat into a garment both lengthwise and
across. The colour thus produced is of a deep red-
dish brown hue. The pieces are generally suffi-
ciently large to wrap round the whole body, but
they are sometimes divided.
The toonena is a large tree, from which their
houses and canoes are made. It is a hard, heavy,
red-coloured wood, and grows on the upper parts of
the island. There was formerly a great abundance
of this wood, but it is now become so scarce as to
º








K 2

132 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
\-Y-
T)ec.
1825.
require considerable search and labour to find suffi-
cient to construct a house. The young trees have
thriven, but partially, arriving at a certain growth,
and then stopping. A tree of this kind, which was
the largest in the island, measured, at the time of
our visit, twelve feet in circumference; another was
nine feet seven and a half inches in girth, at five
feet from the root; its trunk grew to the height
of thirty feet, perfectly straight, and without
branching. -
The banyan is one of those large spreading trees
common in India. Nature has been so provident to
this island that there are very few trees in it which
cannot be turned to account in some way, and this
tree, though it yields no fruit, and produces wood
so hard and heavy as to be unserviceable, still con-
tributes to the assistance of the islanders, by sup-
plying them with a resin for the seams of their
boats, &c. This useful substance is procured by
perforating the bark of the tree, and extracting the
liquor which exudes through the aperture.
We saw dyes of three colours only in Pitcairn
Island, yellow, red, and brown. The yellow is pro-
cured from the inner bark of the root of the nono
tree (morinda citrifolia), and also from the root of a
species of ginger. We did not see this plant grow-
ing, but it was described as having leaves broader
and longer than the common ginger, a thicker root
in proportion to its length, a darker hue, and not so
tubercular. The red dye is procured from the in-
ner bark of the doodoe tree, and may have its inten-
sity varied by more or less exposure to the rays of
the sun while drying. These dyes are well coloured,
but for want of proper mordants the natives cannot
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 133
fix them, and they must be renewed every time the
linen is washed. The method of producing the
brown dye has already been described.
The temperate climate of Pitcairn Island is ex-
tremely favourable to vegetation, and agriculture is
attended with comparatively light labour. But as
the population is increasing, and wants are generated
which were before unthought of, the natives find it
necessary to improve their mode of culture; and for
this purpose they make use of sea-weed as manure.
They grow but one crop in a year of each kind.
The time of taking up the yams, &c. is about April.
The land is not allowed time to recover itself, but is
planted again immediately. Experience has enabled
them to estimate, with tolerable precision, the quan-
tity that will be required for the annual consump-
tion of the island; this they reckon at 1000 yams
to each person. The other roots, being considered
more as luxuries, are cultivated in irregular quanti-
ties. The failure of a crop, so exactly estimated,
must of course prove of serious consequence to the
colony, and much anxiety is occasionally felt as the
season approaches for gathering it. At times cold
south-westerly winds nip the young plants, and turn
such as are exposed to them quite black: during
our visit several plantations near the sea-coast were
affected in this manner. At other times caterpillars
prove a great source of annoyance.
The yam is reproduced in the same manner as
potatoes in England. The taro (caladium esculentum)
requires either a young shoot to be broken off and
planted, or the stem to be removed from the
root, and planted after the manner of raising pine-
apples. The yappe is a root very similar to the
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.







134 - VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. taro, and is treated in the same manner. All the
-º- above-mentioned farinaceous roots thrive extremely
i.. well in Pitcairn Island; but this is not the case
with English potatoes, which cannot be brought
even to a moderate growth. Peas and beans yield
but very scanty crops, the soil being probably too
dry for them, and are rarely seen at the repasts of
the natives. Onions, so universally dispersed over
the globe, cannot be made to thrive here. Pump-
kins and water-melons bear exceedingly well, but
the bread-fruit, from some recent cause, is beginning
to give very scanty crops. This failure Adams at-
tributes to some trees being cut down, that pro-
tected them from the cold winds, which is not im-
probable; for at Otaheite, where the trees are ex-
posed to the south-west winds, the crops are very
indifferent. - -
Having given this short sketch of the soil and
vegetation of the island, I shall add a few words on
the climate and winds.
The island is situated just without the regular
limit of the trade-winds, which, however, sometimes
reach it. When this is the case, the weather is
generally fine and settled. The south-west and
north-west winds, which blow strong and bring
heavy rains, are the chief interruptions to this se-
renity. Though they have a rainy season, it is not
so limited or decided as in places more within the
influence of the trade-winds. During the period of
our visit, from the 5th of December to the 21st, we
had strong breezes from N. E. to S. E., with the
sky overcast. The wind then shifted to N. W.,
and brought a great deal of rain : though in the
height of summer, we had scarcely a fine day during
our stay.

PACIFIC AND BEERING's STRAIT. I35.
The temperature of the island during the above
period was 70%. On shore the range from nine A. M.
to three P. M. was 76° to 80°: on board at the same
time from 74° to 76°. Taking the difference be-
tween these comparisons, we may place the mean
temperature on shore for the above-mentioned pe-
riod at 764°. In the winter the south-westerly
winds blow very cold, and even snow has been
known to fall.
The number of persons on Pitcairn Island in
December, 1825, amounted to sixty-six, and for the
information of such as may be disposed to give their
particular attention to such an inquiry, I subjoin
a notice of the population from the period of its first
establishment on the island.
- Males. Females.
- white . 9 O
The first settlers consisted of . , {...,dº .. 6 12
27 Total. 15 12
- - white 6 ()
Of these were killed in the quarrel } coloured 6 0
. . . by accident . . . white ... 1 3
died a natural death . . . . . . 1 3
1 went away. Total deaths 14 6
The original settlers therefore whom we found I 5
on the island were - - - - - -- }
The children of the white settlers (the men of 10 10
colour having left none) }
Their grandchildren . . . . . . . . . 22 15
Recent settlers . . . . . . . . . . 2 0
Child of one of them . . . . . . . . I 0
66 present population. 36 30
The total number of children left by the white settlers was four-
teen, of whom two died a natural death ; one was seized with fits,
to which he was subject, while in the water, and was drowned ; and
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825.

136 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IV.
Dec.
1825,
one was killed by accident, leaving ten, as above. Of the grand-
children, or second generation, there was also another male who
died an accidental death. There have, therefore, been sixty-two
births in the period of thirty-five years, from the 23d January, 1790, :
to the 23d December, 1825, and only two natural deaths. --
In a climate so temperate, with but few probabili-
ties of infection, with simple diet, cleanly habits,
moderate exercise, and a cheerful disposition, it was
to be expected that early mortality would be of rare
occurrence; and accordingly we find in this small
community that the difference in the proportion of
deaths to births is more striking than even in the
most healthy European nations.
- - - -
--


PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 137
CHAPTER V.
Visit Oeno Island—Description of it—Loss of a Boat and one
Seaman–Narrow escape of the Crew—Crescent Island–Gambier
Groupe—Visited by Natives on Rafts—Discover a Passage into
the Lagoon—Ship enters—Interview with the Natives—Anchor
off two Streams of Water—Visited by the Natives—Theft—
Communication with them suspended—Morai–Manner of pre-
serving the Dead—Idols and Places of Worship.
As soon as Adams and his party left us we spread Cº.
every sail in the prosecution of our voyage, and to º-
increase our distance from a climate in which we *:
had scarcely had the decks dry for sixteen days;
but the winds were so light and unfavourable, that
on the following morning Pitcairn Island was still
in sight. The weather was hazy and moist, and the
island was overhung with dense clouds, which the
high lands seemed to attract, leaving no doubt with
us of a continuation of the weather we had experi-
enced while there. At night there was continued
lightning in this direction. Several birds of the
pelican tribe (pelicanus leucocephalus) settled upon
the masts and allowed themselves to be taken by
the seamen. - -
About ninety miles to the northward of Pitcairn
Island there is a coral formation, which has been










138 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
Dec.
1825.
named Oeno Island, after a whale-ship, whose master
supposed it had not before been seen; but the disco-
very belongs to Mr. Henderson of the Hercules.
It is so low that it can be discerned at only a very
few miles distance, and is highly dangerous to a
night navigation. As this was the next island I in-
tended to visit, every effort was made to get up to
it; and at one o’clock in the afternoon of the 23d
December it was seen a little to leeward of us. We
had not time to examine it that evening, but on the
following morning we passed close to the reefs in
the ship, in order to overlook the lagoon that was
formed within them, and to search narrowly for an
opening into it. While the ship took one side of
the island, the barge closely examined the other,
and we soon found that the lagoon was completely
surrounded by the reef. Near the centre of it there
was a small island covered with shrubs; and to-
wards the northern extremity, two sandy islets a
few feet above the water. The lagoon was in places
fordable as far as the wooded island; but, in other
parts, it appeared to be two or three fathoms deep.
The reef is entirely of coral formation, similar to
Ducie's Island, and has deep water all round it.
Just clear of the breakers there are three or four
fathoms water; the next cast finds thirteen fathoms;
then follow rapidly thirty fathoms, sixty fathoms,
and no bottom at a hundred fathoms. We found
the south-western part of the reef the highest, and
the lagoon in that direction nearly filled up as far
as the island with growing coral. There were, of
course, no inhabitants upon so small a spot; nor
should we have been able to communicate had there
been any, in consequence of a surf rolling heavily
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 139
over all parts of the reef, and with such unequal
violence that the treacherous smoothness would one
moment tempt a landing, while the next wave, as
we unfortunately experienced, would prove fatal to
any boat that should hazard it. - - -
Lieutenant Belcher was sent to ascertain the
depth of water round the island, with permission to
land if unattended with danger; and Mr. Collie ac-
companied him, Mr. Barlow being midshipman of
the boat. Pulling round the island, they came to a
place where the sea appeared tolerably smooth, and
where in the opinion of the officers a landing might
be effected. The boat was accordingly anchored,
and Messrs. Belcher and Collie prepared to land, by
veering the boat into the surf, and jumping upon
the reef. They had half filled two life-preservers,
with which they were provided, when Mr. Belcher
observed a heavy roller rising outside the boat, and
desired the crew to pull and meet it, which was
done, and successfully passed; but a second rose still
higher, and came with such violence that the sitters
in the stern of the boat were thrown into the sea; a
third of still greater force carried all before it, upset
the boat, and rolled her over upon the reef, where
she was ultimately broken to pieces. Mr. Belcher
had a narrow escape, the boat being thrown upon him,
the gunwale resting upon his neck and keeping him
down ; but the next sea extricated him, and he
went to the assistance of his companions; all of
whom were fortunately got upon the reef, except
one young lad, who probably became entangled with
the coral, and was drowned. The accident was im-
mediately perceived from the ship, and all the boats
sent to the assistance of the survivors. But the
CHAP.
W.
Dec.
1825.


140 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
Dec.
1825
surf rolled so furiously upon the shore as to occa-
sion much anxiety about rescuing them. At last a
small raft was constructed, and Lieutenant Wain-
wright finding no other means of getting a line to
them, boldly jumped overboard, with a lead-line in
his hand, and suffered himself to be thrown upon
the reef. By this contrivance all the people were
got off, one by one, though severely bruised and
wounded by the coral and spines of the echini.
Mr. Belcher had here another escape, by being
washed off the raft, his trousers getting entangled in
the coral at the bottom of a deep chasm. Fortu-
nately they gave way, and he rose to the surface,
and by great effort swam through the breakers.
Lieutenant Wainwright was the last that was hauled
off. To this young officer the greatest praise is due
for his bravery and exertions throughout. But for
his resolution, it is very doubtful whether the party
would have been relieved from their perilous situ-
ation, as the tide was rising, and the surf upon the
reef momentarily increasing. In the evening we
made sail to the westward, and on the 27th saw
Crescent Island; and shortly afterwards the high
land of Gambier's groupe. - -
Both these islands were discovered by Mr. Wilson
during a missionary V0Yºgº but he had no com-
munication with the natives. The first was so
named in consequence of its supposed form ; but in
fact it more nearly resembles an oblong. It is exactly
three miles and a half in length, and one and a half
in width, and of similar formation to Oeno and
Ducie's Islands. It consists of a strip of coral about
a hundred yards or less in width, having the sea on
one side and a lagoon on the other. Its general
2'1"135°
(Gá¡¡¡№ šºſ; ſo
~~~~）;
~…， …，~~~{{P) ) {
~~~~ （№ №ſ
_S（Saeſº，）
Țapº F Iſ Beeche， RV FRS, )
~--~~~~（~~~~~~~~
），
. ， ſy Zielā. № Mºſson ſy
· „+”, { Lat. 23. 7. 38, 5.
East Peak of J/ſ Duff(Zong 134. 33. 37. Iſ.
War. 7. 73. , E.
-- ºſignificae no bottorn at the depth erpressed












PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 141
height is two feet above the water. Upon this strip
several small islands, covered with trees, have their
foundation. The soil, where highest, reaches just
six feet above the sea; and the tops of the trees are
twenty feet higher. We saw about forty naked
inhabitants upon this small spot; but from the mast-
head of the boat, which overlooked the land, could
perceive no cultivation ; and there were no fruit-
trees upon the island but the pandanus, which has
not been mentioned in any voyage that I am ac-
quainted with as constituting a food for the natives
of these seas : indeed, from the fibrous nature of the
nut it bears, it did not appear to us possible that
it could be serviceable as food. We were, conse-
quently, curious to know upon what the natives
subsisted, independently of the shell-fish which the
reefs supplied ; but nothing occurred to satisfy us
on that head. The surf was too high for the boats
to land, and our only communication was by signs
and an exchange of sentences unintelligible on both
sides. -
Upon the angles of the island there were three
square stone huts, about six feet high, with a door
only to each ; they did not appear to be dwelling-
houses, and were probably places of interment or
of worship. Several sheds thatched with the boughs
of trees, some open on one side only and others on
both, which were seen on different parts of the
island, were more appropriate residences in such a
climate.
The natives were tall and well made, with thick
black hair and beards, and were very much tattooed.
Their signs intimated a disposition to be friendly,
and an invitation to land, which we could not do ;
CHAP.
V.
\--"
Dec.
1825.











142 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
T)ec.
1825.
but none of them ventured to swim off to the boats,
probably on account of the sharks, which were very
Illulºler'OUIS.
We quitted Crescent Island at day-light on the
29th, and about noon the same day were close off
Gambier's groupe. Several of these islands had a
fertile appearance, especially the largest, on which is
situated the peak we had seen the day before, and
which Mr. Wilson, in passing to the northward
of the groupe, named Mount Duff. It was probable,
that among these islands we should find a stream of
water from which our stock might be replenished,
provided an opening through the reef which sur-
rounds the volcanic islands could be found; and as it
was of the highest importance that our wants in this
respect should be supplied, I determined closely to
examine every part of the groupe for an entrance;
for in the event of not being so fortunate as to suc-
ceed here, it would be necessary to alter the plan of
operations, and proceed direct to Otaheite, the only
place where a supply of that indispensable article
could be depended upon. On approaching the island,
with the ship, we were gratified by perceiving that
the coral chain, which to the northward was above
water, and covered with trees, to the southward
dipped beneath it ; and though the reef could be
traced by the light blue-coloured sea, still it might
be sufficiently covered to admit of the ship passing
over it, and finding an anchorage in the lagoon. As
we were putting off from the ship in the boats to
make this interesting inquiry, several small vessels
under sail were observed bearing down to us. When
they approached we found they were large katama-
rans or rafts, carrying from sixteen to twenty men
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 143
each. At first several of them were fastened to- cºr.
gether, and constituted a large platform, capable of --
holding nearly a hundred persons; but before they .
came near enough to communicate they separated,
furled their sails, and took to their paddles, of which
there were about twelve to each raft. We were
much pleased with the manner of lowering their
matting sail, diverging on different courses, and
working their paddles, in the use of which they had
great power, and were well skilled, plying them
together, or, to use a nautical phrase, keeping stroke.
They had no other weapons but long poles; and
were quite naked, with the exception of a banana
leaf cut into strips, and tied about their loins, and
one or two persons who wore white turbans. Their
timidity in approaching both the ship and the barge
was immediately apparent ; but they had no objec-
tion to any of the small boats; which they were
probably aware they could, if necessary, easily upset
when within their reach ; and, indeed, it required
considerable caution to prevent such an occurrence,
not from any malicious intention on the part of the
natives, but from their thoughtlessness and inquisi-
tiveness. I approached them in the gig, and gave
them several presents, for which, they in return,
threw us some bundles of paste tied up in large
leaves. Not knowing at first what it was, I caught
it in my arms, and was overpowered with an odour
that made me drop it instantly. They made signs
that it was to be eaten, and we afterwards found it
was the common food of the natives. It was what
is called mahie at the Marquesas, but with a higher
gout than I ever heard that article possessed in those
islands, and very much resembled the first opening of












144 -
VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
Dec.
1825.
a cask of sour krout, though considerably more over-
powering. We soon perceived they had a previous
knowledge of iron, but they had no idea of the use of
a musket. When one was presented to induce them
to desist from their riotous conduct, instead of evad-
ing the direction of the fatal charge, they approached
it; and imagining the gun was offered to them, they
innocently held out their hands to accept it. Before
we came close to them, they tempted us with cocoa-
nuts and roots, performed ludicrous dances, and in-
vited our approach ; but as soon as we were within
reach, the scene was changed to noise and confusion.
They seized the boat by the gunwale, endeavoured
to steal every thing that was loose, and demanded
whatever we held in our hand, without seeming in
the least disposed to give any thing of their own in
return. At length some of them grasped the boat's
yoke, which was made of copper, and others the
rudder, which produced a scuffle, and obliged me to
fire my gun over their heads. Upon the discharge,
all but four instantly plunged into the sea; but
these, though for a moment motionless with astonish-
ment, held firmly by the rudder, until they were
rejoined by their companions, and then forcibly
made it their prize. We could only have prevented
this by the use of fire-arms, but I did not choose to
resort to such a measure for so trifling an end, espe-
cially as the barge was approaching, and afforded the
most likely means of recovering our loss without
the sacrifice of life on their part, or the risk of being
upset on our own. As I intended to remain some
days at these islands, I wished by all means to avoid
a conflict; at the same time it was essential to our
future tranquillity to show a resolution to resist such


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 145
- -
unwarrantable conduct, and to convince them of our
determination to enforce a respect of property. As
soon, therefore, as we were joined by the barge, we
grappled the raft that contained our rudder; on
which the greater part of the natives again threw
themselves into the sea ; but those who remained
appeared determined to resist our attack, and endea-
voured to push the boat off. Finding, however, they
could not readily do this, a man whose long beard was
white with age, offered us the disputed article, and
we were on the point of receiving it, which would
have put an end to all strife, when one of the
natives disengaged the raft, and she went astern.
Again free, the rudder was replaced on the raft, and
the swimmers regained their station. They were
followed by the gig and jolly boat, and a short skir-
mish ensued, in which Mr. Elson fell. The boat's
crew imagining him hurt, and seeing the man he
had been engaged with aiming another blow at him,
fired and wounded his assailant in the shoulder.
The man fell upon the raft, and his companions,
alarmed, threw the rudder into the sea and jumped
overboard. As this man took a very leading part,
he was probably a chief. No other wound was in-
flicted, nor did this happen before it was merited;
for our forbearance had extended even beyond the
bounds of prudence; and had less been evinced, we
should sooner have gained our point, and probably
have stood higher in the estimation of our antago-
nists. After this rencontre, some of the rafts again
paddled towards us, and waved pieces of white cloth;
but the evening being far spent, and anxious to find
anchorage for the ship, I proceeded to examine the
islands. We passed the bar, formed by the chain
VOL. I. L
CHAP.
W.
Dec.
1825.

146 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W,
Dec.
1825.
before mentioned dipping under water, in five,
seven, and eight fathoms over a rugged coral bot-
tom, and entered the lagoon, gradually deepening
the water to twenty-five fathoms. There was a con-
siderable swell upon the shallow part of the reef, but
within it the water was quite smooth. The first
island we approached had a bay formed at its eastern
angle, where the ship might ride in safety with
almost all winds. Night coming on, we anchored
the boat upon the bar, and caught a large quantity
of fish, consisting of several sorts of perca (vittata,
maculata), a labrus, and many small sharks. After
daylight we returned to the ship, and in the evening
anchored in the spot we had selected the day before.
As we entered the bay, the natives were observed
collected upon a low point, at one extremity of it,
hallooing, and waving pieces of white cloth. Almost
all of them had long poles, either pointed or tipped
with bone. Some had mats thrown over their shoul-
ders, and their heads and loins covered with banana
leaves cut into strips. They were much startled at
the noise occasioned by letting go the anchor, and at
the chain-cable running out, and gazed intently at
the different evolutions necessary to be gone through
in bringing the ship to an anchor, in furling sails, &c.
No person came on board that night; but day-
light had scarcely dawned when one of the natives
paddled off to the ship upon a small katamaran : he
was quite naked, and had only a pole and a paddle
on the raft. For a considerable time he hesitated to
come alongside; but on our assuring him, in the
Otaheitan language, we were his friends, he was per-
suaded to make the attempt. After a little further
conciliation he made his raft fast by a rope that was
-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 147
thrown to him, and ascended the side of the ship,
striking her several times with his fist, and examin-
ing her at every step. His surprise on reaching the
deck was beyond all description; he danced, capered,
and threw himself into a variety of attitudes, accom-
panying them with vehement exclamations; and
entered into conversation with every person, not
suspecting that his language was unintelligible; and
was so astonished at all he saw that his attention
wandered from object to object without intermission.
He very willingly accepted every present that was
offered him ; and having satisfied himself of our
friendly disposition, hastened on shore to his compa-
nions, who were collected in great numbers upon the
low point, anxiously awaiting his return. The re-
port which he gave was undoubtedly of a favourable
nature, as several katamarans, laden with visiters,
immediately pushed off, and came fearlessly along-
side. -
The decks were soon crowded with delighted spec-
tators, wondering at every thing they beheld, and
expressing their feelings by ludicrous gestures. The
largest objects, such as the guns and spars, greatly
attracted their attention: they endeavoured to lift.
them, with a view, no doubt, of bundling them over-
board; but finding they could not be moved, the
smaller articles became the more immediate subjects
of curiosity and desire, and it required a vigilant
watch to prevent their being carried off. They were
pleased with many articles that were shown them;
but nothing made them so completely happy as the
sight of two dogs that we had on board. The largest
of these, of the Newfoundland breed, was big and
surly enough to take care of himself; but the other,
CHAP.
W.
\-y-
Dec.
1825.

I, 2

148 voy AGE TO THE
CHAP.
Dec.
1825.
a terrier, was snatched up by one of the natives, and
was so much the object of his solicitation that it was
only by force he was prevented carrying him away.
To people who had never seen any quadruped before
but a rat, so large an animal as a Newfoundland dog,
and that perfectly domesticated and obedient to his
master, naturally excited intense curiosity, and the
great desire of these people to possess themselves of
it is not to be wondered at. Had there been a female
dog on board, they certainly should have had them
both ; but one would have been of no use, except,
probably, to furnish a meal, which is the fate of all
the rats they can catch.
One of the rafts that came off to the ship, a small-
er one than any of the others, brought a person of
superior appearance ; his complexion was much
fairer than that of his countrymen, and his skin
beautifully tattooed; his features were of the true
Asiatic character: he had long black mustaches and
hair, and wore a light turban, which gave him
altogether the appearance of a descendant of Ishmael.
It was natural to infer that this was a person of some
authority; for as yet we had seen no distinction
whatever between our visiters, except that some
were more unruly than others; but we found we
were mistaken : he mingled indiscriminately with
his companions, and was deficient in those little
points which are inseparable from a person accus-
tomed to command. Indeed, by the total disregard
they paid to each other, as also to every person in
the ship, we might have concluded that our visiters
were ignorant of any distinctions in society.
Among the many katamarans that came off, not
one of them brought any articles to give or sell,
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 149
which did not argue much in favour of the supplies
of the place, or the good will of the islanders. A
green banana, lying upon one of the rafts, was the
only eatable thing among them, excepting some
boiled tee-root, and bundles of that execrable paste,
which they had provided for their own breakfast.
Almost all our visiters were naked, with the excep-
tion of a girdle made of a banana leaf, cut into strips,
which by no means answered our idea of the in-
tended purpose. Maros were worn only by the
aged, and instead of them ligatures of straw were
applied in the manner described at St. Christina and
Nukahiwa.” The average height of the islanders
was five feet nine; they were, generally speaking,
well made, their limbs round, without being muscu-
lar, and their figure upright and flexible. Tattoo-
ing was very extensively practised, in which respect,
as also in the arrangement of the lines, they again
reminded us of the Marquesans. This general prac-
tice in the South Seas, when judiciously executed,
besides having its useful effects, is highly ornamental.
In the Gambier Islanders there is a greater dis-
play of taste than I have seen or heard of anywhere
else, not excepting the Marquesans: but the Nuka-
hiwers, as well as the Otaheitans and others, attend
principally to device; whereas the Gambier Island-
ers dispose the lines so as materially to improve the
figure, particularly about the waist, which, at a little
distance, has the appearance of being much smaller
than it really is. Whether this has been accidental
or designed we had no opportunity of learning.
The number of visiters on board was considera-
* Krusenstern's Embassy to Japan, 4to,
CHAP.
V.
Dec.
1825.




150 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
V.
Tec.
1825.
ble; yet there was very little to interest us beyond
the first gratification of our curiosity. They were
so engrossed by their own efforts to purloin some of
the many things which they saw, that it was im-
possible to engage their attention in other matters.
It was besides necessary to keep so strict a watch
over the stores of the ship, and their conduct was so
noisy and importunate, that our desire for their
company was hourly lessened, and we were not
sorry when, on preparing the boats to land, we saw
the rafts put off from the ship, and every man upon
our decks throw himself into the sea and swim
ashore.
On approaching the beach, we found the coral
animals had reared their structure all round the
island, and had brought it so near to the surface
that the large boats could not come within two hun-
dred yards of the landing-place, and the smaller
ones could approach only by intricate windings be-
tween the rocks.
The natives were very numerous upon the shore,
the usual population being greatly increased by
parties which curiosity had brought from the other
islands. The women and children at first formed
part of the noisy multitude, all of whom were cla-
morous for us to effect a landing; but the females
shortly retired out of sight, and the men formed
themselves into two lines, and ceremoniously pro-
ceeded to a place where their katamarans usually
disembarked, humming in chorus a sullen tune not
devoid of harmony. Some of them seeing we were
greatly impeded by the coral rocks, waded out and
laid hold of the boats, while others pushed off upon
rafts, and attempted to drag us in, by fixing their
PACIFIC AND BEERING's STRAIT. 15I
poles under the seats of the boat, and pressing upon
the gunwale as a fulcrum ; an ingenious contrivance,
from which we found it difficult to free ourselves,
especially as the poles were very large. Others,
again, prepared cords to fasten the boats to their
raft, unconscious of our possessing any instrument
sufficiently sharp to disengage them. In short, they
were determined we should land; but as I did not
like the place, and as their conduct appeared to be a
repetition of what we had experienced outside the
harbour, we disappointed their expectations, and
went to the next island.
We were there joined by some of our visiters who
had been on board the ship, who reminded us of our
former acquaintance, and greeted us with a hearty
rub of their noses against ours. This salutation, it
was thought by some of us, sealed a friendship be-
tween the parties; but we had not sufficient op-
portunity of ascertaining whether it was considered
inviolable. The manner of effecting this friendly
compact is worthy of description. The lips are
drawn inward between the teeth, the nostrils are
distended, and the lungs are widely inflated; with
this preparation, the face is pushed forward, the
noses brought into contact, and the ceremony con-
cludes with a hearty rub, and a vehement exclama-
tion or grunt: and in proportion to the warmth of
feeling, the more ardent and disagreeable is the
salutation.
Finding, from communication with our friends,
that water was to be had at Mount Duff, we quitted
them and crossed to that point, where we had the
satisfaction to see two streams trickling down the
sides of the hill, either of them sufficiently ample for
CHAP.
V.
Dec.
1825.


152 VOYAGE TO THE
-
CHAP.
\º-y-
Jan.
1826.
our purpose, and so situated that the ship could, if
necessary, be placed near enough to cover the parties
sent to procure it. This gratifying discovery was of
the greatest importance, and the ship was imme-
diately removed to a convenient spot opposite the
place.
We were late getting across the lagoon from our
first anchorage, in consequence of the necessity of
proceeding with the utmost caution to prevent
striking upon rocks of coral, which were nume-
rous, and in some instances rose from twenty-
eight fathoms to within twelve feet of the surface;
so that it was dark before the sails were furled, and
we had no communication with the natives that
night. One man only, probably by way of ascer-
taining whether we kept watch, paddled silently off
upon a small katamaran ; but on being hailed, went
quietly away. At daylight, the shore opposite the
ship was lined with the natives, and katamarans
commenced coming off to her laden with visiters,
who, encouraged by their former reception, fear-
lessly ascended the side, and in a short time so
crowded the decks, that the necessary duties of the
crew were suspended. Their surprise was, if pos-
sible, greater than that of the other islanders; but
it did not appear to be excited by any particular
object.
It is said that as a people become civilized, their
curiosity increases. Here, however, it was excited
more from a desire to ascertain what was capable of
being pilfered than from any thirst for knowledge.
Through this propensity, every thing underwent a
rigid examination. We had taken the precaution
to put all the moveable articles that could be spared

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STARIT. 153
below, and nothing was stolen from the upper
decks; but in the midshipmen’s berth, things had
not been so carefully secreted, and a soup-tureen, a
Spyglass, and some crockery were soon missing; the
former was detected going over the side, and one of
the tea-cups was observed in the possession of a
person swimming away from the ship. This afforded
a favourable opportunity of showing our determina-
tion to resist all such depredations; and indeed it
was absolutely necessary to do so, as every person
appeared to consider he had a right to whatever he
could carry away with him; and the number of our
visiters amounted to double that of our own crew,
so that it was impossible to watch every one of
them. Besides, this conduct, if not checked in time,
might lead to serious consequences, which I wished
by every means to avoid. One of our small boats
was consequently sent in pursuit of the thief, who
was swimming at a considerable rate towards a raft
with his prize in his hand. His countrymen, ob-
serving that he was pursued, would not permit him
to mingle with them, lest they should participate in
the blame; but he eluded detection by diving un-
derneath their rafts, until he became exhausted,
when he threw the cup to the bowman of the boat,
and made his escape. Immediately the boat was
sent off, all the rafts left the ship, and every man
upon the decks jumped overboard as if by instinct;
but when tranquillity was restored, they returned
for fresh plunder. The rapidity with which the
news of a theft spreads among such a community
has been noticed by Captain Cook, and here it was
no less remarkable. -
I determined, since the main deck was cleared,
CHAP.
Jan.
1826.


154 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
Jan.
1826.
that it should be kept so, and placed a marine at
each of the ladders; but as the natives tried every
method to elude their vigilance, the sentinels had an
arduous task to perform, and disturbances must in-
evitably have arisen in the execution of their orders
had it not been for our Newfoundland dog. It for-
tunately happened that this animal had taken a dis-
like to our visiters, and the deck being cleared, he
instinctively placed himself at the foot of the lad-
der, and in conjunction with the little terrier, who
did not forget his perilous hug of the day before,
most effectually accomplished our wishes. The na-
tives, who had never seen a dog before, were in the
greatest terror of them ; and Neptune's bark was
soon found to be more efficacious than the point of
a sentry's bayonet, and much less likely to lead to
serious disturbances. Besides, his activity cleared
the whole of the main deck at once, and supplied
the place of all the sentinels. The natives applied
the name of boa to him, a word which in the Ota-
heitan language properly signifies a hog. But it
may be observed that boa is applied equally to a
bull, or to a horse, which they call boa-qfae-taata,
(literally, man-carrying pig), or to all foreign qua-
drupeds.
Upon one of the rafts which came alongside there
was an elderly man with a grey beard, dressed in
white cloth. The paddles of his raft were of supe-
rior workmanship to the others, and had the ex-
tremity of the handle ornamented with a neatly
carved human hand. He carried a long staff of
hard black wood, finely polished, widened at one
end like a chisel. But though he was thus distin-
guished, he exercised no authority over his unruly
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 155
countrymen. Several of the people upon the rafts
had provided themselves with food, which consisted
of boiled root of the tee-plant, of pearl oysters, and
the sour pudding before mentioned. We endea-
voured to tempt them to taste some of our food;
which they willingly accepted, but declined to par-
take of it, and placed it upon the raft, with nails,
rags, and whatever else they had collected. A piece
of corned beef that was given them passed from
hand to hand with repeated looks of inquiry, until
it was at last deposited in the general heap. I
took some pains to explain to them it was not
human flesh, which they in all probability at first
imagined it to be; and from their behaviour on
the occasion I think it quite certain they are not
cannibals.
As the curiosity of one party of our visiters be-
came satisfied, they quitted the ship, and others sup-
plied their place. One of these favoured us with a
song, which commenced with a droning noise, the
words of which we could not distinguish; they
then gave three shouts, to which succeeded a short
recitation, followed by the droning chorus and
shouts as before. In this manner the song proceed-
ed, each recitation differing from the former, until
three shouts, louder than the others, announced the
finale. The singers arranged themselves in a semi-
circle round the hatchway, and during the per-
formance pointed to the different parts of the ship,
to which their song was undoubtedly applicable;
but it was impossible to say in what way, though I
have every reason to believe it was of a friendly
nature.
While the decks were so crowded with visiters,
CHAP.
V.
\-Y-
Jan.
1826.

156 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP, the duty of watering the ship could not be carried
--~ on, and it was of the greatest consequence that it
tº should be got through speedily, as the boats were
required to survey the group, upon which I could
not bestow many days. My hope was, that the na-
tives would quit us as their curiosity became satis-
fied, especially as they had nothing to barter, except
some sour paste, which, being extremely unpalatable
to every one on board, was not marketable. After
breakfast, two small boats, the only ones we had in
repair, were equipped for landing, and the barge
was ordered to be in attendance; for though there
was every reason to expect a friendly reception, yet
in a country where the language is not understood,
and among a barbarous people, whose principal aim
is plunder, it is extremely difficult to avoid disputes,
especially when the force to which they are opposed
is greatly inferior to their own. We felt the loss
of the cutter at this moment, as she was a boat so
much better calculated for the service we had to
perform than the gig or whale-boat.
As we had anticipated, the boats had no sooner
put off from the ship, than all the natives quitted
her as before, and joined their companions on shore,
who were assembled in a wood skirting the beach.
At the approach of the boats, there was much bustle
among the trees; every one appeared to be arming
himself, and many who had long poles broke them
in halves to supply those who had none. These
preparations made it necessary to be cautious how
the boats were placed in their power, as they were
small, and easily upset, and the natives very nume-
rous. We found the shore, as at the other island,
surrounded by coral rocks, upon which the boats



PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 157
grounded about two hundred yards from the beach,
and they could not advance without imminent dan-
ger of being stove. The natives, whose rafts drew
so little water that they could be floated over these
impediments, could not understand our motives in
delaying, or searching for any other place than that
to which they had been accustomed, and kept con-
tinually vociferating “Ho-my Ho-my " It was
natural that they, ignorant of the cause, should sup-
pose we had other things in view than that of land-
ing; and one of them who had received a bottle as
a present from some of our people, imagining we were
come in search of it, ran into the water as far as he
could, holding it up at arm's length, and when he
could advance no farther, threw it towards the boat,
and, in spite of our signs for him to keep it, he fol-
lowed the boats, and kept throwing the bottle to-
wards us, until he found it was of no use.
A short distance below the place where the multi-
tude were assembled, the rocks admitted a freer ac-
cess to the shore than above, and we effected a landing.
Directly the boats touched the beach, one of the
natives who was near them took off his turban and
waved it to his countrymen, who instantly answered
the signal with a shout, and rushed towards the
spot. The foremost of their party stopped within a
short distance of us until the crowd came up to him,
and then advanced and saluted Mr. Belcher, who
was unarmed, by rubbing noses. Observing there
was some distrust of a fowling-piece which I held in
my hand, I placed it against a rock for an instant
among our own party, while I advanced a step to
salute a person who appeared to be the leading man
of the islanders. The opportunity this afforded the
CHAP.
\-y-
Jan.
1826.

158 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
wº-Y-'
Jan.
1826.
natives of indulging their favourite propensity was
not overlooked ; and one of them, regardless of all
risk, thrust himself between our people, snatched
up the gun, and, mingling with the mob with the
greatest adroitness, succeeded in making his escape.
The crowd instantly fled into the wood, and along
the beach, but shortly rallied, and with loud shouts
advanced upon us, until the discharge of a carronade
from the barge, which was fortunately near, put
them to flight. The man who had sealed the com-
pact of friendship, if so indeed it be, by rubbing
noses, sat quietly upon a large stone close to us dur-
ing this affair, as if he relied upon the pledge that
had been given for his security. It would have
been treacherous, and perhaps pregnant with seri-
ous evils to them and to ourselves, had any violence
been offered, or any thing done that might appear
like an infringement of this understanding, or I
should certainly have detained his person, in the
hope of the gun being returned. As it was, I allow-
ed him to go quietly away.
The boats were at this time unavoidably very
awkwardly situated, by being aground upon the
rocks, and in a situation from which it would have
been extremely difficult to extricate them, had a de-
termined attack been made by the natives. The
consequences in that case would have been very
serious; though their weapons consisted only of
long poles and bone-headed spears, yet they were
sufficiently powerful, from their numbers alone, to
have rendered the most determined defence on our
part doubtful.
As soon as we were free, we followed the natives
along the beach, approaching them, whenever the







PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 159
rocks would allow, to offer terms of reconciliation;
but our overtures were answered only by showers
of stones. This conduct, which we now began to
think was only a part of their general character,
rendered it extremely difficult, nay almost impossi-
ble, to have any dealings with them without getting
into disputes. No time, place, or example, made
any difference in the indulgence of their insatiable
propensity to theft. Explanations and threats,
which in some instances will prevent the necessity
of acting, were unfortunately not at our command,
in consequence of our ignorance of their language,
and the only option left us was to yield up our
goods unresistingly, or to inflict a more severe chas-
tisement than the case might deserve. Captain
Cook, who managed the natives of these seas better
than any other mavigator, pursued a system which
generally succeeded, though in the end it cost him
his life. It was rigid, but I am certain it was bet-
ter adapted to preserve peace than the opposite plan
adopted by Perouse, at Easter Island, who, though
one of the most enlightened navigators, was, of all,
the most unfortunate.
To seize one of the natives, or upon something
that was of more value to them than the goods they
had stolen, was the most effectual way of recovering
what was lost, and by at once adopting this mode of
proceeding might prevent a recurrence of such a
circumstance; I consequently took away a net and
some rafts that were lying upon the shore. The net
was about forty feet in length, made with the bark
of the porou tree (hibiscus tiliaceus), precisely in the
same manner as our seins are, but weighted with
stones and rounded pieces of coral instead of lead.
CHAP.
W.
Jan.
1826.


160 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
V.
\-Y-->
Jan.
T826.
To obtain possession of these articles without strife, it
was necessary to drive away a party that was seated
upon a large tree near them, and a carronade was
fired over their heads: but of this they took no
notice, probably considering themselves safe at so
great a distance, and having had no experience to
the contrary, supposed that such weapons were
calculated only to intimidate by noise. The next
gun dispersing the sand amongst them, they speedily
resigned their seats, and with all the inhabitants
went to the upper village. After this our commu-
nication was for a time suspended, as the natives
kept aloof, and the boats were required to proceed
with the watering.
At daylight on the 2d of January, we commenced
filling our casks from two good streams, which sup-
plied water much faster than it could be got off.
We perceived the natives collected in a large
body at the village, and soon afterwards some men
stole along the beach to reconnoitre the watering
party ; but they were prevented offering any moles-
tation by a gun being fired from the ship. On this
day I observed the old custom of taking possession
of the groupe, and hoisted the English ensign upon
the shore, turned a turf, and sowed several useful
seeds, which it is to be hoped will spring up to the
benefit of the natives. I named the island on which
Mount Duff stood, after my first Lieutenant, Mr.
Peard, and the others in succession, Belcher, Wain-
wright, Elson, Collie, and Marsh, after the other
officers, and the lagoon in which the ship was an-
chored after herself.
Before our party reached the shore the next
morning, one of the natives was perceived carrying
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 161
off a small cask that had been left there the preced-
ing night. We watched him through our telescopes,
and observed him conceal it with a large mat which
he carried with him. He had doubtless no suspicion
that his actions could be observed at so great a dis-
tance, as he began to retrace his steps along the open
beach; but seeing he was not sufficiently quick to
escape the boats that were going on shore, he quit-
ted his prize, and hid himself in the wood. The
watering had not long been renewed before a large
party collected upon the height above, headed by
two men, who appeared to be chiefs, clad in loose
white turbans and cloaks: the eldest led the party
cautiously down the hill, and made a stand at a large
stone, which one of his party ascended, and there
waved a banana leaf. We answered this friendly
signal by waving in return a white flag from the
ship: but here our amity ended; for while this was
going forward the other chief stood upon the ridge,
and beckoned to the natives on the other side of the
hill to join him, which greatly augmented his num-
bers; and some of them loosened large stones, appa-
rently with a view of annoying our watering party,
who were so situated under the hill that a few such
fragments precipitated upon them would cause very
serious mischief. As there was every appearance of
treachery, the boats were put upon their guard by
signal; but the barge mistaking its purport, fired
two shot to dislodge the islanders, both of which, to
their great astonishment, fell very close to them, and
induced them to retire to the other side of the ridge.
Some, however, had the curiosity to return and ex-
amine the place, and, after a little digging, found one
of the shot, which they carried to their comrades, many
VOI. I. M
CHAP.
W.
\-Y-
Jan.
1826.



162 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
Jan.
1826.
of whom assembled round the prize, never probably
having had so large a piece of iron in their possession
before,
At noon on the 5th the watering was completed,
and without any accident or sickness, which, consi-
dering the difficulty of getting the casks off, and
the constant exposure of the seamen to a vertical sun
while in the water, there was every reason to appre-
hend. It was further satisfactory to find that this
service had been effected without any harm to the
natives, except in one instance, when a marine in-
considerately fired at a party who were lurking in
the wood, and wounded one of them in the foot.
From the disposition of the inhabitants, and the
superiority of their numbers, there was reason to
apprehend a different result; and the quietness with
which it was conducted must be attributed to their
being kept at a distance during its performance.
The boats were now sent to survey the groupe,
and were kept constantly employed upon it from
daylight to dusk. In the course of this examination
every part was visited, and we had frequent com-
munication with the natives, who on such occasions
were always civil, and brought such supplies of fruit
and food as their scanty means afforded, and gene-
rally abstained from the indulgence of their propen-
sity for thieving, which when numerous they so
fully indulged. Their behaviour was indeed so dif-
ferent from what it had been, that we must attribute
it to the operation of fear, as their numbers were
then very small, in consequence of our visits being
unexpected and the population of each village very
limited. The net we had taken off the shore was
carried round to the principal village and offered in


PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 163
return for the articles that had been stolen, but
whether our meaning was understood or not, they
were never produced.
This village is situated in a bay, at the eastern
foot of Mount Duff, and is rendered conspicuous by
a hut of very large dimensions, which we shall de-
scribe hereafter, and by a quadrangular building of
large blocks of coral erected in the water, at a few
yards distance from the shore, which appeared to us
to be a morai. Upon its northern extreme stood a
small hut, planted round with trees, which it was
conjectured contained images and offerings; but, as
the door was closed, and the natives were watching
us, we would not examine it. Contiguous to it there
was a body placed upon boards, wrapped in thick
folds of paper cloth ; and, not far from it, another
enveloped in a smaller quantity of the same material.
There was no offensive smell whatever from either
of these corpses, though the one last mentioned did
not appear to have been long exposed. The heads
of both were lying to the N.E.; both bodies were
more abundantly surrounded by cloth than any we
had seen here; and from the nature of the platform
on which they were placed, which must have re-
quired considerable labour to construct, we concluded
they were the bodies of chiefs; and we were, on that
account, more tenacious of subjecting them to the
scrutiny our curiosity prompted, lest the natives
should suppose we were offering them some indig-
nity. An old man whom we interrogated as to the
nature of the building gave us no information: but
looked very serious whenever he was referred to the
place, and seemed disposed to believe we were inclined
to place his body there to keep the others company.
CHAP.
V.
S-O-
Jan.
1826.


M 2

164 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
Jan.
1826.
Though we were prevented from examining these
mummies by the watchfulness of the natives, we
were more successful at the island to the eastward,
off which we first anchored. We there found six
bodies under a projecting part of a cliff, which over-
hung them sufficiently to protect them from the in-
clemency of the weather. Above them we noticed
a child suspended by a string round its waist tied to
a projecting crag. The bodies of the adults were
placed parallel, with their heads to the N. E., as in
the other instance. They were wrapped first in
cloth, then in matting, and again covered over with
thick folds of cloth secured by a small cord lashing.
Mr. Collie, the surgeon, made an incision into the
stomach of one of the newest mummies, which ap-
peared the most hardened, and found the membra-
neous part of the abdomen dried and shrivelled up,
enclosing an indurated earthy substance, which at
first induced him to believe it had undergone the
process of embalming ; but finding afterwards mem-
branes and earthy matter within a cranium similarly
dried, and knowing that there was no way in which
any extraneous substance could have been introduced
there, except by the vertebral canal, he was induced
to alter his opinion, which, he says, had nothing to
support it, but the idea that putrefaction must have
taken place without some counteracting agent. This
complete desiccation of the human frame is not un-
frequent in these seas, nor indeed in other places;
but it requires considerable care and attention to do
it effectually. The method formerly pursued at
Otaheite, was to keep the corpse constantly wiped
dry, and well lubricated with cocoa-nut oil. Our
intercourse with the Gambier Islanders did not
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 165
afford us the opportunity of ascertaining if this were
their practice also, but we noticed the precaution of
exposing the bodies upon frames three or four feet
above the ground, that the air might freely cir-
culate about them, and of keeping them well covered
with folds of cloth. It is remarkable that none of
these bodies had any offensive smell, not even those
that had been recently exposed upon the drying-
board. Lieutenant Belcher, whose duty carried him
a great deal about the islands, saw some bodies that
were exposed to dry, covered with a matted shed to
protect them from the rain; and in one he found
the head and right arm separated from the trunk,
wrapped in separate pieces of cloth, and secured by
a lashing to the body. On no part of the shore did
we see skulls or bones exposed and heaped together,
as about the morais common to Polynesia; and al-
though Mr. Belcher found some human bones partly
burned lying loose upon a rock, together with a
body deposited in a grave with a wicker-work frame
over it, there is every reason to believe that these
exposures are very rare indeed, and that almost all
the bodies are wrapped in cloth, and deposited as
first described. This custom furnishes a satisfactory
reason for their cloth being so scarce; and though
we cannot commend their policy in clothing the
dead at the expence of the living, yet they must
be allowed the merit due to their generosity and
respect for their departed friends.
On the 7th I visited a village at the south extre-
mity of Belcher Island. It was situated in a little
bay, at the foot of a ridge of hills which intersected
the island. We were received by about a dozen
men and women, who behaved in a very friendly
CHAP.
V.
Jan.
1826.




166 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
V
Jan.
1826.
manner, and brought down cocoa-nuts (some of
which, by the by, had been previously emptied of
their contents), sugar-cane, tee-roots, one bunch of
bananas, and several clusters of pandanus, nuts;
these they threw into the boat without soliciting
any return; and, what is more extraordinary, with-
out evincing any desire to steal. All the men then
quitted us, excepting one, who was as anxious that
we should depart as the women were that we should
land. Two of these females behaved in a manner
which attracted our attention, although we could
not account for their conduct; they waded out to
the boats, crying most piteously, striking their
breasts, and pulling their hair, which hung loose
over their shoulders, with every demonstration of
the deepest distress; and, to our surprise, threw
their arms round our necks, and hugged us so close
that we could not disengage ourselves from their
embrace without violence. As we were quite un-
conscious of the nature of their grief, we could offer
them no consolation beyond that of kindness, and
giving them some beads and trinkets. After a few
minutes they disengaged their arms, began dancing,
laughing, and saluting us occasionally with a rub of
the nose: in the midst of this mirth they would
suddenly relapse into grief, and throw their arms
about in a frantic way, until I began to fear they
might injure themselves; but this paroxysm was as
short as that of the mirth by which it was succeed-
ed; they again began to dance, and were afterwards
quite cheerful. The only cause to which we could
attribute this extraordinary conduct, or at least for
the melancholy part of it, was that they might in
some way be connected with the man who had been
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 167
wounded upon the raft. And if this were the case,
it affords a presumption that the custom of self-mu-
tilation on such occasions, so common to many of
the islands in the Pacific, does not exist here.
As the sun went down the natives pointed to it,
and signified to us to be gone, exclaiming “Bobo
mai.” We got from them a few articles of manufac-
ture, very similar to those of Pitcairn Islands. In
return for these we made them useful presents, and
took our leave with the promise of “Bobo mai,”
which we understood to mean “come to-morrow.”
We rowed round the rest of the island, and soon
satisfied ourselves of its extreme poverty. There
were two villages upon its western side, situated in
deep sandy bays, which would form excellent har-
bours for shipping, if they could be entered; but
this is impracticable from the many coral knolls on
the outside.
Lieutenant Belcher describes a morai, which he
visited, in the following manner. A hut, about
twenty feet in length by ten wide, and seven high,
with a thatched roof, of which the eaves were three
feet from the ground, contained the deity. There
were only two apertures, about two feet six inches
square, furnished with thatched shutters. In front
of the building, a space about twenty feet square
was paved with hewn coral slabs, with curbstones at
the edges, as neatly fitted as the pavements in Eng-
land. Along the whole length of the interior of
the hut was a trough elevated about three feet from
the ground; in the centre of which was an idol
three feet high, neatly carved and polished; the eye-
brows were sculptured, but not the eyes; and from
the manner in which the muscles were defined it was
CHAP.
W.
\-Y-
Jan.
1826.

168 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
W.
\-Y-2
Jan,
1826,
evident that these people were not regardless of the
anatomy of the figure. It was placed in an upright
position on the trough or manger, and fastened by
the extremities to the side of the hut : the head was
bound with a piece of white cloth, as were also the
loins, and those parts which the natives themselves
never conceal, the aged excepted. In the trough
beneath the image were several paddles, mats, coils
of line, and cloth, offerings which had been made to
the deity ; and at his feet was placed a calabash,
which the natives said contained water “ avy.” On
each side of the image was a stand, having three
carved arms, to the hands of which several articles
were suspended, such as carved cocoa-nut shells, and
pieces of bamboo, perhaps musical instruments; but
Mr. Belcher abstained from trespassing on this sacred
ground, for fear of giving offence to the natives, who
did not much like this exercise of curiosity. Indeed,
the whole time he was there, the women were anx-
ious to get him away, and the men looked serious,
and were very glad when he left the place. The
females accompanied him to the threshold of the
morai; but the men studiously avoided treading
upon the sacred pavement, and knelt down the whole
time he was there, without, however, any apparent
devotion. Mr. Belcher endeavoured to purchase this
idol; but valuable as his offers must have been to
these poor people, the temptation did not prove
sufficient. Another image about the same size was
found upon one of the coral islands of the groupe,
clothed in the same way, but more rudely carved,
and deficient in the offerings above-mentioned.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 169
CHAPTER VI.

Second interview with the Natives—Visit to the principal Village
—Bodies exposed to dry—Areghe or Chief—Lieutenant Wain-
wright attacked by Natives—Advantage of the Port—Further
Description of the Island, its Soil and Productions.
ON the afternoon of the 8th, we again landed
under Mount Duff, to try the feeling of the natives.
Our party was not large, and we carefully avoided
every thing that might appear offensive, carrying
with us a white flag upon a staff. One man only,
at first, ventured near us, rubbed noses, and received
several presents, with which he was highly delighted.
His companions, who, during the interview, had
been peeping from behind the trees, noticing his
friendly reception, laid aside their weapons, came
out of the wood, and saluted us in their usual man-
ner, singing, as they approached, the chorus we had
heard on board, which strengthened our opinion of
its being a song of welcome.
The next day I landed with a party in the bay
where the principal village is situated, and was met
at the landing-place, which was about half a mile
from the village, by two or three men who rubbed
noses, and seemed glad to see us. They took us by
the arm and conducted us to the village along a
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
170 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
narrow pathway, through long grass and loose stones,
overshadowed by a wood of bread-fruit and cocoa-
nut trees. In this distance we passed a few patches
of cultivation, but they were rare, and indicated
very little attention to agriculture. The natives
increased greatly in numbers as we advanced, and
all were officious to pay us attention, and assist us
to the village: they were armed, yet their manner
showed it was, as with us, only a precautionary
measure: nothing in appearance could exceed their
amicable behaviour. We had each two or more
friends, who officiously passed their arms under ours,
helped us over the stones and conducted us along
the right pathway to the village; a species of escort,
however, which, by depriving us of the use of our
limbs, placed us entirely in their power. We passed
several huts open on the south side, and one, which
was full of fishing nets, closed up; near these there
were two bodies wrapped in a great many cloths,
exposed upon stalls raised about a yard from the
ground, and supported upon forked props, as repre-
sented.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 171
The natives were unwilling that we should touch
any of these, and we did not offend them by so
doing, but approached within a few feet to ascertain
whether there were any offensive smell from the
corpse, but none could be discerned. -
Further on we came to an open area, partly paved
with blocks of coral, and divided off from the culti-
wated land by large slabs of the same material very
evenly cut, and resembling those at the Friendly
Islands. At one end of this area stood the large
hut which had before excited our curiosity: it was
about thirteen yards in length by six or seven in
width, and proportionably high, with a thatched
roof. On the south side it was entirely open, and
the gables nearly so, being constructed with upright
poles, crossed by smaller ones, forming an open
frame-work, through which the sea breeze circulated,
and refreshed the area within. Beneath the roof on
the open side, about four feet within the eaves, there
was a low broad wall well constructed with blocks
of coral, hewn out and put together in so workman-
like a style, and of such dimensions, as to excite our
surprise how with their rude instruments it could
have been accomplished. The blocks were five feet
long by three wide, and one foot thick; and were
placed upon their narrow edge in a manner in which
we traced a resemblance to the walls in Hapae, as
described by Captain Cook. Upon this eminence
was seated a venerable looking person about sixty
years of age, with a long beard entirely grey; he
had well proportioned features, and a commanding
aspect; his figure was rather tall, but lassitude and
corpulency greatly diminished his natural stature;
he was entirely naked except a maro, and a crown
CHAP.
WI.
Jan.
1826.









172 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
\-Y-2
Jan.
1826.
made from the feathers of the frigate-bird, or black
tern; his body was extensively tattooed, and from
the loins to the ankles he was covered with small
lines, which at a distance had the appearance of pan-
taloons. Long nails, and rolls of skin overhanging
his hips, pointed out his exemption from labour, and
an indulgence in luxuries which in all probability
attached to him in virtue of his birthright. He was
introduced to us as an areghe or chief; he did not rise
from his seat, but gave the nasal salutation in his
squatting posture, which in the Friendly Islands is
considered a mark of respect.
An exchange of presents succeeded this meeting.
Some scarlet cloth, which I had brought on shore
for the purpose, was placed over his shoulders, and
closed by a buckle in front, which delighted the sub-
jects as much as the chief, who, in return, presented
me with his crown, and intimated that I should wear.
it by placing it upon my hat. This friendly under-
standing I endeavoured to turn to our advantage by
making him understand, as well as I could by signs
and Otaheitan words, that we would barter articles
we had brought with us for fruit and vegetables;
and in the hope of this being acceded to, we waited
longer at the village than we should otherwise have
done; but the only answer we got was “Bobo mai,”
which from the Otaheitan vocabulary we should
interpret “Here to-morrow ;” but its application in
the Gambier groupe was so various as to leave us
much in doubt whether they were not disposed to
turn our imperfect use of it to their own advantage.
Our visit to the village brought a great accession to
its usual inhabitants, and several hundred people
had collected about us, but the greatest order pre-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 173
vailed; nor did their curiosity to scrutinize our per-
sons once lead them to acts of rudeness, notwith-
standing we were the first Europeans that had ever
landed on their island. Indeed, throughout this
visit, or at least until we were coming away, there
was a marked improvement in their behaviour; not
a single act of theft was attempted, while, on the
contrary, one of honesty occurred, which, as it is the
only instance I have to record, must not be omitted;
—it consisted in restoring to one of our officers a
handkerchief which he left at a place where he had
been sitting. This propriety of conduct no doubt
originated in the strictness of the discipline which
we observed towards them. It certainly did not
proceed from the example of the chief, for the only
act of acquisitiveness from which we had reason to
apprehend any dispute proceeded from that person-
age himself. To oblige him, I had consented to his
looking into the bag of presents, with which he
became so enamoured that he retained it in his
grasp, and once or twice endeavoured to appropriate
it to himself by force. -
We had not remained many minutes in the hut
where we were first introduced, when the areghe
rose, and, taking me with him, went to a large stone,
in the centre of the paved area, where we both sat
down, and were immediately surrounded by some
hundreds of his subjects. The exchange of place
was by no means agreeable, as we quitted a cool and
refreshing retreat for a spot scarcely screened from a
scorching sun by a few scanty leaves of the bread-
fruit tree. After being seated here a few minutes,
a tall good-looking young man was introduced, also
as an areghe, to whom the old chief transferred the
CHAP.
WI.
Jan.
1826.


