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

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Soon after dinner, we came to an anchor, in a small but excellent
harbour on the west side of the island, which the natives call
_Owharre_, in eighteen fathom water, clear ground, and secure from all
winds. I went immediately ashore, accompanied by Mr Banks, Dr Solander,
Mr Monkhouse, Tupia, King Cookee, and some other of the natives who had
been on board ever since the morning. The moment we landed, Tupia
stripped himself as low as the waist, and desired Mr Monkhouse to do the
same: He then sat down before a great number of the natives, who were
collected together in a large house or shed; for here, as well as at
Otaheite, a house consists only of a roof supported upon poles; the rest
of us, by his desire, standing behind. He then began a speech or prayer,
which lasted about a quarter of an hour, the king, who stood over
against him, every now and then answering in what appeared to be set
responses. In the course of this harangue he delivered at different
times two handkerchiefs, a black silk neckcloth, some beads, two small
bunches of feathers, and some plantains, as presents to their Eatua, or
God. In return for these, he received for our Eatua, a hog, some young
plantains, and two small bunches of feathers, which he ordered to be
carried on board the ship. After these ceremonies, which we supposed to
be the ratification of a treaty between us, every one was dismissed to
go whither he pleased; and Tupia immediately repaired to offer his
oblations at one of the Morais.

The next morning, we went on shore again, and walked up the hills, where
the productions were exactly the same as those of Otaheite, except that
the rocks and clay appeared to be more burnt. The houses were neat, and
the boat-houses remarkably large; one that we measured was fifty paces
long, ten broad, and twenty-four feet high; the whole formed a pointed
arch, like those of our old cathedrals, which was supported on one side
by twenty-six, and on the other by thirty pillars, or rather posts,
about two feet high, and one thick, upon most of which were rudely
carved the heads of men, and several fanciful devices, not altogether
unlike those which we sometimes see printed from wooden blocks, at the
beginning and end of old books. The plains, or flat part of the country,
abounded in bread-fruit, and cocoa-nut trees; in some places, however,
there were salt swamps and lagoons, which would produce neither.

We went again a-shore on the 18th, and would have taken the advantage of
Tupia's company, in our perambulation; but he was too much engaged with
his friends. We took, however, his boy, whose name was _Tayeto_, and Mr
Banks went to take a farther view of what had much engaged his attention
before; it was a kind of chest or ark, the lid of which was nicely sewed
on, and thatched very neatly with palm-nut leaves: It was fixed upon two
poles, and supported on little arches of wood, very neatly carved; the
use of the poles seemed to be to remove it from place to place, in the
manner of our sedan chairs: In one end of it was a square hole, in the
middle of which was a ring touching the sides, and leaving the angles
open, so as to form a round hole within a square one. The first time Mr
Banks saw this coffer, the aperture at the end was stopped with a piece
of cloth, which, lest he should give offence, he left untouched;
probably there was then something within, but now the cloth was taken
away, and, upon looking into it, it was found empty. The general
resemblance between this repository and the ark of the Lord among the
Jews is remarkable; but it is still more remarkable, that upon enquiring
of the boy what it was called, he said, _Ewharre no Eatua_, the _house
of the God_: He could however give no account of its signification or
use.[41]

[Footnote 41: Mr Parkhurst, in his Hebrew Lexicon, takes notice of this
circumstance, and admits the resemblance. But in fact, there is no need
to have recourse to the Jews in particular, for something similar to
what is here mentioned. The Egyptians, according to Herodotus, Euter.
63, kept their god in a case or box, and at certain times carried it
about or drew it on a four-wheeled carriage. Diodorus Siculus says the
same thing of them, in his first book. Both these writers, it is
remarkable, use the same word for this containing vehicle; it is [Greek]
or [Greek], the temple, shrine, or sacred dwelling. The reader may have
heard of the horrid god at Juggernaut, who is drawn on a wheeled
carriage, as described in such dreadful terms by Dr Buchanan, in the
account of his travels and researches in India. The Israelites, it is
very probable from a passage in the prophet Amos, v. 26, copied the
example of some of their idolatrous neighbours, in _bearing_ a temple of
Moloch and Chiun. See Raphelius on Acts vii. 43. where mention is made
of the same offence against the positive commands of God. It may be
distinctly proved, that the gods and goddesses of the heathens were
accustomed to have their _tabernacula_ and _fana_, and that some of them
were _portable_. Thus the Greeks had their [Greek], and the Romans their
_thensa_. Virgil, we see in the Eneid, speaks of the Errantesque deos,
agitataque numina Trojae, as a great misfortune. It would be idle to
enter here on the question discussed by different men of learning,
whether the practice of having temples or places of abode for their gods
originated among the Gentiles, and was thence adopted by way of
condescension into the Mosaic economy; or was borrowed by the Gentiles
from some early revelation corrupted, which had for its object the
holding out the great promise, that God himself would one day tabernacle
among men upon the earth. This latter opinion is the more probable one
by a great deal. It is not a little like the sentiment so strongly
maintained by some excellent authors, and certainly in a high degree
countenanced by scripture, that the sacrifices amongst the heathens were
derived from some early but vitiated revelation of that one great
sacrifice and atonement, which God himself had provided in behalf of his
guilty creatures. For this opinion, the candid reader will not fail to
perceive the strongest evidence produced, in a most important recent
publication, Dr Magee's Discourses, &c. on the Atonement.--E.]

