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

[Footnote 52: The natives cultivate a plant much resembling flag. It is
their substitute for hemp and flax; and by their ingenuity of
management, yield them excellent clothing, and lines and cordage for
their fishing-nets and other useful purposes.--E.]

In the afternoon we stood over to the south point of the bay, but not
reaching it before it was dark, we stood off and on all night. At eight
the next morning, being a-breast of the point, several fishing-boats
came off to us, and sold us some stinking fish: It was the best they
had, and we were willing to trade with them upon any terms: These people
behaved very well, and we should have parted good friends if it had not
been for a large canoe, with two-and-twenty armed men on board, which
came boldly up alongside of the ship. We soon saw that this boat had
nothing for traffic, yet we gave them two or three pieces of cloth, an
article which they seemed very fond of. I observed that one man had a
black skin thrown over him, somewhat resembling that of a bear, and
being desirous to know what animal was its first owner, I offered him
for it a piece of red baize, and he seemed greatly pleased with the
bargain, immediately pulling off the skin, and holding it up in the
boat;[53] he would not, however, part with it till he had the cloth in
his possession, and as there could be no transfer of property, if with
equal caution I had insisted upon the same condition, I ordered the
cloth to be handed down to him, upon which, with amazing coolness,
instead of sending up the skin, he began to pack up both that, and the
baize, which he had received as the purchase of it, in a basket, without
paying the least regard to my demand or remonstrances, and soon after,
with the fishing-boats, put off from the-ship; when they were at some
distance, they drew together, and after a short-consultation returned;
the fishermen offered more fish, which, though good for nothing, was
purchased, and trade was again renewed. Among others who were placed
over the ship's side to hand up what we bought, was little Tayeto,
Tupia's boy; and one of the Indians, watching his opportunity, suddenly
seized him, and dragged him down into the canoe; two of them held him
down in the fore-part of it, and the others, with great activity,
paddled her off, the rest of the canoes following as fast as they could;
upon this the marines, who were under arms upon deck, were ordered to
fire. The shot was directed to that part of the canoe which was farthest
from the boy, and rather wide of her, being willing rather to miss the
rowers than to hurt him: It happened, however, that one man dropped,
upon which the others quitted their hold of the boy, who instantly
leaped into the water, and swam towards the ship; the large canoe
immediately pulled round and followed him, but some muskets, and a great
gun being fired at her, she desisted from the pursuit. The ship being
brought-to, a boat was lowered, and the poor boy taken up unhurt, though
so terrified, that for a time he seemed to be deprived of his senses.
Some of the gentlemen, who traced the canoes to shore with their
glasses, said, that they saw three men carried up the beach, who
appeared to be either dead, or wholly disabled by their wounds.

[Footnote 53: The principal clothing of these people is prepared from
the flag, as has been mentioned; but they greatly esteem the skins of
such animals as they can procure. These, however, are neither very
numerous nor valuable. They will be mentioned hereafter.--E.]

To the cape off which this unhappy transaction happened, I gave the name
of _Cape Kidnappers_. It lies in latitude 39 deg. 43', and longitude 182 deg.
24' W. and is rendered remarkable by two white rocks like hay-stacks,
and the high white cliffs on each side. It lies S.W. by W. distant
thirteen leagues from the isle of Portland; and between them is the bay
of which it is the south point, and which, in honour of Sir Edward
Hawke, then First Lord of the Admiralty, I called _Hawke's Bay_. We
found in it from twenty-four to seven fathom, and good anchorage. From
Cape Kidnappers the land trends S.S.W. and in this direction we made our
run along the shore, keeping at about a league distance, with a steady
breeze and clear weather.

