A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 13 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 13

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49

The bay which the boat entered lies on the west side of the island; the
bottom was foul and rocky, but the water so clear that it could plainly
be seen at the depth of five-and-twenty fathom, which is one hundred and
fifty feet.

This island is situated in the latitude of 22 deg. 27' S. and in the
longitude of 150 deg. 47' W. from the meridian of Greenwich. It is thirteen
miles in circuit, and rather high than low, but neither populous nor
fertile in proportion to the other islands that we had seen in these
seas. The chief produce seems to be the tree of which they make their
weapons, called in their language _etoa_; many plantations of it were
seen along the shore, which is not surrounded, like the neighbouring
islands, by a reef.

The people seemed to be lusty and well-made, rather browner than those
we had left: Under their arm-pits they had black marks about as broad as
the hand, the edges of which formed not a straight but an indented line:
They had also circles of the same colour, but not so broad, round their
arms and legs, but were not marked on any other part of the body.

Their dress was very different from any that we had seen before, as well
as the cloth of which it was made. The cloth was of the same materials
as that which is worn in the other islands, and most of that which was
seen by our people was dyed of a bright but deep yellow, and covered on
the outside with a composition like varnish, which was either red, or of
a dark lead-colour; over this ground it was again painted in stripes of
many different patterns, with wonderful regularity, in the manner of Our
striped silks in England; the cloth that was painted red was striped
with black, and that which was painted lead-colour with white. Their
habit was a short jacket of this cloth, which reached about as low as
their knees; it was of one piece, and had no other making than a hole in
the middle of it, stitched round with long stitches, in which it
differed from all that we had seen before: Through this hole the head
was put, and what hung down was confined to their bodies by a piece of
yellow cloth or sash, which, passing round the neck behind, was crossed
upon the breast, and then collected round the waist like a belt, which
passed over another belt of red cloth, so that they made a very gay and
warlike appearance; some had caps of the feathers of the tropic bird,
which have been before described, and some had a piece of white or
lead-coloured cloth wound about the head like a small turban, which our
people thought more becoming.

Their arms were long lances, made of the etoa, the wood of which is very
hard; they were well polished and sharpened at one end: some were near
twenty feet long, though not more than three fingers thick; they had
also a weapon which was both club and pike, made of the same wood, about
seven feet long; this also was well polished, and sharpened at one end
into a broad point. As a guard against these weapons, when they attack
each other, they have matts folded up many times, which they place under
their clothes from the neck to the waist: The weapons themselves indeed
are capable of much less mischief than those of the same kind which we
saw at the other islands, for the lances were there pointed with the
sharp bone of the stingray that is called the sting, and the pikes were
of much greater weight. The other things that we saw here were all
superior in their kind to any we had seen before; the cloth was of a
better colour in the dye, and painted with greater neatness and taste;
the clubs were better cut and polished, and the canoe, though a small
one, was very rich in ornament, and the carving was executed in a better
manner: Among other decorations peculiar to this canoe, was a line of
small white feathers, which bung from the head and stern on the outside,
and which, when we saw them, were thoroughly wetted by the spray.

Tupia told us, that there were several islands lying at different
distances, and in different directions from this, between the south and
the north-west; and that at the distance of three days sail to the
north-east, there was an island called _Manua_, Bird-island: He seemed,
however, most desirous that we should sail to the westward, and
described several islands in that direction which he said he had
visited: He told us that he had been ten or twelve days in going
thither, and thirty in coming back, and that the _pahie_ in which he had
made the voyage, sailed much faster than the ship: Reckoning his pahie
therefore to go at the rate of forty leagues a-day, which from my own
observation I have great reason to think these boats will do, it would
make four hundred leagues in ten days, which I compute to be the
distance of Boscawen and Keppel's Islands, discovered by Captain Wallis,
westward of Ulietea, and therefore think it very probable that they were
the islands he had visited.[47] The farthest island that he knew any
thing of to the southward, he said, lay at the distance of about two
days sail from Oteroah, and was called _Moutou_; but he said that his
father had told him there were islands to the southward of that: Upon
the whole, I was determined to stand southward in search of a continent,
but to spend no time in searching for islands, if we did not happen to
fall in with them during our course.