174 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
\-y-
Jan.
1826.
cloth I had given him. I made him in addition a
similar present, and distributed others of smaller
value to several natives around us, in the hope of
quieting their solicitations; but I soon perceived
that this generosity had the opposite effect.
The young chief was handsomely tattooed; he
had a turban of white cloth, and a girdle of banana-
leaf as his only covering. He was more anxious to
communicate with us than the old man ; pointed to
the road leading over the hill to a village on the
opposite side, and made many signs, which we in-
terpreted as promising us the restoration of the
articles that had been stolen, and also some supplies;
at the same time he intimated that a person of supe-
rior dignity resided on the other side of the hill.
But if this were true, the distance was only half a
mile, and we remained long enough in the village
for a person to have traversed it five or six times.
We were next introduced, by the chief, to several
women, who saluted us in the usual manner, and
thankfully accepted our presents. The chief wished
me particularly to notice one of them, a fine tall
woman about thirty-five years of age, with sharp
black eyes, long black hair, rather sunburnt, white
and even teeth, a complexion lighter than the gene-
rality of her country-women, and with a good-na-
tured countenance which the coarseness of feature
only prevented being pretty. She had an armlet
tattooed on each arm, and was without any other
ornament whatever ; her ears even were not pierced
for the reception of rings. Her dress consisted
of a piece of white cloth wrapped round the hips,
and another round the waist below the breast,
which was exposed. There was something com-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 175
manding in her manner, and from her intimacy with
the chief she was evidently a person of superior
rank. She addressed her conversation to me with a
volubility and earnestness which showed she felt
confident of being understood, but I regret that our
total ignorance of their language denied me the
pleasure of interpreting even one word; and I could
only infer from her tears and actions, that her tale
was of a serious and distressing nature. She soon
however dried her tears, and sat beside us with the
greatest composure.
While I was engaged with the chief, the officers
strolled about, each accompanied by a circle of
friends, and were kindly treated. Mr. Belcher, in
his researches, discovered three drums, very similar
to those at Otaheite, as described by Captain Cook.
The largest was about five feet six inches high, and
fourteen inches in diameter. It was made of the
trunk of a porou tree (hibiscus tiliaceus), hollowed
out, and covered with a shark's skin, which had been
strained over it when wet ; the edges were secured
with sinnet, neatly made, and finished with pieces of
cloth plaited in with fine line: it was otherwise
ornamented about the trunk, and stood upon four
feet. It was brought to me, and I offered the areghe
Some knives in exchange, which he refused until the
number was increased. When the bargain was con-
cluded, the young chief showed the manner of play-
ing upon the instrument, and convinced us that his
skill must have been the result of long practice.—
The art consisted in giving rapid strokes with the
palm of the right hand, and placing the left at the
same time so nicely as to check the vibrations without
stopping them, which produced a harmonic sound,
CHAP.
IV.
\*N-
Jan.
1826.



176 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
differing from that of any instrument of the kind I
had ever heard.
The other drums were about three feet and a half
in height by nine inches in diameter, similar in
other respects to the large one. The proficiency in
execution to which the natives have attained, and
the perfection in the manufacture of these instru-
ments, leave little doubt of their taking much de-
light in the amusement of dancing, though, gene-
rally speaking, they do not appear to be a lively
people. I used every endeavour, but in vain, to
persuade the areghe to favour us with one of these
exhibitions, and among others, I made the marines
go through some of their manoeuvres, in the hope
that he would exhibit something in return; this,
however, had a very different effect from what was
intended; for the motions of the marines were mis-
interpreted, and so alarmed some of the bystanders,
that several made off, while others put themselves
into an attitude of defence, so that I speedily dis-
missed the party. -
This interview was deficient in those ceremonies
which threw such a lively interest over the voy-
ages of Captain Cook, and, what was equally mor-
tifying to us, it did not obtain those supplies of
fruit and vegetables which generally attended his
visits; although we waited a considerable time in
the hope of inducing the chiefs to come on board
the ship, and in the expectation of some supplies be-
fore we quitted them, but to no purpose. I there-
fore summoned our party together, and we took
leave of the chiefs, both of whom retired, leaving us
in the hands of the mob. On removing the drum
which had been sold by the areghe, two of the

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 177
natives laid violent hands upon it, and demanded some-
thing more than had been given. To avoid disturb-
ance I complied with their request by doubling the
original sum; but this, so far from securing the drum,
rendered the probability of our obtaining it without
force more remote. I brought the old chief back to
explain the matter to him, but he shewed no disposi-
tion to interfere; and foreseeing the consequence of per-
sisting, I left our purchase in the hands of the island-
ers, disgusted with their dishonesty and cunning.
On our return, about two o'clock in the after-
noon, we observed the meals of the natives laid out
upon tables, made of slabs of coral, raised about a
yard from the ground, and standing in the middle
of the paved areas in front of the huts. These
tables again resembled those in the Friendly Islands,
and the execrable sour pudding tied up in bundles
with banana-leaves, of which the fare of the natives
consisted, is the same as the mahie used there, at
Otaheite, and at the Marquesas, &c.; but in flavour it
more immediately reminded us of the Nukahiwans.
We found fewer companions in our retreat from
the village than at our introduction to it, and were
attended by three individuals only, who had at-
tached themselves to some of the officers, though
many followed at a distance. I was a little behind
the party, when a man whom I did not recollect
to have seen before, grasped me by the arm in
which I held my gun, with a feigned view of help-
ing me over the rugged path, while a second, put-
ting his arms across, stopped up the road; several
others, at the same time, joined in the demand of
* Homy homy" and prepared us for what shortly
took place. I managed to get rid of my unruly
WOI. I. N
CHAP,
\*Y*
Jan.
1826.
178 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
WI.
Jan.
1826.
assistants without force, and joined the marines;
but Lieutenant Wainwright (who, unknown to us
all, was left in the village, ignorant of our having
quitted it until informed by one of the natives), was
not so fortunate. He had passed through the vil-
lage, where the natives were assembled in circles,
apparently in debate, without molestation, and in a
few minutes would have been among our party;
when several of the natives, seeing him alone, assail-
ed him, and endeavoured to throw him down and
rob him. Finding they could not succeed, they at-
tacked him with their poles: but he was then for-
tunately within a short distance of us; and we be-
came for the first time apprised of his danger by
hearing him call for assistance. Mr. Belcher, and
those who were nearest, ran to him; but the islanders
assailing them with stones, and the attack on their
part becoming general, I ordered the marines to fire,
which put them to flight, and I am happy to say
that we saw only one of them wounded.
Thus this interview with the natives terminated
in a manner which their general conduct might have
led us to expect, though the result is much to be de-
plored. It confirmed my opinion, that the natural
disposition of the people is highly unfavourable to
intercourse, and that they are restrained from acts of
violence and aggression by the operation of fear
alone. With this impression, and finding the island
so extremely deficient in supplies, that the natives
could not spare us any thing, I was careless about
renewing our visit, and we embarked without fur-
ther molestation, and proceeded to the ship.
The bay in which this village is situated lies on
the N. E. side of Mount Duff; it is bordered by a













§
º
W.
º
º
º
º
º


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 179
sandy beach, behind which there is a thick wood of
bread-fruit and cocoa-nut trees; above it, to the .
left, there is a second or upper village, upon a level
piece of ground, where the natives retreat in case of
necessity. The bay would be very desirable for an
anchorage, were it not for the coral knolls at its
entrance, which make the navigation difficult even
for a boat. After this visit, the boats were again
sent surveying ; and on the 12th we had completed
all that our time would admit of, by fixing the
position of a number of coral knolls which are dis-
persed over the navigable part of the lagoon, the
greater part of which may be seen from a ship's
mast-head before she comes upon them. Our only
want afterwards was a little fire-wood ; and having
noticed several logs lying upon the shore abreast of
the ship, Mr. Belcher was sent to purchase them.
The natives readily disposed of their property, and
were very friendly as long as they were receiv-
ing presents; but directly he attempted to take
away the trees, the islanders collected in the wood,
and pelted the boat's crew with stones. Three logs
were however got off, and Mr. Belcher was putting
in for more, when, the natives again beginning to
throw stones, he desisted.
It is to be regretted that the disposition of the
natives obstructed the friendly intercourse we were
anxious to establish. The task of correcting their
evil propensities unfortunately devolved upon us, as
the first visiters to the islands; and we could not
prolong our stay, or devote the time that was neces-
sary while we did remain, to conciliate their friend-
ship. But though unsuccessful in this respect, it is
to be hoped that our visit will prove beneficial to
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
N 2

I80 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826,
others, by directing them to a port in which ships
may be refitted or repaired, and where they may
procure a supply of good water, than which nothing
is more important to the navigation of these seas ;
as that indispensable article is not found to exist in
a pure state anywhere between Otaheite and the
coast of Chili, a distance of 4000 miles, Pitcairn
Island excepted, where the difficulty of getting it
off has already been mentioned. It is also pre-
sumed, that the position of the islands having been
ascertained, the peaks of Mount Duff, which are
high and distinguishable at a great distance, will
serve as a guide to the labyrinth of coral islands
which the navigator, after passing this groupe, has
to thread on his way to the westward.
This groupe was discovered by the ship Duff, on
a missionary voyage, in 1797, and named by Mr.
Wilson, her commander, after Admiral Lord Gam-
bier. It consists of five large islands and several
small ones, all situated in a lagoon formed by a reef
of coral. The largest is about six miles in length,
and rises into two peaks, elevated 1248 feet above
the level of the sea. These peaks, which were called
after the Duff, are in the form of wedges, very con-
spicuous at a distance, and may be seen fourteen
or fifteen leagues. All the islands are steep and
rugged, particularly Marsh Island, which at a dis-
tance resembles a ship. The external form of these
islands at once conveys an impression of their volca-
nic origin; and, on examination, they all appeared
to have been subjected to the action of great heat.
“The general basis of the rocks is a porous
basaltic lava, in one place passing into a tuffacious
slate; in another, into the solid and angular column

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 181
of compact basalt, containing the imbedded minerals
which characterise that formation, and bearing a
close resemblance in this particular to the basaltic
formation of the county of Antrim in Ireland.
There is, however, less of the basalt and more of
the porous. The zealites, soapstone, chalcedony,
olivine, and calcareous spar, are formed in, and
connect the relationship of these distant formations;
whilst the different-coloured jaspers are peculiar to
these islands. There is also another obvious dis-
tinctive feature produced by the numerous dykes of
a formation differing in composition and texture,
and marked by a defined line. They are generally
more prominent than the common rock; traversing
a great many, if not all the islands, in a direction
nearly east and west; generally about eighteen
inches wide, nearly perpendicular to the horizon, or
dipping to the southward. Their texture is some-
times compact, sometimes vesicular, with few if any
imbedded minerals, excepting one on Marsh Island,
which contained great quantities of olivine. Upon
a small island contiguous to this, the harder dyke
crosses the highest ridge, and divides on the eastern
side into two parts which continue down to the
water's edge.” *
Lieutenant Belcher, whose scientific attainments
also enabled him to appreciate what fell under his
observation, noticed every where the trap formation
abounding in basaltic dykes also lying N. E. and
S. W., and seldom deviating from the perpendicu-
lar; or if they did, it was to the eastward. We are
indebted to him for specimens of zealite, carbonate
CHAP.
WI.

* Mr. Collie’s Journal.
Jan.
1826.

182 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
of lime, calcareous spar, crystals, an alcime, olivine,
jasper, and chalcedony; and had our stay, and his
other duties admitted, we should, no doubt, have
received from him a more detailed account of this
interesting groupe.
There are no appearances of pseudo-craters on any
of the islands, nor do they seem to have been very
recently subjected to fire, being clothed with ver-
dure, and for the most part with trees. Conspicu-
ously opposed to these lofty rugged formations,
raised by the agency of fire, is a series of low islands,
derived from the opposite element, and owing their
construction to myriads of minute lithophytes en-
dowed with an instinct that enables them to sepa-
rate the necessary calcareous matter from the ocean,
and with such minute particles to rear a splendid
structure many leagues in circumference. A great
wall of this kind, if we may use the expression,
already surrounds the islands, and, by the unremit-
ting labour of these submarine animals, is fast ap-
proaching the surface of the water in all its parts.
On the N. E. side, it already bears a fertile soil be-
yond the reach of the sea, sustains trees and other
subjects of the vegetable kingdom, and affords even
an habitation to man.
In the opposite direction it dips from thirty to
forty feet beneath the surface, as if purposely to
afford access to shipping to the lagoon withirf”
Whether this irregularity be the consequence of
unequal growth, or of the original inclination of
the foundation, is a question that has excited much
interest. All the islands we subsequently visited
were similar to these in having their weather or
eastern side more advanced than the opposite one.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 183
The outer side of the wall springs from unfathom-
able depths; the inner descends with a slope to
about 120 or 150 feet below the surface. This ab–
ruptness causes the sea to break and expend its fury
upon the reef without disturbing the waters in the
lagoon. The coral animals consequently rear their
delicate structure there without apprehension of
violence; and form their submarine grottoes in all
the varied shapes which fancy can conceive. They
have already encircled each of the islands with a
barrier, which they are daily extending ; and have
reared knolls so closely as almost to occupy all the
northern part of the lagoon. More independent
tribes are in other parts bringing to the surface
numerous isolated columns, tending to the same
end; and all seems to be going on with such acti-
vity, that a speculative imagination might picture
to itself at no very remote period, one vast plain
covering the whole surface of the lagoon, yielding
forests of bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and other trees,
and ultimately sustenance to a numerous population,
and a variety of animals subservient to their use.
The general steepness of the volcanic islands of
this groupe is such, that the soil finds a resting-
place on a comparatively small portion of them ;
and on the coral islands it is scarcely deep and rich
enough, exposed as it is to the sea air, to contribute

much to the support of man. A soil formed from
the decomposition of the basaltic rocks, irrigated by
streams from the mountains, requires nothing but a
due proportion of care and labour on the part of
the natives to render it very productive. There is,
however, a sad neglect in this respect, which is the
more extraordinary, as there are no quadrupeds or

184 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
WI.
Jan.
1826.
poultry on the islands, and without vegetable pro-
ductions the natives have only the sea to depend
upon for their subsistence. The wild productions
are a coarse grass (Saccharum fatuum), which covers
such parts of the mountains as are neglected or are
too steep for cultivation. Lower down we noticed
the capparidia, a procumbent pentandrous shrub, the
masturtium, Sesuvium of Pitcairn Island, the euge-
nia, and Scaevola koenigii; and close down to the
shore a convolvulus covering the brown rock with
its clusters of leaves and pink blossoms. The porou
and miroe (Thespesia popularia) were more abundant,
the nono not common. They must also have the
auti and amai, as their weapons are made of it,
though we did not see it. The timber of which
their rafts are constructed is a red wood, somewhat
porous, and of softer grain than the amai. Some of
these trunks are so large as at first to excite a sus-
picion of their having been drifted from a more
extensive shore; but the quantity which they pos-
sess, several logs of which were newly shaped out,
affords every reason for believing that it is the pro-
duce of their own valleys. They are not deficient in
variety of edible fruits and roots, nor in those kinds
which are most productive and nutritious. Besides
the tee-plant, sweet potatoe, appé, sugar-cane, water-
melon, cocoa-nut, plantain, and banana, they possess
the bread-fruit, which in Otaheite is the staff of life,
and the taro, a root which in utility corresponds
with it in the Sandwich Islands. Were they to pay
but a due regard to the cultivation of the two last
of these valuable productions, an abundance of
wholesome food might be substituted for the nau-
seous mixture mahie, which, though it may, as in-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. I85
deed it does, support life, cannot be said to do more.
Rats and lizards were the only quadrupeds we saw
upon the islands. Of the feathered tribe, oceanic
birds form the greater part; but even these are rare,
compared with the numbers that usually frequent
the islands of the Pacific, arising, no doubt, from the
Gambier Islands being inhabited. The whole con-
sist of three kinds of tern, the white, black, and
slate-coloured—of which the first is most nume-
rous, and the last very scarce; together with a
species of procellaria, the white heron, and the tro-
pic and egg birds. Those which frequent the shore
are a kind of pharmatopus, curlew, charadrine, and
totanus; and the woods, the wood-pigeon, and a
species of turdus, somewhat resembling a thrush in
plumage, but smaller, possessing a similar though
less harmonious note. The insects found here were
very few, the common house-fly excepted, which on
almost all the inhabited islands in the Pacific is
extremely numerous and annoying. Of fish there
is a great variety, and many are extremely beautiful
in colour; as well those of large dimensions, which
we caught with lines, consisting of several sorts of
perca, as the numerous family of the order of bran-
chiostigi, which sported about the coral.
The largest portion of the natives of the Gambier
Islands belong to a class which Mr. J. R. Forster
would place among the first variety of the human
species in the South Seas. Like the generality of
uncivilized people, they are good-natured when
pleased, and harmless when not irritated; obsequi-
ous when inferior in force, and overbearing when
otherwise ; and are carried away by an insatiable
desire of appropriating to themselves every thing
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.


186 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan,
1826.
which attracts their fancy—an indulgence which
brings them into many quarrels, and often costs
them their lives. If respect for the deceased be con-
sidered a mark of civilization and humanity, they
cannot be called a barbarous people; but they pos-
sess no other claims to a worthier designation. In
features, language, and customs, they resemble the
Society, Friendly, Marquesa, and Sandwich Island-
ers; but they differ from those tribes in one very
important point—an exemption from those sensual
habits and indecent exhibitions which there pervade
all ranks. It may be said of the Gambier Islanders
what few can assert of any people inhabiting the
same part of the globe—that during the whole of
our intercourse with them we did not witness an
indecent act or gesture. There is a great mixture
of feature and of colour among them ; and we
should probably have found a difference of dialect
also, could we have made ourselves masters of their
language. It seems as if several tribes from remote
parts of the Pacific had here met and mingled their
peculiarities. In complexion and feature we could
trace a resemblance even to the widely separated
tribes of New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Ma-
lacca. Their mode of salutation is the same as that
which existed at the Friendly, Society, and Sand-
wich Islands : they resemble the inhabitants of the
latter almost exclusively in tattooing the face, and
the inhabitants of the former in staining their skin
from the hips to the knees. Their huts, coral tables,
and pavements, are nearly the same as at the Friend-
ly Islands and the Marquesas; but they are more
nearly allied to the latter by a custom which other-
wise, I believe, is at present confined to them, and










PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. I87
without a due observance of which, Krusenstern says,
it is in vain to seek a matrimonial alliance at St. Chris-
tina.” In the preservation of their dead, wrapping
them in an abundance of cloth and mats, they copy
the Otaheitans and Hapaeans; though in the ulti-
mate disposal of them in caves, and keeping them
above ground, they differ from all the other island-
ers. Their language and religion are closely allied
to several, yet they differ essentially from all the
above-mentioned tribes in having no huge carved
images surmounting their morais, and no fiatookas
or wattas. Unlike them also, they are deficient in
canoes, though they might easily construct them ;
they have neither clubs, slings, nor bows and
arrows; and are wanting in those marks of self-
mutilation which some tribes deem indispensable on
the death of their chiefs or esteemed friends, or in
cases when they wish to appease their offended
deity.
They are for the most part fairer and handsomer
than the Sandwich Islanders, but less effeminate than
the Otaheitans. The average height of the men is.
above that of Englishmen, but they are not so
robust. One man who came on board measured six
feet and half an inch, and one on shore six feet, two
and a half inches. The former measured round the
thorax, under the arms, three feet two inches and a
half; and a person of less stature three feet one inch.
The thickest part of the middle of this person's arm,
when at rest, was eleven inches and three-eighths.
These dimensions of girth will, I believe, be found
less in proportion than those of the labouring class
of our own countrymen, though the general appear-
* See Krusenstern's Embassy to Japan.
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.

*I 88 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
ance of these islanders at first leads to a different
conclusion. They are upright in figure, and round,
but not robust. In their muscles there is a flabbi-
ness, and in the old men a laxity of integument,
which allows their skin to hang in folds about the
belly and thighs to a greater degree than those I
afterwards noticed at Otaheite or Woahoo. Two
causes may be assigned for this ; the nature of their
food, and their indolent habits.
In general the Gambier Islanders have a fine
Asiatic countenance, with mustachios and beards,
but no whiskers; and when their heads are covered
with a roll of white cloth, a very common custom,
they might pass for Moors. It is somewhat remark-
able that we perceived none of the fourth class, or
those more nearly allied to negroes, thus habited,
but that it seemed to be confined to those of the
lightest complexion. The colour of their eyes is
either hazel or dark brown : they are small, deep
in the head, and have generally an expression of
cunning. Their eyebrows are naturally arched, and
seldom meet in front ; the cheek-bones are not so
prominent as in the fourth class, and the lips are
thinner; the ears are moderately large, and the lobes
attached to the cheek, as in all the Pitcairn Islanders,
but not perforated: the nose in general is aquiline;
the teeth, in the fourth class especially, not remark-
able for evenness or whiteness, and seem to fall out
at an early period; the hair is turned back and cut
straight, and would be quite black, were it less sub-
jected to the sun, or, like that of the islanders just
mentioned, well oiled; but, exposed as it is to a
scorching sun, it becomes dried up and of different
hues on the same head; and combs being unknown,
º

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 189
it is bushy and impervious: the mustachios grow
long, but the beards, which are kept from three to
four inches in length, are sometimes brought to a
point, at others divided into two; one man, how-
ever, was observed with a beard which hung down
to the pit of the stomach : the hands are large, but the
feet small and elegant, and the toes close together,
from which it is probable that they pass a great
portion of their time upon their rafts, or idly basking
in the sun, perhaps in lying upon their stone pave-
ments like the Hapaeans. The women are below
the common standard height, and in personal shape
and beauty far inferior to the males. The wife of
the chief, who has been already described, was the
finest woman I saw among them. Her dress may
be considered a fair specimen of the general cover-
ing of the women, who have no ornaments of any
kind, and appeared quite indifferent to the beads
and trinkets which were offered them.
Tattooing is here so universally practised that it
is rare to meet a man without it; and it is carried to
such an extent that the figure is sometimes covered
with small checkered lines from the neck to the an-
kles, though the breast is generally exempt, or only
ornamented with a single device. In some, generally
elderly men, the face is covered below the eyes, in
which case the lines or net-work are more open than
on other parts of the body, probably on account of
the pain of the operation, and terminate at the
upper part in a straight line, from ear to ear, pass-
ing over the bridge of the nose. With these excep-
tions to which we may add the fashion, with some
few, of blue lines, resembling stockings, from the
middle of the thigh to the ankle, the effect is be-
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826,


190 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. - - -
{* coming, and in a great measure destroys the ap-
S-- pearance of nakedness. The patterns which most
tº improve the shape, and which appear to me peculiar
to this groupe, are those which extend from the
armpits to the hips, and are drawn forward with a
curve which seems to contract the waist, and at a
short distance gives the figure an elegance and out-
line not unlike that of the figures seen on the
walls of the Egyptian tombs. It would be useless
to describe the various fanciful attempts to efface
the natural colour of the skin; the most common
only will be noticed: — A large cross, about eight
inches in diameter, left white on each side, on the
latissimus dorsi; and a smaller one on each shoulder,
or on the upper part of the arm ; also a narrow
stripe passing from one shoulder to the other in a
curved line over the lower part of the neck, uniting
the tattooing over the fleshy part of the deltoid
muscle; and in many so joined as to leave the na-
tural skin in the form of a cross in the middle.
Imitations of blue pantaloons and breeches are also
very common, and sleeves which divide at the wrist,
and extend along the convexity of the metatarsal
bones to the tips of the fingers and thumbs, leaving
a space between the thumb and forefinger, on which
the mark V is punctured. The chief had this mark,
the crosses, the slender waist, and the pantaloons.
The women are very little subjected to this torture.
The wife of the areghe had an armlet on each arm;
a female who came with her had a square upon her
bosom, and some few had stockings. From the cir-
cumstance of none of the boys being tattooed, it is
probable the practice commences here, as in many
other islands, after puberty.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 191
The lines in all cases are drawn with great preci-
sion, and almost always with taste, and bespeak
great proficiency. The practice undoubtedly im-
proves the appearance of the figure, and may per-
haps, as in the Marquesas, distinguish certain classes
or tribes. At Otaheite it is supposed to harden the
skin, and render it less liable to be blistered by the
sun. Covering the face with lines is very rare
in the South Seas, being almost entirely confined,
according to Cook, to the Sandwich Islanders and
New Zealanders. In no instance did we observe
the lips or tongues tattooed, as is the practice with
the Sandwich Islanders on the death of an intimate
friend.
I have estimated the number of souls inhabiting
these islands at 1500, from the number and size of
the villages. Mr. Collie, who estimates them from
other data, says, “On the 1st January, when the
boats went to land, 200 people, for the most part in
the prime of life, were counted on the beach. On
the 9th, in the village, we enumerated 300 persons,
men and women. On both these occasions it is
highly probable that the men in the vigour of life
had come from the adjoining parts of the island,
and from the islands contiguous. We may then
assume, on the nearest approximation to the truth,
that there were between 250 and 300 males be-
tween the ages of twenty and fifty — say 275;
which, according to the most accurate census of po-
pulation and bills of mortality in Sweden and Swit-
zerland, where the modifying circumstances are in
all probability not very different, would give 1285
for the total number of inhabitants.”
The diseases and deformities of these people are
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.

192 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
very few. After we quitted the islands, the sur-
geon favoured me with the following report:-
“Among more than three hundred men, women,
and children, who indiscriminately surrounded us
at the village on the 9th ; among those who had
previously come on board, and at other times, whe-
ther upon the shore or on their rafts; we saw very
few labouring under any original deformity or annoy-
ing disease. The only case of mal-conformation was
a wide fissure in the palate of one man, whose speech
was considerably affected by it. No external mark
of cicatrization in the upper lip denoted that the
internal defect was the remains of a hare-lip or any
injury. One man had a very uneven and ragged
stump of the right arm, but without any discharge.
Another had a steatomatous tumour over one shoul-
der-blade, about the size of a billiard-ball. One dis-
ease was so common that I have no doubt it was
endemic : this was, patches of the lepra vulgaris,
which being void of any inflammatory appearance,
and confined to the back in all who were affected
with it, and in a considerable proportion of these to
a small space between the shoulders, appeared to
create no alarm, and most probably called forth no
curative application. The frequent and alternate
exposure of the men to the salt water and rays of the
sun, with a scanty supply of the anointing oil of the
cocoa-nut, would favour the breaking out of this cu-
taneous affection. The mats which they tied round
their necks, and frequently allowed to hang down
behind, whether through accident or design, would
tend to avert the effects of exposure. A few had
lost some of their front teeth; and we saw one man,
on the 9th, with two uncicatrized and bare but clean

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 193
wounds, one before and another behind the middle
of the right deltoid muscle, where the flies were
feeding without molestation, and the person seemed
almost unconscious of them and of the ulcers. No
preternatural tumefaction denoted any excess of in-
flammation. No unhealthy hue in the countenance
of man or woman intimated any internal disease
lurking within the body.” By far the greater part
of the males go entirely naked, except a girdle,
which is made of a banana-leaf split into shreds, and
tied round the loins, not intended to answer the
purpose of concealment; and they differ from all
other inhabitants of the Pacific in having no maro.
Some wear a turban ; others a piece of paper cloth
thrown over the shoulders.
The huts of the Gambier Islanders are so small
that they can only be intended as sleeping-places
during bad weather: they are in length from eight
or ten feet to fifteen, excepting the larger houses of
the areghe; they are built of the porou wood, and
covered in with a pointed roof thatched over with
the leaves of the palm-tree. In some the door is
scarcely three feet high, and it is necessary to creep
on all-fours to enter. On the inside they are neat,
and the floor is covered with mats or grass. The
larger huts of the village on Mount Duff are so con-
structed that one side can be conveniently removed,
by which means they are rendered cool and com-
fortable.
The large house, or that of the areghe, was about
thirty-nine feet in length by eighteen or twenty in
width; the pitch of the roof was about twenty-five
feet in height, and that of the perpendicular sides of
the house about ten feet; but these dimensions were
VOL. I. " . . O
CHAP.
WI.
Jan.
1826.


194 VOYAGE TO THE .
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.
obtained by estimation only, the natives appearing
to have an objection to our pacing the ground for
the purpose of measurement. The south side of the
house was left open, and the ends were made of an
open framework of upright poles traversed at right
angles by smaller spars, so that the roof and the north
side were the only parts covered in. They served
as an excellent protection from the sun, while the
trade-wind traversing every corner of the apartment
rendered it agreeably cool. On that part of the
house where the side was deficient, there was a
foundation for the wall about three feet in height
thrown up, composed of large blocks of coral, shaped
in a very workmanlike style, similar to those men-
tioned by Cook at the Friendly Islands, and well
put together: it stood about three feet within the
outer part of the roofing, and served as a seat for the
chiefs as well as for many others.
We perceived no furniture in their houses, and
some of our officers thought it was purposely put
out of sight. The only utensils were gourds and
cocoa-nut shells. The tables were made of slabs of
coral, or sometimes of wood, in which case they are
carved: they are about a yard long, and are placed
upon wooden or stone pedestals sufficiently high to
prevent the depredations of the rats. They stand in
the middle of the paved areas in front of the houses,
from which we infer the practice of eating in the
open air. Their food has already been described as
consisting principally of sour paste (the mahie of the
Friendly Islands, Otaheite, Marquesas, &c.), made
with plantains, bread-fruit, and boiled tee-root.
The paste or mahie, when fresh and hot, has not a
disagreeable taste; a slight flavour of baked apples
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 195
may be distinguished: but it soon begins to smell
very offensively; so much so, that the seamen would
not touch it with their hands to throw it overboard.
The tee-plant (dracoena terminalis) is a fusiform
root about two feet long, and as thick as the arm ;
its flavour is not unpleasant, but from its coarseness
it must, to ordinary stomachs, be very indigestible.
The natives collect the fibres in their mouths, and spit
them out in round balls. Fish and shell-fish, of
which the large pearl oysters and chama are in the
greatest abundance, must form a material part of the
food of these people: they have, besides, the sweet
potatoe, taro, and the before-mentioned fruits; but
these cannot be abundant, as they never brought
any of them to us for sale, and frequently deceived
us with empty cocoa-nuts.
Their method of procuring fish is by lines and nets,
and a contrivance still resorted to in Otaheite, con-
sisting of casting into the sea a great many branches
of the cocoa-nut tree, and other boughs, tied toge-
ther, and allowing them to remain some time, dur-
ing which the small fish become entangled, and are
dragged out with them. The nets and lines, as well
as cord, sinnet, &c., are all made from the bark of
the porou, as in all the islands of Polynesia. One
net which we measured was ninety feet in length.
In the manufacture of these, they display a greater
proficiency than in their cloth, which is much inferior
to that at Pitcairn Island or Otaheite. Their imple-
ments for this purpose are the same in shape as
those at the above-mentioned places; but the one
which we got differed in not being grooved.
Their weapons consist of spears, and a staff flat-
tened at the end like a whale-lance: they are made
CHAP.
VI.
Jan.
1826.

- O 2

196 VOYAGE TO THE
** of a hard wood, and highly polished. The spears
VI.
S- were headed with bone, or the sting rays of the raia
i. (pastinea); a custom which once existed at Otaheite,
and now extends to many of the low islands. The
antiquity of this practice is traced to very remote
periods, as it is said that the head of the spear pre-
sented by Circe to Telegonus, and with which he
unceremoniously slew his father Ulysses, was of this
kind. At Gambier Island they remove the heads
of the spears when not required, a square piece be-
ing left at the end of the staff to receive it. Besides
these weapons, they always carry large sticks.
Contrary to the general custom, no canoes are
seen at Gambier Islands, but rafts or katamarans are
used instead. They are from forty to fifty feet in
length, and will contain upwards of twenty persons.
They consist of the trunks of trees fastened toge-
ther by rope and cross-beams: upon this a triangu-
lar sail is hoisted, supported by two poles from each
end; but it is only used when the wind is very fa-
vourable; at which time, if two or three katama-
rans happen to be going the same way, they fasten
on and perform their voyage together. At other
times they use very large paddles made of a dark
hard wood, capable of a good polish, and neatly
executed. Some of them had a hand or a foot,
carved at the extremity of the handles, very well
finished. They are above five feet and a half in
length, including two feet eight inches of blade,
which is about a foot in width, curved, and furnish-
ed with a small point or nail at the extremity. In
shallow water they make use of long poles for punt-
ing, in preference to their paddles.
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 197
CHAPTER VII.

Quit Gambier Islands—Visit Lord Hood's Island–Water-Spout—
Clermont Tonnere—Description of the Island and Natives,
Canoe, &c.—Serle Island—Whitsunday Island—Lagoon Island
—Thrum Cap Island–Egmont Island—Discover Barrow Island;
Description of it—Carysfort Island—Discover Cockburn Island
—Osnaburgh Island—Find the Wreck of the Matilda—Bligh's
Lagoon Island–Discovery of Byam Martin Island–Meet a
Party of Chain Islanders there—Mystery attached to their
History—Take two of them on board the Ship—Gloucester
Island—See Bow Island.

ON the morning of the 13th of January we º
weighed from Gambier Islands, and deepened the Jº-
water so much that, after quitting our anchorage, i.
we could get no soundings with the hand-lines
until near the bar, which was plainly distinguished
by its colour long before we came upon it. There
was not less than seven fathoms where we passed,
and yet the sea, which rolled in heavily from the
S. W., all but broke, notwithstanding the wind
had been blowing strong in the opposite direction
for a week before. This effect of the prevalent
south-westerly gales in the high latitudes, which is
felt many hundred miles from the place whence it
proceeds, occasions a material obstacle to landing
upon the low islands, by rolling in upon the shore,

198 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.
in an opposite direction to the trade wind, and
thereby making it more dangerous to land on the
lee-side of the island than on the other. In the
Gambier groupe there are several small sandy islands
at the S. W. extremity of the chain that surrounds
it, over which the sea broke so heavily that they
were entirely lost amidst the foam. I named them
Wolfe Islands, after Mr. James Wolfe, one of the
midshipmen of the ship. We passed them tolerably
close, admiring the grand scene which they pre-
sented, and then stood on a northerly course with
the intention of visiting Lord Hood's Island.
In the forenoon of the following day several white
tern, noddies, and black gulls came about us, and
gradually increased in numbers as we proceeded on
our course. A few hours afterwards Ilord Hood's
Island was reported from aloft. On nearing it, we
found it to consist of an assemblage of small islets,
rising from a chain of coral, even with, or a little
above, the water's edge. Upon these grew a variety
of evergreen trees thickly intertwined, among which
the broad leaves and clusters of fruit of the pan-
danus were conspicuous, and beneath them a matted
surface of moss and grass, so luxuriant and invi-
tingly cool, that we were almost tempted to land at
any risk. The sea, however, broke so heavily upon
all parts of the shore that the attempt would have
been highly dangerous, and we consequently col-
lected all the information that was required, and
hastened our departure. Krusenstern states in his
“ Mémoire sur la Pacifique,” that this island is in-
habited : such must undoubtedly have been the
case once, as we saw a square stone hut, similar to
those described at Crescent Island, on one of its
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 199
angles; but there are no human beings upon it at cº
present, which indeed we conjectured to be the case --~
before our boats made the circuit of it, from the ſº.
number of sea birds in its vicinity, and also from
the shoals of sharks which followed the boats, and
even bit at the oars; for these animals, like most
others, seem to have learned by experience to avoid
the haunts of man. The only living thing seen
upon the shore was a grey heron gorging itself with
black star-fish.
Lord Hood's Island was discovered by Mr.
Wilson in the Missionary ship Duff; it is 11.2
miles in length, and 4.7 miles in width, in a north
and south direction; and like almost all the coral
islands it contains a lagoon, and is steep on all its
sides.
After quitting it, we looked in vain, the next
day, for an island which Mr. Wilson supposed he
saw ; but not finding it in or near the situation
assigned, and he being himself doubtful whether it
might not have been a cloud, I did not bestow
longer time in the search, but steered for the island
of Clermont Tonnere, which was seen on the 18th.
This island bore a very close resemblance to Hood's
Island, but was inhabited, and clothed with cocoa-
nut trees. The sea broke so heavily upon all parts
of the shore that there was no possibility of landing
in our boats; yet the natives put off in their canoes
and paddled to us. They were a very inferior race
to those of the Gambier Islands, and seemed more
nearly allied in feature to those of Mangea and New
Caledonia; yet here also there was among them a
great diversity of complexion. In one of the canoes
there was a man nearly as dark as an African negro,

200 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
\-Y-2
Jan.
1826.
with woolly hair, tied in a knot like the Radackers;
and another with a light complexion, sandy hair,
and European features. - -
About forty of the natives came down to the beach
when we approached it, with bunches of feathers
and leaves fastened upon sticks, and with bludgeons
in their hands. Both sexes were naked with the
exception of their maros, and without any orna-
ments or tattooing. Iron, which they called “toki,”
was the most marketable article, but the surf was so
high that there was very little communication with
them. The men, who came off to us in their canoes,
would not suffer our boats to approach them. After
having made a number of presents to one of them,
we thought we might at least examine his canoe;
but he and his comrade paddled away with the
greatest precipitation, and were so terrified at the
approach of the boat that they jumped overboard
and swam towards the shore.
The canoe was constructed with small pieces of
wood well put together and sewed with the bark of
a tree, and, like all the single canoes of Polynesia,
was provided with an outrigger. She carried two
men, but was propelled almost entirely by one, the
other being fully occupied in throwing out the
water, which came in plentifully at both sides and
over the stern. Could they have avoided this and
applied the efforts of both to the paddles, her ra-
pidity would have surpassed that of our boat; but
as it was she was soon overtaken. We did not
keep these poor fellows longer in the water than we
could help, but quitted the canoe as soon as we had
examined its construction, and had the satisfaction
to observe them return to it, and get in, one at a time,
at the stern, and then paddled ashore.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 201
The dialect of the people of Clermont Tonnere
was quite different from that of the Gambier Is-
landers, though, from a few words which we distin-
guished, there is no doubt of the language being
radically the same. According to our calculation
the whole population did not exceed two hundred.
The island is ten miles in length, but very narrow,
particularly at the extremities, and, when seen at a
distance, does not appear to be half a mile wide.
It is of the same formation, as Lord Hood's Island,
but more perfect. With the exception of a few
breaks in the southern shore, by which the sea, when
high, may at times communicate with the lagoon, it
is altogether above water. At the extremities and
angles the soil is more elevated than in other parts,
as if the influence of the sea had been more felt
upon them, and heaped up the coral higher. They
are, also, better provided with shrubs, and particu-
larly cocoa-nut trees, the soil resting upon the debris
being, I suppose, deeper. The lagoon had several
small islets in it, and the shores all round are steep,
and abound with fish, but we did not see any sharks.
Captain Duperrey, in his voyage round the world
in the Coquille, visited this island, and, supposing it
to be a new discovery, named it Clermont Tonnere,
after the French minister of marine. It is evident,
however, from its situation agreeing very nearly
with that of an island discovered by the Minerva,
that it must be the same; no other being found suf-
ficiently near to answer the description. Captain
Duperrey has, no doubt, been misled by the dimen-
sions given of the island by the Minerva; but that
may be easily accounted for, by supposing the island
to have been seen from the Minerva lengthwise, and
at a distance.
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.







202 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
\*Y-
Jan.
1826.
While we were off Clermont Tonnere, we had a
narrow escape from a water-spout of more than
ordinary size. It approached us amidst heavy rain,
thunder, and lightning, and was not seen until it
was very near to the ship. As soon as we were
within its influence, a gust of wind obliged us to
take in every sail, and the topsails, which could not
be furled in time, were in danger of splitting. The
wind blew with great violence, momentarily chang-
ing its direction, as if it were sweeping round in
short spirals; the rain, which fell in torrents, was
also precipitated in curves with short intervals of
cessation. Amidst this thick shower the water-
spout was discovered, extending in a tapering form
from a dense stratum of cloud, to within thirty feet
of the water where it was hid, by the foam of the
sea being whirled upwards with a tremendous gira-
tion. It changed its direction after it was first seen,
and threatened to pass over the ship ; but being
diverted from its course by a heavy gust of wind, it
gradually receded. On the dispersion of this mag-
nificent phenomenon, we observed the column to
diminish gradually, and at length to retire to the
cloud, from whence it had descended, in an undu-
lating form. " .
Various causes have been assigned for these for-
mations, which appear to be intimately connected
with electricity. On the present occasion a ball of
fire was observed to be precipitated into the sea, and
one of the boats, which was away from the ship, was
so surrounded by lightning, that Lieutenant Belcher
thought it advisable to get rid of the anchor, by
hanging it some fathoms under water, and to cover
the seamen’s muskets. From the accounts of this


Appearance during an Eclipse of the
*…*&^22 & Z. & Zºzºzzº & A. Azzºzey, 233z. º - -
.








PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 203
officer and Mr. Smyth, who were at a distance from
the ship, the column of the water-spout first de-
scended in a spiral form, until it met the ascending
column a short distance from the sea;" a second and
a third were afterwards formed, which subsequently
united into one large column, and this again sepa-
rated into three small spirals, and then dispersed. It
is not impossible that the highly rarefied air confined
by the woods encircling the lagoon islands may con-
tribute to the formation of these phenomena.
A canoe near the ship very wisely hastened on
shore at the approach of the bad weather, for had it
been drawn within the vortex of the whirlwind it
must have perished. We had the greatest appre-
hension for our boats, which were absent during the
storm, but fortunately they suffered no injury.
Neither the barometer nor sympeisometer were
sensibly affected by this partial disturbance of the
atmosphere; but the temperature underwent a
change of eight degrees, falling from 82" to 74°; at
midnight it rose to 78°. On the day succeeding this
occurrence, several water-spouts were seen in the
distance, the weather being squally and gloomy.
After examining the vicinity of Clermont Ton-
nere for the island of the Minerva, and seeing no
other land, we steered for Serle Island, which was
discovered at daylight on the 21st January, bear-
ing west. Its first appearance was that of a low
strip of land with a hillock at each extremity, but
these, on a nearer approach, proved to be clumps of
large trees. Admiral Krusenstern, in his valuable
Memoir on the South Pacific," observes, that Serle
* See plate (A). # (B.) f (C).
§ Page 276, 4to, edition.
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.











204 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Jan,
1826.
Island is higher than any other island of the low
archipelago; that it has two hills at its extremities,
and a third near its centre; and on this account re-
commends it as a place of reconnoissance for ships
entering the archipelago. In this, however, he has
been misled by some navigator who mistook the
trees for hills, and over-estimated the height of them,
as the tallest does not exceed fifty feet.
Some columns of smoke rising from the island
showed that it was inhabited, and on rounding the
N. W. extreme we perceived several men and wo-
men running along the beach, dragging after them
long poles or spears. The population altogether
cannot exceed a hundred. The men were entirely
naked, but the women had the usual covering. They
were of the same dark Swarthy colour with the na-
tives of Clermont Tonnere, with the hair tied in a
similar knot on the top of the head, and like them they
were deficient in tattooing and ornaments. Their
weapons were poles about twenty feet in length,
similar to those of the Friendly Islanders, and heavy
clubs. We could not perceive any canoes.
This island is seven miles and a half in length in
a N. W. direction, and two and a quarter miles in
width in its broadest part. It is of coral formation,
and very similar to that just described ; its windward
side is the most perfect: the southern side of the chain,
however, differs in being wider, and having a barren
flat full an eighth of a mile outside the trees. On
this account it is necessary for a ship to be cautious
in approaching it during the night, as it is so low
that the breakers would be the first warning of the
danger of her situation. The lagoon is very narrow,
and apparently shallow, with several islands in the
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PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 205
middle. Besides the clumps of trees at the extre- º
mities, which at a distance have the appearance of ST-
banyan trees, there are several clusters of palms; a º
distinction which I would recommend to the atten-
tion of commanders of vessels; as, besides assisting
them in identifying the islands, it will enable them
to estimate their distance from them with tolerable
precision.
We left Serle Island on the morning of the 22d,
and at sunset hove to in the parallel of Whitsunday
Island. This island, discovered by Captain Wallis
in 1767, is situated forty miles to the westward of
the place he has assigned to it, and we consequently
ran to the westward all the next day, in expectation
of seeing it, but it was not reported from the mast-
head until late in the evening. In the morning of
the 23d the boats succeeded in landing, though with
some difficulty ; and found indubitable proofs of the
island having been thickly inhabited; but no natives
were seen. Under a large clump of trees we observed
several huts, eight feet by three, thatched with dried
palm leaves, the doors of which were so low that it
was necessary to crawl upon the ground to enter the
apartments within. Near these dwellings were some
sheds and several piles of chewed pandanus nuts.
The island was traversed in various directions by
well trodden pathways: not far from the huts were
several reservoirs of water cut about eighteen inches
into the coral, and about five feet from the general
surface of the soil; the water in them was fresh, but
from neglect the reservoirs were nearly filled with
decayed leaves, and emitted a putrid smell. In
another direction we saw several slabs of coral placed
erect, to denote burial places; and near the opening







206 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. - -
* to the lagoon there were several rows of stakes driven
Tº into the ground for the purpose of taking fish. But
ičs, what most attracted our attention was a heap of fish
bones, six feet by five, neatly cleaned, and piled up
very carefully with planks placed upon them to pre-
vent their being scattered by the wind.
We found the island only a mile and a half in
length, instead of four miles, as stated by Captain
Wallis; steep all round; of coral formation; well
wooded, and containing a lagoon. The general
height of the soil was six feet above the level of the
sea, of which nearly two feet were coral rock; from
the trees to the surf there was a space of hard rock
nearly 150 yards in length, covered with about a foot
of water, beyond which it descended rapidly, and at
500 yards distance no bottom could be found with
1500 feet of line. On the inner side, from the trees to
the lake, there was a gentle declivity of muddy sand
filled with shells of the cardium, linedo, tridacnae,
gigas, and a species of trochus. The trees, which
formed a tolerably thick wood round the lagoon,
were similar to those at Clermont Tonnere, consist-
ing principally of pandanus and cocoa-nut, inter-
woven with the tournefortia, scoevola, and lepidium
piscidium.
On the south side of the island there was a very
narrow entrance to the lagoon, too shallow for the
passage of boats, even had the water been smooth.
It was of this opening, I presume, that Captain
Wallis observes that the surf was too high upon the
rocks for his boats to attempt the passage.
The lagoon was comparatively shallow ; the edges,
for a considerable distance, sloped gradually toward
the centre and then deepened suddenly; the edge






PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 207
of the bank being nearly perpendicular. This bank,
as well as numerous islets in the lagoon, were formed
of coral and dead and live tridacnae shells. The
space between the islets was very rugged, and full
of deep holes.
In the lagoon there were several kinds of bril-
liantly coloured fish ; on the reef, some fistularia;
and in the surf a brown and black chaºtodon with a
black patch at the junction of the tail with the
body. Upon the land were seen a few rats and
lizards, a white heron, a curlew, some sandpipers,
and a species of columba resembling the columba
australis.
In the evening we bore up for Queen Charlotte's
Island, another coral formation also discovered by
Captain Wallis, and so grown up that we could not
See any lagoon in its centre, as we had done in all
the others. Several huts and sheds similar to those
at Whitsunday Island occur in a bay on its northern
shore, but there were no inhabitants. It may be
remembered that when Captain Wallis visited this
island, the natives took to their canoes and fled to
the next island to the westward : whether they did
so on the present occasion we could not determine,
but in all probability we should have seen them if
they had. Queen Charlotte's Island afforded Cap-
tain Wallis a plentiful supply of cocoa-nuts, but at
present not a tree of that description is to be seen.
The shore is more steep than either Whitsunday or
Clermont Tonnere, and the huts more numerous.
At two o'clock in the afternoon we quitted Queen
Charlotte's Island, and in two hours afterwards saw
Lagoon Island, which was discovered by Captain
Cook; the former bearing S. 6° W. true, the latter
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.


208 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.
due north, by which an excellent opportunity oc-
curred of comparing the longitudes of those cele-
brated navigators.
The next morning we coasted the north side of
Lagoon Island very closely, while the barge navi-
gated the other. It is three miles in length in a
W. by S. direction, and a mile and a quarter in
width. Its general figure has been accurately de-
scribed by Captain Cook: the southern side is still
the low reef of breakers which he saw, and the
three shallow openings on the north shore still exist,
though one of them has almost disappeared. Two
cocoa-nut trees in the centre of the island, which
Cook observes had the appearance of flags, are still
waving; “ the tower” at the western end is also
there, but has increased to a large clump of cocoa-
nut trees: a similar clump has sprung up at the
eastern end. The lagoon is, in some parts, very
shallow and contracted, and has many dry islets
upon it. The shore is steep, as at the other coral
islands, excepting on the south side, which should
not be approached within a quarter of a mile.
We brought to off a small village at the N. W.
extremity of the island, and sent two boats on shore.
The natives seeing them approach came down to
the beach armed with poles from twenty to twenty-
five feet in length, with bone heads, and short clubs
shaped like a bill-hook; but before they reached the
surf they laid down their weapons. At first they
beckoned our people to land; but seeing the break-
ers too high, they suffered themselves to be bribed
by a few pieces of iron, and swam off to them. A
brisk traffic soon began, and all the disposable ar-
ticles of the natives were speedily purchased for a
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 209
º
few nails, broken pieces of iron, and beads: they
then brought down cocoa-nuts, and exchanged six of
them for a nail or a bit of iron, which is known here,
as at Clermont Tonnere, by the name of “toki.”
The strictest integrity was observed by these people
in all their dealings. If one person had not the
number of cocoa-nuts demanded for a piece of iron,
he borrowed from his neighbour; and when any of
the fruit fell over-board in putting it into the boat,
they swam after it and restored it to the owner.
Such honesty is rare among the natives of Polyne-
sia, and the Lagoon Islanders consequently ingra-
tiated themselves much with us. We got from
them nearly two hundred cocoa-nuts, and several
ornamental parts of their dress, one of which con-
sisted of thin bands of human hair, very neatly
plaited, about five feet in length, with four or five
dozen strings in each. To some of these were
attached a dried doodoe-nut (aleurites triloba), or a
piece of wood. We also got some of their mats and
sinnet made of the porou bark (hibiscus tiliaceus).
The men were a fine athletic race, with frizzled
hair, which they wore very thick. In complexion
they were much lighter than the islanders of Cler-
mont Tonnere: one man, in particular, and the only
one who had whiskers, was so fair, and so like an
European, that the boat's crew claimed him as a
countryman. No superfluous ornaments were worn
by either sex, nor were any of them tattooed : the
dress of the males was simply a maro of straw, and
sometimes a straw sack hung over their shoulders to
prevent the sun from scorching their backs: two of
them were distinguished by crowns of white fea-
thers. The women had a mat wrapped about their
VOL. I. P
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.


210 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.
loins as their only covering: some wore the hair tied
in a bunch upon one side of the head, others had a
plaited band tied round it. They were inferior to
the men in personal appearance, and mostly bow-
legged; but they exercised an authority not very
common among uncivilized people, by taking from
the men whatever articles they received in exchange
for their fruit, as soon as they returned to the shore.
The good-natured countenances of these people, the
honesty observed in all their dealings, and the great
respect they paid their women, bespeak them a more
amiable race than the avaricious Gambier Islanders.
We quitted them about three o'clock in the af-
ternoon, and in a few hours after saw Thrum Cap
Island, bearing N. 56°54' W.; the clump on La-
goon Island at the same time bearing S. 58° 14' E.,
thirteen miles distant. This island, discovered and
so named by Captain Cook, is also of coral, three-
quarters of a mile in length, well wooded, and steep
all round. At a mile distance from it we could
get no bottom with 400 fathoms. We could per-
ceive no lagoon; and the surf ran too high to admit
of landing. Some slabs placed erect, and a hut,
showed it had once been inhabited ; but the only
living things we saw were birds and turtle. M.
Bougainville gave this island the name of Les Lan-
ciers, in consequence of the men whom he saw on
it, being armed with long spears, and who probably
were visiters from the island we had just left.
From Thrum Cap we steered for Egmont Island,
the second discovery of Captain Wallis, which we
shortly saw from the mast-head, and by sunset were
close to it. The next morning the shore was very
carefully examined, and we found the reef so low
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 211
toward the centre that in high tides there can be
no communication with the extremities. The island
is steep, like all the other coral islands, and well
wooded with cocoa-nut and pandanus-trees, and has
one of the large clumps at its N. W. extremity.
Upon the windward island we perceived about
fifty inhabitants collected upon the beach ; the men
in one groupe, armed in the same manner as the
Lagoon Islanders, and the women in another place
more inland. No boat could land on this or on any
other part of the island: to leeward the S.W. swell
rolled even more heavily upon the shore than that
occasioned by the trade-wind on the opposite side:
we were in consequence obliged to trade with the
natives in the manner pursued at Lagoon Island.
Two of the islanders, when they thought we were
going to land, advanced with slow strides, and went
through a number of pantomimic gestures, which
we could not understand, except that they were of
a friendly nature. This lasted until the boats an-
chored outside the reef, and they were invited to
accept some pieces of “toki.” Gold and silver are not
more valued in European countries, than iron, even
in its rudest form, is by the islanders of Polynesia.
At the sound of the word, the two spokesmen, and
all the natives, who had before been seated under
the shade of the trees, ran off to their huts, and
brought down whatever they thought likely to ob-
tain a piece of the precious substance,—mats, bands,
nets, oyster-shells, hooks, and a variety of small arti-
cles similar to those before described were offered
for sale. The only article they would not part
with, though we offered a higher price than it
seemed to deserve, was a stick with a bunch of
CHAP.
VII.
\-Y-
Jan.
1826.

P 2
212 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
\--~
Jan.
1826.
black tern feathers suspended to it. At Lagoon,
and other islands which we visited both before and
afterwards, the natives carried one or more of these
sticks: they are mentioned as being seen by the
earliest voyagers, and are probably marks of distinc-
tion or of amity.
These people so much resemble the Lagoon
Islanders in person, manners, language, and dress,
as to need no description: the island is also of the
same formation, and has apparently the same pro-
ductions. We noticed only one canoe; but no
doubt they have others, as a constant communica-
tion is kept up with the islands to windward. It
may be recollected that it was upon this island
Captain Wallis found all the natives collected who
had deserted Queen Charlotte's Island on his ap-
proach. Though these two places are many miles
out of sight of each other, yet their canoes took
the exact direction which, being afterwards fol-
lowed by Captain Wallis, led to the discovery of
the island. -
Next morning we saw land to the S. by E., which
proved to be a small coral island, answering in situa-
tion nearly to that of Carysfort Island, discovered by
Captain Edwards, but so small as to render it very
unlikely that it should be the same. Though we
ranged the shore very closely, we did not perceive
any inhabitants. It was well wooded, and had seve-
ral clusters of cocoa-nut trees. The next morning
parties were sent to cut down some of the trees for
fire-wood. The surf ran high upon the shore; but,
with the assistance of a small raft, a disembarkation
was effected without any serious accident. Several
of the officers, anxious to land upon this our first

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 213
discovery in these seas, joined the party in spite of a
sound ducking, which was the smallest penalty at-
tached to the undertaking. In one of these attempts
the Naturalist was unfortunately drawn into a deep
hole in the coral by the recoil of the sea, and, but
for prompt assistance, would in all probability have
lost his life.
The island proved to be only a mile and three-
quarters in length, from north to south, and a mile
and three-tenths in width. It consisted of a narrow
strip of land of an oval form, not more than two
hundred yards wide in any part, with a lagoon in
its centre, which the colour of the water indicated
to be of no great depth. In places this lake washed
the trunks of the trees; in others it was separated
from them by a whitish beach, formed principally
of cardium and venus-shells. Shoals of small fish
of the chaetodon genus, highly curious and beautiful
in colour, sported along the clear margin of the lake,
and with them two or three species of fistularia;
several moluscous animals and shell-fish occupied
the hollows of the coral (principally madrepora cer-
vi-cornis); and the chama giganteus was found so
completely overgrown by the coral that just suffi-
cient space was left for it to open its shell; a fact
which tends to show the rapidity with which coral
increases.
Upon the shores of the lagoon, the pandanus,
cocoa-nut, toufano, scoevola koenigii, the Suriana
(whose aroma may be perceived at the distance of
several miles,) the large clump-tree, pemphis acidula,
tournefortia sericea, and other evergreens common
to these formations, constituted a thick wood, and
afforded a cool retreat from the scorching rays of a
CHAP.
VII.
Jan.
1826.