As soon as Tayeto recovered from his fright, he brought a fish to Tupia,
and told him that he intended it as an offering to his Eatua, or god, in
gratitude for his escape; Tupia commended his piety, and ordered him to
throw the fish into the sea, which was accordingly done.[54]

[Footnote 54: This may be held as no small evidence that the Otaheitans
are not so disinterested in their devotion as Dr Hawkesworth imagined,
according to an assertion of his already commented on. Gratitude implies
the reception of a favour, and prayer the expectation of one. Religion
without interest is both unnatural and absurd. The very notion of
religion is humble reliance upon God. "Take this away," says Dr Magee
very justly, "and we become a race of independent beings, claiming as a
debt the reward of our good works; a sort of contracting party with the
Almighty, contributing nought to his glory, but anxious to maintain our
own independence, and our own rights." The lips of uninspired man never
spake more truth in one sentence. Let the aspiring moralist consider it
in its nature and consequences. If he obtain humility by the meditation,
he will feel the blessedness of a grateful heart.--E.]

About two o'clock in the afternoon, we passed a small but high white
island lying close to the shore, upon which we saw many houses, boats,
and people. The people we concluded to be fishers, because the island
was totally barren; we saw several people also on shore, in a small bay
upon the main, within the island. At eleven, we brought-to till
day-light, and then made sail to the southward, along the shore. About
seven o'clock we passed a high point of land, which lies S.S.W. twelve
leagues from Cape Kidnappers: From this point the land trends
three-fourths of a point more to the westward; at ten, we saw more land
open to the southward, and at noon, the southermost land that was in
sight bore S. 39 deg. W. distant eight or ten leagues, and a high bluff
head, with yellowish cliffs, bore W. distant about two miles: The depth
of water was thirty-two fathom.

In the afternoon we had a fresh breeze at west, and during the night
variable light airs and calms: In the morning a gentle breeze sprung up
between the N.W. and N.E. and having till now stood to the southward,
without seeing any probability of meeting with a harbour, and the
country manifestly altering for the worse, I thought that standing
farther in that direction would be attended with no advantage, but on
the contrary would be a loss of time that might be employed with a
better prospect of success in examining the coast to the northward;
about one, therefore, in the afternoon, I tacked, and stood north, with
a fresh breeze at west. The high bluff head, with yellowish cliffs,
which we were a-breast of at noon, I called Cape Turnagain, because here
we turned back. It lies in latitude 40 deg. 34' S. longitude 182 deg. 55' W.,
distant eighteen leagues S.S.W. and S.S.W. 1/2 W. from Cape Kidnappers.
The land between them is of a very unequal height; in some places it is
lofty next the sea with white cliffs, in others low, with sandy beaches:
The face of the country is not so well clothed with wood as it is about
Hawke's bay, but looks more like our high downs in England: It is,
however, to all appearance, well inhabited, for as we stood along the
shore, we saw several villages, not only in the vallies, but on the tops
and sides of the hills, and smoke in many other places. The ridge of
mountains, which has been mentioned before, extends to the southward
farther than we could see, and was then every where chequered with snow.
At night we saw two fires inland, so very large, that we concluded they
must have been made to clear the land for tillage; but however that be,
they are a demonstration that the part of the country where they
appeared is inhabited.

On the 18th, at four o'clock in the morning, Cape Kidnappers bore N. 32
W. distant two leagues: In this situation we had sixty-two fathom, and
when the Cape bore W. by N. distant three or four leagues, we had
forty-five fathom: In the mid-way between the isle of Portland and the
Cape we had sixty-five fathom. In the evening, being abreast of the
peninsula, within Portland island, called Terakako, a canoe came off
from that shore, and with much difficulty overtook the ship; there were
on board five people, two of whom appeared to be chiefs, and the other
three servants: The chiefs, with very little invitation, came on board,
and ordered the rest to remain in their canoe. We treated them with
great kindness, and they were not backward in expressing their
satisfaction; they went down into the cabin, and after a short time told
us that they had determined not to go on shore till the next morning. As
the sleeping on board was an honour which we neither expected nor
desired, I remonstrated strongly against it, and told them, that on
their account it would not be proper, as the ship would probably be at a
great distance from where she was then, the next morning: They
persisted, however, in their resolution, and as I found it impossible to
get rid of them without turning them by force out of the ship, I
complied: As a proper precaution, however, I proposed to take their
servants also on board, and hoist their canoe into the ship; they made
no objection, and this was accordingly done. The countenance of one of
these chiefs was the most open and ingenuous of all I have ever seen,
and I very soon gave up every suspicion of his having any sinister
design: They both examined every thing they saw with great curiosity and
attention, and received very thankfully such little presents as we made
them; neither of them, however, could be persuaded either to eat or
drink, but their servants devoured every thing they could get with great
voracity. We found that these men had heard of our kindness and
liberality to the natives who had been on board before, yet we thought
the confidence they placed in us an extraordinary instance of their
fortitude. At night I brought-to till day-light, and then made sail; at
seven in the morning, I brought-to again under Cape Table, and sent away
our guests with their canoe, who expressed some surprise at seeing
themselves so far from home, but landed a-breast of the ship. At this
time I saw other canoes putting off from the shore, but I stood away to
the northward without waiting for their coming up.