We had commenced a kind of trade with the natives, but it went on
slowly; for when any thing was offered, not one of them would take it
upon his own judgment, but collected the opinions of twenty or thirty
people, which could not be done without great loss of time. We got,
however, eleven pigs, and determined to try for more the next day.

The next day, therefore, we brought out some hatchets, for which we
hoped we should have had no occasion, upon an island which no European
had ever visited before. These procured us three very large hogs; and as
we proposed to sail in the afternoon, King Oree and several others came
on board to take their leave. To the King I gave a small plate of
pewter, on which was stamped this inscription, "His Britannic Majesty's
ship, Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine."
I gave him also some medals or counters, resembling the coin of
England, struck in the year 1761, with some other presents; and he
promised that with none of these, particularly the plate, he would ever
part. I thought it as lasting a testimony of our having first discovered
this island, as any we could leave behind; and having dismissed our
visitors well satisfied, and in great good humour, we set sail, about
half an hour after two in the afternoon.

The island of Huaheine, or Huahene, is situated in the latitude of 16 deg.
48' S. and longitude 150 deg. 52' W. from Greenwich: It is distant from
Otaheite about thirty-one leagues, in the direction of N. 58 W. and is
about seven leagues in compass. Its surface is hilly and uneven, and it
has a safe and commodious harbour. The harbour, which is called by the
natives _Owalle_, or _Owharre_, lies on the west side, under the
northernmost high land, and within the north end of the reef, which lies
along that side of the island; there are two inlets or openings, by
which it may be entered, through the reef, about a mile and a half
distant from each other; the southermost is the widest, and on the south
side of it lies a very small sandy island.

Huaheine seems to be a month forwarder in its productions than Otaheite,
as we found the cocoa-nuts full of kernel, and some of the new
bread-fruit fit to eat. Of the cocoa-nuts the inhabitants make a food
which they call _Poe_, by mixing them with yams; they scrape both fine,
and having incorporated the powder, they put it into a wooden trough,
with a number of hot stones, by which an oily kind of hasty-pudding is
made, that our people relished very well, especially when it was fryed.
Mr Banks found not more than eleven or twelve new plants; but he
observed some insects, and a species of scorpion which he had not seen
before.

The inhabitants seem to be larger made, and more stout, than those of
Otaheite. Mr Banks measured one of the men, and found him to be six feet
three inches and a half high; yet they are so lazy, that he could not
persuade any of them to go up the hills with him: They said, if they
were to attempt it, the fatigue would kill them. The women were very
fair, more so than those of Otaheite; and in general, we thought them
more handsome, though none that were equal to some individuals. Both
sexes seemed to be less timid, and less curious: It has been observed,
that they made no enquiries on board the ship; and when we fired a gun,
they were frightened indeed, but they did not fall down, as our friends
at Otaheite constantly did when we first came among them.. For this
difference, however, we can easily account upon other principles; the
people at Huaheine had not seen the Dolphin, those at Otaheite had. In
one, the report of a gun was connected with the idea of instant
destruction; to the other, there was nothing dreadful in it but the
appearance and the sound, as they had never experienced its power of
dispensing death.