214 VOYAGE TO THE
* vertical sun, and the still greater annoyance arising
S-> from the reflection of the bright white sand; a
tº luxury which until our arrival was enjoyed only by
a few black and white tern, tropic and frigate birds,
and some soldier-crabs which had taken up their
abode in the vacated turbo-shells.
Under these trees were three large pits containing
several tons of fresh water, and not far from them
some low huts similar to those described at the
other islands, and a tomb-stone shaped like that at
Whitsunday Island. We judged that the huts had
been long deserted, from the circumstance of the
tern and other aquatic birds occupying some cala-
bashes which were left in them. Among several
things found in this deserted village were part of a
scraper used by merchant-ships, and a large fish-
hook, which we preserved, without suspecting that
they would at a future day clear up the doubt that
these articles were calculated to throw upon the
merit of discovering this island, to which we other-
wise felt an indisputable claim. Our suspicions on
this head were also strengthened by noticing that a
cocoa-nut tree had been cut down with an instru-
ment sharper than the stone axes of the Indians.
We had, however, no direct proof that the island
had been before visited by any ship ; and we con-
soled ourselves with the possibility of the instru-
ments having been brought from a distance by the
natives, who might be absent on a temporary visit,
and several of whose canoes we found in the lagoon:
the largest of these was eighteen feet in length by
fifteen inches in breadth, hollowed out of the large
tree (which we at first mistook for a banyan-tree,)
and furnished with outriggers similar to the canoes
of Clermont Tonnere.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 215
This island, the north end of which is situated in Cº.
latitude 20° 45′ 07" S., and longitude 4° 07' 48" -
West, of Gambier Island, I named Barrow Island, i.
in compliment to the Secretary of the Admiralty,
whose literary talents and zeal for the promotion of
geographical science have been long known to the
world.
The party on shore succeeded in the course of a Feb. 1.
few hours in collecting a tolerable supply of hard
wood, very well adapted for fuel, and some brooms,
after which we beat to windward in search of Carys-
fort Island; and at four o'clock in the afternoon
had the satisfaction to see land in that direction;
but, in consequence of a strong current setting to
the southward, we did not get near it until the
afternoon of the following day. It answered in
every respect to Captain Edwards's description of
Carysfort Island. The strip of land is so low, that
the sea, in several places, washes into the lagoon.
Like all the other islands of this formation we had
visited, the weather side and the points of the island
were most wooded, but the vegetation was on the
whole scanty. There is no danger near this island.
The outer part of the bank descends abruptly as
follows: at sixty yards from the breakers, 5 fathoms
Water
Eighty yards - - I3 ditto
One hundred and twenty do. 18 ditto
Two hundred yards . 24 ditto
On the edge of the bank immediately after, no bot-
tom with 35 fathoms.
During the night we stood quietly to the south-
ward in search of Matilda Rocks and Osnaburgh
Island. At daylight we saw large flocks of tern,
and at eleven o'clock land was reported bearing

216 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
\-Y-
Feb.
1826.
W. by S. The barge and the ship circumnavigated
this island before dark, and then kept under easy
sail during the night. I learnt from Mr. Belcher,
who passed round the eastern side of the island,
that he had found an opening into the lagoon in
that direction, and had discovered near it two
anchors lying high up on the reef.
At daylight next morning land was seen to the
southward, which on examination proved to be
another small coral island, three miles and three-
quarters in length, by three in width: its form is
nearly an oblong with the southern side much
curved. The lagoon in the centre was deep, its
boundary very low and narrow, and in places it
overflowed. Several ripplings were observed about
these islands, but we passed through them without
obtaining soundings.
As soon as the plan of this island was completed,
we returned to that upon which the anchors were
observed, and spent the whole day in its examina-
tion. The lagoon was entered in the boats by a
channel sufficiently wide and deep for a vessel of the
class of the Blossom, and proved in every respect an
excellent harbour: in entering, however, it is neces-
sary to look out carefully for rocks, which rise sud-
denly to the surface, or within a very short distance
of it.
On landing at the back of the reef, we perceived
unequivocal signs of a shipwreck—part of a vessel's
keel and fore-foot, broken casks, a number of staves,
hoops, a ship's hatch marked VIII., some copper,
lead, &c., and the beach strewed with broken iron
hoops, and in their vicinity the anchors which were
discovered the preceding day: there were also broken





PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 217
harpoons, lances, a small cannon, cast metal boilers,
&c. &c., and a leaden pump which had a crown and
the date 1790 raised upon it. All the iron-work
was much corroded, and must have been a consider-
able time exposed to the action of the sea and air,
but it was not overgrown in the least by the coral.
Two of these anchors weighed about a ton each; the
other was a stream anchor, and with one of the bow-
ers, was at the break of the sea; the other bower,
together with the boiler, and all the before-men-
tioned materials, were lying about two hundred
yards from it. The situation in which they were
found, the size of the anchors, the harpoons, staves,
&c. and the date of the pump, render it highly pro-
bable that they belonged to the Matilda, a whaler
which was wrecked in 1792, in the night-time, upon
a reef of coral rocks, in latitude 22° S., and longitude
138° 34' W. But whether they had been washed
up there by some extraordinarily high tide and sea,
or the reef had since grown upward, and raised them
beyond the present reach of the waves, we could not
decide: the former is most probable; though it is
evident, if the above-mentioned remains be those of
the Matilda, of which there can be very little doubt,
that a considerable alteration has taken place in the
island, as the crew of that vessel describe themselves
to have been lost on a reef of rocks, whereas the
island on which these anchors are lying extends
fourteen miles in length, and has one of its sides
covered nearly the whole of the way with high trees,
which, from the spot where the vessel was wrecked,
are very conspicuous, and could not fail to be seen
by persons in the situation of her crew.
... The island differs from the other coral formations
CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826.


218 VOYAGE TO THE
º, before described, in having a greater disproportion
--~ in the growth of its sides. The one to windward is
i., covered with tall trees as before mentioned, while
that to leeward is nearly all under water. The dry
part of the chain enclosing the lagoon is about a sixth
of a mile in width, but varies considerably in its di-
mensions: the broad parts are furnished with low
mounds of sand, which have been raised by the action
of the waves, but are now out of their reach, and
mostly covered with vegetation. The violence of
the waves upon the shore, except at low water,
forces the sea into the lake at many points, and oc-
casions a constant outset through the channel to
leeward.
On both sides of the chain the coral descends
rapidly: on the outer part there is from six to ten
fathoms close to the breakers, the next cast is thirty
to forty, and at a little distance there is no bottom
with two hundred and fifty fathoms. On the la-
goon side, there are two ledges: the first is covered
about three feet at high water: at its edge the lead
descends to three fathoms to the next ledge, which
is about forty yards in width; it then slopes to about
five fathoms at its extremity, and again descends
perpendicularly to ten; after which there is a gra-
dual descent to twenty fathoms, which is the general
depth of the centre of the lagoon. The lake is dot-
ted with knolls or columns of coral, which rise to all
intermediate heights between the bottom and the
surface, and are dangerous even to boats sailing in
the lagoon with a fresh breeze, particularly in cloudy
weather, as at that time it is difficult to distinguish
even those which are close to the surface.
No cocoa-nut or other fruit-trees have yet been ,
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 219
planted on this isolated shore, nor are there any ves-
tiges of its ever having been inhabited, excepting by
the feathered tribe, a few lizards, soldier-crabs, and
occasionally by turtle. The birds, unaccustomed to
molestation, were so ignorant of their danger that
we lifted them off their nests; and the fish suffered
as much by our sticks and boat-hooks, as by our
fishing-lines. The sharks, as in almost all unin-
habited islands within the tropics, were so numerous
and daring, that they took the fish off our lines as
we were hauling them in, and the next minute were
themselves taken by a bait thrown over for them ; a
happy thought of our fishermen, who by that means
not only recovered many of their hooks, but got
back the stolen fish in a tolerably perfect state.
In several small lakes, occasioned by the sea at
times overflowing the land, we saw an abundance of
fish of the chaetodon and sparus genera, of the same
beautiful colours as those at Barrow Island, and in
one of them caught a species of gymnothorax about
two feet in length. There were but few echini upon
the reef, but an abundance of shell-fish, consisting of
the arca, ostrea, cardium, turbo, helix, conus, cyprea,
voluta, harpa, haliotis, patella, &c.; also several
aphroditæ holuthuriae (biche la mer) and asteriae, &c.
The position of this island differed so considerably
from that of Osnaburgh Island, discovered by Cap-
tain Carteret, that I beat two days to the eastward
in the parallel of 22° S. in the expectation of finding
another ; but when the view from the mast-head
extended half a degree beyond the longitude he had
assigned to his discovery, and we had not even any
indication of land, I gave up further search. The
probability, therefore, is, that the island upon which
CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826.


220 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826,
we found the wreck is the Osnaburgh of Captain
Carteret ; and as it is equally probable, from what
has been said, that the remains are those of the Ma-
tilda, it will be proper henceforward to affix to it the
names of both Osnaburgh and Matilda.
A doubt might have arisen with respect to the
island discovered to the southward being Osnaburgh
Island, had Captain Carteret not expressly said in
his journal, that the island he saw was to the south
of him ; but this bearing put such a supposition out
of the question, as in that case he must have seen
the island to the northward also. I have, in conse-
quence, considered it a new discovery, and honoured
it with the name of Cockburn Island, in compliment
to the Right Honourable Sir George Cockburn,
G.C.B., one of the lords of the Admiralty.
After we gave up the search to the eastward for
the island of Captain Carteret, we pursued the same
parallel of 22° S. some distance to the westward
without being more successful, and then steered for
the Lagoon Island of Captain Bligh, which was seen
the following day. On our approach several large
fires were kindled in different parts. The natives
were darker than those of Lagoon Island of Cook,
were nearly naked, and had their hair tied in a knot
on the top of the head; they were all provided with
stones, clubs, and spears. As the sea ran very high,
we did not land, and consequently had no further
communication with them. The island is larger
than is exhibited upon Arrowsmith's Charts, but
agrees in situation very closely with the position
assigned to it by Captain Bligh.
Two days afterwards we discovered a small island
in lat. 19° 40' S, and long. 140° 29' W., which, as it
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 221
was not before known, I named Byam Martin Island,
in compliment to Sir Thomas Byam Martin, K.C.B.,
the Comptroller of the Navy.
As we neared the shore the natives made several
fires. Shortly afterwards three of them launched a
canoe, and paddled fearlessly to the barge, which
brought them to the ship. Instead of the deep-
coloured uncivilized Indians inhabiting the coral
islands in general, a tall well-made person, compara-
tively fair, and handsomely tattooed, ascended the
side, and, to our surprise, familiarly accosted us in
the Otaheitan manner. The second had a hog and
a cock tattooed upon his breast—animals almost
unknown among the islands of Eastern Polynesia;
and the third wore a turban of blue nankeen. Either
of these were distinctions sufficient to excite con-
siderable interest, as they convinced us they were
not natives of the island before us, but had either
been left there, or drifted away from some other
island : the latter supposition was the most probable,
as they described themselves to have undergone
great privation and suffering, by which many of
their companions had lost their lives, and their canoe
to have been wrecked upon the island ; and that
they and their friends on shore were anxious to em-
bark in the ship, and return to Otaheite. A little
suspicion was at first attached to this account, as it
seemed impossible for a canoe to reach their present
asylum without purposely paddling towards it; as
Byam Martin Island, unlike Wateo, upon which
Omai found his countrymen, is situated six hundred
miles from Otaheite, in the direction of the trade-
wind. We could not doubt, however, that they
CHAP.
VII.
\-Y-'
Feb.
1826.
were natives of that place, as they mentioned the


222 VOYAGE TO THE

CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826.
names of the missionaries residing there, and proved
that they could both read and write.
To their solicitation to return in the ship to Ota-
heite, as their numbers on shore amounted to forty
persons, I could not yield, and I pointed out to them
the impossibility of doing so; but that we might
learn the real history of their adventures, I offered
a passage to the man who first ascended the side, as
he appeared the most intelligent of the party. The
poor fellow was at first quite delighted, but suddenly
became grave, and inquired if his wife and children
might accompany him, as he could on no account
consent to a separation. Our compliance with this
request appeared to render him completely happy :
but still fearful of disappointment, before quitting
the ship he sent to ask if I was in earnest.
The next morning, on landing, we found him, his
wife, and family, with their goods and chattels, upon
the beach, ready to embark, and all the islanders
assembled to take leave of them ; but as we wished
to examine the island first, we postponed this cere-
mony until the evening. The little colony gave us
a very friendly reception, and conducted us to their
village, which consisted of a few low huts, similar to
those at Barrow Island; but they had no fruit to
offer us, excepting pandanus-nuts, which they dis-
liked almost as much as ourselves, and told us they
had been accustomed to better fare.
In their huts we found calabashes of water sus-
pended to the roof, mats, baskets, and every thing
calculated for a sea-voyage ; and not far from them
a plentiful store of fish, raised about four feet above
the ground, out of the reach of the rats, which were
very numerous. They had clothing sufficient for
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 223
the climate, and were in every respect stout and
healthy; there was therefore no immediate necessity
for removing them, though I offered to take them
as far as the next island, which was larger and inha-
bited, and where — concluding, from what we saw,
that these people were auxiliary missionaries—they
would have an opportunity of prosecuting their
pious intentions in the conversion of the natives.
This proposal, however, after a little consultation,
was declined, from an apprehension of being killed
and eaten, as they supposed the greater part of the
inhabitants of the eastern islands of Polynesia to be
cannibals.
We very soon discovered that our little colony
were Christians: they took an early opportunity of
convincing us of this, and that they had both Tes-
taments, hymn-books, &c. printed in the Otaheitan
language: they also shewed us a black-lead pencil,
and other materials for writing. Some of the girls
repeated hymns, and the greater part evinced a
reverence and respect for the sacred books, which
reflects much credit upon the missionaries, under
whose care we could no longer doubt they had at
one time been.
Tuwarri, to whom I offered a passage, we found
was not the principal person on the island, but that
their chief was a man who accompanied him in the
boat, with his legs dreadfully enlarged with the
elephantiasis: it was he who directed their course,
rebuilt their canoe after it had been stranded, and
who appeared also to be their protector, being the
only one who possessed fire-arms. His importance
in this respect was, however, a little diminished by
the want of powder and shot, and by an accident
CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826.

224 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
\-Y-
Feb.
1826.
which had deprived him of the hammer of his gun
—a misfortune he particularly regretted, as it had
been given him by King Pomarree. His anxiety
on this head was relieved by finding our armourer
could supply the defect, and that we could furnish
him with the necessary materials for the defence of
his party.
The canoe in which this extraordinary voyage had
been made was found hauled up at a different part
of the island from that on which we landed, and
placed under a shed very neatly built, with the re-
pairs executed in a workmanlike manner, and in
every respect ready for sea. She was a double canoe,
upwards of thirty feet long by nine broad, and three
feet nine inches deep ; each vessel having three feet
three inches beam : one was partly decked, and the
other provided with a thatched shed: they were
sharp at both ends, each of which was fitted for a
rudder, and the timbers were sewed together with
strong plaited cord, after the manner of the canoes
of Chain Island, where they are brought to great
perfection.
We remained the whole day upon the island,
contributing to the comfort of the inhabitants by
the distribution of useful presents; and at the same
time making our own observations, and endeavour-
ing to learn something of their history, and at sun-
set we assembled upon the beach to embark. Poor
Tuwarri was quite overwhelmed at separating from
his companions and fellow-sufferers. The whole
village accompanied him to the boat, to the last
testifying their regard by some little act of civility.
When the moment of departure arrived, the men
gathered about him, embraced him, shed abundance

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 225
of tears, and took their leave in a solemn manner
with very few words. The women, on the other
hand, clung about his wife and children, and in-
dulged a weakness that better became their sex.
The island upon which we found them is nearly
an oval of three miles and three-quarters diameter.
It is of coral formation, and has a lagoon and pro-
ductions very similar to the other islands recently
described. One species of coral not noticed before
was seen in the lagoon, growing above water: it
was a millepore extending itself in vertical plates
parallel to the shore. Among the vegetable pro-
ductions, the polypodium vulgare, seen at Whitsun-
day Island, was found here; and also a small shrub,
which we afterwards ascertained to be an achyran-
thus. From the pemphis we procured a large sup-
ply of firewood, to which use it is well adapted, as
it burns a long time, gives great heat, and occupies
comparatively little room. The wood of this tree
is as hard as lignum vitae, and equally good for
tools; its specific gravity much greater than sea-
water: its colour is deep red, but the inner bark
more strongly tinged; and if properly prepared,
would perhaps afford a good dye.
From Byam Martin Island we steered for Glou-
cester Island of Captain Wallis, and early the next
morning were close to it. The appearance of the
island has been accurately described by its dis-
coverer, but its present form and extent differ mate-
rially. At the S. E. angle of the island we noticed
a morai built of stones, but there were no inhabi-
tants upon the shore. In passing to windward of
the island, the current unexpectedly set so strong
upon it, that the ship was for a considerable time in
VOL. I. Q
CHAP.
VII.
\-N-
Feb.
1826.


226 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VII.
Feb.
1826.
imminent danger of being thrown upon the rocks,
and her escape is entirely attributable to the rapid
descent of the coral reef, which at times was
almost under her bottom. She, however, fortu-
nately cleared the reef, and was immediately in
safety. After collecting the necessary information,
we steered for Bow Island, which was seen from the
mast-head at three o'clock the same afternoon.
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 227
-
CHAPTER VIII.

Boat sent to examine the Channel into Bow Island Lagoon—
Unexpected Interview between Tuwarri and his Brother—A
Pearl Brig at anchor in the Lagoon—Mystery attached to the
Byam Martin Islanders dispelled—Their interesting History,
extensive Wanderings and Sufferings—Sequel of Tuwarri's
History—Ship enters the Lagoon—Description of the Island—
A short Account of the Natives—Visit several other coral
Islands, and discover Melville and Croker Islands—Remarks on
the Discoveries of Cook, Wallis, Carteret, &c.—Peculiarities of
the coral Islands—Arrival at Otaheite.
Bow Island was discovered by M. Bougainville
in 1768, and the following year was visited by
Captain Cook, who gave it its present name from
the resemblance its shape bore to a bow. Its figure
protracted upon paper, however, is very irregular,
and bears but small resemblance to the instrument
after which it was named ; but to a person viewing
it as Captain Cook did, the mistake is very likely to
occur. It is of coral formation, thirty-four miles
long, and ten broad; well wooded on the weather
side, but very scantily so on the other; and so low
in this half, that the sea in places washes into the
lagoon. We sailed close along what may be con-
sidered the string of the bow, while the barge navi-
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
Q 2
228 VOYAGE TO THE
Լ gated the arch; and thus, between us, in a few
~~ hours made the circuit of the island.
i. Previous to quitting England, Captain Charlton,
the consul at the Sandwich Islands, among other
useful matter which he obligingly communicated,
informed me of an opening through the coral reef
of this island into the lagoon; and as I was desirous,
at this period of the survey, of having a point astro-
nomically fixed to correct the chronometrical mea-
surements, I determined, if possible, to enter the
lagoon with the ship. When we reached the sup-
posed opening, a boat was lowered to examine it;
and Tuwarri was sent in her to conciliate the na-
tives, should any be seen in the course of the service.
As she drew near the shore, several men were ob-
served among the trees; and the officer in charge of
the boat, acting under my general orders of being
always prepared for an attack, desired the muskets
- to be loaded. Tuwarri, who had probably never
possessed much courage, at the sight of these prepa-
rations wished himself anywhere else than in his
present situation, and, to judge from his counte-
- nance, calculated at least upon being killed and
eaten by cannibals: he was in the greatest agitation
as the boat advanced, until she came within speak-
ing distance of the strangers, when, instead of the
supposed monsters ready to devour him, he recog-
nised, to his surprise, his own brother and several
friends whom he had left at Chain Island three
years before, all of whom had long given him up as
lost, and whom he never expected to see again.
The two brothers met in a manner which did
credit to their feelings, and after the first salutation
sat down together upon the beach with their hands


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 229
firmly locked, and entered into serious conversation,
consisting no doubt of mutual inquiries after friends
and relations, and Tuwarri's account of his peril-
ous adventure. They continued with their hands
grasped until it was time for the boat to return to
the ship, when they both came on board. This
affecting interview increased our impatience to have
the mystery which overhung the fate of our passen-
ger cleared up, and an opportunity fortunately hap-
pened for doing so.
The gig, on entering the lagoon, had been met
by a boat from an English brig (the Dart, employed
by the Australian Pearl Company) at anchor there,
with a number of divers, natives of Chain Island,
hired into her service: among these men there was
one who acted as interpreter, and who was immedi-
ately engaged to communicate to us the particulars
of Tuwarri's adventures, which possess so much in-
terest that the reader will not, I am sure, regret the
relation of them.
Tuwarri was a native of one of the low coral
formations discovered by Captain Cook in his first
voyage, called Anaa by the natives, but by him
named Chain Island, situated about three hundred
miles to the eastward of Otaheite, to which it is tri-
butary. About the period of the commencement of
his misfortunes old Pomarree the king of Otaheite
died, and was succeeded by his son, then a child.
On the accession of this boy several chiefs and com-
moners of Chain Island, among whom was Tuwarri,
planned a voyage to Otaheite, to pay a visit of cere-
mony and of homage to their new sovereign. The
only conveyance these people could command was
double canoes, three of which of the largest class
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826,
230 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. were prepared for the occasion. To us, accustomed
•-- to navigate the seas in ships of many tons burthen,
1. provided with a compass and the necessary instru-
ments to determine our position, a canoe with only
the stars for her guidance, and destined to a place
whose situation could be at the best but approxi-
mately known, appears so frail and uncertain a con-
veyance, that we may wonder how any persons
could be found sufficiently resolute to hazard the
undertaking. They knew, however, that similar
voyages had been successfully performed, not only
to mountainous islands to leeward, but to some that
were scarcely six feet above the water, and were
situated in the opposite direction; and as no ill
omens attended the present undertaking, no unusual
fears were entertained. The canoes being accord-
ingly prepared, and duly furnished with all that was
considered necessary, the persons intending to pro-
ceed on this expedition were embarked, amounting
in all to a hundred and fifty souls. What was the
arrangement of the other two canoes is unknown to
us, but in Tuwarri's there were twenty-three men,
fifteen women, and ten children, and a supply of
water and provision calculated to last three weeks.
On the day of departure all the natives assembled
upon the beach to take leave of our adventurers;
the canoes were placed with scrupulous exactness in
the supposed direction which was indicated by cer-
tain marks upon the land, and then launched into
the sea amidst the good wishes and adieus of their
countrymen. With a fair wind and full sail they
glided rapidly over the space without a thought of
the possibility of the miseries to which they were
afterwards exposed.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 23L
- - CHAP.
It happened, unfortunately, that the monsoon ºf
that year * began earlier than was expected, and S--
blew with great violence; two days were, notwith- 1.
standing, passed under favourable circumstances,
and the adventurers began to look for the high land
of Maitea, an island between Chain Island and Ota-
heite, and to anticipate the pleasures which the suc-
cessful termination of their voyage would afford
them, when their progress was delayed by a calm,
the precursor of a storm, which rose suddenly from
an unfavourable quarter, dispersed the canoes, and
drove them away before it. In this manner they
drifted for several days; but on the return of fine
weather, having a fortnight's provision remaining,
they again resolutely sought their destination, until
a second gale drove them still farther back than the
first, and lasted so long that they became exhausted.
Thus many days were past; their distance from
home hourly increasing; the sea continually washing
over the canoe, to the great discomfiture of the
women and children; and their store of provision
dwindled to the last extremity. A long calm, and,
what was to them even worse, hot dry weather, suc-
ceeded the tempest, and reduced them to a state of
the utmost distress. They described to us their
canoe, alone and becalmed on the ocean; the crew,
perishing with thirst beneath the fierce glare of a
tropical sun, hanging exhausted over their paddles;
children looking to their parents for support, and
mothers deploring their inability to afford them
assistance. Every means of quenching their thirst
were resorted to; some drank the sea water, and
* In the South Pacific the monsoons are occasionally felt
throughout all the islands of Eastern Polynesia.


232 VOYAGE TO THE
º: others bathed in it, or poured it over their heads;
\-y- but the absence of fresh water in the torrid zone
ſº cannot be compensated by such substitutes. Day
after day, those who were able extended their gourds
to heaven in supplication for rain, and repeated their
prayers, but in vain; the fleecy cloud floating high
in the air indicated only an extension of their suffer-
ing: distress in its most aggravated form had at
length reached its height, and seventeen persons fell
victims to its horrors.
The situation of those who remained may readily
be imagined, though their fate would never have
been known to us, had not Providence at this criti-
cal moment wrought a change in their favour. The
sky, which for some time had been perfectly serene,
assumed an aspect which at any other period would
have filled our sufferers with apprehension; but, on
the present occasion, the tropical storm, as it ap-
proached, was hailed with thankfulness, and wel-
comed as their deliverer. All who were able came
upon the deck with blankets, gourds, and cocoa-nut
shells, and held them toward the black cloud, as
it approached, pouring down torrents of rain, of
which every drop was of incalculable value to the
sufferers; they drank copiously and thankfully, and
filled every vessel with the precious element. Thus
recruited, hope revived; but the absence of food
again plunged them into the deepest despair. We
need not relate the dreadful alternative to which
they had recourse until several large sharks rose to
the surface and followed the canoe; Tuwarri, by
breaking off the head of an iron scraper, formed it
into a hook, and succeeded in catching one of them,
which was instantly substituted for the revolting
banquet which had hitherto sustained life.
º
*
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 233
Thus refreshed, they again worked at their pad-
dles or spread their sail, and were not long before
their exertions were repaid with the joyful sight of
land, on which clusters of cocoa-nuts crowned the
heads of several tufts of palm-trees: they hurried
through the surf and soon reached the much wished
for spot, but being too feeble to ascend the lofty
trees, they were obliged to fell one of them with
all axe.
On traversing the island to which Providence had
thus conducted them, they discovered by several
canoes in the lagoon, and pathways intersecting the
woods, that it had been previously inhabited; and
knowing the greater part of the natives of the low
islands to be cannibals, they determined to remain no
longer upon it than was absolutely necessary to re-
cruit their strength, imagining that the islanders,
when they did return, would not rest satisfied with
merely dispossessing them of their asylum.
It was necessary, while they were allowed to re-
main, to seek shelter from the weather and to exert
themselves in procuring a supply of provision for
their further voyage; huts were consequently built,
pools dug for water, and three canoes added to those
which were found in the lake. Their situation by
these means was rendered tolerably comfortable, and
they not only provided themselves with necessaries
sufficient for their daily consumption, but were able
to dry and lay by a considerable quantity of fish for
sea stock.
After a time, finding themselves undisturbed, they
gained confidence, and deferred their departure till
thirteen months had elapsed from the time of their
landing. At the expiration of which period, being
in good bodily health and supplied with every re-
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.


234 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
quisite for their voyage, they again launched upon
the ocean in quest of home.
They steered two days and nights to the north-
west, and then fell in with a small island, upon
which, as it appeared to be uninhabited, they landed,
and remained three days, and then resumed their
voyage. After a run of a day and a night they
came in sight of another uninhabited island. In
their attempt to land upon it their canoe was unfor-
tunately stove, but all the party got safe on shore.
The damage which the vessel had sustained requiring
several weeks to repair, they established themselves
upon this island, and again commenced storing up
provision for their voyage. Eight months had al-
ready passed in these occupations, when we unex-
pectedly found them thus encamped upon Byam
Martin Island; with their canoe repaired, and all
the necessary stores provided for their next expedi-
tion. The other two canoes were never heard of.
Several parts of this curious history strongly fa-
voured the presumption that the island upon which
the party first landed and established themselves was
Barrow Island: and, in order to have it confirmed,
the piece of iron that had been brought from thence,
and had fortunately been preserved, was produced.
Tuwarri, when he saw it, immediately exclaimed that
it was the piece of iron he had broken in two to form
the shark-hook, which was the means of preserving
the lives of his party, and said that the tree we found
cut down with some sharp edged tool was that which
his party felled before their strength enabled them
to climb for the fruit; and hence the huts, the
pools of water, the canoes, &c. were the remains of
their industry.












PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 235
This curious discovery enabled us to form a tole-
rably accurate idea of the distance the canoe had
been drifted by the gale, as Barrow Island is 420
miles in a direct line from Chain Island, their native
place; and if to this be added 100 miles for the pro-
gress they made during the first two days toward
Maitea, and the distance they went on their return
before they reached Barrow Island, the whole cannot
amount to much less than 600 miles.
Before Tuwarri could be restored to his home, we
visited in succession several low islands to which he
was a stranger. While we were cruising among
them he entertained the greatest apprehension lest
we had lost our way, and perhaps pictured to him-
self a repetition of his disastrous voyage. He could
not imagine our motive for pursuing so indirect a
course, and frequently inquired if we were going to
his native island, and if we knew where it was, oc-
casionally pointing in the direction of it. He al-
ways boasted of a knowledge of the islands lying
between Bow Island (He-ow) and Chain Island
(Anaa), but never informed us right when we came
to any of them. He had, it is true, reason to be
anxious; for his wife, almost the whole of the pas-
sage, was very sea-sick, which gave him great con-
cern; and when the sea was much agitated he ap-
peared inconsolable. When he at length arrived
within sight of Chain Island, his joy at the certainty
of again setting foot on his native soil, and meeting
friends who had long supposed him lost, may readi-
ly be imagined. His gratitude to us for having
given him a passage, and for our attention to his
comfort, was expressed in tears of thankfulness; and
he testified his regret at parting in a manner which
CHAP.
VIII.
\-y-/
Feb.
1826.

236 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
showed him to be sincere: and as he was going
away, he expressed his sorrow that the ship would
not remain long enough off the island for him to
send some little token of his gratitude. These feel-
ings, so highly creditable to Tuwarri, were not par-
ticipated by his wife, who, on the contrary, showed
no concern at her departure, expressed neither
thanks nor regrets, nor turned to any person to bid
him farewell; and while Tuwarri was suppressing
his tears, she was laughing at the exposure which
she thought she should make going into the boat
without an accommodation-ladder. Tuwarri while
on board showed no curiosity, knew nothing of our
language, or evinced any desire to learn it; took
very little interest in any thing that was going for-
ward, and was very dull of comprehension. He
appeared to be a man whose energies had been worn
down by hardship and privation, and whom misfor-
tune had taught to look on the worst side of every
thing. But with all these weak points, he had
many good qualities. He lent a willing hand to
pull at a rope, was cleanly and quiet, punctually at-
tended church on Sundays, and had a strong sense of
right and wrong, which, as far as his abilities enabled
him, governed his actions. He had a warm heart,
and his attachment to his wife and children amount-
ed even to weakness. He had a tolerable know-
ledge of the relative situation of the islands of the
archipelago, and readily drew a chart of them,
assigning to each its name, though, as I have said
before, he never could recognise them. Some of
these we were able to identify, and perhaps should
have done so with others, had there not been so
much sameness in all the coral islands. -
Mr. Belcher, who was in command of the barge







PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 237
which put him on shore, says, he was not received
by his countrymen with the surprise and pleasure
which might have been expected; but this may,
perhaps, be explained by there being no one on the
beach to whom he was particularly attached. Be-
fore the barge quitted the island, he put on board
some shells as a present, in gratitude for the assist-
ance which had been rendered him.
Reverting to the occurrences of the ship off Bow
Island: Mr. Elson, the officer who was sent to exa-
mine the channel into the lagoon, returned with the
supercargo of the Dart, Mr. Hussey, and made a
favourable report of the depth of water in the pas-
sage, but said its width was so very contracted that
it could not be passed without hazard. The exact
distance from reef to reef is 115 feet, and there is a
coral knoll in the centre; the trade-wind does not
always allow a ship to lie well through it, and there
is, at times, a tide running out at the rate of four
knots an hour. It was, however, necessary to incur
this risk; and, on the information of Mr. Hussey
that the morning was the most favourable time for
the attempt, shortly after daylight on the next day
(15th), under Mr. Elson's skilful pilotage, we shot
through the passage, at the rate of seven knots, and
were instantly in a broad sheet of smooth water.
We found the lagoon studded with coral knolls,
which it was necessary to avoid by a vigilant look
out from aloft, as the lead gave no warning of their
vicinity; we beat among them at some risk, and at
ten o'clock anchored at the N. E. angle of the lake,
in ten fathoms water, on a broad patch of sand,
about a quarter of a mile from the shore, and in as
secure a harbour as could be required.
Nearly opposite to our anchorage, the natives,
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.


238 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
\-Y-2
Feb.
1826.
about fifty in number, had erected temporary huts
during the stay of the Dart, their permanent resi-
dences being at the opposite end of the island.
They were in appearance the most indolent ill-look-
ing race we had yet seen; broad flat noses, dull
sunken eyes, thick lips, mouths turned down at the
corners, strongly wrinkled countenances, and long
bushy hair matted with dirt and vermin. Their
stature was above the middle size, but generally
crooked; their limbs bony, their muscles flaccid, and
their only covering a maro. But hideous as the
men were, their revolting appearance was surpassed
by the opposite sex of the same age. The males
were all lolling against the cocoa-nut trees, with
their arms round each other's necks, enjoying the
refreshing shade of a thick foliage of palm-trees;
while the women, old and young, were labouring
hard in the sun, in the service of their masters, for
they did not merit the name of husbands. The
children, quite naked, were placed upon mats, cry-
ing and rolling to and fro, to displace some of the
myriads of house-flies, which so speckled their bo-
dies that their real colour was scarcely discernible.
Amidst this scene I was introduced to the chief,
who was distinguished from his subjects by his su-
perior height and strength, and probably maintained
his authority solely by those qualities. He gave me
a friendly reception, and suffered us to cut down
what wood we wanted, confining us only to those
frees which produced no edible fruits. In return
for some presents made him, he drew from his canoe
several pearl fishing hooks and bundles of turtle-shell,
and begged my acceptance of thens; but his extreme
poverty was such, that I could not bring myself to
-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 239
do so, though I do not know to what material use
the last mentioned article could be applied by him.
We availed ourselves of the areghe's permission,
and sent a party to cut as many trees as we required,
consisting principally of the pemphis acidula, as at
Byam Martin Island. Mr. Marsh endeavoured to
engage some of the natives in this employment, by
offering shirts, tobacco, &c.; but, notwithstanding
the munificence of the reward, the areghe alone
could be roused from his lethargy; and even he
quitted the axe before the first tree was felled.
A party of seamen was at the same time sent,
under the direction of Lieutenant Wainwright, to
dig wells; in which their success was so satisfactory,
that in less than three days we procured thirty tons
of fresh water. The wells were about four feet
deep, dug through the sand into the coral rock.
Into two of these the water flowed as fast as we
could fill the casks; and when allowed to stand, rose
eighteen inches. This water was drunk by all the
ship's company for several weeks, and proved tole-
rably good, though it did not keep as well as spring
water.” It is important to navigators to know, that
even as good water as this may be procured on the
CHAP.
VIII.
* Mr. Collie observes, in his Journal, that a “ solution of nitrate
of soda detected in it a moderate proportion of muriatic acid,
most likely embodied in the soda. It had no brackish taste.
With an alcoholic solution of soap it formed a copious white
precipitate : with oxalate of ammonia it formed slowly, but after
some time, a dense white cloud: with nitrate of silver an abun-
dant purplish-white precipitate : it remained unchanged with
nitrate of barytes. Thus showing that it contained no sulphuric
acid, but that it was impregnated with muriatic acid and magnesia,
most likely muriate of soda and magnesia, the component parts
of sea water.”
Feb.
1826.

240 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
coral islands by means of wells. In digging them,
the choice of situation should be given to the most
elevated part of the island, and to a spot distant from
the sea; perhaps in the vicinity of cocoa-nut trees.
It is a curious fact that, in Bow Island, the water
that flowed into holes dug within a yard of the sea
was fresh enough to be drunk by the sailors, and
served the purpose of the natives while they remain-
ed in our vicinity; though I do not think Europeans
could have used it long with impunity.
Not far from the temporary residence of the na-
tives, there was a level spot of ground, overgrown
with grass, upon which the observatory was erected;
and I had in consequence frequent intercourse with
them, and, through the medium of the interpreter of
the Dart, learned many interesting particulars con-
cerning them. By this account they have not long
desisted from cannibalism. On questioning the
chief, he acknowledged himself to have been present
at several feasts of human bodies, and on expatiating
on the excellence of the food, particularly when it
was that of a female, his brutal countenance became
flushed with a horrible expression of animation.
Their enemies, those slain in battle, or those who
die violent deaths, and murderers, were, he said, the
only subjects selected for these feasts; the latter,
whether justified or not, were put to death, and
eaten alike with their victims. They have still a
great partiality for raw food, which is but one re-
move from cannibalism ; and when a canoe full of fish
was brought one day to the village, the men, before
it could be drawn to the shore, fell upon its contents,
and devoured every part of the fish except the bones
and fins. The women, whose business it was to

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 243
with three violent blows of his fist. Thus tyran-
nised over, debased, neglected by the male sex, and
strangers to social affection, it is no wonder all those
qualities which in civilised countries constitute the
fascination of woman are in these people wholly
wanting.
The supercargo of the Dart, to forward the service
he was engaged in, had hired a party of the natives
of Chain Island to dive for shells. Among these
was a native missionary,” a very well-behaved man,
who used every effort to convert his new acquaint-
ances to Christianity. He persevered amidst much
silent ridicule, and at length succeeded in persuad-
ing the greater part of the islanders to conform to
the ceremonies of Christian worship. It was interest-
ing to contemplate a body of Savages, abandoning
their superstitions, silently and reverently kneeling
upon the sandy shore, and joining in the morning
and evening prayers to the Almighty. Though
their sincerity may be questioned, yet it is hoped
that an impression may be made upon these neo-
phytes, which may tend to improve their moral
condition.
Previous to the arrival of the missionary, every
one had his peculiar deity, of which the most com-
mon was a piece of wood with a tuft of human hair
inserted into it; but that which was deemed most
efficacious, when it could be procured, was the thigh
bone of an enemy, or of a relation recently dead.
Into the hollow of this they inserted a lock of the
same person's hair, and then suspended the idol to a
* We were told that at Chain Island there were thirteen houses
of prayer under the direction of native missionaries.
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.







R 2

244 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
\-Y-
Feb.
1826.
tree. To these symbols they address their prayers
as long as they remained in favour; but, like the
girl in China, who, when disappointed by her lover,
pulled down the brazen image and whipped it, these
people when dissatisfied with their deity, no longer
acknowledged his power, and substituted some other
idol. There were times, however, when they feared
its anger, and endeavoured to appease it with cocoa-
nuts; but I did not hear of any human sacrifices
being offered. They appeared to entertain the
Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of the
soul, and supposed the first vessel which they saw
to be the spirit of one of their relations lately de-
ceased. The compartments allotted to the dead are
here tabooed ; and the bodies, first wrapped in mats,
are placed under ground. As the soul is supposed
for a time to frequent these places, provision and
water are placed near the spot for its use; and it
would be thought unkind, or that some evil would
befal the person whose business it is to provide
them, if these supplies were neglected.
The manufactures of these people are the same
with those of all the other islanders, and are only
such as nature renders necessary, consisting of mats,
maros, baskets, fishing-tackle, &c. They have no
occupation beyond the manufacture of these few
articles, and providing for their daily support. On
interrogating the chief how he passed the day, he
said he rose early and ate his breakfast ; he then in-
voked his deity; sometimes he went to fish or catch
turtle; but more generally passed his time under
the shade of the cocoa-nut trees: in the evening
he ate again, and went to sleep.
The natives of this island, according to informa-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 245
tion obtained by the interpreter on board the Dart,
amount altogether to about a hundred souls.
As my stay at the island was limited to four days,
my time was much occupied at the observatory, and
I am indebted to the journals of the officers for
many interesting particulars relating to other parts
of it, and to its natural productions.
By our trigonometrical survey, Bow Island is
thirty miles long by an average of five miles broad.
It is similar to the other coral islands already de-
scribed, confining within a narrow band of coral a
spacious lagoon, and having its windward side higher
and more wooded than the other; which indeed,
with the exception of a few clusters of trees and
heaps of sand, is little better than a reef. The sea
in several places washes into the lagoon, but there
is no passage even for a boat, except that by which
the ship entered, which is sometimes dangerous to
boats, in consequence of the overfalls from the
lagoon, especially a little after the time of high
water. It is to be hoped that the rapid current
which sets through the channel will prevent the
growth of the coral, and leave the lagoon always
accessible to shipping. It lies at the north side of
the island, and may be known by two straggling
cocoa-nut trees near it, on the western side, and a
clump of trees on the other.
The bottom of the lagoon is in parts covered with
a fine white sand, and it is thickly strewed with
coral knolls; the upper parts of which overhang the
lower, though they do not at once rise in this form
from the bottom, but from small hillocks. We
found comparatively few beneath the surface, though
there are some ; at the edge of such as are exposed,
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826,

246 VOYAGE TO THE
°º there is usually six or seven fathoms water; reced-
-- ing from it, the lead gradually descends to the
ſº. general level, of about twenty fathoms. The lagoon
contains an abundance of shell-fish, particularly
those of the pearl-oyster kind. The party in the
employ of the Dart sometimes collected seventeen
hundred of these shells in one day.
The height of water in the lagoon is subject to
the variations of the tides of the ocean; but it
suffers so many disturbances from the waves which
occasionally inundate the low parts of the surround-
ing land, that neither the rise of the tide nor the
time of high water can be estimated with any
degree of certainty. Were the communication be-
tween the lake and the sea larger, so as to admit of
the water finding its level, the period of low water
might be determined, as there is a change of tide in
the entrance.
The strip of low land enclosing the lagoon is nearly
seventy milesin extent, and the part that is dry is about
a quarter of a mile in width. On the inner side, a
few yards from the margin of the lake, there is a low
bank formed of finely broken coral; and, at the outer
edge, a much higher bank of large blocks of the same
material, long since removed from the reach of the
waves, and gradually preparing for the reception of
vegetation. Beyond this high bank there is a third
ridge, similar to that skirting the lagoon; and out-
side it again, as well as in the lagoon, there is a wide
shelf three or four feet under water, the outer one
bearing upon its surface huge masses of broken
coral; the materials for an outer bank, similar to the
large one just described. These appearances na-
turally suggest the idea of the island having risen






PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 247
by slow degrees. Thus the sand dispersed over
the lagoon indicates a period when the sea rolled
entirely over the reef, tore up blocks of coral
from its margin, and by constant trituration ground
them to powder, and finally deposited the par-
ticles where they now rest. The bank near the
lake must have originated at a subsequent period,
when the outer edge becoming nearer to the surface,
moderated the strength of the waves, and the wash
of the sea reached only far enough to deposit the
broken coral in the place described. At a still less
distant period, when the island became dry, and the
violence of the sea was wholly spent upon its mar-
gin, the coral, which had before escaped by being
beneath the surface, gave way to the impetuous
wave, and was deposited in broken masses, which
formed the high ridge. Here the sea appears to
have broken a considerable time, until a second
ledge gradually extending seaward, and approaching
the surface, so lessened the effect of the waves upon
this ledge also, that they were again only capable of
throwing up an inferior heap similar to the one first
mentioned. In process of time this outer ledge will
become dry, and the many large blocks of coral now
resting near its edge will, probably, form another heap
similar to the large one; and thus the island will
continue to increase by a succession of ledges being
brought to the surface, while, by the same process,
the lagoon will gradually become more shallow and
contracted.
The ridges are particularly favourable to the for-
mation of a soil, by retaining within them whatever
may be there deposited until it decays, and by pro-
tecting the tender shrubs during their early growth.
Near our observatory the soil had attained a depth
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.



248 VOYAGE TO THE
º: of about eight inches before we came to broken
--~ coral.
ſº “In the central and sheltered parts of the plain
between the ridges the pandanus spreads its diver-
gent roots and rears its fruitful branches; the pem-
phis also takes root in the same situation. The loose
dry stones of the first ridge are penetrated by the
hard roots of the tefano, which expands its branches
into a tall spreading tree, and is attended by the
fragrant suriana, and the sweet-scented tournefortia,
in the shelter of whose foliage the tender achyran-
thus and lepidium seem to thrive the best. Beyond
the first high and stony ridge the hardy scaevola
extends its creeping roots and procumbent verdure
towards the sea, throwing its succulent leaves round
the sharp coral stones.”
“On the windward side, wherever the pandanus
was devoid of the protection of the more hardy
trees, the brown and decayed leaves showed it had
advanced beyond its proper boundary.”
We quitted Bow Island on the 20th of February,
and continued the survey of the archipelago, until
the period had arrived when it was necessary to pro-
ceed direct to Otaheite, to prepare the ship for her
voyage to the northward. We were greatly re-
tarded toward the close of our operations by the
rainy season, which was attended with calms, and
hot, Sultry, wet weather, and perhaps, had we con-
tinued at sea, would have prevented any thing more
being done. The dysentery about this time began
to make its appearance among the ship's company,
owing no doubt to the rains and closeness of the at-
mosphere, combined with the harassing duty arising
from the navigation of a sea so thickly strewed with
* Mr. Collie's Journal,
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 249
islands, and to the men having been a long time on
a reduced allowance of salt provisions.
The islands which were visited between Bow
Island and Otaheite were all of the same character
and formation as those already described, and furnish-
ed us with no additional information beyond the cor-
rect determination of their size and position; which,
with some remarks that may be useful to navigation,
are given in the Appendix to the 4to, ed. Among the
number there were two which were previously un-
known; the largest of these, which was also the most
extensive of our discoveries in the archipelago, I
named Melville Island, in honour of the first lord
of the Admiralty; and the other, Croker Island, in
compliment to the right honourable secretary.
The discoveries of Cook and Wallis in this track
are relatively correctly placed; but those of the lat-
ter are as much as forty miles in error in longitude,
and several miles in latitude, which has occasioned
two of them to be mistaken for each other by Bel-
linghausen, and one to be considered as a new dis-
covery by Captain Duperrey. It would not have
been easy to detect these errors, had we not visited the
discoveries of Wallis in succession, beginning with
Whitsunday and Queen Charlotte's Islands, which
are so situated that no mistake in them could possi-
bly occur. Moreover, we always searched the vici-
nity narrowly for the existence of other islands.
The mistakes have arisen from placing too much
confidence in the longitude of the early navigator.
The true place of Cumberland Island lying much
nearer the alleged position of Wallis's Prince Wil-
liam-Henry Island than any other, has occasioned
Bellinghausen's mistake; and the true position of
CHAP.
VIII.
\-,-
Feb.
1826.

250 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
Prince William-Henry being so remote from any
of Wallis's discoveries, as placed by himself, has
made Captain Duperrey think the one which he
saw could not possibly be one of them, and he in
consequence bestowed upon it the new name of
L’Ostange.
There can be no doubt that the island which I
consider Prince William-Henry Island is the L’Os-
tange of Captain Duperrey, as we had an opportu-
nity of comparing longitudes with him at Moller
Island; and it is equally certain that this island is
the same with that discovered by Wallis, as its dis-
tance from Queen Charlotte's Island and his other
discoveries to the eastward, each of which we visited,
exactly coincides. Wallis has certainly erred ten
miles in latitude, but it should be recollected that
the position of the island was fixed by reckoning
from noon, the island having been seen at daybreak
“far to windward;” and it should not be overlooked
that his latitude at Cumberland Island the day be-
fore was eight miles in error the same way, which
makes it very probable that either his observations
were indifferent, or that he had incorrect tables of
declination.
In forming this conclusion, I am aware that I am
depriving Captain Duperrey of the merit of a dis-
covery, but he will, it is hoped, admit the justice of
my opinion. -
All the islands seen by Cook, Wallis, and Car-
teret, lying within the limit of our survey, have
been found to be accurately described, excepting
that their size has always been overrated; a mistake
very likely to arise with low strips of land deficient
in familiar objects to direct the judgment where
actual measurement is not resorted to.






PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 251
The discoveries of Mr. Turnbull are so loosely
related in his entertaining Voyage, that their situa-
tion cannot be entertained; and unless some better
clue to them is given, they will always be liable to
be claimed by subsequent navigators.
Of the thirty-two islands which have thus been
visited in succession, only twelve are inhabited,
including Pitcairn Island, and the amount of the
population altogether cannot possibly exceed three
thousand one hundred souls; of which one thousand
belong to the Gambier groupe, and twelve hundred
and sixty to Easter Island, leaving eight hundred
and forty persons only to occupy the other thirty
islands.
All the natives apparently profess the same reli-
gion; all speak the same language, and are in all
essential points the same people. There is a great
diversity of features and complexion between those
inhabiting the volcanic islands and the natives of
the coral formations, the former being a taller and
fairer race. This change may be attributed to a
difference of food, habits, and comfort ; the one
having to seek a daily subsistence upon the reefs,
exposed to a burning sun and to the painful glare
of a white coral beach, while the other enjoys plen-
tifully the spontaneous produce of the earth, reposes
beneath the genial shade of palm or bread-fruit
groves, and passes a life of comparative ease and
luxury.
It has hitherto been a matter of conjecture how
these islands, so remote from both great continents,
have received their aborigines. The intimate con-
nexion between the language, worship, manners,
customs, and traditions of the people who dwell
upon them, and those of the Malays and other in-
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.

252 VOYAGE TO THE
º: habitants of the great islands to the westward, leaves
--~ no doubt of frequent emigrations from thence; and
... we naturally look to those countries as the source
from which they have sprung. The difficulty, how-
ever, instantly presents itself of proceeding so vast
a distance in opposition to the prevailing wind and
current, without vessels better equipped than those
which are in possession of the above-mentioned people.
This objection has so powerfully influenced the minds
of some authors that they have had recourse to the cir-
cuitous route through Tartary, across Beering's Strait,
and over the American continent, to bring the emi-
grants to a situation whence they might be drifted by
the ordinary course of the winds to the lands in ques-
tion. But had this been the case, a more intimate re-
semblance would surely be found to exist between the
American Indians and the natives of Polynesia.
All have agreed as to the manner in which these
migrations between the islands have been effected,
and some few instances have actually been met
with ; but they have been in one direction only,
and have rather favoured the opinion of migration
from the eastward. The accident which threw in
our way Tuwarri and his companions, who, it may
be recollected, were driven six hundred miles in a
direction contrary to the trade-wind in spite of their
utmost exertions, has fortunately enabled us to re-
move the objections which have been urged against
the general opinion. The fact being so well at-
tested, and the only one of the kind upon record, is,
consequently, of the highest interest, both as re-
gards its singularity, and as it establishes the pos-
sibility of the case. Though this is the only in-
stance that has come to our knowledge, there is no


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 253
reason why many other canoes may not have shared tº
a similar fate; and some few of many thousands, --
perhaps, may have drifted to the remotest islands of .
the archipelago, and thus peopled them.
The navigation of canoes between islands in sight
of each other was, and is still, very general; and it was
not unusual, in early times, for warriors, after a defeat,
to embark, careless of the consequences, in order to
escape the persecution of their conquerors. To re-
main, was certain death and ignominy; to fly, was
to leave their fate to chance.
The temporary obstruction of the trade wind in
these seas, by the westerly monsoons, has not been
duly considered by those who represent the dif-
ficulties as insurmountable. At the period of the
year corresponding with our spring these gales com-
mence, and blow with great violence during the
rainy season. As they arise very suddenly, any
canoes at sea must have difficulty in escaping them,
and would, in all probability, be driven so far, as
never to be able to regain their native country, or
be drifted to islands upon which their crews might
be contented to dwell, in preference to encountering
farther risks.
The traces of inhabitants upon almost all the islands
of the low archipelago, many of which are at present
uninhabited, show both the frequency with which
these migrations have occurred, and the extent to
which they have been made: some of these isolated
spots where remains have been found, Pitcairn Island
for instance, are 400 miles from any land whence in-
habitants were likely to be derived; and the circum-
stance of their having abandoned that island is a
fair presumption that the people who landed there


254 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
\-y-
Feb.
1826.
knew of other lands which there was a probabi-
lity of their reaching, and which certainly could
not be the coast of America, at least 2000 miles
against the trade-wind.
I shall now bring together a few facts connected
with the formation of these islands, which it is hoped
may be useful to those persons who are interested in
the subject, observing, in extenuation of the absence
of more detailed information, that our time did not
admit of more than was actually essential to the pur-
poses of a correct delineation of their outline, and
that in general the islands were so surrounded by
breakers that it was dangerous to approach the shore,
in the ship in particular, which alone was calculated
to obtain very deep soundings. To windward this
could not be done of course, and to leeward there
was not unfrequently a heavier swell setting upon
the island than in other parts of it.
In speaking of the coral islands hereafter, my
observations will be confined to the thirty-two islands
already stated to have fallen under our examination.
The largest of them was thirty miles in diameter,
and the smallest less than a mile : they were of
various shapes; were all formed of living coral,
except Henderson's Island, which was partly sur-
rounded by it ; and they all appeared to be in-
creasing their dimensions by the active operations
of the lithophytes, which appeared to be gradually
extending and bringing the immersed parts of their
structure to the surface.
Twenty-nine of the number had lagoons in their
centres, which is a proportion sufficiently large, when
coupled with information supplied from other parts
of the globe where such formations abound, to ren-
PACIFIC AND BEERING S STRAIT. 257
also Henderson's Island, afford good examples of
what I have been describing. To enable the reader
more readily to comprehend the nature of these
singular formations, I subjoin a sketch and a section
of a coral Island, with the slope of the sides of seve-
ral of them, laid down according to the soundings
and the depths at which attempts were made to
reach the bottom.
All these islands are situated within the trade-
wind, with the exception of Oeno, which is only on
the verge of it, and follow one general rule in hav-
ing their windward sides higher and more perfect
than the others, and not unfrequently well wooded,
while the opposite ones are only half-drowned reefs,
or are wholly under water. At Gambier and Ma-
tilda Islands this inequality was very conspicuous,
the weather side of both being wooded, and of the
former, inhabited, while the other sides were from
twenty to thirty feet under water, where they
might be perceived equally narrow, and well de-
fined. It is on the leeward side also that the en-
trances into the lagoons generally occur, though
they are sometimes situated in a side that runs in
the direction of the wind, as at Bow Island; but I
do not know of any one being to windward. The
fact, if it be found to be general with regard to
other coral islands, is curious, and is not fully ac-
counted for by the continued operation of the trade-
wind upon its side, as the coincidence would sug-
gest. After the reef has arrived at the surface of
the sea, it is easy to conceive what would be the
effect of the trade-wind; but it does not seem pos-
sible that its influence could be felt so far under
water as some of the reefs are situated.
VOI. I. S
CHAP.
VIII.
\--"
Feb.
1826.


258 VOYAGE TO THE
º: All the points or angles of these islands descend
Jºy into the sea with less abruptness than the sides, and,
A.. I think, with more regularity. The wedge-shaped
space that the meeting of the two sides would form
in the lagoon is filled up by the ledges there being
broader; in such places, as well as in the narrow
parts of the lake, the coralline are in greater num-
bers, though, generally speaking, all the lagoons are
more or less incumbered with them. They appear
to arise to the surface in the form of a truncated
cone, and then, their progress being arrested, they
work laterally, so that if several of them were near
each other they would unite and form a shelf simi-
lar to that which has been described round the mar-
gins of some of the lagoons.
The depth of these lagoons is various: in those
which we entered it was from twenty to thirty-eight
fathoms, but in others, to which we had no access, by
the light-blue colour of the water it appeared to be
very small. It is, however, tolerably certain that
the coral forms the bases of them, and consequently,
unless depositions of sand or other substances, ob-
noxious to the coral insects, take place, their depth
must depend upon their age. -
Very little offered itself to our notice, by which
we could judge of the rapidity of the growth of the
coral, as the islands which we examined had ne-
ver been described with the accuracy necessary for
this purpose; and there were, consequently, no
means of comparing the state in which they were
found by us, with that which was presented to our
predecessors; but from the report of the natives, the
coral bordering the volcanic islands does not increase
very fast, as we never heard of any channels being
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 259
filled up; but, on the contrary, that the passages
through the reefs were apparently always in the
same condition. The only direct evidence, however,
which I could obtain of this fact was that of the
Dolphin reef off Point Venus in Otaheite. This
reef, when first examined by Captain Wallis in
1769, had “two fathoms water upon it.” Cook
sounded upon it a few years afterwards, and gave
its depth fifteen feet. In our visit to this place, we
found, upon the shallowest part of it, thirteen feet
and a half. These measurements, though at vari-
ance, from the irregularity of the surface of the
reef, are sufficiently exact to warrant the conclusion
CHAP.
VIII.
\-/-/
Feb.
1826.
that it has undergone no very material alteration dur-,
ing an interval, it should be recollected, of fifty-six
years. But the Dolphin, as well as the above-men-
tioned reefs and channels, are within the influence
of rivers, which, in my opinion, materially retard
their increase, and their growth must not be taken
as a criterion of that of the islands of which I have
been speaking. With regard to them, there is one
fact worthy of consideration, and upon which every
person must form his own judgment. I allude to
the remains of the Matilda, a ship which a few
pages back is stated to have been cast away upon
one of these coral islands. In my description of
Matilda Island, it is stated, that one of the anchors
of this ship, a ton in weight, a four-pounder gun,
her boilers and iron-work, are lying upon the top of
the reef, two hundred yards from the present break
of the sea, and are dry at low water.” The nature
of these articles and the quantity of iron bolts and
other materials lying with them renders it probable
* The rise of the tide is about two feet.

S 2
260 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.
that the vessel went to pieces in that spot, for had
the sea been heavy enough to wash the anchor from
deeper water, the boiler must have been carried
much beyond it; and the question is, whether the
hull of a vessel of the Matilda's tonnage could be
washed upon a reef dry at low water, and be depo-
sited two hundred yards within the usual break of
the sea. The circumstance of the hatches, staves of
casks, and part of the vessel, being deposited in parts
of the dry land not far distant, and scarcely more
than four feet from the present level of the sea,
offers a presumption that the sea did not rise more
than that height above its ordinary level, or it would
have washed the articles further and left them in the
lagoon, whence they would have been carried to sea
by the current. -
The materials were not in the least overgrown
with coral, nor had they any basin left round them
by which the progress of the coral could be traced ;
and yet, in other parts of this reef, we noticed the
chama gigas of seven or eight inches in diameter so
overgrown by it, that there was only a small aper-
ture of two inches left for the extremity of the shell
to open and shut. -
When the attention of men of science was called
to these singular formations by the voyages of Cap-
tain Cook, one opinion, among others respecting
their formation was, that they sprung from a small
base, and extended themselves laterally as they grew
perpendicularly towards the surface of the sea; and
that they represented upon a large scale the form
which is assumed by some of the corallines. In
particular this theory was entertained by Mr. John
R. Forster, who accompanied Captain Cook on his

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 261
-
second voyage and visited several of the coral islands,
and was founded, no doubt, upon the experience
which he had derived upon that voyage. But con-
sidering the extent of some of these islands, it is
evident that if this be their form, the lythophites,
the animals which construct them, must commence
their operations at very great depths, a fact which is
doubted by naturalists. The general opinion now
is, that they have their foundations upon submarine
mountains, or upon extinguished volcanoes, which
are not more than four or five hundred feet immersed
in the ocean; and that their shape depends upon the
figure of the base whence they spring. It would
be immaterial which of these theories were correct,
were it not that in the latter instance the lagoon that
is formed in all the islands of this description might
be occasioned by the shape of the crater alone,
whereas, in the former, it must result from the pro-
pensity of the coral animals, and this, if true, forms
a remarkable and interesting feature in their natural
history. Mr. Forster” thought this peculiarity might
arise from the instinct of the animalcules forming
the reefs, which from a desire to shelter their habi-
tation from the impetuosity of the winds, and the
power and rage of the ocean, endeavoured to con-
struct a ledge, within which was a lagoon entirely
screened against the power of the elements, and
where a calm and sheltered place was by these
means afforded to the animals in the centre of the
island.
Another reason why the consideration of the na-
ture of their foundation is not immaterial is, that if
the form of the islands arose from the peculiar shape
* Forster's Observations, 4to, page 150.
CHAP.
VIII.
Feb.
1826.