[Footnote 47: These and other islands since discovered in the South Sea,
will be properly laid down in a map to be afterwards given. The chart
that accompanied the preceding volume was restricted to the state of
geographical knowledge at the time of publishing Hawkesworth's work, and
is, of coarse, imperfect. But it was judged unadvisable to anticipate
recent information.--E.]

SECTION XXI.

_The Passage from Oteroah to New Zealand; Incidents which happened on
going a-shore there, and while the Ship lay in Poverty Bay_.

We sailed from Oteroah on the 15th of August, and on Friday the 25th we
celebrated the anniversary of our leaving England, by taking a Cheshire
cheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for this
occasion, and tapping a cask of porter, which proved to be very good,
and in excellent order. On the 29th, one of the sailors got so drunk,
that the next morning he died: We thought at first that he could not
have come honestly by the liquor, but we afterwards learnt that the
boatswain, whose mate he was, had in mere good-nature given him part of
a bottle of rum.

On the 30th we saw the comet: At one o'clock in the morning it was a
little above the horizon in the eastern part of the heavens; at about
half an hour after four it passed the meridian, and its tail subtended
an angle of forty-two degrees. Our latitude was 38 deg. 20' S., our
longitude, by log, 147 deg. 6' W., and the variation of the needle, by the
azimuth, 7 deg. 9' E. Among others that observed the comet, was Tupia, who
instantly cried out, that as soon as it should be seen by the people of
Bolabola, they would kill the inhabitants of Ulietea, who would with the
utmost precipitation fly to the mountains.

On the 1st of September, being in the latitude of 40 deg. 22' S. and
longitude 147 deg. 29' W, and there not being any signs of land, with a
heavy sea from the westward, and strong gales, I wore, and stood back to
the northward, fearing that we might receive such damage in our sails
and rigging, as would hinder the prosecution of the voyage.

On the next day, there being strong gales to the westward, I
brought-to, with the ship's head to the northward; but in the mooring of
the 3d, the wind being more moderate, we loosened the reef of the
mainsail, set the top-sails, plied to the westward.

We continued our course till the 19th, when our latitude being 29 deg. and
our longitude 159 deg. 29', we observed the variation to be 8 deg. 32' E. On the
24th, being in latitude 33 deg. 18', longitude 162 deg. 51', we observed a small
piece of seaweed, and a piece of wood covered with barnacles: The
variation here was 10 deg. 48' E.

On the 27th, being in latitude 28 deg. 59', longitude 169 deg. 5, we saw a seal
asleep upon the water, and several bunches of sea-weed. The next day we
saw more seaweed in bunches, and on the 29th, a bird, which we thought a
land bird; it somewhat resembled a snipe, but had a short bill. On the
1st of October, we saw birds innumerable, and another seal asleep upon
the water; it is a general opinion that seals never go out of soundings,
or far from land, but those that we saw in these seas prove the
contrary. Rock-weed is, however, a certain indication that, land is not
far distant. The next day, it being calm, we hoisted out the boat to try
whether there was a current, but found none. Our latitude was 37 deg.
10', longitude 172 deg. 54' W. On the 3d, being in latitude 36 deg. 56',
longitude 173 deg.27', we took up more sea-weed, and another piece of wood
covered with barnacles. The next day we saw two more seals, and a brown
bird, about as big as a raven, with some white feathers under the wing.
Mr Gore told us, that birds of this kind were seen in great numbers
about Falkland's Islands, and our people gave them the name of
Port-Egmont hens.

On the 5th, we thought the water changed colour, but upon casting the
lead, had no ground with 180 fathom. In the evening of this day, the
variation was 12 deg. 50' E., and while we were going nine leagues it
increased to 14 deg. 2'.