While we were on shore, we found that Tupia had commended them beyond
their merit, when he said that they would not steal; for one of them was
detected in the fact. But when he was seized by the hair, the rest,
instead of running away, as the people at Otaheite would have done,
gathered round, and enquired what provocation had been given: But this
also may be accounted for without giving them credit for superior
courage; they had no experience of the consequence of European
resentment, which the people at Otaheite had in many instances purchased
with life. It must, however, be acknowledged, to their honour, that when
they understood what had happened, they showed strong signs of
disapprobation, and prescribed a good beating for the thief, which was
immediately administered.[42]

[Footnote 42: Huaheine or Aheine (a word which signifies woman) is the
eastermost of the Society Isles. It bears some resemblance to Otaheite,
being divided into two peninsulas by an isthmus of low land, having a
stripe of fertile soil next the shore, from which hills of a volcanic
origin arise towards the centre. Since Capt. Cook's time, this island
has been visited by Lieut. Watts, Capt. Bligh, and Capt. Edwards, but
none of these officers has afforded any satisfactory information
respecting its government and history. In the year 1791, it is said to
have acknowledged the sovereignty of Otaheite.--E.]

We now made sail for the island of _Ulietea_, which lies S.W. by W.
distant seven or eight leagues from Huaheine, and at half an hour after
six in the evening we were within three leagues of the shore, on the
eastern side. We stood off and on all night, and when the day broke the
next morning, we stood in for the shore: We soon after discovered an
opening in the reef which lies before the island, within which Tupia
told us there was a good harbour. I did not, however, implicitly take
his word; but sent the master out in the pinnace to examine it: He soon
made the signal for the ship to follow; we accordingly stood in, and
anchored in two-and-twenty fathom, with soft ground.

The natives soon came off to us in two canoes, each of which brought a
woman and a pig. The woman we supposed was a mark of confidence, and the
pig was a present; we received both with proper acknowledgments, and
complimented each of the ladies with a spike-nail and some beads, much
to their satisfaction. We were told by Tupia, who had always expressed
much fear of the men of Bolabola, that they had made a conquest of this
island; and that, if we remained here, they would certainly come down
to-morrow, and fight us. We determined, therefore, to go on shore
without delay, while the day was our own.

I landed in company with Mr Banks, Dr Solander, and the other gentleman,
Tupia being also of the party. He introduced us by repeating the
ceremonies which he had performed at Huaheine, after which I hoisted an
English jack, and took possession of this and the three neighbouring
islands, Huaheine, Otaha, and Bolabola, which were all in sight, in the
name of his Britannic majesty. After this, we took a walk to a great
morai, called _Tapodeboatea_. We found it very different from those of
Otaheite; for it consisted only of four walls, about eight feet high, of
coral stones, some of which were of an immense size, inclosing an area
of about five-and-twenty yards square, which was filled up with smaller
stones: Upon the top of it many planks were set up an end, which were
carved in their whole length: At a little distance we found an altar, or
Ewhatta, upon which lay the last oblation or sacrifice, a hog of about
eighty pounds weight, which had been offered whole, and very nicely
roasted. Here were also four or five Ewharre no-Eatua, or houses of God,
to which carriage-poles were fitted, like that which we had seen at
Huaheine. One of these Mr Banks examined by putting his hand into it,
and found a parcel about five feet long and one thick, wrapped up in
matts: He broke a way through several of these matts with his fingers,
but at length came to one which was made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut,
so firmly plaited together that he found it impossible to tear it, and
therefore was forced to desist; especially as he perceived, that what he
had done already gave great offence to our new friends. From hence we
went to a long house, not far distant, where among rolls of cloth, and
several other things, we saw the model of a canoe, about three feet
long, to which were tied eight human jaw-bones: We had already learnt
that these, like scalps among the Indians of North America, were
trophies of war. Tupia affirmed that they were the jaw-bones of the
natives of this island; if so, they might have been hung up, with the
model of a canoe, as a symbol of invasion, by the warriors of Bolabola,
as a memorial of their conquest.

Night now came on apace, but Mr Banks and Dr Solander continued their
walk along the shore, and at a little distance saw another
Ewharre-no-Eatua, and a tree of the fig kind, the same as that which Mr
Green had seen at Otaheite, in great perfection, the trunk, or rather
congeries of the roots of which, was forty-two paces in circumference.

On the 21st, having dispatched the master in the long-boat to examine
the coast of the south part of the island, and one of the mates in the
yawl, to sound the harbour where the ship lay, I went myself in the
pinnace, to survey that part of the island which lies to the north. Mr
Banks and the gentlemen were again on shore, trading with the natives,
and examining the products and curiosities of the country; they saw
nothing, however, worthy notice, but some more jaw-bones, of which they
made no doubt but that the account they had heard was true.

