A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18) by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18)

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Being desirous of knowing the use of the stick which one of our visitors
carried in his hand, I made signs to them to shew me; and so far
succeeded, that one of them set up a piece of wood as a mark, and threw
at it at the distance of about twenty yards. But we had little reason to
commend his dexterity; for, after repeated trials, he was still very
wide from the object. Omai, to shew them how much superior our weapons
were to theirs, then fired his musquet at it, which alarmed them so
much, that notwithstanding all we could do or say, they ran instantly
into the woods. One of them was so frightened, that he let drop an axe
and two knives that had been given to him. From us, however, they went
to the place where some of the Discovery's people were employed in
taking water into their boat. The officer of that party, not knowing
that they had paid us so friendly a visit, nor what their intent might
be, fired a musquet in the air, which sent them off with the greatest
precipitation.

Thus ended our first interview with the natives. Immediately after their
final retreat, judging that their fears would prevent their remaining
near enough to observe what was passing, I ordered the two pigs, being a
boar and sow, to be carried about a mile within the woods at the head of
the bay. I saw them left there, by the side of a fresh-water brook. A
young bull and a cow, and some sheep and goats, were also, at first,
intended to have been left by me, as an additional present to Van
Diemen's Land. But I soon laid aside all thought of this, from a
persuasion that the natives, incapable of entering into my views of
improving their country, would destroy them. If ever they should meet
with the pigs, I have no doubt this will be their fate. But as that race
of animals soon becomes wild, and is fond of the thickest cover of the
woods, there is great probability of their being preserved. An open
place must have been chosen for the accommodation of the other cattle;
and, in such a situation, they could not possibly have remained
concealed many days.

The morning of the 29th was ushered in with a dead calm, which continued
all day, and effectually prevented our sailing. I therefore sent a
party over to the E. point of the bay to cut grass, having been informed
that some of a superior quality grew there. Another party, to cut wood,
was ordered to go to the usual place, and I accompanied them myself. We
had observed several of the natives this morning sauntering along the
shore, which assured us, that though their consternation had made them
leave us so abruptly the day before, they were convinced that we
intended them no mischief, and were desirous of renewing the
intercourse. It was natural that I should wish to be present on the
occasion.

We had not been long landed, before about twenty of them, men and boys,
joined us, without expressing the least sign of fear or distrust. There
was one of this company conspicuously deformed, and who was not more
distinguishable by the hump upon his back, than by the drollery of his
gestures, and the seeming humour of his speeches, which he was very fond
of exhibiting, as we supposed, for our entertainment. But,
unfortunately, we could not understand him; the language spoken here
being wholly unintelligible to us. It appeared to me to be different
from that spoken by the inhabitants of the more northern parts of this
country, whom I met with in my first voyage; which is not extraordinary,
since those we now saw, and those we then visited, differ in many other
respects.[130] Nor did they seem to be such miserable wretches as the
natives whom Dampier mentions to have seen on its western coast.[131]

[Footnote 130: The most striking difference seems to be with regard to
the texture of the hair. The natives whom Captain Cook met with at
Endeavour River in 1769, are said, by him, to have "naturally long and
black hair, though it be universally cropped short. In general it is
straight, but sometimes it has a slight curl. We saw none that was not
matted and filthy. Their beards were of the same colour with the hair,
and bushy and thick."

It may be necessary to mention here, on the authority of Captain King,
that Captain Cook was very unwilling to allow that the hair of the
natives now met with in Adventure Bay was _woolly_, fancying that his
people, who first observed this, had been deceived, from its being
clotted with grease and red ochre. But Captain King prevailed upon him
afterward to examine carefully the hair of the boys, which was
generally, as well as that of the women, free from this dirt; and then
he owned himself satisfied that it was naturally _woolly_. Perhaps we
may suppose it possible, that he himself had been deceived when he was
in Endeavour River, from this very circumstance, as he expressly says,
that "they saw none that was not matted and filthy."--D.]

[Footnote 131: And yet Dampier's New Hollanders, on the western coast,
bear a striking resemblance to Captain Cook's at Van Diemen's Land, in
many remarkable instances:--

1st, As to their becoming familiar with the strangers.

2dly, As to their persons; being straight-bodied and thin, their skin
black, and black, short, curled hair, like the negroes of Guinea, with
wide mouths.