On the next day, Friday, October the 6th, we saw land from the
mast-head, bearing W. by N. and stood directly for it; in the evening it
could just be discerned from the deck, and appeared large. The variation
this day was, by azimuth and amplitude, 15 deg. 4' 1/2 E., and by
observation made of the sun and moon, the longitude of the ship appeared
to be 180 deg. 55' W., and by the medium of this, and subsequent
observations, there appeared to be an error in the ship's account of her
longitude during her run from Otaheite of 3 deg. 16', she being so much to
the westward of the longitude resulting from the log. At midnight I
brought to and sounded, but had no ground with one hundred and seventy
fathom.

On the 7th it fell calm, we therefore approached the land slowly, and in
the afternoon, when a breeze sprang up, we were still distant seven or
eight leagues. It appeared still larger as it was more distinctly seen,
with four or five ranges of hills, rising one over the other, and a
chain of mountains above all, which appeared to be of an enormous
height. This land became the subject of much eager conversation; but the
general opinion seemed to be that we had found the _terra australis
incognita_. About five o'clock we saw the opening of a bay, which seemed
to run pretty far inland, upon which we hauled our wind and stood in for
it; we also saw smoke ascending from different places on shore. When
night came on, however, we kept plying off and on till day-light, when
we found ourselves to the leeward of the bay, the wind being at north:
We could now perceive that the hills were clothed with wood, and that
some of the trees in the valleys were very large. By noon we fetched in
with the south-west point; but not being able to weather it, tacked and
stood off: At this time we saw several canoes standing cross the bay,
which in a little time made to shore, without seeming to take the least
notice of the ship; we also saw some houses, which appeared to be small,
but neat; and near one of them a considerable number of the people
collected together, who were sitting upon the beach, and who, we
thought, were the same that we had seen in the canoes. Upon a small
peninsula, at the north-east head, we could plainly perceive a pretty
high and regular paling, which inclosed the whole top of a hill; this
was also the subject of much speculation, some supposing it to be a park
of deer, others an inclosure for oxen and sheep. About four o'clock in
the afternoon we anchored on the north-west side of the bay, before the
entrance of a small river, in ten fathom water, with a fine sandy
bottom, and at about half a league from the shore. The sides of the bay
are white cliffs of a great height; the middle is low land, with hills
gradually rising behind, one towering above another, and terminating in
the chain of mountains which appeared to be far inland.

In the evening I went on shore, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr
Solander, with the pinnace and yawl and a party of men. We landed
abreast of the ship, on the east side of the river, which was here about
forty yards broad; but seeing some natives on the west side, whom I
wished to speak with, and finding the river not fordable, I ordered the
yawl in to carry us over, and left the pinnace at the entrance. When we
came near the place where the people were assembled, they all ran away;
however, we landed, and leaving four boys to take care of the yawl, we
walked up to some huts which were about two or three hundred yards from
the water-side. When we had got some distance from the boat, four men,
armed with long lances, rushed out of the woods, and running up to
attack the boat, would certainly have cut her off, if the people in the
pinnace had not discovered them, and called to the boys to drop down the
stream: The boys instantly obeyed; but being closely pursued by the
Indians, the cockswain of the pinnace, who had the charge of the boats,
fired a musket over their heads; at this they stopped and looked round
them, but in a few minutes renewed the pursuit, brandishing their lances
in a threatening manner: The cockswain then fired a second musket over
their heads, but of this they took no notice; and one of them lifting up
his spear to dart it at the boat, another piece was fired, which shot
him dead. When he fell, the other three stood motionless for some
minutes, as if petrified with astonishment; as soon as they recovered,
they went back, dragging after them the dead body, which, however, they
soon left, that it might not encumber their flight. At the report of the
first musket we drew together, having straggled to a little distance
from each other, and made the best of our way back to the boat; and
crossing the river, we soon saw the Indian lying dead upon the ground.
Upon examining the body, we found that he had been shot through the
heart: He was a man of the middle size and stature; his complexion was
brown, but not very dark; and one side of his face was tattowed in
spiral lines of a very regular figure: He was covered with a fine cloth,
of a manufacture altogether new to us, and it was tied on exactly
according to the representation in Valentyn's Account of Abel Tasman's
Voyage, vol. 3, part 2, page 50, his hair also was tied in a knot on the
top of his head, but had no feather in it.[48] We returned immediately
to the ship, where we could hear the people on shore talking with great
earnestness, and in a very loud tone, probably about what had happened,
and what should be done.