262 VOYAGE TO THE
Ҽ of the craters, and it be admitted that the lithophytes
S- are unable to exist at greater depths than those
* above-mentioned, we shall have examples of craters
of considerably larger dimensions, and more com-
plete in their outline, than any that are known upon
the land, which, if true, is a curious fact. Until the
voyage of the Blossom, it was not generally known
that the lagoons in these islands were of such depths,
or that the wall of coral which encircles them was
so narrow and perfect, as in almost every instance it
has been found ; nor that the islands were of such
dimensions, as they were designated groups, or chains
of islands, in consequence of the wall being broken
by channels into the lagoon ; but on examination,
the chain is found continuous under water ; and as
in all probability it will in time reach the surface
and become dry, the whole group may be considered
as one island.
In the plans which I have delivered into the Ad-
miralty, the figure and extent of thirty coral islands,
out of the many which exist in the Pacific, are care-
fully delineated, and a reference to them will more
fully explain their nature than any description I
can give here. One of these plans “being of par-
ticular interest, I have inserted it in the present
work, as it exhibits, not only the coral chain en- -
closing the lagoon, which is the common character of
the coral islands; but, also, an example of several
volcanic islands rising within it; and likewise the |
peculiarity of the inequality in the sides of the chain
mentioned in page 189. -
The subject of the formation of these islands is
-
* See the plan of Gambier groupe.


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 263
one of great interest, and will require a numerous
and careful collection of facts before any entirely
satisfactory conclusion can be arrived at. I regret
that my time did not permit me to inquire more
particularly into this curious matter; but having to
survey about fifty islands, some of which were of
great extent, in the space of about four months, I
could not accomplish more than was absolutely ne-
cessary to the purposes of a safe navigation of the
Archipelago. We were, however, not inattentive
to the subject, and when opportunity offered, sound-
ings were tried for at great depths, and the descent
of the islands was repeatedly ascertained as far as the
common lines would extend. Some of these expe-
riments are given in the annexed plate, representing
a section of a coral island from actual measurement.
In considering the subject of these coral forma-
tions, my attention was drawn to the singularity of
the occurrence of openings in them, either opposite
to, or in the direction of some stream of fresh water
from the mountains; and on searching several charts,
I find so many corroborations of the fact, that I have
no doubt of the truth of it: as far as my own obser-
vations extended, it was always so. The aversion
of the lithophytes to fresh water is not singular, as,
independent of its not being the natural element of
those animals, it probably supplies no materials with
which they can work.
It has been suggested, that these openings being
opposite to valleys, the continuation of them under
water is the cause of the break in the reef. But
when we consider the narrowness of these openings,
compared with the width of the valleys, and that
the latter are already filled up to the surface and fur-
CHAP.
VIII.
March,
1826.





264 VOYAGE TO THE
º nished with a smooth sandy beach, many obstacles
S--- will be found to the confirmation of such an opinion;
*...* and it appears to me more reasonable to attribute it
to the nature of the element. The depth of these
channels rarely exceeds twenty-five feet, the great-
est limit probably to which the influence of fresh
water would be felt.
Henderson Island, one of the exceptions men-
tioned in the early part of this discussion, is among
the rare instances of its kind in these seas. It is an
island composed of dead coral, about eighty feet
above the sea, with perpendicular cliffs nearly all the
way round it, as if after being formed in the ocean
it had been pushed up by a subterraneous convul-
sion. These cliffs are undermined at the base, as
though the sea had beaten against them a consider-
able time in their present position. There are no
marks upon them indicative of the island having
risen by degrees; but, on the contrary, a plain sur-
face indicating its ascent by one great effort of nature.
On examining the volcanic islands near Henderson
Island, no traces appeared of the sea having retired;
and we may, therefore, presume it to have risen as
described. Its length is five miles, and breadth one
mile; it is nearly encompassed by a reef of living
coral, so wide that the cliffs, which were at first sub-
jected to the whole force of the waves, are now
beyond the reach even of their spray.
The navigation of this archipelago was made at a
period of the year when the westerly monsoon was
about to commence, and toward the end of which it
had actually begun, and materially retarded our ope-
rations; but previous to that time, or about the be-
ginning of March, the trade was fresh and steady,

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 265
blowing between S.E. by E. and E. N.E., which is
more northerly than the direction of the same trade
between corresponding parallels in the Atlantic. In
consequence of this opposition to the trade wind the
currents were very variable, sometimes setting to the
eastward, and at others in the opposite direction ;
and on the whole, the body of water at that period
is not drifted to the westward with the same rapidity
that it is in other parts of the ocean within the in-
fluence of the tropical winds. The mean tempera-
ture for the above-mentioned period, the weight and
humidity of the atmosphere, with other meteorolo-
gical observations, are given in the Appendix to the
4to ed. under their respective heads.
For the information of persons who may traverse
this archipelago, it is evident from the account of
Tuwarri, that there is a small island situated about
half way between Byam Martin and Barrow Islands,
which was not seen by us; and hence it is possible
that there are other low islands lying between the
tracks of the Blossom which were not seen ; and
ships ought in consequence to keep a vigilant look-
out during the night, or adopt the precaution of
lying to when the weather is dark or thick. The
lead is no guide whatever in these seas, and the
islands are so low that in the night the white line
of the surf or the roar of the breakers would give
the first warning. Fallacious as the appearance of
birds is generally considered, and in some parts of
the globe justly so, in this archipelago, when seen
in flocks, it is an almost certain indication of land.
They range about forty miles from the islands, and
consist principally of black and white tern. This,
however, applies particularly to uninhabited islands;
CHAP.
VIII.
\-Y-
March,
1826.

266 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
VIII.
\-Y-
March,
1826.
for when they become peopled, the birds generally
quit them, and resort to those where they are less
molested.
At day-light on the 15th the Island of Maitea was
seen in the north-west, and soon afterwards the
mountains of Otaheite appeared five minutes above
the horizon at the distance of ninety miles, from
which its height may be roughly estimated at 7000
feet. As we passed Maitea we had an opportunity
of verifying its position and ascertaining its height
to be 1432 feet. Baffling winds prevented us from
reaching our port until the evening of the 18th,
when, at the suggestion of Captain Charlton, his
Majesty's consul for the Society and Sandwich Is-
lands, from whom we had the pleasure of receiving a
visit, we anchored in the outer harbour of Toanoa,
about four miles to the westward of Matavai Bay.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 267
CHAPTER IX.
Proceedings at Otaheite—The Ship visited by the Queen Regent,
the Royal Family, and several Chiefs—Short Account of the
former since Captain Cook's Visit—Successful Issue of a Dis-
pute with the Government respecting the Detention of a trading
Vessel–Visit to the Queen Regent's House—Present Condition
of the Chiefs and of the Inhabitants—Superstitions—Trial of
Natives for Theft of the Ship's Stores—The King visits the Ship
—Lake and Morai of Mirapaye—Dance exhibited by a Party of
New Zealanders—Considerations on the Effect of the Introduc-
tion of Christianity.

THE diversity of feature of the romantic Island of
Otaheite formed a strong contrast with the mono-
tonous appearance of the coral formations; the va-
riety of hill and valley, and of woods and rivers in
the one, after the sameness of flat, sterile, parched-
up surface in the other; and the glassy smoothness
of the harbours around us, opposed to the turbulent
shores we had recently quitted, were gratifying in
the extreme, and impressed us most forcibly with
the truth of the observations of our predecessors,
who have spoken of the scenery of this island in the
highest terms of commendation. -
As I proposed to remain here a few weeks to re-
cruit the health of the crew, who were somewhat
debilitated, and to prepare the ship for her voyage to
the northward, she was moved to an inner anchorage
opposite a small village called Toanoa, and there
secured by a cable fastened to some trees on one
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-
March,
1826.
268 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
*~~
IMarch,
1826,
side, and by a bower anchor dropped at the edge of
a coral reef on the other. This reef forms one side
of the harbour; which, though small, possesses se-
veral advantages over the more spacious one of Pa-
piete generally resorted to, and of which the superior
freshness and salubrity of its atmosphere are not the
most inconsiderable.
Previous to entering upon a relation of our pro-
ceedings with the natives, it must be understood
that the short time we remained, and our various
occupations necessarily rendered our intercourse
with them very limited compared with that of
many of our predecessors. Still, it is hoped, the
remarks which I shall offer will be sufficient to
present a candid and faithful picture of the exist-
ing state of society in the island; a feature by no
means unimportant in the history of the country,
which is otherwise complete. To exceed this, by
dwelling upon the beauties of the scenery, the en-
gaging manners of the inhabitants, their mythology,
superstitions, and legends, &c. would be only to re-
capitulate what has been detailed in the interesting
voyages of Wallis, Cook, Vancouver, Wilson, Turn-
bull, and others, and very recently by Mr. Ellis, in
his valuable work entitled “Polynesian Researches,”
compiled after ten years' residence in the Pacific, and
from the journals of other missionary gentlemen in
those parts. In this useful work Mr. Ellis has traced
the history of some of the islands through all their
various stages; he has explained the origin of
many of their barbarous customs, has elucidated
many hitherto obscure points, and has shown the
difficulties which opposed themselves to the intro-
duction of Christianity; the hardships, dangers, and

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 269
privations, which were endured by himself and his cººp.
brethren, who, actuated by religious motives, were --~
induced to sacrifice their own health, comfort, and *.
worldly advantages in the attempt to ameliorate the
condition of their fellow-creatures. But complete
as that work is in many respects, it is nevertheless
deficient in some essential points. The author, with
a commendable feeling of charity, consonant with
his profession, has by his own admission in the
account of the biography of Pomarree, glossed over
the failings and dwelt upon the better qualities of
the subject of his memoir; and pursuing the same
course throughout, he has impressed the reader with
a more elevated idea of their moral condition and
with a higher opinion of the degree of civilization to
which they have attained, than they deserve; or, at
least, than the facts which came under our observa-
tion authorise. There seems to be no doubt that he
has drawn the picture, generally, as it was presented
to him; but he has unconsciously fallen into an
error almost inseparable from a person of his pro-
fession, who, when mixing with society, finds it
under that restraint which respect for his sacred
office and veneration for his character create. As in
our intercourse with these people they acted more
from the impulse of their natural feelings, and
expressed their opinions with greater freedom, we
were more likely to obtain a correct knowledge of
their real disposition and habits.
To convey to the reader, who has not perused the
above-mentioned work, an idea of the political state
of the island, in which there has been a material
alteration since the period alluded to in the early
voyages, it will be necessary to state briefly that
_


270 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
*~~
March,
1826.
since 1815 a code of laws has been drawn up by
Pomarree II., with the assistance of the missiona-
ries, which has subsequently been extended from
time to time; and that since 1825 a house of parlia-
ment has been established, to which representatives
of the several districts in the island are returned by
popular election. The penalties proposed by Po-
marree were very severe, but that of death has as
yet been enforced upon four culprits only.
The limit thus imposed on the arbitrary power of
the monarch, and the security thus afforded to the
liberties and properties of the people, reflect credit
upon the missionaries, who were very instrumental
in introducing these laws: at the same time, had
they been better informed in the history of mankind,
they would have been less rigid upon particular
points, and would have more readily produced those
benefits which they no doubt hoped would ensue.
Magistrates are appointed to try cases, and conduct
their judicial proceedings in open court, and the po-
lice are continually on the alert both day and night
to prevent irregularities, and to suppress the amuse-
ments of the people, whom, from mistaken views of
religion, they wish to compel to lead a life of austere
privation. -
We found the consul in possession of a small but
comfortable house opposite the anchorage, which
had been hastily run up by the natives for his use ;
and we took the earliest and most favourable oppor-
tunity of impressing the importance of his situation
upon the inhabitants, by the salute due to his rank.
Besides the missionary gentlemen, we found that
several other Europeans were residing in our vici-
nity; and as some of these, as well as the consul, had
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 271
their wives and female relatives with them, we
looked forward to the pleasure of varying our inter-
course with the uncouth natives by more agreeable
society—an anticipation which was fully realised by
their unremitting attention, especially on the part
of the consul, whose house was the general resort
of all the officers. -
Our arrival was immediately communicated,
through the proper channel, to the queen regent,
who lived about a mile from the anchorage, and we
received an intimation of her intention of paying an
early visit to the ship. --
The arrival of a man-of-war at Otaheite is still an
event of much interest, and brings a number of the
inhabitants from the districts adjoining the port,
some in canoes, others on foot. The little hamlet
opposite the ship was almost daily crowded with
strangers, and a vast number of canoes skimmed the
smooth surface of the harbour, or rather the narrow
channel of water which is tied to the shores of this
luxuriant island by reefs of living coral. A re-
markable exception to this scene of bustle occurred
on the day of our arrival, which, although Saturday,
according to our mode of reckoning, was here ob-
served as the Sabbath, in consequence of the mis-
sionaries having proceeded round by the Cape of
Good Hope, and having thereby gained a day upon
us. Next morning, however, a busy scene ensued.
Canoes laden with fruit, vegetables, and articles of
curiosity, thronged as closely round the ship as their
slender outriggers would allow, while such of the in-
habitants as wanted these means of approaching us
awaited their harvest on the shore.
We soon found that the frequent intercourse of
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.

272 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.
Europeans with the islanders had effected an altera-
tion in the nature of the currency, and that those
tinselled ornaments with which we had provided
ourselves were now objects of desire only as presents;
the more substantial articles of clothing and hard
dollars being required for the purposes of the market,
except, perhaps, where a ring or a jew's harp hap-
pened for the moment to attract the attention of
some capricious individual. However gratified we
might be to observe this advance towards civiliza-
tion, we experienced considerable inconvenience
from its effects; for on leaving the coast of Chili,
very few of us had provided dollars, under an im-
pression that they would not be necessary; and those
which we had were principally of the republican
coinage, and as useless in the Otaheitan market as
they would have been in New Zealand. No dollars
bear their full value here, unless the pillars on the
reverse are clearly distinguishable, and a greater de-
gree of value is attached to such as are bright than
to others. So ignorant, indeed, were these simple
people of the real worth of the coin, that it was not
unusual for them to offer two that were blemished
in exchange for one that was new, and in the market
a yard of printed calico, a white shirt, new or old,
provided it had not a hole in it (even a threadbare
shirt that is whole being whimsically preferred to one
which might have been eaten through by a mouse),
or a Spanish dollar that had two pillars upon it, were
in the ordinary way equivalent to a club, a spear, a
conch shell, a paddle, or a pig. Deviations, of course,
occurred from this scale, founded on the superior
quality or size of the article, and occasionally on the
circumstances of the vendor, who, when he antici-





PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 273
pated a better bargain, would accommodate his price “..."
to his preconceived opinion of the disposition of the -º-
purchaser. We were not more conveniently circum- isºs."
stanced in regard to the clothing which we could
offer in exchange, as we had a long voyage before
us, and little to spare without subjecting ourselves to
future inconvenience. We, consequently, found
ourselves at first surrounded with plenty, without
the means of purchase, or obliged to part in payment
with what we could very ill spare: and we incurred
the additional risk of being charged with parsimony,
which the good people of Otaheite are very apt to
attach to those who may not meet their ideas of
generosity. “Taata paree,” or stingy people, is an
epithet which they always affix to such persons, with
a feeling of contempt, although they are themselves
equally open to the charge, never offering a present
without expecting a much larger one in return. It
is very desirable to secure a favourable impression by
liberality on your first arrival at this island; it being
a constant custom with the natives to mark those
who have any peculiarity of person or manner by a
nickname, by which alone the person will be known
as long as any recollection of his visit may remain.
Among the many instances which occurred of this,
was one of a brother officer, who, when we quitted
England, begged to be remembered to his old ac-
quaintances in Otaheite; but we found they had lost
all memory of his name, and we at last only brought
him to their recollection by describing his person,
and mentioning that he had lost an eye by a wound
received in service; on which they at once exclaimed
“Tapane Matapo l’’ or “Captain Blind-eye.” We
were the more anxious to avoid acquiring a distinc-
VOI. I. T
*
274 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
* IX.
tion of this kind for ourselves, as a Russian ship had
S-- just preceded us, the crew of which, according to the
March,
1826.
natives, purchased every thing that was offered with-
out regard to price, at whom they laughed heartily,
because one of the officers had given a blue jacket in
exchange for a pearl which had been ingeniously
made out of an oyster-shell.
Some of us, therefore, had recourse to the Euro-
pean residents, and fortunately obtained what cloth
and specie we wanted; while others preferred bar-
tering such portions of their wardrobes as they
considered unnecessary for their approaching change
of climate.
On the Monday succeeding our arrival, all the
stores of the ship that required removal were landed
and placed under a shed; the observatory was
erected close to the consulate; a rope-walk was con-
structed, and the forge was put up under the shade of
some trees. Thus, as the shore was so near, all the
duties of the ship were carried on under our own
immediate superintendence far more expeditiously
than the confined space on board would have al-
lowed. The sick were also landed, and provided
with a place better adapted to their situation.
The state of our provisions rendered it necessary
to observe the strictest economy, for we had been
confined to our own resources during several months,
and Otaheite afforded nothing except beef and pork,
nor had we any certainty of an opportunity of re-
plenishing them. The bread fruit was, fortunately,
at this time excellent, and was substituted for the
daily allowance of flour, at first in moderate pro-
portions, that no bad effects might arise from such
a change of diet; but, latterly, the crew were al-
ºr












PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 275
lowed as much as they could consume, by which
necessary piece of economy we saved during our
stay about 2,000 pounds of flour, the most valuable
article of sea store; a measure which subsequently
proved of the utmost importance to us. I do not
think that this fruit, though very delicious and
more farinaceous than potatoes, is a satisfactory
substitute for bread, but it is by no means a bad
One.
Foreseeing the possibility of being obliged to
cure our own meat, we fortunately provided a quan-
tity of salt for that purpose at Chili, an article which
we found very scarce at Otaheite; and the consul
made arrangements for salting both beef and pork
for our future use, which succeeded uncommonly
well; and he materially forwarded the object of our
voyage by exerting himself to satisfy all our de-
mands, so far as the resources of the island would
admit. Before our arrival articles of food were
sufficiently cheap ; but the great demand which we
occasioned materially enhanced their prices, and
there appeared to be a great dislike to competition.
The resources of the island, fruit excepted, are con-
siderably diminished from what they formerly were,
notwithstanding the population at one time ex-
ceeded its present amount twenty-fold.
On the day appointed for the visit of the royal
party, the duty of the ship was suspended, and we
were kept in expectation of their arrival until four
o'clock in the afternoon, when I had the honour of
receiving a note, couched in affectionate terms, from
the queen regent, to whom, as well as to her sub-
jects, the loss of time appears to be immaterial,
stating her inability to fulfil her engagement, but
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-
March,
1826.

T 2
276 VOYAGE TO THE

CHAP.
March,
1826.
that she would come on board the following day.
Scarcely twenty minutes had elapsed, however, from
the receipt of this note, when we were surprised by
the appearance of the party, consisting of the queen
regent, the queen dowager and her youthful hus-
band, and Utamme and his wife. Their dress was
an incongruous mixture of European and native
costumes; the two queens had wrappers of native
cloth wound loosely round their bodies, and on their
heads straw poked bonnets, manufactured on the
island, in imitation of some which had been carried
thither by European females, and trimmed with
black ribands. Their feet were left bare, in oppo-
sition to the showy covering of their heads, as if
purposely to mark the contrast between the two
countries whose costumes they united ; and neatly
executed blue lines formed an indelible net-work
over that portion of the frame which in England
would have been covered with silk or cotton.
Utamme, who, without meaning any insinuations
to the disadvantage of the queen, appeared to be on
a very familiar footing with her majesty, (notwith-
standing he was accompanied by his own wife), was
a remarkably tall and comely man ; he wore a straw
hat, and a white shirt, under which he had taken
the necessary precaution of tying on his native
maro, and was provided with an umbrella to screen
his complexion from the Sun. This is the common
costume of all the chiefs, to whom an umbrella is
now become almost as indispensable as a shirt; but
by far the greater part of the rest of the population
are contented with a mat and a maro.
It may be desirable, in this early period of our
communications with the court of Otaheite, to state

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 277
the relationship which exists between the reigning
family and Otoo, who was king of the larger penin-
sula at the period of Captain Cook's last visit.
Otoo, after Cook's departure, was surnamed Po-
marree, from a hoarseness that succeeded a sore
throat which he caught in the mountains, and this
afterwards became the royal patronymic. His son,
Pomarree II., who was a child at that period, suc-
ceeded him in 1803, and reigned until December,
1821, when, having effected many most important
changes in the customs of the island, and having,
under the zealous exertions of the missionaries, con-
verted the chief part of the population to Christian-
ity, he expired in a fit of apoplexy, accelerated, no
doubt, by frequent excesses. Of this man it may be
lamented that his exertions in the cause of Chris-
tianity were not seconded in the fullest extent by a
rigid adherence to its precepts in his own person.
He had two wives, or rather a wife and a mistress,
who were sisters, named Terre-moe-moe, and Po-
marree Waheine. This woman, daughter of the
King of Ulietea, had been sent for from Huaheine
to be married to the king, but being accompanied
by her sister, Terre-moe-moe, who was very superior
in personal attractions, the latter captivated his
majesty at first sight, and received the honour of
his hand, while Pomarree Waheine was retained in
the more humble capacity of mistress. Each sister
bore a child, Terre-moe-moe giving birth to Pomar-
ree III., and the mistress presenting him with a
daughter named Aimatta, the present queen. Po-
marree III. was only six years old at the time we
arrived, and the regency was administered by his
aunt Pomarree Waheine, who I suppose was con-
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.



278 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.
sidered a more fit person to manage the affairs of the
state than her sister, who had doubtless the greater
claim to the office. We found that the queen
mother, widow of Pomarree II., had married a chief
of Bora Bora, a fine-looking lad of ten or eleven
years of age, and that Aimatta was united to a chief
of Huaheine, a short corpulent person, who, in con-
sequence of his marriage, was allowed to bear the
royal name of Pomarree, to which, however, in allu-
sion to his figure, and in conformity with their
usual custom, they had added the appropriate but
not very elegant surname of “Aboo-rai,” or big-
belly.
We treated the royal party with the few good
things which remained, and they landed at night,
highly delighted with a display of fire-works pur-
posely prepared for them. Next morning the party
repeated their visit, somewhat better dressed, and
accompanied by Aimatta and Aboo-rai. They were
followed by a large double canoe and many small
single ones, bearing upon their gunwales heaps of
fruit and roots, and four enormous hogs, at the im-
minent risk of upsetting the whole. The double
canoe was the “last of her race,” and had been used
for the nobler purposes of war, but, like the inhabi-
tants, was now devoted to humbler but more useful
occupations.
As soon as the queen reached the deck she ten-
dered the present to me in the name of the young
king, then at the missionary school at Eimeo, and I
returned the compliment that was due to her for this
mark of her attention, as well as for the munificence
of the gift. As soon as the remainder of the party
were assembled, it was proposed that we should
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 279
adjourn to the breakfast prepared in the cabin; but
the regent desired that every part of the present
should previously be set out on a particular part of
the deck, pigs and all, in order to impress us more
fully with an idea of her liberality; and when the
whole was collected, she led me to the pile, and
expatiated on the superior quality of the fruit.
Having at length assembled at breakfast, which
by this time was cold, a difficulty arose, I was in-
formed, in consequence of Aimatta, the king's sis-
ter, being unwilling to relinquish the distinction she
had enjoyed under the former custom of the island,
which rendered it indecorous for some of her coun-
trywomen, who were of the party, to presume to eat
in the presence of so exalted a personage. As these
distinctions, however, had been removed upon the
introduction of Christianity, there was an evident
apprehension of giving offence to the assembled
chiefs by such a display of ambition on the present
occasion. The inconvenience which it was suggest-
ed would attend the observance of the custom in
this instance, and the opposition afforded by the
precepts of the missionaries to any such mode of
displaying the royal prerogative, relieved us from
our dilemma. A cloud of discontent hung for a
short time on the countenance of our royal guest,
but it was dispelled by the first breeze of mirth,
and the party appeared to enjoy greatly the remain-
der of their visit.
It is by no means surprising that the chiefs should
wish to adhere to such of their old customs as con-
stituted the principal if not the only distinction be-
tween them and their vassals. Should they be de-
prived of these, and should the superstitions, by
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.


280 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP,
1X.
March,
1826.
means of which they awed the lower classes of the
community, be brought into contempt, they would
be left with no other superiority than that conferred
by bodily strength; for in education, and not un-
frequently even in wealth, their advantages were
very limited. Pomarree, in framing his laws to meet
the new circumstances of his subjects, seems to have
been too zealous in pressing his reforms in this as
well as in many other points. It would be ridicu-
lous to advocate the perpetuation of customs fit only
for the darkest ages of barbarism ; but it might pro-
bably not be unwise to retain in the earlier progress
towards improvement such as are least objection-
able; particularly in a country like Otaheite, where
their observance had been enforced with the great-
est rigour. The effect produced by the abolition of
that most detestable of all their pagan rites, human
sacrifice, is noticed by Mr. Ellis in his Polynesian
Researches, to have endangered the royal authority.”
In the course of the day several chiefs came on
board, dressed in white shirts and straw hats; and
were all remarkable for their extraordinary height
and noble appearance. Whether this superiority of
stature is the result of the better quality of their
food, or whether, by the commission of infanticide,
their parents have preserved only the largest or
most healthy children, and bestowed upon them a
more careful nursing than may have fallen to the
lot of their vassals, I cannot say, but it is beyond a
doubt that the advantage which their chiefs enjoyed
in this respect had a strong influence on the minds of
* He says (vol. ii. p. 378.) that “many, free from the restraint
it (human sacrifice) had imposed, seemed to refuse almost all law-
ful obedience and rightful support to the king.”
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 281
the simple Otaheitans, who were with difficulty con-
vinced that the size of the purser (who was the larg-
est man in the ship) did not confer on him the best
claim to be the Ratira-rai, or captain of the Blossom.
The arrival of the chiefs was an event very fa-
vourable to the wishes of the consul, who availed
himself of the opportunity it afforded of urging,
with some prospect of success, the repeal of an or-
der issued by the regent, which had occasioned se-
rious mischief to one of our merchant ships; and
which, if not speedily rescinded, must have endan-
gered not only the property, but even the lives of
individuals trading to these islands. The consul
had already appealed against the obnoxious decree,
but it was at a time when he was not supported by
the presence of a king's ship; and the short-sighted
policy of the regent did not anticipate the probabi-
lity of the consul soon receiving such a powerful
support to his negotiation. She had ventured,
therefore, to dismiss his remonstrance, intimating
that she was fully aware of his defenceless situation.
The case under discussion was as follows.
The queen, seeing the estimation in which the
pearl oyster-shells were held by Europeans, imagin-
ed that by levying a duty on them she would great-
ly increase her revenue. Orders were accordingly
issued to all the tributary islands to seize every ves-
sel trading in shells, which had not previously ob-
tained the royal licence to procure them. The
Chain Islanders, who, from their enterprising and
marauding habits, may be considered the buc-
caneers of the eastern South Sea archipelago, were
too happy to find themselves fortified with a plea
for a proceeding of this nature, and instantly sent
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-
March,
1826.


282 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.
one of their double canoes to Tiokea, where they
found the Dragon, an English brig, taking in pearl
shells. These people behaved in a very friend-
ly manner to her crew, and allowed her quietly
to take her cargo on board; but the Dragon was
no sooner ready to put to sea, than several of the
islanders went on board with the ostensible purpose



of taking leave, but suddenly possessed themselves
of the vessel, overpowering the master and crew,
binding their hands, and sending them on shore as
prisoners. A general plunder of the vessel ensued,
in which every thing moveable was carried away.
The natives, after this atrocious act, went to church
to return thanks for their victory, and to render their
prayers more acceptable, transferred the bell of the
ship to their place of worship. During several days
they detained the master bound hand and foot, and
debated whether he should not be put to death and
eaten; a fate which we were informed he would in
all probability have encountered but for the inter-
ference of one of their chiefs, for the Tiokeans are
still reputed to be cannibals, notwithstanding they
have embraced the christian religion. The crew,
more fortunate than their commander, very soon
obtained their release, upon condition of fitting the
brig for sea, the natives imagining they could navi-
gate her themselves. The vessel being ready, the
master, under some pretext, obtained permission to
go on board, and having speedily established an un-
derstanding with his crew, he cut the cables and
carried her out to sea. -
The stolen property was of course never recovered,
and the vessel was so plundered of her stores that the
object of her voyage was lost. When she reached
PACIFIC AND BEERING's STRAIT. 283
º
Otaheite the master stated the case to the consul,
whose representation of the outrage to the queen
was, as has already been said, treated with derision.
The consul availed himself of the present occasion to
obtain restitution of the stolen property, or remune-
ration for the owners, and a repeal of the objection-
able order, the execution of which it is evident could
not be safely confided to a barbarous people, at all
times too prone to appropriate to themselves what-
ever mightfall within their reach. Her majesty was
exceedingly unwilling to abandon this source of re-
venue, and strenuously urged her indubitable right
to levy taxes within her own dominions, maintaining
her arguments with considerable shrewdness, and
appealing finally to the chiefs. Finding them, how-
ever, disposed to accede to the demands of the con-
Sul, she burst into tears; but at length consented,
by their advice, to send a circular to the Pamoutas,
or Low Islands, directing that no molestation should
be offered to any vessels trading in shells, or touch-
ing at those islands for refreshment; but on the con-
trary that all necessary aid and assistance should be
afforded to them ; and that in the event of any dis-
pute, the matter should be referred to the authorities
at Otaheite.
This concession destroyed the complacency of the
queen for some time, but she recovered her spirits in
the course of the afternoon, and amused herself much
by listening to the drum, which she begged might be
permitted to play on the upper deck. As this spe-
cies of music, however, was not very agreeable in the
confined space of a ship, it was proposed that the in-
strument should be removed to the shade of some
tall trees on the shore, whither the whole party
CHAL’.
IX.
\*~~
March,
1826.

284 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
\-y-/
March,
1826.
repaired; the drummer continuing his performance,
and marching to and fro, until he became heartily
tired, to the infinite delight of the assembled popu-
lace, who crowded round, and even scaled the loftiest
trees, to obtain a glimpse of him.
A few days after this visit the queens came again
to Toanoa, and I invited them into the tent we had
pitched on shore, with the view of making a present
to each of them, and of confiding to their care the
presents intended for Pomarree Aboo-rai, Aimatta,
and Utamme, who were absent. The present for
the king, which consisted of a handsome double-
barrelled gun inlaid with silver, with some broad-
cloth and other valuables, I reserved until I should
have an opportunity of seeing him. The other par-
cels were apportioned according to what I consider-
ed to be the rank of the parties, and the name of each
person was placed on his destined share. The re-
gent, however, opened them all, and very uncere-
moniously transferred a portion of each to her own,
and huddling the whole together, she sent them off
to her canoe. Then finishing half a bottle of brandy
between them, the regent and her sister despatched
the remainder of the spirits after the presents, and
took their leave. -
In the course of the day we received an invitation
to pass the evening at the regent's house at Papiete,
a very romantic spot about a mile from the place
where the ship was anchored. After a delightful
walk along the shore in the refreshing coolness which
succeeds a tropical day, we arrived at the royal re-
sidence, which was in one of those spacious sheds
frequently mentioned by my predecessors. It was
about a hundred feet in length, by thirty-five in










PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 285
width, of an oval form, with a thatched roof, sup-
ported upon small poles placed close together. By
the light of the moon we discovered a small door
about mid-way between the extremities, which we
entered, and immediately found ourselves in dark-
ness. On groping our way, our shins came in con-
tact with several bamboo partitions dividing the area
into various compartments. In one of these we
distinguished by the rays of moonlight which fell
through the interstices of the dwelling, that it was
occupied by toutous, or common people, of both
sexes. We, therefore, turned to the opposite direc-
tion, which soon led us to the royal saloon, which
we found illuminated by a yellow and melancholy
light proceeding from a rag hung over the edge
of a broken cocoa-nut shell half filled with oil.
The apartment, to our surprise, was quite still ; but
we were soon greeted with the salutation of “Eu-
ranna-poy” (How do you do?) from a number of
athletic men, her majesty’s favourites, as they awoke
in succession from their nap.
We at length discovered the queen regent ex-
tended upon a mat spread upon dried grass, with
which the whole apartment was strewed ; around
her, upon mats also, were several interesting young
females; and occupying a wooden bedstead, placed
against a slight partition, which contained numerous
cases filled with cocoa-nut oil, we found Pomarree
Aboo-rai, and Aimatta. Our entry threw this nu-
merous party into a state of activity and bustle,
some to procure a second light, and some to accom-
modate us with mats; while Pomarree, drawing his
tappa round him, led forward his princess, Aimatta,
and extended his politeness much beyond what we
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-'
March,
1826.


286 VOYAGE TO THE .
CHAP.
IX.
\-N-
March,
1826.
could possibly have anticipated from so young a
husband.
Fearful that we might have misunderstood the
morning invitation, or that we were later than we
had been expected, we began to offer apologies, and
to excuse ourselves for breaking in upon the repose
of the party; but the indisposition of the queen
appeared to be the cause, as she was suffering from
repletion, and, forgetting all about the invitation,
had retired earlier than usual. She had scarcely had
sufficient rest when we arrived to engage in any
amusement herself, but gave us a friendly reception,
and desired that a dance might be performed for our
entertainment. This was an indulgence we hardly
expected, such performances being prohibited by
law, under severe penalties, both against the per-
formers, and upon those who should attend such
exhibitions; and for the same reason it was necessary
that it should be executed quietly, and that the vivo,
or reed pipe, should be played in an under tone, that
it might not reach the ears of an aava, or policeman,
who was parading the beach, in a soldier's jacket,
with a rusty sword; for even the use of this melo-
dious little instrument, the delight of the natives,
from whose nature the dance and the pipe are inse-
parable, is now strictly prohibited. None of us had
witnessed the dances of these people before they
were restrained by law ; but in that which was
exhibited on the present occasion, there was nothing
at which any unprejudiced person could take offence;
and it confirmed the opinion I had often heard ex-
pressed, that Pomarree, or whoever framed the laws,
would have more effectually attained his object had
these amusements been restricted within proper
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 287
limits, rather than entirely suppressed. To some of "º".
us, who had formed our opinion of the native dance -->
of this island from the fascinating representation of *.
it by Mr. Webber, who accompanied Captain Cook,
that which we saw greatly disappointed our expec-
tation, and we turned from it to listen to the simple
airs of the females about the queen, who sang very
well, and were ready improvisatrices, adapting the
words of the song to the particular case of each
individual.
While these amusements engaged the attention
of our party, scenes of a very different nature were
passing in the same apartment, which must have
convinced the greatest sceptic of the thoroughly
immoral condition of the people; and if he reflected
that he was in the royal residence, and in the pre-
sence of the individual at the head of both church
and state, he would have either concluded, as Turn-
bull did many years before, that their intercourse
with Europeans had tended to debase rather than to
exalt their condition, or that they were wilfully
violating and deriding laws which they considered
ridiculously severe.
In our intercourse with the chiefs and middle
classes of society, the impression left by this night's
entertainment was in some measure removed ; and
especially as regards the former, who are, on the
whole, a well-behaved class of men, though they are
much addicted to intemperance. A party of them,
among which were Utammee and Pa-why, came
on board one day, and having received a present of
a bottle of rum from the cabin, went to pay a visit
to the gun-room officers, who politely offered them
a glass of wine, but evincing some reluctance to this

288 . VOYAGE TO THE - __
CHAP.
IX.
\-e-r-
March,
1826.
beverage, rum was placed upon the table, upon
which the chiefs manifested their approbation, and
Utammee seizing the bottle requested it as a pre-
sent, and then emptying their glasses, which had
been filled with wine, to the toast of Euranna
poy, they bowed politely and withdrew. This par-
tiality for spirits seems to be an incorrigible vice,
and it is a fortunate circumstance that their means
of indulging in it are so very limited. Some of
them have materially benefited by the residence of
the missionaries, and, in particular, two who resided
at Matavai, about four miles to the eastward of our
anchorage. They piqued themselves on their imi-
tation of European customs, and had neat little cot-
tages, built after the European style, with white-
washed fronts, which, peeping through some ever-
green foliage, had a most agreeable effect, and being
the only cottages of this description upon the island
in the possession of the natives, were the pride of
their owners. The apartments contained chests,
chairs, a table, and a knife and fork for a guest; and
nothing gave these chiefs greater pleasure than the
company of some of the officers of the ship. Each
of them could read and write their own language,
and the elder, Pa-why, had, I believe, been useful
to the missionaries in translating some part of the
Scriptures. He was the more learned of the two
brothers; but Hetotte was the more esteemed, and
was an exception to almost all his countrymen in
not asking for what was shown to him. His in-
quiries concerning the use of every thing which
offered itself to his notice, on coming on board the
ship, surprised and interested us; while his amiable
disposition and engaging manners won him the



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 289
º
esteem of almost all on board. An anecdote illus-
trative of his character will be read with interest.
The missionaries had for several years endeavoured
to produce a change of religion in the island, by
explaining to the natives the fallacy of their belief,
and assuring them that the threats of their deities
were absurd. Hetotte at length determined to put
their assertions to the test, by a breach of one of the
strictest laws of his religion, and resolved either to
die under the experiment or embrace the new faith.
A custom prevailed of offering pigs to the deity,
which were brought to the morai and placed upon
whattas, or fautas, for the purpose. From that mo-
ment they were considered sacred, and if afterwards
any human being, the priests excepted, dared to
commit so great a sacrilege as to partake of the of.
fering, it was supposed that the offended god would
punish the crime with instant death. Hetotte
thought a breach of this law would be a fair cri-
terion of the power of the deity, and accordingly
stole some of the consecrated meat, and retired with
it to a solitary part of the wood to eat it, and per-
haps to die. As he was partaking of the food, he ex-
pected at each mouthful to experience the ven-
geance he was provoking; but having waited a consi-
derable time in the wood in awful suspense, and
finding himself rather refreshed, than otherwise, by
his meal, he quitted the retreat and went quietly
home. For several days he kept his secret, but
finding no bad effects from his transgression, he dis-
closed it to every one, renounced his religion, and
embraced Christianity. Such instances of resolution
and good sense, though they have been practised
before, are extremely rare in Otaheite, and in this
WOL. I. U
CHAP.
IX.
\-y-/
March,
1826.

290 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
March,
1826.
sketch of the two brothers a highly favourable
picture is presented of the class to which they be-
long; though there are others, particularly Taate,
the first and most powerful chief upon the island,
who are equally deserving of favourable notice.
Of the rest of the population, though their ex-
ternal deportment is certainly more guarded than
formerly, in consequence of the severe penalties
which their new laws attach to a breach of decorum,
yet their morals have in reality undergone as little
change as their costume. Notwithstanding all the
restrictions imposed, I do not believe that I should
exceed the bounds of truth in saying, that, if oppor-
tunity offered, there is no favour which might not
be obtained from the females of Otaheite for the
trifling consideration of a Jew’s harp, a ring, or some
other bauble.
Their dwellings, with the exception of doors to
some, and occasionally latches and locks, are pre-
cisely what they were when the island was first dis-
covered. The floor is always strewed with grass,
which they are not at all careful to preserve clean or
dry, and it consequently becomes extremely filthy
and disagreeable; and when it can be no longer
endured, it is replaced by fresh material. Their
household furniture has been increased by the intro-
duction of various European articles; and a chest,
or occasionally a bedstead, may be seen occupying
the corner of an apartment; but these are not yet
in great demand, the natives having little to put
into the former, and esteeming such of the latter as
have found their way to Otaheite scarcely more de-
sirable places of repose than their mats spread upon
straw. The extreme mildness of the climate, how-


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 291
ever, sufficiently accounts for the contented state of
the population in this respect.
Their occupations are few, and in general only
such as are necessary to existence or to the grati-
fication of vanity. In our repeated visits to their
huts we found them engaged either in preparing
their meals, plaiting straw-bonnets, stringing the
smallest kinds of beads to make rings for the fingers
or the ears, playing the Jew's harp, or lolling about
upon their mats; the princess excepted, whose
greatest amusement consisted in turning a hand-
organ. The indolence of these people has ever been
notorious, and has been a greater bar to the success
of the missionaries than their previous faith. The
fate of the experiment on the cotton in Eimeo is an
exemplification of this. It is well known that the
land was cleared, and the cotton planted and grown,
but the perseverance to clean the crop, to make it
marketable, was wanting; and finding no sale for
the article in its rude state, they forbore to cultivate
it the next year. A small portion, however, was
picked by way of experiment: the missionaries
taught the girls to spin, and even furnished them
with a loom, and instructed them in the use of it,
upon condition that they should weave fifty yards
of cloth for the king, and fifty for themselves. The
novelty of the employment at first brought many
pupils, but they would not persevere, and not one
was found who fulfilled the engagement. The pro-
portion due to the king was wove, but not as much
more as would make a single gown, and the pupils,
after a dispute regarding their wages, abandoned
the employment about the period of our arrival.
“Why should we work?” they would say to us;
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-
March,
1826.

U 2

292 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-'
March,
1826.
“ have we not as much bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts,
bananas, vee-apples, &c. as we can eat? It is very
good for you to work who require fine clothes and
fine ships; but,” looking around their apartment
with evident satisfaction, “we are contented with
what we possess.” And in disposition they cer-
tainly appeared to be so; for a more lively, good-
natured, inoffensive people it is impossible to con-
ceive. The only interruption to their general sere-
nity appears to be occasioned by the check which
the laws have placed upon their amusements; a
feeling which became very apparent the moment
the missionaries were mentioned. They have in
general, however, a great respect for those gentle-
men, and are fearful of the consequences of offend-
ing them. -
Some of the natives had an indistinct notion of
this philanthropic Society, and were not a little
surprised at being told that we were not missiona-
ries ; and in answer to their inquiry “ King George
missionary 2” their astonishment was greatly in-
creased at being informed that he was not ; for as
they had an idea that King George was at the head
of the missionary Society, they naturally imagined
that his officers must of course also belong to it.
This misconception had been so generally enter-
tained before our arrival, that we were told they
had threatened to complain to the society of the
master of a merchant ship who had by some means
incurred their displeasure.
The Otaheitans were always a very superstitious
people, and notwithstanding their change of religion
still entertain most absurd notions on several points.
Though they have ceased to give credit to any
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 293
recent prophecies, many firmly believe they have
seen the fulfilment of some of the predictions that
were made before their conversion to Christianity,
of which the invasion of the island by the natives of
Bora Bora was one. This event was foretold by a
little bird called Oomamoo, which had the gift of
speech, and used to warn persons of any danger
with which they were threatened. On many occa-
sions, when persons have taken refuge in the moun-
tains to avoid a mandate for a victim for the morai,
or to escape from some civil commotion, this little
bird has been their guardian spirit, has warned them
when danger was near, and directed them how to
escape pursuit. I used to laugh at Jim, our inter-
preter, a good-natured intelligent fellow, for his
belief in these tales; but he was always very earnest
in his relation of them, and never allowed himself
to join in our ridicule. Though he confessed that
this little monitor had been dumb since the intro-
duction of Christianity, yet it would evidently have
been as difficult to make him believe it never had
spoken, as that the danger of which it warned him
had never existed ; and this feeling is, I believe,
common to all his countrymen. Nothing is more
difficult than the removal of early impressions, par-
ticularly when connected with superstitions. I was
one evening returning with him round the shore
of the bay from Papiete, a favourite route, and
was conversing on the superstitions of his country-
men, when we came to a retired spot crowned
with tall cocoa-nut trees, with a small glen behind
it. Night was fast approaching, and the long
branches of the palm, agitated by the wind, pro-
duced a mournful sound, in unison with the subject
CHAP.
IX.
S-Y-
March,
1826.


294 VOYAGE TO THE
* of our conversation. As we passed I observed Jim
S-' endeavouring to get on the outside, and latterly
*. walking in the wash of the sea; and found that he
never liked to pass this spot after dark for fear of
the spirits of his unfortunate countrymen who were
hanged there between the cocoa-nut trees. The
popular belief, before the introduction of our faith,
was, that the spirit of the deceased visited the
body for a certain time, and for this reason many
of them would on no account approach this place
in the night time. - -
A few days after our arrival some offenders
were brought to trial, and as we were desirous of
witnessing the proceedings of the court, it was re-
moved from its usual site, to the shade of some trees
in our immediate vicinity. The court was ranged
upon benches placed in successive rows under the
trees, with the prisoners in front, under the charge
of an officer with a drawn sabre, and habited in a
volunteer's jacket and a maro. The aava-rai of the
district in which the crimes had been committed
took his place between the court and the prisoners,
dressed in a long straw mat, finely plaited, and
edged with fringe, with a slit cut in it for the head
to pass through ; a white oakum wig, which, in imi-
tation of the gentlemen of our courts of law, flowed
in long curls over his shoulders, and a tall cap sur-
mounting it, curiously ornamented with red fea-
thers, and with variously coloured tresses of human
hair. His appearance without shoes, stockings, or
trousers, the strange attire of the head, with the va-
riegated tresses of hair mingling with the oakum
curls upon his shoulders, produced, as may be ima-
gined, a ludicrous effect; and I regret that the
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 295
limits of this work prevent my subjoining an ad-
mirable representation of it by Mr. Smyth.
The prisoner being brought up, the aava read
certain passages from the penal code, and then ac-
cused the prisoner of having stolen a gown from a
European resident. He instantly pleaded guilty to
the charge, and thereby saved a great deal of trouble.
He was then admonished against the repetition of
evil practices, and fined four hogs, two to the king,
and two to the person from whom the property had
been stolen. Bail is not necessary in Otaheite; and
the prisoner, consequently, was allowed to go where
he pleased, which of course was to such of his friends
as were most likely to supply him with a hog.
Three other persons were then put to the bar, and
fined for a breach of our seventh commandment.
The young lady, who had sinned with several per-
sons, but two of whom only were detected, smil-
ingly heard herself sentenced to make twenty yards
of cloth, and the two men to furnish six posts each,
for a building that was about to be erected at Pa-
piete. In default of payment transgressors are con-
demned to labour.
Before we sailed, a more serious theft was com-
mitted on the stores of the ship, which had been
placed under a shed, and likewise on the wearing
apparel of one of the officers who was ill on shore.
Immediately the aavas (policemen) heard of it, they
were on the alert, and arrested two men, on whom
suspicion fell, from their having slept in the place
the night of the robbery, and absconded early in the
morning. The news of the offence spread with its
accustomed rapidity among uncivilized tribes; and
various were the reports in circulation, as to the
CHAP.
March,
1826.



296 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-'
March,
1826.
manner in which I intended to visit the misde-
meanour. The prisoners at first acknowledged their
guilt, but afterwards denied it; and declared they
had been induced to make the confession from the
threats of the aavas who apprehended them. No-
thing was found upon them, and no person could be
brought forward as a direct witness of the fact; so
that their guilt rested on circumstantial evidence
alone. I was, however, anxious to bring the of
fenders to trial, as all the sails and the stores of the
ship were on shore, and at the mercy of the inha-
bitants; and unless severe measures were pursued in
this instance, successive depredations would in all
probability have occurred. The chiefs were in con-
sequence summoned, and at an early date the pri-
soners were brought to trial opposite the anchorage.
As it was an extraordinary case, I was invited to the
tribunal, and paid the compliment of being allowed
to interrogate the prisoners; but nothing conclusive
was elicited, though the circumstantial proof was so
much against them that five out of six of the chiefs
pronounced them guilty. The penalty in the event
of conviction in a case of this nature is, that the cul-
prit shall pay fourfold the value of the property
stolen : in this instance, however, as the articles could
not be replaced, and the value was far beyond what
the individuals could pay, I proposed, as the chiefs
referred the matter to me, that, by way of an
example, and to deter others from similar acts, the
prisoners should suffer corporal punishment. Their
laws, however, did not admit of this mode of punish-
ment, and the matter concluded by the chiefs making
themselves responsible for the stores, and directing
Pa—why to acquaint the people that they had done
so, promising to make further inquiry into the mat-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. • 297
ter; which was never done, and the prisoners es-
caped : but the investigation answered our purpose
equally well, as the stores afterwards remained un-
touched. The various reports which preceded the
trial, the assembling of the chiefs, and other circum-
stances, had brought together a great concourse of
people. Pa-why, raising himself above the multi-
tude, harangued them in a very energetic and appa-
rently elegant manner, much to the satisfaction of
the inhabitants, who all dispersed and went quietly
to their homes. The consideration which the chiefs
gave to the merits of this question, and the pains
they took to elicit the truth, reflect much credit
upon them. The case was a difficult one, and He-
totte, not being able to make up his mind to the
guilt of the prisoners, very honestly differed from
his colleagues; and his conduct, while it afforded a
gratifying instance of the integrity of the man,
showed a proper consideration for the prisoners,
which in the darker ages would have been sacrificed
to the interested motive of coinciding in opinion
with the majority. If we compare the fate which
would have befallen the prisoners, supposing them
innocent, had they been arraigned under the early
form of government, with the transactions of this
day, we cannot but congratulate the people on the
introduction of the present penal code, and acknow-
ledge that it is one of the greatest temporal blessings
they have derived from the introduction of Chris-
tianity. At the same time it is just to observe, that
had a similar depredation been committed under
those circumstances, there is every reason to believe
from former experience, that the real offender would
have been detected, and the property restored.
On the 3d April the young king landed at Ota-
CHAP.
IX
March,
1826.

298 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.
heite from Eimeo, and was received with the most
enthusiastic shouts of his subjects, who were assem-
bled in great numbers on the beach to welcome his
arrival. The following day he paid a visit to the
ship, attended by the queen, a numerous retinue,
and Mr. Pritchard, the principal missionary upon
the island. I saluted the king on the occasion with
nine guns, much to the delight of his subjects; and
presented him with the fowling-piece which was
sent out by the government for that purpose. The
stock was inlaid with silver, and the case handsomely
lined, and fitted up in a manner which made a deep
impression on the minds of the Otaheitans, who are
extremely fond of display, and who expressed their
approbation by repeated exclamations of “My-tiel
mia my-tie Pretannee" as each article was exhibited.
The king was a well-behaved boy, of slender make,
uniting with the rudiments of an European educa-
tion much native shrewdness; and the chiefs were
considerably interested in him, as they considered his
education would give him advantages over his pre-
decessors; and his succession to the throne would
remove the reins of government from the hands of
the present possessor, whose measures were not
always the most disinterested or beneficial to her
country; and who, in consequence of her influence
with the Boo-ratiras, the most powerful body of men
upon the island, often carried her plans into execu-
tion in spite of the wishes of the chiefs to the con-
trary. But the object of their hopes unfortunately
died the following year, and the sceptre passed to
the hands of Aimatta, his sister, of whom the mis-
sionaries speak well.
Before we sat down to dinner, I was amused at

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 299
Jim, the interpreter, bringing me the queen dow-
ager's compliments, and “she would be much obliged
by a little rum,” to qualify a repast she had been
making on raw fish, by way, I suppose, of provoking
an appetite for dinner. We had missed her majesty
a few minutes before from the cabin, and on looking
over the stern of the ship, saw her seated in a native
boat finishing her crude repast.
A few days previous to this visit Lieutenant
Belcher was despatched in the barge to Mirapaye,
in the district of Papara, to bring round a quantity
of beef which had been prepared there for the ship's
use by Mr. Henry, the son of one of the early
missionaries. In this district there is a lake and a
morai, of which it will be proper to give a short
notice, as the former is considered curious, and
foreigners are often led, by the exaggerated account
of the natives, to visit the place, which really does
not repay the trouble it involves. To convey some
idea of the difficulty of reaching this lake, Lieu-
tenant Belcher and Mr. Collie, who accompanied
him, crossed a stream which ran through the valley
leading to it twenty-nine times in their ascent,
sometimes at a depth considerably above their knees;
and after it was passed it was necessary to climb the
mountain upon hands and knees, and to maintain
their position by grasping the shrubs in their way,
which indeed were, for the most part, weak and
treacherous, consisting principally of the musa sapi-
entum, spondias dulcis, and some ferns.
“In this manner,” says Mr. Collie, “ after trac-
ing a zigzag and irregular course, and losing our
way once or twice, we reached the highest part of
the acclivity; and then descending a short distance,
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.




300 VOYAGE TO THE
-
* the puny lake burst upon our disappointed view.”
S-- Its dimensions were estimated at three quarters of
*... a mile in circumference; and it was stated by the
natives to be fourteen fathoms deep. The water of
the lake was muddy, and appeared to receive its
supplies from several small streams from the moun-
tains, and the condensation of the vapour around,
which fell in a succession of drops, and, bounding
off the projecting parts of the cliff, formed here and
there thin and airy cascades. Though there is a
constant accession of water, there has not yet been
found any outlet to the lake; and what renders it
still more curious is, that when heavy rains descend,
the water, instead of rising and overflowing its mar-
gin, is carried off by some subterraneous channel.
The natives say, when these rains occur there is a
great rush of water from a large cavern beneath the
bed of the lake. The temperature of the lake at
seven A. M. was 72°, and that of the atmosphere 71°.
During a shower of rain it rose to 74°: a thermo-
meter at the level of the sea at the same time stood
at 77°. One side of the lake was bounded by lofty
perpendicular precipices, the other by a gentle slope
covered with the varied verdure of trees, shrubs,
and ferns, with a few herbaceous plants. The gene-
ral appearance of the country suggested the idea of
an enormous avalanche, which stopped up the valley,
and intercepted the streams that heretofore found
their way along its bed to the sea.
The lake was estimated at 1500 feet above the
level of the sea, and the cliffs from which this ava-
lanche appeared to have been precipitated were con-
sidered to be eight hundred feet more. Though at
so great a height, and so far from any large tract of
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 301
land, this extraordinary basin is said to abound in
fresh-water eels of an enormous size. On the mar-
gin of the basin, blocks of columnar basalt, with
porous and vesicular lava, were heaped in great
confusion.
On the eastern side, Mr. Belcher found great
quantities of vesicular shaggy lava, which led him
to suppose a volcano had existed in the vicinity;
and he remarks that many persons who have visited
the lake were of opinion that it was a crater filled
with water. In other parts he collected some very
perfect crystals of basaltic hornblend, and found one
or two of olivine on the surface of the vesicular lava.
The lake appeared to be falling rapidly when they
saw it; at a place where Mr. Belcher was obliged to
cross it there were eighteen inches of water; some
time after, at sunset, there were only six inches;
and the next morning the rock was dry. On exa-
mining this place he noticed a large chasm beneath
a rock, through which it appeared the water had
found an outlet; and favoured the opinion of the
basin being caused by an avalanche.
The morai is the same as that exhibited in the
voyage of Mr. Wilson, and mentioned by Captain
Cook. Its measurements have been given in those
voyages, and perhaps more correctly than the pre-
sent dilapidated state of the edifice admits. But its
history is interesting, as it was told by a descendant
of the chief who erected it, and whose family, as
well as himself, were priests of the god to whom it
was consecrated. It differs in several respects from
the account given by Mr. Ellis; but I insert it as
related to Mr. Belcher by the chief.
The great-grandfather of Taati, the present chief,
/ >
ºf
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-2
April,
1826.


302 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.
whose name holds a conspicuous place in the wars of
Pomarree, was defeated in a pitched battle by the
king. The chief, incensed at the god under whose pro-
tection he fought, went to Ulietea, and by devotion,
presents, and promises, induced the god of that place,
Oroo, to accompany him to Otaheite. On his re-
turn, the new and, as it was supposed, powerful god,
so inspired the refugee party with courage, that they
again rallied around their chief, and so forcibly did
the superstition of those dark ages operate, that the
king, before victorious, was now repeatedly beaten
and driven to the opposite side of the island. The
chief, having secured tranquillity to his district, be-
gan to construct the morai above alluded to, which
was of such magnitude as to require two years for
its completion. It was then dedicated to the god
whose presence had achieved for him such repeated
victories.
The change effected in the circumstances of the
chief of Papara by the introduction of this new god,
acquired for the deity a reputation beyond anything
that had been known in Otaheite; and the king de-
termined to obtain possession of it. By bribing the
priests, he was allowed to pay his devotions to the dei-
ty, and afterwards to fight under its auspices, which
he did so successfully that he ultimately obtained
possession of the idol. A morai was then built for it
in the valley of Atehuru, situated between Mirapaye
and Papiete; memorable as the place where the last
battle was fought which decided the cause between
Christianity and paganism, and crowned with success
the labours of the missionaries, who for eighteen
years had been unremitting in their endeavours to
accomplish this great end; this valley is also cele-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 303
brated in consequence of a strong-hold on an emi-
nence near it, where the old men and women used
to retire in all cases of attack upon the district. In
this last and important battle Taati's brother lost his
life, supporting to the last the cause of idolatry.
Taati himself had been converted to the new faith,
and was joined with Pomarree in opposition to his
relation. -
While we were at anchor, a whale-ship arrived
from New Zealand, with a party of natives of that
country on board, whom the master permitted to
exhibit their war-dance for our diversion. After
the duty of the day was over, the party assembled
in front of the consul’s house, and the Otaheitans,
anxious for an opportunity of comparing the dances
of other countries with their own, crowded round in
great numbers to witness the performance.
The exhibition took place by torch-light, and
began by the party being drawn up in a line with
their chief in advance, who regulated their motions;
which, though very numerous, were all simultaneous,
and showed that they were well practised in them.
They began by stamping their feet upon the ground,
and then striking the palms of the hands upon the
thighs for about a minute, after which, they threw
their bodies into a variety of contortions, twisted their
heads about, grinned hideously, and made use of all
kinds of imprecations and abuse on their supposed
enemy, as if to defy him to battle: having at length
worked themselves into a complete frenzy, they ut-
tered a yell, and rushed to the conflict; which, from
what we saw represented, must in reality be horrible;
the effect upon the peaceable Otaheitans was such
that long before they came to the charge some of them
CHAP.
IX.
April.
1826.