3dly, As to their wretched condition, having no houses, no garment, no
canoes, no instrument to catch large fish; feeding on broiled muscles,
cockles, and periwinkles; having no fruits of the earth; their weapons a
straight pole, sharpened and hardened at the end, &c. &c.

The chief peculiarities of Dampier's _miserable wretches_ are, 1st,
Their eye-lids being always half closed, to keep the flies out, which
were excessively troublesome there; and, 2dly, Their wanting the two
fore-teeth of the upper jaw, and their having no beards. See Dampier's
Voyages, vol. i. p. 464, &c. There seems to be no reason for supposing
that Dampier was mistaken in the above account of what he saw.--D.]

Some of our present group wore, loose, round their necks, three or four
folds of small cord, made of the fur of some animal; and others of them
had a narrow slip of the kangooroo skin tied round their ankles. I gave
to each of them a string of beads and a medal, which I thought they
received with some satisfaction. They seemed to set no value on iron, or
on iron tools. They were even ignorant of the use of fish-hooks, if we
might judge from their manner of looking at some of ours which we shewed
to them.

We cannot, however, suppose it to be possible that a people who inhabit
a sea-coast, and who seem to derive no part of their sustenance from the
productions of the ground, should not be acquainted with some mode of
catching fish, though we did not happen to see any of them thus
employed, nor observe any canoe, or vessel, in which they could go upon
the water. Though they absolutely rejected the sort of fish that we
offered to them, it was evident that shell-fish, at least, made a part
of their food, from the many heaps of muscle-shells we saw in different
parts near the shore, and about some deserted habitations near the head
of the bay. These were little sheds, or hovels, built of sticks, and
covered with bark. We could also perceive evident signs of their
sometimes taking up their abode in the trunks of large trees, which had
been hollowed out by fire, most probably for this very purpose. In or
near all these habitations, and wherever there was a heap of shells,
there remained the marks of fire, an indubitable proof that they do not
eat their food raw.

After staying about an hour with the wooding party and the natives, as I
could now be pretty confident that the latter were not likely to give
the former any disturbance, I left them, and went over to the
grass-cutters on the east point of the bay, and found that they had met
with a fine patch. Having seen the boats loaded, I left that party, and
returned on board to dinner; where, some time after, Lieutenant King
arrived.

From him I learnt, that I had but just left the shore, when several
women and children made their appearance, and were introduced to him by
some of the men who attended them. He gave presents to all of them, of
such trifles as he had about him. These females wore a kangooroo skin
(in the same shape as it came from the animal) tied over the shoulders,
and round the waist. But its only use seemed to be to support their
children when carried on their backs, for it did not cover those parts
which most nations conceal; being, in all other respects, as naked as
the men, and as black, and their bodies marked with scars in the same
manner. But in this they differed from the men, that though their hair
was of the same colour and texture, some of them had their heads
completely shorn or shaved; in others this operation had been performed
only on one side, while the rest of them had all the upper part of the
head shorn close, leaving a circle of hair all round, somewhat like the
tonsure of the Romish ecclesiastics.[132] Many of the children had fine
features, and were thought pretty; but of the persons of the women,
especially those advanced in years, a less favourable report was made.
However, some of the gentlemen belonging to the Discovery, I was told,
paid their addresses, and made liberal offers of presents, which were
rejected with great disdain; whether from a sense of virtue, or the fear
of displeasing their men, I shall not pretend to determine. That this
gallantry was not very agreeable to the latter, is certain; for an
elderly man, as soon as he observed it, ordered all the women and
children to retire, which they obeyed, though some of them shewed a
little reluctance.

[Footnote 132: Captain Cook's account of the natives of Van Diemen's
Land, in this chapter, no doubt proves that they differ, in many
respects, as he says, from the inhabitants of the more northerly parts
of the east coast of New Holland, whom he met with in his first voyage.
It seems very remarkable, however, that the only woman any of his people
came close to, in Botany Bay, should have her hair cropped short, while
the man who was with her, is said to have had the hair of his head
bushy, and his beard long and rough. Could the natives of Van Diemen's
Land be more accurately described, than by saying that the hair of the
men's heads is bushy, and their beards long and rough, and that the
women's hair is cropped short? So far north, therefore, as Botany Bay,
the natives of the east coast of New Holland seem to resemble those of
Van Diemen's Land, in this circumstance.--D.]