[Footnote 48: Abel Tasman was sent out by the Dutch East India Company
in 1642, to take surveys of the new-found countries, and, if possible,
to make discoveries. The account of his voyage was published in Low
Dutch, by Dirk Rembrant. A French translation of it was given by
Thevenot, in the 4th part of his collection, published at Paris, 1673,
an abridgement of which was inserted in Harris's collection. Though
curious and considerably important, his observations were long
disregarded; and in particular, his discovery of New Zealand or Staaten
Land, as he called it in honour of the States General, seems to have
been either discredited or held immaterial or overlooked, till this
voyage of Captain Cook obtained for it the notice it deserved. Then, as
is not unusual, it attracted undue consideration and importance. Mr
Finkerton has re-published the account of this voyage in his collection.
Tasman discovered New Zealand on the 13th September, 1642, but did not
land on it, an unfortunate event having given him a total distrust of
the natives. Some of them, after a good deal of backwardness and seeming
fear, ventured to go on board the Heenskirk, which was the consort of
his own vessel, named the Zee-Haan. Tasman, not liking their appearance,
and being apprehensive of their hostile intentions, sent seven of his
men to put the people of that vessel on their guard. The savages
attacked them, killed three, and forced the others to seek their lives
by swimming. This occasioned his giving the name of the Bay of
Murderers, to the place where it happened. The rough weather prevented
him from taking vengeance.--E.]

In the morning we saw several of the natives where they had been seen
the night before, and some walking with a quick pace towards the place
where we had landed, most of them unarmed; but three or four with long
pikes in their hands. As I was desirous to establish an intercourse with
them, I ordered three boats to be manned with seamen and marines, and
proceeded towards the shore, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander, the
other gentlemen, and Tupia; about fifty of them seemed to wait for our
landing, on the opposite side of the river, which we thought a sign of
fear, and seated themselves upon the ground: At first, therefore,
myself, with only Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and Tupia, landed from the
little boat, and advanced towards them; but we had not proceeded many
paces before they all started up, and every man produced either a long
pike, or a small weapon of green talc, extremely well polished, about a
foot long, and thick enough to weigh four or five pounds: Tupia called
to them in the language of Otaheite; but they answered only by
flourishing their weapons, and making signs to us to depart; a musket
was then fired wide of them, and the ball struck the water, the river
being still between, us: They saw the effect, and desisted from their
threats; but we thought it prudent to retreat till the marines could be
landed. This was soon done; and they marched, with a jack carried before
them, to a little bank, about fifty yards from the water-side; here they
were drawn up, and I again advanced, with Mr Banks and Dr Solander;
Tupia, Mr Green, and Mr Monkhouse, being with us. Tupia was again
directed to speak to them, and it was with great pleasure that we
perceived he was perfectly understood, he and the natives speaking only
different dialects of the same language. He told them that we wanted
provision and water, and would give them iron in exchange, the
properties of which he explained as well as he was able. They were
willing to trade, and desired that we would come over to them for that
purpose: To this we consented, provided they would lay by their arms;
which, however, they could by no means be persuaded to do. During this
conversation, Tupia warned us to be upon our guard, for that they were
not our friends: We then pressed them in our turn to come over to us;
and at last one of them stripped himself, and swam over without his
arms: He was almost immediately followed by two more, and soon after by
most of the rest, to the number of twenty or thirty; but these brought
their arms with them. We made them all presents of iron and heads; but
they seemed to set little value upon either, particularly the iron, not
having the least idea of its use; so that we got nothing in return but a
few feathers: They offered indeed to exchange their arms for ours, and,
when we refused, made many attempts to snatch them out of our hands. As
soon as they came over, Tupia repeated his declaration, that they were
not our friends, and again warned us to be upon our guard; their
attempts to snatch our weapons, therefore, did not succeed; and we gave
them to understand by Tupia, that we should be obliged to kill them if
they offered any farther violence. In a few minutes, however, Mr Green
happening to turn about, one of them snatched away his hanger, and
retiring to a little distance, waved it round his head with a shout of
exultation: The rest now began to be extremely insolent, and we saw more
coming to join them from the opposite side of the river. It was
therefore become necessary to repress them, and Mr Banks fired at the
man who had taken the hanger with small shot, at the distance of about
fifteen yards: When the shot struck him, he ceased his cry; but instead
of returning the hanger, continued to flourish it over his head, at the
same time slowly retreating to a greater distance. Mr Monkhouse seeing
this, fired at him with ball, and he instantly dropped. Upon this the
main body, who had retired to a rock in the middle of the river upon
the first discharge, began to return; two that were near to the man who
had been killed, ran up to the body, one seized his weapon of green
talc, and the other endeavoured to secure the hanger, which Mr Monkhouse
had but just time to prevent. As all that had retired to the rock were
now advancing, three of us discharged our pieces, loaded only with small
shot, upon which they swam back for the shore; and we perceived, upon
their landing, that two or three of them were wounded. They retired
slowly up the country, and we re-embarked in our boats.