On the 22d and 23d, having strong gales and hazy weather, I did not
think it safe to put to sea; but on the 24th, though the wind was still
variable, I got under sail, and plied to the northward within the reef,
with a view to go out at a wider opening than that by which I had
entered; in doing this, however, I was unexpectedly in the most imminent
danger of striking on the rock: The master, whom I had ordered to keep
continually sounding in the chains, suddenly called out, "Two fathom."
This alarmed me, for though I knew the ship drew at least fourteen feet,
and that therefore it was impossible such a shoal should be under her
keel, yet the master was either mistaken, or she went along the edge of
a coral rock, many of which, in the neighbourhood of these islands, are
as steep as a wall.

This harbour, or bay, is called by the natives _Oopoa,_ and taken in its
greatest extent, it is capable of holding any number of shipping. It
extends almost the whole length of the east side of the island, and is
defended from the sea by a reef of coral rocks: The southermost opening
in this reef, or channel, into the harbour, by which we entered, is
little more than a cable's length wide; it lies off the eastermost point
of the island, and may be known by another small woody island, which
lies a little to the south-east of it, called by the people here
_Oatara_. Between three and four miles north-west from this island lie
two other islets, in the same direction as the reef, of which they are a
part, called _Opururu_ and _Tamou_; between these lies the other
channel into the harbour, through which I went out, and which is a full
quarter of a mile wide. Still farther to the north-west are some other
small islands, near which I am told there is another small channel into
the harbour; but this I know only by report.

The principal refreshments that are to be procured at this part of the
island are, plantains, cocoa-nuts, yams, hogs, and fowls; the hogs and
fowls, however, are scarce; and the country, where we saw it, is neither
so populous, nor so rich in produce, as Otaheite, or even Huaheine. Wood
and water may also be procured here; but the water cannot conveniently
be got at.[43]

[Footnote 43: Ulietea, or Reiadea, is nearly twice the size of Huaheine,
and bears a still more striking resemblance to Otaheite. Its importance
was once very great among these islands, but this and its population
have much declined, in consequence of an unsuccessful war it carried on
with the people of Bolabola, aided by those of Otaha. The distressed
inhabitants fled in great numbers to Otaheite, and having obtained some
reinforcement, ventured to attack their conquerors in Huaheine, where
they had also carried their victorious arms. They succeeded in this
attack, which was conducted with much caution and prudence; but they
were never able to recover possession of their own island. The people of
Otaha were soon afterwards subdued by their own allies of Bolabola, by
much the most formidable and warlike of all these people, and said to be
descended from persons who had been banished for their crimes from the
neighbouring islands. Bolabola we shall find was not landed on by Capt.
Cook, in consequence of his being on that side of it, where there is no
harbour. It was touched at by him in a boat when he last visited this
cluster, and Capt. Edwards went ashore there in 1791. It is of a rude,
barren appearance, especially on the eastern side, and is easily known
by its lofty double-peaked mountain. The warriors of Bolabola are
differently punctured from all the other people in these islands, and
are the terror of the whole neighbourhood. Otaha, which is about four
leagues to the south-west of Bolabola, and is subject to it, though
superior in size, scarcely merits any notice additional to the text. It
is neither fertile nor populous, and being but about two miles from
Ulietea, presents no inducements to Europeans. Capt. Edwards examined it
in 1791. A material advantage it has in two very good harbours, as will
soon be mentioned.--E.]

We were now again at sea, without having received any interruption from
the hostile inhabitants of Bolabola, whom, notwithstanding the fears of
Tupia, we intended to visit. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the
25th, we were within a league of Otaha, which bore N. 77 deg. W. To the
northward of the south end of that island, on the east side of it, and
something more than a mile from the shore, lie two small islands, called
_Toahoutu_ and _Whennuia_; between which Tupia says, there is a channel
into a very good harbour, which lies within the reef, and appearances
confirmed his report.

As I discovered a broad channel between Otaha and Bolabola, I determined
rather to go through it, than run to the northward of all; but the wind
being right a-head, I got no ground.