This conduct of Europeans amongst savages, to their women, is highly
blameable; as it creates a jealousy in their men, that may be attended
with consequences fatal to the success of the common enterprise, and to
the whole body of adventurers, without advancing the private purpose of
the individual, or enabling him to gain the object of his wishes. I
believe it has been generally found among uncivilized people, that where
the women are easy of access, the men are the first to offer them to
strangers; and that, where this is not the case, neither the allurement
of presents, nor the opportunity of privacy, will be likely to have the
desired effect. This observation, I am sure, will hold good, throughout
all the parts of the South Sea where I have been. Why then should men
act so absurd a part, as to risk their own safety, and that of all their
companions, in pursuit of a gratification which they have no probability
of obtaining?[133]

[Footnote 133: In uncivilized nations, the women are completely
subservient to the power and desires of the men, without seeming to
possess, or to be allowed, a will or thought of their own. Amongst them,
therefore, the primitive mode of temptation must be reversed, and the
husband is first to be gained over. When this is done, all that follows,
is understood and intended by him, as a sort of temporary barter; and
the favours of his wife, or daughter, are valued by him just in the
proportion they are sought for by those with whom he is dealing. But
where his animal necessities can scarcely be supplied, it cannot be
imagined that he will be very sensible to the force of toys and trinkets
as objects of temptation. These, on the other hand, will carry most
persuasion, where, through the greater bounty of nature, an avenue has
been opened for the display of vanity and the love of ornament. Any
opposition on the female part in either case, is of no avail as a
barrier against strangers, as he who is most concerned to protect it,
finds his account in its sacrifice. We have instances of both in Captain
Cook's voyages.--E.]

In the afternoon I went again to the grass-cutters, to forward their
work. I found them then upon Penguin Island, where they had met with a
plentiful crop of excellent grass. We laboured hard till sun-set, and
then repaired on board, satisfied with the quantity we had collected,
and which I judged sufficient to last till our arrival in New Zealand.

During our whole stay, we had either calms or light airs from the
eastward. Little or no time, therefore, was lost by my putting in at
this place. For if I had kept the sea, we should not have been twenty
leagues advanced farther on our voyage. And, short as our continuance
was here, it has enabled me to add somewhat to the imperfect
acquaintance that hath hitherto been acquired, with this part of the
globe.

Van Diemen's Land has been twice visited before. It was so named by
Tasman, who discovered it in November 1642. From that time it had
escaped all farther notice by European navigators, till Captain Furneaux
touched at it in March 1773.[134] I hardly need say, that it is the
southern point of New Holland, which, if it doth not deserve the name of
a continent, is by far the largest island in the world.

[Footnote 134: This is a mistake, though unintentional, no doubt, and
ignorantly on the part of Cook. Captain Marion, a French navigator, and
mentioned occasionally in these voyages, visited Van Diemen's Land about
a twelve-month before Captain Furneaux. The account of his voyage was
published at Paris in 1783, but is little known in England; for which
reason, and because of its possessing a considerable degree of interest,
Captain Flinders has given an abridgment of that portion of its contents
which respects the land in question. This the reader will find in his
introduction, p. 83, or he may content himself with being informed, that
the description it gives of the natives, &c, generally coincides with
what is furnished in the text. Subsequent to this voyage, it may be
remarked, Captain Bligh put into Adventure Bay with his majesty's ship
Bounty, viz. in 1788: and afterwards, viz. in 1792, the coast of Van
Diemen's Land was visited by the French Rear-Admiral D'Entrecasteaux.--E.]

The land is, for the most part, of a good height, diversified with hills
and valleys, and every where of a greenish hue. It is well wooded; and,
if one may judge from appearances, and from what we met with in
Adventure Bay, is not ill supplied with water. We found plenty of it in
three or four places in this bay. The best, or what is most convenient
for ships that touch here, is a rivulet, which is one of several that
fall into a pond, that lies behind the beach at the head of the bay. It
there mixes with the sea-water, so that it must be taken up above this
pond, which may be done without any great trouble. Fire-wood is to be
got, with great ease, in several places.