As we had unhappily experienced that nothing was to be done with these
people at this place, and finding the water in the river to be salt, I
proceeded in the boats round the head of the bay in search of fresh
water, and with a design, if possible, to surprise some of the natives,
and take them on board, where by kind treatment and presents I might
obtain their friendship, and by their means establish an amicable
correspondence with their countrymen.

To my great regret, I found no place where I could land, a dangerous
surf every where beating upon the shore; but I saw two canoes coming in
from the sea, one under sail, and the other worked with paddles. I
thought this a favourable opportunity to get some of the people into my
possession without mischief, as those in the canoe were probably
fishermen, and without arms, and I had three boats full of men. I
therefore disposed the boats so as most effectually to intercept them in
their way to the shore; the people in the canoe that was paddled
perceived us so soon, that by making to the nearest land with their
utmost strength, they escaped us; the other sailed on till she was in
the midst of us, without discerning what we were; but the moment she
discovered us, the people on board struck their sail, and took to their
paddles, which they plied so briskly that she out-ran the boat. They
were however within hearing, and Tupia called out to them to come
along-side, and promised for us that they should come to no hurt: They
chose, however, rather to trust to their paddles than our promises, and
continued to make from us with all their power. I then ordered a musquet
to be fired over their heads, as the least exceptionable expedient to
accomplish my design, hoping it would either make them surrender or
leap into the water. Upon the discharge of the piece, they ceased
paddling; and all of them, being seven in number, began to strip, as we
imagined to jump overboard; but it happened otherwise. They immediately
formed a resolution not to fly, but to fight; and when the boat came up,
they began the attack with their paddles, and with stones and other
offensive weapons that were in the boat, so vigorously, that we were
obliged to fire upon them in our own defence: Four were unhappily
killed, and the other three, who were boys, the eldest about nineteen,
and the youngest about eleven, instantly leaped into the water; the
eldest swam with great vigour, and resisted the attempts of our people
to take him into the boat by every effort that he could make: He was
however at last overpowered, and the other two were taken up with less
difficulty. I am conscious that the feeling of every reader of humanity
will censure me for having fired upon these unhappy people, and it is
impossible that, upon a calm review, I should approve it myself. They
certainly did not deserve death for not chusing to confide in my
promises; or not consenting to come on board my boat, even if they had
apprehended no danger; but the nature of my service required me to
obtain a knowledge of their country, which I could no otherwise effect
than by forcing my way into it in a hostile manner, or gaining admission
through the confidence and good-will of the people. I had already tried
the power of presents without effect; and I was now prompted, by my
desire to avoid further hostilities, to get some of them on board, as
the only method left of convincing them that we intended them no harm,
and had it in our power to contribute to their gratification and
convenience. Thus far my intentions certainly were not criminal; and
though in the contest, which I had not the least reason to expect, our
victory might have been complete without so great an expence of life,
yet in such situations, when the command to fire has been given, no man
can restrain its excess, or prescribe its effect.[49]