About three, I passed a remarkable head-land, which I called
Gable-End-Foreland, from the very great likeness of the white cliff at
the point to the gable-end of a house: It is not more remarkable for its
figure, than for a rock which rises like a spire at a little distance.
It lies from Cape Table N. 24 E. distant about twelve leagues. The shore
between them forms a bay, within which lies Poverty Bay, at the distance
of four leagues from the head-land, and eight from the Cape. At this
place three canoes came off to us, and one man came on board; we gave
him some trifles, and he soon returned to his boat, which, with all the
rest, dropped a-stern.

In the morning I made sail in shore, in order to look into two bays,
which appeared about two leagues to the northward of the Foreland; the
southernmost I could not fetch, but I anchored in the other about eleven
o'clock.

Into this bay we were invited by the people on board many canoes, who
pointed to a place where they said there was plenty of fresh water: I
did not find so good a shelter from the sea as I expected, but the
natives who came about us appearing to be of a friendly disposition, I
was determined to try whether I could not get some knowledge of the
country here before I proceeded farther to the northward.

In one of the canoes that came about us as soon as we anchored, we saw
two men, who by their habits appeared to be chiefs: One of them was
dressed in a jacket, which was ornamented after their manner, with dog's
skin; the jacket of the other was almost covered with small tufts of red
feathers. These men I invited on board, and they entered the ship with
very little hesitation: I gave each of them about four yards of linen,
and a spike nail; with the linen they were much pleased, but seemed to
set no value upon the nail. We perceived that they knew what had
happened in Poverty Bay, and we had therefore no reason to doubt but
they would behave peaceably; however, for further security, Tupia was
ordered to tell them for what purpose we came thither, and to assure
them that we would offer them no injury, if they offered none to us. In
the mean time those who remained in the canoes traded with our people
very fairly for what they happened to have with them: The chiefs, who
were old men, staid with us till we had dined, and about two o'clock I
put off with the boats, manned and armed, in order to go on shore in
search of water, and the two chiefs went into the boat with me. The
afternoon was tempestuous, with much rain, and the surf every where ran
so high, that although we rowed almost round the bay, we found no place
where we could land: I determined therefore to return to the ship, which
being intimated to the chiefs, they called to the people on shore, and
ordered a canoe to be sent off for themselves; this was accordingly
done, and they left us, promising to come on board again in the morning,
and bring us some fish and sweet-potatoes.

In the evening, the weather having become fair and moderate, the boats
were again ordered out, and I landed, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr
Solander. We were received with great expressions of friendship by the
natives, who behaved with a scrupulous attention not to give offence. In
particular, they took care not to appear in great bodies: One family, or
the inhabitants of two or three houses only, were generally placed
together, to the number of fifteen or twenty, consisting of men, women,
and children. These little companies sat upon the ground, not advancing
towards us, but inviting us to them, by a kind of beckon, moving one
hand towards the breast. We made them several little presents; and in
our walk round the bay found two small streams of fresh water. This
convenience, and the friendly behaviour of the people, determined me to
stay at least a day, that I might fill some of my empty casks, and give
Mr Banks an opportunity of examining the natural produce of the country.

In the morning of the 21st, I sent Lieutenant Gore on shore, to
superintend the watering, with a strong party of men; and they were soon
followed by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with Tupia, Tayeto, and four
others.