304 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.
ran away through fear, and all, no doubt, congratu-
lated themselves that there was so wide an expanse
of water between their country and New Zealand.
A dirge over the fallen enemy concluded the per-
formance, which it is impossible adequately to de-
scribe. We learned from the whaler, that Shonghi,
the New Zealand chief who was educated in Eng-
land, was availing himself of the superiority he had
acquired, and was making terrible ravages among
his countrymen, whose heads, when dried, furnished
him with a lucrative trade. -
On the 24th we prepared for our departure: dur-
ing our stay we visited the natives almost daily in
their habitations, and became well acquainted with
their habits and manner of living ; but in this inter-
course there was so little novelty, that, considering
how many volumes have been written upon the
country, by persons whose stay far exceeded ours, it
would be both tiresome and useless to detain the
reader with their description. The conclusion gene-
rally arrived at was, that the people retain much of
their original character and many of their habits, and

appear to have been particularly described by Turn-
bull; but if early historians err not, they have lost
much of their cheerfulness, and the women a great
deal of their beauty.
Considering the advances the country had made
toward the formation of a government by the elec-
tion of a parliament, and by the promulgation of
laws, we certainly expected to find something in
progress to meet approaching events, yet in none of
our excursions did we see any manufactures beyond
those which were in use when the island was first
discovered, but on the contrary, it was evident that

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 305
they had neglected many which then existed. We
were sorry to find that none of those in operation
could be materially useful to the state; that there
were no dawnings of art, nor did there appear to be
any desire on the part of the people to improve
their condition; but so far from it, we noticed a
feeling of composure and indifference which will be
the bane of their future prosperity.
The island is nevertheless imperceptibly entering
into notice: it is advantageously situated for various
purposes of commerce, and, consequently, in the event
of a war between England and other powers, it might
be subjected to many annoyances from the most insig-
nificant force—from any armed vessel indeed which
might think it her duty to annoy the island on the
ground of its reputed alliance with England. There
are no works of defence to obviate such a possibi-
lity: the natives have not yet thought of the pre-
caution, much less have they commenced any pre-
paration, and the island throughout is in a perfectly
defenceless condition. The weapons with which
their battles were formerly fought are now in dis-
use, and the inhabitants have lost the skill necessary
to employ them to advantage. A number of mus-
kets distributed amongst the population creates an
imaginary security, but the bad condition of the
arms, and the want of powder, would render them
unavailable. At all events they are deficient in an
organised body of men; a species of defence which
seems necessary for the security of every country
that does not wish her shores to be invaded, or to
have her internal tranquillity disturbed by feuds;
which in Otaheite have frequently occurred, and are
very likely to do so again, either from the differ-
VOL. H. X
CHAP.
IX.

April,
1826.
306 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
\-e-Y-2
April,
1826.
ences of opinion in the affairs of the government, or
from the jealousies between the chiefs and the great
landholders, the Boo Ratiras. Their tranquillity
besides may have hitherto depended upon their ob-
scurity, or on the equally defenceless condition of
their neighbours with themselves; but the exten-
sion of navigation has removed the one, and an ad-
vancement of civilization and of power has destroy-
ed the balance of the other. -
Religious books are distributed among the huts
of such of the natives as are converted, or who are,
as they term themselves, missi-narees; but many of
the inhabitants are still tooti-ouris or bad characters,
an old expression signifying literally rusty iron, and
now indiscriminately used for a dissenter from the
Christian religion and a low character. These per-
sons are now of no religion, as they have renounced
their former One, and have not embraced that which
has been recently introduced.
Ignorance of the language prevented my obtain-
ing any correct information as to the progress that
had been made generally towards a knowledge of the
Scriptures by those who were converted; but my
impression was, and I find by the journals of the
officers it was theirs also, that it was very limited,
and but few understood the simplest parts of them.
Many circumstances induced me to believe that
they considered their religious books very much in
the same light as they did their household gods;
and in particular their conduct on the occasion of a
disturbance which arose from some false reports at
the time of the robbery on the stores of the ship,
when they deposited these books in the mission, and
declared themselves to be indifferent about their






PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT, 307
lives and property, so long as the sacred volume,
which could be replaced at any time for a bamboo
of oil, was in safety. In general those who were
missi-narees had a proper respect for the book, but
associating with it the suppression of their amuse-
ments, their dances, singing, and music, they read
it with much less good will than if a system had
been introduced which would have tempered reli-
gion with cheerfulness, and have instilled happiness
into society.
The Otaheitans, passionately fond of recreation,
require more relaxation than other people; and
though it might not have been possible at once to
clear the dances from the immoralities attending
them, still it would have been good policy to sanc-
tion these diversions under certain restrictions, until
laws which were more important began to sit easy
on the shoulders of the people. Without amuse-
ments, and excessively indolent, they now seek en-
joyment in idleness and sensuality, and too much pains
cannot be bestowed to arouse them from their apa-
thy, and to induce them to emerge from their gene-
ral state of indifference to those occupations which
are most essential to their welfare. Looking only
to the past, they at present seem to consider that
they can proceed in the same easy manner they
have hitherto done; forgetting that their wants, for-
merly gratified by the natural produce of the earth,
have lately been supplied by foreign commodities,
which, by indulgence, have become essential to their
comfort; and that as their wants increase, as in all
probability they will, they will find themselves at a
loss to meet the expenses of the purchase. They
forget also that being dependent upon the casual
CHAP.
IX.
\-Y-
April,
1826.

X 2
308 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP: arrival of merchant vessels for these supplies, they
S-- are liable to be deprived of them suddenly by the
§ occurrence of a war or of some other contingency,
and this at a period perhaps when by disuse they
will not have the power of falling back upon those
which have been discontinued.
The country is not deficient in productions adapt-
ed to commerce. The sugar-cane grows so luxu-
riantly that from two small enclosures five tons of
white sugar are annually manufactured under the
superintendence of an Englishman; cotton has been
found to succeed very well; arrow-root of good
quality is plentiful: they have some sandal-wood,
and other ornamental woods suitable for furniture,
and several dyes. Besides these, coffee and other
grain might no doubt be grown, and they might
salt down meat, which, with other articles I have
not mentioned, would constitute a trade quite suffi-
cient to procure for the inhabitants the luxuries
which are in a gradual course of introduction, and
to make it desirable for merchant vessels to touch at
the island. It is not from the poverty of the island,
therefore, from which they are likely to feel inconveni-
ence, but from their neglect to avail themselves of its
capabilities, and employ its productions to advantage.
It seemed as if the people never had these things
revealed to them, or had sunk into an apathy, and
were discouraged at finding each year burthened
with new restrictions upon their liberties and enjoy-
ments, and nothing in return to sweeten the cup of
life. I cannot avoid repeating my conviction that
had the advisers of Pomarree limited the penal code
at first, and extended it as it became familiar to the
people; had they restricted instead of suppressed

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 309
the amusements of the people, and taught them cºp.
such parts of the Christian religion as were intel- ºr ,
ligible to their simple understandings, and were .
most conducive to their moral improvement and
domestic comfort, these zealous and really praise-
worthy men would have made greater advances
towards the attainment of their object.
If in offering these remarks it should be thought
I have been severe upon the failings of the people,
or upon the conduct of the missionary gentlemen, I
have only to say, that I have felt myself called upon
to declare the truth, which I trust has been done
without any invidious feeling to either; indeed, I
experienced nothing during my stay that could
create such a feeling, but very much to the contrary,
as both my officers and myself received every pos-
sible kindness from them. And if I have pour-
trayed their errors more minutely than their virtues,
it has been done with a view to show, that although
the condition of the people is much improved, they
are not yet blessed with that state of innocence and
domestic comfort of which we have read. It would
have been far more agreeable to have dwelt on the
fair side of their character only, but that has already
been done, and by following the same course I
should only have increased the general miscon-
ception.
At the time of our arrival, the rainy season, which
had been somewhat protracted, was scarcely over.
Its proper period is December, January, and Fe-
bruary. So much wet weather in the height of
summer is always the occasion of fevers, and toge-
ther with the abundance of vee-apples (spondias
dulcis), which ripen about that period, produce dy-

310 VOYAGE TO THE

CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.
sentery and sickness among the poorer class of inha-
bitants, several of whom were labouring under these
and other complaints during our stay. Miserable
indeed was the condition of many of them. They
retired from their usual abode and the society of
their friends, and erected huts for themselves in the
woods, in which they dwelt, until death terminated
their sufferings. The missionaries and resident Eu-
ropeans strove as much as was in their power to alle-
viate these distresses; but the natives were so im-
provident and careless that the medicine often did
them harm rather than good, and many preferred their
own simple pharmacopoeia, and thus fell victims to
their ignorance. Our own ship's company improved
upon the abundance of fish and vegetable diet; but
from what afterwards occurred, I am disposed to
think the change from their former food, to so much
vegetable substance was very injurious. Regard to
this subject ought not to be overlooked in vessels
circumstanced as the Blossom was. -
The winds during our stay were principally from
the eastward, freshening in the forenoon and mode-
rating toward sun-set to a calm, or giving place to a
light breeze off the land, which sometimes prevailed
through the night. This effect upon the trade-
wind, by comparatively so small a tract of coast,
shows the powerful influence of the land upon the
atmosphere. -
In the height of summer, or during the rainy sea-
son, the winds fly round to the W. and N. W. and
blow in gales or hard squalls, which it is necessary
to guard against in anchoring upon the north-west-
ern coast, particularly at Matavai Bay, which is
quite open to those quarters. The mean tempera-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 3.11
ture of the atmosphere during our stay was 79, 98,
the minimum 75°, and maximum 87°.
The many excellent ports in Otaheite have been
enumerated by Captain Cook, though he only made
use of one, Matavai Bay, and that which was most
exposed; in consequence, probably, of the facility of
putting to sea. Those on the north-western coast
are the most frequented, as some difficulty of get-
ting out and in attends most of the others, particu-
larly those in the south-western side of the island,
which are subject to a constant heavy swell from the
higher latitudes, and in the long calms that prevail
under the lee of the island, are apt to endanger ves-
sels approaching the reefs. Of the four on the
north-western coast, viz. Matavai, Papawa, Toanoa,
and Papiété, the last is the most common anchorage,
and were it not that it is subject to long calms and
very hot weather, in consequence of being more to
leeward than the others, it would certainly be the
best. Toanoa is very small, but conveniently adapted
to the refit of one or two ships. The best port how-
ever lies between this anchorage and Matavai, and is
called Papawa; several ships may anchor there in per-
fect safety quite close to the shore, and if a wharf were
constructed, might land their cargoes upon it with-
out the assistance of boats. It may be entered either
from the east or west, and it has the additional ad-
vantage of having Matavai Bay for a stopping place,
should circumstances render it inconvenient to enter
at the moment; but this channel which commu-
nicates with Matavai Bay must be approached with
attention to two coral knolls that have escaped the
notice of both Cook and Bligh. I have given direc-
tions for avoiding them in my nautical remarks.
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.


312 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
IX.
April,
1826.
The tides in all harbours formed by coral reefs are
very irregular and uncertain, and are almost wholly
dependant upon the sea-breeze. At Toanoa it is
usually low water about six every morning, and high
water half an hour after noon. To make this devia-
tion from the ordinary course of nature intelligible,
it will be better to consider the harbour as a basin,
over the margin of which, after the breeze springs
up, the sea beats with considerable violence, and
throws a larger supply into it than the narrow chan-
nels can carry offin the same time, and consequently
during that period the tide rises. As the wind
abates the water subsides, and the nights being ge-
nerally calm, the water finds its lowest level by the
morning.
*…

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 3.13
CHAPTER x.

Departure from Otaheite—Arrival at Woahoo, Sandwich Islands
- –Contrast between the two Countries—Visit the King and
Pitt—Departure—Oneehow—Passage to Kamschatka—Petro-
paulski—Beering's Island—St. Lawrence Island–Esquimaux
—King's Island—Diomede Islands—Pass Beering's Strait—
Arrive in Kotzebue Sound—Anchor off Chamisso Island–Ice
Formation in Escholtz Bay.
ON the 26th of April, we left this delightful
island, in which we had passed many very pleasant
days, in the enjoyment of the society of the resi-
dents, and of the scenery of the country. We put
to sea in the morning, and about noon reached the
low Island of Tethoroa, the watering place of the
Otaheitans. It is a small coral island, distant about
seven leagues from Otaheite; from the hills of
which it may be distinctly seen, and is abundantly
provided with cocoa-nut trees. The salubrity of
this little island, which was formerly the resort of
the chiefs, arreoys, and others, for the purpose of
recruiting their health after their debaucheries, is
still proverbial at Otaheite. Spare diet and fresh
air were the necessary consequences of a visit to this
place, and for a good constitution were the only
CHAP.
X.
April,
1826.
314 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
April,
1826.
restoratives required; and, as these seldom failed in
their effects, it obtained a reputation in Otaheite, no
less famous than that of the celebrated spring of
eternal youth, which Ponce de Leon so long sought
in vain. From the proximity of the islands of
Tethoroa, Otaheite, and Eimeo, we were enabled to
connect them trigonometrically. Upon the latter
there is a peak with a hole through it, to which
a curious history is attached, connected with the
superstition of early times. It is asserted that the
great god, Oroo, being one day angry with the Tii,
or the little God of Eimeo, he threw his spear
across the water at him, but the activity of the Tii
evaded the blow, and the spear passed through the
mountain, and left the hole which we saw. The
height of this peak is 4,041 feet.
On the 27th, we were within six miles of the
situation in which Arrowsmith has placed Rogge-
wein's high Island of Recreation ; but nothing was
in sight from the mast-head. In all probability this
island, which answers so well in its description, ex-
cepting as to its size, is the Maitea of Mr. Turnbull,
situated nearly in the same latitude. From this
time we endeavoured to get to the eastward, and
to cross the equator in about 150° W. longitude, so
that when we met the N. E. tradewind, we might
be well to windward. There is, otherwise, some
difficulty in rounding Owyhee, which should be
done about forty miles to the eastward to ensure
the breeze. - -
The passage between the Society and Sandwich
groupes differs from a navigation between the same
parallels in the Atlantic, in the former being ex-
empt from long calms which sometimes prevail





PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 315
about the equator, and in the S. E. trade being
more easterly. The westerly current is much
the same in both ; and if not attended to in the
Pacific, will carry a ship so far to leeward, that
by the time she reaches the parallel of the Sand-
wich Islands, she will be a long way to the west-
ward, and have much difficulty in beating up to
them. -
Soon after leaving Otaheite, the officers and ship's
company generally were afflicted with dysentery,
which, at one time, assumed an alarming appear-
ance. On the 3d of May, we had the misfortune
to lose Mr. Crawley, one of the midshipmen, a
young gentleman of very good abilities, and much
regretted by all who knew him ; and on the 6th,
William Must, my steward, sunk under the same
complaint : on the 7th, great apprehensions were
entertained for Mr. Lay, the naturalist ; but fortu-
nately his complaint took a favourable turn, and he
ultimately recovered. The disease, however, con-
tinued among us some time, threatening occasionally
different portions of the ship's company.
As we approached the Sandwich Islands, our
view was anxiously directed to the quarter in which
Owyhee” was situated, in the hope of obtaining a
sight of the celebrated Mouna Roa; but the weather
was so unfavourable for this purpose, that the land
at the foot of the hills was the only part of the coast
which presented itself to our view. On the 18th,
we passed about thirty miles to windward of the
eastern points of the island; and in the afternoon of
the following day, as it was too late to fetch the
* More recently written Hawaii.
CHAP.
X.
*Y-
April,
1826.
May.





316 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
i836.
anchorage off Woahoo, we rounded to under the
lee of Morotoi, the next island. The following
morning we came to an anchor in nineteen fathoms
outside the reefs of Honoruro, the principal port of
the Sandwich Islands, and the residence of the
king. This anchorage is very much exposed, and
during the N. W. monsoon, unsafe; but as there is
great difficulty attending a large ship going in and
out of the harbour, it is the general stopping place
of such vessels as make but a short stay at the
island.
Our passage from Otaheite to this place had been
so rapid, that the contrast between the two coun-
tries was particularly striking. At Woahoo, the
eye searches in vain for the green and shady forests
skirting the shore, which enliven the scene at Ota-
heite. The whole country has a parched and com-
paratively barren aspect; and it is not until the
heights are gained, and the extensive ranges of taro
plantations are seen filling every valley, that strangers
learn why this island was distinguished by the name
of the garden of the Sandwich Islands.
The difference between the appearance of the na-
tives of Woahoo and Otaheite is not less conspicuous
than that of the scenery. Constant exposure to the
sun has given them a dark complexion and a coarse-
ness of feature which do not exist in the Society
Islands, and their countenances moreover have a
wildness of expression which at first misleads the
eye; but this very soon wears off, and I am not sure
whether this manliness of character does not create
a respect which the effeminacy of the Otaheitans
never inspires.
As we rowed up the harbour, the forts, the can-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 317
non, and the ensign of the Tamahamaha, displayed
upon the ramparts of a fort mounting forty guns,
and at the gaff of a man-of-war brig, and of some
other vessels, rendered the distinction between the
two countries still more evident; and on landing,
the marked attention to etiquette and the respect
shown by the subjects to their chiefs offered a simi-
lar contrast. In every way this country seemed far
to surpass the other in civilization—but there were
strong indications of a close connexion between the
natives of both. -
It was not long since Lord Byron in the Blonde
had quitted these islands; the appearance of a man-
of-war was, therefore, no novelty; but the beach
was thronged to excess with people of all distinctions,
who behaved in a very orderly manner, helped us
out of the boats, and made a passage as we advanced.
In our way nothing more strikingly marked the
superiority of this country over that we had recently
quitted than the number of wooden houses, the
regularity of the town laid out in squares, intersect-
ed by streets properly fenced in, and the many no-
tices which appeared right and left, on pieces of
board on which we read “an Ordinary at one o'clock,
Billiards, the Britannia, the Jolly Tar, the Good Wo-
man,” &c. After a short walk we came to a neatly
built wooden house with glass windows, the resi-
dence of Krimakoo, or, as he was commonly called,
Pitt, whom I found extended upon the floor of his
apartment, suffering under a dropsical complaint,
under which he ultimately sunk. This disease had
so increased upon him of late that he had under-
gone five operations for it since the departure of
the Blonde. Though unable to rise from his bed,

3.18 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
May,
1826.
his mind was active and unimpaired; and when the
conversation turned upon the affairs of the island he
was quite energetic, regretting that his confinement
prevented his looking more into them, and his great-
est annoyance seemed to be his inability to see every
thing executed himself. He expressed his attach-
ment strongly to the British government, and his
gratitude for the respect that had been shown the
descendant of his illustrious patron, and his queen,
by sending their bodies to the Sandwich Islands in
so handsome a manner, and also for the footing upon
which the affairs of the state had been placed by
Lord Byron in command of the Blonde. He was
anxious to requite these favours, and pressed his de-
sire to be allowed to supply all the demands of the
ship himself, in requital for the liberality with which
his countrymen were treated in England. I could
not accede to this effusion of the chief's gratitude,
as the expense attending it would have been consi-
derably felt by him, and more particularly as Lord
Byron had previously declined the same offer.
The young king, who had been taking an airing,
arrived at this moment, and repeated the sentiments
of his protector; making at the same time many in-
quiries for his friends in the Blonde. Boki was ab-
sent at Owyhee attending his sister, who was dan-
gerously ill. Madam Boki, Kuanoa, Manuia, and
the other chiefs who were of the party in England,
were all anxious to show us civility; and spoke of
England in such high terms, that they will appa-
rently never forget the kind treatment they expe-
rienced there: but they had a great dread of the
diseases of our country, and many of them consider-
ed it very unhealthy. My impression was, that


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 319
those who had already been there had had their
curiosity satisfied to feel in no way disposed to risk
another visit. The want of their favourite dish Poe
was, besides, so serious an inconvenience that when
allusion was made to England, this privation was
always mentioned. -
Our reception was friendly in the extreme; all
our wants, as far as possible, were supplied, but un-
fortunately there was this year a scarcity of almost
every kind of production ; the protracted rainy sea-
son and other circumstances having conspired to de-
stroy or lessen the crops, and the whole population
was in consequence suffering from its effects. There
was also a scarcity of dried provision, our visit having
preceded the usual time of the arrival of the whalers,
who discharge all they can spare at this place pre-
vious to their return home. Our expectation of
replenishing the ship's provisions was consequently
disappointed, and it therefore became necessary to re-
duce the daily allowance of the ship's company, and
to pursue the same economical system here, with
regard to taro and yams, as was done at Otaheite
with the bread-fruit.
The few days I had to remain here were devoted
to astronomical and other observations, and I had
but little opportunity of judging of the state of the
island; but from a letter which I received from
Boki, it was evident that he did not approve of the
system of religious restraint that had been forced
into operation, which was alike obnoxious to the
foreigners residing upon the island and to the natives.
At the time of our departure the health of Mr.
Lay was by no means restored, and as it appeared to
me that his time during the absence of the ship could
CHAP.
X.
May,
1826.

320 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
May,
1826.
June.
be more profitably employed among the islands of
the Sandwich groupe than on the frozen shores of
the north, he was left behind, under the protection
of Pitt, whose kindness on the occasion nothing
could exceed. Mr. Collie took upon himself the
charge of naturalist, and acquitted himself in a
highly creditable manner.
On the 31st of May we took our leave of Woahoo,
and proceeded to Oneehow, the westernmost island
of the Sandwich groupe, famous for its yams, fruit,
and mats. This island is the property of the king,
and it is necessary, previous to proceeding thither, to
make a bargain with the authorities at Woahoo for
what may be required, who in that case send an
agent to see the agreement strictly fulfilled. On the
Ist of June we hauled into a small Sandy bay on the
western side of the island, the same in which Van-
couver anchored when he was there on a visit of a
similar nature to our own ; and I am sorry to say
that like him we were disappointed in the expected
supplies; not from their scarcity, but in consequence
of the indolence of the natives.
Oneehow is comparatively low, and, with the ex-
ception of the fruit trees, which are carefully culti-
vated, it is destitute of wood. The soil is too dry to
produce taro, but on that account it is well adapted
to the growth of yams, &c. which are very excellent
and of an enormous size. There is but one place in
this bay where the boat of a man of war can effect a
landing with safety when the sea sets into the bay,
which is a very common occurrence; this is on its
northern shore, behind a small reef of rocks that lies
a little way off the beach, and even here it is neces-
sary to guard against Sunken rocks; off the western

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 321
point these breakers extend a mile and a half. The
soundings in the bay are regular, upon a sandy
bottom, and there is good anchorage, if required,
with the wind from the eastward ; but it would not
be advisable to bring up under any other circum-
stances. The natives are a darker race of people
than those of Woahoo, and reminded us strongly of
the inhabitants of Bow Island. With the exception
of the house of the Earee, all the huts were small,
low, and hot; the one which we occupied was so
close that we were obliged to make a hole in its side
to admit the sea breeze.
We took on board as many yams as the natives
could collect before sun-set, and then shaped our
course for Kamschatka. In doing this I deviated
from the tracks of both Cook and Clerke, which I
think was the occasion of our passage being shorter
than either of theirs. Instead of running to the
westward in a low latitude, we passed to the east-
ward of Bird Island, and gained the latitude of 27° N.
In this parallel we found the trade much fresher,
though more variable, and more subject to interrup-
tion, than within the tropic; we had also the advan-
tage of a more temperate climate, of which we stood
in need, as the sickness among the ship's company
was so far from being removed, that on the 13th we
had the misfortune to lose one of the marines. On
this day we spoke the Tuscan, an English whale-
ship, and found that on quitting the Sandwich
Islands her crew had suffered in the same way as our
own, but had since quite recovered. In all proba-
bility the sudden change of diet from the usual
seafare to so much vegetable food, added to the heat
and humidity of the atmosphere at the season in
VOI. I. Y
CHAP.
X.
June,
1826.






322 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
June,
1826.
which our visits were made to those islands, was the
cause of the sickness of both vessels. The master
of the Tuscan informed me that the preceding year
his ship's company had been so severely afflicted
with disease that he found it necessary to put into
Loo Choo, where he was well received, and his peo-
ple were treated with the greatest kindness. He
was supplied with fresh meat and vegetables daily,
without being allowed to make any other payment
than that of a chart of the world, which was the only
thing the natives would accept. It was, however,
not without the usual observance of narrow-minded
Chinese policy, that himself and his invalid crew
were allowed to set their feet on shore, and even then
they were always attended by a party of the natives,
and had a piece of ground bordering on the beach
fenced off for them. The salute which the Alceste
and Lyra had fired on the 25th of October was well
remembered by these people, and they had an idea
that it was an annual ceremony performed in com-
memoration of something connected with the king
of England. On the return of this day, during the
Tuscan’s visit, they concluded that the ship would
observe the same ceremony, and looked forward with
such anxiety and delight to the event, that the mas-
ter of the whaler was obliged to rub up his four pa-
tereros, and go through the salute without any inter-
mission, as the Loochooans counted the guns as they
were fired.
A few hours after we parted with the Tuscan, we
fell in with two other whale ships, neither of which
could spare us any provisions. These ships were no
doubt fishing down a parallel of latitude, which is a
common custom, unless they find a continued scar-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 323
city of whales. The 30th degree, I believe, is rather
a favourite one with them.
Ten days after our departure from Oneehow we
lost the trade wind in latitude 30° N. and longitude
195° W. ; it had been variable before this, but had
not fairly deserted us: its failure was of little con-
sequence, as in three days afterwards we were far
enough to the westward to ensure the remainder of
the passage; and indeed from the winds which
ensued, a course might as well have been shaped for
Kamschatka on the day we lost the wind.
On the 3d of June, the day after leaving Oneehow,
in latitude 25° N. and longitude 163° 15'W., we saw
large flocks of tern and noddies, and a few gannets
and tropic birds, also boneta, and shoals of flying-
fish; and on the 5th, in latitude 28° 10' N. and lon-
gitude 172°20'W., we had similar indications of the
proximity of land. Though such appearances are
by no means infallible, yet as so many coral islands
have recently been discovered to the W. N.W. of
the Sandwich Islands, ships in passing these places
should not be regardless of them. On this day we
observed an albatross (diomedia eaculans), the first
we had seen since quitting the coast of Chili. It is
remarkable that Captain King in his passage to
Kamschatka first met these birds within thirty miles
of the same spot. We noticed about this time a
change in the colour of the wings of the flying-fish,
and on one of the species being caught it was found
to differ from the common eacocatus volitans. We
continued to see these fish occasionally as far as 30°
N., about which time the tern also quitted us. In
33° N. we first met the birds of the northern re-
gions, the procellaria puffinus, but it was not until
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-)
June,
1826.

Y 2
324 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
June,
1826.
we were within a hundred miles of the coast of
Kamschatka that we saw the lumme, dovekie, rotge,
and other alca, and the shag. The tropic birds ac-
companied us as far as 36° N.
On the 18th and 19th, in latitude 35° N., longi-
tude 194° 30'. W., we made some experiments on
the temperature of the sea at intermediate depths,
as low as 760 fathoms, where it was found to be
twenty-eight degrees colder than at the surface; two
days afterwards another series was obtained, by
which it appeared that the temperature at 180 fa-
thoms was as cold as that at 500 fathoms on the for-
mer occasion, and it was twenty degrees colder at
380 fathoms on this, than it was at 760 fathoms on
the other. Between these experiments we entered
a thick fog, which continued until we were close off
the Kamschatka coast; and we also experienced a
change of current, both of which no doubt contri-
buted towards the change of temperature of the sea,
which was much greater than could have been pro-
duced by the alteration in the situation of the ship:
the fog by obstructing the radiation of heat, and the
current by bringing a colder medium from higher la-
titudes. About this period we began to see drift
wood, some of which passed us almost daily. The
sea was occasionally strewed with moluscous animals,
principally beroes and nereis, among which on the
19th were a great many small crabs of a curious spe-
cies. Whether it was that these animals preferred
the foggy weather, or that we more narrowly scruti-
nized the small space of water around us to which
our view was limited, I cannot say, but it appeared
to us that they were much more numerous while the
fog lasted than before or afterwards.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 325
In the afternoon of the 23d, in latitude 44° N.,
the wind, which had been at S. W., drew round to
the west, and brought a cold atmosphere in which
the thermometer fell fourteen degrees; it is remark-
able that sixteen hours before this change occurred,
the temperature of the sea fell six degrees, while
that of the atmosphere was affected only four hours
previous. In my remarks on our passage round
Cape Horn, I have mentioned the frequency with
which the temperature of the surface of the sea was
affected before that of the atmosphere when material
changes of wind were about to occur.
On the 26th, in latitude 49° N., after having tra-
versed nearly seven hundred miles in so thick a fog
that we could scarcely see fifty yards from us, a
north-east wind cleared the horizon for a few hours:
this change again produced a sensible diminution of
the temperature, which was thirty-one degrees lower
than it had been thirteen days previous. The next
day we had the satisfaction of seeing the high moun-
tains of Kamschatka, which at a distance are the best
guides to the port of Awatska. The eastern moun-
tain, situated twenty-five miles from Petropaulski, is
7-375 feet high by my trigonometrical measurement;
another, which is the highest, situated N. 5° E. from
the same place, and a little to the northward of a
short range upon which there is a volcano in con-
stant action, is 11:500 feet high. At eight o'clock
we distinguished Cape Gavarea, the southern point
of a deep bay in which the harbour of Petropaul-
ski is situated, and the same evening we were be-
calmed within six miles of our port. Nothing could
surpass the serenity of the evening or the magni-
ficence of the mountains capped with perennial
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-'
June,
1826.




326 VOYAGE TO THE
** snows, rising in majestic array above each other.
<-- The volcano emitted smoke at intervals, and from a
*. sprinkling of black dots on the snow to leeward of
the crater we concluded there had been a recent
eruption.
At two o'clock the following afternoon we anchor-
ed off the town of Petropaulski, and found lying in
the inner harbour his imperial majesty's ship Mo-
deste, commanded by Baron Wrangel, an enter-
prising officer, well known to the world as the com-
mander of a hazardous expedition on sledges over the
ice to the northward of Schelatskoi Noss.
I found despatches awaiting my arrival, commu-
nicating the return of the expedition under Captain
Parry, and desiring me to cancel that part of my in-
structions which related to him. The officers on
landing, at the little town of Petropaulski, met with
a very polite reception from the governor, Stanitski,
a captain in the Russian navy, who, during our short
stay in port, laid us under many obligations for
articles of the most acceptable kind to seamen after
a long voyage. I regretted extremely that confine-
ment to my cabin at this time prevented my having
the pleasure of making either his acquaintance or
that of the pastor of Paratounka, of whose ancestor
such honourable mention has been made in the voy-
ages of Captain Cook, a pleasure which was reserved
for the following year. The worthy pastor, in strict
compliance with the injunctions of his grandfather,
that he should send a calf to the captain of every
English man of war that might arrive in the port,
presented me with one of his own rearing, and sent
daily supplies of milk, butter, and curds. Had our
stay in this excellent harbour permitted, we should

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 327
have received a supply of oxen, which would have
been most acceptable to the ship's company; but
the animals had to be driven from Bolcheresk, and,
pressed as we were for time, too great a delay would
have been incurred in waiting for them. The co-
lony at this time was as much distressed for pro-
visions as ourselves, and was even worse off, in con-
sequence of the inferior quality of the articles.
On the 1st of July we weighed and attempted to
put to sea, but after experiencing the difficulties
of which several navigators have complained, were
obliged to anchor again, and that at too great a dis-
tance from the town to have any communication.
On the 2nd, as well as on the 3rd, we also weighed,
but were obliged to anchor as before ; and it was
not until the 5th, after weighing and anchoring
twice that morning, to prevent going ashore, that
the ship reached the outside of the harbour; this
difficulty arises from counter currents which prevent
the steerage of the ship. After clearing the harbour
there was a strong wind against us, but it soon died
entirely away, and left us exposed to a heavy swell,
which rolled with great violence upon the shore; so
much so, that for some time the boats were insuffi-
cient to prevent the ship nearing the land, and there
was no anchorage, in consequence of the great depth
of water : fortunately towards night a light air fa-
voured our departure, and we succeeded in getting
an offing. -
My object was now to make the best of my way
to Kotzebue Sound, as there were but fourteen days
left before the arrival of the appointed time of ren-
dezvous there, and every effort was directed towards
that end. As we sailed across the wide bay in which
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.



328 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. Petropaulski is situated, we connected the capes at
--~ its extremities with the port and intermediate ob-
# jects, by which it appears that Cape Gavarea has
hitherto been erroneously placed with regard to
Chepoonski Noss; but I shall not here interrupt the
narrative by the insertion of the particulars of the
operations. -
At day-light the following morning Chepoonski
Noss was seen N. 19° W., and in the afternoon of
the next day high land was discerned from the mast-
head in the direction of Krotnoi Mountain. This
was the last view we had of Kamschatka, as a thick
fog came on, and attended us to Beering's Island.
At day-light on the 10th a high rock was seen
about nine miles off, and shortly afterwards Beering's
Island appeared through the fog. When we had
reached close in with the land the mist partially dis-
persed, and exposed to our view a moderately high
island armed with rocky points. The snow rested in
ridges upon the hills, but the lower parts of the
island were quite bare, and presented a green mossy
appearance, without a single shrub to relieve its
monotony. Its dreary aspect, associated with the
recollection of the catastrophe that befel Beering
and his shipmates, who were cast upon its shores on
the approach of winter with their own resources
exhausted, produced an involuntary shudder. The
bay in which this catastrophe occurred is on the
north side of the island, on a part of the coast which
fortunately afforded fresh water, and abounded in
stone foxes, sea otters, and moor-hens; and where
there was a quantity of drift wood washed upon the
shore, which served for the construction of huts;
but notwithstanding these resources, the commander

PACIFFC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 329
Vitus Beering, and twenty-nine of the crew, found
their graves on this desolate spot. The island is now
visited occasionally by the Russians for the skins of
the sea otter and black fox. The highest part of
the island which we saw was towards its N. W. ex-
tremity, from whence the shore slopes gradually to
the coast, and is terminated by cliffs. At the foot
of these there are low rocky flats, which can only be
seen when quite close to them, and outside again are
breakers. Off the western point these reefs extend
about two miles from the shore, and off the northern,
about a mile and a quarter, so that on the whole it
is a dangerous coast to approach in thick weather.
The rock first seen was situated five miles and a half
off shore, and was so crowded with seals basking
upon it, that it was immediately named Seal Rock.”
To the northward of this there were several small
bays in the coast, which promised tolerably good
anchorage, particularly one towards the eastern
part of the indentation in the coast line, off which
there was a small low island or projecting point
of land. This, in all probability, is the harbour
alluded to by Krenitzen, as there were near it
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-'
July,
1826.

“ two small hillocks like boats with their keels
upwards.”
We did not see the south-eastern part of this
island, as it was obscured by fog, but sailed along
the southern and western shores as near as circum-
stances permitted until seven in the evening, when
we got out of the region of clear weather, which
* Kotzebue observes in his narrative that “ this rock has not
been laid down in any chart:” I presume he alludes to those which
are modern, as on a reference to the map of Captain Krenitzen's
discoveries in 1768, it will be found occupying its proper place.
330 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.
usually obtains in the vicinity or to leeward of land
in these seas, and entered a thick fog. With the
summer characteristics of this latitude—fine wea-
ther and a thick fog—we advanced to the north-
ward, attended by a great many birds, nearly all of
the same kind as those which inhabit the Greenland
Sea, sheerwaters, lummes, puffins, parasitic gulls,
stormy petrel, dusky albatross, a larus resembling
the kittiwake, a small dove-coloured tern, and shags.
In latitude 60° 47' N. we noticed a change in the
colour of the water, and on sounding found fifty-
four fathoms, soft blue clay. From that time until
we took our final departure from this sea the bottom
was always within reach of our common lines. The
water shoaled so gradually that at midnight on the
16th, after having run a hundred and fifty miles, we
had thirty-one fathoms. Here the ground changed
from mud to sand, and apprized us of our approach
to the Island of St. Lawrence, which on the follow-
ing morning was so close to us that we could hear
the surf upon the rocks. The fog was at the same
time so thick that we could not see the shore; and
it was not until some time afterwards, when we had
neared the land by means of a long ground swell,
for it was quite calm, that we discerned the tops of
the hills.
It is a fortunate circumstance that the dangers in
these seas are not numerous, otherwise the preva-
lence of fogs in the summer time would render the
navigation extremely hazardous. About noon we
were enabled to see some little distance around us ;
and, as we expected, the ship was close off the
western extremity of St. Lawrence Island. In this
situation the nearest hills, which were about five

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 331
hundred feet above the sea, were observed to be
surmounted by large fragments of rock having the
appearance of ruins. These hills terminate to the
southward and south-westward in bold rocky cliffs,
off which are situated three small islands; the hills
have a gradual slope to the coast line to the north-
ward and westward; but at the north-western ex-
tremity of the island they end in a remarkable
wedge-shaped promontory—particulars which may
be found useful to navigators in foggy weather.
The upper parts of the island were buried in snow;
but the lower, as at Beering's Island, were bare and
overgrown with moss or grass. We stood close into
a small bay at the S. W. angle of the island, where
we perceived several tents, and where, from the
many stakes driven into the ground, we concluded
there was a fishing-station. The natives soon after-
wards launched four baidars,” of which each con-
tained eight persons, males and females. They pad-
dled towards the ship with great quickness, until
they were within speaking distance, when an old
man who steered the foremost boat stood erect and
held up in succession nets, walrus teeth, skin shirts,
harpoons, bows and arrows, and small birds; he then
extended his arms, rubbed and patted his breast,i
and came fearlessly alongside. We instantly de-
tected in these people the features of the Esqui-
maux, whom in appearance and manners also, and
indeed in every particular, they so much resembled,
that there cannot, I think, be the least doubt of
CHAP.
X.
* This boat, called by the natives oomiac, is the same in every
respect as the oomiac, or woman boat of the Esquimaux. It is
here used by the men instead of by the women.
# This is the usual Esquimaux indication of friendship.
July,
1826.

332 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.
their having the same origin. They were if any
thing less dirty, and somewhat fairer, and their im-
plements were better made. Their dress, though
Esquimaux, differed a little from it in the skin
shirts being ornamented with tassels, after the man-
ner of the Oonalashka people, and in the boots fit-
ting the leg, instead of being adapted to the recep-
tion of either oil or infants.
The old men had a few gray hairs on their chins,
but the young ones, though grown up, were beard-
less. Many had their heads shaved round the crown,
after the fashion of the Tschutschi, the Otaheitans,
or the Roman Catholic priesthood in Europe, and
all had their hair cut short. Their manner of salu-
tation was by rubbing their noses against ours, and
drawing the palms of their hands over our faces;
but we were not favoured as Kotzebue was, by their
being previously spit upon. In the stern of one of
the baidars there was a very entertaining old lady,
who amused us by the manner in which she tried
to impose upon our credulity. She was seated
upon a bag of peltry, from which she now and then
cautiously drew out a skin, and exhibited the best
part of it, with a look implying that it was of great
value; she repeatedly hugged it, and endeavoured
to coax her new acquaintances into a good bargain,
but her furs were scarcely worth purchasing. She
was tattooed in curved lines along the sides of the
cheek, the outer One extending from the lower jaw,
Over the temple and eyebrow.
Our visiters on board were not less accomplished
adepts at bartering than the old woman, and sold
almost every thing they had. With the men,
“ tawac,” as they called our tobacco, was their great

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 333
object; and with the women, needles and scissors; cºp.
but with both, blue beads were articles highly -->
esteemed. We observed, that they put some of .
these to the test, by biting them to ascertain whe-
ther they were glass; having, perhaps, been served
with wax ones by some of their former visiters.
Their implements were so similar to those of the
Esquimaux as to need no description ; except that
their bows partook of the Tschutschi form. They
had a great many small birds of the alca crestatella,
strung upon thongs of hide, which were highly ac-
ceptable to us, as they were very palatable in a pie.
These birds are, I believe, peculiar to St. Lawrence
Island, and in proceeding up the strait their pre-
sence is a tolerably certain indication of the vicinity
of the island. They are very numerous, and must
be easily taken by the natives, as they sold seven
dozen for a single necklace of blue glass beads.
About seven o'clock in the evening, the natives
quitted us rather abruptly, and hastened toward the
shore, in consequence of an approaching fog which
their experience enabled them to foresee sooner than
*us, who, having a compass to rely upon, were less
anxious about the matter. We soon lost sight of
every distant object, and directed our course along
the land, trying the depth of water occasionally.
The bottom was tolerably even ; but we decreased
the soundings to nine fathoms, about four miles off
the western point, and changed the ground from
fine sand, to stones and shingle. When we had
passed the wedge-shaped cliff at the north-western
point of the island, the soundings again deepened,
and changed to sand as at first. -
At night the fog cleared away for a short time,

334 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.
and we saw the Asiatic coast about Tschukutskoi
Noss; but it soon returned, and with it a light air
in the contrary direction to our course. The next
day, as we could make no progress, the trawl was put
overboard, in the hope of providing a fresh meal for
the ship's company; but after remaining down a
considerable time, it came up with only a sculpen
(cottus scorpius), a few specimens of moluscae, and
crustaceae, consisting principally of maias. In the
evening, Lieutenant Peard was more successful in
procuring specimens with the dredge, which sup-
plied us with a great variety of invertebral animals,
consisting of asterias, holothurias, echini, amphi-
trites, ascidias, actinias, euryales, murex, chiton cri-
nitus, nereides, maias, gammarus, and pagurus, the
latter inhabiting chiefly old shells of the murex ge-
nus. This was in seventeen fathoms over a muddy
bottom, several leagues from the island.
About noon the fog dispersed, and we saw nearly
the whole extent of the St. Lawrence Island, from the
N. W. cape we had rounded the preceding night to
the point near which Cook reached close in with,
after his departure from Norton Sound. The mid-
dle of this island was so low, that to us it appeared
to be divided, and I concluded, as both Cook and
Clerke had done before, that it was so; circumstances
did not, however, admit of my making this examin-
ation, and the connexion of the two islands was left
for the discovery of Captain Schismareff of the Rus-
sian navy. The hills situated upon the eastern part
of the island, to which Cook gave the name of his
companion Captain Clerke, are the highest part of
St. Lawrence Island, and were at this time deeply
buried in Snow.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 335
The current off here, on one trial, ran N. E. five-
eighths of a mile per hour, and on another, N. 60° E.
seven-eighths of a mile per hour: as observations on
this interesting subject were repeatedly made, they
will be classed in a table in the Appendix.
Favoured with a fair wind, on the 19th we saw
King's Island; which, though small, is high and
rugged, and has low land at its base, with apparent-
ly breakers off its south extreme.
We had now advanced sufficiently far to the
northward to carry on our operations at midnight;
an advantage in the navigation of an unfrequented
sea which often precludes the necessity of lying to.
We approached the strait which separates the two
great continents of Asia and America, on one of
those beautiful still nights, well known to all who
have visited the arctic regions, when the sky is
without a cloud, and when the midnight sun, scarce-
ly his own diameter below the horizon, tinges with
a bright hue all the northern circle. Our ship, pro-
pelled by an increasing breeze, glided rapidly along
a smooth sea, startling from her path flocks of
lummes and dovekies, and other aquatic birds,
whose flight could, from the stillness of the scene,
be traced by the ear to a considerable distance.
Our rate of sailing, however, by no means kept
pace with our anxiety that the fog, which usually
succeeds a fine day in high latitudes, should hold
off until we had decided a geographical question of
some importance, as connected with the memory
of the immortal Cook. That excellent navigator,
in his discoveries of these seas, placed three is-
lands in the middle of the strait (the Diomede
Islands). Kotzebue, however, in passing them,
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-
July,
1826.


336 VOYAGE TO THE
*** fancied he saw a fourth, and conjectured that it
X.
-º-, must have been either overlooked by Cook and
iº. Clerke, or that it had been since raised by an earth-
quake.”
As we proceeded, the land on the south side of
St. Lawrence Bay made its appearance first, and
next the lofty mountains at the back of Cape
Prince of Wales, then hill after hill rose alternately
on either bow, curiously refracted, and assuming all
the varied forms which that phenomenon of the
atmosphere is known to occasion. At last, at the
distance of fifty miles, the Diomede Islands, and
the eastern Cape of Asia, rose above the horizon of
our mast-head. But, as if to teach us the necessity
of patience in the sea we were about to navigate, be-
fore we had determined the question, a thick fog
enveloped every thing in obscurity. We conti-
nued to run on, assisted by a strong northerly cur-
rent, until seven o’clock the next morning, when
the western Diomede was seen through the fog close
to us.
In our passage from St. Lawrence Island to this
situation, the depth of the sea increased a little, until
to the northward of King's Island, after which it be-
gan to decrease; but in the vicinity of the Diomede
Islands, where the strait became narrowed, it again
deepened, and continued between twenty-five and
twenty-seven fathoms. The bottom, until close to
the Diomedes, was composed of fine sand, but near
them it changed to coarse stones and gravel, as at St.
Lawrence Island; transitions which, by being attend-
ed to, may be of service to navigators in foggy weather.
* Some doubt, it appears, was created in the minds of the Rus-
sians themselves as to this supposed discovery, as we understood
at Petropaulski, that a large wager was depending upon it.









PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 337
During the day we saw a great number of whales,
seals, and birds; but none, I believe, that are not
mentioned in Pennant's Arctic Zoology.
We noticed upon the island abreast of us, which
we conjectured to be the westernmost Diomede, se-
veral tents and yourts, and, also, two or three bai-
dars, hauled upon the beach. On the declivity of the
hill were several frames, apparently for drying fish
and skins, and depositing canoes and sledges upon.
It was nearly calm when we were off this place, but
the current, which still ran to the northward, car-
ried us fast along the land. I steered for the situa-
tion of the supposed additional island, until by our
reckoning we ought to have been upon it, and then
hauled over towards the American shore. In the
evening the fog cleared away, and our curiosity was
at last satisfied. The extremities of the two great
continents were distinctly seen, and the islands in
the strait clearly ascertained to be only three in
number, and occupying nearly the same situations
in which they were placed in the chart of Captain
Cook. -
The south-eastern of the three islands is a high
square rock; the next, or middle one, is an island
with perpendicular cliffs, and a flat surface; and the
third, or north-western, which is the largest, is three
miles long, high to the southward, and terminates,
in the opposite direction, in low cliffs with small
rocky points off them. East Cape in almost every
direction is so like an island, that I have no doubt
it was the occasion of the mistake which the Rus-
sian navigator has committed.
For the sake of convenience, I named each of
these islands. The eastern one I called Fairway
VOI. I. - Z -
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.






338 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.
Rock, as it is an excellent guide to the eastern chan-
nel, which is the widest and best ; the centre one I
named after the Russian Admiral Krusenstern; and
to the north-western island I transferred the name
of Ratmanoff, which had been bestowed upon the
supposed discovery of Kotzebue. We remarked
that the Asiatic shore was more buried in snow
than the American. The mountains in the one
were entirely covered; in the other, they were
streaked and partly exposed. The low land of both
on the coast was nearly bare. -
Near the Asiatic shore we had a sandy bottom,
but on crossing over the strait, it changed to mud,
until well over on the American side, where we
passed a tongue of sand and stones in twelve
fathoms, which in all probability was the extremity
of a shoal, on which the ship was nearly lost the
succeeding year. After crossing it the water deep-
ened, and the bottom again changed to mud, and
we had ten and a half fathoms within two and a
half miles of the coast.
We closed with the American shore, a few miles
to the northward of Cape Prince of Wales, and
found the coast low, with a ridge of sand extending
along it, on which we noticed several Esquimaux
habitations. Steering along this shore to the north-
ward, in ten and eight fathoms water, a little before
noon we were within four and a half miles of
Schismareff Inlet. Here we were becalmed, and
had leisure to observe the broad sheet of water that
extends inland in an E. S. E. direction beyond the
reach of the eye.* The width of the inlet between
* Mountains were seen at the back of it, but the coast was not
visible—probably it is low. -
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 339
the two capes is ten miles; but Saritcheff Island
lies immediately before the opening, and we are in-
formed by Kotzebue, that the channel, which is on
the northern side of it, is extremely intricate and
narrow, and that the space is strewed with shoals.
The island is low and sandy, and is apparently
joined under water, to the southward, to the strip
of sand before mentioned as extending along the
coast : we noticed upon it a considerable village of
yourts, the largest of any that had as yet been seen.
The natives appear to prefer having their dwellings
upon this sandy foundation to the main land, pro-
bably on account of the latter being swampy, which
is the case every where in the vicinity of this inlet
and Kotzebue Sound. Several of them taking ad-
vantage of the calm came off in baidars, similar to
those used by the St. Lawrence Islanders, though
of inferior workmanship. The people, however,
differed from them in many respects; their com-
plexion was darker, their features were more harsh
and angular, they were deficient in the tattooing of
the face; and what constituted a wider distinction
between them was, a custom, which we afterwards
found general on the American coast, of wearing
ornaments in their under lips. Our visiters were
noisy and energetic, but good-natured, laughed
much, and humorously apprized us when we were
making a good bargain. -
They willingly sold every thing they had, except
their bows and arrows, which they implied were re-
quired for the chase on shore; but they could not
resist “tawac" (tobacco) and iron knives, and ulti-
mately parted with them. These instruments dif-
fered from those of the islanders to the southward,
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.





Z 2

340 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.
in being more slender, but they were made upon
the same principle, with drift pine assisted with
thongs of hide, and occasionally with pieces of
whalebone placed at the back of them neatly bound
round with small cord. Their arrows were tipped
with bone, flint, or iron, and they had spears or
lances headed with the same materials. Their dress
was the same as that worn by the whole tribe inha-
biting the coast. It consisted of a shirt which
reached half way down the thigh, with long sleeves
and a hood to it, made generally of the skin of the
reindeer, and edged with the fur of the gray or
white fox, and sometimes with dog's skin. The
hood is usually edged with a longer fur than the
other parts, either of the wolf or dog. They have
besides this a jacket made of eider drakes’ skins
sewed together, which put on underneath their
other dress is a tolerable protection against a distant
arrow, and is worn in times of hostility. In wet
weather they throw a shirt over their fur dress made
of the entrails of the whale, which, while in their
possession, is quite water tight, as it is then, in
common with the rest of their property, tolera-
bly well supplied with oil and grease; but after
they had been purchased by us and became dry,
they broke into holes and let the water through.
They are on the whole as good as the best oil-skins
in England. Besides the shirt, they have breeches
and boots, the former made of deer's hide, the latter
of seal's skin, both of which have drawing strings at
the upper part made of sea-horse hide. To the end
of that which goes round the waist they attach a
tuft of hair, the wing of a bird, or sometimes a fox's
tail, which, dangling behind as they walk, gives
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 34]
them a ridiculous appearance, and may probably
have occasioned the report of the Tschutschi, re-
corded in Muller, that the people of this country
have “tails like dogs.”
It was at Schismareff Inlet that we first saw the
lip ornaments which are common to all the inha-
bitants of the coast thence as far as Point Barrow.
These ornaments consist of pieces of ivory, stone, or
glass, formed with a double head, like a sleeve-but-
ton, one part of which is thrust through a hole bored
in the under lip. Two of these holes are cut in
a slanting direction about half an inch below the
corners of the mouth. The incision is made when
about the age of puberty, and is at first the size of a
quill; as they grow older the natives enlarge the ori-
fice, and increase the dimensions of the ornament ac-
cordingly, that it may hold its place : in adults, this
orifice is about half an inch in diameter, and will, if
required, distend to three quarters of an inch. Some
of these ornaments were made of granite, others of
jade-stone, and a few of large blue glass beads let
into a piece of ivory which formed a white ring
round them. These are about an inch in diameter,
but I afterwards got one of finely polished jade that
was three inches in length, by an inch and half in
width. - - -:
About noon, a breeze springing up, the natives
quitted us for the shore, and we pursued our course
to the northward without waiting to explore further
this deep inlet, which has since been a subject of
regret, as the weather afterwards in both years pre-
vented it being done. I could not, however, con-
sistently with my instructions, wait to examine it
at this moment, as the appointed time of rendezvous
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.


342 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
\º-y-
at Chamisso Island was already past.* While be-
calmed off it, we were carried slowly to the north-
eastward by a current which had been running in
that direction from the time of our quitting St. Law-
rence Island. With a fair wind we sailed along the
coast to the northward, which was low and swampy,
with small lakes inland. The ridge of sand con-
tinued along the coast to Cape Espenburgh, and
there terminated. -
We entered Kotzebue Sound early in the morning
of the 22d of July, and plied against a contrary
wind, guided by the soundings; the appearance of
the land was so distorted by mirage, and in parts so
obscured by low fog, that it was impossible to dis-
tinguish where we were. The naturalist who ac-
companied Kotzebue in his voyage particularly re-
marks this state of the atmosphere in the vicinity of
the sound, and suggests that it may be occasioned by
the swampy nature of the country ; in which opi-
nion I fully concur. When it cleared off we were
much surprised to find ourselves opposite a deep in-
let in the northern shore, which had escaped the ob-
servation of Captain Kotzebue. I named it Hotham
Inlet, in compliment to the Hon. Sir Henry Ho-
tham, K.C.B., one of the lords of the Admiralty.
We stood in to explore it, but found the water too
shallow, and were obliged to anchor in four fathoms
to prevent being carried away by a strong tide which
was setting out of the sound, the wind being light
and contrary.
As it would be necessary to remain three or four
days at Chamisso Island to increase our stock of
water, previous to proceeding to the northward, the
July,
1826.
* It has since been surveyed by the Russians.











PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 343
barge was hoisted out and sent to examine the inlet,
with directions to meet the ship at Chamisso Island.
She was again placed under the command of Mr.
Elson, and equipped in every way necessary for the
service required.
We were visited by several baidars, containing
from ten to thirteen men each, whose object was to
obtain articles in exchange. They were in every
respect similar to the natives of Schismareff Inlet, -
though rather better looking, and were all, without
exception, provided with labrets, either made of
ivory and blue beads, as before described, of ivory
alone, or of different kinds of stone, as steatite, por-
phyry, or greenstone; they readily disengaged these
from their lips, and sold them, without minding the
inconvenience of the saliva that flowed through the
badly cicatriced orifice over the chin; but on the
contrary derided us when we betrayed disgust at the
spectacle, by thrusting their tongues through the
hole, and winking their eyes. One or two had small
strings of beads suspended to their ears.
The articles they brought off were, as before,
skins, fish, fishing implements, and nic-nacs. Their
peltry consisted of the skins of the seal, of the com-
mon and arctic fox, the common and musk-rat, the
marten, beaver, three varieties of ermine, one white,
one with a light brown back and yellow belly, and
the third with a gray back spotted white and yellow ;
the American otter, the white hare, the polar bear,
the wolf, the deer, and the badger. Their fish were
Salmon and herrings: their implements, lances, either
of stone or of a walrus tooth fixed to the end of a
wooden staff; harpoons precisely similar to the Es-
quimaux; arrows; drills; and an instrument, the
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.



344 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. use of which was at first not very evident. It was
S-- part of a walrus tooth shaped something like a shoe-
# horn, with four holes at the small end communi-
cating with a trough that extended along the mid-
dle of the instrument and widened as it neared the
broad part. From the explanation given of it by
the natives, it was evidently used to procure blood
from dying animals, by inserting the end with the
holes into the wound, and placing the mouth at the
opposite end of the trough to receive the liquid as
it flowed. From the satisfaction that was evinced
by the describer during the explanation, it is evident
that the blood of animals is as much esteemed by
these people as by the eastern Esquimaux.” On
the outside of this and other instruments there were
etched a variety of figures of men, beasts, and birds,
&c., with a truth and character which showed the art
to be common among them. The reindeer were ge-
nerally in herds: in one picture they were pursued
by a man in a stooping posture in snow-shoes ; in
another he had approached nearer to his game, and
was in the act of drawing his bow. A third repre-
sented the manner of taking seals with an inflated
skin of the same animal as a decoy; it was placed
upon the ice, and not far from it a man was lying
upon his belly with a harpoon ready to strike the
animal when it should make its appearance. Another
was dragging a seal home upon a small sledge; and
several baidars were employed harpooning whales
which had been previously shot with arrows; and
thus by comparing one device with another a little
history was obtained which gave us a better insight
* See Captain Parry's Second Voyage, 4to., p. 510,










PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT." 345
into their habits than could be elicited from any
signs or intimations.
The natives also offered to us for sale various other
articles of traffic, such as small wooden bowls and
cases, and little ivory figures, some of which were
not more than three inches in length, dressed in
clothes which were made with seams and edgings
precisely similar to those in use among the Esqui-
II] all X.
The staves of the harpoons and spears were made
of pine or cypress, in all probability from drift wood,
which is very abundant upon the shores; and yet
the circumstance of their having lumps of the resin
in small bags favoured the supposition that they had
access to the living trees. They had also iron py-
rites, plumbago, and red ochre, with which the frame
of the baidar was coloured.
The people themselves, in their persons as well
as in their manners and implements, possessed all
the characteristic features of the Esquimaux; large
fat round faces, high cheek bones, small hazel eyes,
eyebrows slanting like the Chinese, and wide
mouths. They had the same fashion with their
hair as the natives of Schismareff Inlet, cutting it
close round the crown of the head, and thereby
leaving a bushy ring round the lower part of it.
Ophthalmia was very general with them, and obliged
some to wear either some kind of shade or specta-
cles, made of wood, with a wide slit for each eye
to look through. At Schismareff Inlet diseases of
this nature were, also, prevalent among those who
visited us. - -
The salutation of our visiters was, as before, by a
contact of noses, and by smoothing our faces with
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-
July,
1826.