Between five and six in the evening of the 26th, as I was standing to
the northward, I discovered a small low island, lying N. by W. or N.N.W.
distant four or five leagues from Bolabola. We were told by Tupia that
the name of this island is _Tubai_; that it produces nothing but
cocoa-nuts, and is inhabited only by three families; though it is
visited by the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands, who resort
thither to catch fish, with which the coast abounds.[44]

[Footnote 44: It is singular that the language of the few people that
inhabit the cluster of islets, known under the name of Tubai or Toobae,
is unintelligible to the natives of the other Society Islands. The
supposition hence arises, that they are of a different race; but no
satisfactory information can be given respecting them. The island is
said to abound in turtle, and is in consequence often visited by the
people of other isles.--E.]

On the 27th, about noon, the peak of Bolabola bore N. 25 deg. W. and the
north end of Otaha, N. 80 deg. W. distant three leagues. The wind continued
contrary all this day and the night following. On the 28th, at six in
the morning, we were near the entrance of the harbour on the east side
of _Otaha_, which has been just mentioned; and finding that it might be
examined without losing time, I sent away the master in the long-boat,
with orders to sound it; and, if the wind did not shift in our favour,
to land upon the island, and traffic with the natives for such
refreshments as were to be had. In this boat went Mr Banks and Dr
Solander, who landed upon the island, and before night purchased three
hogs, twenty-one fowls, and as many yams and plantains as the boat would
hold. Plantains we thought a more useful refreshment even than pork; for
they were boiled and served to the ship's company as bread, and were now
the more acceptable as our bread was so full of vermin, that
notwithstanding all possible care, we had sometimes twenty of them in
our mouths at a time, every one of which tasted as hot as mustard. The
island seemed to be more barren than Ulietea, but the produce was of the
same kind. The people also exactly resembled those that we had seen at
the other islands; they were not numerous, but they flocked about the
boat wherever she went from all quarters, bringing with them whatever
they had to sell. They paid the strangers, of whom they had received an
account from Tupia, the same compliment which they used towards their
own kings, uncovering their shoulders, and wrapping their garments round
their breasts; and were so solicitous to prevent its being neglected by
any of their people, that a man was sent with them, who called out to
every one they met, telling him what they were, and what he was to do.

In the mean time, I kept plying off and on, waiting for the boat's
return; at half an hour after five, not seeing any, thing of her, I
fired a gun, and after it was dark hoisted a light; at half an hour
after eight, we heard the report of a musket, which we answered with a
gun, and soon after the boat came on board. The master reported, that
the harbour was safe and commodious, with good anchorage from
twenty-five to sixteen fathom water, clear ground.

As soon as the boat was hoisted in, I made sail to the northward, and at
eight o'clock in the morning of the 29th, we were close under the Peak
of Bolabola, which was high, rude, and craggy. As the island was
altogether inaccessible in this part, and we found it impossible to
weather it, we tacked and stood off, then tacked again, and after many
trips did not weather the south end of it till twelve o'clock at night.
At eight o'clock the next morning, we discovered an island, which bore
from us N. 63 deg. W. distant about eight leagues; at the same time the Peak
of Bolabola bore N. 1/2 E. distant three or four leagues. This island
Tupia called _Maurua_, and said that it was small, wholly surrounded by
a reef, and without any harbour for shipping; but inhabited, and bearing
the same produce as the neighbouring islands: The middle of it rises in
a high round hill, that may be seen at the distance of ten leagues.[45]

[Footnote 45: The people of Otaheite are said to procure pearls from
this island. It is, however, subject to Bolabola, as the reader will
soon see mentioned.--E.]

When we were off Bolabola, we saw but few people on the shore, and were
told by Tupia that many of the inhabitants were gone to Ulietea. In the
afternoon we found ourselves nearly the length of the south end of
Ulietea, and to windward of some harbours that lay on the west side of
this island. Into one of these harbours, though we had before been
ashore on the other side of the island, I intended to put, in order to
stop a leak which we had sprung in the powder-room, and to take in more
ballast, as I found the ship too light to carry sail upon a wind. As the
wind was right against us, we plied off one of the harbours, and about
three o'clock in the afternoon on the 1st of August, we came to an
anchor in the entrance of the channel leading into it in fourteen fathom
water, being prevented from working in, by a tide which set very strong
out. We then carried out the kedge-anchor, in order to warp into the
harbour; but when this was done, we could not trip the bower-anchor with
all the purchase we could make; we were therefore obliged to lie still
all night, and in the morning, when the tide turned, the ship going over
the anchor, it tripped of itself, and we warped the ship into a proper
birth with ease, and moored in twenty-eight fathom, with a sandy bottom.
While this was doing, many of the natives came off to us with hogs,
fowls, and plantains, which they parted with at an easy rate.