The natives sat by our people, and seemed pleased to observe them; but
did not intermix with them: They traded, however, chiefly for cloth, and
after a short time applied to their ordinary occupations, as if no
stranger had been among them. In the forenoon, several of their boats
went out a-fishing, and at dinner time every one repaired to his
respective dwelling; from which, after a certain time, he returned.
These fair appearances encouraged Mr Banks and Dr Solander to range the
bay with very little precaution, where they found many plants, and shot
some birds of exquisite beauty. In their walk, they visited several
houses of the natives, and saw something of their manner of life; for
they showed, without any reserve, every thing which the gentlemen
desired to see. They were sometimes found at their meals, which the
approach of the strangers never interrupted. Their food at this season
consisted of fish, with which, instead of bread, they eat the root of a
kind of fern, very like that which grows upon our commons in England.
These roots they scorch over the fire, and then beat with a stick, till
the bark and dry outside fall off; what remains is a soft substance,
somewhat clammy and sweet, not unpleasing to the taste, but mixed with
three or four times its quantity of strings and fibres, which are very
disagreeable; these were swallowed by some, but spit out by the far
greater number, who had baskets under them to receive the rejected part
of what had been chewed, which had an appearance very like that of
tobacco in the same state. In other seasons they have certainly plenty
of excellent vegetables; but no tame animals were seen among them except
dogs, which were very small and ugly. Mr Banks saw some of their
plantations, where the ground was as well broken down and tilled as even
in the gardens of the most curious people among us: In these spots were
sweet potatoes, coccos or eddas, which are well known and much esteemed
both in the East and West Indies, and some gourds: The sweet potatoes
were planted in small hills, some ranged in rows, and others in
quincunx, all laid by a line with the greatest regularity: The coccos
were planted upon flat land, but none of them yet appeared above ground;
and the gourds were set in small hollows, or dishes, much as in England.
These plantations were of different extent, from one or two acres to
ten: Taken together, there appeared to be from 150 to 200 acres in
cultivation in the whole bay, though we never saw an hundred people.
Each district was fenced in, generally with reeds, which were placed so
close together that there was scarcely room for a mouse to creep
between.

The women were plain, and made themselves more so by painting their
faces with red ochre and oil, which being generally fresh and wet upon
their cheeks and foreheads, was easily transferred to the noses of those
who thought fit to salute them; and that they were not wholly averse to
such familiarity, the noses of several of our people strongly testified:
They were, however, as great coquets as any of the most fashionable
ladies in Europe, and the young ones as skittish as an unbroken filly:
Each of them wore a petticoat, under which there was a girdle, made of
the blades of grass highly perfumed, and to the girdle was fastened a
small bunch of the leaves of some fragrant plant, which served their
modesty as its innermost veil.[55] The faces of the men were not so
generally painted, yet we saw one whose whole body, and even his
garments, were rubbed over with dry ochre, of which he kept a piece
constantly in his hand, and was every minute renewing the decoration in
one part or another, where he supposed it was become deficient.[56] In
personal delicacy they were not equal to our friends at Otaheite, for
the coldness of the climate did not invite them so often to bathe; but
we saw among them one instance of cleanliness in which they exceeded
them, and of which perhaps there is no example in any other Indian
nation. Every house, or every little cluster of three or four houses,
was furnished with a privy, so that the ground was every where clean.
The offals of their food, and other litter, were also piled up in
regular dunghills, which probably they made use of at a proper time for
manure.

[Footnote 55: It is elsewhere said of these women, that, contrary to the
custom of the sex in general, they affected dress rather less than the
men. As to their modesty, let one fact related in the same place, be
allowed its legal influence.--Their innermost veil, as our author will
have it, was always bound fast round them, except when they went into
the water to catch lobsters, and then great care was taken that they
should not be seen by the other sex. "Some of us happening one day to
land upon a small island in Tolaga Bay, we surprised several of them at
this employment; and the chaste Diana, with her nymphs, could not have
discovered more confusion and distress at the sight of Actaeon, than
these women expressed on our approach. Some of them hid themselves among
the rocks, and the rest crouched down in the sea till they had made
themselves a girdle and apron of such weeds as they could find, and when
they came out, even with this veil, we could perceive that their modesty
suffered much pain by our presence!" One fact of this kind speaks
volumes. The reader may glance over them at his leisure.--E.]