346 VOYAGE TO THE
* the palms of their hands, but without any disgusting
S-- practice.
łºś. When they had parted with all they had for sale,
they quitted the ship, well pleased with their excur-
sion, and having pushed off to a little distance, clap-
ped their hands, extended their arms, and stroked
their bodies repeatedly; which we afterwards found
to be the usual demonstration of friendship among
all their tribe. They then pointed to the shore, and
with one consent struck the water with their pad-
dles, and propelled their baidars with a velocity which
we were not prepared to witness. These boats are
similar in construction to the oomiaks of Hudson's
Bay; but the model differs in being sharp at both
ends. They consist of a frame made of drift wood,
covered with the skins of walruses which are strain-
ed over it, and are capable of being tightened at any
time by a lacing on the inside of the gunwale; the
frame and benches for the rowers are fastened with
thongs, by which the boat is rendered both light and
pliable; the skin, when soaked with water, is trans-
lucent; and a stranger placing his foot upon the flat
yielding surface at the bottom of the boat fancies it
a frail security; but it is very safe and durable, espe-
cially when kept well greased.
In Hudson's Strait the oomiak is principally used
by the women and children ; here it is the common
conveyance of the men, who, without them, would
not be able to collect their store of provisions for
the winter. They are always steered by the elderly
men, who have also the privilege of sitting in the
stern of the boat when unemployed. The starboard
paddles of those which we saw were stained with
black stripes, and the larboard with red, as were also
the frames of some of the baidars. -
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 347
We formed a favourable opinion of our visiters
from the strict integrity which they evinced in all
their dealings, even when opportunities offered of
evading detection, which I notice the more readily,
as we afterwards experienced very different behaviour
from the same tribe.
Light winds kept us at anchor for twenty-four
hours, during which time the current ran almost
constantly to the south-westward, at the rate of
from two fathoms to two miles per hour ; and the
water was nearly fresh (1.0089 to 1.0096 sp. gr.):
this stratum, however, was confined to a short dis-
tance from the surface, as a patent log, which was
sunk for three hours at the depth of three fathoms,
showed only a fifth of a mile in that time. These
facts left no doubt of our being near the estuary of a
considerable river, flowing, in all probability, through
the large opening abreast of us, which the boat had
been sent to explore.
We weighed in the afternoon of the 23d, but in
consequence of light winds and counter currents
made very little progress; indeed, a great part of
the time the ship would not steer, even with a
moderate breeze and two boats a-head, and it was
necessary to keep carrying out the kedge anchors
on the bow to maintain the ship's head in the right
direction. This was occasioned by some large rivers
emptying themselves into the sound, the fresh water
of which remained at the surface, and flowed in a
contrary direction to the tide of the ocean. Had
this occurred in an intricate channel it might have
been dangerous; but in Kotzebue Sound the bottom
is quite even, and there is plenty of room to drift
about.
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.


348 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
\-Y-2
July,
1826.
At four o'clock in the morning of the 25th we
reached our appointed rendezvous at Chamisso
Island, ten days later than had been agreed upon
by Captain Franklin and myself, but which, it
appeared, was quite early enough, as there were no
traces of his having arrived. On approaching the
island we discovered, through our telescopes, a small
pile of stones upon its summit ; and as every object
of this kind which was likely to be the work of
human hands was interesting, from the possibility
that it might be the labour of the party we were in
search of, it was not long in undergoing an exami-
nation ; there was nothing however to lead to its
history, but conjecture attributed it to Captain
Kotzebue, who visited that spot in 1816. -
The ship was anchored nearly as far up in Kot-
zebue Sound as a vessel of her class can go, between
Chamisso Island on the south, and Choris peninsula
on the north, with Escholtz Bay on the east, and an
open space in the west, in which the coast was too
distant to be seen. The land about this part of the
Sound is generally characterised by rounded hills
from about six hundred feet to a thousand above
the sea, with small lakes and rivers; its surface is
rent into deep furrows, which, until a very late
period in the summer, are filled with water, and
being covered with a thick swampy moss, and in
some places with long grass or bushes, it is extremely
tedious to traverse it on foot. Early in the sum-
mer myriads of moskitos infest this swampy shore,
and almost preclude the possibility of continuing
any pursuit; but in August they begin to die off.
and soon afterwards entirely disappear.
Chamisso Island, the highest part of which is 231
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 349
feet above the sea, is steep, except to the eastward,
where it ends in a low sandy point, upon which are
the remains of some Esquimaux habitations; it has
the same swampy covering as the land just described,
from which, until late in the summer, several streams
descend, and are very convenient for procuring water.
Detached from Chamisso, there is a steep rock which
by way of distinction we named Puffin Island, com-
posed of mouldering granite, which has broken away
in such a manner that the remaining part assumes
the form of a tower. During the period of incuba-
tion of the aquatic birds, every hole and projecting
crag on the sides of this rock is occupied by them.
Its shores resound with the chorus of thousands of
the feathery tribe; and its surface presents a curi-
ously mottled carpet of brown, black, and white.
In a sandy bay upon the western side of the pen-
insula we found a few Esquimaux who had hauled
up their baidars, and erected a temporary hut; they
were inferior in every respect to those we had seen
before, and furnished us with nothing new. In this
bay we caught enough salmon, and other fish, to give
a meal to the whole of the ship's company, which
was highly acceptable; but we had to regret that
similar success did not attend our subsequent trials.
By my instructions, I was desired to await the
arrival of Captain Franklin at this anchorage; but
in a memoir drawn up by that officer and myself, to
which my attention was directed by the Admiralty,
it was arranged that the ship should proceed to the
northward, and survey the coast, keeping the barge
in shore to look out for the land party, and to erect
posts as signals of her having been there, and also to
leave directions where to find the ship.
CHAP.
|X.
July,
1826.


350 VOYAGE TO THE
* I was also desired to place a small party in occu-
S--~ pation of Chamisso Island during the absence of the
#. ship; but this spot proved to be so different from
what we imagined, being accessible in almost every
quarter, instead of having only one landing place,
that a small party would have been of no use if the
natives were inclined to be hostile, and the numeri-
cal strength of the crew did not admit of a large de-
tachment being spared from her. But in order that
Captain Franklin should not want provision in the
event of his missing the ship along the coast, and
arriving at the island in her absence, a tight barrel
of flour was buried upon Puffin Rock, which ap-
peared to be the most unfrequented spot in the
vicinity, and directions for finding it were deposited
in a bottle at Chamisso Island, together with such
other information as he might require, and the place
where it was deposited was pointed out by writing
upon the cliffs with white paint. It was further
arranged, that a party should proceed over land in a
northerly direction, in the hope of falling in with
Captain Franklin, as it was possible the shore of the
Polar Sea might lie more to the southward than the
general trending of that part of its coast which had
been explored led us to expect. But as the ship
was likely to be absent several weeks, and we were
unacquainted with the disposition of the people or
with the country, further than that from its swampy
nature, it seemed to present almost insurmountable
difficulties to the journey, I deferred the departure
of the party, and afterwards wholly abandoned the
project, as the coast was found to extend so far to
the northward as to render it quite useless.
As I wished to avail myself of the latitude afford-
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 351
º
ed by this memoir, to survey and examine as much
of the coast as possible before Captain Franklin ar-
rived, no time was lost in preparing the ship for sea,
which it required only a little time to effect.
On the 28th Mr. Elson returned from the exami-
nation of the opening we discovered on the north
side of Kotzebue Sound, and reported the water at
the entrance to be so shallow that the barge could
not enter. The inlet was of considerable width, and
extended thirty or forty miles in a broad sheet of
water, which at some distance up was fresh. This
was ascertained by landing in the sound to the east-
ward of the opening, at which place it was found
that the inlet approached the sea within a mile and
a half. The time to which it was necessary to limit
Mr. Elson prevented his doing more than ascertain-
ing that this opening was navigable only by small
boats; and by the water being quite fresh, that it
could not lead to any sea beyond.
The Esquimaux in the inlet were more numerous
than we supposed, but were very orderly and well
behaved. When the barge anchored off a low sandy
point, on which they had erected their summer habi-
tations and fishing stakes, she was surrounded by
fourteen baidars, containing 150 men; which, consi-
dering the crew of the barge only amounted to eight
men and two officers, was a superiority of strength that
might well have entitled them to take liberties, had
they been so disposed, armed as they usually are with
bows and arrows, spears, and a large knife strapped
to their thigh : but so far from this being the case,
they readily consented to an arrangement, that only
one baidar at a time should come alongside to dis-
pose of her goods, and then make way for another:
CHAP.
July,
1826.

352 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
July.
1826.
the proposal was made while the baidars were assem-
bled round our boat, and was received with a shout
of general applause.
Blue beads, cutlery, tobacco, and buttons, were
the articles in request, and with which almost any
thing they had might have been purchased: for
these they sold their implements, ornaments, and
some very fine salmon; also a small caiac very simi-
lar to those of Greenland and Hudson's Strait.
While the duties of the ship were being forward-
ed under my first lieutenant, Mr. Peard, I took the
opportunity to visit the extraordinary ice-formation
in Escholtz Bay, mentioned by Kotzebue as being
“covered with a soil half a foot thick, producing
the most luxuriant grass,” and containing an abund-
ance of mammoth bones. We sailed up the bay,
which was extremely shallow, and landed at a de-
serted village on a low sandy point, where Kotzebue
bivouacked when he visited the place, and to which
I afterwards gave the name of Elephant Point, from
the bones of that animal being found near it.
The cliffs in which this singular formation was
discovered begin near this point, and extend west-
ward in a nearly straight line to a rocky cliff of pri-
mitive formation at the entrance of the bay, whence
the coast takes an abrupt turn to the southward.
The cliffs are from twenty to eighty feet in height;
and rise inland to a rounded range of hills between
four and five hundred feet above the sea. In some
places they present a perpendicular front to the
northward, in others a slightly inclined surface; and
are occasionally intersected by valleys and water-
courses generally overgrown with low bushes. Op-
posite each of these valleys, there is a projecting flat














PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 353
piece of ground, consisting of the materials that
have been washed down the ravine, where the only
good landing for boats is afforded. The soil of the
cliffs is a bluish-coloured mud, for the most part
covered with moss and long grass, full of deep fur-
rows, generally filled with water or frozen snow.
Mud in a frozen state forms the surface of the cliff
in some parts; in others the rock appears, with the
mud above it, or sometimes with a bank half way
up it, as if the superstratum had gradually slid
down and accumulated against the cliff. By the
large rents near the edges of the mud cliffs, they
appear to be breaking away, and contributing daily
to diminish the depth of water in the bay.
Such is the general conformation of this line of
coast. That particular formation, which, when it
was first discovered by Captain Kotzebue, excited
so much curiosity, and bore so near a resemblance
to an iceberg, as to deceive himself and his officers,
when they approached the spot to examine it, re-
mains to be described. As we rowed along the
shore, the shining surface of small portions of the
cliffs attracted our attention and directed us where
to search for this curious phenomenon, which we
should otherwise have had difficulty in finding, not-
withstanding its locality had been particularly de-
scribed; for so large a portion of the ice cliff has
thawed since it was visited by Captain Kotzebue
and his naturalist, that only a few insignificant
patches of the frozen surface now remain. The
largest of these, situated about a mile to the west-
ward of Elephant Point, was particularly examined
by Mr. Collie, who, on cutting through the ice in a
horizontal direction, found that it formed only a
VOL. I. 2 A.
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.

354 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
X.
j uly,
1826.
casing to the cliff, which was composed of mud and º
gravel in a frozen state. On removing the earth
above, it was also evident, by a decided line of sepa-
ration between the ice and the cliff, that the Rus-
sians had been deceived by appearances. By cut-
ting into the upper surface of the cliff three feet
from the edge, frozen earth, similar to that which
formed the face of the cliff, was found at eleven
inches' depth; and four yards further back the same
substance occurred at twenty-two inches' depth.
The glacial facing we afterwards noticed in seve-
ral parts of the sound; and it appears to me to be
occasioned either by the snow being banked up
against the cliff, or collected in its hollows in the
winter, and converted into ice in the summer by
partial thawings and freezings—or by the constant
flow of water during the summer over the edges of
the cliffs, on which the sun's rays operate less forci-
bly than on other parts, in consequence of their as-
pect. The streams thus become converted into ice,
either while trickling down the still frozen surface
of the cliffs, or after they reach the earth at their
base, in which case the ice rises like a stalagmite,
and in time reaches the surface. But before this
is completed, the upper soil, loosened by the thaw,
is itself projected over the cliff, and falls in a heap.
below, whence it is ultimately carried away by the
tide. We visited this spot a month later in the sea-
son, and found a considerable alteration in its ap-
pearance, manifesting more clearly than before the
deception under which Kotzebue laboured.
The deserted village upon the low point consisted
of a row of huts, rudely formed with drift-wood and
turf, about six feet square and four feet in height.
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PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 355
In front of them was a quantity of drift-wood raised
upon rafters; and around them there were several -->
heaps of bones, and skulls of seals and grampuses,
which in all probability had been retained conform-
ably with the superstitions of the Greenlanders, who
carefully preserve these parts of the skeleton.* A
rank grass grew luxuriantly about these deserted
abodes, and also about the edges of several pools of
fresh water, in which there were some wild fowl.
We returned to the ship late at night, and found
her ready for sea. -
* Crantz Greenland, Vol. I.
CHAP.
X.
July,
1826.







356 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
Q-Y-
July,
1826.
CHAPTER XI.
Quit Kotzebue Sound, and proceed to survey the Coast to the
Northward—Interviews with the Natives—Cape Thomson —
Point Hope—Current—Capes Sabine and Beaufort–Barrier of
Ice—Icy Cape—advanced Position of the Ship—Discover Cape
Franklin, Wainwright Inlet, Shoals off Icy Cape, &c.—Boat sent
on an Expedition along the Coast—Return of the Ship to Kot-
zebue Sound—Interviews with the Esquimaux—Boat rejoins
the ship—Important Results of her Expedition.
ON the 30th of July we weighed from Chamisso
Island attended by the barge, and steered out of the
sound. The day was very fine; and, as we sailed
along the northern shore, the sun was reflected from
several parts of the cliff, which our telescopes disco-
vered to be cased with a frozen surface similar to
that just described in Escholtz Bay. We kept at six
or seven miles distance from the land, and had a
very even bottom, until near Hotham Inlet, when
the soundings quickly decreased, and the ship struck
upon a shoal before any alteration of the helm had
materially changed her position. The water was
fortunately quite smooth, and she grounded so easily
that, but for the lead-lines, we should not have
known any thing had occurred. We found upon
sounding, that the ship had entered a bight in the
shoal, and that there was a small bank between her



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 357
and the deep water, so that it became necessary to
carry out the stream anchor in the direction of her
wake, by means of which, and a little rise of the
tide, she was soon got off.
This shoal, which extends eight miles off the land,
is very dangerous, as the soundings give very short
warning of its proximity, and there are no good
landmarks for avoiding it. The distance from the
shore, could it be judged of under ordinary circum-
stances, would on some occasions be a most treacher-
ous guide, as the mirage in fine weather plays about
it, and gives the land a very different appearance at
one moment from that which it assumes at another.
As soon as we were clear of the shoal, we con-
tinued our course for Cape Krusenstern, near which
place we the next day buried a letter for Captain
Franklin, and erected a post to direct him to the
spot. The cape is a low tongue of land, intersected
by lakes, lying at the foot of a high cluster of hills
not in any way remarkable. The land slopes down
from them to several rocky cliffs, which, until the
low point is seen at the foot of them, appear to be
the entrance to the sound, but they are nearly a mile
inland from it. The coast here takes an abrupt
turn to the northward, and the current sets strong
against the bend; which is probably the reason of
there being deep water close to the beach, as also the
occasion of a shoal in a north-westerly direction from
the point, which appears to have been thrown up by
the eddy water.
The boat landed about two miles to the north-
ward of this point, upon a shingly beach sufficiently
steep to afford very good landing when the water is
smooth; behind it there was a plain about a mile
CHAP.
XI.
July,
1826.







358 VOYAGE TO THE
wide, extending from the hills to the sea, composed
of elastic bog earth, intersected by small streams, on
the edges of which the buttercup, poppy, blue-bell,
pedicularis, vaccinium, saxifrages, and some cruci-
form plants” throve very well; in other parts, how-
ever, the vegetation was stinted, and consisted only
of lichens and mosses. There were here some low
mud cliffs frozen so hard that it required consider-
able labour to dig fifteen inches to secure the end of
the post that was erected.
Mr. Elson, in command of the barge, was now
furnished with a copy of the signals drawn up by
Captain Franklin and myself, and directed to pro-
ceed close along the shore to the northward, vigi-
lantly looking out for boats, and erecting posts and
landmarks in the most conspicuous places for Cap-
tain Franklin's guidance, and to trace the outline of
the beach. He was also desired to explore the coast
narrowly, and to fill in such parts of it as could not
be executed in the ship, and instructed where to
rendezvous in case of separation.
We then steered along the coast, which took a
north-westerly direction, and at midnight passed a
range of hills terminating about four miles from the
sea, which must be the Cape Mulgrave of Captain
Cook, who navigated this part of the coast at too
great a distance to see the land in front of the hills,
which is extremely low, and after passing the Mul-
grave Range, forms an extensive plain intersected
by lakes near the beach ; these lakes are situated so
close together that by transporting a small boat from
one to the other, a very good inland navigation, if
CHAP.
XI. .
July,
1826.
* The botany of this part of the coast is published in the Flora
Americana of Dr. Hooker.

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PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 359
necessary, might be performed. They are supplied
by the draining of the land and the melting snow,
and discharge their water through small openings in
the shingly beach, too shallow to be entered by any
thing larger than a baidar, one of them excepted,
through which the current ran too strong for sound-
ings to be taken. .
On the 1st of August we did little more than drift
along the coast with the current—which was re-
peatedly tried, and always found setting to the
north-west—from half a mile to a mile and a half
per hour. The Esquimaux, taking advantage of the
calm, came off to the ship in three baidars, and add-
ed to our stock of curiosities by exchanging their
manufactures for beads, knives, and tobacco.
On the 2d, being favoured with a breeze, we closed
with a high cape, which I named after Mr. Deas
Thomson, one of the commissioners of the navy.”
It is a bold promontory 450 feet in height, and
marked with differently coloured strata, of which
there is a representation in the geological memoran-
dum. As this was a fit place to erect a signal-post
for Captain Franklin, we landed, and were met upon
the beach by some Esquimaux, who eagerly sought
an exchange of goods. Very few of their tribe un-
derstood better how to drive a bargain than these
people; and it was not until they had sold almost
all they could spare, that we had any peace. We
found them very honest, extremely good natured,
and friendly. Their features, dress, and weapons
were the same as before described in Kotzebue
Sound, with the exception of some broad-headed
* A cape close to this has been named Cape Ricord by the
Russians.
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.

360 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
spears, which they had probably obtained from the
Tschutschi. They had more curiosity than our
former visiters, and examined very minutely every
part of our dress; from which circumstance, and
their being frightened at the discharge of a gun, and
no less astonished when a bird fell close to them,
we judged they had had a very limited intercourse
with Europeans. The oldest person we saw among
the party was a cripple about fifty years of age.
The others were robust people above the average
height of Esquimaux : the tallest man was five feet
nine inches, and the tallest woman five feet four
inches. All the women were tattooed upon the chin
with three small lines, which is a general distin-
guishing mark of the fair sex along this coast; this
is effected by drawing a blackened piece of thread
through the skin with a needle, as with the Green-
landers. Their hair was done up in large plaits on
each side of the head, as described by Captain Parry
at Melville Peninsula. We noticed a practice here
amongst the women, similar to that which is com-
mon with the Arabs, which consisted of blacking
the edges of the eyelids with plumbago rubbed up
with a little saliva upon a piece of slate. All the
men had labrets, and both sexes had their teeth
much worn down, probably by the constant appli-
cation of them to hard substances, of which their
dresses, implements, and canoes are made.
They had several rude knives, probably obtained
from the Tschutschi, some lumps of iron pyrites,
and pieces of amber strung round their neck; but I
could not learn where they had procured them.
As soon as we finished the necessary observations
with the artificial horizon, to the no small diversion


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 361
and surprise of our inquisitive companions, we paid "º".
a visit to the next valley, where we found a small -->
village situated close upon a fine stream of fresh A..."
water flowing from a large bed of thawing snow.
The banks of the brook were fertile, but vegetation
was more diminutive here than in Kotzebue Sound;
notwithstanding which, several plants were found
which did not exist there. The tents were con-
structed of skins loosely stretched over a few spars
of drift-wood, and were neither wind nor water
tight. They were, as usual, filthy, but suitable to
the taste of their inhabitants, who no doubt saw no-
thing in them that was revolting. The natives tes-
tified much pleasure at our visit, and placed before
us several dishes, among which were two of their
choicest—the entrails of a fine seal, and a bowl of
coagulated blood. But, desirous as we were to
oblige them, there was not one of our party that
could be induced to partake of their hospitality.
Seeing our reluctance, they tried us with another
dish, consisting of the raw flesh of the narwhal nice-
ly cut into lumps, with an equal distribution of black
and white fat; but they were not more successful
here than at first.
An old man then braced a skin upon a tambou-
rine frame, and striking it with a bone gave the sig-
nal for a dance, which was immediately performed
to a chorus of Angna aya' angna aya! the tambourine
marking time by being flourished and twirled about
against a short stick instead of being struck. The
musician, who was also the principal dancer, jumped
into the ring, and threw his body into different atti-
tudes until quite exhausted, and then resigned his
office to another, from whom it passed to a lad who
.











362 VOYAGE TO THE
-º- dicrous behaviour than any of his predecessors. His
#" song was joined by the young women, who until
then had been mute and almost motionless, but who
now acquitted themselves with equal spirit with
their leader, twisting their bodies, twirling their
arms about, and violently rubbing their sides with
Cº. occasioned more merriment by his grimaces and lu-
their garments, which, from some ridiculous associa-
tions no doubt, occasioned considerable merriment.
Against an obscure part of the cliff near the village
we noticed a broad iron-headed halberd placed erect,
with several bows and quivers of arrows ; and near
them a single arrow, with a tuft of feathers attached
to it, suspended to the rock. The Esquimaux were
reluctant to answer our inquiries concerning this
arrangement, and were much displeased when we
approached the place. From the conduct of the
natives at Schismareff Inlet toward Captain Kotze-
bue, it is not impossible that the shooting of this
arrow may be a signal of hostility, as those people
after eying him attentively and suspiciously, pad-
dled quickly away, and threw two arrows with
bunches of feathers fastened to them toward their
habitations, whence shortly afterwards issued two
baidars, who approached Captain Kotzebue with
very doubtful intentions.
Upon an eminence beyond this cliff we found
several dogs tethered to stakes; and all the little
children of the village, who had perhaps been sent
out of the way, and who, on seeing us, set up a
general lamentation. - *
After viewing this village we ascended Cape
Thomson, and discovered low land jetting out from
the coast to the W. N. W. as far as the eye




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 363
could reach. As this point had never been placed
in our charts, I named it Point Hope, in compli-
ment to Sir William Johnstone Hope.
Having buried a bottle for Captain Franklin
upon the eminence, we took leave of our friends,
and made sail towards the ship, which, in conse-
quence of a current, was far to leeward, although
she had been beating the whole day with every sail
set. We continued to press the ship during the
night, in order to maintain our position, that the
barge might join ; but the current ran so strong,
that the next morning, finding we lost rather than
gained ground, I bore away to trace the extent
of the low point discovered from Cape Thom-
son. On nearing it, we perceived a forest of stakes
driven into the ground for the purpose of keep-
ing the property of the natives off the ground ; and
beneath them several round hillocks, which we af-
terwards found to be the Esquimaux yourts, or un-
derground winter habitations. The wind fell very
light off this point, and I went in the gig to pay
a visit to the village, leaving directions to anchor
the ship in case the wind continued light. After
rowing a considerable time, we found a current run-
ning so strong that we did not make any progress,
and it was as much as we could do to get back to the
ship, which had in the mean time been anchored with
the bower, having previously parted from the kedge.
The current was now running W. by N. at the
rate of three miles an hour. About five o’clock the
next morning, however, it slackened to a mile and a
half, and the boats were sent to creep for the kedge
anchor, but it could not be found. A thick fog af-
terwards came on, which kept us at anchor until
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.

364 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
the next day. During this time signal guns were
fired every two hours, as well on account of Captain
Franklin as of our own boat.
On the 5th we weighed, and set the studding-
sails, but the ship would not steer, and came broad-
side to the tide, in spite of the helm and three boats
ahead; and continued in this position until a fresh
breeze sprang up from the northward.
It is necessary here to give some further parti-
culars of this current, in order that it may not be
supposed that the whole body of water between the
two great continents was setting into the Polar Sea
at so considerable a rate. By sinking the patent log
first five fathoms, and then three fathoms, and allow-
ing it to remain in the first instance six hours, and
in the latter twelve hours, it was clearly ascertained
that there was no current at either of those depths;
but at the distance of nine feet from the surface the
motion of the water was nearly equal to that at the
top. Hence we must conclude that the current was
superficial, and confined to a depth between nine
and twelve feet.
By the freshness of the water alongside there is
every reason to believe that the current was occa-
sioned by the many rivers which, at this time of the
year, empty themselves into the sea in different
parts of the coast, beginning with Schismareff Inlet.
The specific gravity of the sea off that place was
1.02502, from which it gradually decreased, and at
our station off the point was 1.0173, the tempera-
ture at each being 58". On the other hand, the
strength of the stream had gradually increased from
half a mile an hour to three miles, which was its
greatest rapidity. So far there is nothing extraor-
º


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 365
dinary in the fact; but why this body of water
should continually press to the northward in pre-
ference to taking any other direction, or gradually
expending itself in the sea, is a question of con-
siderable interest.
In the afternoon the barge was discovered at
anchor, close in-shore, and being favoured with a
breeze the ship was brought close to the point.
This enabled me to land, accompanied by Mr. Collie,
who, while I was occupied with my theodolite, went
toward the huts, which at first appeared to be de-
serted ; but as he was examining them several old
women and children made their appearance, and
gave him a friendly reception. He brought them
to me, and we underwent the full delights of an
affectionate Esquimaux salutation.
The persons of our new acquaintance were ex-
tremely diminutive, dirty, and forbidding. Some
were blind, others decrepit; and, dressed in greasy
worn-out clothes, they looked perfectly wretched.
Their hospitality, however, was even greater than
we could desire; and we were dragged away by the
wrists to their hovels, on approaching which we
passed between heaps of filth and ruined habita-
tions, filled with stinking water, to a part of the
village which was in better repair. We were then
seated upon some skins placed for the purpose; and
bowls of blubber, walrus, and unicorn flesh (monodon
monoceros), with various other delicacies of the same
kind, were successively offered as temptations to our
appetite, which, nevertheless, we felt no inclination
to indulge.
After some few exchanges, the advantage of
which was on the side of our acquaintances, who
CHAP.
XI.
\-Y-
August,
1826.

366 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. had nothing curious to part with, an old man pro-
XI. - - - -
Jº- duced a tambourine, and seating himself upon the
*...* roof of one of the miserable hovels, threw his legs -
across, and commenced a song, accompanying it
with the tambourine, with as much apparent happi-
ness as if fortune had imparted to him every luxury
of life. The vivacity and humour of the musician
inspired two of the old hags, who joined chorus, and
threw themselves into a variety of attitudes, twist-
ing their bodies, Snapping their fingers, and smirk-
ing from behind their seal-skin hoods, with as much
shrewd meaning as if they had been half a century
younger. Several little chubby girls, roused by the
music, came blinking at the daylight through the
greasy roofs of the subterranean abodes, and joined
the performance; and we had the satisfaction of
seeing a set of people happy who did not appear to
possess a single comfort upon earth.
The village consisted of a number of “ yourts” -
excavated in a ridge of mud and gravel, which had
been heaped up in a parallel line with the beach.
Their construction more nearly approached to the
habitations of the Tschutschi than those of the
Esquimaux of Greenland. They consisted of two
pits about eight feet deep, communicating by a
door at the bottom. The inner one had a dome- -
shaped roof, made with dry wood or bones; it was *
covered with turf, and rose about four feet above
the surface of the earth. In the centre of this there
was a circular hole or window, covered with a piece
of skin (part of the intestine of the whale), which
gave, however, but very little light. The outer pit
had a flat roof, and was entered by a square hole,
over which there was a shed to protect it from the








PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 367
snow and the inclemency of the weather. A rude "º".
ladder led to a floor of loose boards, beneath which S-->
our noses as well as our eyes were greeted by a pool º
of dirty green water. The inner chamber was the
sleeping and cooking room.
Another yourt, to which a store of provision was
attached, by a low subterraneous passage, was ex-
amined by Lieutenant Belcher the ensuing year:
it was in other respects very similar, and needs no
particular description. Of these yourts, one was
of much larger dimensions than the others, which,
it was intimated by the natives, was constructed
for the purpose of dancing and amusing them-
selves. Mr. Belcher was particularly struck with -
the cleanliness of the boards and sleeping places
in the interior of the yourt he examined; where-
as the passage and entrance were allowed to re-
main in a very filthy condition. The air was too
oppressive to continue in them for any length
of time. Every yourt had its rafters for placing
sledges, skins of oil, or other articles upon in the
winter time, to prevent their being buried in the
snow. The number of these frames, some bearing
sledges, and others the skeletons of boats, formed a
complete wood, and had attracted our notice at
the distance of six or seven miles. Of the many
yourts which composed the village, very few were
occupied ; the others had their entrances blocked up
with logs of drift-wood and the ribs of whales.
From this circumstance, and the infirm condition of
almost all who remained at the village, it was evi-
dent that the inhabitants had gone on sealing ex-
cursions, to provide a supply of food for the winter.
The natives, when we were about to take our leave,




368 VOYAGE TO THE - *
** accompanied us to the boat, and as we pushed off
- they each picked up a few pebbles and carried them
#" away with them, but for what purpose we could
not guess, nor had we ever seen the custom before. º
The point upon which this village stands projects
almost sixteen miles from the general line of coast;
it is intersected by several lakes and small creeks,
the entrances of which are on the north side. There
is a bar across the mouth of the opening, consisting
of pebbles and mud, which has every appearance of
being on the increase; but when the water is smooth
a boat may enter, and she will find very excellent
security within from all winds. It is remarkable
that both Cook and Clerke, who passed within a
very short distance of this point, mistook the pro-
jection for ice that had been driven against the
land, and omitted to mark it in their chart.
The next morning we communicated with the
barge, and found she had been visited daily by the
natives, who were very friendly. The current in-
shore was more rapid than in the offing, and the
water more fresh. After replenishing her provi-
sions, we steered to the northward, and endeavoured
to get in with the land on the northern side of
Point Hope; but the wind was so light that we
could not hold our ground against the current, and
were drifted away slowly to the northward. In the
morning, the wind being still unfavourable for this
purpose, we steered for the farthest land in sight to
the northward, which answered to Cape Lisburn of
Captain Cook. As we approached it, the current
slackened, and the depth and specific gravity of the
sea both increased. We landed here, and ascended
the mountain to obtain a fair view of the coast,


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 369
which we found turned to the eastward, nearly at a
right angle, and then to the north-eastward, as far
as the eye could trace. Our height was 850 feet
above the sea, and at so short a distance from it on
one side, that it was fearful to look down upon
the beach below. We ascended by a valley which
collected the tributary streams of the mountain,
and poured them in a cascade upon the beach. The
basis of the mountain was flint of the purest kind,
and limestone, abounding in fossil shells, enchinites,
and marine animals.
There was very little soil in the valley; the stones
were covered with a thick swampy moss, which we
traversed with great difficulty, and were soon wet
through by it. Vegetation was, however, as luxu-
riant as in Kotzebue Sound, more than a hundred
miles to the southward, or, what is of more conse-
quence, more than that distance farther from the
great barrier of ice. Several reindeer were feeding
on this luxuriant pasture; the cliffs were covered
with birds; and the swamps generated myriads of
moskitos, which were more persevering, if possible,
than those at Chamisso Island.
After depositing a bottle at this place, and leaving
proper directions upon the cliff for finding it, we
pursued our course to the eastward, accompanied by
the barge. The wind was light, and we made so
little progress that on the 9th Cape Lisburn was
still in sight. Before it was entirely lost I land-
ed at a small cape, which I named Cape Beaufort,
in compliment to Captain Beaufort, the present hy-
drographer to the Admiralty. The land northward
was low and swampy, covered with moss and long
grass, which produced all the plants we had met
VOI, , I. 2 B
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.


370 VOYAGE TO THE
with to the southward, and two or three besides.
-- Cape Beaufort is composed of sandstone, enclosing
*. bits of petrified wood and rushes, and is traversed
by narrow veins of coal lying in an E. N. E. and
W. S. W. direction. That at the surface was dry
and bad, but some pieces which had been thrown up
by the burrowing of a small animal, probably the
ermine, burned very well.
As this is a part of the coast hitherto unexplored,
I may stand excused for being a little more particu-
lar in my description. Cape Beaufort is situated in
the depth of a great bay, formed between Cape Lis-
burn and Icy Cape, and is the last point where the
hills come close down to the sea, by reason of the
coast line curving to the northward, while the range
of hills continues its former direction. From the
rugged mountains of limestone and flint at Cape
Lisburn, there is an uniform descent to the rounded
hills of sandstone at Cape Beaufort just described.
The range is, however, broken by extensive valleys,
intersected by lakes and rivers. Some of these lakes
border upon the sea, and in the summer months are
accessible to baidars, or even large boats; but as
soon as the current from the beds of thawing snow
inland ceases, the sea throws up a bar across the
mouths of them, and they cannot be entered. The
beach, at the places where we landed was shingle
and mud, the country mossy and swampy, and in-
fested with moskitos. We noticed recent tracks of
wolves, and of some cloven-footed animals, and saw
several ptarmigans, ortolans, and a lark. Very little
drift wood had found its way upon this part of the
coast. -
We reached the ship just after a thick fog came
CHAP.
XI.
|

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 371
in, from seaward, and only a short time before the
increasing breeze obliged her to quit the coast.
During my absence the boats had been sent to exa-
mine a large floating mass which excited a good deal
of curiosity at the time, and found it to be the car-
cass of a dead whale. It had an Esquimaux harpoon
in it, and a drag attached, made of an inflated seal-
skin, which had no doubt worried the animal to
death. Thus, with knowledge just proportioned to
their wants, do these untutored barbarians, with
their slender boats and limited means, contrive to
take the largest animal of the creation. In the pre-
sent instance, certainly, their victim had eluded their
efforts, but the carcass was not yet “too high” for
an Esquimaux palate, and would, no doubt, ere
long, be either washed upon the shore, or discovered
by some of the many wandering baidars along the
COaSt.
Some very extensive flocks of eider ducks had
also been seen from the ship. They consisted en-
tirely of females and young ones, the greater part of
which could not fly, but they nevertheless contrived
to evade pursuit by diving. -
On the morning of the 10th we were under treble-
reefed topsails and foresail, with a short head sea, in
which we pitched away the jib-boom. We had a
thick fog, with the wind at N. N. E. A little after
noon, being in lat. 70° 09' N., and 165° 10' W., we
had twenty-four fathoms hard bottom : we then
stood toward the shore, and again changed the bot-
tom to mud, the depth of water gradually decreasing.
On the 11th it was calm ; by the observations at
noon there had been a current to the S. W., but this
had now ceased, as upon trial it ran west one-third
CHAP.
XI.
\e-Y-
August,
1826.
2 B 2

372 VOYAGE TO THE
** of a mile per hour, and three hours afterward N. E.
S- five-eighths per hour, which appeared to be the regu-
* lar tide. In the evening the wind again blew from
the northward, and brought a thick fog with it.
We stood off and on, guided by the soundings.
In the morning of the 12th we saw a great many
birds, walrusses, and small white whales; from which
I concluded that we were near a stream of ice, but
only one piece was seen in the evening aground.
We tacked not far from it in ten fathoms. As we
stood in-shore, the temperature of the sea always
decreased; the effect, probably, of the rivers of
melting snow mingling with it.
As it was impossible to determine the continuity
of coast, with the weather so thick, farther than by
the gradual decrease of the soundings, I stood to the
northward to ascertain the position of the ice, the
wind having changed to E. N. E. and become
favourable for the purpose. At eight o'clock in the
morning of the 13th, the fog cleared off, and exhi-
bited the main body of ice extending from N. 79° E.
to S. 29 W. (true). At nine we tacked amongst
the brash, in twenty-three fathoms water, in lat. 71°
08 N., long. 163° 40'W. The wind was blowing
along the ice, and the outer part of the pack was in
streams, some of which the ship might have entered,
and perhaps have proceeded up them two or three
miles; but as this would have served no useful pur-
pose, and would have occasioned unnecessary delay,
I again stood in for the land, which at eight o'clock
at night was seen in a low unbroken line, extending
to the westward as far as Icy Cape, and to the east-
ward as far as the state of the weather would per-
mit. We tacked at nine, in five fathoms water,
within two miles of the shore; and Lieutenant Bel-
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 373
cher was despatched in the cutter to examine some
posts that were erected upon it, thinking they might
possibly have been placed there by the land expedi-
tion. The boat found a heavy surf breaking upon
a sand bank at a little distance from the beach,
which prevented her landing, and a fog coming on,
she was recalled before the attempt could be made
in another place. There was a thick wetting fog
during the night. The next morning a boat was
again sent on shore, with Lieutenant Belcher,
Messrs. Collie and Wolfe, to make observations,
collect plants, and erect a mark for Captain Frank-
lin. They had nearly the same difficulty in reach-
ing the beach, on account of shoals, as at the former
place, but there was less swell.
Shortly after noon I landed myself, and found
that at the back of the beach there was a lake two
miles long, in the direction of the coast; it had a
shallow entrance at its south-west end, sufficiently
deep for baidars only. The main land at the back
of it presented a range of low earth cliffs, behind
which there were some hills, about two hundred
feet high. Near the entrance to the lake there were
two yourts, inhabited by some Esquimaux, who sold
us two swans and four hundred pounds of venison,
which being divided amongst the crew, formed a
most acceptable meal. These swans were without
their feet, which had been converted into bags, after
the practice of the eastern Esquimaux; and it is
remarkable, that although so far from Kamtschatka
and the usual track of vessels, these people expressed
no surprise at the appearance either of the ship or of
the boat, and that they were provided both with
knives and iron kettles.
In our way to the huts we saw several human
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.

374 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
bones scattered about, and a skull which had the
teeth worn down nearly to the gums. There ap-
peared to be no place of interment near, and the
body had probably decayed where the bones were
lying. So little did the natives care for these
mouldering remains, that springs for catching birds
were set amongst them. The beach upon which
we landed was shingle and sand, interspersed with
pieces of coal, sandstone, flint, and porphyritic gra-
nite. Vegetation was rather luxuriant, and supplied
Mr. Collie with three new species. The drift wood
was here more abundant than at any place we before
visited : it was forced high upon the beach, pro-
bably by the pressure of the ice when driven against
the coast. -
It was high water at this station at noon. The
tide fell three feet and a half in four hours, and ebb-
ed to the south-west.
A post was here put up for the land expedition,
and a bottle buried near it. We then embarked and
got on board, just as a thick fog obscured every
thing, and obliged the ship to stand off the coast.
In the course of the afternoon the dredge was put
over, and supplied us with some specimens of shells
of the arca, murex, venus, and buccinum genus, and
several lumps of coal. We stood to the N.W., and
at midnight tacked amongst the loose ice at the edge
of the pack in so thick a fog that we could not see
a hundred yards around us.
At half past five in the morning a partial disper-
sion of the fog discovered to us the land bearing N.
86° E. extending in a N. E. direction as far as we
could see. At six we tacked in eleven fathoms
within three miles of it, and not far from an open-


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 375
ing into a spacious lake which appeared to be the Cº.
estuary of a considerable river. There was a shoal —-
across the mouth connected with the land on the *.*
northern side, but with a channel for boats in the
opposite direction. A large piece of ice was aground
near it. The country around was low, covered with
a brown moss, and intersected by water-courses. To
the northward of the entrance of the lake the coast
became higher, and presented an extensive range of
mud cliffs terminating in a cape, which, as it after-
wards proved the most distant land seen from the
ship, I named after Captain Franklin, R. N. under
whose command I had the pleasure to serve on the
first Polar expedition: but as this cape was after-
wards found to be a little way inland I transferred
the name to the nearest conspicuous point of the
COaSt.
The natives taking advantage of this elevated
ground had constructed their winter residences in
it; they were very numerous, and extended some
way along the coast. The season, however, was not
yet arrived at which the Esquimaux take up their
abode in their subterranean habitations, and they
occupied skin tents upon a low point at the entrance
of the lake. We had not been long off here before
three baidars from the village paddled alongside and
bartered their articles as usual. Some of the crew
ascended the side of the ship without any invitation,
and showed not the least surprise at any thing they
beheld; which I could not help particularly remark-
ing, as we were not conscious of any other vessel
having been upon the coast since Kotzebue's voyage,
and he did not reach within two hundred miles of
the residence of these people. There was nothing

376 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
\-Y-
August,
1826.
in our visiters different to what we had seen before,
except that they were better dressed. One of them,
pointing to the shore, drew his hand round the
northern horizon as far as the south-west, by which
he no doubt intended to instruct us that the ice
occupied that space. It would, however, have an-
Swered equally well for the land, supposing the
coast beyond what we saw to have taken a circuit-
ous direction. With the view of having this ex-
plained, I took him to the side of the ship on which
the land was, and intimated a desire that he would
delineate the coast; but he evidently did not under-
stand me, as he and his companions licked their
hands, stroked their breasts, and then went into
their boats and paddled on shore. -
The apparently good-natured disposition of these
people, and indeed of the whole of their tribe upon
the coast to this advanced position, was a source
of the highest gratification to us all as it regarded
Captain Franklin's welfare; for it was natural to
conclude that the whole race, which we had reason
to think extended a considerable distance to the
eastward, would partake of the same friendly feel-
ing, and what was by many considered a material
obstacle to his success would thereby be removed.
At this place in particular, where the natives ap-
peared to be so numerous that they could have
overpowered his party in a minute, it was gratifying
to find them so well disposed.
After the natives were gone we stood to the
north-westward in the hope that the wind, which
had been a long time in the north-eastern quar-
ter, would remain steady until we ascertained the
point of conjunction of the ice and the land, which,



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 377
from its position when seen in the morning, there
was much reason to suppose would be near the ex-
treme point of land in view from the mast-head. Un-
fortunately, while we were doing this, the wind fell
light, and gradually drew round to the north-west-
ward; and apprehending it might get so far in that
direction as to embay the ship between the land and
the ice, it became my duty to consider the propriety
of awaiting the result of such a change; knowing
the necessity of keeping the ship in open water, and
at all times, as far as could be done, free from risk,
in order to insure her return to the rendezvous in
Kotzebue Sound. There was at this time no ice in
sight from the ship except a berg that was aground
in-shore of her; and though a blink round the
northern horizon indicated ice in that direction, yet
the prospect was so flattering that a general regret
was entertained that an attempt to effect the north-
eastern passage did not form the object of the expe-
dition. We all felt the greatest desire to advance,
but considering what would be the consequences of
any accident befalling the ship, which might either
oblige her to quit these seas at once, or prevent her
returning to them a second year, it was evident that
by her being kept in open water was paramount to
every other consideration; particularly as she had
been furnished with a decked launch, well adapted
by her size to prosecute a service of this nature. It
was one of those critical situations in which an
officer is sometimes unavoidably placed, and had
further discovery depended upon the Blossom alone,
it is probable I should have proceeded at all hazards.
My orders, however, being positive to avoid the
chance of being beset in the ship, I considered only
-
CHAP.
XI.
\-2-/
August,
1826.
378 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
º
how I could most beneficially employ both vessels,
and, at the same time, comply with the spirit of my
instructions. Thus circumstanced, I determined to
get hold of the barge as soon as possible, and to
despatch her along the coast, both with a view of
rendering Captain Franklin's party the earliest pos-
sible assistance, and of ascertaining how far it was
possible for a boat to go. Not a moment was to be
lost in putting this project in execution, as the
middle of August was arrived, and we could not
calculate on a continuance of the fine weather with
which we had hitherto been favoured. We accord-
ingly returned towards Icy Cape, in order to join
the barge which was surveying in that direction.
We passed along the land in about eight fathoms
water until near Icy Cape, when we came rather
suddenly into three fathoms and three quarters, but
immediately deepened the soundings again to seven :
the next cast, however, was four fathoms; and not
knowing how soon we might have less, the ship was
immediately brought to an anchor. Upon examina-
tion with the boats, several successive banks were
found at about three quarters of a mile apart, lying
parallel with the coast line. Upon the outer ones,
there were only three and a half or four fathoms,
and upon the inner bank, which had hitherto escaped
notice from being under the sun, so little water that
the sea broke constantly over it. Between the
shoals there were nine and ten fathoms, with very
irregular casts. These shoals lie immediately off
Icy Cape where the land takes an abrupt turn to
the eastward, and are probably the effect of a large
river, which here empties itself into the sea; though
they may be occasioned by heavy ice grounding off




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 379
the point, and being fixed to the bottom, as we
found our anchor had so firm a hold, that in at-
tempting to weigh it the chain cable broke, after
enduring a very heavy strain.
This cape, the farthest point reached by Captain
Cook, was at the time of its discovery very much
encumbered with ice, whence it received its name;
none, however, was now visible. The cape is very
low, and has a large lake at the back of it, which
receives the water of a considerable river, and com-
municates with the sea through a narrow channel much
encumbered with shoals. There are several winter
habitations of the Esquimaux upon the cape, which
were afterwards visited by Lieutenant Belcher. The
main land on both sides of Icy Cape, from Wain-
wright Inlet on one side to Cape Beaufort on the
other, is flat, and covered with Swampy moss. It
presents a line of low mud cliffs, between which
and a shingly beach that every where forms the
coast-line there is a succession of narrow lakes capa-
ble of being navigated by baidars or small boats.
Off here we saw a great many black whales—
more than I remember ever to have seen, even in
Baffin's Bay.
After the boats had examined the shoals outside
the ship, we attempted to weigh the anchor; but
in so doing we broke first the messenger, and after-
wards the chain, by which the anchor was lost, as I
before mentioned, and the buoy rope having been
carried away in letting it go, it was never recovered.
We passed over two shoals in three and four
fathoms, deepening the water to ten and eleven fa-
thoms between them, and then held our ground for
the night. A thick fog came on towards morning,
CHAP:
XI.
\-Y-
August,
1826.
380 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
\-Y-
August,
1826.
which lasted until noon, when it cleared away, and,
we had the satisfaction to be joined by the barge.
Since our separation, Mr. Elson had kept close
along the beach, and ascertained the continuity of
the land from the spot where the ship quitted the
coast to this place, thereby removing all doubts on
that head, and proving that Captain Franklin would
not find a passage south of the cape to which I had
given his name. The soundings were every where
regular, and the natives always friendly, though not
numerous. Their habitations were invariably upon
low strips of sand bordering upon some brackish
lakes, which extended along the coast in such a
manner, that in case the ice was driven against it, a
good inland navigation might be performed, by trans-
porting a small boat across the narrow necks that
separate them.
Drift-wood was every where abundant, though
least so on such parts of the coast as had a western
aspect, but without any apparent reason for this
difference. After supplying the barge with water,
we beat to the northward together, but found so
strong a south-westerly current running round Icy
Cape, that, the ship being light, we could gain no-
thing to windward; and observing that the barge
had the advantage of us by keeping in-shore, and
that we were only a hindrance to her, I made her
signal to close us, and prepared her for the interest-
ing service in view. My intentions were no sooner
made known than I had urgent applications for the
command of the barge from the superior officers of
the ship, who, with the ardour natural to their pro-
fession when any enterprise is in view, came forward
in the readiest manner, and volunteered their ser-

PACIFIC AND BEERING’S STRAIT. 38]
vices; but Mr. Elson, the master, who had hitherto
commanded the boat, had acquitted himself so much
to my satisfaction, that I could not in justice remove
him ; more especially at a moment when the service
to be performed was inseparable from risk. Mr.
Smyth the senior mate of the ship, who executed
the greater part of the drawings which illustrate this
work, was placed with Mr. Elson, who had besides
under his command a crew of six seamen and two
marines.
My instructions to Mr. Elson were to trace the
shore to the north-eastward as far as it was possible
for a boat to navigate, with a view to render the
earliest possible assistance to Captain Franklin, and
to obtain what information he could of the trending
of the coast and of the position of the ice. He was
also directed to possess himself of facts which, in the
event of the failure of the other expedition, would
enable us to form a judgment of the probable success
which might attend an attempt to effect a north-
eastern passage in this quarter : and further, he was
to avoid being beset in the ice, by returning imme-
diately the wind should get to the north-west or
westward, and not to prolong his absence from the
ship beyond the first week in September. He was
at the same time ordered to place landmarks and
directions in conspicuous places for Captain Frank-
lin's guidance; and if possible, on his return, to
examine the shoals off Icy Cape.
We steered together to the northward with foggy
weather until midnight on the 17th, when I made
Mr. Elson's signal to part company, and he com-
menced his interesting expedition with the good
wishes of all on board. We continued our course
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.






382 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
to the northward until four o'clock in the morning
of the 18th, when the fog, as is usual in the neigh-
bourhood of the ice, cleared away, and we saw the
main body in latitude 71° 07' N. nearly in the same
position we had left it some days before. It was
loose at the edge, but close within, and consisted of
heavy floes. We tacked near it, and found it trend-
ing from E. to S. W. (mag.) There were no living
things near it, except a few tern and kittiwakes;
which was rather remarkable, as the edge of the ice
is usually frequented by herds of amphibious ani-
mals. As we receded from the ice, the fog again
thickened, and latterly turned to small snow. The
temperature was about the freezing point. At noon
the sun broke through, and we found ourselves in
latitude 70° 18' N., and by the soundings about
twelve miles from the land, which was not seen.
By this we discovered that instead of gaining twenty
miles to the eastward, we had lost four: by which it
was evident that a current had been running S. 58°
W. a mile an hour; off this place, however, it was
found upon trial to run S. 60° W. only half a mile
per hour. The fog afterwards came on very thick,
and remained so during the day.
Finding this inconvenience from the current off
Icy Cape, I steered to the westward to ascertain
how near the ice approached the coast in that direc-
tion, and on the 20th, I stood in for the land about
midway between Cape Beaufort and Icy Cape, to
verify some points of the survey. About this time
immense flocks of ducks, consisting entirely of
young ones and females, were seen migrating to the
southward. The young birds could not fly; and
not having the instinct to avoid the ship in time,
-


|

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 383
one immense flock was run completely over by her.
They, however, were more wary when the boats
were lowered, and successfully avoided our attempts
to shoot them, by diving. At the place where we
landed, there was a long lake between us and the
main land; and our walk was confined to a strip of
shingle and sand, about 150 yards wide, and about
six feet above the level of the sea. In the sheltered
parts of it there were a few flowers, but no new
species. The lake was connected with the sea at
high tide, and was consequently salt; but we ob-
tained some water sufficiently fresh to drink by dig-
ging at a distance of less than a yard from its mar-
gin, a resource of which the natives appeared to be
well aware. -
An abundance of drift wood was heaped upon the
upper part of the shingle. The trees were torn up
by the roots, and some were worm-eaten; but the
greater part appeared to have been only a short time
at sea, and all of it, that I examined, was pine.
From the desolate appearance of the coast where
we landed, I scarcely expected to find a human be-
ing, but we had no sooner put our foot ashore than
a baidar full of people landed a short distance from
us. Her crew consisted of three grown-up males
and four females, besides two infants. They were
as ready as their neighbours to part with what they
had in exchange for trifles; esteeming our old brass
buttons above all other articles, excepting knives.
There was a blear-eyed old hag of the party, who
separated from her companions, and seated herself
upon a piece of drift wood at a little distance from
the baidar, and continued there, muttering an unin-
telligible language, and apparently believing herself
CHAP.
XI.
\-N-
August,
1826.
384 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
*N-
August,
1826.
to be holding communion with that invisible world
to which she was fast approaching. Though in
her dotage, her opinion was often consulted, and
on more than one occasion in a mysterious manner.
We afterwards witnessed several instances of ex-
tremely old women exercising great influence over
the younger part of the community. On this occa-
sion I purchased a bow and quiver of arrows for a
brooch. The man who sold them referred the bar-
gain to the old woman above-mentioned, who appa-
rently disapproved of it, as the brooch was returned,
and the bow and arrows re-demanded.
The males of this party were all provided with lip
ornaments; and we noticed a gradation in the size, cor-
responding to the ages of the party who wore them,
as well as a distinction in the nature of them. Two
young lads had the orifices in their lips quite raw :
they were about the size of a crow-quill, and were dis-
tended with small cylindrical pieces of ivory, with a
round knob at one end to prevent their falling out.
For some time after the operation has been per-
formed, it is necessary to turn the cylinders fre-
quently, that they may not adhere to the festering
flesh : in time this action becomes as habitual with
some of them as that of twirling the mustachios is
with a Mussulman. In the early stage it is attended
with great pain, the blood sometimes flowing, and I
have seen tears come into the boys’ eyes while doing
it. Lip ornaments, with the males, appear to cor-
respond with the tattooing of the chins of the fe-
males; a mark which is universally borne by the
women throughout both the eastern and western
Esquimaux tribes: the custom of wearing the la-
brets, however, does not extend much beyond the
".