The only wind to which this bay is exposed, is the N.E. But as this wind
blows from Maria's Islands, it can bring no very great sea along with
it; and therefore, upon the whole, this may be accounted a very safe
road. The bottom is clean, good holding ground; and the depth of water
from twelve to five and four fathoms.

Captain Furneaux's sketch of Van Diemen's Land, published with the
narrative of my last voyage, appears to me to be without any material
error, except with regard to Maria's Islands, which have a different
situation from what is there represented.[135] The longitude was
determined by a great number of lunar observations, which we had before
we made the land, while we were in sight of it, and after we had left
it; and reduced to Adventure Bay, and the several principal points, by
the time-keeper. The following table will exhibit both the longitude and
latitude at one view:

Latitude South. Longitude East:
Adventure Bay, 43 deg. 21' 20" 147 deg. 29' 0"
Tasman's Head, 43 33 0 147 28 0
South Cape, 43 42 0 146 56 0
South-west Cape, 43 37 0 146 7 0
Swilly Isle, 43 55 0 147 6 0

Adventure { Variation of the compass 5 deg. 15' E.
Bay, { Dip of the south end of the needle 70 deg. 15 1/2'.

We had high-water on the 29th, being two days before the last quarter of
the moon, at nine in the morning. The perpendicular rise then was
eighteen inches, and there was no appearance of its ever having exceeded
two feet and a half. These are all the memorials useful to navigation,
which my short stay has enabled me to preserve, with respect to Van
Diemen's Land.

[Footnote 135: But Captain Flinders has pointed out some other mistakes,
especially as to the Storm and Frederik Hendrik's Bays of Tasman, in
which, says he, "He has been followed by all the succeeding navigators,
of the same nation, which has created not a little confusion in the
geography of this part of the world." Let us prevent the perpetuity of
errors, by quoting another passage from the same most accurate and
skilful navigator. "The bay supposed to have been Storm Bay, has no name
in Tasman's chart; though the particular plan shews that he noticed it,
as did Marion, more distinctly. The rocks marked at the east point of
this bay, and called the Friars, are the _Boreal's Eylanden_ of Tasman;
the true Storm Bay is the deep inlet, of which Adventure Bay is a cove.
Frederik Hendrik's Bay is not within this inlet, but lies to the
north-eastward, on the outer side of the land which Captain Furneaux, in
consequence of his first mistake, took to be Maria's Island, but which,
in fact, is a part of the main land." A copy of Tasman's charts is given
in the atlas to D'Entrecasteaux's voyage; it is taken from Valantyn, and
is conformable to the manuscript charts in the Dutch journal. But
according to Flinders, it has an error of one degree too much east, in
the scale of longitude. Besides, he informs us, "In the plan of Frederik
Hendrik's Bay, the name is placed _within_ the inner bay, instead of
being written, as in the original, on the point of land between the
inner and outer bays." He imagines the name was intended to comprise
both, and refers to vol. iii. of Captain Burney's History of Discoveries
in the South Sea, for a copy of Tasman's charts as they stand in the
original.--E.]

Mr Anderson, my surgeon, with his usual diligence, spent the few days we
remained in Adventure Bay, in examining the country. His account of its
natural productions, with which he favoured me, will more than
compensate for my silence about them: Some of his remarks on the
inhabitants will supply what I may have omitted, or represented
imperfectly; and his specimen of their language, however short, will be
thought worth attending to, by those who wish to collect materials for
tracing the origin of nations. I shall only premise, that the tall
strait forest trees, which Mr Anderson describes in the following
account, are of a different sort from those which are found in the more
northern parts of this coast. The wood is very long and close-grained,
extremely tough, fit for spars, oars, and many other uses; and would, on
occasion, make good masts, (perhaps none better,) if a method could be
found to lighten it.

"At the bottom of Adventure Bay is a beautiful sandy beach, which seems
to be wholly formed by the particles washed by the sea from a very fine
white sand-stone, that in many places bounds the shore, and of which
Fluted Cape, in the neighbourhood, from its appearance, seems to be
composed. This beach is about two miles long, and is excellently adapted
for hauling a seine, which both ships did repeatedly with success.
Behind this is a plain or flat, with a salt, or rather brackish lake
(running in length parallel with the beach), out of which we caught,
with angling rods, many whitish bream, and some small trout. The other
parts of the country adjoining the bay are quite hilly; and both those
and the flat are an entire forest of very tall trees, rendered almost
impassable by shrubs, brakes of fern, and fallen trees; except on the
sides of some of the hills, where the trees are but thin, and a coarse
grass is the only interruption."