[Footnote 56: It is elsewhere remarked, that the bodies of both sexes
are marked with the black stains called Amoco, like the tattowing of the
Otaheitans, but that the women are not so lavish in the decoration as
the men, and that whereas at Otaheite the breech is the choice spot for
the display of their beautifying ingenuity, in New Zealand, on the
contrary, it is almost entirely neglected as unworthy of embellishment.
So much for the capricious partiality of dame Fashion.--E.]

In this decent article of civil oeconomy they were beforehand with one
of the most considerable nations of Europe, for I am credibly informed,
that, till the year 1760, there was no such thing as a privy in Madrid,
the metropolis of Spain, though it is plentifully supplied with water.
Before that time it was the universal practice to throw the ordure out
of the windows, during the night, into the street, where numbers of men
were employed to remove it, with shovels, from the upper parts of the
city to the lower, where it lay till it was dry, and was then carried
away in carts, and deposited without the gates. His catholic majesty,
having determined to free his capital from so gross a nuisance, ordered,
by proclamation, that the proprietor of every house should build a
privy, and that sinks, drains, and common-sewers should he made at the
public expence. The Spaniards, though long accustomed to an arbitrary
government; resented this proclamation with great spirit, as an
infringement of the common rights of mankind, and made a vigorous
struggle against its being carried into execution. Every class devised
some objection against it, but the physicians bade the fairest to
interest the king in the preservation of the ancient privileges of his
people; for they remonstrated, that if the filth was not, as usual,
thrown into the streets, a fatal sickness would probably ensue, because
the putrescent particles of the air, which such filth attracted, would
then be imbibed by the human body. But this expedient, with every other
that could be thought of, proved unsuccessful, and the popular
discontent then ran so high that it was very near producing an
insurrection; his majesty, however, at length prevailed, and Madrid is
now as clear as most of the considerable cities in Europe. But many of
the citizens, probably upon the principles advanced by their physicians,
that heaps of filth prevent deleterious particles of air from fixing
upon neighbouring substances, have, to keep their food wholesome,
constructed their privies by the kitchen fire.[57]

[Footnote 57: It is a little singular, that Dr Hawkesworth did not
adduce a similar instance of negligence, in a certain Northern Capital.
The English, not much averse, at the time of the publication, to
depreciate and despise their neighbours, would certainly have relished
it vastly--for, as Swift somewhere wittily observes, your men of nice
taste have very filthy ideas. That the city alluded to has improved
much, within the last half century, is but to lump it with almost all
the other cities and towns in Britain, of which the same thing may be
predicated. Still, however, it is chargeable with glaring sins of both
omission and commission; and it is certain, that the vigilance of its
police has hitherto been insufficient to vindicate its cleanliness. One
might incline to think, that the prejudice in favour of bad smells had
not quite abandoned the inhabitants, who could allow for months, and
that even in the consummating fervour of the summer sun, and in open
despite of his face too, of putrifying dunghills within the precincts of
their city. It is a certain fact that such a receptacle of filth, of the
largest size, is established in all its amplitude of abomination on the
west side of it, and often emits its pestilential spirit on the whole
track of one of its _principal_ streets. Such things ought not to be,
and would not, if people used their heads as well as their noses.--E.]

In the evening, all our boats being employed in carrying the water, on
board, and Mr Banks and his company finding it probable that they should
be left on shore after it was dark, by which much time would be lost,
which they were impatient to employ in putting the plants they had
gathered in order, they applied to the Indians for a passage in one of
their canoes: They immediately consented, and a canoe was launched for
their use. They went all on board, being eight in number, but not being
used to a vessel that required so even a balance, they unfortunately
overset her in the surf: No life however was lost, but it was thought
advisable that half of them should wait for another turn. Mr Banks, Dr
Solander, Tupia, and Tayeto embarked again, and without any farther
accident arrived safely at the ship, well pleased with the good nature
of their Indian friends, who cheerfully undertook to carry them a second
time, after having experienced how unfit a freight they were for such a
vessel.