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 385
Mackenzie River. The children we saw to-day had
none of these marks; a girl, about eleven, had one
line only; and a young woman, about twenty-three
years of age, the mother of the infants, had the
three perfect. One of her children was rolling in
the bottom of the baidar, with a large piece of seal-
blubber in its mouth, sucking it as an European
child would a coral. The mother was rather pretty,
and allowed her portrait to be taken. At first she
made no objection to being gazed at as stedfastly as
was necessary for an indifferent artist to accomplish
his purpose; but latterly she shrunk from the scru-
tiny with a bashfulness that would have done credit
to a more civilized female; and on my attempting to
uncover her head, she cast a look of inquiry at her
husband, who vociferated “naga,” when she very pro-
perly refused to comply. The young men were very
importunate and curious, even to annoyance; and
there is little doubt that if any persons in our dress
had fallen in with a powerful party of these savages,
they would very soon have been made to exchange
their suit of broad cloth for the more humble dress
of furs. Their honesty was not more conspicuous
than their moderation, as they appropriated to them-
selves several articles belonging to Mr. Collie.
During three hours that we were on shore, the
tide fell one foot; it had subsided eighteen inches
from its greatest height when we first landed, and
when we put off was still ebbing to the S. S. W. at
the rate of half a mile an hour. Four hours after-
wards, when by our observations on shore it must
have changed, it ran N, ; E. at the same rate, and
afforded another instance of the flood coming from
the southward.
VOI,. I. 2 C
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
386 VOYAGE TO THE
cºp. A thick fog came on after we returned on board.
--~ The next morning we closed with the land near
*...* Cape Beaufort, with a view of trying the veins of
coal in its neighbourhood, as we were very short of
that article; but the wind veered round to the
N. N. W., and by making it a lee shore prevented
the boats landing, and rendered it expedient for the
ship, which was very light, and hardly capable of
beating off, to get an offing. The day was fine,
and afforded an opportunity of verifying some of
our points, which we had the satisfaction to find
quite correct. The next day the wind veered to
the S. S. W. and then to the westward. Through- |
out the 23d, 24th, and part of the 25th, it blew
hard, with a short head sea, thick weather, and lat-
terly with snow showers, which obliged the ship to
keep at so great a distance that the land expedition
would have passed her unobserved, had they been
in progress along the coast. With these winds , ,
we kept off the coast. The night of the 25th
was clear and cold, with about four hours’ darkness,
during which we beheld a brilliant display of the
aurora borealis, which was the first time that phe-
nomenon had been exhibited to us in this part of
the world. It first appeared in an arch extending
from W. by N. to N. E. mag. (by the north), passing
through Benetnasch, 3.7. Ursae Maj. and 3. Aurigae,
decidedly dimming their lustre. The arch, shortly
after it was formed, broke up ; but united again,
threw out a few coruscations, and then entirely dis-
appeared. Soon after, a new display began in the
direction of the western foot of the first arch, pre-
ceded by a bright flame, from which emanated co-
ruscations of a pale straw-colour. An almost simul-


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 387
taneous movement occurred at both extremities of CHAP.
- XI.
the arch, until a complete segment was formed of J
wavering perpendicular radii. As soon as the arch º
was complete, the light became greatly increased ;
and the prismatic colours, which had before been
faint, now shone forth in a very brilliant manner.
The strongest colours, which were also the outside
ones, were pink and green; the centre colour was
yellow, and the intermediate ones on the pink side
purple and green ; on the green side purple and
pink, all of which were as imperceptibly blended
as in the rainbow. The green was the colour
nearest the zenith. This magnificent display lasted
a few minutes; and the light had nearly vanished,
when the N. E. quarter sent forth a vigorous display,
and nearly at the same time a corresponding corus-
cation emanated from the opposite extremity. The
western foot of the arch then disengaged itself from
the horizon, crooked to the northward, and the
whole retired to the N. E. quarter, where a bright
spot blazed for a moment, and all was darkness. I
have been thus particular in my description, because
the appearance was unusually brilliant, and because
very few observations on this phenomenon have been
made in this part of the world. There was no noise
audible during any part of our observations, nor
were the compasses perceptibly affected. The night
was afterwards squally, with cumuli and nimbi, which
deposited showers of sleet and snow as they passed
over us, the wind being rather fresh throughout.
On the 26th the weather was moderate, and
being off Point Hope, on which there were several
lakes and a great abundance of driftwood, the boats
were sent to endeavour to procure a supply of fuel
2 C. 2 -

388 VOYAGE TO THE
and water. We had completed only one turn, and
buried a bottle for Captain Franklin, when the wind
freshened from the S. W. and prevented a second
landing. During the afternoon we turned to
windward, with the wind blowing fresh from the
westward. -
From the time of our passing Beering's Strait up
to the 23d instant, we enjoyed an almost uninter-
rupted series of fine weather; during which we had
fortunately surveyed the whole of the coast from
Cape Prince of Wales as far to the northward as I
deemed it proper to go, consistent with the necessity
of keeping the ship, at all times, in open water and
in safety. Now, however, there appeared to be a
break up, and a commencement of westerly winds,
which made the whole of this coast a lee shore, and
together with several hours of darkness rendered it
necessary to keep the ship at a distance from the
land. In doing this the chances were equal that the
land expedition, in the event of its success, would
pass her. I therefore determined to repair to the
rendezvous in Kotzebue Sound, and, as nothing
further was to be done at sea, to await there the
arrival of our boat and of Captain Franklin's expe-
dition. Accordingly on the 27th we made Cape
Krusenstern, and on the following evening anchored
at Chamisso Island nearly in our former situation.
Directly the ship was secured, two boats were
despatched to the islands to examine the state of the
rivulets, and ascertain whether the cask of flour, that
had been buried for Captain Franklin's use, had been
molested ; our suspicion of its safety having been
excited by observing six baidars upon the beach op-
posite the anchorage, none of which ventured off to



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 389
the ship as was usual. On the return of the boat
from Chamisso Island we learned that there was not
a drop of water to be had, in consequence of the
streams at which we had formerly filled our casks
being derived from beds of thawing ice and snow
which were now entirely dissolved.
By the other boat, we found, as we expected, that
the cask of flour had been dug up and broken open,
that the hoops had been taken away, and that the
flour had been strewed about the ground, partly
in a kneaded state. Suspicion immediately fell upon
the natives encamped upon the peninsula, which was
strengthened by the manner in which they came off
the next morning, dancing and playing a tambourine
in the boats, a conciliatory conduct with which we
had never before been favoured. When they came
alongside, they were shown a handful of flour, and
were referred to the island upon which the cask had
been buried. Their guilty looks showed that they
perfectly understood our meaning; but they strong-
ly protested their innocence, and as a proof that they
could not possibly have committed the theft, they
put their fingers to their tongues, and spit into the
sea with disgust, to show us how much they dis-
liked the taste of the material, little considering that
the fact of their knowing it to be nauseous was a
proof of their having tasted it : but no further notice
was taken of the matter, as I wished as much as
possible to conciliate their friendship on account of
the land expedition.
The baidars of these people were better made than
any we had seen, excepting those of the St. Law-
rence islanders, which they resembled in having a
flap made of walrus skin attached to the gunwale
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
390 voy AGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
for the purpose of keeping their bows and arrows
dry. The natives had a great variety of articles for
sale, all of which they readily parted with, except
their bows, arrows, and spears, and these they would
on no account sell. Several old men were among
their party, all of whom sat in the stern of the boat,
a deference which, as I have already said, we every-
where observed to be paid to age by the younger
part of this tribe. When they had sold all they in-
tended to part with, and had satisfied their curiosity,
they paddled on shore, well satisfied, no doubt, at
having escaped detection.
The next morning the boats were sent to find
water and to dig wells upon Chamisso Island, as we
had but nine days’ supply on board at very reduced
allowance. In the mean time I paid a visit to the
Esquimaux, who were on their travels towards home
with cargoes of dried salmon, oil, blubber, and skins,
which they had collected in their summer excursion
along the coast. When they perceived our boat ap-
proaching the shore, they despatched a baidar to in-
vite us to their encampment; and as we rowed
toward the place together, observing with what faci-
lity they passed our boat, they applied their strength
to their paddles, and, exulting on the advantage
they possessed, left us far behind. It was perfectly
smooth and calm, or this would not have been the
case, as their boats have no hold of the water, and
are easily thrown back by a wave; and when the
wind is on the side, they have the greatest difficulty
in keeping them in the right direction.
The shallowness of the water obliged our boat to
land a short distance from the village; and the
natives, who by this time had hauled up their



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 391
baidar, walked down to meet us with their arms Cº.
drawn in from their sleeves, and tucked up inside -
their frocks. They were also very particular that º
every one of them should salute us, which they did
by licking their hands, and drawing them first over
their own faces and bodies, and then over ours.
This was considered the most friendly manner in
which they could receive us, and they were offici-
ously desirous of ingratiating themselves with us;
but they would on no account suffer us to approach
their tents; and, when we urged it, seemed deter-
mined to resist, even with their weapons, which
were carefully laid out upon a low piece of ground
near them. They were resolved, nevertheless, that
we should partake of their hospitality, and seating
us upon a rising ground, placed before us strips
of blubber in wooden bowls, and whortle berries
mashed up with fat and oil, or some such hetero-
geneous substance, for we did not taste it. Seeing
we would not partake of their fare, they commenced
a brisk traffic with dried salmon, of which we pro-
cured a great quantity. Generally speaking, they
were honest in their dealings, leaving their goods
with us, when they were in doubt about a bargain,
until they had referred it to a second person, or
more commonly to some of the old women. If they
approved of it, our offer was accepted; if not, they
took back their goods. On several occasions, how-
ever, they tried to impose upon us with fish-skins,
ingeniously put together to represent a whole fish,
though entirely deprived of their original contents;
but this artifice succeeded only once: the natives,
when detected in other attempts, laughed heartily,
and treated the matter as a fair practical joke. Their
392 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
cunning and invention were further exhibited in
the great pains which they took to make us under-
stand, before we parted, that the flour had been
stolen by a party who had absconded on seeing the
ship. Their gestures clearly intimated to us that
the attention of this party had been attracted to the
spot by the newly turned earth, though we had re-
placed it very carefully ; on which, it appears, they
began to dig, and, to their great surprise and joy
no doubt, they soon discovered the cask. They
knocked off the hoops with a large stone, and then
tasted the contents, which they intimated were very
nauseous. The thieves then packed up the hoops,
and carried them over the hills to another part of
the country.
We patiently heard the whole of this circumstan-
tial account, which we had afterwards great reason
to believe was an invention of their own, and that
they had some of the flour secreted in their tents,
which, no doubt, was the reason of their dislike to
our approaching them. -
In the forenoon one of our seamen found a piece
of board upon Chamisso Island, upon which was
written, in Russian characters, “ Rurick, July 28th,
1816,” and underneath it “ Blaganome erinoy,
1820.” The former was of course cut by Kotzebue
when he visited the island ; and the latter, I
suppose, by Captain Von Basilief Schismareff, his
lieutenant, who paid this island a second visit in
1820. -
Upon the low point of this island there was an-
other party of Esquimaux, who differed in several
particulars from those upon the peninsula. I was
about to pay them a visit, but early in the morning

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 393
our peninsular friends came off to say they were Cº.
going away; and as I wished to see a little more of S->
them before they left us, I deferred going there *ś"
until the next day, by which I lost the opportunity
of seeing those upon Chamisso, as they decamped
in the evening unobserved. They were, however,
visited by several of the officers. Like the party on
the peninsula, they were on their return to winter-
quarters, with large heaps of dried fish, seals' flesh,
oil, skins, and all the necessary appurtenances to an
Esquimaux residence. They had four tents and
several baidars, which were turned over upon their
nets and fishing-tackle for protection. In one of
their tool-chests was found a part of an elephant's
tooth, of the same species as those which were after-
wards collected in Escholtz Bay. They had the
same aversion to our officers approaching their habi-
tations as the party before described on the penin-
sula, and in all probability it proceeded from the
same cause, as Mr. Osmer detected a young girl
eating some of our flour mixed up with oil and
berries. On seeing him she ran hastily into her
tent, and in so doing spilt some of the mixture, -
which led to the discovery.
The women of this party differed from the females
we had hitherto seen, in having the septum of the nose
pierced, and a large blue bead strung upon a strip
of whalebone passed through the orifice, the bead
hanging as low as the opening of the mouth. One
of them, on receiving a large stocking-needle, thrust
it into the orifice, or, as some of the seamen said,
“spritsail-yarded her nose.” A youth of the party
who had not yet had his lips perforated wore his
hair in bunches on each side of the head, after the

394 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
fashion of the women, which I notice as being the
only instance of the kind we met with, and which
I trust does not indicate a nearer resemblance to a
class of individuals mentioned by Langsdorff as
existing in Oonalashka under the denomination of
Schopans.
Red and blue beads, buttons, knives, and hatchets
were as usual the medium through which every
thing they would part with was purchased. The
men were more excited than usual by a looking-
glass, which, after beholding their own features in
it, and admiring alternately the reflection of their
head and lip ornaments, they very inconsiderately
carried to one of their party who was perfectly
blind, and held before his face. As this was done
rather seriously, certainly without any appearance
of derision, it is possible that they imagined it might
produce some effect upon his sight.
On landing at the encampment on the peninsula, I
was received in a more friendly manner even than the
day before. Each of the natives selected a friend
from among our party, and, like the Gambier island-
ers, locked their arms in ours, and led us to a small
piece of rising ground near their tents, where we sat
down upon broad planks and deer-skins. A dried
fish was then presented to each of us, and a bowl of
cranberries mashed up with sorrel and rancid train-
oil was passed round, after the manner of the Krai-
kees on the Asiatic shore; but, however palatable
this mixture might have been to our hosts, it was
very much the reverse to us, and none of our party
could be induced to partake of it, except Mr. Osmer,
who did so to oblige me at the expense of his appe-
tite for the rest of the day. The Esquimaux were


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 395
surprised at our refusal of this offer, and ridiculed
our squeamishness; and by way of convincing us
what bad judges we were of good cheer, five of
them fell to at the bowl, and with their two fore-
fingers very expeditiously transferred the contents
to their own mouths; and cleansing their fingers
upon the earth, gave the vessel to one of the women.
The whole village then assembled, better dressed
than they had been on our first visit, and ranged
themselves in a semicircle in front of us, prepara-
tory to an exhibition of one of their dances, which
merits a description, as it was the best of the kind
we saw. A double ring was formed in front of
us by men seated upon the grass, and by women
and children in the background, who composed the
orchestra. The music at the beginning was little
better than a buzz of “Ungnä-āyā, Amnā-āyā"
—words which always constitute the burthen of an
Esquimaux song. The leader of the party, a strong
athletic man, jumped into the ring and threw him-
self into various attitudes, which would have better
become a pugilist than a performer on the light
fantastic toe As his motions became violent, he
manifested his inspiration by loud exclamations of
Ah Ah until he became exhausted and with-
drew, amidst shouts of approbation from all pre-
sent, and the signal was given for new performers.
Five younger men then leaped into the area, and
again exhibited feats of activity, which, considering
the heavy clothing that encumbered their limbs,
were very fair. A simple little girl about eight
years of age, dressed for the occasion, joined the
jumpers, but did not imitate their actions. Her
part consisted in waving her arms and inclining her
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
396 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
body from side to side. The poor little thing was
so abashed that she did not even lift her head or
open her eyes during the whole of her performance,
and seemed glad when it was over, though she was
not unmindful of the praise bestowed upon her
exertions.
The violent action of the male performers required
that they should occasionally take breath, during
which time the music was lowered; but as soon as
the ring was re-furnished it again became loud and
animated. A grown-up female now formed one of
the party, and appeared to be the prize of contention
among several young men, who repeatedly endea-
voured to ingratiate themselves with her, but she
as often rejected their offers and waved them away.
At last an old man, all but naked, jumped into
the ring, and was beginning some indecent gesticu-
lations, when his appearance not meeting with
our approbation, he withdrew, and the performance
having been wrought to its highest pitch of noise
and animation, ceased.
Such is the rude dance of these people, in which,
as may be seen from the above description, there
was neither elegance nor grace; but on the con-
trary it was noisy, violent, and as barbarous as them-
selves. The dancers were dressed for the occasion in
their best clothes, which they considered indispen-
sable, as they would not sell them to us until the
performance was over. In addition to their usual
costume, some had a kind of tippet of ermine and
sable skins thrown over their shoulders, and others
wore a band on their heads, with strips of skin sus-
pended to it at every two inches, to the end of which
were attached the nails of seals.
*



PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 397
When the dance was over, they presented us with cºp.
dried salmon, and each person brought his bag of S--
goods, which produced a brisk barter, with great *.
fairness on all sides, and with a more than ordinary
sense of propriety on theirs, in never raising or low-
ering their prices; and by their testifying their disap-
probation of it by a groan, when it was attempted by
one of our party. But though so strict in this par-
ticular, they were not exempt from that failing so
unaccountably innate in all uncivilized people, which
they endeavoured to gratify in various ways, by
engaging our attention at a moment when some of
our trinkets were exposed to them for the purpose
of selection. Suspecting their designs, however, we
| generally detected their thefts, and immediately
| received back our goods, with a hearty laugh in
addition. They understood making a good bargain
quite as well as ourselves, and were very wary how
they received our knives and hatchets, putting their
metal to the test by hacking at them with their
| own. If they stood the blow, they were accepted ;
but if, on the contrary, they were notched, they
were refused. A singular method of deciding a
bargain was resorted to by one of their party, almost
equivalent to that of tossing up a coin. We had
offered an adze for a bundle of skins; but the owner,
who at first seemed satisfied with the bargain, upon
reflection became doubtful whether he would not be
the loser by it; and to decide the doubtful point he
caught a small beetle, and set it at liberty upon the
palm of his hand, anxiously watching which direc-
tion the insect should take. Finding it run towards
him, he concluded the bargain to be disadvantageous
to him, and took back his goods.








398 VOYAGE TO THE
-
CHAP.
XI.
August,
1826.
On this day they admitted us to their habitations,
and all restrictions were removed, except that upon
writing in our remark books, to which they had
such an objection, that they refused us any informa-
tion while they were open, and with great good-
nature closed them, or if we persisted, they dodged
their heads and made off.
Our new acquaintances, amounting to twenty-five
in number, had five tents, constructed with skins of
sea-animals, strained upon poles; and for floors they
had some broad planks two feet in the clear. I was
anxious to learn where they obtained these, knowing
that they had themselves no means of reducing a
tree to the form of a plank, but I could get no in-
formation on this point: in all probability they had
been purchased from the Tschutschi, or the Russians.
Each tent had its baidar, and there were two to
spare, which were turned upside down, and afforded
a convenient house for several dogs, resembling those
of Baffin's Bay, which were strapped to logs of wood
to prevent their straying away. In front of these
baidars there were heaps of skins filled with oil and
blubber, &c., and near them some very strong nets
full of dried salmon, suspended to frames made of
driftwood: these frames also contained, upon stretch-
ers, the intestines of whales, which are used for a
variety of purposes, particularly for the kamlaikas, a
sort of shirt which is put over their skin dresses in
wet weather.
More provident than the inhabitants of Melville
Peninsula, these people had collected an immense
store of provision, if intended only for the number
of persons we saw. Besides a great many skins of
oil, blubber, and blood, they had about three thou-
sand pounds of dried fish.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 399
On the first visit to this party, they constructed a
chart of the coast upon the sand, of which I took
very little notice at the time. To-day, however,
they renewed their labour, and performed their work
upon the sandy beach in a very ingenious and intel-
ligible manner. The coast line was first marked out
with a stick, and the distances regulated by the days'
journeys. The hills and ranges of mountains were
next shown by elevations of sand or stone, and the
islands represented by heaps of pebbles, their propor-
tions being duly attended to. As the work proceed-
ed, some of the bystanders occasionally suggested
alterations, and I removed one of the Diomede Is-
lands which was misplaced : this was at first object-
ed to by the hydrographer; but one of the party
recollecting that the islands were seen in one from
Cape Prince of Wales confirmed its new position,
and made the mistake quite evident to the others,
who seemed much surprised that we should have
any knowledge of such things. When the moun-
tains and islands were erected, the villages and fish-
ing stations were marked by a number of sticks
placed upright, in imitation of those which are put
up on the coast wherever these people fix their
abode. In time, we had a complete topographical
plan of the coast from Point Darby to Cape Kru-
senstern. In this extent of coast line they exhibited
a harbour and a large river situated to the south-
ward of Cape Prince of Wales, of neither of which
we had any previous knowledge. The harbour
communicated with an inner basin, named Imau-
rook, which was very spacious, and where the water
was fresh. The entrance to the outer one was so
narrow, that two baidars could not paddle abreast
of each other. This they explained by means of
CHAP.
XI
August,
1826,


400 VOYAGE TO THE
º' two pieces of wood, placed together, and motioning
--~ with their hands that they were paddling. They
*:::" then drew them along till they came to the channel,
when they were obliged to follow one another, and,
when through, they took up their position, as be-
fore. The river was between this harbour and the
cape, and by their description it wound among lofty
mountains, and between high rocky cliffs, and ex-
tended further than any of the party had been able
to trace in their baidars. Its name was Youp-nut,
and its course must lie between the ranges of moun-
tains at the back of Cape Prince of Wales. At this
last mentioned cape, they placed a village, called
Iden-noo; and a little way inland another, named
King-a-ghee, which was their own winter residence.
Beyond Imau-rook there was a bay, of which we
have no knowledge, named I-art-so-rook. A point
beyond this, which I took to be the entrance to
Norton Sound, was the extent of their geographi-
cal knowledge in that direction.
To the Diomede Islands they gave the names of
Noo-nar-boak, Ignarlook, and OO-ghe-eyak; King's
Island, OO-ghe-a-book; and Sledge Island, Ayak.
It is singular that this island, which was named
Sledge Island by Captain Cook, from the circum- |
stance of one of these implements being found upon
it, should be called by a word signifying the same
thing in the Esquimaux language. For East Cape |
they had no name, and they had no knowledge of
any other part of the Asiatic coast. Neither Schis-
mareff Bay nor the inlet in the Bay of Good Hope
was delineated by them, though they were not ig-
norant of the former when it was pointed out to |
them. It has been supposed that these two inlets


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 401
communicate, and that the Esquimaux, who inti-
mated to Kotzebue that a boat could proceed nine
days up the latter and would then find the sea,
alluded to this junction; but our rude hydrogra-
phers knew of no such communication ; which I
think they certainly would, had it existed, as by
pursuing that course they would have avoided a
passage by sea round Cape Espenburg, which in
deep-laden boats is attended with risk, from the
chance of their not being able to land upon the
coast. They would, at all events, have preferred an
inland navigation had it not been very circuitous.
We passed the greater part of the day with these
intelligent people, who amused us the whole time in
some way or other. The chief, previous to our
embarkation, examined every part of our boat, and
was highly pleased with the workmanship, but he
seemed to regret that so much iron had been ex-
pended where thongs would have served as well.
He was more astonished at the weight of a sound-
ing lead than at any thing in the boat, never having
felt any metal so heavy before; iron pyrites being
the heaviest mineral among this tribe.
When we were about to embark, all the village
assembled and took leave of us in the usual manner
of the Esquimaux tribes; and as it was probable we
should never meet again, the parting, much to our
annoyance, was very affectionate. A middle-aged
man, who had taken the lead throughout, and who
was probably their neakoa (or head-man) recom-
mended us to depart from these regions; but I sig-
nified my intention of waiting some time longer,
and sleeping at least twenty nights where we were:
on which he shivered, and drew his arms in from his
VOI,. I. 2 D
CHAP.
XI.
\-N -
August,
1826.





402 VOYAGE TO THE
** sleeves to apprise us of the approaching cold. I
<-- thanked him for his advice, and making them each
August, -
...” a parting present we took our leave. The next
morning they embarked every thing, and paddled
over to Escholtz Bay. After they were gone, we
found some of our flour where the tents had stood,
and a quantity of it secreted in a bush near the place;
so that their cautious behaviour with regard to our
approaching their tents the first day was no doubt
occasioned by fear of this discovery; and they after-
wards secreted their plunder in a manner probably
not likely to meet detection.
Among this party there was a man so crippled
that he went upon all fours; how it occurred we
could not learn, but it was probably in some hunting
excursion, as several of his companions had deep
scars which they intimated had been inflicted by
walrusses, which in the following year we found in
great numbers off the coast. In this party we de- |
tected a difference of dialect from what we had heard
in general, which made their objection to our writ-
ing in our books the more provoking, as it prevent-
ed us recording any of the variations, except in -
regard to the negative particle mo, which with other
parties was naga, and with these, aun-ga. The fe-
males were provided with broad iron bracelets, which
we had not seen before; and by their having four
or five of them upon each wrist, it appeared that
this metal, so precious with the tribes to the north-
ward, was with them less rare : nevertheless it is
very probable that they intended to appropriate to
this purpose the iron hoops they had stolen from us.
I have said nothing of the dress or features of
these people, as, with the exception of two of them,


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 403
they so nearly resemble those already described as to "º".
render it unnecessary. These two persons, in the S-
tattooing of the face, and in features, which more iº.
nearly resembled those of the Tschutschi, seemed to
be allied to the tribes on the Asiatic coast, with
whom they no doubt have an occasional intercourse.
On the first of September our sportsmen succeeded
in bagging several braces of ptarmigan and wild
ducks; but game was not so plentiful as might have
been expected at this season of the year, in a country
so abundantly provided with berries and so scantily
inhabited. It was a pleasure to find that we could
now pursue this and other occupations free from the
annoyance of moskitos; a nuisance which, what-
ever it may appear at first, is in reality not trifling.
Dr. Richardson fixes the departure of these insects
from Fort Franklin on the 11th of September:
here, however, it takes place at least a fortnight
earlier.
On the 5th I visited the northern side of Escholtz
Bay, and found the country almost impassable from
swamp, notwithstanding the season was so far ad-
vanced. It seemed as if the peaty nature of the
covering obstructed the drainage of the water, which
the power of the sun had let loose during the sum-
mer, and that the frozen state of the ground beneath
prevented its escape in that direction. The power
of the sun's rays upon the surface was still great,
and large stones and fragments of rock that had been
split by the frost were momentarily relinquishing
their hold and falling down upon the beach. A
thermometer exposed upon a piece of black cloth
rose to 112°, and in the shade stood at 62°. On the
side of the hill that sloped to the southward the

2 D 2
404 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.
willow and birch grew to the height of eighteen
feet, and formed so dense a wood that we could not
penetrate it. The trees bordering upon the beach
were quite dead, apparently in consequence of their
bark having been rubbed through by the ice, which
had been forced about nine feet above high water
mark, and had left there a steep ridge of sand and
shingle. The berries were at this time in great per-
fection and abundance, and proved a most agreeable
addition to the salt diet of the seamen, who were
occasionally permitted to land and collect them.
The cliffs on this side of Choris Peninsula were
composed of a green-coloured mica slate, in which
the mica predominated, and contained garnets, veins
of feldspar, enclosing crystals of schorl, and had its
fissures filled with quartz ; but I shall avoid saying
any thing on geological subjects here.
On the 6th our curiosity was excited by the ap-
pearance of two small boats under sail, which, when
first seen through a light fog, were so different from
the sails of the Esquimaux, that our imagination,
which had latterly converted every unusual appear-
ance in the horizon into the boats of Captain Frank-
lin, really led us to conclude he had at length ar-
rived; but as they rounded the point, we clearly
distinguished them to be two native baidars. We
watched their landing, and were astonished at the
rapidity with which they pitched their tents, settled
themselves, and transferred to their new habita-
tion the contents of the baidars, which they drew
out of the sea and turned bottom upwards. On
visiting their abode an hour after they landed, every
thing was in as complete order as if they had been
established there a month, and scarcely any thing


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 405
was wanting to render their situation comfortable. **
No better idea could have been conveyed to us of ~~~
the truly independent manner in which this tribe i.
wander about from place to place, transporting their
houses, and every thing necessary to their comfort,
than that which was afforded on this-occasion. Nor
were we less struck with the number of articles
which their ingenuity finds the means of disposing
in their boats, and which, had we not seen them
disembarked, we should have doubted the possibility
of their having been crammed into them. From
two of these they landed fourteen persons, eight
tent poles, forty deer skins, two kyacks, many hun-
dred weight of fish, numerous skins of oil, earthen
jars for cooking, two living foxes, ten large dogs,
bundles of lances, harpoons, bows and arrows, a
quantity of whalebone, skins full of clothing, some
immense nets made of hide for taking small whales
and porpoises, eight broad planks, masts, sails, pad-
dles, &c., besides sea-horse hides and teeth, and a
variety of nameless articles always to be found among
the Esquimaux. -
They received us in the most friendly and open
manner, and their conduct throughout was so dif-
ferent from that of their predecessors, that had we
had no proof of the latter being guilty of the theft
on our flour, this difference of conduct would have
afforded a strong presumption against them. The
party consisted of two families, each of which had
its distinct property, tents, baidar, &c. They were
in feature and language nearly connected with the
King-a-ghee party, and from what they told us re-
sided near them; but to judge from their dresses
and establishment they were of much lower condi-









406 VOYAGE TO THE
cº, tion. However, the women had the same kind of
--~ beads in their ears, and sewn upon their dresses, and
i; had evidently been to the same market. We re-
marked, however, in two of the young ladies a cus-
tom which, when first discovered, created consider-
able laughter. When they moved, several bells
were set ringing, and on examining their persons, we
discovered that they had each three or four of these
instruments under their clothes, suspended to their
waists, hips, and one even lower down, which was
about the size of a dustnan’s bell, but without a
clapper. Whether they had disposed of them in
this manner as charms, or through fear, it was im-
possible to say ; but by their polished surface, and
the manner in which they were suspended, they ap- |
peared to have long occupied these places. They
were certainly not hung there for convenience, as
the large one in particular must have materially in-
commoded the ladies in their walking. One of our
party suggested that this large bell might, perhaps,
be appropriated to the performance of a ceremony
mentioned by Muller, in his “Voyages from Asia
to America,” &c., p. 28., where he states that the
bond of friendship or enmity depends upon a guest
rinsing his mouth with the contents of the cup,
which formed an indispensable part of a very singu-
lar custom among the Tschutschi, the people of
Cashemir, and some other countries.*
Among other things, this party had small bags of
resin, which appeared to be the natural exudation of
the pine. From their constantly chewing it, it did
not seem difficult to be had ; and as no trees of this
nature, that we were acquainted with, grew upon the
* M. Paulus Venetus, Witsen, and Trigaut.


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 407
coast, we were anxious to learn whence they had
procured it, but we could not make our acquaint-
ances understand our wishes.
An old lady, who was the mother of the two girls
with the bells, invited me into her tent, where I
found her daughters seated amidst a variety of pots
and pans, containing the most unsavoury messes,
highly repugnant to both the sight and smell of a
European, though not at all so to the Esquimaux.
These people are in the habit of collecting certain
fluids for the purposes of tanning; and that, judging
from what took place in the tent, in the most open
manner, in the presence of all the family.
The old matron was extremely good-natured,
lively, and loquacious ; and took great pleasure in
telling us the name of every thing, by which she
proved more useful than any of our former visiters;
and had she but allowed us time to write down one
word before she furnished another, we should have
greatly extended our vocabularies; but it appeared
to her, no doubt, that we could write as fast as she
could dictate, and that the greater number of words
she supplied, the more thankful we should be. So
far from this party having any objection to our
books, to which the former one had manifested the
greatest repugnance, they took pleasure in seeing
them, and were very attentive to the manner in
which every thing was committed to paper.
The daughters were fat good-looking girls; the
eldest, about thirteen years of age, was marked upon
the chin with a single blue line; but the other, about
ten, was without any tattooing. I made a sketch of
the eldest girl, very much to the satisfaction of the
mother, who was so interested in having her daugh-
CHAP.
XI.
\*Y-
Sept.
1826.







4.08 VOYAGE TO THE •
** ter's picture, and so impatient to see it finished, that
-- she snatched away the paper several times to observe
iº, the progress I was making. The father entered the
tent while this was going forward, and observing
what I was about, called to his son to bring him a
piece of board that was lying outside the tent, and
to scrape it clean, which indeed was very necessary.
Having procured a piece of plumbago from his -
wife, he seated himself upon a heap of skins, threw |
his legs across, and very good-humouredly com-
menced a portrait of me, aping my manner and
tracing every feature with the most affected care,
whimsically applying his finger to the point of his
pencil instead of a penknife, to the great diversion
of his wife and daughters. By the time I had finish-
ed my sketch, he had executed his, but with the
omission of the hat, which, as he never wore one -
himself, he had entirely forgotten; and he was ex-
tremely puzzled to know how to place it upon the
head he had drawn.
On meeting with the Esquimaux, after the first
salutation is over an exchange of goods invariably
ensues, if the party have any thing to sell, which is
almost always the case; and we were no sooner
seated in the tent than the old lady produced several
bags, from which she drew forth various skins, or-
namental parts of the dress of her tribe, and small
ivory dolls, allowing us to purchase whatever we
liked. Our articles of barter were necklaces of blue
beads, brooches, and cutlery, which no sooner came
into the possession of our hostess than they were
transferred to a stone vessel half filled with train-oil,
where they underwent an Esquimaux purification.
We found amongst this party a small Russian


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. - 409
coin of the Empress Catherine, and the head of a
halberd, which had been converted into a knife;
both of which were evidence of the communication
that must exist between their tribe and those of the
Asiatic coasts opposite.
We returned on board with a boat full of dried
salmon, and the next day the party visited the ship.
Notwithstanding the friendly treatment they had
experienced the day before, it required much per-
suasion to induce them to come upon deck; and
even when some of them were prevailed upon to do
so, they took the precaution of leaving with their
comrades in the boat whatever valuable articles they
had about their persons. They were shown every
thing in the ship most likely to interest them, but
very few objects engaged them long, and they passed
by some that were of the greatest interest, to bestow
their attention upon others which to us were of
mone, thus showing the necessity of fully under-
standing the nature of any thing before the mind
can properly appreciate its value. The sail-maker
sewing a canvass bag, and the chain cable, were two
of the objects which most engaged their attention;
the former from its being an occupation they had
themselves often been engaged in ; and the latter as
exhibiting to them the result of prodigious labour,
as they would naturally conclude that our chains—
though so much larger and of so much harder a ma-
terial than their own—were made in the same man-
ner. The industry and ingenuity of the Esquimaux
are, however, displayed in nothing more than in the
fabrication of chains, two or three of which we met
with cut out of a solid piece of ivory. On showing
these people the plates of natural history in Rees's
CHAP.
\-Y-
Sept.
1826.

410 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.
Cyclopaedia, they were far more intelligent than
might have been expected from the difficulty that
naturally occurs to uncivilized people in divesting
their minds of the comparative size of the living
animal and its picture. But the Esquimaux are
very superior in this respect to the South Sea
Islanders, and immediately recognised every animal
they were acquainted with that happened to be in
the book, and supplied me with the following list of
them :-
English Names. Esquimaux Names. English Names. Esquimaux Names.
Squirrel Tsay-kérèck. Porpoise Agh-bêé-zéeak.
Fox Kłóck-toot. Dog Roo-meak.
Musk rat Paoona. Owl Igná-zēē-wyūck.
Rein-deer Tootööt. Falcon Aje-goo-lit.
*Musk ox Mign-ligne. Grouse A-hăg-gh?-iick.
White bear Tsit-mark. Snipe Niſch-tºo-5-lit.
Walrus Ei-bwó-āk. Vulture Keegli-aght.
Seal Kasi-god-āk. Swan Tādī-dracht.
Otter Te-ghā-āk-bóðk. Duck Ew-wick.
Porcupine Igla-koo-såk. Puffin Köölä-mockt.
Mouse Kööölä-ook, Plover Tud-glzct.
Beaver Ka-boo-ek. Pelican Pěčbl;-ark-took.
Hare Oö-good-ligh. Salmon Ish-allook.
Goat Ip-nā-āck. Flounder Ek-amāg-ſuk.
Sheep Ok-shūlk. Guard fish Iz-mee-a-56k.
*Bull (musk?) Mööng-mäk. Crab Edlöö-azrāy-iſk.
White horse Izöö-kār-iſch. Shrimp AVowd-lännök.
Narwhal Tse-doo-āk. Lobster Poo-cop-o-tuk.
Whale Ah-ow-lººk. Butterfly Tār-d/ē-oot-2′iſk.
Among which there are three animals—the goat,
the sheep, and the horse—hitherto unknown upon
this coast: probably the sheep may refer to the
* See Observations on these names attached to the Vocabulary
in the Appendix.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 41 I
argali, which has been seen near Cook's River. By
the time I had collected these names, our visiters
had become impatient to join their comrades, who
in like manner, finding them a long time absent,
had become equally anxious on their account, and
had quitted the boat in search of them, and both
parties met upon deck to their mutual satisfaction.
Previous to their going away we made them several
useful presents of axes, knives, combs, &c. for which
they seemed thankful, and offered in return a few
skins, pointing at the same time to the south side
of the sound, where their habitations probably were,
intimating that if we went there they would give
us more. They then pushed off their baidars, rested
on their paddles for a minute, and made off as fast
as they could, to give us an idea of the swiftness of
their boat, which seems to be a favourite practice.
Next day we revisited their abode, and found
that the price of every article had been raised several
hundred per cent, and that nothing of reasonable
value would induce them to part with either bows
or arrows; so that our generosity of the preceding
day had not left any durable impression.
Every visit to these parties furnished some new
insight into their manners, though it was but tri-
fling: on this occasion we witnessed a smoking
party in which the women and children partook
equally with the men. The pipe used on this occa-
sion was small, and would contain no more tobacco
than could be consumed at a whiff. To these in-
struments there were attached a pricker and a strip of
dog's skin, from the last of which they tore off a few
hairs, and placed them at the bottom of the bowl of
the pipe to prevent the tobacco, which was chopped
-
CHAP.
\-y-
Sept.
1826.
412 VOYAGE TO THE
up very fine, being drawn into the mouth with the
smoke. The tobacco which they used had pieces of
wood cut up fine with it, a custom which is no
doubt derived from the Tschutschi, who use the
bark of the birch-tree in this manner, and imagine
it improves the quality of the herb.” The pipe
being charged with about a pinch of this material,
the senior person present took his whiff and passed
the empty pipe to the next, who replenished it and
passed it on, each person in his turn inflating him-
self to the fullest extent, and gradually dissipating
the fumes through the nostrils. The pungency
of the smoke, and the time necessary to hold the
breath, occasioned considerable coughing with some
of the party, but they nevertheless appeared greatly
to enjoy the feast.
On the 8th, Spafarief Bay, which had been but
little explored by Captain Kotzebue, underwent a
satisfactory examination, and was found to terminate
in a small creek navigable a very short distance, and
that by boats only. Its whole extent inland is about
three miles, when it separates into a number of small
branches communicating with several lakes, which,
in the spring, no doubt, discharge a large quantity
of fresh water into the sound, though at this dry
season of the year they were of inconsiderable size.
A little to the northward of the creek there is a
pointed hill just 640 feet high by measurement,
from whence we surveyed the surrounding country,
and found that this side of the sound also was covered
with a deep swampy moss. The summit of this hill,
and indeed of all the others that were ascended in the
sound, was the only part destitute of this covering.
CHAP.
XI.
wº-y-
Sept.
1826.
* Dobell’s Travels in Siberia.



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 413
The beach was strewed with a great quantity of
drift wood, some of which was in a very perfect
state, and appeared to have been recently split with
wedges by the natives, who had carried away large
portions of the trunks to make their bows, arrows,
and fishing implements. They were all pine-trees
except one, which by the bark appeared to be a
silver birch.
On the 10th we had the satisfaction to see the
barge coming down to us under a press of canvass,
and the most lively expectations were formed until
she approached near enough to discover that the ap-
pointed signal of success was wanting at her mast-
head. Though unfortunate in accomplishing what
we most anxiously desired, her voyage was attended
with advantage. We had the satisfaction to learn
from her commander when he came on board that
he had discovered a large extent of coast beyond
the extreme cape which we had seen from the mast-
head of the ship on the 15th ultimo, and which I
had named after Captain Franklin ; and had pro-
ceeded to the latitude of 71° 23' 31" N, and to
156° 21' 30" W., where the coast formed a low nar-
row neck beyond which it was impossible to pro-
ceed to the eastward, in consequence of the ice
being attached to the land, and extending along the
horizon to the northward.
The boat had not been at this point many hours,
before the wind changed to south-west, and set the
whole body of ice in motion toward the land. This
was a case in which Mr. Elson had received strict
orders to return immediately, and he accordingly
began to retrace his route ; but in so doing he found
that, in addition to the disadvantage of a contrary
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.

414 voy AGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.
wind, he had to contend with a current running to
the north-east at the rate of three miles and a half
an hour, and with large pieces of floating ice which
he found it very difficult to avoid, until he was at
last obliged to anchor to prevent being carried back.
It was not long before he was so closely beset in the
ice, that no clear water could be seen in any direc-
tion from the hills; and the ice continuing to press
against the shore, his vessel was driven upon the
beach, and there left upon her broadside in a most
helpless condition; and to add to his cheerless pro-
spect, the disposition of the natives, whom he had
found to increase in numbers as he advanced to the
northward, was of very doubtful character. At
Point Barrow, where they were extremely numerous,
their overbearing behaviour, and the thefts they
openly practised, left no doubt of what would be
the fate of his little crew in the event of its fall-
ing into their power. They were in this dilemma
several days, during which every endeavour was
made to extricate the vessel, but without effect;
and Mr. Elson contemplated sinking her secretly
in a lake that was near, to prevent her falling into
the hands of the Esquimaux, and then making
his way along the coast in a baidar, which he had
no doubt he should be able to purchase from the
natives. At length, however, a change of wind
loosened the ice; and after considerable labour and
toil, in which the personal strength of the officers
was united to that of the seamen, our shipmates for-
tunately succeeded in effecting their escape.
The farthest tongue of land which they reached
is conspicuous as being the most northerly point yet
discovered on the continent of America; and I


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 4.15
named it Point Barrow to mark the progress of
northern discovery on each side the American con-
tinent which has been so perseveringly advocated
by that distinguished member of our naval admi-
nistration. It lies 126 miles to the north-east of
Icy Cape, and is only 146 miles from the extreme
of Captain Franklin's discoveries in his progress
westward from the Mackenzie River. The bay
which appeared to be formed to the eastward of this
point I named Elson's Bay, in compliment to the
officer in command of the barge; and the extreme
point of our discoveries after Captain Franklin, the
commander of the land expedition. I could have
wished that this point had been marked by some
conspicuous headland worthy of the name bestowed
upon it; but my hope is that the officer who may
be so fortunate as to extend our discoveries will do
him the justice to transfer his name to the first ob-
ject beyond it more deserving of the honour. To
the nearest conspicuous object to the southward of
Point Barrow I attached the name of Smyth, in
compliment to the second officer of the barge, and
to the points and inlets to the southward I with
pleasure affixed the names of the officers of the ship,
whose merits entitled them to this distinction.
I will no longer anticipate the journal of these
interesting proceedings, in which are recorded
several particulars relating to the natives, the cur-
rents, and the geography of these regions; and by
which it is evident that the officers and crew ac-
quitted themselves in the most persevering and
zealous manner, equally honourable to themselves
and to their country. I shall merely remark upon
the facts which the journal sets forth, that it
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.

416 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XI.
Sept.
1826.
was fortunate the ship did not continue near the
ice, as she would have been unable to beat suc-
cessfully against the current, and the violence of
the gale would probably have either entangled her
amongst the ice, or have driven her on shore.
The narrative was kept by Mr. Smyth under the
superintendence of his commander, whose more im-
portant duties of surveying prevented his recording
more than the necessary detail of a log-book. In
publishing it, I have given the most important parts
of it in Mr. Smyth's own words, and have only com-
pressed the matter where it could be done with pro-
priety and advantage.




PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 417
CHAPTER, XII.
Interesting Narrative of the Boat Expedition—Point Barrow—
Near Approach to Captain Franklin–Beset by the Ice—Peril-
ous Situation and fortunate Release of the Barge—Terrific Gale
—Rejoin the Ship—Further Examination of Kotzebue Sound—
Discover Buckland River—Mammoth Bones— Ice Formation—
Approach of Winter obliges the Ship to quit the Sound—Repass
Beering's Strait—-Gale–Proceed to the Southward–Future
Plans—Make St. Paul's Island–Aleutian Islands—Pass through
Oonemak Channel–Arrive off St. Francisco in California.
Narrative of the Proceedings of the Barge of H. M.
Ship Blossom in quest of Captain Franklin, and to
eaplore the Coast N. E. of Icy Cape.
AFTER the signal was made by the Blossom on
the night of the 17th of August, to carry orders
into execution, the barge stood in-shore, and the
next morning was off Icy Cape. Having a contrary
wind, she beat up along the land to the N. E., and
shortly after noon the officers landed opposite a vil-
lage of yourts, which was found to be deserted, and
the houses to be closed up for the summer. These
habitations closely resembled those of the Esqui-
VOT, I. 2 E
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
4.18 VOYAGE TO THE
º' maux, which have been already described. The
S-- country here was covered with a thick peat, which
*...* retained the water and made it very swampy and
* almost impassable. Upon the beach there was
º found an abundance of coal and drift-wood. Work-
| ing to the north-eastward from this village, they
discovered a shoal with only eight feet water upon
it lying about 150 yards from the beach, which
having deep water within it, offered a security
against the ice in the event of its closing the shore,
and they did not fail to bear in mind the advantage
it might afford in a moment of necessity. About
midnight they were visited by four baidars contain-
ing about sixty persons, from whom they expected
to obtain a supply of venison, as this kind of provi-
sion is, generally speaking, abundant to the north-
ward of Cape Lisburn; but being disappointed,
they continued their progress along the land. On
the morning of the 20th there was a fall of snow,
and the weather turned very cold. They found
themselves off a village, and were visited by several
baidars, the crews of which were very anxious to
get alongside the barge, and in so doing one of the
baidars was upset. An Esquimaux dress is very ill
adapted to aquatic exercises, and persons acquainted
with it would think there was considerable danger in
being plunged into the sea thus habited ; but the
natives in the other baidars did not seem to reflect
upon these consequences, and laughed most immo-
derately at the accident : they, however, went to
the assistance of their friends, and rescued them
all. It must have been a cold dip for these people,
as the rigging and masts were partially covered
with ice.
|





PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 419
About noon they landed to procure observations,
and found the latitude of this part of the coast to be
70° 43' 47" N., and longitude, from the bearings of
Wainwright Inlet, 159° 46' W. Here a post was
erected for Captain Franklin, on which the follow-
ing inscription was painted: “Blossom's tender,
Sunday, August 20th, latitude 70° 43' N., bound
along the coast to the N. E. If Captain Franklin
should pass this place, he will probably leave some
memorandum.” The coast was here low, and more
dry than that in the vicinity of Wainwright Inlet,
with a beach of sand and gravel mixed, upon which
there was an abundance of coal and drift-wood. In
the evening they passed several yourts, but saw no
inhabitants until nine o'clock, when several came off
and annoyed the crew with their importunities and
disorderly conduct. The coast was here more popu-
lous than any where to the southward, which their
visiters probably thought a good protection against
the small force of our boat, and they were not easily
driven away.
On the 21st they arrived off a chain of sandy
islands lying some distance from the main land,
which I have distinguished by the name of the Sea
Horse Islands. As the wind was light and baffling,
they landed upon several of these for observations;
and tracking the boat along the shore, at eight in the
evening they arrived at the point to which I trans-
ferred the name of Cape Franklin, from the cliff on
the main land to which I had originally given that
name, as I found by the discoveries of Mr. Elson
that the cliff was not actually the coast line.” From
* See the Chart.
CHAP.
XII.
*Y*/
Narrative
of the
Barge.











420 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-e-Y-2
Narrative
of the
Barge.
/
Cape Franklin, the coast, still consisting of a chain
of sandy islands lying off the main land, turned to
the south-east and united with the main land, form-
ing a bay on which I bestowed the name of my
first lieutenant, Mr. Peard. Two posts were found
erected on Cape Franklin, upon which another no-
tice was painted. The surface of the beach was a
fine sand, but by digging a few inches down it was
mixed with coal; there was here also, as at their
former station, a great quantity of drift-wood. Off
these islands they were visited by several baidars,
the people in which behaved in a very disorderly
manner, attempted several depredations, and even
cut a piece out of one of the sails of the boat while
it was lying upon the gunwale. Finding the natives
inclined to part with one of their baidars, she was
purchased for two hatchets, under the impression
that she might be useful to the boat hereafter.
Having run twenty-nine miles along the coast to
the N.E., they again landed and obtained some lunar
observations. The coast here assumed a different
aspect, and consisted of clay cliffs about fifty feet
high, and presented an ice formation resembling that
which has been described in Escholtz Bay. The
interior of the country was flat, and only partially
covered with snow. A short distance to the north-
ward of them a river discharged itself into a lake
within the shingly beach, which was about twenty
yards wide, and the water being perfectly fresh, they
obtained a supply, and pursued their course to the
north-east. Their latitude was 70°58'43" N.; and
no ice had as yet been seen, even from the hills.
This excited the greatest hopes in our adventurous
shipmates, who advanced quite elated at the pro-
-


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 421
spect; but they had not proceeded many miles fur-
ther before some bergs were seen in the offing nearly
in the same parallel in which the margin of the ice
had been found by the ship; and from the number
of bergs increasing as they advanced, the sanguine
expectations in which they had indulged gradually
diminished. These bergs were seen off a point of
land to which I gave the name of Smyth, in compli-
ment to the officer who accompanied the boat expe-
dition, and very deservedly obtained his promotion
for that service. In the course of their run they
passed a village, where the inhabitants, seeing them
so near, came out of their yourts, and men, women,
children, and dogs set up a loud hallooing until they
were gone. Upon Cape Smyth there was also a vil-
lage, the inhabitants of which accosted them with
the same hooting noises as before.
CHAP.
XII.
S-N-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
Advancing to the northward with the wind off.
the land, they saw the main body of ice about seven
miles distant to the westward, and were much en-
cumbered by the icebergs, which they could only
avoid by repeatedly altering the course. The land
from Cape Smyth, which was about forty-five feet
in height, sloped gradually to the northward, and
terminated in a low point which has been named
Point Barrow. From the rapidity with which the
boat passed the land, there appears to have been a
current setting to the north-east. The water, about
half a mile from the cape, was between six and
seven fathoms deep. - -
Wednesday, 23rd Aug. “Arriving about two
A. M. off the low point, we found it much encum-
bered with ice, and the current setting N.W. (mag.)
between three and four miles an hour. Opening


422 VOYAGE TO THE
|
in
|
|
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
the prospect on its eastern side, the view was ob-
structed by a barrier of ice which appeared to join
with the land. This barrier seemed high ; but as
there was much refraction, in this we might possibly
have been deceived. The weather assuming a very
unsettled appearance in the offing, (and the S.E.
breeze dying away,) we had every reason to expect
the wind from the westward; and knowing the
ice to extend as far south as 71", the consequences
that would attend such a shift were so evident, that
we judged it prudent not to attempt penetrating
any farther, especially in this advanced state of the
season. Accordingly we anchored within the eighth
of a mile of the point, under shelter of an iceberg
about fourteen feet high, and from fifty to sixty
feet in length, that had grounded in four fathoms
water. On the eastern side of the point there was
a village, larger than any we had before seen, con-
sisting entirely of yourts. The natives, on seeing
us anchor, came down opposite the boat in great
numbers, but seemed very doubtful whether to treat
us as friends or enemies. We made signs of friend-
ship to them ; and a couple of baidars reluctantly
ventured off and accepted a few beads and some to-
bacco, which on their return to the shore induced
several others to visit us. These people were clothed
like the Esquimaux we had seen on the other parts
of the coast: their implements were also the same,
except that we thought they were more particular
in constructing the bow, the spring of which was
strengthened with whalebone.
Many of the men wore, as lip ornaments, slabs of
bone and stone in an oblong shape, about three inches
in length and one in breadth. They were much
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 423
more daring than any people we had before seen, and
attempted many thefts in the most open manner.
Tobacco was the most marketable article; but, ex-
cepting their implements, ornaments, or dress, they
had nothing worth purchasing. They were exceed-
ingly difficult to please, and not at all satisfied with
what was given in exchange, insisting, after a bar-
gain had been transacted, on having more for their
articles. One of them who came alongside in a cai-
ack, having obtained some tobacco that was offered
for a lance, was resolute in not delivering up either;
and Mr. Elson, considering that if such conduct was
tamely submitted to they would be still more inclined
to impose, endeavoured by threats to regain the to-
bacco, but without effect. More boats coming off,
and proving by their audacity equally troublesome,
we thought it would be most advantageous to keep
the barge under sail, which in all probability would
prevent any thing serious occurring. Before weigh-
ing, the baidar was broken up, as her weight would
materially impede our progress in working to wind-
ward on our return ; the hides were taken as a cover-
ing for the deck, and the frame-work destroyed for
fire-wood. During the time we were at anchor, the
wind shifted to S.W., and we stood to the N.W.
with a light breeze; but finding ourselves drifting
rapidly to the northward by the current, we were
again obliged to anchor, Point Barrow bearing S. by
E. E. two and a half miles. Here we remained
till eight o'clock. This point is the termination to
a spit of land, which on examination from the boat's
mast-head seemed to jut out several miles from the
more regular coast line. The width of the neck did
not exceed a mile and a half, and apparently in some
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
















424 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
*~~
Narrative
of the
Barge.
places less. The extremity was broader than any
other part, had several small lakes of water on it,
which were frozen over, and the village before spoken
of is situated on its eastern shore. The eastern side
of this neck trended in a S. S.W. (mag.) direction
until it became lost to the eye by being joined with
a body of ice that encircled the horizon in the N. E.
This union scarcely left us room to hazard an opi-
nion which direction it afterwards took; but from the
circumstance of the current setting at the rate of
three miles and a half an hour N. E. (true), and the
ice all drifting to that quarter, we were induced to
conjecture that its continuation led well to the
eastward.
It was our original intention to have remained at
the point till noon, landed, and obtained if possible
all the necessary observations, besides depositing
instructions for Captain Franklin ; but the charac-
ter of the natives entirely frustrated our plans, and
obliged us, to avoid an open rupture, to quit the
anchorage — a circumstance we greatly regretted,
as we had anticipated gathering much information
respecting the coast to the eastward, and on other
points of importance. The nights had hitherto
been beautifully clear and fine, and we were very
sanguine of obtaining a number of lunar distances
with the sun, being the only means we had of ascer-
taining correctly our farthest easting, as the patent
log, we knew, from the strength of current, could in
no way be depended on. At nine we weighed, and,
stemming the current, stood in for the low point, off
which there was an iceberg aground, on which we
resolved to wait till noon for the latitude. On our
way thither we passed another extensive iceberg


PACIFIC AND. BEERING'S STRAIT. 425
aground in six fathoms water, and not more than
eight or ten feet above the surface. At noon we
were favoured with a clear sun, and determined our
latitude to be 71° 24′ 59° N., Lunar anchorage bear-
ing from the place of observation one mile north
(true), and the north-eastern part of Point Barrow
S. E. # E. (mag.) 14. From which the position of
Point Barrow, the most northern part known of the
American continent, is latitude 71°23'31" N., longi-
tude 156°21' 30" W. The azimuth sights made the
variation 41° east. ... "
The breeze still continuing light from the S. E.
(although the clouds were approaching from the
westward), we made all sail to the southward, and
with great reluctance left this remarkable point
without being able to leave any traces of our having
visited it for Captain Franklin. The wind about
One P. M. began gradually to fall, and at two it was
perfectly calm. Unfortunately we were now in too
much water to anchor, and were, without the possi-
bility of helping it, being set to the N. E. by the
current at the rate of three miles and a half an hour.
By four o'clock we had lost all we had made during
the day, with a prospect, if it continued calm, of
being drifted quite off the land—an accident that,
had it occurred, would have placed our little vessel
in a very serious situation. We were not, however,
long in this state of suspense; for an air came again
from the eastward, which strengthening a little, and
with the boat ahead towing, we made good progress
towards the land, where, if it once more fell calm, we
could retain our position with the anchor. When
we had by towing and pulling got within a mile of
the beach (and about two miles west of the point),
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
















426 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
TNarrative
of the
Barge.
nineteen of the natives came down opposite us, arm-
ed with bows, arrows, and spears, and imagining that
it was our intention to land motioned us to keep off,
and seemed quite prepared for hostilities. Some of
them were stripped almost naked. They preserved
a greater silence than we found customary among
them, one only speaking at a time, and apparently
interrogating us. Notwithstanding this show of
resistance, we still advanced nearer to the shore, as
being more out of the current and favourable to our
views, at the same time having the arms in readiness
in case of an attack.
When within about thirty yards of the beach, we
lost the wind, and continued pulling and towing
along shore, the natives walking abreast of us upon
the beach. At eight P. M. we passed a village of
eight tents and four boats, but saw neither women
nor children. Whilst approaching this village, we
perceived the men hauling their baidars higher up
on the beach, fearful, as we supposed, that we should
molest them. Their dogs, as usual, set up a most
abominable yelling. About eleven our pedestrians
began to lag, and shortly after made a general halt,
watched us for a little while, and then turned back.
At midnight we reached Cape Smyth, and consider-
ing ourselves tolerably well secure from the ice (not
having seen any until our arrival off this point on the
evening before), and the crew being much tired, we
anchored, hoping that a few hours would bring a
breeze—not caring from which quarter, as we felt
confident that, before the ice could approach near
enough to block us, we should be able to reach the
Sea Horse Islands, where we made certain of being
clear. The night dark and cloudy.



PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 427
i
Thursday, 24th August. At two A. M., a fine
breeze rising at E. S. E., we weighed, but found the
current so strong against us that we lost ground and
anchored again : the current setting north (mag.)
three miles and a half an hour. At three we were
alarmed at the sudden appearance of the ice, which
was drifting fast down on us. No time was to be
lost. The crew were instantly sent on shore with a
warp. We got up the anchor, and hauled within
eight or ten yards of the beach, it being steep
enough to admit our proceeding thus close. We
now began tracking the boat along, and proceeded
for a short time without much difficulty ; but the
ice increasing fast, and the pieces getting larger,
she received some violent blows. The main body
nearing the shore to the distance of about 100 yards
left this space less incumbered, and occasioned an
increase in the rapidity of the current one knot an
hour. To add to our perplexities, at five the wind
freshened up at south (directly against us), and we
also had the mortification to observe the ice speedily
connecting with the beach, scarcely leaving an open
space visible. Nothing now but the greatest exer-
tion could extricate the boat; and the crew, willing
to make the most of every trifling advantage, gave
a hearty cheer, and forced her through thick and
heavy ice until we rounded a projecting point that
had hitherto obstructed our view. This, however,
could only be accomplished with considerable labour
and risk; for here, as in many other places, we had
to take the track-line up cliffs, frequently covered
with hard Snow and ice, which, hanging a consider-
able distance over the water, prevented the possi-
bility of getting round beneath. The rope was
CHAP.
XII.
S-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.


428 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
then obliged to be thrown down, and the upper end
held fast, until the crew hauled themselves up one
by one; and in this manner we continued along the
cliff until the beach again made its appearance.
But here even we found it no easy task to walk, on
account of small loose shingle, in which we often
sunk to the knees; and having the weight of the boat.
at the same time, it became excessively fatiguing.
On opening the prospect south of this point, our
spirits were greatly enlivened at perceiving the
channel clear for a long way, and hoping that by
constant tracking we should do much towards get-
ting clear of the ice, we divided the crew into two
parties, gave each man a dram, and sent one division
on board to rest, whilst the other laboured at the
line. About eight A. M. the wind freshened so
heavily against us, that we contemplated whether
or not it would be advantageous to make a trial
with the canvass, particularly as the main body of
ice was a little more distant from the shore ; but
remembering our position at two P. M. on the pre-
ceding day, we agreed that the current was too
strong, and that if we should get encircled by the
ice we must inevitably be separated from the shore,
carried back with the stream, or forced to sea. The
difficulty of drawing the boat against so strong a
wind and current became now very great, and we
began to seek a place where she might be laid free
of the ice. But the straight line of coast offered us
no prospect of such an asylum : we therefore de-
termined to prosecute our first intention of perse-
vering in our endeavours as long as possible. By
eleven A. M. we reached a village of nine tents, and
trusted through the influence of tobacco, beads, &c.

PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 429
to receive some assistance from the inhabitants.
Two of them approached us at first with some dif-
fidence; but Mr. Elson throwing the presents on
shore, and myself going to meet them, after much
gesticulation denoting peaceable intentions, we join-
ed company. The ratification of rubbing noses and
cheeks being over, a leaf of tobacco given to each
soon gained their confidence. One of them, an old
man, seemed very thankful for his present, offering
me any part of his garment as a reimbursement,
which I declined accepting. Seeing so friendly
an interview, several more ventured towards us;
and learning from their companions the treasures I
possessed, were very eager to obtain some. By a
few signs I easily made them understand that their
assistance at the track-line would be amply re-
warded. Six or seven directly took hold of the
rope; and our people relaxing a little in their ex-
ertions, though continuing at the line, we proceeded
along gaily ; but I was frequently obliged to have
recourse to the presents to keep them pulling. We
had not passed the tents more than half a mile when
a new and a very serious difficulty presented itself—
the mouth of a river into which the current set
with great velocity, carrying with it large masses of
ice. After many attempts we succeeded in getting
a line across; but had no sooner accomplished it,
than it broke, and our repeated trials for a long
time were unsuccessful. Eventually we managed
to overcome this obstacle, and had just got the boat
to the opposite shore when she grounded ; and the
current setting strong against her, all our exertions
to get her afloat were ineffectual. A few minutes
before this accident, Mr. Elson, who was on board,
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-2
Narrative
of the
Barge.

430 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-2
Narrative
of the
Barge.
hailed me, saying that the channel after crossing the
river looked more favourable than ever. Cheered
by this report, we worked harder; but so quick was
the ice in its movement, that in a few moments we
were enclosed on all sides. Nothing more towards
freeing the boat could now be done, therefore we
carried out her anchors to the shore and secured her,
contemplating a retreat by land should we not be so
fortunate as to get clear. On looking to the south-
ward, we found the ice perfectly compact, and con-
nected with the shore, not leaving visible a space of
water three yards in diameter. The crew now en-
joyed a little rest; and Mr. Elson decided that we
should remain by the boat until the 1st of Septem-
ber, on which day, should no chance appear of
liberating her, we were to start by land for Kotze-
bue Sound. -
Some large ice gounding to windward partially
sheltered the boat; but as her situation was on the
southern bank of the entrance to the river, the cur-
rent swept with force round, bringing occasionally
some heavy ice in contact with the boat, the vio-
lence of which hove her into a foot and a half less
water than she drew ; and the sand soon formed a
bank on the outside, leaving her quite bedded. At
six P. M. the current had almost subsided. A most
cheerless prospect presented itself, the whole sea
being covered with ice sufficiently compact to walk
upon ; and the clouds becoming heavy and flying
swiftly from the S. W., offered not the smallest hope
of our escape. The water had likewise fallen a foot
and a half, leaving the boat nearly dry. Our feel-
ings now were indescribable, as it appeared very
evident that we should be obliged to abandon our

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 43}
-
little vessel, and perform the journey to Chamisso
Island on foot — an undertaking we were by no
means adequate to, and which the advanced state of
the season would render extremely fatiguing. At
eight we ascended a hill, but saw not the slightest
chance of an opening, the ice to the southward be-
ing very compact as far as the eye could reach, and
varying in its height from twelve to two feet above
the level of the sea. At midnight the weather was
cold, dark, and foggy, and seemed to indicate a S. W.
gale.
Friday, 25th Aug. At four this morning the
current appeared to resume something of its former
rapidity, causing the ice to move to the northward,
and leaving small openings. This gave us faint
hopes of a release; but the wind springing up as
we had anticipated, soon extinguished them. After
breakfast we again visited the hill, but with no
better success than before. The tide returning or
ebbing from the river brought back with it a quan-
tity of the ice, almost every piece of which drifted
athwart the boat; so that we determined on getting
her afloat, and shifting her to a better berth, where
we should be ready to avail ourselves of the small-
est prospect of getting clear. Having laid out an
anchor astern, we with much difficulty got her
through the sand bank that had formed itself round
us; and finding that at her own length farther out a
channel was left for the ice to drive either out or
into the river, we secured her to a large berg that
had grounded and afforded us much shelter. To-
wards noon a number of natives visited us, and were
presented with tobacco, &c. Among them was the
old man spoken of the day before ; who, on re-
CHAP.
XII.
\-e-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.