"To the northward of the bay there is low land, stretching farther than
the eye can reach, which is only covered with wood in certain spots; but
we had no opportunity to examine in what respects it differed from the
hilly country. The soil on the flat land is either sandy, or consists of
a yellowish mould, and, in some places, of a reddish clay. The same is
found on the lower part of the hills; but farther up, especially where
there are few trees, it is of a grey tough cast, to appearance very
poor."

"In the valleys between the hills, the water drains down from their
sides; and at last, in some places, forms small brooks; such, indeed, as
were sufficient to supply us with water, but by no means of that size we
might expect in so extensive a country, especially as it is both hilly
and well wooded. Upon the whole, it has many marks of being naturally a
very dry country; and perhaps might (independent of its wood) be
compared to Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope, though that lies ten
degrees farther northward, rather than to New Zealand, on its other
side, in the same latitude, where we find every valley, however small,
furnished with a considerable stream of water. The heat, too, appears to
be great, as the thermometer stood at 64, 70, and once at 74. And it was
remarked, that birds were seldom killed an hour or two, before they were
almost covered with small maggots, which I would rather attribute merely
to the heat; as we had not any reason to suppose there is a peculiar
disposition in the climate to render substances soon putrid."

"No mineral bodies, nor indeed stones of any other sort but the white
sand one already mentioned, were observed.

"Amongst the vegetable productions, there is not one, that we could
find, which afforded the smallest subsistence for man."

"The forest trees are all of one sort, growing to a great height, and in
general quite straight, branching but little, till toward the top. The
bark is white, which makes them appear, at a distance, as if they had
been peeled; it is also thick; and within it are sometimes collected,
pieces of a reddish transparent gum or rosin, which has an astringent
taste. The leaves of this tree are long, narrow, and pointed; and it
bears clusters of small white flowers, whose cups were, at this time,
plentifully scattered about the ground, with another sort resembling
them somewhat in shape, but much larger; which makes it probable that
there are two _species_ of this tree. The bark of the smaller branches,
fruit, and leaves, have an agreeable pungent taste, and aromatic smell,
not unlike peppermint; and in its nature, it has some affinity to the
_myrtus_ of botanists."

"The most common tree, next to this, is a small one about ten feet high,
branching pretty much, with narrow leaves, and a large, yellow,
cylindrical flower, consisting only of a vast number of filaments;
which, being shed, leave a fruit like a pine-top. Both the
above-mentioned trees are unknown in Europe."

"The underwood consists chiefly of a shrub somewhat resembling a myrtle,
and which seems to be the _leptospermum scoparium_, mentioned in Dr
Foster's _Char. Gen. Plant._; and, in some places, of another, rather
smaller, which is a new _species_ of the _melaleuca_ of Linnaeus."

"Of other plants, which are by no means numerous, there is a _species_
of _gladiolus_, rush, bell-flower, samphire, a small sort of
wood-sorrel, milk-wort, cudweed, and Job's tears; with a few others,
peculiar to the place. There are several kinds of fern, as polypody,
spleenwort, female fern, and some mosses; but the _species_ are either
common, or at least found in some other countries, especially New
Zealand."

"The only animal of the quadruped kind we got, was a sort of _opossum_,
about twice the size of a large rat; and is, most probably, the male of
that _species_ found at Endeavour river, as mentioned in Cook's first
voyage. It is of a dusky colour above, tinged with a brown or rusty
cast, and whitish below. About a third of the tail, towards its tip, is
white, and bare underneath; by which it probably hangs on the branches
of trees, as it climbs these, and lives on berries. The _kangooroo_,
another animal found farther northward in New Holland, as described in
the same voyage, without all doubt also inhabits here, as the natives we
met with had some pieces of their skins; and we several times saw
animals, though indistinctly, run from the thickets when we walked in
the woods, which, from the size, could be no other. It should seem also,
that they are in considerable numbers, from the dung we saw almost every
where, and from the narrow tracks or paths they have made amongst the
shrubbery."