[Footnote 49: It seems impossible to justify the transaction. Let
conscience and the law of nature speak. Palliating circumstances may be
allowed their full influence, but still there will remain enough in the
deed, to spot the memory of our great and certainly humane navigator.
The life of man is the most sacred property under the heavens--its value
is perhaps incalculable by any other means than an appeal to the
consciousness of its dignity and importance, which every one who enjoys
it possesses. It is worse than vain to set about considering the
comparative value of different lives, in order to ascertain the momentum
of the guilt of violating them in particular instances; and thus to
depreciate the existence of savages, by comparing their habits, their
manners, their enjoyments, and sufferings, with those of civilized
people. A man's life is always valuable to himself, in the proportion of
what he would give to secure and prolong it. Is not this the basis of
the law, which excuses homicide when committed in self-defence? Does not
that law imply the equality of lives in all cases, without disparagement
of rank, station, or circumstances? Yet even that law, recognised in all
countries worthy of notice for their intelligence and cultivation,
required something of the nature of a purgation of the person, whom it
at the same time absolved of the deadly guilt of the action. Dr
Hawkesworth, in his General Introduction, which it was quite unnecessary
to give entire in this work, argues the question of the lawfulness of
such aggression as has been mentioned, on the abstract principle that
the advantages of discoveries overbalance the evils attendant on the
making of them. But admitting all that he says on the subject, which is
_something_ more than he proves--admitting, in _this_ case, that the end
justifies the means--still it may be contended with _propriety_, that
those who have been entrusted with such commands are amenable to the
fundamental laws of humanity and all good governments--Let it be proved
that they have not exceeded their instructions, or availed themselves of
a concession only problematically and in fact eventually just, to use
force and deal out slaughter in conferring their favours. Let there be
no relaxation of the solemnity and imposing aspect of the law in such
cases, whatever there be of its retributive severity. Sailors in
general, and our own in particular, as we may see even in the course of
this narrative, are not to be trusted with the smallest discretionary
power, where the lives of _naked_ men are concerned. The obvious
contrast is too much for their pride; mercifulness of disposition does
not mitigate its pungency. An abatement in the rigour of the law
unfortunately flatters their prejudices, and loosens the tie by which
their passions are feebly bound under a sense of duty and fear. The
consequences are shocking and unavoidable. Abrogate entirely from these
at all times unthinking men, the liberty of judgment as to the worth of
life--let there be but one law for an Englishman and a savage--declare
by the voice of justice, that though their skins have not the same hue,
and though their hair be differently turned on their heads, yet their
blood is the same, and that He that made one made the other also, and
has the same interest in both. Such principles would facilitate
discoveries, and would render them blessings. The maxims and the Conduct
of William Penn, a name, associated, as it no doubt is, with ideas of
something extravagant, and perhaps with the opinion of something
impracticable, nevertheless so dear and encouraging to humanity, are
worthy of being set up in letters of gold before the eyes of all
generations. "Whoever, (was his enactment for the regulation of
intercourse with the natives of the country still bearing his name),
whoever shall hurt, wrong, or offend any Indian, shall incur the same
penalty as if he had offended in like manner against his fellow
planter." He treated these savages as his brethren, and he made them
such. They pledged themselves "to live in love with William Penn and
his children as long as the sun and moon should endure"--nor did they
violate their faith. It is lamentable to be constrained to join with
Voltaire in saying, "this is the only treaty ever concluded betwixt
Christians, and Savages that was not ratified by an oath; and the only
one that never was broken!" Penn outlived the storms and malice of more
than half a century of persecutions, and died in peace at the age of
seventy-two. Who does not think of the _murder_ of Cook, with a feeling
of _something more than common regret_ for the loss of a great and most
estimable man!--E.]