432 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
ceiving his present, offered up what we concluded
to be a prayer, at the same time blowing with his
mouth, as if imploring an east wind and the disper-
sion of the ice.—In the afternoon the wind had in-
creased to a gale. We went to the hill, and there
observed the line of ice within the horizon, and the
sea breaking very heavily outside: we saw also a
number of large bergs drifting down. At four, fresh
gales, with heavy squalls—the ice around us became
closely wedged, the pieces being forced one over
another, forming a solid mass. The body of ice in
the offing was still drifting to the northward. This
day Mr. Elson determined, if we should be compel-
led to quit the boat, to take every thing out of her
except the gun, to remove her into the deepest part
of the river, and there sink her, so as to prevent the
natives from destroying or breaking her up to obtain
the iron; from which situation, should we visit this
coast next year, she might with little trouble be
raised. The stores and rigging also we resolved to
bury, and to leave directions where they might be
found. On visiting the village (which was about
half a mile distant), the natives were uncommonly
civil. They resided in tents, the frames of which
were made with poles, and covered with seal-skins:
the bottom or floor was merely a few logs laid side-
wise on the ground: inside there was a second lin-
ing of reindeer skin, which did not reach quite to
the top: this constituted the whole of their dwell-
ing. Their principal food appeared to be reindeer
and seal's flesh; and having procured more than
sufficient of these animals for present use, they had
buried the overplus in the sand; to be kept until
required. They very generously led us to a seal


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 433
that had been thus deposited. The flesh and blub-
ber which had been separated were wrapped in the
skin, and were in a most disgusting oily state. One
of the natives put in his hand, stirred up the contents,
and offered us some, the sight of which alone was
enough to turn one's stomach. He seemed to pity
our want of taste, and sucked his fingers with the
greatest relish. Each of the crew having provided
himself with native boots, &c. for travelling in,
returned to the boat. During the night the gale
abated and the wind fell almost calm, and it began
to freeze hard. Wherever there was any opening
before, the water was covered with young ice. The
tide here rose and fell from eighteen to twenty
inches:–the time of change very irregular, probably
influenced by the ice.
Saturday, 26th Aug. Our chance of getting clear
seemed more remote now than ever, and we com-
menced making preparations for the land journey.
The crew were sent on shore to exercise their limbs.
and train themselves for walking. We traced the
windings of the river for some distance; the banks
were high on each side. It seemed deep, and its
turnings frequent and sudden. The only animal
we saw was a red fox, which avoided our pursuit.
In the evening we returned to the boat–the wea-
ther still frosty.
Sunday, 27th Aug. We had a sharp frost during
the night, attended with frozen particles, which
fell like dust, and covered our clothes. The wind
light from the S. W., with a thick fog. The fresh-
water ponds were frozen to the thickness of half
an inch. After eight A. M. Mr. Elson and myself
walked along the beach to reconnoitre the state of
VOI. I. 2 F
CHAP.
XII.
\º-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.

434 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
*Y*
Narrative
of the
Barge.
the ice. We found that, if we could cut the boat
through about a quarter of a mile of ice, we should
get into about double that distance of clear water,
and returned on board with the determination to
accomplish this. Having got the boat afloat, we
began our arduous task of cutting and hauling her
through the ice. The natives, seeing us thus em-
ployed, very kindly came (unasked) and lent their
assistance. We persevered in our labours till half
past three, by which time we had moved the boat
a mile and a half south of her former position.
Another and more formidable barrier was now op-
posed to us, consisting of extensive pieces of ice
aground, closely wedged together by smaller masses,
under which we anchored. After dinner Mr. Elson
and myself again visited the cliffs, and thought we
could perceive a zigzag channel which afforded a
hope of liberation, provided we could force her
through the present obstacle. Immediately we got
on board, we commenced cutting a passage; but
had no sooner made an opening, than it was filled
by the current drifting smaller pieces of ice down.
These we for some time kept cutting and clearing
away; but after two hours and a half of hard work,
we found our exertions endless, and relinquished
the attempt. In the evening the wind veered to the
S. E. and the breeze, though light from this quar-
ter, put some of the smaller pieces of ice in motion
off the land. We remained up till midnight, al-
though fatigued with the toils of the day, and the
wind having increased to a fresh breeze, had the
consolation to witness the moving of several of the
larger pieces. The collision that now took place,
owing to the shift of wind (the ice in the offing still

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 435
holding its former course, whilst that in-shore was
opposed to it), occasioned a grinding noise not un-
like to that of a heavy roaring surf. Having fully
satisfied ourselves of the departure of the ice, if the
wind should hold its present direction and force, we re-
tired to rest, anxiously waiting the following morning.
Monday, 28th Aug. Rising early, we had the
great satisfaction to see that the formidable barrier
which yesterday afternoon had been proof against
our attempts, had nearly all drifted to sea, and that
the coast, as far as we could discern, was fast clear-
ing of ice. The wind blew strong at S. S. E.; and
every preparation being made for weighing, after
a hasty breakfast the anchor was got up, and our
little vessel again bounded through the waters.
Our tacking now was very uncertain, as in some
places the ice still remained thick, and obliged us
to perform that evolution twice or thrice in the
space of a few minutes; and as we made it a rule
not to bear up for any thing, we had some close
rubs. By two P. M. we could see the southern
termination of the main body of ice. There were
still a number of large pieces aground, and much
drift about us ; the current setting to the north-
ward at the rate of a mile and a half an hour. At
three the wind fell light. A heavy swell from the
S.W. occasioned a furious surf along the beach, and
obliged us to keep well out to sea. The ice still
extending far to windward made our situation very
critical should the wind blow hard from the S. W.
It now fell calm, with heavy clouds in the S. W.;
and being in want of water, we procured a supply
from the bergs that were near us. We watched
every cloud with the greatest anxiety, and at eight
CHAP.
XII.
Narrative
of the -
Barge.









2 F 2
436 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\*Y*
Narrative
of the
Barge.
observed them coming steadily from the westward,
bringing with them a thick fog. We then stood to
the northward until we reached the ice, when we
tacked to the southward, and sailed along its mar-
gin. There were several walruses upon it, which
at our approach bundled into the water. We had
scarcely got clear of this field or body of ice, when
it again fell calm —the clouds very heavy, and a
thick fog. Finding that the current was again set-
ting us to the northward at the rate of two miles
and a half an hour, we anchored, and had no sooner
done so, than several large detached bergs were seen
driving rapidly down in our hawse. We again got
up the anchor, and towed the boat in-shore, where
we anchored again, and kept a vigilant look-out.
Tuesday, 29th Aug. In the course of the night
the S. W. Swell went down, and at one this morning
a light air sprang up from the S. E. Weighed and
stood in-shore, the wind gradually freshening. In
running along the land, passed a quantity of drift
ice. At noon, saw another body of ice about two
miles distant, extending about eleven miles N. and
S.; and as we were not yet far enough south to see
Cape Franklin, we were apprehensive the ice might
join it, in which case we should be again beset. In
the afternoon, with great pleasure, we passed be-
tween it and the southern extremity of the ice at
the distance of a mile and a half. At three it again
fell calm–Cape Franklin, W. S. W. one mile. We
were preparing to go on shore to deposit a bottle for
Captain Franklin, which we had not done on our
way to the northward, when a fresh gale suddenly
rising at W. S. W. obliged us to abandon the pro-
ject, as not a moment was to be lost in getting out


PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 437
of the bight, lest the ice (which experience had now
taught us was quick in its motion) might again
enclose us. The weather continued very unsettled
during the night.
Wednesday, 30th Aug. Having rounded the
point, we ran fifty miles on a S. W. course. The
wind then suddenly shifted to the S. W., and blew
very strong. We shortened sail to the close-reefed
mainsail and storm-jib, and stood off and on shore.
In the evening we had showers of snow and sleet,
and at midnight strong gales with squalls of snow.
Thursday, 31st Aug. At two A. M. a heavy squall
came on which split the mainsail, and a little before
four the staysail shared the same fate. Towards the
morning the weather was more moderate, accompa-
nied with rain. Shortly after eight the wind sud-
denly veered to W. N. W. and blew strong. Set the
close-reefed foresail, and furled the other sails, steering
S. S. W. Noon, more moderate. Latitude observed
70°28' N. The remainder of the day was fine.
Friday, 1st Sept. Our stock of wood and water
being expended, we hauled towards the land and
made all sail; but as we drew in, the wind gradually
decreased in strength, and before we obtained sight
of the land it was almost calm. The breeze, how-
ever, again favoured us, and about sunset we reached
within a short distance of the shore, on that part
where the high land recedes from the coast. The
boat was soon despatched to procure what we want-
ed; but in our thirsty moments we did not perceive
that the pool from which we procured the water was
brackish ; having however filled our casks with it,
and obtained some fuel, we again put to sea, with
the wind from the southward.
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-2
Narrative
of the
Barge.














438 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
Saturday, 2d Sept. Working along-shore. Noon
calm and fine. Sent the boat on shore to get a sup-
ply of better water. Found all the pools near the
beach very brackish; from which we concluded that
the recent westerly gales had thrown the surf so high
that it became mingled with the water of the lakes,
and we determined to have recourse to the first run-
ning stream we should come to. About two the
wind again came from the southward, and at four
we had every prospect of a gale from that quarter.
It therefore became necessary to carry a heavy press
of sail all night to obtain an anchorage as near Cape
Lisburn as possible, so that in the event of the wind
shifting to the westward we might be able to get
out of the bay.
On Sunday, as had been anticipated, it blew a
strong gale, but the boat made good weather of it
until eight P. M., when "the bowsprit broke, and
obliged us to anchor: Cape Lisburn W.N.W. six
leagues. Strong gales, with heavy gusts of wind off
the land continued until four P.M., at which time
the weather being more moderate, we weighed under
close-reefed sails, and stood towards the cape, Mr.
Elson wishing to be near an entrance to a lake which
was situated a mile or two east of Cape Lisburn, in
which he thought the boat might find shelter, should
it blow hard from the westward. On arriving at
this spot, we found, to our surprise, that the entrance
which Mr. Elson had sounded and examined in the
barge's little boat was quite filled up, and that there
was not the slightest appearance of there ever having
been one. In the evening the wind became light
and variable. Anchored—the cape W.S.W. four
miles.
PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 439
-
Monday, 4th Sept. It again blew strong from
the southward, and at nine A.M. the wind increased
so much as obliged us to let go another anchor to
prevent being driven to sea. In the afternoon it
again relaxed, but by midnight resumed its former
violence.
Tuesday, 5th Sept. The wind somewhat sub-
siding this morning, completed our wood and water.
Whilst thus employed, a native came over the hills
and trafficked with us. Afterwards he stole from
one of the crew some tobacco, and made off. The
theft was not discovered until he was a long way
distant and running, being evidently aware of the
crime he had committed. At noon a baidar with
eleven natives came round the cape and visited us.
The wind continued strong from the southward;
but being anxious to proceed, as our provisions were
beginning to grow short, weighed and stood towards
the cape under the foresail and staysail only. At
two we got within the influence of the variable
winds, occasioned by the steep and high land of the
cape. The bubble and violent agitation of the sea
exceeded any idea of the kind we had formed, and
broke over the boat in every direction. We had no
method of extricating her. The gusts of wind that
came from every quarter lasting but a moment, left
us no prospect of getting clear. We were at this
time about two miles from the land. The wind in-
shore of us blew with astonishing violence; the ed-
dies from the hills making whirlwinds which carried
up the spray equal in height to the mountain. How-
ever, by four P. M., what with a slight current, and
taking advantage of every flaw, we gained an offing
of four miles, and, to prevent being set farther to
CHAP:
XII.
\-Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.














440 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
*Y*
Narrative
of the
Barge.
the northward, anchored:—a heavy sea running, but
little wind. We had not been more than half an
hour in this situation when it blew again from the
same point with redoubled violence. With some
difficulty we lifted our anchor and made sail in for
the land. As we approached it, the gusts came very
strong off the hills, notwithstanding which we carried
a press of sail to regain an anchorage. For an hour
and a half we were literally sailing through a sea of
spray. At six, having closed well with the land, we
anchored and rode out the gale. This evening Mr. El-
son put the crew on half an allowance of provisions.
Wednesday, 6th Sept. Early in the morning we
observed an alteration in the weather. The clouds
collecting fast from the N. W. led us to expect the
wind from that quarter. At ten A.M., the wind be-
coming variable and moderate, weighed, and by three
in the afternoon, to our inexpressible joy, got round
the windy promontory of Cape Lisburn. The crew
were again put on their former allowance; and we
made all sail, with an increasing breeze to the south-
ward. Passing the cape, we observed five baidars
hauled up and one tent, but saw few of the natives.
It had been Mr. Elson’s intention to look into the
bight on the northern side of Point Hope; but the
sea was so high and the weather so threatening that
we kept well off, in order to weather the point.
We noticed the water, whilst off Marryat Creek, to
be of a very muddy colour, as if some river dis-
charged itself there. By nine P. M. we rounded the
point and steered S. S. E., to have a good offing in
case the wind should again come from the westward.
Thursday, 7th Sept. The weather seemed de-
termined to persecute us to the last. The wind



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 441
strengthened to a gale, and raised a short, high,
dangerous sea. We hauled in for the land as much
as it would allow. At nine A. M. it blew extremely
hard ; and, considering it dangerous to scud, rounded
to on the larboard tack, took in the foresail, and set
balance-reefed mainsail and storm-jib. Found the
boat behave uncommonly well and continue tolerably
dry. At noon our latitude was 67° 19 N. In the
afternoon it moderated, and we made sail in for the
land. At four P. M. saw Cape Mulgrave on the
weather-bow, and altered our course for Kotzebue
Sound. The wind dying away left us at midnight
becalmed a few miles from Cape Krusenstern.
Friday 8th. After a few hours' calm, a breeze
came from the S. E., and we worked along shore.
In the forenoon several baidars came off to us. We
procured, in exchange for a few beads, a large quan-
tity of salmon, in hopes we should be able to keep
enough to supply the ship. While sailing along
the land, many more of these boats came off; but on
waving them to return, they left us unmolested.
We saw immense quantities of fish drying on shore,
and concluded that the natives assembled at this
inlet to lay in their winter stock.
Saturday, 9th. Owing to the light winds, we
made but small progress during the night, and this
morning were off Hotham Inlet. At eleven an-
chored. Sent the boat on shore to obtain wood and
water. Noon, the latitude observed (with false hori-
zon) was 66° 58' N. The spot abreast where we an-
chored had, when Mr. Elson visited this inlet before,
been the site of an Esquimaux village; but there
was not a single tent left. In the evening we
weighed from here, and the next morning had the
CHAP.
XII.
S-->
Narrative
of the
Barge.
442 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\*Y-
Narrative
of the
Barge.
Sept.
pleasure of seeing the ship at anchor off Chamisso
Island, and the gratification to find all on board of
her well.
(Signed) WILLIAM SMYTH,
Mate of H. M. S. Blossom.
By this expedition about seventy miles of coast
in addition to those discovered by the Blossom—
making in the whole 126 miles—have been added
to the geography of the polar regions, and the
distance between Captain Franklin's discoveries and
our own has been brought within so small a com-
pass as to leave very little room for further spe-
culation on the northern limits of the continent
of America. The actual distance left unexplored
is thus reduced to 146 miles, and there is much
reason to believe, from the state of the sea about
Point Barrow and along that part of the coast which
was explored by Captain Franklin, that the naviga-
tion of the remaining portion of unknown coast in
boats is by no means a hopeless project.
Having now the assistance of the barge, I em-
barked in her to examine narrowly the shores of
Kotzebue Sound. Proceeding to survey the head of
Escholtz Bay, shallow water obliged the boat to
anchor off Elephant Point, where I left Mr. Collie
with a party to examine again the cliffs in which
the fossils and ice formation had been seen by Kot-
zebue, and proceeded to the head of the bay in a
small boat. We landed upon a flat muddy beach,
and were obliged to wade a quarter of a mile before
we could reach a cliff for the purpose of having a
view of the surrounding country. Having gained
its summit we were gratified by the discovery of a




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 443
large river coming from the southward, and passing
between our station and a range of hills. At a few
miles distance the river passed between rocky cliffs,
whence the land on either side became hilly, and
interrupted our further view of its course. The
width of the river was about a mile and a half; but
this space was broken into narrow and intricate
channels by banks—some dry, and others partly so.
The stream passed rapidly between them, and at an
earlier period of the season a considerable body of
water must be poured into the sound; though, from
the comparative width of the channels, the current
in the latter is not much felt.
The shore around us was flat, broken by several
lakes, in which there were a great many wildfowl.
The cliff we had ascended was composed of a bluish
mud and clay, and was full of deep chasms lying in
a direction parallel with the front of the eminence.
In appearance this hill was similar to that at Ele-
phant Point, which was said to contain fossils; but
there were none seen here, though the earth, in
parts, had a disagreeable smell, similar to that which
was supposed to proceed from the decayed animal
substances in the cliff near Elephant Point.
Returning from this river, we were joined by three
caiacs from some tents near us, and four from the
river, who were very troublesome, pestering us for
tawack, and receiving the little we had to give them
in the most ungracious manner, without offering any
return.
I found Mr. Collie had been successful in his
search among the cliffs at Elephant Point, and had
discovered several bones and grinders of elephants
and other animals in a fossil state, of which a full
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.













444 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.
description and drawings from the remains will be
found in the Appendix. Associating these two
discoveries, I bestowed the name of Elephant upon
the point, to mark its vicinity to the place where the
fossils were found; and upon the river that of Buck-
land, in compliment to Dr. Buckland, the professor
of geology at Oxford, to whom I am much indebted
for the above mentioned description of the fossils,
and for the arrangement of the geological memo-
randa attached to this work. -
The cliff in which these fossils appear to have
been imbedded is part of the range in which the ice
formation was seen in July. During our absence
(a space of five weeks) we found that the edge of the
cliff in one place had broken away four feet, and in
another two feet and a half, and a further portion of
it was on the eve of being precipitated upon the
beach. In some places where the icy shields had
adhered to the cliff nothing now remained, and
frozen earth formed the front of the cliff. By cut-
ting through those parts of the ice which were still
attached, the mud in a frozen state presented itself
as before, and confirmed our previous opinion of the
nature of the cliff. Without putting it to this test,
appearances might well have led to the conclusion
come to by Kotzebue and M. Escholtz; more espe-
cially if it happened to be visited early in the sum-
mer, and in a season less favourable than that in
which we viewed it. The earth, which is fast fall-
ing away from the cliffs—not in this place only, but
in all parts of the bay—is carried away by the tide;
and throughout the summer there must be a ten-
dency to diminish the depth of the water, which at
no very distant period will probably leave it naviga-

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 445
ble only by boats. It is now so shallow off the ice
cliffs, that a bank dries at two miles' distance
from the shore; and it is only at the shingly
points which occur opposite the ravines that a
convenient landing can be effected with small
boats.” -
In consequence of this shallow water there was
much difficulty in embarking the fossils, the tusks
in particular, the largest of which weighed 160lbs.,
and it took us the greater part of the night to accom-
plish it. In our way on board we met several native
caiacs, and had an exhibition of the skill of one of
the Esquimaux in throwing his dart, which he
placed in a slip, a small wooden instrument about a
foot in length, with a hole cut in the end to receive
the forefinger, and a notch for the thumb. The
stick being thus grasped, the dart was laid along a
groove in the slip, and embraced by the middle
finger and thumb. The man next propelled his
caiac with speed in order to communicate greater
velocity to the dart, and then whirled it through
the air to a considerable distance. As there was no
mark, we could not judge of his skill in taking aim.
His party lived a long distance up Buckland river,
and were acquainted with the musk ox, which I am
the more particular in remarking, as we had never
seen that animal on the coast. -
About eight o'clock at night we had a brilliant
display of the aurora borealis, a phenomenon of the
CHAP.
XII.
* This difficulty of approaching the shore, even in a boat, will,
I trust, convince the reader of the impracticability of trying the
effect of a cannon shot upon the mud cliff with a view of bringing
down some part of its surface, as has been suggested since the
publication of the quarto edition.
Sept.
1826.






446 VOYAGE TO THE
|
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.
heavens so beautiful that it has been justly thought
to surpass all description.
In our return to the ship to deposit the fossils, a
calm obliged us to anchor on the north side of the
bay, where we landed with difficulty, in consequence
of the shallowness of the beach, and of several ridges
of sand thrown up parallel with it, too near the sur-
face for the boat to pass over, and with channels of
water between them too deep to wade through with-
out getting completely wet. The country abounded
in lakes, in which were many wild ducks, geese, teal,
and widgeon; and was of the same swampy nature
before described: it was covered with moss, and
occasionally by low bushes of juniper, cranberry,
whortleberry, and cloudberry. Near this spot, two
days before, we saw a herd of eleven reindeer, and
shot a muskrat.
Hence westward, to the neck of Choris Peninsula,
the shore was difficult of access, on account of long
muddy flats extending into the bay, and at low
water drying in some places a quarter of a mile from
the beach.
Bad weather and the duties of the ship prevented
my resuming the examination of the sound until
the 20th, when we ran across in the barge to Spafa-
rief Bay, and explored the coast from thence to the
westward; passing close along the beach, anchoring
at night, and landing occasionally during the day
for observations, and to obtain information of the
nature of the country.
This part of the sound appeared to have so few
temptations to the Esquimaux, that we saw only
two parties upon it; and one of these, by having
their dogs harnessed in the boat, appeared to be only




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 447
on an excursion: the other was upon Cape Deceit, ºp.
a bold promontory, with a conspicuous rock off it, C-
so named by Captain Kotzebue. At two places i.
where we landed there were some deserted yourts,
not worthy of description; and at the mouth of two
rivers in the first and second bays to the eastward of
Cape Deceit, there were several spars and logs of
drift-wood placed erect, which showed that the na-
tives had occupied these stations in the summer for
the purpose of catching fish, but they were now all
deserted. Both these rivers had bars across the en-
trances, upon which the sea broke, so as to prevent
a boat from entering them.
The land on the south side of the sound, as far as -
the Bay of Good Hope, is higher, more rocky, and .
of a bolder character than the opposite shore, though
it still resembles it in its swampy superficial cover-
ing, and in the occurrence of lakes wherever the
land is flat. Under water also, it has a bolder cha-
racter than the northern side, and has generally
soundings of four and five fathoms quite close to
the promontories. There are two or three places
under these headlands which in case of necessity
will afford shelter to boats, but each with a particu-
lar wind only ; and in resorting thither the direc-
tion of the wind and the side of the promontory
must be taken into consideration.
In a geological point of view this part of the coast
is interesting, as being the only place in the sound
where volcanic rocks occurred. Near the second
promontory to the eastward of Cape Deceit we
found slaty limestone, having scales of talc between
the layers; and in those parts of the cliff which
were most fallen down a talcaceous slate, with thin

448 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Sept.
1826.
layers of limestone, and where the rocks were more
abrupt, limestone of a more compact nature. In
this cliff there was also an alum slate of a dark-
bluish colour. We could not land at the next cliff,
but on a close view of the rock conjectured it to
consist of compact limestone, dipping to the E.N.E.
at an angle of 30°. Cape Deceit, the next headland,
appeared to be compact limestone also, in large
angular blocks devoid of any distinct stratafication.
Proceeding on to Gullhead which is a narrow rocky
peninsula stretching a mile into the sea, we found it
chiefly composed of slaty limestone of a blackish
and grayish colour, containing particles of talc in
larger or smaller quantities as it was elevated above
or on a level with the sea, but without any visible
stratafication. A bed of slate to the eastward of the
promontory bore strong marks of its having been
subjected to the action of fire. The slaty limestone
of the cliff on the eastern side of this dips at an an-
gle of about 65° to the eastward. The neck or isth-
mus is either unstratafied, or its beds are perpendi-
cular ; beyond it the strata dip to the west at nearly
a right angle. -
Eight miles further along the coast, we landed at
the first of a series of low points, with small bays
between them, which continue about four miles,
beyond which the coast assumes a totally different
character. On these low points, as well as upon the
shores of the bay, we were surprised to find large
blocks of porous vesicular lava, and more compact
lava containing portions of olivine. These blocks
are accumulated in much larger quantities on the
points, and in the bays form reefs off the coast which
are dangerous to boats passing close along the shore.


PACIFIC AND BEERING's STRAIT. 449
The country here slopes gradually from some hills to
the beach, and is so well overgrown that we could not
examine its substrata ; but they do not in outward
formation exhibit any indication of volcanic agency.
Further on we landed in a small bay formed by a
narrow wall of volcanic stones—some wholly above
water, others only slightly immersed. These reefs
were opposite a low mud cliff, similar in its nature
to those in which the fossils were found in Escholtz
Bay; and though they did not furnish any bones,
yet it is remarkable that a piece of a tusk was picked
up on the beach near them. It must, however, be
observed that its edges were rounded off by the surf,
to which it had been a long time exposed ; and it
might have been either washed up from some
other place, or have been left on the beach by the
natives. -
To the westward of these rocky projections the
coast is low, swampy, and intersected by lakes and
rivers. The rounded hills which thus far bound the
horizon of the sound to the southward here branch
off inland, and a distant range of a totally different
character rises over the vast plain that extends to
Cape Espenburg, and forms the whole of the western
side of the sound. In the angle which it makes,
we discovered a river, which, we were informed by
a few natives who came off to us in a miserable bai-
dar, with dogs looking as unhappy as themselves,
extended inland five days’ journey for their baidars;
but on examination it proved so shallow at the
mouth, that even the gig could not enter it. A
few miles to the north-westward of this river, we
arrived off the inlet which Captain Kotzebue medi-
tated to explore in baidars, and was very sanguine
VOL. T. 2 G.
CHAP.
XII.
\-N-
Sept.
1826.

450 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. that it would lead to some great inland discovery.
- We consequently approached the spot with interest;
i; and as soon as the low mud capes through which
the river has made its way to the ocean opened to
our view, bore up, with the intention of sailing into
the inlet, which runs in a westerly direction ; but
we were here again obliged to desist, in consequence
of the shallowness of the water. At two miles and
more from the shore, we had less than a fathom
water; and we observed the sea breaking heavily
upon a bank which extended from shore to shore
across the mouth of the inlet. Thinking, however,
| these breakers might be occasioned by the overfall
- of the tide, the gig was despatched to endeavour to
effect a passage through them; but the water shoal-
ing gradually, she could not approach within even
a cable's length of the breakers. At the top of the
tide, probably, when the water is smooth, small
boats may enter the inlet; but if the bar is attempted
under other circumstances, the crew will probably
| be subjected to a similar ducking to that which
Captain Kotzebue himself experienced in repassing
it. Seeing these difficulties, I did not deem any
further examination necessary ; and as it could
never lead to any useful purpose of navigation, I
did not even contemplate a return to it under more
favourable circumstances. The inlet occurs in a
vast plain of low ground, bounded on the north by
Cape Espenburg, on the east by the Bay of Good
Hope, on the west by Beering's Strait, and on the
south by ranges of mountains. There are also seve-
ral lakes and creeks in the plain, some of which
may probably communicate with the inlet ; or they
may all, Schismareff Inlet included, be the mouths



PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 451
of a large river. It is, however, very improbable
that there should be any direct communication be-
tween these two inlets, as the natives would, in that
case, have informed us of it when they drew their
chart of the sound.
While we were off here, we noticed a parhelion
so bright that it was difficult to distinguish it from
the sun ; a circumstance the more deserving of re-
mark, in consequence of the naturalist of Kotzebue's
expedition having observed that this phenomenon is
very rare in these seas, and that a Russian grown
old in the Aleutian Islands never saw it more than
once. Quitting this inlet, we directed our course
along the land toward Cape Espenburg, and found
that the bar was not confined to the mouth of the
inlet alone, but extended the whole way to the
cape, and was not passable in any part ; having tried
ineffectually in those places which afforded the best
prospect of success.
On landing at Cape Espenburg, we found that
the sea penetrated to the southward of it, and form-
ed it into a narrow strip of land, upon which were
some high sand-hills. The point had a great many
poles placed erect upon it, and had evidently been
the residence of the Esquimaux ; but it was now
entirely deserted. Near these poles there were
several huts and native burial-places, in which the
bodies were disposed in a very different manner to
that practised by the eastern Esquimaux. The corpse
was here enclosed in a sort of coffin formed of loose
planks, and placed upon a platform of drift-wood,
covered over with a board and several spars, which
were kept in their places by poles driven into the
ground in a slanting direction, with their ends cross-
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.


2 G 2
452 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.
ing each other over the pile. The body was found ly-
ing with the head to the westward, and had been in-
terred in a double dress, the under one made of the
skins of eider-drakes, and the upper one of those of
reindeer. It had been exposed a considerable time,
as the skeleton only was left; but enough of the
dress remained to show the manner in which the
body had been clothed.
The beach was in a great measure composed of
dark-coloured volcanic sand, and was strewed with
dead shells of the cardium, Venus, turbo, murex,
solen, trochus, mytilus, mya, lepas, and tellina ge-
nera : there were also some large asterias. The
sand-hills were partly covered with elymus grass,
the vaccinium vitis idaea, empetrum nigrum, and
some shrubs, while the carex preferred the hollow
moist places; the rest of the surface was occupied
by lichens. On the border of the lakes there were
several curlew, sanderlings, and gulls; while small
flocks of ptarmigan alighted upon those parts which
produced berries. A red fox prowling among the
deserted huts and the graves was the only quadru-
ped seen. Nearly the whole of the day was passed
at this place in making astronomical observations ;
after which we embarked, and were obliged by bad
weather to return to the ship.
The day after my departure, a new cutter, which
had been built of some wood of the porou-tree,
grown upon Otaheite, was completed and launched,
and upon trial found to answer under canvas be-
yond our expectations, doing great credit to Mr.
Garrett, the carpenter, who built her almost entirely
himself. I placed her under the charge of Lieute-
nant Belcher, who was afterwards almost daily em-
ployed in surveying. -






PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 453
On the 22d the aurora borealis was seen in the
W. N. W.; from which quarter it passed rapidly to
the N. E., and formed a splendid arch emitting vivid
and brilliantly coloured coruscations.
On the 25th the wind, which had blown strong
from the northward the day before, changed to the
southward, and had such an effect upon the tide
that it ebbed twenty hours without intermission.
In another excursion which I made along the
north side of the sound, I landed at a cape which
had been named after the ship, and had the satisfac-
tion of examining an ice formation of a similar na-
ture to that in Escholtz Bay, only more extensive,
and having a contrary aspect. The ice here, instead
of merely forming a shield to the cliff, was imbed-
ded in the indentations along its edge, filling them
up nearly even with the front. A quantity of fallen
earth was accumulated at the base of the cliff, which
uniting with the earthy spaces intervening between
the beds of ice, might lead a person to imagine that
the ice formed the cliff, and supported a soil two or
three feet thick, part of which appeared to have
been precipitated over the brow. But on examin-
ing it above, the ice was found to be detached from
the cliff at the back of it; and in a few instances so
much so, that there were deep chasms between the
two. These chasms are no doubt widened by the
tendency the ice must have towards the edge of
the cliff; and I have no doubt the beds of ice are
occasionally loosened, and fall upon the beach,
where, if they are not carried away by the sea, they
become covered with the earthy materials from
above, and perhaps remain some time immured. In
some places the cliff was undermined, and the sur-
face in general was very rugged; but it was evident
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-sº
Sept.
1826.




454 - VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
Sept.
1826.
in this, as in the former instance, that the ice was
lodged in hollow places in the cliff. While we con-
tinued here we had an example of the manner in
which the face of the cliff might obtain an icy co-
vering similar to that in Escholtz Bay. There had
been a sharp frost during the night, which froze a
number of small streams that were trickling down
the face of the cliff, and cased those parts of it with
a sheet of ice, which, if the oozings from the cliff
and the freezing process were continued, would with-
out doubt form a thick coating to it.
Upon the beach, under the cliffs, there was an
abundance of drift birch and pine wood, among
which there was a fir-tree three feet in diameter.
This tree, and another, which by the appearance of its
bark had been recently torn up by the roots, had been
washed up since our visit to this spot in July; but
from whence they came we could not even form a con-
jecture, as we had frequently remarked the absence
of floating timber both in the sound and in the strait.
We found some natives at this place laying out
their nets for seals, who, perceiving we were about
to take up our quarters near them, struck their tents
expeditiously, threw every thing into their baidars,
to which they harnessed their dogs, and drove off
for about half a mile, where they encamped again.
We procured from them about two bushels of whor-
tle berries, which they had collected for their own con-
sumption, and learnt that they had been unsuccess-
ful in fishing. We noticed that at their meals they
stripped their dried fish of its skin and gave it to
the women and children, who ate it very contentedly,
while the men regaled themselves upon the flesh.
During the night we had a brilliant display of the

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 455
aurora borealis, remarkable for its masses of bright
light. It extended from N. E. to W., and at one
time formed three arches. As we were taking our
departure we were visited by a baidar, from which
we procured some fine fresh salmon and trout. The
coxswain of this boat wore unusually large labrets,
consisting of blue glass beads fixed upon circular
pieces of ivory, a full inch in diameter. He drew
us a chart of Hotham Inlet, which resembled one
that had been traced upon the beach by some na-
tives the day before; both of which represented it
as an arm of the sea in the form of an hour-glass,
which was not far from the truth. The Esquimaux
seem to have a natural talent for such delineations;
and though their outlines may serve no essential
purpose of navigation, they are still useful in point-
ing out the nature of a place that has not been visit-
ed; an information which may sometimes save a
useless journey. It is, however, to be observed,
that not unfrequently they appear to trace the route
which a boat can pursue, rather than the indenta-
tions of the coast, by which rivers and bays not fre-
quented would be overlooked. Such charts are fur-
ther useful in marking the dwellings and fishing
stations of the natives.
From hence we bore away to examine Hotham
Inlet, and found it so encumbered with shoals that
it was necessary to run seven miles off the land to
avoid striking upon them ; it had but one small
entrance, so very narrow and intricate, that the
boats grounded repeatedly in pursuing it. In the
middle of the channel there were only five feet
water at half-flood ; and the tide ebbed so strong
through it, that the boat could not stem it; and as
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-
Sept.
1826.

456 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-º-º-º:
Sept.
Ł826.
Oct.
there was but a small part of the coast of this inlet
that we had not seen, and finding the examination
of it would be attended with difficulty, and would
occupy a long time, the boats did not ascend it.
The shoal which is off the entrance has no good
land-marks for it; the bearings from its extremity
in two fathoms and a half of water are Cape Blossom,
S. 66° 40' E. (true); Western High Mount, N. 17°
30 W. (true); and the west extreme, a bluff cape,
near Cape Krusenstern, N. 37° 0' W. (true.) But
the best way to avoid it is to go about directly the
soundings decrease to six fathoms, as after that
depth they shoal so rapidly to two fathoms and a
quarter that there is scarcely room to put the ship
round.
On the 1st of October we landed upon a sandy
point at the western limit of the inlet, and were
joined by a few Esquimaux who had their tents not
far off to the westward : they had communicated
with the boat two months before, and came again in
the expectation of getting a few more blue beads
and foreign articles for some nets and fish. They
immediately recognised such of the officers as they
had seen before, and were delighted at meeting
them. Some of the beads which they had obtained
were now suspended to different parts of their dress,
in the same manner as was practised by the Esqui-
maux of Melville Peninsula, and round their necks,
or were made into bracelets. They corroborated
the former account of the inlet, the length of which
they estimated a long day’s paddle : our observa-
tions made it thirty-nine miles. At the back of the
point where we landed there was another inlet, to
the end of which they said their baidars could also

WESTERN ESQUIMAUX MODE OF DISPOSING OF THEIR DEAD.
New Burlington Street. 1831.



i
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 457
go, notwithstanding we saw a bar across its mouth
so shallow that the gulls waded over from shore to
shore. Near us there was a burying-ground, which,
in addition to what we had already observed at Cape
Espenburg, furnished several examples of the man-
ner in which this tribe of natives dispose of their
dead. In some instances a platform was constructed
of drift-wood, raised about two feet and a quarter
from the ground, upon which the body was placed
with its head to the westward, and a double tent
of drift-wood erected over it ; the inner one with
spars about seven feet long, and the outer one with
some that were three times that length. They were
placed close together, and at first no doubt suffici-
ently so to prevent the depredations of foxes and
wolves; but they had yielded at last ; and all the
bodies, and even the hides that covered them, had
suffered by these rapacious animals.
In these tents of the dead there were no coffins
or planks, as at Cape Espenburg; the bodies were
dressed in a frock made of eider-duck skins, with
one of deer-skin over it, and were covered with a sea-
horse hide, such as the natives use for their baidars.
Suspended to the poles, and on the ground near
them, were several Esquimaux implements, con-
sisting of wooden trays, paddles, and a tambourine,
which, we were informed, as well as signs could
convey, were placed there for the use of the deceased,
who, in the next world, (pointing to the western sky),
ate, drank, and sang songs. Having no interpreter,
this was all the information I could obtain ; but the
custom of placing such implements around the re-
ceptacles of the dead is not unusual, and in all pro-
bability the Esquimaux may believe that the soul
CHAP.
XII.
Oct.
1826.



458 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
Oct.
1826.
has enjoyments in the next world similar to those
which constitute happiness in this.
The people whom we saw here were very inquisi-
tive about our fire-arms, and to satisfy one of them
I made him fire off a musket, that was loaded with
ball, towards a large tree that was lying upon the
beach. The explosion and the recoil which suc-
ceeded the simple operation of touching the trigger
so alarmed him, that he turned pale and put away
the gun. As soon as his fear subsided he laughed
heartily, as did all his party, and went to examine
the wood, which was found to be perforated by the
ball, and afforded them a fair specimen of the capa-
bility of our arms; but he could not be prevailed
upon to repeat the operation.
They had some skins of ravens with them, upon
which they placed a high price, though being of no
use to us, they did not find a purchaser. On several
occasions we had noticed the beaks and claws of these
birds attached to ornamental bands for the head and
waist, and they were evidently considered valuable.
On our return to the ship we fell in with another
party of natives, among whom there were two men
whose appearance and conduct again led us to con-
clude that the large blue glass labrets indicated a
superiority of rank, and found, as before, that no
reasonable offer would induce them to part with
these ornaments.
On the 3rd, we reached the ship, and were inform-
ed that she had been visited by several baidars in our
absence, and had procured from them a quantity of
dried salmon, which was afterwards served to the
ship's company. These boats were the last that vi-
sited the ship, as the season was evidently arrived for



PACIFIC AND BEERING’s STRAIT. 459
-
commencing their preparations for winter. About
this time we had sharp frosts at night; some snow
fell; and on the 5th all the lakes on shore were
frozen. The hares and ptarmigan were quite white,
and all the birds had quitted their abodes in the
rocks to seek a milder atmosphere. These unequi-
vocal symptoms of the approach of winter excited
great anxiety for the safety of the land expedition.
On the 7th, Mr. Elson went up Escholtz Bay with
two boats for the purpose of sounding and obtaining
further information of Buckland River, but returned
on the 10th, without having been able to effect it,
on account of the hostile disposition of the natives,
whom he met in the bay. When the small boat was
detached from the barge, three baidars approached
her ; and their crews, consisting of between thirty
and forty men, drew their knives and attempted to
board her, and, on the whole, behaved in so daring
and threatening a manner, that Mr. Elson fearing
he should be compelled to resort to severe measures,
if he proceeded with the examination of the river,
desisted, and returned to the ship. This was the
first instance of any decidedly hostile conduct of the
natives in the sound, whose behaviour in general
had left with us a favourable impression of the dis-
position of their tribe. The barge brought us
down a valuable addition to our collection of fossils,
the cliff having broken away considerably since the
first specimens were obtained.
On the 8th, we had the misfortune to lose one of
the marines, by dysentery and general inflammation
of the abdomen. On the 10th, having selected a
convenient spot for a grave, on the low point of
Chamisso Island, his body was interred in the pre-
CHAP.
XII.
\-->
Oct.
1826.
460 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP,
XII.
Oct.
sence of almost all his shipmates, and a stone pro-
perly inscribed put up to mark the spot; but the
earth was replaced over the grave as evenly as possi-
ble, in order that no appearance of excavation might
remain to attract the attention of the natives.
We had hitherto remained in the sound, in the
expectation of being able to wait till the end of
October, the date named in my instructions; but
the great change that had recently occurred in the
atmosphere, the departure of all the Esquimaux for
their winter habitations, the migration of the birds,
the frozen state of the lakes, and the gradual cool-
ing down of the sea, were symptoms of approaching
winter too apparent to be disregarded, and made it
evident that the time was not far distant when it
would be necessary to quit the anchorage, to avoid
being shut up by the young ice. On every account
I was anxious to remain until the above-mentioned
period; but as my instructions were peremptory in
desiring me not to incur the risk of wintering, it was
incumbent upon me seriously to consider how late
the ship could remain without encountering that risk.
By quitting the rendezvous earlier than had been
agreed upon, the lives of Captain Franklin's party
might be involved ; by remaining too long, those of
my own ship's company would be placed in immi-
nent hazard, as but five weeks' provision at full
allowance remained in the ship, and the nearest place
where we could replenish them was upwards of 2000
miles distant. Thus circumstanced, I was desirous
of having the advice of the officers of the ship be-
fore I made up my own mind, and accordingly ad-
dressed an official letter to them, requesting they
would take every circumstance into their considera-




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 461
tion, and furnish me with their opinion on the pro-
priety of remaining longer in these seas.
Their answer, which I received the next day, con-
veyed an unanimous opinion that the ship could not
continue longer at her present anchorage without
incurring the risk of wintering, and suggested her
removal to the entrance of the sound, where the ma-
jority of the officers thought she might remain a few
days longer; but previous to our taking up our sta-
tion there, it was considered advisable that the strait
should be ascertained to be navigable, lest the ice
should have been drifted down from the northward,
and the retreat of the ship be cut off. I fully con-
curred in opinion with them, that if the frost con-
tinued the ship could not remain at her anchorage;
but as there was a possibility of its yielding, I re-
solved to wait a day or two longer upon the chance,
determined, if it did not give way, to quit the
sound; and in the event of Beering's Strait being
found clear, to return, as had been proposed, and to
wait a few days off Cape Krusenstern, in the hope of
meeting the party. Considering, however, the late-
ness of the season and the long nights, there did not
appear to be much chance of the ship being able to
maintain an advantageous position at the mouth of
the sound ; still, as I was unwilling to relinquish
the smallest chance of falling in with the party, I
purposed making the attempt. In so doing, how-
ever, it was necessary to insure our departure by the
23d instant, which, considering our distance from
any new supplies, and that at that period there
would be but nine weeks' provision remaining at
half allowance, was as late as I thought it prudent
to continue.
CHAP
XII.
Oct.
1826.






462 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
\-Y-2
Oct.
1826.
-
We were now made sensible of the great advan-
tage arising from the economical system that had
been adopted at the Society and Sandwich Islands,
and also from the reduction of an eleventh part of
the ship's company at Portsmouth, without which
the provision before this period would have been
wholly expended, as the allowance from the time of
leaving Chili had been reduced as low as it con-
veniently could, for a continuance, consistent with
the strength of the ship's company, who for several
months had been on half allowance.
It now remained for me to consider how Captain
Franklin could be most benefited in the event of
his party arriving after our departure. It was evi-
dent that we could do no more than put him in pos-
session of every information we had obtained, and
leave him a temporary supply of provisions and bar-
tering articles, with which he could procure others
from the natives. To this end a barrel of flour was
buried for him upon the Sandy point of Chamisso, a
place which, from the nature of the ground, was
more likely to escape observation than the former
one, where the newly turned turf could not be con-
cealed. A large tin case, containing beads and a
letter, was deposited with it, to enable him to pur-
chase provisions from the natives, and to guide his
conduct. Ample directions for finding these were
both cut and painted on the rock; and to call the
attention of the party to the spot, which they might
otherwise pass, seeing the ship had departed, her
name was painted in very large letters on the cliffs
of Puffin Island, accompanied with a notice of her
departure, and the period to which she had remained
in the sound. Beneath it were written directions

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 463
*
for finding the cask of flour, and also a piece of
drift-wood which was deposited in a hole in the cliff.
This billet had been purposely bored and charged
with a letter containing all the useful information I
could impart to the party, and then plugged up in
such a manner that no traces of its being opened
were visible. In fact, nothing was left undone that
appeared to me likely to prove useful. -
Having thus far performed our duty, we prepared
the ship for sea in order that she might start at an
hour's notice. On the 13th, the temperature fell to
27°, the lakes on shore had borne two or three days,
and the sea had cooled down 8°; in short, there was
every appearance of a settled frost. The next day
the edges of the sound began to freeze, and it was
evident that it needed only calm weather to skin it
entirely over. I therefore desired the anchor to be
weighed, and having taken on board a large supply
of drift-wood, the last thing we procured from the
shore, we steered out of the sound.
We passed Cape Krusenstern about midnight,
and then shaped a course for the strait. The night,
though cold, was fine, and furnished me with
eighteen sets of lunar distances, east and west of the
moon, which I was very anxious to obtain, in order
to fix more accurately the position of Chamisso
Island, never having been able to succeed in getting
fine weather with the moon to the east of the sun,
until his declination was too far south for the lunars
to be of any value.
We had no observation at noon the next day,
and the land was so refracted that we scarcely re-
cognised it; we, however, continued to run for the
strait, anxious to reach it before sunset. The breeze
CHAP.
XII.
Oct.
1826.










464 VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP.
XII.
Oct.
1826.
increased as we advanced, and before the Diomede
Islands came in sight it blew so violently that there
was no alternative but to endeavour to push through
them before dusk. At this time there was a very
thick haze, with a bright setting sun glaring through
it, which with the spray around us prevented any
thing being seen but the tops of the mountains near
Cape Prince of Wales. It was consequently with
great pleasure we perceived Fairway Rock, and found
the strait quite free from ice.
Having no choice, we passed through it at a rapid
rate; and as the night set in dark and thick, with
snow showers, we were glad to find ourselves with
sea-room around us. A little before midnight the
lee-bow port was washed away, and so much water
came in that it was necessary to put before the wind
to free the ship. In half an hour, however, we re-
sumed our course, and about two o'clock in the
morning passed King's Island.
We were now in a situation where, by rounding
to, we might have awaited fine weather to return to
Cape Krusenstern, and execute the whole of the
plan that had been contemplated ; but considering
that our being able to do so was uncertain, as the
barometer, which had fallen to 28,7, afforded no
prospect of a change of weather, and that the period
I had fixed for my departure might expire before
I could repass the straits; together with the state
of our provisions, and the improbability of meeting
with Captain Franklin after all, it appeared to me
that the risks which it involved were greater than
the uncertainty of the result justified; and painful
as it was to relinquish every hope of this successful
issue of our voyage, it became my duty to do so.

PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 465
In the execution of this necessary resolution, it was
CHAP,
XII.
some consolation to reflect, that from the nature of J
Captain Franklin's instructions, it was almost certain
that by this time he had either commenced his re-
turn or taken up his winter abode. He had been
directed to return to his winter quarters on the
15th of August, if he found the prospect of success
was not such as to ensure his reaching Icy Cape
that season, and if it should prove impracticable to
winter at an advanced station on the coast. We
were justified, therefore, in supposing that he had
already been either compelled to pause or to turn
back, as, in the event of the successful prospect
anticipated in his instructions, it could hardly hap-
pen, considering the open state in which we had
found the sea to the northward, that he should
not have reached Kotzebue Sound by the time the
Blossom left it.
In taking our departure from these seas, some
general observations on the country, the natives,
the currents, meteorology, and other subjects, natu-
rally present themselves; but as we returned to
the same place the following year, and extended
our experience, I shall defer them until a future
opportunity.
Up to this period of the voyage, my instructions
had been a safe guide for my proceedings; but be-
tween our departure from these seas, and our return
to them the following year, with the exception of
touching at the Sandwich Islands, there were no
specific directions for my guidance, and it became
me seriously to consider how the time could be
most usefully employed. It was necessary to re-
pair to some port to refit and caulk the ship, to re-
vol. 1. 2 H
Oct.
1826.


466 VOYAGE TO THE
Cº. plenish the provisions and stores, and, what was
-- equally important, to recruit the health of the peo-
1. ple, who were much debilitated from their priva-
tions; having been a considerable time on short
allowance of salt provision, and in the enjoyment
of only seven weeks' fresh meat in the last ten
months.
From the favourable account I had heard of
Saint Francisco in California, it appeared to be the
most desirable place to which a ship under our cir-
cumstances could resort; and as the coast between
that port and Cape St. Lucas was very imperfectly
known, that the time could not be more usefully
employed than in completing the survey of it. I
therefore directed our course to that place, and
determined to enter the Pacific by the Strait
of Oonemak ; which, if not the safest of those
formed by the Aleutian Islands, is certainly the best
known. * ~ *
After passing King's Island on the 16th, we saw
some very large flocks of ducks migrating to the
southward, and fell in with the lunmes, which had
deserted us more than a month before at Chamisso
Island. As we approached St. Lawrence Island,
the little crested auks flew around us, and some
land birds took refuge in Our rigging. We passed
to the eastward of this island in very thick wea-
ther, and had only a transient view of its eastern
extremity, and thence pursued a course to the south-
ward, passing between Gore's Island and Nunevack,
an island recently discovered by the Russians, but
not known to us at that time. The soundings
increased, though not always regularly ; and we
had thick misty weather which prevented any thing





PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 467
drying. The barometer fluctuated a little on either Cº.
side of 28,6. On the 18th, the temperature, which —-
had risen gradually as we advanced to the south- #.
ward, was twenty degrees higher than it was the
| day we left Kotzebue Sound—a change which was
sensibly felt.
On the 21st we came within sight of the island
of St. Paul, the northern island of a small groupe
which, though long known tº English geographers,
has been omitted in some of our most esteemed
modern charts. The groupe consists of three islands,
named St. George's, St. Paul’s, and Sea-otter. We
saw only the two latter in this passage, but in the
following year passed near to the other, and on the
opposite side of St. Paul's to that on which our
course was directed at this time. The islands of
St. Paul and St. George are both high, with bold
shores, and without any port, though there is said
to be anchoring ground off both, and soundings in
the offing at moderate depths. At a distance of
twenty-five miles from Sea-otter Island, in the di-
rection of N. 37' W. (true), and in latitude 59° 22' N.,
we had fifty-two fathoms hard ground; after this,
proceeding southward, the water deepens. St. Paul's
is distinguished by three small peaks, which, one of
them in particular, have the appearance of craters;
St. George's consists of two hills united by mode-
rately high ground, and is higher than St. Paul's;
both were covered with a brown vegetation. Sea-
otter Island is very small, and little better than a
rock. The Russians have long had settlements
upon both the large islands, subordinate to the
establishment at Sitka, and annually send thither
for peltry, consisting principally of the skins of


468 VOYAGE TO THE
º' amphibious animals, which, from their fine furry
--~ nature, are highly valued by the Chinese and Tartar
§ nations. I have given the geographical position o:
these islands in the Appendix; and for a further
account of them, the reader is referred to Langs
dorff's Travels, and to Kotzebue's Voyage. -
At sunset we lost sight of St. Paul's Island, and
being at that time ignorant of the position of St.
George's, further than what knowledge was derived
from a rough notice of it in the geological account
of Kotzebue's Voyage, we pursued our course with
some anxiety, as the night was dark and unsettled
and the morning came without our obtaining a sight -
of the island. On approaching the Aleutian Islands
we found them obscured by a dense white haz
which hung to windward of the land; and the wind
increasing with every appearance of a gale, out
situation became one of great difficulty. Early in
the morning a peak was seen for so short a time
that it only served to show us that we were not fa.
from the land, without enabling us to determing
which of the islands we were near; and as in this
part of the Aleutian Chain there are several pas
sages so close together, that one may easily be miº
taken for the other, an accurate knowledge of the
position of the ship is of the greatest importance
Under our circumstances, I relied on the accurac
of Cook's chart, and steered due east, knowing
that if land were seen in that parallel, it could
be no other than the island of Oonemak; and tha
then, should the fog not clear away, the cours
might still be directed along that island to the
southward.
This is a precaution I strongly recommend to an
PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 469
person who may have to seek a channel through
this chain in foggy weather, particularly as these
passages are said to be rendered dangerous by the
rapid tides which set through them. It was no
doubt these tides, added to the prevalence of fogs,
that caused many of the misfortunes which befel
the early Russian navigators. Shelekoff, in speak-
ing of the strait to the westward of Oonemak,
through which we passed, observes that it is free from
the danger of rocks and shoals, but is troubled
with a strong current. In our passage through
it, however, we did not remark that this was the
case; but no doubt there are just grounds for the
observation.*
After running five miles, breakers were seen upon
both bows, and, at the same time, very high cliffs
above them. We stood on a little further, and then,
satisfied that the land must be that of Oonemak,
bore up along it, and passed through the strait. We
had no soundings with forty fathoms of line until
we were about four miles off the S. W. end of the
island; and there we found thirty fathoms on a
bank of dark-coloured lava, pebbles, and scoriae, but
immediately lost it again, and had no bottom after-
wards. The south-west angle of Oonemak is dis-
tinguished by a wedge-shaped cape, with a pointed
rock off it. This cape and the island of Coogalga
form the narrowest part of the strait, which is nine
miles and a half across. Coogalga is about four miles
long, and rendered very conspicuous by a peak on its
* I afterwards learned from a very respectable master of an
American brig, that in passing through the strait to the westward
of Oonalaska he experienced a current running to the northward
at the rate of six miles an hour, and was unable to stem it.
CHAP.
XII.
Nov.
1826.


470. VOYAGE TO THE
CHAP. N. E. extremity. Acouan, the island to the north.
XII. - - - - -
--~ ward of this, which also forms part of the strait, is
i... high and remarkable; but on this occasion we did
not see it, in consequence of the bright haze that
hung over the hills on the northern part of the
chain. --
Oonemak was the only island upon which snow
was observed. Its summit was capped about one-
third down, even with a line of clouds which
formed a canopy over the northern half of the
groupe. The limits of this canopy were so well
defined, that in passing through the strait on one
side of us there was a dense fog, while on the
other the sun was shining bright from a cloud.
less sky.
As soon as we had fairly entered the Pacific the
wind abated, and we had a fine clear night, as if in -
passing through the chain that divides the Kams-
chatkan Sea from the Pacific we had left behind us
the ungenial climate of the former. Shortly after
dark flashes were observed in the heavens, in the di-
rection of the burning mountain of Alaska, some
times so strong as to be mistaken for sheet light-
ning, at others very confined ; viewed with a tele-
scope, they appeared to consist entirely of bright
sparks. They seemed to proceed from different
parts of a long narrow cloud elevated 8", and
lying in the direction of the wind. Our distance
from the volcano at this time was about seventy
miles, and as similar flashes were observed in this
place the following year, it is very probable they
were caused by an eruption. This mountain, I
am informed, has burnt lately with great activity,
and has been truncated much lower than is re-




PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 471
presented in the drawings of it in Captain Cook's
Voyage.* -
After clearing the Aleutian Chain, we had th
winds from the westward, and made rapid pro-
gress towards our port. The first part of the pas-
sage was remarkable for heavy rolling seas, misty
weather, and a low barometer, which varied a little
each side of 28,5; in the latter part of the passage
we had dry foggy weather, and the barometer was
at 30,5. -
On the 5th of November we made the high land
of New Albion about Bodega, and soon afterwards
saw Punta de los Reyes, a remarkable promon-
tory, from which the general line of coast turns
abruptly to the eastward, and leads to the port of
St. Francisco.
We stood to the southward during the night, and
about three o'clock in the morning unexpectedly
struck soundings upon a clayey bank in 35 fathoms
very near the Farallónes, a dangerous cluster of rocks,
which, until better known, ought to be avoided.
The ship was put about immediately ; but the next
cast was 25 fathoms in so stiff a clay that the line
was broken. The weather was very misty, and a
long swell rolled towards the reefs, which, had there
been less wind, would have obliged us to anchor;
but we increased our distance from them, and deep-
ened the water. This cluster of rocks is properly
divided into two parts, of which the south-eastern
is the largest and the highest, and may be seen nine
or ten leagues in clear weather. The most dan-
gerous part is apparently towards the north-west.
* See also Kotzebue's Voyage, vol. iii p. 283.
CHAP.
XII.
Nov.
1826.
472 VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC, &c.
CHAP.
XII.
Nov.
1826.
The next evening we passed Púnta de los Reyes,
and awaited the return of day off some white cliffs,
which, from their being situated so near the parallel
of 38° N. are in all probability those which induced
Sir Francis Drake to bestow upon this country the
name of New Albion. They appear on the eastern
side of a bay too exposed to authorize the conjec.
ture of Vancouver, that it is the same in which Sir
Francis refitted his vessel.
VOI,UM E.
END OF THE FIRST
L () NIDO N :
PR IN TED BY SAMUEL BENT I.E.Y.,
Dorset Stre+t, Fleet Street.









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